November, 2011

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Romney Burnishing Anti Marriage Equality Credentials for Iowa

Monday, November 28th, 2011

Mitt Romney FlyerWith just 36 days to go until the Iowa caucuses, Mitt Romney’s first campaign brochure in the state presents the former Massachusetts governor as “the strongest Republican to beat Barack Obama and protect our values.”

Romney is “pro-life,” “pro-marriage,” and “pro-family,” the flyer boasts, highlighting his opposition to abortion and support for “a federal amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman.”

Of course, Romney hasn’t always held these beliefs: he supported a woman’s right to choose until 2005 and had said marriage should be left to the states and kept out of the hands of the federal government.

Full Story from Think Progress

Click here for gay wedding resources in Iowa.

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American Conservative Jews Wrestle With Same Sex Wedding Rites

Monday, November 28th, 2011

Having recognized gay rights with their 2006 acceptance of gay unions, Conservative rabbis are now wrestling with the issue of gay rites.

The recent efforts of three leading rabbis to construct a kosher wedding ceremony for same-sex couples hews closely to the traditional Jewish heterosexual ceremony, in an effort, they say, to ensure that same-sex couples suffer no inequality in the sacred standards governing their vows. But these efforts, ironically, are now drawing criticism from some activists for replicating aspects of the Jewish wedding rite that they consider sexist.

“In a way it’s a shame, there is an opportunity for a less problematic, more contemporary liturgy,” said Jay Michaelson, founding director of Nehirim, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Jewish group. (Michaelson is also a Forward contributing editor.)

Full Story from the Jewish Daily Forward

Click here for gay wedding resources.

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Does Australia’s Labor Left Have Votes to Change Party’s Marriage Equality Plank?

Monday, November 28th, 2011

ALP's Marriage Equality PolicyTHE ALP’s Left faction is claiming the numbers to remove from the party’s policy platform a reference to the Marriage Act which defines the union as that between a man and a woman.

And it has not given up defeating Julia Gillard’s call for a conscience vote on gay marriage, with sources saying the numbers are ”line ball” in achieving a policy change from one of opposition to outright support.

With gay marriage to be debated at this week’s ALP national conference, the Left is courting votes from the Right, which is split. The Left needs 20 extra votes from the Right to achieve a majority of 201 delegates and secure a platform change.

Full Story from the Sydney Morning Herald

Click here for gay wedding resources in Australia.

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Queensland Parliament Likely to Approve Civil Unions Thursday

Monday, November 28th, 2011

Queensland Civil Unions VoteCIVIL unions are expected to be narrowly approved in Queensland parliament on Thursday, ramping up pressure on Labor the day before gay marriage is debated at the ALP national conference.

The bill to formalise same-sex unions is expected to succeed on Labor numbers, despite at least three MPs tipped to use a conscience vote and oppose the bill.

Deputy premier Andrew Fraser, who introduced the private member’s bill last month, said the vote would be tight and attacked the Liberal National Party for ruling out a conscience vote.

Full Story from The Australian

Click here for gay wedding resources in Australia.

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Adam Lambert: Yes to Marriage Equality, But I Can’t Marry in California

Monday, November 28th, 2011

Correction from On Top Magazine: “Lambert fans told us that he wasn’t saying that he “can’t do” marriage, but lamenting the fact that gay and lesbian couples cannot marry in his home state of California. Voters in the state narrowly approved Proposition 8 in 2008.”

Adam Lambert and Gay MarriageSinger Adam Lambert has said “he can’t do” marriage. The 29-year-old Lambert briefly touched on the issue during a just-published profile in the current issue of Rolling Stone.

Lambert, who’s dating Finnish reality-television star Sauli Koskinen, said: “I’d never considered marriage before. But now that I am, I can’t do it.”

The American Idol season 8 runner-up considers marriage on the track Outlaws of Laws, which is included on Trespassing, his upcoming second studio album.

Full Story from On Top Magazine

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Hate Group Expects 9th Circuit to Uphold Prop 8 Decision

Monday, November 28th, 2011

Prop 8 RulingSave California head Randy Thomasson says he expects the Ninth Circuit Court to uphold the overturn of Proposition 8.

“It doesn’t look very good there,” he warns. “Stephen Reinhardt, he’s heading up this three-judge panel, he’s the ultimate judicial activist.”

Full Story from Joe.My.God

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NJ Lawmaker Who Opposed Marriage Equality Bill Will Now Sponsor It

Monday, November 28th, 2011

New Jersey Senator Jennifer Beck and Marriage EqualityTwo years ago, state Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth) voted against gay marriage. It is well-known that Beck has done an about-face on the issue. But The Auditor has learned that not only is she a solid “yes” vote for gay marriage, but that she plans to co-sponsor the bill when it is introduced.

“She said she would vote to override if the governor vetoes,” said state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), who, with Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), is a prime sponsor of the legislation.

The case for gay marriage is currently in state Superior Court. But Lesniak would like to press ahead. If the Senate could pass the bill and override Christie’s almost inevitable veto with a two-thirds majority, gay mariage advocates wouldn’t need to win in court. The Assembly also would have to approve the measure and be able to override a veto.

Full Story from nj.com

Click here for gay wedding resources in New Jersey.

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Nebraska: Teenager Determined to Bring Marriage Equality to State

Sunday, November 27th, 2011

Nebraska Gay MarriageOne year after filing the initiative petition to end the same-sex marriage prohibition in the state of Nebraska, Chris Dyer, 18, is more dedicated than ever in reaching the required 112,877 signatures to place the Constitutional amendment repeal onto the 2012 ballot.

…And the number of signatures required grows each day until the legal deadline for collection passes, because more Nebraskans register to vote every day.

“The idea — the true process for filing this petition — began back in ninth grade,” Chris said. “It was after I watched the movie Boys Don’t Cry that I knew I had to do this.”

Full Story from LGBTQ Nation

Click here for gay wedding resources in Nebraska.

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Australia: All Eyes on Sydney for Marriage Equality Vote

Sunday, November 27th, 2011

Australia Gay Marriage VoteThree important events for the queer, and sex and gender diverse (SGD) communities, will be held in Sydney this weekend, with each event to feature plenty of discussion on marriage rights at a time when PM Julia Gillard and her Labor colleagues will be debating similar issues at their National Conference in Darling Harbour.

In what is expected to be Australia’s largest ever public rally in support of marriage equality, thousands will march from Hyde Park to the Sydney Convention Centre on Saturday, December 3 to send a message to Labor members at the National Conference to back changes to the Marriage Act.

Cat Rose, convener for Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH), one of the organisers of the rally, told SX it was of utmost importance that peoples voices were heard, particularly in light of Gillard’s push for a conscience vote on marriage equality.

Full Story from GNN

Click here for gay wedding resources in Australia.

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President Obama to Attend Marriage Equality Celebration Fundraiser

Sunday, November 27th, 2011

New York Marriage Equality FundraiserPresident Barack Obama will attend a fundraiser celebrating the passage of gay marriage in New York.

The Wednesday event in New York City is being billed as a “small reception to celebrate the progress in the LGBT community,” the New York Post’s gossip column Page Six reported.

This is the first time Obama has attended a gay fundraiser in New York since lawmakers approved a gay marriage law in June. Five additional states – Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Iowa – and the District of Columbia allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.

Full Story from On Top Magazine

Click here for gay wedding resources in New York.

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