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Gays & Union boycott Hotelier over marriage initiative donation.
Gay rights and union advocates have begun boycotting the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego after its owner, Doug Manchester, donated $125,000 to a ballot measure that would end same-sex marriage in California, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The hotelier's contribution to the proposed constitutional amendment on the Nov. 4 ballot struck a nerve among supporters of marriage equality.
Fred Karger, an organizer of the boycott, told the Union-Tribune, "This is someone who is giving an exorbitant amount of money to write discrimination into the Constitution for the very first time."
Activists were joined by Unite Here Local 30, which represents 4,500 San Diego-area hotel and restaurant workers.
The Manchester Grand Hyatt is not unionized, the Union-Tribune reported. Gay rights and union advocates have begun boycotting the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego after its owner, Doug Manchester, donated... more -
Homosexuality is natural!
"... But researchers are finding that same-sex couplings are surprisingly widespread in the animal kingdom..."
This article is about same-sex couplings in both captive and wild animals. This kind of research debunks the mythology that homosexuality is "unnatural" and therefore wrong, and can hopefully lead to more tolerance for the wide spectrum of human sexuality.
"... But researchers are finding that same-sex couplings are surprisingly widespread in the animal kingdom..." ... more -
U.S. Census Bureau won't count same-sex marraiges
In 2010 when the United States fulfills it's constitutional duty to count every citizen in the United States and collect other data as it relates to public policy; the census will not count the thousands of same-sex marriages in California or Massachusetts:
"The U.S. Census Bureau, reacting to the federal Defense of Marriage Act and other mandates, plans to edit the 2010 census responses of same-sex couples who marry legally in California, Massachusetts or any other state. They will be reported as "unmarried partners," rather than married spouses, in census tabulations - a policy that will likely draw the ire of gay rights groups."
"This has been a question we've been looking at for quite a long time," said Martin O'Connell, chief of the Census Bureau's Fertility and Family Statistics Branch. "It's not something the bureau could arbitrarily or casually decide to change on a whim, because our data is used by virtually every federal agency."
Critics argue that the Census decision is political, unjustified and poor public policy. They believe the census should collect accurate information about American families, rather than create government sanctioned closets. In 2010 when the United States fulfills it's constitutional duty to count every citizen in the United States and collect other data as... more -
'I won't marry gays' registrar wins landmark case
A Christian registrar who refused to conduct gay weddings because she believes they are "sinful" has won her case, the Telegraph reports.
So religious autonomy has been prioritised over LGBT rights? Interesting...
I don't really understand why my fellow gaylords and lady gardeners would actually *want* to get married and join an institution that actively rejects them, but ho hum...
The question really is, what should take precedence: the right to be a Christian, the right to be gay, the right to be a gay Christian, the right to be a married gay Christian, the right to be a gay Chrstian married by an un-gay Christian, or... Um, it's all getting a bit complicated. What do you think?
A Christian registrar who refused to conduct gay weddings because she believes they are "sinful" has won her case, the Telegraph repor... more -
$125,000 donation to ban gay marriage in California brings boycott for hotel owner
When Doug Manchester, owner of the Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel in San Diego, donated $125,000 to support Proposition 8, an amendment to ban same-sex marriage on the November ballot, he probably didn't think it would impact the bottom line of his business.
A gay rights group called Californians Against Hate plans to launch a boycott of Manchester's hotels. Organizers of the campaign, which is expected to be announced at a news conference today, say they believe it is the first time that gay rights supporters have boycotted a business whose owner seeks to ban same-sex marriage.
Leaders will urge the public to avoid the downtown hotel because they say that support for Proposition 8 amounts to unfair treatment of gays and lesbians.
In an interview earlier this year, Manchester said that he decided to donate to Proposition 8 because he had heard that schools that teach that marriage is between a man and a woman could be sued for discriminating against gays.
In addition, he said, he was motivated by his strong Catholic faith to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. When Doug Manchester, owner of the Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel in San Diego, donated $125,000 to support Proposition 8, an amendment ... more -
Wisconsin gays face jail if they marry in California
If same-sex couples from Wisconsin go to California to get married, they may face a $10,000 fine, 9 months in jail, or both.
"Wisconsin law makes it a criminal offense to enter into a marriage outside the state if that marriage were illegal in Wisconsin. The law was passed decades ago to prevent underage couples from crossing state lines to marry, but it could be used against same-sex couples, Glenn Carlson of Fair Wisconsin told The Capital Times newspaper in Madison."
Wisconsin voters approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in 2006.
While no one has been prosecuted under the law, Lambda Legal (the gay and lesbian legal association that fights for equal rights) posted a warning to Wisconsin residents on their website http://www.lambdalegal.org/publications/factsheets/fs_m...
Other states, including Delaware have laws prohibiting residents from circumventing state law by traveling to another state, but Wisconsin's punishment is the harshest. If same-sex couples from Wisconsin go to California to get married, they may face a $10,000 fine, 9 months in jail, or both. ... more -
Gay marriage: until deportation do us part
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rita Boyadjian wishes she were in a better mood to celebrate the weddings of fellow gay friends after California began legally marrying same-sex couples last month.
But her partner of six years is a German woman whose U.S. student visa runs out soon. Even if they were to legally marry in California, Margot (not her real name) could not stay in the United States because the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriage for immigration purposes.
This month the well-to-do couple and their nine-month-old baby will move to Germany so they can stay together.
"It's a little bittersweet, I have to be honest," said Boyadjian, 38, a first-generation American who owns a Hollywood entertainment marketing company.
"I am very happy for my friends and I do know a lot of people who are getting married this summer ... but I am sad that while the celebrations are going on, I have to leave."
Gay rights activists estimate that 40,000 binational gay and lesbian couples in the United States are caught in the same legal limbo. A solution, they say, is years away.
When California's Supreme Court struck down a ban on gay marriage in May, becoming the second state after Massachusetts to allow same-sex nuptials, Boyadjian said she was inundated with congratulatory calls from friends believing the couple's problems were solved.
But the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirms that nothing changes with the California court's ruling. LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rita Boyadjian wishes she were in a better mood to celebrate the weddings of fellow gay friends after Californ... more -
Gays boycott Heinz for pulling ad
Stonewall, a gay rights group is urging gays and lesbians and their alleys to boycott Heinz after the pulled this ad from the air featuring two men kissing. The ad aired for a week and received 200 hundred complaints. "Viewers complained it was "offensive, "inappropriate" and "unsuitable to be seen by children" and said it raised the "difficulty" of parents having to discuss same-sex relationships with their children."
Stonewall was offended by Heinz's decision and subsequently issued the boycott.
To register your support for the boycott, please visit www.heinz.com and click on the contact us button at the bottom of the page. You can also call their comment line at (800) 255-5750. Please be respectful. Stonewall, a gay rights group is urging gays and lesbians and their alleys to boycott Heinz after the pulled this ad from the air feat... more -
Brains different in gay and straight people
"Some scientists say the new findings are part of an increasingly convincing body of evidence that suggests sexual orientation results from fundamental developmental differences that are probably caused by hormonal exposures in the womb.
"This research is pointing to basic differences in the brain between homosexual and heterosexual people that are likely there right from the beginning," said Sandra Witelson, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at McMaster University in Ontario. "These could be reflecting some genetic or hormonal factors that predetermine your sexual orientation."
Others, however, argue that such research is far from conclusive.
"I remain skeptical," said William Byne, a professor of psychiatry at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. "There's been a history of jumping to conclusions and overinterpreting findings in this field."
Several earlier studies have found what appear to be differences between the brains of gay and straight people. In 1991, brain scientist Simon LeVay reported that the hypothalamus, which is involved in sexual behavior, tended to be smaller in gay men. Other researchers subsequently showed the brains of gay and straight people appeared likely to respond differently to sexual images....
[article continued at link] "Some scientists say the new findings are part of an increasingly convincing body of evidence that suggests sexual orientation results... more -
Same Sex Marriage---For It Or Against It?
June 17, 2008
***HOT TOPIC*** Same Sex Marriage---For It Or Against It?
I don't know
You've got the answer!!!!
Me personally I don't care,
Let them do what they do, just don't include me.
In todays times of high gas- unemployment-Bush-Food shortage-The War-Presidental election, it really doesn't matter to me. Us as a country have bigger issues to deal with. June 17, 2008 ***HOT TOPIC*** Same Sex Marriage---For It Or Against It? I don't know You've got the answer!!!! ... more -
Adventures in Equal Parenting
Excerpts:
That message was one the Vachons had agreed on from the evening they met, though they were clearly still tinkering with the details. They would not be the kind of parents their parents had been — the mother-knows-best mold. Nor the kind their friends were — the “involved” dad married to the stressed-out working mom. Nor even, as Marc put it, “the stay-at-home dad, who is cooed at for his sensitivity but who is as isolated and financially vulnerable as the stay-at-home-mom.”
Instead, they would create their own model, one in which they were parenting partners. Equals and peers. They would work equal hours, spend equal time with their children, take equal responsibility for their home. Neither would be the keeper of the mental to-do lists; neither of their careers would take precedence. Both would be equally likely to plan a birthday party or know that the car needs oil or miss work for a sick child or remember (without prompting) to stop at the store for diapers and milk. They understood that this would mean recalibrating their career ambitions, and probably their income, but what they gained, they believed, would be more valuable than what they lost.
Other couples might have resigned themselves to inequity, redefining it as choice, but Marc and Amy fought back. If they were to avoid skirmishes over their parenting standards and if they were to avoid defaulting to Amy as the expert, they would have to decide what those parenting standards were. Marc explains: “Did we want to work toward a set nap schedule? Yes. Did our daughter’s outfits have to match perfectly? No. Did we need to take the diaper bag when our daughter came with us to the grocery store? Not necessarily.”
There is one pocket of American parenting in which equality is the norm or, at least, the mutually-agreed-upon goal. Same-sex couples cannot default to gender when deciding who does what at home. How these parents make their decisions, therefore, sheds some light on why married men and women act the way they do. They are the exceptions that both prove and challenge the rules.
“Heterosexual couples can learn from gay couples about sharing housework and child care,” says Esther D. Rothblum, a professor in the women’s studies department of San Diego State University whose comparative study of the relationships of 342 couples — lesbian, gay, heterosexual — was published in the journal Developmental Psychology in January. “They are good role models."
Excerpts: ... more -
Anti Gay Marriage arguements do not hold up to the light of reason!
"We cannot accept the view that Amendment 2's prohibition on specific legal protections does no more than deprive homosexuals of special rights. To the contrary, the amendment imposes a special disability on those persons alone. Homosexuals are forbidden the safeguards that others enjoy or may seek without constraint"
-Justice Anthony Kennedy,
writing for the majority of the U.S. Supreme Court in the decision overturning Colorado's Amendment 2 referendum "We cannot accept the view that Amendment 2's prohibition on specific legal protections does no more than deprive homosexuals of speci... more -
The Bible says we shouldn't eat pork too. Where is all the anti-pork protest?
Anti-gay thoughts are outdated.
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California gay marriage moving forward
Despite objections from Christian conservatives, California's supreme court refused to stay it's decision to grant California's gays and lesbians equal rights. Conservatives managed to get a measure on the ballot that would change California's constitution and overturn the supreme court decisions if it receives a simple majority. They hoped the court would stay their decision until after the election because of the legal chaos that may ensue if the initiative passes. It is unclear whether the marriages conducted between June 17 and the election in November would remain legal, or if they would be absolved. It is likely the supreme court would be asked to make that decision as well. Hopefully California's vote with their hearts rather than their fears and confirm the supreme courts decision by refusing to change their constitution. Despite objections from Christian conservatives, California's supreme court refused to stay it's decision to grant California's gays a... more
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Intiative to ban gay marriage qualifies for Calfornia ballot
1,120,801 homophobic citizens of California would like to write discrimination into the California state constitution. Their signatures successfully petitioned for a ballot measure in November's election that would limit marriage "to one man and one woman." If successful the California supreme our decision last month that legalized marriage equality, would be obsolete. Weather marriages performed between June 17th and the November election would remain legal would have to be decided by the courts.
Protect marriage https://www.protectmarriage.com is the home of the homophobic organization that funded the petition drive. Protect marriage claims it is a Christian organization with close ties to Focus on the Family, long time rivals of LGBT rights and ridiculously full of lies. Here is an example http://90percenttrue.com/2004/12/lies-damn-lies-and-sta...
If you feel like expressing your views about homophobia. Protect marriage can be reached info@protectmarriage.com or by phone at (916) 446-5031.
If you want to support marriage equality in California, consider a donation to Equality for All http://www.equalityforall.com/ or the Human Rights Campaign www.hrc.org or Lambda Legal http://www.lambdalegal.org/
And of course, if you live in California please vote to oppose the proposition. 1,120,801 homophobic citizens of California would like to write discrimination into the California state constitution. Their signatur... more -
Calif. clerk hopes to have 1st legal gay marriage
MARTINEZ, Calif. (AP) — For 18 years, Stephen Weir has been in charge of the office that hands out marriage licenses in California's ninth-largest county. And for just as long, Weir has been unable to get a license himself because the love of his life is a man.
The irony did not escape him.
"Always the bridesmaid, never the bride," he quips with a rueful smile.
So Weir hopes the citizens of Contra Costa County understand if their clerk-recorder invokes executive privilege and opens up for business a little early on June 17, when same-sex couples may be able to legally wed in California.
He and his partner, John Hemm, want to be first at the counter that day. They plan to be the first to exchange vows and kisses in the conference room Weir converted into a wedding chapel that hosts 1,200 couples a year, but that he could never use.
"I've waited all of this time to be able to walk into my own office and stand in line and pay what used to be $64 and now is $85 to buy a license and have a ceremony," says Weir, who also is president of the state clerks association.
"It's a big deal." MARTINEZ, Calif. (AP) — For 18 years, Stephen Weir has been in charge of the office that hands out marriage licenses in California's n... more -
10 states seek delay in California gay marriage ruling
"The attorneys general said that allowing same-sex marriages now could unnecessarily open the door to legal challenges from gay residents of other states who get married in California. Upon returning to their home states, the newlyweds could demand equality in everything from tax-filing status to testimonial privileges in civil suits, the attorneys general said.
“Absent a stay of the mandate in this case, that number will certainly be very large indeed,” Mark L. Shurtleff, the Utah attorney general, wrote on behalf of the group in a letter delivered on Thursday and released publicly on Friday. “And unnecessarily so if a majority of California’s voters favor in November the proposed ballot measure.”
So basically the homophobic states are afraid gay people may end up with equal rights despite the homophobic constitutional amendments passed in those states.
There is little indication the court will stay it's decision. "The attorneys general said that allowing same-sex marriages now could unnecessarily open the door to legal challenges from gay reside... more -
California's First Gay Marriage June 17
Despite objections from radical Christians, California will perform their first gay marriages on June 17. The only changes officials were told to make was to change the form from husband and wife to party A and party B.
Despite objections from radical Christians, California will perform their first gay marriages on June 17. The only changes officials ... more -
Ellen to get married on the Bush ranch?
Jenna Bush was on the Ellen show with her mom, Laura. Ellen asked if she could marry her partner on the Bush ranch, and Jenna said yes! Ellen also asked John McCain to walk her down the isle. He laughed! Jenna Bush was on the Ellen show with her mom, Laura. Ellen asked if she could marry her partner on the Bush ranch, and Jenna said ye... more
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McCain video: still against gay marriage
Sen. John McCain interview with Ellen DeGeneres. Ellen, who recently announced that she plans to take advantage of the California Supreme Court’s recent gay marriage ruling and wed her longtime girlfriend, actress Portia di Rossi, pressed McCain on his stance on gay marriage.
McCain said that he opposes gay marriage, but said couples should be able to allowed to enter into legal agreements:
McCAIN: Well, my thoughts are that I think people should be able to enter into legal agreements, and I think that is something that we should encourage, particularly in the case of insurance and other areas, decisions that have to be made. I just believe in the unique status of marriage between man and woman. And I know that we have a respectful disagreement on that issue.
DEGENERES: Yeah, I mean, I think that it is looked at, and some people are saying that blacks and women did not have the right to vote. Women just got the right to vote in 1920, blacks didn’t have the right to vote until 1870, and it just feels like there’s this old way of thinking that we’re not all the same. We are all the same people. All of us. You’re no different than I am. Our love is the same.” Sen. John McCain interview with Ellen DeGeneres. Ellen, who recently announced that she plans to take advantage of the California Supr... more
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Marriage Equality
