Three States Eye Overturning Bans on Same-Sex Marriage
Published November 12, 2009 @ 11:51AM PT
What do Michigan, Ohio and Oregon have in common? Well, in addition to having the really delightful acronym, MOO, they are all three states where rumblings are afoot to overturn constitutional bans on gay marriage.
Overturning bans in these three states is an endeavor that's years away, and will be at the mercy of either state legislators or voters at the ballot box. But the fact that there's now space in the marketplace of ideas to push for overturning these bans -- all of which were just enacted within the past five years -- is a sign that marriage equality advocates have come a long way since the darkest days of this decade when gay marriage bans were as popular as ice cream. What a difference a few years can make.
Catholic Church Ready to Throw Homeless Under Bus in Order to Stop Gay Marriage
Published November 12, 2009 @ 06:15AM PT
The Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. has issued an ultimatum to the District's city council: approve same-sex marriage, and the Church will stop serving the city's disadvantaged, including the homeless.
Guess that Catholic Church commitment to the poor is only skin deep. For the Catholic Church to threaten the lives of homeless people and others who depend on church social services just to gain political points on the issue of gay marriage is sad, sorry, and a sign that no religious instutition in the country is willing to stand in the way of civil rights for gays and lesbians more than the Catholic Church.
The temper tantrum being thrown by the D.C. Church is being portrayed as a direct threat to the Washington, D.C. City Council. Listen to us, the church says, or we'll throw this city's poor and homeless in front of the closest Metro train.
A Really Good Week for Lesbian Ministers
Published November 11, 2009 @ 08:14PM PT
It's been a very good week for lesbian clergy. First Sweden consecrates the world's first lesbian bishop, Lutheran Eva Brunne, and now a section of the Presbyterian Church of the United States has voted, albeit by a mere 18 votes, to ordain their first lesbian minister. It's good news for Lisa Larges, who if everything continues to move forward, will be known from this point on as Rev. Lisa Larges.
Larges' appointment as minister had been blocked for fifteen years by folks who thought ordaining gay clergy would cause the sky to fall on the Presbyterian Church. Less than 24 hours after voting 156-138 to finally allow Larges to be a Reverend, the sky is still floating above. And the Presbyterian Church has taken a giant step toward inclusion.
In a statement released after the vote, Larges noted that the times they are a-changin'. Next thing you know the official Mormon Church might be supporting a gay rights measure.
Remembering Veterans by Working to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
Published November 11, 2009 @ 06:57AM PT
Despite the fact that gay marriage advocates lost a heartbreaking vote in Maine last week, there was one individual whose story emerged from the election that has managed to not only go viral throughout the Internet, but has captured the hearts and minds of equality advocates. That man is Philip Spooner, and he's a World War II vet who talked publicly about what the idea of gay marriage and equal rights meant to him.
"A woman at my polling place asked me, 'Do you believe in equality for gay and lesbian people?'" Spooner said. "I asked her, 'What do you think our boys fought for at Omaha Beach?' I haven't seen so much blood and guts, so much suffering, much sacrifice. For what? For freedom and equality. These are the values that give America a great nation, one worth dying for."
Spooner's comments get at the heart of what Veterans Day -- being celebrated today -- is all about. Yes, it's certainly about remembering fallen soldiers and those that served this country. But it's also about the promise of equality and freedom, values that are supposed to apply to everyone in this country, regardless of sexual orientation.
Rhode Island Governor Doesn't Want You Attending Your Partner's Funeral
Published November 10, 2009 @ 02:55PM PT
Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri has a message for gays and lesbians in his state, and it's about as disgusting a message as any right-wing politician has ever given in this country. Today, the man who might be the worst governor in the entire country vetoed a bill that would have allowed gays and lesbians in the state to plan funeral arrangements for their deceased partners.
That's right, Gov. Carcieri thinks that gay people are too immoral to be allowed to plan the funerals of the people they share their lives with. Homophobic would be putting Gov. Carcieri's actions a bit too mildly. The apt word here is downright hateful and mean.
And the reasoning behind Gov. Carcieri's decision to veto the bill is about as logical as a four-year-old trying to do his parents taxes. Carcieri, you see, thinks that allowing gay people to plan the funerals of their partners is a bit too close to marriage.
"This bill represents a disturbing trend over the past few years of the incremental erosion of the principles surrounding traditional marriage, which is not the preferred way to approach this issue," said Gov. Carcieri.
Here's the problem with the Governor of Rhode Island. He has his head so far up the ass of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), that the man can't grasp that planning the funeral arrangements for a dead partner have absolutely nothing to do with marriage. But that's the next step for organizations like NOM, right? Once they get finished trying to make sure gay people can't be together in life, they can start making sure that gay people can't be together in death.
To make matters even worse, the bill he vetoed would have allowed state medical examiners to release the bodies of gays and lesbians to their surviving partners. But nope, the Governor thinks that's too close to marriage, too.
There is nothing decent about what Gov. Carcieri did today. All this man has left are the sad remnants of a political career that will wrap up in less than a year, with no future other that parading around as a standard-bearer for radical right-wing anti-gay groups. He's Carrie Prejean in eleven months, only without the sex tape (thank GOD!).
The World's First Lesbian Bishop
Published November 10, 2009 @ 12:11PM PT
Eva Brunne is 55 years old, the mother of a three-year-old, and armed with a pastoral smile that could probably melt that hardest of hearts. Oh, and she's got one other title she can now hang under her hat: she's the world's first openly lesbian bishop.
Bishop Brunne became, well, "Bishop" Brunne this past weekend during a ceremony in Sweden. Her consecration as Bishop comes just two weeks after the Lutheran Church of Sweden, of which Brunne is a member, said that they would approve recognizing same-sex marriages.
Even more significant? Brunne is part of a Communion of Lutherans that spans 6.9 million members worldwide, making it the largest Lutheran Church in the world.
What Marriage Means to Ellen DeGeneres
Published November 09, 2009 @ 06:59PM PT
When gay marriage is put on a ballot, it's often hard to capture how very personal the issue is for thousands of gay and lesbian couples who make the commitment to be with each other, til death do themselves part. Today, perhaps the most famous lesbian in the entire world talked about what marriage meant for her and her partner.
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi appeared on Oprah, and they were asked about their relationship. Ellen nailed it out of the park when she described what marriage meant to their relationship. Simply put, this is why this battle is worth fighting for, even if it's painful.
"Anybody who's married knows there is a difference," said DeGeneres. ""It feels like you're home. There's an anchor, there's a safety. I'm going to be with [Portia] until the day I die and I know that."
DeGeneres and De Rossi happen to be one of the approximately 18,000 same-sex couples who were able to get married in California before the passage of Proposition 8 last year. They're lucky. Thousands of other couples looking for that same safety and feeling of home don't have access to it, and won't until Prop 8 can be overturned at the ballot box.
Check out the clip after the jump of DeGeneres and De Rossi. Maybe their words are a good omen that New York will be passing marriage equality this week? Perhaps if a few NY State Senators watch this clip...
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