July, 2011

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South Africa’s Pride Flag Debuts in New York on First Day of Gay Weddings

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

South African Pride FlagWhen the designer of the South African Gay Flag announced “Joburg (Johannesburg) pride will be a sea of little Gay flags of South Africa. It will mean that the design will finally be a flying across all provinces of South Africa’s national pink community, uniting us all,” little did he know that activists from GAY USA would ensure the flag’s presence in the hallways of the New York City’s Clerk offices, as hundreds of gay and lesbian couples lined up to marry on the historic first day of same-sex marriages in the State of New York.

The Gay Flag of South Africa (GFSA) was launched at the Mother City Queer Project has gained massive momentum in the past six months.

Full Story from Gay USA

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NOM Drops Pretense That It’s a Secular Organization

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Thanks to Jeremy Hooper at Good As You for catching this at NOM’s blog:

“Our job is to make sure there is an unshakable 10 percent willing to stand up for the great truths of Genesis: we are made male and female and called to come together in love so children have a mother and a father.”

We should all thank Jeremy–and Alvin–for slogging through Fundies’ crap so we don’t have to. Lord knows I don’t have the stomach for it. National Organization for Marriage tries to present itself as a secular organization.

Full Story from Pam’s House Blend

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US: Marriage Equality Support Increasing at Accelerated Rate

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Marriage Equality SupportNational support for marriage equality is not only growing but has accelerated significantly in recent years, according to a public opinion analysis by two pollsters — one who worked for President George W. Bush, the other who serves as an adviser to President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign.

Data from several national polling organizations, including Gallup and ABC News/Washington Post, this year indicated majority support for equal marriage rights, and such support has increased by 10 percentage points in the past two years, according to a memo published by Bush pollster Jan van Lohuizen of Voter Consumer Research and Joel Benenson of Benenson Strategy Group, who served as lead strategist in the 2008 Obama campaign and now works for the president’s 2012 campaign. The memo was commissioned by Freedom to Marry, which presented the results Wednesday morning at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

“We’re not in 1996 anymore,” Freedom to Marry president Evan Wolfson said, referring to the year Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars the federal government from recognizing the marriages of same-sex couples.

Full Story from The Advocate

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NY: Actress Heather Matarazzo to Marry Partner in “Dream Wedding”

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Caroline Murphy remembers what it was like to first meet Heather Matarazzo, and what she told her mother that day. She called up her mother and said “Mom, I just met my wife.” Murphy and actress heather Matarazzo are planning on getting married now that New York has legalized same-sex marriage in that state.

Matarazzo has played characters like Dawn Weiner in “Welcome to the Dollhouse” and Sadie Atkins in the upcoming “Manson Girls.” Still, she and Murphy are not only planning to get married, but to start a family.

Matarazzo has said that she sees herself and Murphy as complete beings who came together to help one another grow. She stated “I don’t believe that I’ve found my other half. That would mean I was thinking of myself as incomplete.” She also said “My eyes and spirit have opened up since I found someone that I get to share my life with.”

Full Story from Lez Get Real

Click here for gay wedding resources in New York.

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HRC Plans Nationwide Marriage Equality Bus Tour in August

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

HRC Marriage Equality Bus TourThe Human Rights Campaign announced this week that it will launch a nationwide “LGBT Equality” bus tour in August with stops planned for 17 cities in 11 mostly conservative states in the Midwest and South over a 12-week period.

The national LGBT rights group says its aim is to draw attention to the fact that LGBT people lack legal protections in these states in employment, housing and public accommodations.

A lack of legal protection for same-sex relationships, including LGBT families with children, will also be discussed through workshops, forums and other events in the locations where the bus will stop, HRC said.

Full Story from The Washington Blade

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NC: Gay Marriage Ban May Not Be a Clear Winner for the GOP

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Legislative Republicans are weighing whether to add a gay marriage ban to the state constitution, but it may not provide the election boost they’re hoping for.

A political science professor said he doesn’t expect an amendment restricting marriage to one man and one woman to draw many voters who wouldn’t otherwise be motivated to head to the polls. Opinion polls from the past year are mixed on how much support there is for such an amendment.

Republicans in the state House on Wednesday proposed expanding their week-long redistricting session to consider constitutional amendments, but later discarded the idea. Lawmakers and interest groups had complained about the surprise move.

Full Story from JD News

Click here for gay wedding resources in North Carolina.

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President Obama Dragging His Feet on Marriage Equality

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

President Obama’s endorsement of a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act is a morale boost to those who have long fought for an end to statutory barriers to equality for gays and lesbians. But he took his time getting there.

The act, called DOMA, defines marriage in federal law as between a man and a woman only and forbids same-sex couples from receiving the same federal rights and benefits available to heterosexual married couples — even if the same-sex couple has been married in a state, such as Connecticut, that permits it.

DOMA is, on its face, discriminatory. Besides, the issue should be left up to the states.

Full Story from the Hartford Courant

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Larry Kramer: I Want Marriage Equality, Just Not Inequality

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Larry KramerYesterday, playwright (The Normal Heart) and activist Larry Kramer sent out an open letter via journalist Rex Wockner in response to a quote that was published in The New York Times insinuating that he hates the fact that gays are marrying.
Here he corrects the paper:

LARRY KRAMER RESPONDS TO SOME MISINFORMED CRITICS

It is very difficult to take a strong position in the gay world without being, at the least, misunderstood, and at the most extreme, vilified mercilessly. I suppose it’s like this in the straight world as well. Perhaps I shouldn’t bitch so when I’m taken to such extremes as a recent quote from me in The New York Times has provoked. I have always maintained fervently that in our world, in any world, you have to speak loudly and boldly to be heard at all.

And my loud voice, which I cherish and try to use as much as I can to aid causes and beliefs I support, is one I wish everyone else also possessed and used. God, whoever made us, gave us voices to use, to speak up with. So I shouldn’t complain when my anger comes back to hit me in the face. Usually I don’t. Usually I’m pleased when my words provoke a usually passive population into getting off their asses and, well, using their own voice.

Full Story from Towleroad.com

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Featured Gay Friendly Wedding Vendor: Weddings My Way, Calgary

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Periodically we’ll feature one of our vendors here to let our readers know about some great people who can help you plan the perfect wedding.

Gay Friendly Alberta Wedding Vendors

Weddings My Way - CalgaryRev. Nadene will create a sacred celebration for you and your loved one. Whether you prefer a traditional religious ceremony or a denominational, spiritual ceremony, all celebrations are personalized to reflect the qualities of your love.

Her profound and sophisticated writings will capture the essence behind your decision to wed just as her spontaneous and inclusive nature will extend to your family and guests so that everyone present becomes a part of the celebration.

This is a time of deep commitment when two hearts join as one – supporting each other’s self discovery and changing their perspective of the world around them. Your ceremony will be presented with the reverence, the respect and the joy in which your commitment was first made.

See the Weddings My Way Expanded Listing on Purple Unions Here

Marriage Equality Events Today/Tomorrow: Vancouver, Minneapolis, Seattle

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Gay Marriage EventsHere’s our list of events today and tomorrow around the world relating to marriage equality, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and other LGBT equality issues. If you know of any other events – rallies, meetings, phonebanking, etc – please use the link below to add your event to our list!

–Canada, BC, Vancouver: 07/26-07/28, Vancouver 2011 Outgames Human Rights Conference.
–USA, MN, Minneapolis: 07/27, Data Entry Night With Out Front Minnesota, OutFront MN Office, 5:30-8 PM.
–USA, WA, Seattle: 07/27, Equal Rights WA Volunteer Night, Equal Rights WA Office, 6-9 PM.

Full Events List/Add Your Own Event: http://www.purpleunions.com/mn/gay-marriage-events-list.html