Newspapers Prefer Lesbians – Bloomberg Politics.
Of course they do. To the straight perception of the general public, lesbians are far less polarizing than gay men, because they are consciously or unconsciously engaging in stereotyping. Look at these front pages. Fascinating.
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed a bill Wednesday legalizing gay marriage in the state that kicked off a national discussion of the issue more than two decades ago.
Now, the island chain is positioning itself for a bump in tourism as people take advantage of the new law and the state provides another example of how differently marriage is viewed in the nation.
via Hawaii Governor, Neil Abercrombie, Signs Bill Legalizing Gay Marriage In State.
I remember back in 1993 when all this “gay marriage” business started. And it started in Hawaii. It was a kickstart to a decade of slow-growth acceptance of an idea that there might one day be a place for same-sex couples to wed. In Massachusetts, the actual fact of marriage equality became a reality in 2004. Now, Hawaii will beat Illinois to the punch to become the 15th state with same-sex marriage. The dominoes keep falling.
Aloha Oe. Waikiki Beach is a little more crowded today than in this retro image from the early 1950s, but it still will be the perfect backdrop for many island nuptials that are coming thanks to marriage equality.
Newly out in 1993, I marched on Washington for gay rights that year in what is still the largest crowd I’ve ever seen on the National Mall — and I went to plenty of rallies and two inaugurals in my nearly two decades in the national capital area — and it gave me hope for the future. I just never expected marriage.
Today, I’m reminded of the late Howard Crabtree’s hysterical 1996 musical revue, When Pigs Fly, written when a “gay Hawaiian wedding” was seen as something that might have been. There’s a marvelous song in Act II called “Hawaiian Wedding Song” and it’s as downright hilarious as the rest of the show. I’m sorry Howard didn’t live to see the day. Swine are winged today in his honor!
Gay couple in Oklahoma legally wed despite state ban on same-sex marriage – LGBTQ Nation.
My new favorite tribe! Congratulations!
In this photo provided by All Shots Photgraphy, the Rev. Floyd Black Bear, left, officiates the wedding of his son, Darren Black Bear, second from left, to Jason Pickel, second from right, at Fort Reno in Oklahoma. They are the third same-sex couple to be issued a marriage license from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes since 2012.| Brandi Duvall AP
Despite a gay marriage ban in the Oklahoma Constitution, Darren Black Bear, 45, and Jason Pickel, 36, wed before about 50 friends and family members at the Fort Reno chapel after being granted a marriage license from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes.
CINCINNATI (AP) — John Arthur, who with his longtime partner helped lead a legal challenge to Ohio’s ban on gay marriage, died early Tuesday, his attorney and a funeral home director said.
With Arthur terminally ill from Lou Gehrig’s disease, he and James Obergefell, both 47, flew to Maryland in June to marry. They then then sued in federal court in Cincinnati for recognition of their marriage in Ohio so they could be buried next to each other in Arthur’s family plot.
“Their love is a model for all of us,” attorney Al Gerhardstein said, praising Arthur for fighting in his last days for the rights of all same-sex couples.
via John Arthur, Terminally Ill Ohio Man Who Challenged Gay Marriage Ban, Dies.
Very sad, but a story of a triumphant outcome of hope. John Arthur continued to fight for recognition until the end. His fight may pave the way for more Ohioans to have their marriages legally recognized.
There’s a video embedded on the jump. Watch it. You’ll cry.
Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey announced on Monday that his administration would drop its legal challenge to allowing gay marriage in the state…
via Christie Withdraws Appeal of Same-Sex Marriage Ruling in New Jersey – NYTimes.com.
I sometimes get the feeling the Christie WANTS to be a progressive, but just can’t quite get there. I applauded him during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, stood up for him when Clinton’s former doctor called him fat, and decided that I would do anything I could possibly do to unseat him after this marriage equality debacle.
Not only is his referendum idea wrong on its face — you never allow the electorate to vote on basic human rights — but it’s laughable to think that somehow the courts are not a part of government. They are. They did their jobs. Lick your wounds and move on.
Or, perhaps more to the point, you realized that you can’t win another election on the wrong side of history.
Congratulations, Garden State. Fourteen is a lovely number. Fifteen’s a better one.
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.
One Last Word 