house

...now browsing by category

MN: House Committee to Conduct Hearing on Gay Marriage Next Week

Friday, February 19th, 2010

The House Civil Justice Committee will be the first in Minnesota’s history to conduct a hearing on the possibility of legalizing same-sex marriage in the state. Three bills will be up for discussion on Monday, and all three are supportive of expanded relationship rights for Minnesota’s same-sex couples.

The Marriage and Family Protection Act would make marriages in Minnesota gender neutral, a civil unions bill is also being proposed and another bill would recognize same-sex marriage performed in states where it is legal, such as neighboring Iowa.

“The hearing will be historic because it is the first time a committee in our state Legislature will be looking at what enacting marriage equality means for Minnesota,” said OutFront Minnesota, the state’s largest LGBT equality group.

Full Story from The Column
Click here for gay marriage resources.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in committee hearing, Gay Marriage, house, marriage equality, minnesota, mn, same sex marriage | No Responses »

WV: House Committee Blocks GOP Anti Gay Marriage Amendment Bill

Friday, February 12th, 2010

The West Virginia legislative session reached its halfway point Thursday, and lawmakers have fulfilled predictions that they would be taking it slow this year.

…

The primary election in May and the November general election typically make legislators reluctant to raise contentious issues. But that hasn’t stopped some from trying.

The House Constitutional Revision Committee voted 6-19 Wednesday to reject a GOP-led bid to force an anti-gay marriage proposal onto the agenda. The measure seeks to ask voters to amend the state constitution and define marriage as being between one man and one woman. Supporters of that proposal have not ruled out further attempts to advance it.

Full Story from Forbes
Click here for gay marriage resources.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in ban, constitutional amendment, Gay Marriage, gop, house, marriage equality, same sex marriage, west virginia, wv | No Responses »

IA: House & Senate Reject Gay Marriage Ban

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Both the Iowa House and Senate on Tuesday rejected Republican-led efforts to move forward on a resolution to repeal same-sex marriage. The actions were procedural and not direct votes on the issue of marriage. They centered on identical joint resolutions in each chamber seeking to amend the Iowa Constitution to specify the state will recognize only marriage between one man and one woman.

Republicans sought to pull the resolutions out of committees so that they would be placed on the debate calendar and avoid a legislative deadline this week.

No vote was taken on Senate Joint Resolution 2001. However, all 18 Senate Republicans signed a petition circulated by Sen. David Johnson, R-Ocheyedan, as well as one Democratic senator, Tom Hancock, D-Epworth. They needed 26.

Full Story from the Des Moines Register
Click here for gay marriage resources.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in Gay Marriage, gay marriage ban, house, ia, iowa, marriage equality, reject, same sex marriage, senate | No Responses »

IA: GOP To Try to Force Gay Marriage Ban Out of Committee

Friday, February 5th, 2010

A legislative push to overturn the Iowa Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage is likely to begin Monday, according to the state’s largest gay-rights organization. After numerous meetings at the Capitol Thursday, Brad Clark, campaign director for One Iowa, told The Iowa Independent that he expects Republican lawmakers in the Iowa House to attempt to bring about a vote on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage by invoking Rule 60, which allows a majority vote on the floor of the House to pull a bill out of a committee even if the committee has not approved it.

Democratic leadership has repeatedly promised that the legislature would not discuss gay marriage this session. Gay-rights advocates have long believed conservative lawmakers would attempt some procedural move to force a vote on the issue in spite of Democratic opposition.

In the closing days of the 2009 legislative session, Republicans in both the House and Senate made numerous attempts to force a vote on a constitutional ban on gay marriage, including attaching it to a tax proposal and the state’s Health and Human Services budget. Democrats successfully blocked the efforts.

Full Story from the Iowa Independent
Click here for gay marriage resources in Iowa.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in ban, committee, Gay Marriage, gop, house, ia, iowa, marriage equality, republicans, same sex marriage | No Responses »

Bill Introduced in US House to Penalize States With Gay Adoption Bans

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

A federal bill introduced Monday would penalize states with anti-gay adoption laws, gay weekly the Washington Blade reported.

Congressman Pete Stark’s Every Child Deserves a Family Act would deny funding to states that ban gay, lesbian, transgender and unmarried people from adoption or foster programs.

“Despite the shortage of adoptive and foster parents and the terrible consequences of long stays in the child welfare system, some states have enacted discriminatory bans prohibiting children from being placed with qualified parents due to the parent’s marital status or sexual orientation,” Stark said on the House floor.

Full Story from On Top Magazine: http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=4731&MediaType=1&Category=26

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in congressman, gay adoption, house, house bill, penalize, pete stark, states | No Responses »

John Boehner Says Christians Are Born That Way, But Gays Aren't

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

You were born a Christian, not born gay. Religion is not a choice.

Or so the spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) would have you believe. Questioned about why the House’s top Republican opposes a hate crimes bill penalizing violence against gays, his spokesman said he “supports existing federal protections (based on race, religion, gender, etc) based on immutable characteristics,” just not protections for things like being gay — which conservatives occasionally claim is a choice.

“He does not support adding sexual orientation to the list of protected classes,” Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith added. The statement was made in an email to CBS News.

Full Story from The Raw Story: http://rawstory.com/2009/10/religion-is-not-a-choice-but-being-gay-is-gop-leaders-spokesman-says/