Tag: same-sex marriage

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Oregon: Anti-LGBT Bakers Appeal To State Supreme Court

Melissa and Aaron Klein of Sweet Cakes Bakery

You may recall back in February of 2013, Melissa and Aaron Klein as owners of Sweet Cakes bakery in Oregon refused to bake a cake for a lesbian couple.

The customers who were turned away, Rachel Bowman-Cryer and her wife, Laurel, filed a complaint with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries saying they had been the victims of discrimination based on sexual orientation which is clearly against the state’s public accommodation laws.

The Bureau of Labor and Industries agreed and fined the Sweet Cakes owners $135,000 for emotional damages suffered.

The Kleins took their case to the Oregon Court of Appeals and lost again as the appeals court agreed with the Bureau’s determination.

Now, the Kleins have asked the Oregon State Supreme Court to to overturn the lower court rulings.

The Kleins have paid the fine of $135,000 but it’s been held in a state escrow account until all appeal options have been exhausted.

While the Kleins have cried poor in the aftermath of their anti-LGBT bigotry being exposed, it’s quite noteworthy that a “Christian” crowdfunding campaign by fellow haters raised over $500,000 in support of the Kleins.

You can see the stories chronicling their windfall here and here.

So the couple has actually made money in this little escapade.

It’s time to leave it alone, Kleins. You broke the state’s public accommodation law, you make a butt load of money through the whole debacle.

Just – full stop.

(source)

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New iPhone X Ad Celebrates Marriage Equality In Australia – “First Dance”

After a long, long journey to marriage equality (that included an official mail-in survey of the entire nation showing over 60% approval), same-sex weddings have begun in Australia.

And in a nod to the idea that the best camera is the one you have on you, Apple has created a new ad featuring those most romantic of wedding moments – a couple’s first dance – captured at LGBTQ weddings that were shot entirely on iPhone Xs.

Watch the very sweet spot, titled “First Dance,” below.

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Former Australian Prime Minister (And Marriage EqualityFoe) Attends Sister’s Same-Sex Wedding

(image via Instagram)

Just weeks after Australia legalized same-sex marriage, former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott attended the wedding of his sister Christine Forster to girlfriend Virginia Flitcroft.

Abbott told the media as he traveled to Sydney for the ceremony, “I’m looking forward to having a new sister-in-law.”

Sweet sentiments, but a change in tone as Abbott had opposed marriage equality all the way up to the recent “vote-by-mail” survey of the entire country on the subject.

“However deeply affectionate or long lasting it may be, the relationship between two people of the same sex cannot be a marriage because a marriage, by definition, is between a man and a woman,” said Abbott during the nationwide debate. “Let’s celebrate all strong relationships, whether they are between a man and a woman or between people of the same sex—but let’s be careful about describing every lasting sexual bond as a ’marriage’.”

Abbott refused to allow a vote in Parliament on the issue while in power, but did say the question should be put to a national referendum.

The result of the survey? Sixty-two percent of Australians said yes to equal marriage, and Parliament overwhelmingly followed suit December. The first same-sex weddings began January 9.

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Wedding Bells: First Same-Sex Active Duty Couple Weds At West Point

Capt. Daniel Hall (L) and Capt. Vincent Franchino (R)
Image via Facebook

Great news to end the work week!

Last Saturday, West Point’s Cadet Chapel hosted it’s first same-sex wedding between active-duty service members.

Captain Daniel Hall and Captain Vincent Franchino, both Apache helicopter pilots, were wed in Cadet Chapel in a ceremony officiated by a Unitarian Universalist minister.

From NewNowNext:

The two met at the academy in 2009, when Hall was a senior and Franchino was a freshman, and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was still a year away from being repealed.

“We’ve experienced everything from people feeling awkward around us to being called faggots while holding hands and walking down the street, stuff like that,” Franchino told The New York Times. “But despite what we’ve been through, nothing was worse than having served during the ‘ Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ years.”

Through those years he and Hall had to keep their sexuality—and their relationship—secret.

“We couldn’t tell the truth for fear of what would happen to us,” Franchino says. “So we put it in our minds that we were never going to say we were gay. We were never going to get made fun of, and we were certainly never going to get kicked out of the Army.”

“It’s really frustrating when two people have feelings for each other but are not allowed to act on them,” he tells the Times. “We were serving under a policy that was telling all of us—perfectly capable soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines—to lie about ourselves.”

And then came the end of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ in 2011 and a gateway to “happily ever after.”

Thirty-four military officers attended the couple’s wedding and honored them by raising their sabers in a military arch for the couple.

It’s important to note that this wasn’t the first same-sex wedding at West Point. That distinction goes to Sue Fulton and Penny Gnesin in 2012.

In 2013, Larry and Daniel Lennox-Choate became the first male same-sex couple to wed at the military academy.

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Same-Sex Marriage Officially Begins In Australia

Ring them bells! Same-sex couples began to legally marry in Australia on Tuesday.

Back in November, over 60% of Australians who responded to a non-binding postal plebiscite said “yes” to marriage equality.

Less than 3 weeks later, the Australian Senate voted “yes,” and on December 7 the House of Representatives agreed in a lopsided, nearly unanimous vote.

In Australia, there is a required 30 day waiting period once an application to marry has been made. A few couples were given special permission to wed early due to unusual circumstances.

Australia is now the 26th country to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples.

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Australia Rings In The New Year With Rainbow-Colored Fireworks In Honor Of Marriage Equality

Rainbow-colored fireworks at Sydney's New Years celebration

Australia rang in the new year with an estimated 1.5 million attending the awesome fireworks show over Sydney harbor.

This year’s show included a section with rainbow-colored fireworks in honor of the recently passed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage.

Although a few couples received special permission to wed early, the official start date for marriage equality down under is January 8.

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Podcast: SCOTUS Refuses Houston Same-Sex Marriage Benefits Review; “Call Me By Your Name” Racks Up More Awards; Tom Goss Has A Musical Message For Christmas

In this week’s podcast:

• The US Supreme Court denied the city of Houston’s request to review a court decision saying marriage equality doesn’t mean equal benefits.

• Bermuda is the first nation to legalize then repeal marriage equality.

• Gay coming of age movie “Call Me By Your Name” continues to rack up awards and nominations

• My suggestions for end of the year charitable donations.

• New music from Tom Goss “Gay Christmas”

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report

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First Same-Sex Weddings Take Place In Australia

Amy Laker and Lauren Price

History was made today in Australia as the first same-sex marriage, between Lauren Price and Amy Laker, took place in Sydney.

The couple had been planning a commitment ceremony on the date for a long time. But with Ms. Price’s family having already traveled from Wales in the UK and the recent legalization of same-sex marriage, the couple asked for special permission to marry before the new law is to take effect next month.

Another couple, Amy and Elise McDonald, surprised their 60 guests gathered for a commitment ceremony with marriage vows today as well.

Originally planned as a commitment ceremony, the couple realized they qualified for an exemption from the waiting period on financial grounds in that McDonald’s family had traveled from Asia and the United Arab Emirates for the ceremony.

Watch the TV coverage below.

Congrats to the happy couple! And to Australia!

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News Round-Up: December 14, 2017

Ben Cohen

Some news items you might have missed:

• Some #ThrowBackThursday action as I’m reminded of my major man crush on rugby champ and anti-bullying advocate Ben Cohen (above). Check out his 2018 charity calendar here.

• Researchers say having older brothers could increase the likelihood of being gay.

•  Failed Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore threw more anti-LGBT shade even as he refuses to concede his race to Democrat Doug Jones. Moore says he lost due to “sodomy” sweeping the nation.

• Just six months after legalizing same-sex marriage, Bermuda’s lawmakers have reversed course and outlawed marriage equality.

• Gay porn star sentenced to life in prison for “brutal and vicious” murder of his millionaire boyfriend.

• Afterglow, the controversial off-Broadway hit one-act play, celebrates 200 performances tonight and has added a new block of tickets through March 2018.

Via press release: The play explores the emotional, intellectual, and physical connections between three men and the broader implications within their relationships.

 The Advocate called the play “compelling and raw” and “not to be missed.”

Huffington Post wrote, “It’s clear Afterglow will be a must-see among New York theatergoers.”

Afterglow (photo: Mati Gelman)
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Australia: Same-Sex Marriages To Begin January 9, 2018

After a vastly lop-sided “Yes” vote for same-sex marriage in Australia’s Parliament, the legislation has been signed and LGBT Aussies will be able to marry within 30 days.

From ABC News:

Australia’s prime minister rushed gay marriage into law on Friday by gaining a final signature on a bill hours after it was overwhelming endorsed by Parliament and as the nation started planning weddings that can take place in a month.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull traveled to Government House where Governor-General Peter Cosgrove signed the bill into law on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II, Australia’s constitutional head of state.

Cosgrove’s signature makes gay marriage legal in Australia from Saturday, when same-sex couples who wed overseas will be recognized as married under Australian law. Couples who intend to marry must give a calendar-month notice, making gay weddings legal on Jan. 9, Turnbull said.

Let’s relive that awesome moment one more time 🙂