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Posts Tagged ‘Same sex marriage’

New Jersey Legislature Rejects Marriage Equality

7:19 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · GLBT|New Jersey · 5 Comments

8 Jan 2010

If it didn’t happen in NY, I didn’t expect it to happen in New Jersey. Yesterday, the New Jersey state Senate on Thursday voted down a bill to legalize gay marriage.

Minutes after the bill was defeated 20-14, gay rights advocates announced they would file a lawsuit seeking to get the state’s top court to order New Jersey to recognize same-sex matrimony.

The state Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that the state must provide all the benefits of marriage to committed gay couples. In response, the Legislature legalized civil unions for gay couples.

So not all is lost in the Garden State.

Via / The San Francisco Gate

Washington D.C. Passes Gay Marriage Legislation

12:37 pm By la Macha · GLBT · 4 Comments

17 Dec 2009

marriage1 In good news, the city legislature in D.C. just voted to legalize same-sex marriages!

City lawmakers voted this afternoon to legalize same-sex marriages, making the District of Columbia the fifth jurisdiction in the country to have its elected legislature pass such a measure.

“Today is the final step in a long march toward equality in the District of Columbia,” said At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson, who shepherded the bill through the D.C. Council.

The council now will present the bill for Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s signature, which is likely to come Thursday. Once the bill is signed, it will be transmitted to Congress, where it will await the end of a 30-legislative-day review period.

The thing I’m wondering about this vote: I heard about the vote not on any LGBT site or from the mouth of Dan Savage. I heard about it from all the peeps I follow on facebook. Which immediately made me wonder: Why is it when the failure of a pro-marriage vote can be blamed on communities of color, we never hear the end of it–but when the passage of pro-marriage legislation can be directly attributed to communities of color, we never hear about it at all?

Ay New York, You’ve Let Me Down : Gay Marriage Bill Fails to Pass in State Senate

3:49 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · GLBT|New York|Politics · 2 Comments

2 Dec 2009

I’m supposed to be working another job right now and not blogging, pero I wanted to express extreme disappointment in the The Marriage Equality Act not passing in the NY State Senate.
The vote was 38-24.

Hiram Monserrate, my state senator, whom I have written about, apparently has no love for women, and has no love for the many LGBT residents in his district and trust me, there are many. He, a Democrat, voted against the act, and I would be more than down to help organize some sort of protest in front of this vendegente’s office.

Gay Marriage in Maine: Will Prop 8 Repeat Itself?

11:31 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Controversia|GLBT|Justice|Maine|society · 1 Comment

17 Sep 2009

Back in April, we told you about how Maine had just become yet another U.S. state to legalize marriage between two people of the same sex, and that was something to celebrate — back then, that is. As has been the case in many states passing such legislation, the backlash is strong and often catches us, who are busy celebrating, off guard.

Such was the case in California and that intricately mobilized hate campaign had serious consequences. And the same is beginning to play out in Maine, where the fate of gay marriage is now in the hands of voters, who will be asked to cast their ballot for or against Question 1, an initiative that if passed would overturn the law. Playing dirty apparently pays, and it appears that gay marriage opponents in Maine have figured that out, as this is what the citizens of that state are currently getting on their TV screens:

Funny, that “gay marriage will be taught in schools” ~~rhetoric~~ lie was precisely the “gota que colmó el vaso” in the California Prop 8 debate. Many believe that inserting that little piece of bigoted dishonesty is what put on the fence voters on the side of voting against civil rights for Californians:

Very original Maine homophobes! Luckily, gay marriage supporters have put together some great ads of their own, taking the high road and showing what “family values” are really all about. Check them out after the jump.

Prop 8 in Cali to be decided today

12:20 pm By la Macha · GLBT · 3 Comments

26 May 2009

artprop8gi And as I was writing this post, the decision came out: Prop 8 is upheld (which makes same sex marriages are illegal), but the 18,000 couples that got married when same sex marriage was legal are still considered “real.”

More as news breaks.

Edited: Here is the Supreme Court decision in PDF format

EDITED: Here is live CBS coverage the protests going on in San Fran right now.

Clergy Says Same-Sex Marriage Isn’t About Civil Rights

19 May 2009

noahs-arc …apparently because being gay “is a choice”:

“We know what we have gone through as an ethnic group. We feel the terminology, the definition itself, has really been hijacked,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s just another ploy to garner more support from people who may not understand what the civil rights struggle was all about.”

Bishop Michael A. Badger, pastor of Bethesda World Harvest International Church on Main Street, said that he doesn’t doubt there is discrimination against gay people but that it is hardly on the order of what African-Americans have encountered and still face.

“As an African-American, I don’t have a choice in the color of my skin. I have a choice in whether I’m abstinent or not,” Badger said. “I don’t think you can compare the two.”

Actually he said because “abstinence” is “a choice”. Well, that makes even less sense.

Just because the two issues aren’t exactly the same doesn’t mean they aren’t both about civil rights. And sorry, I think we can draw more parallels between the civil rights movement and the fight for gay rights than with the fight against gay marriage. To quote journalist Earl Ofari Hutchison: “Homophobia and racism are frequently two sides of the same coin.”

Let’s be honest. I’d rather get schooled on said parallels and what the civil rights movement was about by Coretta Scott King than from this guy.

Oh, and for those of you who wonder why this issue is even important, read this story from today’s NYT.

What do you think?

Via / Buffalo News

Image via LogoOnline(Noah’s Arc)

New Hampshire Governor to Make Gay Marriage a Reality

12:58 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · GLBT|Justice|New Hampshire|society|States · 1 Comment

15 May 2009

After a landmark decision in New Hampshire’s legislature late last month which would make gay marriage legal in the New England state, this dream is coming closer to becoming a reality as the governor said today that he will sign the bill when it comes across his desk — with a few modifications.

New Hampshire Governor John Lynch says that when a new draft of the bill comes his way — one which will allow churches to refuse to marry gay couples if this goes against their beliefs — he will indeed sign the bill into law. This would also apply to wedding service providers (think caterers, florists) as well, who will not be able to be sued for discrimination if they refuse to provide their services. Legislators have agreed with the changes and will provide churches “protection” from having to perform same-sex ceremonies if their traditions don’t allow it.

Governor Lynch had some inspiring words today with regard to the legislature’s decision and his own new way of thinking:

Lynch, a Democrat, had loomed as a possible obstacle in New Hampshire. The governor had supported civil unions but consistently opposed gay marriage. But his thinking changed, he said yesterday.

“Throughout our history, our society’s views of civil rights have constantly evolved and expanded,” Lynch said in a nearly 600-word statement. He cited New Hampshire’s tradition of landing “on the side of individual liberties and protections,” adding, “That is what I believe we must do today.”

The passage of the gay marriage bill in New Hampshire’s and Maine’s legislatures makes 6 states in the U.S. that allow or will allow same sex marriage. In New England, the only one that still prohibits it is Rhode Island.

Via / Boston Globe

Mexico City backs Same-sex Civil Unions

8:41 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · GLBT|mexico · 3 Comments

10 Nov 2006

The assembly of Mexico City passed a law clearing the way for recognizing civil unions between same-sex couples. While this is in no way a gay marriage law, it certainly is groundbreaking legislation in the morally conservative capital city of Mexico. Mexico City Mayor Alejandro Encinas is widely expected to ratify the law.

Under the law, Mexico City’s gay couples who register their union with civil authorities will gain access to inheritance and pension rights.
Unmarried heterosexual couples can also register under the same law.
A similar bill is being debated by lawmakers in Mexico’s northern state of Coahuila, bordering Texas.

As the law was being passed inside, outside many protested calling the law legalizing unnatural acts.

Via / BBC News

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