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New York Mayoral Candidate Christine Quinn Marries Partner

Monday, May 21st, 2012

Out Lesbian Christine Quinn Marries Partner Kim Catullo

Christine Quinn, a leading mayoral candidate for 2013, and Catullo, an attorney, married in an evening ceremony at the Highline Stages in Chelsea attended by family members, friends and the city and state’s political elite.

The roster of elected officials among the nearly 300 invited guests included Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Representatives Carolyn Maloney, Nydia Velazquez, Joseph Crowley, and Charles Rangel, State Senator Tom Duane, Assemblymember Daniel O’Donnell, and a dozen City Council members. Other political figures in attendance according to various reports included Sally Susman, Quinn’s finance chairwoman and a major Obama campaign bundler, labor leader Randi Weingarten and the lobbyist Emily Giske, who introduced Quinn to Catullo in 2001.

The evening ceremony was closed to the press, but journalists outside the venue offered Twitter updates about the comings and goings. Gay City News reports that shortly after 7 p.m., a spokesman emerged to announce that Quinn and Catullo, who are both 45, were officially married. Former Chief Judge Judith Kaye, who wrote the dissent in a 2006 court ruling that found same-sex couples had no right to marry in New York, officiated. Audra McDonald sang “She Loves” by George and Ira Gershwin before heading uptown to Broadway, where she is appearing in Porgy and Bess.

Gay City News offers more details about what the brides wore and their walk down the aisle.

“Quinn, dressed in a full-length, cream gown designed by Carolina Herrera, was walked down the aisle by her father, Lawrence. Catullo, wearing a cream silk evening suit from Ralph Lauren, was accompanied by her father, Anthony. The couple exchanged rings designed by Doyle & Doyle.

 READ More from The Advocate Article

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Updates Policy for Transgender Immigrants

Sunday, April 15th, 2012

Immigration and TransgenderThe U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Friday issued a policy memorandum revising the treatment of gender designations for transgender people on their immigration documents.

The new guidance designates that if a couple has married as an opposite-sex couple under state law, the federal government will continue to recognize the marriage for immigration purposes regardless of a person’s subsequent gender transition.

The revisions update the Adjudicator’s Field Manual, a guide binding all USCIS staff overseeing immigration procedures.

Full Story from LGBTQ Nation

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France: Gay Muslims Say Muhammad Would Approve Their Marriage

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012

French Muslim Couple and MarriageA Muslim who became the first French man to marry his same sex partner in an Islamic religious ceremony has said that if the prophet Muhammad were alive today he would be happy to marry same sex couples.

Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed was born in Algeria in 1977 and moved to Paris as a child. He told The Local about his difficult upbringing in a religious family. “I was an effeminate child and that is not seen as a good thing in men so I had to make myself more masculine,” he said.

“At first my father thought it was an illness, then he thought it was just a phase.” He suffered physical as well as verbal abuse. “My brother often beat me up, so it was quite violent and complicated.”

Full Story from The Local

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Denying Marriage Equality Could Destroy Marriage As We Know It

Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

Marriage EqualityThe fight for same-sex marriage has been lambasted by the right as the greatest threat to the institution of marriage since divorce. “It will destroy marriage as we know it,” shout the voices of fear and hate.

Guess what? Those voices are potentially right. But achieving marriage equality for gays, lesbians and bisexual Americans in committed same-sex relationships is not what will destroy marriage as we know it. If LGBTs and our allies lose the battle to strike down unjust laws such as California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the loss would almost certainly end all government involvement in marriage – period.

Ask yourself, would any modern jurist dare to rule that creating a Jim-Crowe-for-gays regime is the best way to resolve the national argument about marriage equality? Can any reasonable person imagine the court setting itself up for the level of outrage that would follow a decision establishing a 21st century separate-but-equal America?

Full Story from LGBT Weekly

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Radio Host Says Gays Want to Destroy Marriage Because They Are Jealous

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

AFA radio host Kevin McCullough is very upset about being included in GLAAD’s Commentator Accountability Project which launched yesterday. Right Wing Watch grabbed today’s tirade from McCullough included these choice bits:

I don’t believe that you can be gay. I believe that people engage in homosexual behavior, and I believe that homosexual behaviors can end up killing you, and I think that homosexual behaviors when acted upon in the teenage years greatly increases the likelihood if you’re male that you will try to commit suicide.

They also said that ‘Kevin once said that gay couples both despise marriage and are seeking to destroy it.’ How is that not true? If homosexuals who want to engage in homosexual behavior therefore sexually couple just like themselves, if they are wanting to change the definition of marriage then they are wanting to destroy what current marriage is, that’s just a factual statement that I made.

Full Story from Towleroad.com

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Italy: Court Says Gays Who Marry Abroad Can Bring Partner to Italy

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

Italy Ruling for Binational CouplesThe non-EU foreigner, who married an Italian citizen of the same sex, has the right to move in Italy and obtain a residence permit.

This was established by the Court of Reggio Emilia which agreed with a Uruguayan man who, after his wedding in Spain with his partner of Italian nationality, did not received the residence permit by the Italian Police, because gay marriages are not allowed by the national legislation. A justification which was not considered valid by the Judge of Reggio Emilia.

Full Story from west-info.eu

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NC: Catholic Church Fires Music Director for Marrying His Partner

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

North Carolina Music Director FiredSt. Gabriel Catholic Church in South Charlotte, NC, fired its musical director last month because he married his partner in New York, the Charlotte Observer reported.

Steav Bates-Congdon, 61, began working at St. Gabriel in 2004 and parishioners claim that Bates-Congdon was open about being gay since his first interview with the church. Even his partner of 23 years, Bill Bates-Congdon, 47, was often involved in the church’s music department and ended up joining the hand-bell choir.

St. Gabriel is one of the biggest parishes in the city and has about 10,000 members. The couple married in a state park in Upstate New York on Oct. 15. Bates-Congdon returned to St. Gabriel on Jan. 19 after a going on a honeymoon and having to go to the hospital due to his appendix rupturing. Instead of being greeted by his co-workers, Rev. Frank O’Rourke, a pastor and a colleague of Bates-Congdon, handed the music director a note.

Full Story from Edge Boston

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Russia: Gay Flight Attendant Told to Marry Woman or Be Fired

Sunday, January 29th, 2012

Russia’s so homophobic, it won’t even tolerate gay flight attendants.
Maxim Kupreev is a 25-year-old flight attendant employed by Aeroflot, Russia’s largest airline. In order to change the prevailing anti-gay atmosphere in his workplace, Kupreev decided to organize a group of LGBT Aeroflot employees. In response, his bosses commanded him: Marry a woman or you’re fired.

From GayStarNews:

The creation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group in Aeroflot was announced on 20 June 2011. At this time, Kupreev, the founder of the group said it would fight for the direct inclusion of discrimination ban on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity into internal documents of Aeroflot. His group also planned to fight for the recognition of same-sex partners of the employees.

Full Story from Towleroad.com

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Neil Patrick Harris Ready to Marry Partner

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

Los Angeles: Actor Neil Patrick Harris detests it when people refer to David Burtka as his gay partner. He feels “husband” would be a more appropriate word, and hints at tying the knot with the chef.

The 38-year-old has been involved with Burtka for over five years and is now eager to marry him, reports showbizspy.com.

“I`m not the biggest fan of the word `partner`. It either means that we run a business together or we`re cowboys. `Boyfriend` seems fleeting, like maybe we met two weeks ago,” said Harris.

Full Story from Zee News

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Santorum Would Change US Tax Code to Favor “Traditional” Marriage Even More

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

Rick Santorum’s socially conservative brand has helped him break through with a last-minute surge in Iowa. But his agenda isn’t restricted to reimposing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” outlawing gay marriage nationwide, or promoting prayer in public schools. Santorum also wants to use the federal tax incentives to promote traditional marriage and families.

(Associated Press – Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum. )
“Tax policy as social policy” is the most distinguishing characteristic of Santorum’s tax reform platform. The Pennsylvania Republican wants to reduce taxes by tripling the child tax credit, which currently stands at $1,000 per child.

Santorum also wants to reduce federal taxes that penalize married couples. Under the current tax code, some spouses who earn about the same salary on the middle-to-upper end of the spectrum pay more in taxes by filing jointly as a married couple than they would as individuals. Justin Wolfers explains further: “The U.S. has a household-based taxation system which subsidizes married families when one person stays home and taxes most people extra if they choose to marry and both work full-time. The average tax cost of marriage for a dual-income couple is $1,500 annually.”

Full Story from The Washington Post

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