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Australia: Senate Votes 45-5 Against Gay Marriage, 26 Absent

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

The Australian Senate today rejected a bill to give equal marriage rights to gay citizens. The bill was introduced by the Greens but was defeated 45-5, just days before the world’s biggest gay celebration, Sydney Mardi Gras. Twenty-six senators were absent from the vote, with some of these choosing to abstain because they disagreed with their parties’ official stances against same-sex marriage.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who introduced the bill, said: ”There may have been a group of senators voting to keep discrimination against same-sex couples being able to marry the one they love, but well over one-third of all senators were absent for the final vote, presumably the only form of protest open to them.”

Marriage equality campaigners claim that 60 per cent of Australian citizens support the right of gay couples to marry. Alex Greenwich of Australian Marriage Equality, said it was “arrogant” of Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd to “ignore” the public.

Full Story from Pink News
Click here for gay marriage resources in New York.
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 australia, Gay Marriage, marriage equality, same sex marriage, senate vote | No Responses »

IN: Senate to Debate Gay Marriage Ban Tomorrow

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Although this is a Chicago based blog, I can’t help but share with you news about debate that will be going on in Indiana to ban gay marriage this Wednesday.

Indiana’s Marriage Discrimination Amendment, Senate Joint Resolution 13 (SJR-13) authored by Senator Carlin Yoder will be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010, at 9:00 am in the Senate Chambers at the Indiana State House.

“The Marriage Discrimination Amendment violates every Hoosier’s basic right to fairness and equality. It’s just an attempt to distract Hoosiers from the greater issues facing Indiana, threatening our state’s current and future economic development” stated Indiana Equality Action President Randy Studt.”

Full Story from What’s a Boy to Do

Click here for gay marriage resources in Indiana.

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, Gay Marriage, in, indiana, marriage equality, same sex marriage, senate vote | No Responses »

NJ: Gay Marriage Supporters Ask for Thursday Vote

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

A contentious gay marriage bill in the New Jersey Legislature will face a major obstacle to passage on Thursday, January 7, if its sponsors get their way. Democratic Senators Loretta Weinberg and Raymond Lesniak have asked Senate President Richard Codey, a Democrat from Essex, to hold a floor vote on the bill Thursday.

Democrats control the Senate with two votes to spare but remain divided on the bill.

The bill was punted back to the Senate on New Year’s Eve when Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts, a Democrat from Camden, said he had heard enough on the bill and was prepared to put the bill up for a vote without a committee hearing but added that the Assembly would not go first in voting for the measure.

Full Story from On Top Magazine: http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=5068&MediaType=1&Category=26

Click here for gay marriage resources in New Jersey.

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, marriage equality, new jersey, nj, same sex marriage, senate vote, Thursday | No Responses »

NJ: Gay Marriage Bill Dead?

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

LEGISLATION authorizing same-sex marriages in New Jersey has stalled in Trenton and is unlikely to pass. The vote by a Senate committee last week to release the bill for a floor vote may be as far as it can go. Its chances in the full chamber were so dim that two days later the chief sponsors of the bill withdrew it, before a scheduled vote could take place.

There are 40 senators. To pass, a bill needs 21 affirmative votes. A head count last week showed 13 senators publicly supporting same-sex marriage, including just one Republican, with 18 senators definitely opposed. The remaining nine said they were either undecided or unwilling to state their positions.

What they really want is for the legislation to go away, to disappear. However, the Senate sponsors, Democrats Loretta Weinberg of Bergen County and Raymond Lesniak of Union, did not admit defeat.

Full Story from NorthJersey.com: http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/ahearn_121609.html

Click here for gay marriage resources in New Jersey.

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 bill, Gay Marriage, marriage equality, new jersey, nj, senate vote | No Responses »

NJ: Will Gay Marriage Pass This Week?

Monday, December 7th, 2009

The New Jersey Legislature will take up a gay marriage bill one week after New York rejected a similar measure. The decision to act on the bill comes after gay activists pressure lawmakers to act. New Jersey state Senator Ray Lesniak announced the decision on Thursday.

“On Monday in the Judiciary Committee, we’re going to vote on marriage equality,” he told a crowd of over 650 gay marriage supporters who had gathered at the Statehouse.

Events in nearby New York appear to have influenced the decision to put the measure on a fast track. After defeat of gay marriage in the Senate, gay activists vowed to oust Senate Democrats who they accused of “betrayal.”

Full Story from On Top Magazine: http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=4966&MediaType=1&Category=26

Click here for gay marriage resources in New Jersey.

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, new jersey, nj, senate vote | No Responses »

NY: Republican Explains: I Voted Against Gay Marriage Because of Politics

Friday, December 4th, 2009

Is it enough to have your heart in the right place even if the decision you make is wrong? Or, in local state Sen. Jim Alesi’s case, if the vote you cast is unjust? He left me wondering about that question yesterday after we spoke about the clip, now making the YouTube circuit, of him holding his head in his hands while voting no to legalize same-sex marriage in New York.

Lots of people want to speak to the Perinton Republican these days. The New York City papers are beckoning. So deluged Thursday morning was his Albany office with venomous calls, he says, that staff there summoned State Police to monitor the lines. Comments left on his Facebook page changed from appeals to support marriage equality to warnings that he’s going to lose the next election.

Alesi says he’s planning now to visit with a few people he’s disappointed in hopes of rebuilding frayed ties.

Full Story from the Democrat & Chronicle: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20091204/NEWS0203/912040331

Click here for gay marriage resources in New York.

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, new york, ny, republican explains, senate vote | No Responses »

New York Governor Interviewed on Gay Marriage

Sunday, November 8th, 2009

New York Governor David Paterson has scheduled a special session of the state Senate for this Tuesday, November 10. Paterson has placed a marriage equality bill on the session’s agenda.

Yesterday, Corey Johnson and I sat down with Paterson for an exclusive interview with Paterson in his office in Harlem to discuss that bill and ask him whether or not he believes action will actually take place on Tuesday, and what conversations he’s had with Senate leadership that indicate it might be acted upon. We also ask him if he thinks Obama needs to take a stronger position on issues important to the gay and lesbian community like the ballot measure in Maine.

Says Paterson of the marriage equality bill: “People who’ve lived together for 10, 20, 30 years are waiting, hoping that this legislation will pass while they still have the breath to elicit an ‘I do’ on the altar, and I think it’s time that it happens, and if I have to see legislation fail so I can identify who voted against it to better persuade them, then I’ll take that chance.”

Full Story from Towleroad.com: http://www.towleroad.com/2009/11/paterson.html

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

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. new york, governor david paterson, interview, ny, senate vote | No Responses »

Gay Marriage Vote on Agenda for Tuesday in NY Senate

Friday, November 6th, 2009

Gov. David A. Paterson said Thursday that he would include gay marriage on the agenda of an extraordinary session he is calling for Tuesday, potentially setting up the first vote on the issue in the State Senate and a dramatic floor debate.

Senate Democratic leaders could still block the issue from coming to the floor and have done so before, though it appears more likely to be put to a vote this time. Gay rights advocates, who feared holding a vote amid a Senate leadership feud this summer, cheered the governor’s action.

The measure’s chances of passing, though, are seen as far less likely. While a same-sex marriage bill has already been passed twice in the Assembly, it faces an uphill battle in the Senate. Democrats have a shaky 32-to-30 edge in the chamber, but several Democrats have said they will vote against the measure, and no Republicans are publicly supporting it.

Full Story from the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/nyregion/06marriage.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion

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

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 agenda, Gay Marriage, governor david paterson, new york, ny, senate vote | No Responses »