tagged w/ District of Columbia
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CNN...
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Maryland governor to sign same-sex marriage bill
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 2:51 AM EST, Thu March 1, 2012
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PHOTO:
With Gov. Martin O'Malley's signature, Maryland will be the eighth state to approve same-sex marriage.
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Voters in Minnesota and North Carolina will consider proposals in November
New Jersey lawmakers approved same-sex marriage this month, but it was vetoed
Neither side in the same-sex marriage debate is declaring victory
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(CNN) -- Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley will sign into law Thursday a bill legalizing same-sex marriage.
"All children deserve the opportunity to live in a loving, caring, committed and stable home, protected equally under the law," O'Malley said in a statement after last week's vote.
"Maryland will now be able to protect individual civil marriage rights and religious freedom equally."
The Maryland House of Delegates approved the measure less than two weeks after Washington legislators voted to legalize same-sex marriage. That measure will take effect in the summer if it survives a likely court challenge.
Six states and the District of Columbia already issue same-sex marriage licenses -- Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. Five states -- Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey and Rhode Island -- allow civil unions that provide rights similar to marriage.
New Jersey lawmakers approved same-sex marriage this month, but Gov. Chris Christie vetoed the legislation. He has said voters should decide the issue in a statewide referendum.
Voters in Minnesota and North Carolina, meanwhile, will consider proposals in November to ban gay marriage in those states. New Hampshire lawmakers may also consider a repeal of its same-sex marriage law, according to the National Organization for Marriage, which opposes same-sex marriage. Lawsuits seeking to expand civil unions or turn back laws banning same-sex marriages are working through the courts in at least 12 states, including Hawaii, Minnesota and California, the organization said.
Same-sex marriage became a national issue in 1993, after the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that a ban on such unions violated the state constitution.
Legislation was introduced recently to allow same-sex marriages in Illinois, and bills from 2011 remain technically active in Hawaii and Minnesota, said Jack Tweedie of the National Council of State Legislatures. It's unclear whether any will see significant action, he said.
An effort is also under way to put a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage on the November ballot in Maine, where voters previously overturned a 2009 state law authorizing it.
In California, meanwhile, a federal appeals court recently ruled against a voter-passed referendum that outlawed same-sex marriage. It said such a ban was unconstitutional and singled out gays and lesbians for discrimination. The case appears to be eventually headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Maryland governor to sign same-sex marriage bill
By the CNN Wire... more
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Joe "the Plumber" Wurzelbacher, everyman during the 2008 campaign, has tried his hardworking patriotic hands at stand-up comedy. He participated in the DC Improv's Funniest Celebrity in Washington Contest.
He closed by telling the crowd that "freedom is a responsibility."
Needless to say Joe the Plumber ghost-written jokes did not take first prize. That was awarded to White House economist, Austan Goolsbee. He killed the crowd (maybe) with "I would like to say one thing about major banks (ungrateful [expletives]) . . . " Expletives always work.
I could totally see myself walking out of a play about the Washington DC stand-up-circuit-as-a-metaphor-for-DC-politics.Joe "the Plumber" Wurzelbacher, everyman during the 2008 campaign, has tried... more
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In Las Vegas, Miss Virginia Caressa Cameron wins the Miss America 2010 title saturday night after having a skintight yellow dress.In Las Vegas, Miss Virginia Caressa Cameron wins the Miss America 2010 title saturday... more
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It turns out that in eight states, plus the District of Columbia, getting beaten up by your spouse is a pre-existing condition.
Under the cold logic of the insurance industry, it makes perfect sense: If you are in a marriage with someone who has beaten you in the past, you're more likely to get beaten again than the average person and are therefore more expensive to insure.
In human terms, it's a second punishment for a victim of domestic violence.
In 2006, Democrats tried to end the practice. An amendment introduced by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), now a member of leadership, split the Health Education Labor & Pensions Committee 10-10. The tie meant that the measure failed.
All ten no votes were Republicans, including Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming), a member of the "Gang of Six" on the Finance Committee who are hashing out a bipartisan bill. A spokesman for Enzi didn't immediately return a call from Huffington Post.
The eight states that still allow it are Idaho, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wyoming, according to a report by the National Women's Law Center.It turns out that in eight states, plus the District of Columbia, getting beaten up by... more
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A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.
*profanity warning*
1. Hamthrax
2. NAFTA Flu
3. Super Pork Pandemic
4. Flatulent Toxic Ass Amonia
5. COKECANUCK
6. T.R.E.A.S.O.N.
7. Gabriel Teodros
8. Political Boxes
9. What is Anarchy?
these articles and more at the link aboveA.C.R.O.N.Y.M.
*profanity warning*
1. Hamthrax
2. NAFTA Flu
3. Super Pork... more
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At least 3 percent of District residents have HIV or AIDS, a total that far surpasses the 1 percent threshold that constitutes a "generalized and severe" epidemic, according to a report scheduled to be released by health officials Monday.
That translates into 2,984 residents per every 100,000 over the age of 12 -- or 15,120 -- according to the 2008 epidemiology report by the District's HIV/AIDS office.
"Our rates are higher than West Africa," said Shannon L. Hader, director of the District's HIV/AIDS Administration, who once led the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's work in Zimbabwe. "They're on par with Uganda and some parts of Kenya."
"We have every mode of transmission" -- men having sex with men, heterosexual and injected drug use -- "going up, all on the rise, and we have to deal with them," Hader said.
In addition to the epidemiology report, the city is also releasing a study on heterosexual behavior Monday. That report, funded by the CDC, was conducted by the George Washington University School of Health and Health Services.
Among its findings: Almost half of those who had connections to the parts of the city with the highest AIDS prevalence and poverty rates said they had overlapping sexual partners within the past 12 months, three in five said they were aware of their own HIV status, and three in 10 said they had used a condom the last time they had sex.
The District's report found a 22 percent increase in HIV and AIDS cases from the 12,428 reported at the end of 2006, touching every race and sex across population and neighborhoods, with an epidemic level in all but one of the eight wards. Black men, with an infection rate of nearly 7 percent, carry the weight of the disease, according to the report, which also underscores that the District's HIV and AIDS population is aging. Almost 1 in 10 residents between the ages of 40 and 49 has the virus.At least 3 percent of District residents have HIV or AIDS, a total that far surpasses... more
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