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Victory for Oregon Domestic Partnerships!
"In a unanimous decision issued this morning, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court ’s decision dismissing our opponent’s claims in the Lemons v. Bradbury case. Thanks to your courage and unwavering support, Oregon’s domestic partnership law is secure [...] more... "In a unanimous decision issued this morning, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower cou... more
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Lesbians of Mass Destruction?
Poor Dick Cheney. He was sure we'd find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. We searched and searched, but he refused to give up.
Now he's discovering what it's like to be on the other end of such obtuse certainty. The conservative jihad has turned from Saddam to Sodom. Moralists are denouncing Cheney's pregnant daughter, Mary, for disclosing that she and her lesbian partner will raise the baby together. The moralists are confident that having two mommies is bad for kids. And no evidence to the contrary can dissuade them.
The 30-year search for proof that gay parents are destructive looks a lot like the hunt for WMD. The American Psychological Association has compiled abstracts of 67 studies. Some are plainly biased, and only the latest two or three have avoided the methodological flaws of earlier investigations. But after 67 tries, you'd expect the harm of gay parenting to show up somewhere. Yet in study after study, on measure after measure, kids turn out the same.
That's it. That's the evidence against gay parenthood. On the other hand, .......... Poor Dick Cheney. He was sure we'd find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. We searched and searched, but he refused to give up.... more -
Gay couples across California trade weekend vows
Same-sex couples across California exchanged vows and wedding bands on the first weekend since the state began allowing gays and lesbians to legally marry.
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The city of West Hollywood, a staunch advocate of marriage rights for gays and lesbians, hosted a daylong marriage marathon Saturday, when about 100 same-sex couples planned to wed in ceremonies officiated by council members and administrators.
Accompanied by camera-toting clusters of relatives and friends, couples traded vows under white trellises trimmed with red roses inside curtained cabanas in West Hollywood Park.
Among them were Nancy Vasquez and Sandy Perron, partners of 16 years, who got their marriage license at West Hollywood City Hall on Tuesday and returned Saturday for the ceremony.
"This is just the icing on the cake," said Perron, a 45 year-old human resources assistant from Gardena. "It's something we've been waiting for."
California became the only U.S. state besides Massachusetts to allow gay couples to marry on Monday, one month after the state Supreme Court overturned a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.
But the wedding spree could be short-lived if voters approve a November ballot initiative that would reverse the May 15 court ruling and amend the state Constitution to bar gay marriage.
For Susan and River Mika Coyote of Incline Village, Nev., getting married at the Sacramento gay pride festival was a statement about human rights, as well as their personal commitment. The couple held a ceremony five years ago, legally combined their names and bank accounts, and bought a home together.
River, 38, said she hopes hundreds of gay marriages in coming months will help dissuade voters from supporting a constitutional ban on the November ballot.
"It's easy when people think of gay people as 'those people,'" she said. "If you check that box you're taking away the marriage of River and Susie — it's not 'those people.' We're normal people who want to take care of each other."
The gay wedding boom has been good for business. Tom Rosa, owner of the Cake And Art bakery in West Hollywood, said business has tripled in the past week, and on one day he did as many consultations as he usually does in a month.
Rainbow-colored cakes are popular, but some couples are wild for a silver-studded all black cake, said Rosa, who baked four cakes for same-sex couples marrying at West Hollywood Park.
Many couples waited until Saturday to get married so they could share the day with family and friends and not be part of the media hoopla and protests that surrounded ceremonies earlier in the week.
"We didn't want that to take away from our occasion. It means a lot to us," said Pat Melchor of Downey, who married her partner of 11 years, the new Mrs. Cheryl Melchor, who was clutching a bouquet of white roses as they posed for photos.
West Hollywood Councilman John Heilman, who was deputized by the county deputy commissioner of civil marriages to officiate weddings in June, said the day was proving emotional, especially for couples who had been together for many years.
"Everyone's crying," he said. "People are bringing their family and friends. That's what been nicer about today." Same-sex couples across California exchanged vows and wedding bands on the first weekend since the state began allowing gays and lesbi... more -
Homosexuals' money is no good here
Some businesses still don't cater to homosexuals, ignoring a potentially lucrative source of revenue, says University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee economist Keith A. Bender.
One of the most well-known examples is eHarmony.com, even as California, the country's most populated state, began performing same-sex marriages this week. The online dating Web site bills itself as a provider of what it calls unique measurements for compatibility that, according to a representative, do not cater to same-sex partnering.
"The research is based on six Ph.D. psychologists and 29 variables for compatibility called the compatibility matching system," said David D., an eHarmony representative who refused to give his full name. Some businesses still don't cater to homosexuals, ignoring a potentially lucrative source of revenue, says University of Wisconsi... more -
Feds Rule Civil Union Children Get Benefits
The federal government has ruled that the Social Security Administration must extend benefits to the children of partners in same-sex unions even if the parent is not biologically related.
The U.S. Department of Justice opinion was in response to a case involving a Vermont couple. It says that the federal Defense of Marriage Act does not exclude the nonbiological child of partners in a same-sex union from receiving benefits.
The October 2007 opinion was made public this month.
The opinion refers to two Vermont women who entered into a civil union in 2002 and later tried to pass on the nonbiological parent's disability benefits to their child born in 2003. The federal government has ruled that the Social Security Administration must extend benefits to the children of partners in same-sex ... more -
California's gay marriage law revives religious debate over homosexuality - L...
With same-sex marriage now legal in California, people of faith are renewing a passionate debate over whether homosexuality is sanctioned by God.
Christians, Jews and Muslims on both sides of the issue cite the holy writings of their religions. Some note that the Bible depicts man-lying-with-man as an "abomination," while others say it speaks of God's love for all people created in his image.
Both sides defend their positions with the zeal of the biblical warriors who inhabit their scriptures. With same-sex marriage now legal in California, people of faith are renewing a passionate debate over whether homosexuality is sanctio... more -
Homophobia is costing some California taxpayers big dollars
It is estimated that approximately 51,320 of California's same-sex couples are planning to marry now that the California state Supreme Court has ruled that gay and lesbian couples are entitled to civil marriage in that state.
Another 68,000 out-of-state couples are likely to travel to California to tie the knot generating anywhere between $437.5 million and $683.6 million over the next three years, and creating 2,178 jobs in California, particularly in the travel-related business.
Yet some counties in California are going to be missing out on the expected financial windfall created by gay marriage as projected by a resent study because of some official homophobia in those counties. It is estimated that approximately 51,320 of California's same-sex couples are planning to marry now that the California state Su... more -
First Same-Sex Weddings in Greece
ATHENS — Defying governmental wrath, the mayor of a remote Greek island performed the country’s first same-sex marriages on Tuesday, wedding two men and two women.
The civil ceremonies, held at sunrise in the nondescript town hall of Tilos, a tiny island in the eastern Aegean Sea, defied statements by a senior Greek prosecutor last week that such unions were illegal.
“It’s done, now,” the mayor, Anastassios Aliferis, said in a telephone interview. “The unions have been registered and the licenses have been issued. It’s a historic moment.”
With its abundance of glamorous gay bars and summer island resorts such as Mykonos, Greece has long drawn thousands of gay tourists annually. But gays and lesbians in this European Union nation of 11 million people frequently complain of discrimination. Public displays of affection are widely frowned upon. The country’s military bars gays from joining its ranks, and in 1993 a private Greek television network, Mega Channel, was fined $116,000 by the National Radio and Television Council for showing men kissing in a weekly drama. Greece’s powerful Orthodox Church has also denounced homosexuality as a sin and “defect of human nature.”
On Tuesday, however, a bubbling just-married Evangelia Vlami emerged from the Tilos town hall, telling the BBC that the unions would help end discrimination. “We did this to encourage other gay people to take a stand,” she said.
About two dozen people attended the no-frills ceremony, held under the watchful eyes of police officers and dumfounded locals.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Sofia Kamma, a resident contacted by phone. “I know they’re people too, but couldn’t they have gone on doing what they were doing without getting our community involved?”
Greek gay rights groups have noted a loophole in a 1982 law that does not specify that a civil union must involve a man and woman. ATHENS — Defying governmental wrath, the mayor of a remote Greek island performed the country’s first same-sex marriages on Tuesday, w... more -
Tolerance Grows in Brooklyn
Religious groups typically preach that homosexuality is a sin and that gay people should not be given the same marriage rights as heterosexuals. When young people are first discovering that they are gay, hearing such things in church can lead to feelings of inferiority and deep emotional scaring. However, while the leaders of religious communities often preach such intolerance, the bible does not directly condemn same sex relationships, and is open for interpretation.
Several churches in Park Slope, Brooklyn, take a very progressive stance on the issue and at times act as gay rights advocates, actively protesting the main branch of their denominations to change their stance on the issue of inclusion and gay marriage. These congregations can be seen as a model for tolerance in religion and an example for the world. Religious groups typically preach that homosexuality is a sin and that gay people should not be given the same marriage rights as hete... more
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