LGBTQ news and entertainment
The Delaware state House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriage by a vote of 23-18.
The measure, introduced less than two weeks ago, and a little more than a year after Delaware first began recognizing same-sex civil unions, was approved by a vote of 23-18 and now heads to the state Senate.
Democratic Gov. Jack Markell has promised to sign the bill if it passes the Democrat-controlled General Assembly.
The Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee voted 7-4 today to pass a marriage equality bill.
The Senate bill would allow gay weddings in Rhode Island beginning on Aug. 1.
The full chamber of 38 senators will vote on the same-sex marriage bill Wednesday during a session at 4pm.
Democrats hold a 32-5 majority in the Senate, although three of the party’s leaders – Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed of Newport, Majority Leader Ruggerio and Judiciary Committee Chairman McCaffrey of Warwick – are all opposed to gay marriage.
By contrast, the Senate’s five-member Republican caucus announced their unanimous support for the same-sex marriage legislation earlier Tuesday. The top Republican in the lower chamber, House Minority Leader Brian Newberry, also voted in favor of same-sex marriage in January.
(via WPRI)
As the Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee gets ready to consider a marriage equality bill today, we get word from Towleroad that the state Senate Republican caucus has announced it’s support for the bill.
From Rhode Island United for Marriage:
It’s a big day in Rhode Island, and we’re excited to kick it off with some really exciting news for our campaign! This morning, the Senate Republican Caucus – including Senators Dennis Algiere, David Bates, Dawson Hodgson, Nicholas Kettle, Chris Ottiano – released a statement announcing unanimous support for S38, the bill that will extend marriage to loving same-sex couples:
We support Senate Bill 38 because it rightfully extends the civil aspects of marriage to all Rhode Islanders while protecting the freedom of religion our state was founded upon. Gay and lesbian couples deserve to be treated equally under the law, and at the same time churches, synagogues and mosques in our state must be free to exercise their faith and their sacraments as they see fit. This bill strikes the right balance and should be passed by the Senate.
Said RI4M campaign director Ray Sullivan:
“We are proud and humbled to have earned the support of the entire Senate Republican caucus for Senator Nesselbush’s legislation. We applaud their courage and their conviction in standing up for all loving, committed couples and their freedom to marry. That this is the first legislative caucus of either party to unanimously support marriage equality is a testament to the bravery and strength of character of these five senators. We thank them for their support, and look forward to their voting in favor of S38.”
(via Towleroad)
By a vote of 331 to 225, the French Parliament has given its final approval of marriage equality. It was the final hurdle for same-sex marriage in the country, officially making France the 14th country in the world to offer equality to LGBT couples.
France joins New Zealand, Uruguay, The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, and Denmark as the 14th nation to offer its citizens nationwide marriage equality.
Happy Dance!!!
Forward, kids.
A bill repealing the state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage passed the Nevada Senate Monday by a vote of 12-9.
Senate Joint Resolution 13 repeals the constitutional amendment enacted by voters in 2002.
From Buzzfeed:
Sen. Kelvin Atkinson declared on the floor during the debate, “I am a black, gay male.” Because he was speaking about his sexual orientation publicly for the first time Monday night, he said he had heard negative comments about the marriage amendment repeal from others prior to the vote. But, he said, “People should mind their business and allow people to do what they want to do.”
Sen. Patricia Spearman (D), openly gay freshmen senator was the first to speak, saying “This is a vote to let the people vote for equality.”
Sen. David Parks (D) who is also openly gay, urged the passage saying the daily lives of heterosexuals would go on, but the passage of SJR13 would dramatically change the way he and his friends live.
Along the lines of equality, Sen. Aaron Ford (D) stood up to say his heart was pounding, and he compared this issue to the debate over interracial marriage.
“I…urge you to support the notion of equality,” he said. “That which denied me, and people who look like me, the opportunity to marry whomever we wanted to based on some arbitrary definition of what it’s suppose to be about.”
Sen. Ford is one of a few black members of the Nevada Legislature.
Sen. Justin Jones (D), said he couldn’t look a gay family member in the eye if he voted against SJR13’s passage.
One argument from the opposition – the voters have already decided to ban gay marriage eleven years ago. But many spoke saying, public support of the ban is wavering.
“This country is changing. Nevada is changing. And we must change with Nevada,” Sen.Ruben Kihuen said.
Senator Ben Kieckhfer was the lone Republican to vote in favor of passing the resolution.
SJR 13 is now on its way to the Assembly. If passed by lawmakers this year and in 2015, it would go to voters in 2016 who will ultimately make the final decision.
(source)
From the YouTube description: Thousands gathered on Sunday at the Plac de la Bastille in Paris to show their support for a new bill to legalise gay marriage. The gathering took place at the same time as opponents of the legislation marched towards the National Assembly.
France’s LGBT community accuse those who oppose the law of being homophobic. They say a nation such as France, whose national motto is “liberty, equality and fraternity,” should not question the need for such a law.
The head of French parliament is being terrorized over the coming gay marriage vote on Tuesday, The Local reports:
The one-page letter, signed by “an intermediary of law enforcement,” warns Bartolone that “our methods are more radical and more swift than protests”, according to French magazine L’Express.
The document concludes with the statement “You wanted war, and you’ve got it.”
Anti-gay protesters crowded the streets of Paris today ahead of a French parliament vote on Tuesday in which it is expected to adopt marriage equality, Deutsche Welle reports:
AFP adds:
Some argue that it is simply part of a wider backlash against what is seen as a corrupt, incompetent political class, prompted by Mr Hollande’s inability to tackle unemployment and the discovery that the government’s tax tsar had a secret Swiss bank account.
But the French Right has seized on the gay marriage issue to rally its demoralised electorate. Given the mess that Mr Hollande’s Socialist administration is making of the economy, Right wingers argue, the Left has no right to legislate on moral issues as well.
To be clear, France is not polarized. There is just a very vocal minority that doesn’t want to see the LGBT community receive certain rights making itself heard.
This bill is about another minority – the LGBT community – who should have the same rights to marriage as their straight brothers and sisters. It’s simply about equality. About being fair.
I’m not happy to hear about the anti-gay violence. That is wrong. In the end, it reveals who the anti-gay folks are. It doesn’t make them right. It does, however, make them
The Civil War in America was one of the bloodiest in our history, and it was fought in part about the equality of a section of society. A minority.Violence or not, it didn’t change the truth. It was right that that minority group achieved equality, just as the LGBT community deserves equality.
Period.
Scream, haters. Yell. It won’t make you right. And the more violence you demonstrate shows your true colors.
Good news coming out of Carson City. A “religious exemptions” amendment to SJR13, which would repeal the same-sex marriage ban in Nevada and make marriage equality legal, has passed. The amendment was added to make the resolution more acceptable to some lawmakers.
From the Nevada Appeal:
The amendment offered by Sen. Pat Spearman, a lesbian minister, states: “Religious organizations and clergy have the right to refuse to solemnize a marriage and no person has the right to make any claim against a religious organization or clergy for such a refusal.”
The amendment was approved on an 11-10 party-line vote with Democrats in favor. Senate Joint Resolution 13 now goes to the Senate floor for a vote early next week.
Nevada is one of 29 states with a constitutional provision prohibiting same-sex marriage. But as in many other states, Nevadans’ sentiments on the issue are evolving and shifting.
In a letter last month to the Senate Committee on Operations and Elections, MGM Resorts expressed support for repealing Nevada’s gay marriage ban.
And this week a group of high-profile business leaders added their voice to the debate.
“To be competitive, a state must create an equitable, fair and respectful environment for all of its citizens,” said the letter signed by an array of sate business leaders, including Elaine Wynn, Billy Vassiliadis, Monte Miller and Sig Rogich. “For this reason — among others — it is vitally important that Nevada lawmakers enact marriage equality soon.”
It concluded, “The Nevada Legislature should act now. It’s the pro-jobs, pro-growth thing to do. It’s the right thing for Nevada.”
“As a Liberal who believes that commitment and family units are one of the best ways in which society is organized, I support the concept of same-sex marriage.
“It was New Zealand that in 1893 first gave votes to women; it took us another nine years to do it. It shouldn’t have to take us another nine years to get the lead of our cousin across the ditch.” – Barry O’Farrell, premier of the Australian state of New South Wales, whose capital city is Sydney.
(via JMG)