August, 2011

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CA: Goodwin Liu May Be on State Supreme Court for Prop 8 Hearing

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Via Zack Ford at Think Progress:

Goodwin Liu’s nomination to the Ninth Circuit Court may have been derailed by Senate Republicans, but his nomination to California’s Supreme Court is right on track.

The Commission on Judicial Appointments will consider Liu’s appointment Wednesday, but the State Bar’s Commission on Judicial Nominations has already given him its highest rating: “exceptionally well-qualified.”

It’s expected that, if confirmed, Liu — who has previously spoken out for marriage equality — will be seated in time for next week’s hearing on proponents’ standing in the Prop 8 case.

Full Story from Joe.My.God

Click here for gay wedding resources in California.

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Tags: california supreme court, goodwin liu, hearing, prop 8

IL: State Representative Marries Partner in Iowa

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Illinois state representative Deborah Mell has become the state’s first high-profile elected official to legally marry a same-sex spouse.

Mell (pictured, right) and Christin Baker (left) were married last week by a judge in Davenport, Iowa, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. While Iowa has marriage equality, Illinois offers gay couples only civil unions — and the couple’s marriage will be recognized as a civil union in their home state.

“Our relationship deserves marriage,” Mell told the Sun-Times Tuesday. “That’s how I feel about it. I mean there was a time in our relationship where it just wasn’t right to call Christin my ‘partner’ or my ‘friend’ … or even my ‘civil-unionized partner.’ You know she’s my wife. … We deserve those titles, those rights.”

Full Story from The Advocate

Click here for gay wedding resources in Illinois.

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Tags: illinois, iowa, state representative

The Libertarian View on Marriage Equality

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Six states and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage. Most so-called liberals are happy about that. Most conservatives are not. As a libertarian, I think all consenting adults who want to commit to a life partner ought to be treated the same way.

To air this issue on my Fox Business show, I invited Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage () and David Harsanyi, libertarian columnist at The Blaze.

Brown says gay marriage threatens marriage between a man and a woman. I asked him to explain.

Full Story from Fox News

Click here for gay wedding resources.

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Tags: Gay Marriage, libertarian, view

Students From Santorum’s Alma Mater Slam Him on Marriage Equality

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Rick Santorum was slammed by students at Penn State yesterday during a discussion on same- sex marriage. In this video (below), Santorum complains that CNN host Piers Morgan called him a “bigot,” for his stance on homosexuality and marriage equality.

Students were apparently not supportive of Santorum’s bigotry, as one raised his fist in the air supporting a fellow student’s attack on the former University of Pennsylvania graduate and former Pennsylvania Senator. Santorum also uses a bridge over a swamp analogy for same- sex marriage equality, and at one point falsely claims that second- graders are being taught about “gay sex.”

“Why don’t you find protection for gay marriage in the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments?” Santorum is asked. (The 2:05 mark in the video.)

Full Story from The New Civil Rights Movement

Click here for gay wedding resources.

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Tags: alma mater, Gay Marriage, rick santorum

New Survey: Marriage Equality Attitudes By Religion

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Differences of opinion on the issue of gay marriage in the U.S. are often explained away along religious lines: nonreligious folk support its legalization while the pious are against it. But that explanation glosses over some real differences in the way religious groups perceive the issue. As it turns out, certain religious groups show starkly contrasting levels of support for same-sex marriage, according to a report released today.

According to the Public Religion Research Institute, America is evenly divided on the issue of gay marriage: 47 percent favor its legalization while another 47 percent oppose it, as can be seen in the institute’s chart above. But strong preferences manifest themselves among religious groups. Unsurprisingly, about seven in 10 of those who aren’t affiliated with any religion or who are affiliated with one other than Christianity support same-sex marriage.

What is surprising is that a slim majority of Catholics and a similar-size majority of white mainline Protestants support gay marriage too. In contrast, 60 percent of black Protestants and 76 percent of white evangelicals are against its legalization.

Full Story from the Atlantic Wire

Click here for gay wedding resources.

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Tags: Gay Marriage, religions, survey

About Those Prop 8 Tapes

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

It was not that long ago that three judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on the merits of the constitutionality of Proposition 8, California’s ban on same-sex marriage.

But, since that day, the quest to recognize gay marriages in California has taken a few twists and turns: anti-gay forces have challenged the impartiality of Judge Vaughn Walker, have vowed to appeal the adverse ruling despite being laughed out of court and, yesterday, they sought to keep a video of the trial out of view of the public.

We are all aware of the policy arguments in favor of releasing the video tape. The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the organization coordinating the pro-gay forces in the Prop 8 case, wants the videotape released to foster “integrity of the courts” and because “[i]t is difficult for people to accept what they are prohibited from observing.” Releasing the video would allow everyone to understand why Judge Walker ruled Prop 8 unconstitutional in the first place and cast aside the fear-mongering arguments of those opposed to same-sex marriage.

Full Story from Towleroad.com

Click here for gay wedding resources in California.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Response »
Tags: hearing, prop 8, video tape

Featured Gay Friendly Wedding Vendor: Reverend Deborah Roth, New York City

Wednesday, August 31st, 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 New York City Wedding Vendors

Reverend Deborah Roth is an ordained Interfaith Minister in New York City who enjoys helping couples create a wedding ceremony that reflects their unique personalities, spiritual beliefs and heartfelt feelings for each other.

Her Master’s thesis was on the power of transformative ritual, and she believes that weddings are the highest form of sacred play!

She will work together with you to create a unique, creative ceremony that beautifully (and often playfully!) expresses your love for and commitment to each other.

Please do call for a free consultation – Reverend Roth is excited to work with gay and lesbian couples now that marriage equality is a reality in New York!

See Reverend Deborah’s Expanded Listing on Purple Unions Here

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Tags: gay weddings, lesbian weddings, new york city, reverend deborah roth, wedding officiant

Marriage Equality Events Today/Tomorrow

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Gay Marriage Events Here’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!

–USA, CA, Greenbrae: 08/31, Benefit Movie: GAY USA the Movie, Jason’s, 300 Drakes Landing , 6 PM.
–USA, CA, San Francisco: 09/01, One Struggle One Fight Meeting, 209 Golden Gate Ave, 7 PM.
–USA, LA, New Orleans: 09/01-09/05, HRC “On the Road to Equality” Bus Tour, TBA, TBA.
–USA, NC, Raleigh: 08/31, Summer Equality Tour 2011, TBA, TBA.
–USA, VA, Richmond: 09/01, Summer Equality Tour 2011, TBA, TBA.
–USA, WA, Seattle: 08/31, 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

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Tags: events, Gay Marriage, marriage equality

SCOTUS Blog Wrap Up on Marriage Equality and the Constitution

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

SCOTUSBlog’s marriage equality symposium, mentioned in passing here, appears to be wrapping up. Larry Tribe thinks a case is inevitable, and makes the argument in favor of equality:

Arguments [against equality] grounded in government expression typically allege that a state’s decisions about whether to call same-sex unions “marriages” constitute a form of government speech and thus do not implicate individual rights because the government is free to “say” whatever it wishes about what the institution of “marriage” means to it.

In the alternative, but in a similar vein, one might argue that such decisions constitute a matter of purely internal government procedures – akin to the government’s decisions about how to classify persons within the census or for various bureaucratic purposes – that cannot be deemed to implicate anyone’s “rights.”

Full Story from The Dish

Click here for gay wedding resources.

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Tags: Gay Marriage, marriage equality, scotus blog

CA: State Senate Passes Gender Protection Act

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Today, the California State Senate passed the Gender Nondiscrimination Act (AB 887) in a vote of 25-13. The bill is authored by Assemblymember Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and is sponsored by Equality California, Transgender Law Center, and Gay-Straight Alliance Network. AB 887 seeks to strengthen employment, housing, and other civil rights protections for all Californians, particularly those who face discrimination based on gender identity and expression.

“AB 887 protects all Californians. No matter your skin color, your age, where you come from or whether you’re gay, straight, or transgender, we are all protected by the same rights,” said Assemblymember Atkins. “We share equal protection in employment, housing, and education. This bill ensures that no one is left out.”

While California anti-discrimination laws already define “gender” to include a person’s gender identity and gender expression, AB 887 explicitly enumerates gender identity and expression as protected categories in a number of state codes to provide clarity to those who are victims of unlawful discrimination as well as for business owners, employers and other entities required to comply with the anti-discrimination protections.

Full Story from GayUSA

Click here for gay wedding resources in California.

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Tags: california, gender protection act, senate