Category Archives: Marriage

Rhode Island Legalizes Gay Marriage

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Image: glaad.org

Rhode Island Legalizes Gay Marriage.|Huffington Post

Rhode Island became the tenth U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage Thursday with a 56-15 vote.

Just before he signed the legislation into law, Gov. Lincoln Chafee took to the steps of the Rhode Island State House, where he told a jubilant crowd, “Today we are making history … we are living up to the ideals of our founder.”

He went on to note, “When your belief and heart is in something, it’s easy work. I am proud to say that now, at long last, you are free to marry the person you love.”

By the way, the official name of the smallest state in the Union is the longest: the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The state bird is a chicken: the Rhode Island Red hen, and the state drink is “Coffee Milk,” which, I believe, is something like a coffee flavored milkshake.

The state motto is “Hope.” We hope that the next 4/5ths of the United States will follow Little Rhody’s lead down the trail of equality.

Chris Kluwe, Minnesota Vikings Punter, Rocks

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Equality advocate Chris Kluwe of the Minnesota Vikings. Photo: Getty/Huffington Post.

Chris Kluwe, Minnesota Vikings Punter, Defends Gay Athletes In CNN Editorial.

Chris Kluwe is the best! He’s passionate and he just gets it. Also, he defies — utterly and completely — the stereotype of the dumb, uninformed jock. Which, in this case, I think, is perfect, since he’s all about breaking down stereotypes for others.

Like Brendon Ayanbadejo of my hometown Baltimore Ravens, Kluwe makes me want to root for the Minnesota Vikings simply because he’s on the team. Maybe I’ll pull for both teams this year!

O’Reilly Explodes At Laura Ingraham

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O’Reilly Explodes At Laura Ingraham For Disagreeing With His ‘Thump The Bible’ Comments.|Huffington Post

Such a sign of the apocalypse. I’m agreeing with Bill O’Reilly.

Again.

Equality Starts Tuesday — We Hope

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HRC is encouraging everyone to wear red on Tuesday and Wednesday to show their support for marriage equality while the issue is being heard by the Supreme Court.

I’m on the road beginning Tuesday, so limited blogging for about a week and a half, unless I find something truly amazing to yack about. (Those desperate to hear from me, follow me on Twitter [look to the left] as I’m so much better at tweeting when I’m away than I am otherwise.)

Until then, please take a moment and send those anti-discrimination vibes to the Supreme Court on Tuesday and Wednesday when the justices will hear arguments in the Proposition 8 case (Tuesday) and the Defense of Marriage Act case (Wednesday).

We’re on the precipice of real and permanent change in this country. In spite of the fact that, to mangle a quote from Dan Savage, the land of the free and the home of the brave is usually the place where freedom and bravery come last, often we do get there.

Let’s make it happen.

New Pope, New ABC, Same Old, Same Old

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New Archbishop praises gay couples for having loving relationships of ‘stunning quality’ | Mail Online.

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Archbishop Justin Welby. Photo: The Mail.

The new Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Anglican Communion, was invested in  a ceremony with plenty of pomp and circumstance in Canterbury Cathedral in Kent this week, just two days after the new Pope was installed in Rome.

The Most Rev. Justin Welby made headlines in the UK by noting that many gay and lesbian couples have formed relationships of “stunning quality,” but he would not pledge to work to change the Church of England’s stance on same-sex marriage, though he did say that he thought that someday a woman would become Archbishop of Canterbury.

For all of his talk of inclusion for some, much of his rhetoric is as rooted in the dogma of the past as that of Pope Francis.

Then There’s This Douchebag….

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Although the governor opposes marriage rights and civil unions for lesbian and gay Ohioans, Nichols said the governor is opposed to discrimination.

“He’s opposed to discrimination against any Ohioan and, while he may have used the term ‘civil union’ loosely in this instance, he recognizes the existing rights of Ohioans to enter into private contracts to manage their personal property and health care issues.”

via Spokesman: Ohio governor misspoke when he said he supported civil unions – LGBTQ Nation.

Translation: I don’t discriminate against anyone that it’s not currently lawful to discriminate against in the state of Ohio.

Native American Tribes Beginning to Allow Same-Sex Marriages

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With an exchange of rings and a kiss, two men became spouses Friday during a ceremony at a northern Michigan Indian reservation after the tribal chairman signed a measure approving same-sex marriage in a state where it’s officially banned.

via Michigan Native American Tribal Chairman Signs Gay Marriage Bill.|John Flesher/AP – Huffington Post

At least two other U.S. Indian tribes recognize gay marriage. The Coquille Tribe in North Bend, Ore., began recognizing the unions in 2009 and the Suquamish Tribe in Suquamish, Wash., did so in 2011. Oregon, like Michigan, has a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

This is very interesting. I really had no idea that Indian tribes were beginning to allow same-sex marriage. It will be interesting, as the national tide shifts, to see how this plays out in the whole debate.

Meanwhile, good on ya! The native peoples have always had a better grasp on the spiritual than we interlopers, IMHO.

Former Senators: We Were Wrong On DOMA

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No shit.

Former Senators Bill Bradley, Tom Daschle, Christopher Dodd and Alan Simpson — all of whom voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 — told the Supreme Court Friday that “the original justifications for DOMA can no longer be credited today,” concluding that “our constitutional commitment to equality does not tolerate such discrimination.”

via Former Senators Bradley, Daschle, Dodd And Simpson: We Were Wrong On DOMA.|Buzzfeed

DOMA Hurts Gay Military Couples [VIDEO]

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DOMA Hurts Gay Military Couples After DADT Repeal, Says U.S. Marine Corps Captain Matthew Phelps.

On the heels of the one-year anniversary of the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” U.S Marine Corps Captain Matthew Phelps made history when he became the first gay man to propose marriage to his boyfriend Ben Schock at the White House.

Now the newly engaged couple are featured in a new video that demonstrates how the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, counteracts many of the benefits same-sex military spouses should be receiving in the wake of the DADT repeal.

Meanwhile, the Obama Administration has urged the Supreme Court to strike down DOMA when it hears arguments next month.

The Obama administration on Friday urged the Supreme Court to strike down the Defense Of Marriage Act in a brief that calls the law unconstitutional because it violates “the fundamental guarantee of equal protection.”  HuffPo