High Court Declines State's Direct Appeal of Same-Sex Marriage Ruling
By Maura Dolan
Times Staff Writer
August 11, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court decided Wednesday to put off for at least a year a decision on whether a state ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional.
The state high court agreed in a closed session not to hear an appeal of a trial court's ruling in favor of same-sex marriage until an intermediate Court of Appeal in San Francisco reviews the dispute.
The decision disappointed Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer, who had wanted to bypass the 1st District Court of Appeal and go directly to the Supreme Court, which has the final say on matters involving the state Constitution.
Support for an Oregon measure touches a nerve with a national conservative group, but the company says it won't be swayed
Friday, July 15, 2005
HELEN JUNG
When Nike endorsed a bill to legalize civil unions in Oregon last month, the company earned the praise of gay-rights supporters -- but also stepped into the crosshairs of a Christian-based organization some 2,000 miles away in Tupelo, Miss.
The Beaverton-based sneaker manufacturer -- thought to be among few, if any, Fortune 500 companies publicly supporting such a bill -- has become the target of an e-mail campaign led by the conservative American Family Association. The nonprofit group said that since July 8, more than 138,000 people have e-mailed Nike from the association's Web site, which includes sample wording to protest the company's support of civil unions and to state a refusal to buy Nike products.
The Columbia Association has followed the lead of the Howard County school system and government by offering full health benefits to domestic partners of the same sex.
The association implemented the policy after the Howard chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays inquired this year about the possibility of the association offering the benefits.
"We felt that would be a positive step in the right direction, in making those benefits available," association President Maggie J. Brown said. "Anytime we can enhance the benefits that we offer here, we do that across the board."
Brown said that because the policy was implemented in May, she does not know how many of the association's 300 full-time employees have taken advantage of it.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The National PTA has angered a support group for former homosexuals by rejecting them as a workshop presenter at its annual meeting that convened yesterday, while allowing a homosexual advocacy group to participate.
A major theme of this year's PTA meeting is anti-bullying and both the homosexual advocacy group Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and the rejected group, Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX) have programs on the topic.
June 14 (Bloomberg) -- New Jersey's constitution doesn't require the recognition of same-sex marriages, a state appeals court ruled today.
The 2-1 ruling was a setback for the seven gay and lesbian couples who filed the lawsuit in 2002 after local clerks refused to issue them marriage licenses in towns including Newark, Union City and Haddonfield.
``Plaintiffs' claim of a constitutional right to state recognition of marriage between members of the same sex has no foundation in the text of the constitution, this nation's history and traditions or contemporary standards of liberty and justice,'' Appellate Judge Stephen Skillman wrote for the majority.
Gay pride' features simulated sex, attacking 'mob'
Philadelphia Christians in another confrontation with 'militants'
A group of Christian protesters claims a "militant homosexual mob" threatened them with physical violence at Philadelphia's Gay Pride parade, a city-funded event that included simulated sex acts on some of the floats. Repent America, a local organization that saw four of its members acquitted of criminal charges after a similar confrontation last fall, says one float at the parade Sunday featured women, partially dressed in tight leather, bending over with their buttocks exposed and being spanked with hands, whips, and other objects.
Official Says Law Doesn't Cover Gays
Counsel Cites Lack of Authority to Enforce Discrimination Ban
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Special counsel Scott J. Bloch told a Senate panel yesterday that he lacks the legal authority to enforce the Bush administration's ban on discrimination against federal employees based on sexual orientation.
If a federal manager fires, reassigns or takes some other action against an employee simply because that employee is gay, there is nothing in federal law that would permit the Office of Special Counsel to protect the worker, Bloch testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs subcommittee on oversight of government management, the federal workforce and the District of Columbia.
Elvia Díaz
The Arizona Republic
May. 17, 2005 12:00 AM
A showdown began Monday in Arizona as conservative social activists launched a drive to put a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages on the November 2006 ballot.
The petition filed with the Secretary of State's Office would define marriage as between a man and woman and would prevent judges from ruling otherwise.
Supporters of the initiative need 183,917 signatures to place it on the Nov. 7, 2006, ballot. The measure is expected to have a substantial effect on Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano's 2006 re-election bid, potentially drawing thousands of conservative Republican voters to the polls.
Appeal planned in same-sex marriage ruling
BY LEAH THORSEN / Lincoln Journal Star
Barbara DiBernard wanted people to know the everyday consequences of Nebraska's constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. She wanted her neighbors to know the ban spread beyond restrictions dictating who can marry whom.
She said it took away her right to lobby the Legislature for fundamental protections given to heterosexual couples — being able to visit a partner in the hospital, make funeral arrangements for partners, and make other decisions that a family member would make. "It's forbidding all these other rights as well," said DiBernard, who has been with her partner, Judith M. Gibson, for nearly 17 years.
FDA to Implement Gay Sperm Donor Rules
May 5, 7:09 PM (ET)
By DAVID CRARY
NEW YORK (AP) - To the dismay of gay-rights activists, the Food and Drug Administration is about to implement new rules recommending that any man who has engaged in homosexual sex in the previous five years be barred from serving as an anonymous sperm donor.
The FDA has rejected calls to scrap the provision, insisting that gay men collectively pose a higher-than-average risk of carrying the AIDS virus. Critics accuse the FDA of stigmatizing all gay men rather than adopting a screening process that focuses on
Gay marriage bans up for votes this week in Legislature STEVE LAWRENCE Associated Press
SACRAMENTO - Gay marriage opponents get their change in the Legislature this week, but their likelihood of success isn't great.
The judiciary committees in the Senate and Assembly will consider constitutional amendments Tuesday that would bar California from recognizing same-sex marriages and limit rights and benefits given domestic partners.
The hearings come two weeks after the Assembly Judiciary Committee approved a bill by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, to authorize same-sex unions.
Catholic Group Says Unions Hurt Debate Over Amendment
POSTED: 4:44 pm EDT April 26, 2005
BOSTON -- Massachusett's highest court will consider a bid by an official from a Catholic advocacy group who wants to halt same-sex marriages.
The Supreme Judicial Court on May 2 is scheduled to hear the case brought by C. Joseph Doyle Doyle is executive director of the Catholic Action League and wants to halt same-sex marriages until residents vote on a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban the marriages.
In court papers, Doyle said gay marriages are stifling the full debate required by the amendment process.
The SJC legalized gay marriage in Massachusetts by a 4-3 vote in November 2003. The first marriages began last May.
In March 2004, legislators approved a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and woman and establish civil unions for gays.
The city of Kalamazoo will suspend health insurance and other benefits to domestic partners of gay and lesbian city employees starting in 2006, unless a court rules first that same-sex benefits are constitutional.
City Manager Pat DiGiovanni said Monday he will reluctantly end taxpayer-funded benefits to several employees in response to the state attorney general's opinion that such benefits are banned under a recent constitutional amendment on marriage.
The Kalamazoo City Commission, meanwhile, has authorized going to court for a ruling on the constitutionality of its same-sex domestic partner benefits.
HARTFORD — The House of Representatives voted late Wednesday to expand rights for gay and lesbian couples — but not before adopting a controversial amendment that limits marriage to unions between a man and a woman.
The 85-to-63 vote was practically anti-climactic following the amendment's 80-to-67 victory, which came with the support of 33 Democrats led by Speaker of the House James A. Amann, D-Milford. Earlier in the day, about 300 people opposed to civil unions rallied outside the Capitol. Then activists handed in petitions to the governor's office containing an estimated 100,000 signatures supporting the amendment. Amann voted against the underlying bill, which passed after a nearly 6-hour debate. Twenty-six of the 99 House-majority Democrats joined 37 Republicans against the legislation.
State lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday night to a bill to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination. It was expected to be signed Thursday by Gov. John Baldacci.
The bill would amend the Maine Human Rights Act by making it illegal to discriminate in employment, housing, credit, public accommodations and education based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
"We're thrilled," said Betsy Smith, executive director of Equality Maine, a gay and lesbian advocacy group. "We believe the democratic process of government happened here."
ANNAPOLIS -- The Senate yesterday approved legislation supported by homosexual rights activists that would create a registry giving unmarried couples the right to make medical decisions for each other.
The bill cleared the Senate on a 31-16 roll call, seven votes more than the number required for passage. It now goes to the House of Delegates, which passed similar legislation last year but which was waiting for Senate action before taking up this year's bill.
While the bill was promoted by homosexual rights groups, it would apply to any unmarried couple that wants to register with the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
A Maryland lawmaker last week defended his comments at an earlier meeting in Montgomery County in which he said he was "spreading the hate of homosexual activists."
Delegate Don Dwyer Jr. said he was alerting his audience to the hatred that homosexual activists have for those who oppose them and their agenda.
The Anne Arundel County Republican said he was not endorsing hatred for homosexuals.
Mr. Dwyer addressed about 200 people at a March 19 meeting organized by Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, which opposes a proposed sex education curriculum in Montgomery County.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A judge has opened the way for the nation's most populous state to follow Massachusetts in allowing same-sex couples to tie the knot, but both sides in the debate predicted a vigorous court fight first.
San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer ruled Monday that while withholding marriage licenses from gays and lesbians has been the status quo, it constitutes discrimination the state can no longer justify.
"The state's protracted denial of equal protection cannot be justified simply because such constitutional violation has become traditional," Kramer wrote. "Simply put, same-sex marriage cannot be prohibited solely because California has always done so before."
Sex Ed Revisions Blasted for Alleged Pro-Homosexual Bias
(CNSNews.com) - A new sex education program for 8th and 10th graders in Montgomery County, Md., public schools is being attacked by conservatives for allegedly advancing a homosexual agenda. The chairman of the advisory committee that drew up the sex education curriculum is a homosexual activist whose writings on a religious website include, "Gay Marriage, A Jewish Perspective."
The revised curriculum, will be piloted in three county middle schools and three high schools in mid-April and then evaluated in June. The curriculum calls for, among other things, a condom demonstration video and information about "sexual variation."
Gay unions win support
Connecticut lawmakers approve bill allowing same-sex rites
By Fred Lucas
THE NEWS-TIMES
HARTFORD — Connecticut is one step closer to granting same-sex couples many of the same rights as married people.
The legislature's Judiciary Committee on Wednesday decided against allowing full-fledged gay marriage, but members voted for a measure that would allow same-sex civil unions.
If the bill passes the full House and Senate, Connecticut would become the third state — after Vermont and Massachusetts — to grant gay couples a wide range of rights. Connecticut would be the first state to pass such a bill without a court order.
BOSTON, Feb. 23 (AP) - The state's highest court, which legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, has agreed to hear a challenge to the 1913 law being used to bar out-of-state gay couples from marrying in the state.
The law denies out-of-state couples the right to marry if it would be illegal in their home state.
The Supreme Judicial Court agreed in late January to hear the case, but no public announcement was made. Because of an earlier ruling by the court, Massachusetts last year became the only state that allows gays to marry.
Kate Holton - Reuters
Britain's Royal Navy, for centuries deeply suspicious of homosexuals in the service, announced a drive on Monday to recruit gays and lesbians.
The Navy has signed an agreement with lobbying group Stonewall to promote homosexual rights in the force and is about to advertise in the gay press for the first time.
Britain lifted its ban on gays serving in the military in 2000 following a European court ruling that their exclusion was unlawful.
Of all the armed forces branches, the navy has traditionally been the wariest of them and has long been the subject of homosexual innuendo.
Winston Churchill was alleged to have dismissed the navy as "nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash" and in the late 1960s senior admirals announced a crackdown on gays in the service, believing at least half the fleet had "sinned homosexually", public records show.
Washington -- A federal agency's efforts to remove the words
"gay," "lesbian," "bisexual" and "transgender"
from the program of a federally funded conference on suicide prevention
have inspired scores of experts in mental health to flood the agency with
angry e-mails.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that is
funding the conference on Feb. 28 in Portland, Ore. On the program, at
least until recently, is a talk titled "Suicide Prevention Among
Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender Individuals."
Fearing the contentious issue might become a distraction,
Senate President Robert E. Travaglini plans to delay a vote on gay marriage
until as late as the fall to allow the Legislature time to focus on a
busy agenda that includes health care, the budget, and job creation, senior
legislative sources said yesterday.
Travaglini's decision has not been made public, but those
familiar with his thinking say the Senate leader wants to give the newly
reorganized House leadership time to focus on the budget and other measures
before he calls a constitutional convention on the proposed amendment
to ban same-sex marriages and allow same-sex civil unions.
Gay couples sue Colo. Springs over same-sex benefits
loss
Colorado Springs - Two lesbian couples have sued the city
for revoking their same-sex benefits, claiming they were singled out because
they are gay and deprived of their right to religious freedom.
The women want a judge to reinstate the benefits, which
were provided to them in 2002 by the City Council. In April 2003, a new
council voted 8-1 to drop the benefits.
"This has nothing to do with being gay and lesbian;
it has everything to do with being treated fair," said Barb Henson,
a 911 dispatcher and plaintiff.
Utah Senate rejects attempt to soften gay 'marriage'
ban
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — After amending the state constitution
last year to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman, Utah legislators
are in no hurry to limit the effects that the homosexual "marriage"
law could have on other kinds of domestic partnerships.
The Senate overwhelmingly voted yesterday to kill a bill that would have
eased restrictions imposed by the homosexual "marriage" measure.
The legislation had come under fire from conservative lobby groups in
this heavily Republican state.
The homosexual "marriage" amendment was criticized
because it was seen as a way to deny hospital visitation or survivor's
property rights to children being brought up by grandparents or to senior
citizens who live together but do not marry for financial reasons. Siblings
living in the same household also could find themselves without customary
rights.
(CNSNews.com) - This is 'No Name-Calling Week" at some
of the nation's middle schools, an event sponsored by a homosexual advocacy
group.
The New York-based Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education
Network, which organized the event, says this is a time to "draw
national attention to the problem of name-calling in schools and to provide
students and educators with the tools and inspiration to launch an on-going
dialogue about ways to eliminate name-calling in their communities."
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Challenge to Ban on
Homosexual Adoption
(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Supreme Court Monday decided against
hearing a challenge to Florida's ban on homosexuals adopting children.
A homosexual advocacy group, Lambda Legal blasted the court's
decision, saying the case "deserved to be heard." In a statement
Monday, Patricia Logue, senior counsel for the group said, "Florida's
law keeps thousands of children in state care and out of permanent loving
homes - solely because the state wants to express disapproval of gay people.
Motion filed for Philadelphia protesters
Christians evangelizing at homosexual event seek federal relief
One of the attorneys for the Christian protesters who are
criminally charged for evangelizing at an outdoor homosexual event in
Philadelphia has renewed an appeal in federal court, citing the Supreme
Court statement "Speech cannot be ... punished or banned simply because
it might offend a hostile mob."
The filing by the American Family Association Center for
Law and Policy seeks emergency relief in federal district court based
on evidence from a December preliminary hearing.
Homosexual groups pledge to continue 'gay marriage'
fight
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--In the wake of severe Election Day
setbacks, a coalition of more than 20 homosexual and liberal organizations
released a joint statement Jan. 13 outlining their goals for the future
and re-stating their commitment to fight for legalized same-sex "marriage"
nationwide.
"[W]hen we look at the state of lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender civil rights today, we have every reason to be optimistic,"
the statement reads. "Our movement is strong, it is determined, and
it is gathering momentum every day."
Gay spouses press benefits case in R.I.
Judge set to rule on Mass. woman's retirement plan
In a case thought to be the first of its kind in Rhode Island,
a Massachusetts woman who retired from teaching in the neighboring state
has asked that her health insurance benefits be extended to her same-sex
spouse.
In response, the Tiverton School Committee in Rhode Island
has asked a state Superior Court judge to rule whether Cheryl McCullough,
60, of Swansea, can include Joyce Boivin, 54, in her retirement health
plan. Written arguments are expected to be submitted by Jan. 21 to Judge
Stephen J. Fortunato Jr.
California granted sweeping marriage-like rights to thousands
of gay and lesbian couples Jan. 1, sparking enthusiasm and trepidation
among those it is meant to help.
The landmark legislation marks a new twist in the fiery
national battle over homosexual unions by bestowing hundreds of spousal
duties and privileges on California couples registered as domestic partners.
"We'll be celebrating it big time, absolutely,"
said Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles, an openly gay lawmaker
who pushed AB 205 through the Legislature in a state that bans gay marriage.
Parents kicked out of 'gay day' Concerned mom tried
to videotape event
Posted: December 17, 2004
Two parents who objected to a Massachusetts high school's
homosexual-awareness day were expelled from the campus after a mother
began videotaping a session.
Brian Camenker, an activist who has a son at Newton North
High School in Newtonville, Mass., and Kim Cariani, mother of two students,
said four police officers and the school principal warned they would be
charged with trespassing if they didn't leave the campus Wednesday.
Kim Cariani tried to videotape a "gay day" session
at her childrens' school. (Courtesy Boston Herald)
A distraught Cariani told the Boston Herald she believes
the school's "To BGLAD: Transgender, Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Awareness
Day" has no place in the curriculum.
Groups Debate Slower Strategy on Gay Rights
By JOHN M. BRODER
Published: December 9, 2004
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 8 - Leaders of the gay rights movement
are embroiled in a bitter and increasingly public debate over whether
they should moderate their goals in the wake of bruising losses in November
when 11 states approved constitutional amendments prohibiting same-sex
marriages.
In the past week alone, the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's
largest gay and lesbian advocacy group, has accepted the resignation of
its executive director, appointed its first non-gay board co-chairman
and adopted a new, more moderate strategy, with less emphasis on legalizing
same-sex marriages and more on strengthening personal relationships.
Civil liberties and homosexual rights advocates have renewed
their push for community programs to bolster support in schools for homosexual
youths, just weeks after voters repudiated same-sex unions in 11 state
referendums.
But in northeastern Kentucky, parents and students have defied the Ashland-Boyd
County school district's "mandatory anti-harassment workshops,"
part of an agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union to allow
the Gay-Straight Alliances student group to meet in school buildings.
The Supreme Court yesterday declined without comment to
hear a case challenging Massachusetts' new same-sex "marriage"
law. In the second defeat for the long-shot effort to get the justices
to overturn the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's imposition of homosexual
"marriage," the U.S. Supreme Court refused to entertain the
objection that defining marriage was a role for a state's legislature
and not its courts.
Both sides of the homosexual "marriage" debate agree that the
issue likely will wind up before the Supreme Court again because dozens
of fights in courts and legislatures on several fronts will continue because
of :
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals has stayed the proceedings
of an ACLU lawsuit against several county clerks who refused to issue
marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
According to a statement from the Alliance Defense Fund,
the court decided to put a hold on the case at the trial-court level Friday
while it hears the appeal of Robert Duckworth, the Anne Arundel County
clerk whose motion to intervene as a defendant in the case was denied.
Rove: Bush ‘absolutely’ to pursue amendment
banning gay marriage
Adviser outlines issues topping GOP agenda
November 8th, 2004
WASHINGTON -- President Bush "absolutely" will use his second
term to push for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage,
his top political strategist said Sunday.
Karl Rove, who oversaw Bush’s re-election victory,
said the president will renew the effort, which failed in Congress this
year but may enjoy new support after 11 states approved bans on same-sex
marriage on Election Day.
"Five thousand years of human history should not be
overthrown by the acts of a few liberal judges or by the acts of a few
local elected officials," Rove said on NBC’s "Meet the
Press." "Marriage is and should be defined as being between
one man and one woman."
MONTPELIER — Four years ago, Vermont was deeply divided over civil
unions for gay and lesbian couples.
Rural roads were dotted with "Take Back Vermont"
signs posted by people angry at the state's first-in-the-nation law granting
most of the rights and responsibilities of marriage to same-sex couples.
An Associated Press exit poll in 2000 found respondents
split 49 percent to 49 percent on whether civil unions were a good idea.
Seventeen lawmakers who supported the law lost their seats, shifting control
of the Vermont House to the Republicans.
New exit polling shows in a striking way that a strong majority
of Vermonters has grown comfortable with — or at least accepting
of — grant-ing legal recognition to gay and lesbian relationships
PORTLAND — Kelly Burke was happy to be at home after
the election, watching her 3-year-old son convert a box into a spaceship.
But she was dreading the arrival of a letter that could change their lives.
"The mailman came this morning and I panicked,"
said the stay-at-home mom on Nov. 3, one day after Oregon voters decisively
approved a ban on gay marriage.
Like many housewives, Burke, 35, relies on her spouse's
employer for her own health insurance. But because Burke is a lesbian,
it was only this spring — after Multnomah County momentarily flung
open the door to gay marriage — that she became a legal "spouse"
by marrying her partner of 15 years, Dolores Doyle.
The change in legal status meant she became one of a number
of married gay and lesbian spouses in Multnomah County who began receiving
comprehensive medical insurance through their partner's employer.
Rally Against Gay Marriage Draws Thousands to Capital
Tens of thousands of conservative Christians gathered on
the Mall here Friday for a demonstration against same-sex marriage that
doubled as a rally to turn out conservative Christian voters on Election
Day.
"I encourage you to remember in November," James
C. Dobson, chairman of the evangelical self-help organization Focus on
the Family, told the crowd, many of whom held Bush-Cheney placards and
wore the campaign's buttons and T-shirts.
Offering to get down on his knees to beg the audience to
go to the polls, Dr. Dobson warned, "If you watch MTV today, you
will see they are registering those kids who have been filled with propaganda."
Gay rights groups struggle to stay afloat as marriage
ban looms
DAVID HAMMER
Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK - As a campaign for a proposed state constitutional
amendment to ban gay marriage picks up strength, the voice of the Arkansas
gay-rights community has become muted.
When the state Supreme Court ruled last week against an
American Civil Liberties Union challenge of the ballot language for the
marriage amendment, Arkansas' leading spokesmen for gay rights could not
be found.
It turned out that the Arkansas Equality Network, which
had received grant funding from the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign,
had folded for lack of funding.
Leaders of the District's homosexual community say they
will use their political clout to save a homosexual nightclub mecca that
is likely to be razed to make room for a Major League Baseball stadium
in Southeast.
Bob Siegel, landlord of several of the neighborhood's homosexual
strip bars and adult theaters, said Mayor Anthony A. Williams and the
D.C. Council cannot continue to ignore the displacement of the homosexual
entertainment district.
Gay students are offered special college scholarships
Alyn Libman won a $15,000-a-year scholarship to the University
of California at Berkeley with a resume that showed more than just Libman's
athletic achievement and academic potential.
It also showed years of ridicule, beatings and threats,
along with Libman's decision to become a boy in 11th grade.
"It felt amazing to actually be embraced by someone
who didn't just dismiss me for being different," said Libman, a 19-year-old
aspiring civil rights lawyer and the first transgendered person to win
a scholarship from The Point Foundation, a Chicago nonprofit organization
that has awarded more than $1 million to college-bound gays since 2002.
For those seeking financial aid to attend college, it doesn't
necessarily hurt to be gay or transgender. An increasing number of charities,
professional groups and universities offer scholarships on the basis of
sexual orientation.
Oregon labor official opposes gay-marriage-ban measure
By SARAH LINN
The Associated Press
PORTLAND — A proposed ban on same-sex marriage would
mean unfair and unequal treatment for gay workers and their families,
Oregon Labor Commissioner Dan Gardner said yesterday.
Gardner joined about a dozen members of building and trade unions to oppose
Measure 36, which would amend the Oregon Constitution to define marriage
as being between a man and a woman.
If approved by voters Nov. 2, the measure would eliminate
health insurance and other benefits for the spouses and children of married
gay and lesbian workers.
"It literally puts unequal treatment, unfairness, in
the law," Gardner said of the measure, sponsored by the Defense of
Marriage Coalition. "Is that what the constitution is about? I don't
think so."
Judge OKs New Calif. Domestic Partner Law
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A Superior Court judge in Sacramento
upheld a new state law Wednesday that is poised to give gay couples who
register as domestic partners nearly all the legal benefits and responsibilities
of married spouses.
Dismissing arguments of two groups that sued to have the
law struck down before it takes effect Jan. 1, Judge Loren E. McMaster
ruled that assigning privileges such as alimony and parental status to
same-sex couples does not violate a voter-approved measure that holds
California can recognize only marriages between a man and a woman.
``The parties' obvious fundamental dispute is whether a
domestic partnership under the new statute constitutes a marriage. The
court concludes that it does not,'' McMaster wrote. ``In the end, although
the two relationships now share many, if not most, of the same functional
attributes they are inherently distinct.''
GOP Group Withholds Endorsement of Bush
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Republican Party's largest gay and
lesbian organization, which endorsed President Bush in 2000, is withholding
its endorsement of the president for re-election because of his support
for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
The national board of Log Cabin Republicans voted 22-2 Tuesday
night to hold back the endorsement and called Bush ``disloyal'' to the
1 million gay men and lesbian women who it said supported his candidacy
four years ago.
``It is impossible to overstate the depth of anger and disappointment
caused by the president's support for an antifamily constitutional amendment.
This amendment would not only ban gay marriage, it would also jeopardize
civil unions and domestic partnerships,'' Log Cabin political director
Chris Barron said.
RICHMOND — A judge yesterday gave Virginia the jurisdiction
to decide a child-custody case between two women who had entered into
a civil union in Vermont, a move that could set a legal precedent for
same-sex couples whose relationships are recognized in some states and
not others.
Lisa Miller-Jenkins, 35, who dissolved her civil union
with Janet Miller-Jenkins in Vermont last year, has sued in Frederick
County Circuit Court to establish sole parental rights for the couple's
2-year-old daughter, Isabella.
Judge denies relief to out-of-state same-sex couples
BOSTON — A Superior Court judge on Wednesday declined
to halt enforcement of a 1913 state law barring out-of-state gay couples
from marrying in Massachusetts, despite a concern that the statute violates
the spirit of the state´s landmark same-sex marriage decision.
The law prohibits marriages that would not be legal in the
couple´s home state. In what is likely to be the first of several
phases in the case, Superior Court Judge Carol Ball denied a request by
eight out-of-state gay couples for a preliminary injunction blocking the
state from enforcing the residency requirement.
Calif. Court Voids S.F. Gay Marriages
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The California Supreme Court voided
the nearly 4,000 same-sex marriages sanctioned in San Francisco earlier
this year, a move that will likely spur a new round of litigation about
whether California's Constitution allows the weddings.
The seven justices on Thursday all said Mayor Gavin Newsom's
decision to issue the licenses and perform the ceremonies violated a 1977
state law that defines marriage as a union between a man and woman.
The justices separately decided with a 5-2 vote to nullify the 3,995 marriages
performed between Feb. 12 and March 11, when the court halted the weddings.
The court focused its ruling on the limits of local government
authority, and did not resolve whether the California Constitution would
permit a same-sex marriage. That question will have to wait as a flurry
of lawsuits and countersuits over the gay weddings rise through the state's
courts.
After an overwhelming vote to ban gay marriage in Missouri
on Tuesday, both sides said yesterday that an issue that has gained little
traction in Congress appears to be resonating with the American people
and could play a growing role in this year's congressional and presidential
elections.
Gay rights groups said they learned a hard lesson from Missouri's
passage of a state constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage
and would put up a tougher fight in other states where voters may adopt
similar amendments this year. But they still expect to lose.
BOSTON — A parade of Democratic leaders and Hollywood stars, including
Ben Affleck, yesterday reassured homosexual delegates and advocates that
they have a lot to gain by defeating the Bush administration and electing
a Kerry administration.
"If nothing else, you will have a mom in the White House," Teresa
Heinz Kerry said before the packed hotel room of homosexual delegates
and advocates.
Senators Block Initiative to Ban Same-Sex Unions
By CARL HULSE
WASHINGTON, July 14 - The Senate delivered a sound, and expected, defeat
Wednesday to a proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex
marriage, easily blocking a politically charged initiative that has been
endorsed by President Bush and was a top priority of many of his socially
conservative supporters.
After more than three days of debate, the Senate voted 50
to 48 against moving forward on the proposal, effectively killing it for
now. The vote, largely along party lines, was 12 short of the number needed
to keep the amendment alive and 19 shy of the 67 votes needed to send
the amendment to states for ratification, if it is approved by the House.
"This is an issue whose time has not come," said
Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, who joined many of his fellow Democrats
in accusing the Republican leadership of forcing the issue to the floor
in an election-year ploy. "This debate was not about changing the
Constitution; this debate was about changing the subject in the presidential
campaign."
Nethercutt opposes constitutional change to ban
gay marriage
By Alex Fryer
Seattle Times Washington bureau
WASHINGTON — In the midst of a heated Senate debate
on gay marriage, there is surprising tranquility in the senatorial campaign
in Washington state.
U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt of Spokane, who is expected
to be the Republican challenger of U.S. Sen. Patty Murray in November,
released a short statement yesterday saying he does not support the Federal
Marriage Amendment, which is scheduled for a Senate floor vote today.
That brings him in line with Murray, a Democrat, who has
said she would vote against the bill. The state's other senator, Democrat
Maria Cantwell, also opposes the measure.
The proposal calls for amending the U.S. Constitution to
provide that marriage "shall consist only of a man and a woman."
A second sentence says that neither the federal nor any state constitution
"shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents
thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and
a woman."
Some critics argue that the effect of that provision would
be to ban civil unions between same-sex couples.
Bush promotes measure against gay marriage
In radio address, president says ‘our nation has no other choice’
The Associated Press
President Bush says legalizing gay marriage would redefine the most fundamental
institution of civilization and that a constitutional amendment is needed
to protect it.
A few activist judges and local officials have taken it on themselves
to change the meaning of marriage, Bush said Saturday in his weekly radio
address.
Leading the chorus of support for an amendment, Bush said,
“If courts create their own arbitrary definition of marriage as
a mere legal contract, and cut marriage off from its cultural, religious
and natural roots, then the meaning of marriage is lost and the institution
is weakened.”
A lesbian cruise to success
Firm makes waves and profits catering to women partners
BY LISA LEFF
Associated Press
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Judy Dlugacz knew she was onto something
when the cruise ship she had chartered for 400 lesbians arrived in the
Turkish port of Kusadasi.
Instead of meeting rejection, as they sometimes did in the
United States, the travelers got a red carpet welcome from merchants eager
to do business with the "lovely lesbian ladies." The half-million
dollars they poured into Turkey's economy made the front pages of Istanbul's
major newspapers.
"When hundreds of women get off a ship and go shopping,
they are noticed," Dlugacz (Du-LOOG'-atch) said.
A federal civil-rights lawsuit was filed yesterday on behalf
of a Southern California high-school student who was punished for wearing
a T-shirt expressing his opposition to homosexuality on a day set aside
to honor the alternate lifestyle.
The Alliance Defense Fund, the legal group representing
Poway High School student Chase Harper, said in a statement the young
man's free-speech and religious rights were violated in April when he
was suspended from school for one day for wearing the homemade T-shirt.
According to the suit, a school administrator told the student: "Leave
your faith in the car" when your beliefs might offend others.
Gov may yet nix out-of-state vows
By Steve Marantz
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Gov. Mitt Romney [related, bio] may ``end-run'' the Attorney
General's Office and prosecute out-of-state gay married couples on his
own, according to municipal officials.
An obscure statute empowers the Registrar of Vital Statistics, under supervision
of the Commissioner of Public Health, to prosecute violations in the marriage
laws - including a 1913 law that prohibits couples from marrying here
if their home states do not allow it.
``Our solicitor was told by the governor's office that the registrar could
actually enforce the marriage laws,'' said Mark Horan, spokesman for Somerville
Mayor Joe Curtatone.
With Festive Mood, Gay Weddings Begin in Massachusetts
By PAM BELLUCK
and WARREN ST. JOHN
BOSTON, May 17 — Same-sex weddings began in Massachusetts
today, making it the first state in the country to recognize marriages
of gay couples.
In Cambridge, City Clerk Margaret Drury told a lesbian couple
at 9:15 a.m., "I now pronounce you married under the laws of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts."
The couple, Tanya McCloskey, 52 and Marcia Kadish, 56,
of Malden, near Boston, had filled out their license application, got
a waiver from the usual three-day waiting period, and then returned to
City Hall.
"It was really important to us to just be married,"
Ms. McCloskey said.
Block Sought for Gay Marriages in Mass. By MARTIN FINUCANE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
May 12, 2004
BOSTON (AP) - Conservative groups and some state lawmakers
pleaded with a federal judge Wednesday in an 11th-hour bid to stop the
nation's first state-sanctioned gay marriages from taking place next week
in Massachusetts.
Mathew Staver, president and general counsel of the Florida-based
Liberty Counsel, argued the state's high court stepped outside its jurisdiction
when it ruled in November that gay marriage should be legal in Massachusetts.
"It's an unusual time that we live in, and we're asking
this court to intervene to prevent this constitutional train wreck,"
Staver told U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro.
Catholic institutions grapple with handling married
gay workers By Ken Maguire, Associated Press, 4/29/2004 22:46
BOSTON (AP) Catholic institutions face a quandary on the eve of the legalization
of gay marriage in Massachusetts: The church opposes it, but the state's
highest court ruled that couples are entitled to the rights and benefits
of marriage.
Officials from some Catholic institutions say they haven't
decided whether they'll grant spousal benefits to any gay and lesbian
employees who get married.
It's a particular problem for the Boston Archdiocese, which
was among the most vocal opponents of same-sex marriage when lawmakers
debated a proposed constitutional amendment to ban the unions. The state's
Supreme Judicial Court ruled that gay marriage is legal, effective May
17.
KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) -- Three heterosexual couples said they
were turned away from a hotel in this gay-friendly tourist destination
because of their sexual orientation, which would violate city law.
The six were vacationing with a gay couple and had reservations
at Big Ruby's in downtown Key West when the three straight couples were
turned away.
"The manager literally said, 'We don't want you here,"'
said Jim Pirih, who had vacationed at Big Ruby's last year with his partner,
Jason Williams.
A month after Mayor Greg Nickels issued an executive order
recognizing same-sex marriages, the Seattle City Council yesterday unanimously
approved legislation that would give married gays and lesbians on the
city's payroll the same benefits that opposite-sex couples now receive.
While council members heralded the move as "historic," the change
to city ordinance is really more symbolic than it is substantial.
Seattle has been offering domestic-partner benefits to same-sex
couples since 1989. The value of those benefits is subject to federal
taxes, which can exceed $500 a year. Yesterday's action doesn't change
any of that.
NEW YORK (AP) - Thirteen same-sex couples sued the state
of New York on Wednesday, seeking to have the state law that denies gay
and lesbian couples the right to marry declared unconstitutional.
"This case is about ending the discrimination that
is currently written into the marriage laws of New York," said Donna
Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, at
a news conference.
Plaintiffs include state Assembly member Daniel O'Donnell
and his partner of 23 years, John Banta. The NYCLU, the American Civil
Liberties Union and a private law firm are representing the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit charges that state health regulations defining
marriage as being only between a man and a woman violates the state Constitution's
equal protection, privacy and due process provisions.
An AT&T Broadband employee who was fired after refusing to abide by
company rules that he said violated his religious beliefs about homosexuality
has won a federal court case.
Judge Marcia S. Krieger of the U.S. District Court for the District of
Colorado awarded Albert Buonanno of Denver $146,269 for lost salary, loss
of 401(k) matching contributions and compensation for emotional distress
in a Friday ruling released this week.
The judge found that although there was no direct religious
discrimination against Mr. Buonanno, AT&T Broadband failed to show
it could not have accommodated Mr. Buonanno's beliefs "without undue
hardship" to the company he had been with for nearly two years.
The clout of the homosexual voting bloc has grown significantly
in the past decade, and its influence will be put to the test this presidential-election
year with the debate over same-sex "marriage."
In the 2000 presidential contest, about 6 percent of voters described
themselves as homosexual or lesbian to pollsters for the Voter News Service,
an increase from 1.3 percent who said so in 1990.
President Bush received 25 percent of the homosexual vote, or about 1.1
million, the most of any Republican presidential candidate, and he has
made a point to reach out to the homosexual community — or at least
not alienate them — as part of his message of "compassionate
conservatism."
San Francisco Perseveres on Gay Marriage
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 19, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- City officials here asked the California
Supreme Court on Thursday to allow the resumption of gay marriages.
The request by City Attorney Dennis Herrera came a week
after the seven high court justices stopped the marriages until the court
decides whether Mayor Gavin Newsom and his administration had the power
to defy state law and issue same-sex marriage licenses to more than 4,000
gay couples since Feb. 12.
San Francisco ``should be allowed to resume issuing marriage
licenses to same-sex couples for the time it takes to resolve the constitutional
questions in the lower courts,'' Herrera told the justices in court briefs
Thursday.
A North Carolina couple is outraged by a book their first-grade
daughter brought home from the school library in which a prince finds
his true love – in the form of another prince.
The leading character in "King & King," Prince
Bertie, waves off a bevy of eligible princes before falling for Prince
Lee, Associated Press reported. The book ends with the two "marrying"
and sharing a kiss.
NEW YORK — Dozens of same-sex couples lined up outside the city
clerk's office for marriage licenses Thursday morning but were turned
away with a letter explaining that gay marriages (search) are illegal.
"New York state law," the clerk's letter said,
"does not authorize this office to grant marriage licenses to same-sex
couples."
The line of gay and lesbian couples snaked around the vaulted
exterior of the city's Municipal Building, where marriage licenses are
issued.
Mara Gottlieb, 33, and Camille Gonzalez, 38, of Manhattan
were first in line, arriving almost two hours before the clerk's office
opened at 8:30 a.m. They were accompanied by Gottlieb's mother and their
rabbi.
With same-sex marriage in the headlines, an elite Southern
California prep academy distinguished for its "Crossdressing Day"
and "Ménage à Prom" will host a forum tonight titled
A Queer State of the Union, featuring a state lawmaker and prominent homosexual
activists.
Scene from Santa Monica school's play on "Gay Odyssey."
Crossroads School for the Arts & Sciences in Santa Monica,
where many Hollywood celebrities send their children, was dubbed "Hollyweird
High" by authors Andrew Breitbart and Mark Ebner in their book "Hollywood,
Interrupted: Insanity Chic in Babylon -- The Case Against Celebrity."
U.N. resolution to globalize 'gay' rights
Homosexual groups lobbying nations to pass landmark measure
U.N. Human Rights Commission meeting
Last year, when the resolution first was introduced to the
U.N. Human Rights Commission, the San Francisco-based International Gay
and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, or IGLHRC, called it "a historic
opportunity to advance [homosexual] issues in international human-rights
law."
Club's policy called anti-gay
Domestic partners don't qualify for perks given to spouses at Druid Hills
Golf Club
Lee Kyser put down $40,000 and pays about $475 in monthly
dues at Druid Hills Golf Club, just like most other senior members of the
91-year-old Clifton Road country club near Emory University.
Kyser, a clinical psychologist, golfs there with her significant
other, and plans to enroll their 2-year-old twins in swimming lessons there
next year.
"We're just like any other family," Kyser said,
"except that we happen to be lesbians."
DERRICK Z. JACKSON
By Derrick Z. Jackson, 11/19/2003
IT IS HARD to imagine a better welcome for gay and lesbian
couples than the words of Chief Justice Margaret Marshall of the Massachusetts
Supreme Judicial Court. In yesterday's 4-3 decision that ruled gay and lesbian
marriages to be legal, Marshall wrote that the Massachusetts Constitution
"forbids the creation of second-class citizens."
That is really what this is all about. Massachusetts became the first state
in the nation to finally cut through the homophobia -- not halfway and third-class
(domestic partner benefits) and not three-quarters of the way and second-class
(civil unions) but almost all the way to the first-class recognition of
marriage.
There are a few retirement communities around Los Angeles
that are set aside for an exclusivly gay clientele, but the $18 million
project is believed to be the first financially supported by a city, according
to the Gay Financial Network, or GFN.
The proposed complex which is 103 units a said to be a combined
effort of the City, the non-profit Gay & Lesbian Elder Housing Corp.
and St. Louis developer McCormack Baron Salazar.
They hope to break ground this spring and be open for business
in 2005. The development will be on city-owned land a few blocks from the
famed Hollywood Boulevard, GFN said.
The gay rights group, Human Rights Campaign, says that more
retirement communities of this nature are in the planning stages around
the country to "as the current population of baby boomers begins to
reach retirement". Communities in Palmetto, Fla., Fort Myers, Fla.,
and Apache Junction, Ariz., have already been established according to the
GFN. Another five are under development, two in San Francisco, two in New
Mexico and one in North Carolina.
City officials estimate the greater Los Angeles area has 30,000
to 75,000 "gay," lesbian, bisexual and transgender senior citizens.
GOP Takes Steps Against Homosexual Marriage in their
Platform
Washington Times Ralph Z. Hallow
Republicans are prepared to oppose homosexual "marriage"
in their national platform, Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie
said yesterday.
Homosexuals and the Right to Marry - In Their Own
Words
Homosexuals claim they want the "right" to get married
and live normal lives just like heterosexual married couples.
The truth is something very different however, the drive towards
same sex marriages is clearly part of a larger agressive agenda .
Homosexual activists are now beginning to openly admit that
they don't want to marry just to have a normal home life. They want same-sex
marriage as a way of destroying the concept of marriage and replacing it
with thier perverse definition. Here are some quotes, right from the source:
Chris Crain, the editor of the
Washington Blade
Crain writes: "...any leader of any gay rights organization
who is not prepared to throw the bulk of their efforts right now into the
fight for marriage is squandering resources and doesn't deserve the position."
(Washington Blade, August, 2003).
Michelangelo Signorile,
writing in Out! magazine, has stated that homosexuals should,
"...fight for same-sex marriage and its benefits and
then, once granted, redefine the institution of marriage completely …
To debunk a myth and radically alter an archaic institution. … The
most subversive action lesbians and gays can undertake-and one that would
perhaps benefit all of society-is to transform the notion of 'family' altogether."
(Out! magazine, Dec./Jan., 1994)
Andrew Sullivan
a homosexual activist writing in his book, Virtually Normal, says that once
same-sex marriage is legalized, heterosexuals will have to develop a greater
"understanding of the need for extramarital outlets between two men
than between a man and a woman." He notes: "The truth is, homosexuals
are not entirely normal; and to flatten their varied and complicated lives
into a single, moralistic model is to miss what is essential and exhilarating
about their otherness." (Sullivan, Virtually Normal, pp. 202-203)
Mitchel Raphael,
editor of the Canadian homosexual magazine Fab
"Ambiguity is a good word for the feeling among gays
about marriage. I'd be for marriage if I thought gay people would challenge
and change the institution and not buy into the traditional meaning of 'till
death do us part' and monogamy forever. We should be Oscar Wildes and not
like everyone else watching the play." (quoted in "Now Free To
Marry, Canada's Gays Say, 'Do I?'" by Clifford Krauss, The New York
Times, August 31, 2003)
IT’S NOT EVEN 5%
Christian Voice has never believed the propaganda that 10% of the population
is homosexual. Finally, over 30 homosexual groups which include the Gay
& Lesbian Task Force and the Human Rights Campaign have admitted the
figure is less than 5%. In a legal brief filed, Lawrence v. Texas, a US
Supreme Court Case regarding Texas’ sodomy statute, over 30 homosexual
organizations said “2.8% of the male and 1.4% of the female population
identify themselves as gay, lesbian, or bi-sexual.”
We believe that the figure would be considerably lower if
it were to reflect only those individuals that considered themselves exclusively
homosexual.
The homosexual advocacy groups in America have the general
public convinced that a large percent of the population is homosexual. The
reality is that they are a small fraction of our society, but extremely
politically active and well financed.
California Senate scolds Boy Scouts
Passes resolution slamming group for not accepting 'gays,' atheists
The California state Senate has passed a resolution criticizing
the Boy Scouts of America for its policy of excluding homosexuals and atheists.
The legislation, which passed last week on a 22-15 vote, begins
by praising the group for the work it does in the community, but in the
end demands the organization accept applicants "without discriminating
on the basis of sexual orientation or religious belief," reported the
Roseville Press-Tribune.
The Boy Scouts has come under increasing pressure to change
its policy, which has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, and has lost
countless dollars in donations due to its stand.
The legislation was sponsored by Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg,
D-Los Angeles, herself a lesbian.
New Book Exposes the Homosexual Agenda’s Threat
to Religion
A new book, “The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principle
Threat to Religious Freedom” by Alan Sears and Craig Osten, provides
an in-depth look at the strides gay activist groups have made over the past
decade while Christians have remained passively on the sidelines.
And it ominously warns that if this trend continues the Church
will have effectively surrendered its moral authority to the growing Gay Rights
movement.
The authors state that silencing Christians’ voices on
the issue of sodomy is the ultimate desire of the gay radicals because only
then will the stigma be removed from their sinful lifestyle. Gaining the Church’s
quiet acceptance of homosexuality will do more to normalize homosexuality
in our society than any court ruling or legal battle.
They say we’re already seeing the consequences of the
Church’s failure to challenge the demands of the Homosexual Agenda,
such as the recognition of same-sex unions and the ordination of gay ministers
by some mainstream denominations. Osten predicts that in the next 10 years
we will start to see the criminalization of religious speech.
Unless Christians awaken to the threat of the radical homosexual
agenda and speak out now on the issue, the authors fear the Church will lose
its moral voice forever.
In Their Own Words : The Threat of the Homosexual Agenda
Statements show why ‘gay marriage’ threatens the
real thing
Here is a sample:
“A middle ground might be to fight for same-sex marriage
and its benefits and then, once granted, redefine the institution of marriage
completely, to demand the right to marry not as a way of adhering to society's
moral codes but rather to debunk a myth and radically alter an archaic institution."
—Michelangelo Signorile, "Bridal
Wave," OUT magazine, December/January 1994, p. 161.
"[E]nlarging the concept to embrace same-sex couples
would necessarily transform it into something new....Extending the right to
marry to gay people -- that is, abolishing the traditional gender requirements
of marriage -- can be one of the means, perhaps the principal one, through
which the institution divests itself of the sexist trappings of the past."
Tom Stoddard, quoted in Roberta Achtenberg, et al, "Approaching 2000:
Meeting the Challenges to San Francisco's Families," The Final Report
of the Mayor's Task Force on Family Policy, City and County of San Francisco,
June 13, 1990, p.1.
"It is also a chance to wholly transform the definition
of family in American culture. It is the final tool with which to dismantle
all sodomy statutes, get education about homosexuality and AIDS into public
schools, and, in short, usher in a sea change in how society views and treats
us."
— Michelangelo Signorile, "I
Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do," OUT magazine, May 1996, p. 30.
“Being queer is more than setting up house, sleeping with a person of
the same gender, and seeking state approval for doing so. … Being queer
means pushing the parameters of sex, sexuality, and family, and in the process,
transforming the very fabric of society. … As a lesbian, I am fundamentally
different from non-lesbian women. …In arguing for the right to legal
marriage, lesbians and gay men would be forced to claim that we are just like
heterosexual couples, have the same goals and purposes, and vow to structure
our lives similarly. … We must keep our eyes on the goals of providing
true alternatives to marriage and of radically reordering society’s
view of reality.”
—Paula Ettelbrick, “Since When
Is Marriage a Path to Liberation?”, in William Rubenstein, ed., Lesbians,
Gay Men and the Law (New York: The New Press, 1993), pp. 401-405.
Same-sex marriage arrives in B.C.! Hypocritical religious opposition
lose credibility
"... any further delay in implementing the remedies will result in an
unequal application of the law as between Ontario and British Columbia, with
same-sex couples being denied the right to marry in British Columbia until July
12, 2004 while same-sex couples in Ontario may marry as and when they choose
to do so."
-B.C. Court of Appeal, July 8, 2003
Adversaries on Gay Rights Vow State-by-State Fight
"Spurred on by the Supreme Court's landmark ruling decriminalizing gay
sexual conduct, both sides in the debate over gay rights are vowing an intense
state-by-state fight over deeply polarizing questions, foremost among them whether
gays should be allowed to marry."
Gays and Lesbians Party On at the Justice Department
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft gave in to the demands of homosexual employees
at the Department of Justice recently, reversing his earlier decision denying
the group “DOJ Pride” permission to host its annual awards show
at Justice headquarters.
Now the gay and lesbian employees can hold their event at the office -- if
they pay all the costs involved.
The government agency had no intention of banning the award ceremony, but only
to make it clear that it would not be “officially sponsored,” according
to Mark Corallo, Justice Department spokesman.
Members of the DOJ gay community welcomed the “partial reversal”
of Ashcroft’s decision, although some homosexual activists claimed withdrawal
of the sponsorship was still a step backward.
When word of the cancellation spread around Washington, many gay leaders spoke
out against the move by Ashcroft and prompted an angry letter from Senator Frank
Lautenberg (D-NJ), who questioned the attorney general’s commitment to
“fairness.” The senator also wants the Senate Governmental Affairs
Committee to hold hearings into possible violations of civil rights stemming
from the incident.
Amendment Protects Marriage from Liberal Courts and Gay Activists
America’s largest organization of homosexual Republicans recently announced
it strongly opposes the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would prevent militant
gay activists from using the liberal court system to radically redefine the
traditional concept of marriage.
The Log Cabin Republicans also denounced the amendment’s bipartisan co-sponsors.
Following the same faulty line of reasoning as other gay and lesbian groups,
the Log Cabin Republicans allege the amendment would deny benefits to homosexuals.
But reality does not support their claims. The amendment simply states:
“Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man
and a woman. Neither this Constitution or the constitution of any state, nor
state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the
legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.”
The amendment protects marriage from the courts bending to the will of homosexual
pressure groups to grant special rights for same-sex unions. Gay activists desire
this action as a stamp of approval for their deviant lifestyle. They know that
one of the last barriers to normalizing homosexuality in our society continues
to be the traditional view that marriage is between a man and a woman.
Judge Robert H. Bork has written that many court experts “believe that
within five to 10 years the U.S. Supreme Court will hold that there is a constitutional
right to homosexual marriage, just as that court invented a right to abortion”
– unless action is taken now.
The Federal Marriage Amendment defends the institution and the family from
leftist judges and liberal court-imposed sanctioning of homosexual unions by
leaving the question to the determination of the people through the democratic
process.
Corporations Boast of Promoting Homosexuality, Transgenderism, 'Gay' Politics
By Robert Knight
Five corporations are being honored this month in OUT magazine for their aggressive
sponsorship of homosexuality, including funding homosexual political groups
and transgender activism, promoting homosexuality in the schools and even underwriting
"gay" rodeos.
Anheuser-Busch, Kodak, ChevronTexaco, Wells Fargo and Philip Morris Companies
Inc. each commented to Out magazine, which are printed in a two-page layout
that includes company logos. Philip Morris, whose Miller Beer and Miller Lite
brands heavily sponsor homosexual activism, is quoted as saying: "This
space provided by Philip Morris Companies Inc."
Anheuser-Busch, maker of Budweiser and Bud Light beers, often advertises
in gay publications and has sponsored sadistic sex exhibitions, has this:
For more than a quarter of a century, Anheuser-Busch has been guided by
the motto, "Making Friends Is Our Business." By placing importance
on people and relationships, Anheuser-Busch fosters an environment free of discrimination,
regardless of sexual orientation, where all employees are encouraged to utilize
their talents to create future success. Anheuser-Busch's relationship with the
LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] community was founded upon this
guiding principle more than 20 years ago, and the company continues its commitment
by offering a variety of same-sex domestic partner benefits and partnering with
national organizations such as American Foundation for AIDS Research (AMFAR),
the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Human Rights
Campaign (HRC). In addition, Anheuser-Busch continues its association with national
and local LGBT events, including title sponsorship of the International Gay
Rodeo Association (IGRA) and sponsorship of a variety of local PRIDE events.
For a complete look at Anheuser Busch's pro-"gay" activities, along
with a gospel outreach to people struggling with homosexuality, go to Family
Policy Network's special site www.gaybeer.com.
Kodak, which recently fired a 23-year employee for sending an e-mail
around to its co workers saying that he was "disgusted" by pro-homosexual
announcements that were coming into his inbox, features a logo for the "Kodak
Global Diversity Office," and this:
Eastman Kodak Company is firmly committed to diversity and inclusion in
the workplace - in ideas, perspectives and people. We believe this benefits
everyone whose life is touched by Kodak: employees, shareholders, and customers
alike. Kodak has taken significant steps to make diversity a company-wide priority.
Some of the ways Kodak includes and supports the GLBT community are: Kodak has
an active GLBT employee resource group; provides domestic partner benefits;
proudly sponsors and participates in Out & Equal, HRC, GLSEN [Gay, Lesbian
and Straight Education Network], Gender PAC, film festivals, and Pride events.
Kodak has twice testified in support of ENDA [the proposed federal Employment
Non-Discrimination Act]. We are very proud of achieving a 100 percent score
on the HRC Corporate Equality Index.
ChevronTexaco, a leader in pro-homosexual activism among oil companies,
has this:
We define success by the company we keep. That means creating an inclusive
environment where every person can fully participate and contribute - and valuing
the uniqueness of every individual and the varied perspective each provides.
At ChevronTexaco, we've put those words into action. We were the first major
U.S. oil company to add "sexual orientation" to its worldwide nondiscrimination
policies. And in April 1997, we announced a wide range of domestic-partner benefits
for our employees, including medical and dental coverage, dependent life insurance,
relocation, bereavement leave, and family medical leave. This is the way we
do business - the ChevronTexaco way.
Wells Fargo's advertisment which features a photo of a horse-drawn
stagecoach, and the words: "The Next Stage. Diversity. Opportunity. Community."
Then, this text:
At Wells Fargo, our people are our competitive advantage. People who are
recognized for their unique and diverse talents. You'll find an inclusive culture
that understands and values diversity in age, education, ethnic origin, gender,
lifestyle, physical abilities, race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation,
and other differences. Wells Fargo invites you to discover an environment where
people can go as far as their talent and ambition will take them. Choose a direction.
We can get there together.
Homosexuality is wrong, unhealthy and destructive to individuals, families
and communities. Many people have overcome unwanted temptations and gone on
to lead fuller, richer lives. Companies that offer incentives for people to
remain trapped in the behavior are not demonstrating compassion. They are showing
indifference to the ghastly, well-documented consequences in order to cultivate
a wealthy, niche market and to mollify homosexual activists within the companies.
If the Employment NonDiscrimination Act is passed, every company in America
with 15 or more employees will climb aboard the bandwagon to Sodom or find itself
on the wrong side of the law. Neutrality will not be permitted.
Some day, as corporations that honor marriage and family are hounded out of
business or prosecuted, it will be accurate to say:
"This was brought to you by the executives of Anheuser-Busch, Kodak,
ChevronTexaco, Wells Fargo, Philip Morris Companies Inc., and other corporations
that promoted perversity for short-term gain."
Detonating the Nuclear Family Homosexuals Hopeful for Cloning Own Gay
Offspring
Gay activists believe cloning is the solution to reproducing and raising their
own homosexual families, according to MetroWeekly, a Washington, DC-based homosexual
magazine.
Published in its January 30, 2003, edition, the article “Born Again?
Is Cloning the Key to Gay Reproduction?,” maintains that with cloning,
homosexuals will be freed from any heterosexual contact to reproduce. Current
methods require a third-party donor of either egg or sperm to begin the process.
Randolfe Wicker, a noted cloning activist, gave an interview in 1997 in which
he said, “Cloning renders heterosexuality’s monopoly on reproduction
obsolete…A new religion will grow from this.”
He has been working on the legalization of cloning for many years now.
Jack Nichols, editor of GayToday has gone on record saying, “You know
what this means? This means that some of the desire to unsettle the nuclear
family has been given a boon. Now you can raise your own father.”
Lesbian activist Ann Northrop believes cloning will make it difficult for men
in “justifying their existence on the planet,” adding that it’s
“the final nail in men’s coffins.”
The article also notes that the infamous Raelian cult, which made unproven
claims to have produced the first cloned baby earlier this year, sees this process
as a boost for homosexuals.
Pierre-Paul Borque is a priest in Canada who is a homosexual in the Raelian
movement. He predicts that cloning will render the issue of sexual orientation
obsolete. . “In our philosophy, we develop our sensuality,” he explained.
“Raelians are always touching and hugging and kissing because there’s
love between us. It doesn’t matter what your sexual orientation is.”
The abuse of this technology to promote immorality provides the best evidence
why Congress must enact a total ban on human cloning now.
Major Oil Company Faces a Firestorm of Protest from Radical Gay Activists
Militant homosexual activists received a setback from another major oil company
in their quest for special rights to protect their immoral lifestyle.
Gay rights groups are angrily protesting the removal of the term “sexual
orientation” by ConocoPhillips from its nondiscrimination policy. Conoco
had used the term until it merged with Phillips Petroleum last year. Then the
new company removed the language.
The ConocoPhillips move follows a similar reversal by one of the largest players
in the market, ExxonMobil. According to the Rev. Duane Motley, these two actions
are serious setbacks for homosexual activist groups -- especially their tactics.
The Reverend, who is president and founder of “New Yorkers for Constitutional
Freedoms,” saw these same tactics played out in New York in December,
when the New York Legislature added “sexual orientation” to state
discrimination laws, which automatically made the practice of homosexuality
a favored status.
He explained that the Homosexual Agenda first demands government support for
their beliefs and orientation. Then they go after companies by saying if the
government does it, why can’t business?
Because the radical gay activists want special rights and privileges that other
American citizens do not have, the oil companies are saying no, everybody will
be treated equally. ConocoPhillips has said it will now rely on federal laws,
which outlaw discrimination against anyone.
You can contact ConocoPhillips and thank them for upholding traditional values
by dropping “sexual orientation” from their nondiscrimination policy
and let them know you support their brave stand against the militant homosexual
activists.
You can write a letter or make a phone call:
Archie W. Dunham, chairman
ConocoPhillips
600 North Dairy Ashford
P.O. Box 2197
Houston, TX 77252-2197
Phone: 281-293-1000
Homosexual Child Molesters Face Charges
The need to protect our children from same sex predators
One can do a Nexis search for child molestation by homosexuals at any given
time and find numerous instances, this week is no exception. Here are three
examples:
Tampa, Florida : Assistant Boy Scout leader, Shane
Czetli, age 39, was arrested for committing sex acts on two 9-year-old boys
and a 12-year-old boy. None of these boys were part of his Boy Scout troop.
His membership was subsequently revoked that day.
Noblesville, Indiana : Man arrested for molesting
an 11 year old boy and for soliciting sex from two other boys. George Jones,
the accused, is already on probation for a 1994 conviction in Georgia for child
molestation, giving alcohol to a minor and sexual exploitation of a minor. He
was given 10 years probation after serving a five-year sentence.
Orange County, California : Police have issued
an arrest warrant for Sigfried Widera, a Catholic Priest who has been on the
run since May. In addition to being wanted in California, he is also wanted
in Milwaukee where he had nice felony sex abuse charges against him. He is being
charged with 33 counts of child molestation in Orange County. Widera is the
fourth Southern California member of the clergy to be charged with molesting
children since september. The Diocese of Orange County claims they had no knowledge
of priors but the Milwaukee Archdiocese claims they had alerted them.
Warning... Do not assume the library is
a safe place for children...
Thanks to the poor judgment and decision of three federal court judges the
Child Internet Protection Act has been declared unconstitutional. The ruling
which prevents public libraries from installing internet filters on their computers
is another victory for the “everything and anything is OK” crowd. Leading the
crowd, organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and North
American Man Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) have once again been successful in
encouraging the sexual corruption of children. The ability to access pornography
by children at public libraries is just one more avenue down the road of exploiting
children sexually. The American Library Association which supports this decision
is no friend to children or families. For more information please contact us.
Our Crusade to Protect America's Families: "NO Special Rights for Homosexuals"
"Special
Rights" for homosexuals are not only unfair, they're a grave
threat to our values and our families. The goal of the
homosexual movement through political activism is to adopt
children, legalize same sex marriages and eliminate the
traditional family. Christian Voice has been saying this for
over 20 years.
Now with every passing year the well funded, highly educated
and politically active homosexual movement continues to gain
ground to reach its goals. One only needs to look back at
its success in dealing with the communicable and devastating
disease of AIDS. A disease which is preventable (except in
the case of blood transfusions, healthcare workers and
newborns) by ones behavior became the symbol of compassion
for homosexuals. If you condemned the behavior which
resulted in AIDS and ultimately death you were labeled a
bigot, prejudice, intolerant ,etc.
While the
homosexual movement has won many political battles along the
way they have not won the war. H.R. 217 and S.19 still elude
them. This legislation which is still in committee in both
the House of Representatives and the Senate must be
defeated. The real purpose of this legislation is to amend
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sexual orientation.
Sexual orientation is defined as male or female
homosexuality, heterosexuality, and bisexuality.
We
must defeat this legislation. If we don't , the next
attempt to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 could include
the desires of the North American Man Boy Love Association
(NAMBLA) which believes there is nothing immoral or
unhealthy about consensual sex between a young boy and adult
man. NAMBLA believes that boys under the age of 18 have a
right to consent to sex with adult men and it is normal
behavior.
NAMBLA is a very real organization which exists and has a political agenda.
Our Crusade to Protect America's Families: