Gay couple sues after photo is used in anti-gay flyer

We had a case like this a number of years ago.  I don't think the guys one.  Still, it's good that they're trying. Read the rest of this post...

Maryland Gov offers insight on marriage campaign

Marylanders for Marriage Equality held a briefing Monday with Governor Martin O’Malley on the state of the marriage equality race in Maryland.  Question 6, which is a yes vote for marriage, is polling favorably for marriage equality. The latest public polling putting the state at 54% in favor of marriage equality and 40% opposed.  The opposition, however, claims a much closer race.

On the call, Governor O’Malley and the campaign pointed to the three expected attacks from the opposition – all of which we’ve seen before.

1. Exploiting racial lines to trying to pit African American voters against gay rights
2. Creating uncertainty around the true meaning of the ballot language
3. Using the fear tactic that this means kids will be taught to be gay in school

Polling and Race

The racial dynamic has been one that the campaign, to date, has focused on quite extensively.  Last Friday, the campaign brought together several leading clergy from African American churches, including Al Sharpton for a press conference in support of Question 6.  Additionally, Benjamin Jealous, the president of the NAACP, which is based in Maryland, has been a vocal supporter.

Among the most interesting pieces of this race is the impact that President Obama’s endorsement of marriage equality had on the role of race in the campaign.  According to a PPP poll, before Obama came out for marriage, African American voters opposed the freedom to marry 56% to 39%.  Over a two-month span that included the Obama announcement, the polls switched to 55% for marriage equality to 36% opposed.  PPP concluded,

“While the media has been focused on what impact President Obama’s announcement will have on his own reelection prospects, the more important fallout may be the impact his position is having on public opinion about same-sex marriage itself. 

Maryland voters were already prepared to support marriage equality at the polls this fall even before President Obama’s announcement. But now it appears that passage will come by a much stronger margin.”

We know from NOM’s leaked strategy documents that they will target this community, but polling seems to indicate Obama may have undercut the likely success of such a strategy.  O'Malley also cited a benchmark of needing to win at least 40% of the African American vote to pass the initiative. 

Polling Among Republicans and Independents

The campaign reports that they have nearly twice the support among Republican voters that any earlier state has seen.  With 30% of Romney voters reporting that they support Question 6, Campaign Manager Josh Levin argues there has been promising support both among voters and prominent republicans in the state like Ken Mehlman, David Frum, and Walter Olson of the Cato Institute, among others.

Independents are polling close to democrats, according to the campaign.

Ballot Language

The ballot initiative reads that Question 6,

Establishes that Maryland’s civil marriage laws allow gay and lesbian couples to obtain a civil marriage license, provided they are not otherwise prohibited from marrying; protects clergy from having to perform any particular marriage ceremony in violation of their religious beliefs; affirms that each religious faith has exclusive control over its own theological doctrine regarding who may marry within that faith; and provides that religious organizations and certain related entities are not required to provide goods, services, or benefits to an individual related to the celebration or promotion of marriage in violation of their religious beliefs.

Governor O’Malley and the campaign believe that this language outlining the protections for religious organizations that oppose marriage equality undercuts opposition on the grounds of "religious liberty," and sees this as a benefit when voters walk into the voting booth.  His central message to voters in his advocacy has been that, “As a people, we can and must protect religious freedom and rights of individuals equally under the law.  No child’s home in Maryland should be protected to a lesser degree under the law.”

My only concern with this ballot language is that it, as has been done in most races before, seems to imply that civil marriage and religious freedoms are fundamentally at odds.  To me, it is important to also emphasize that religious liberty and freedom also extends to churches that seek to perform marriages between gay couples.  I think there is power in the message from clergy that seek to perform these marriages – something that the African American clergy hit on at the Friday press event and something that religious organizations have as a powerful tool.  The campaign also reports the support of several hundred clergy from an array of denominations and faiths.

Fundraising

The campaign says it will likely need another $2 million dollars to air the ads they’d like to see between today and election day.  The race will focus in both the Baltimore media market and the DC media market, the latter being three to four times more expensive than Baltimore.

You can donate to the campaign here.

Read the rest of this post...

Paul Ryan slams gay marriage. RR must have gotten to him.

I was waiting for the flop after yesterday's flip. It's always less than a day after Team Romney/Ryan do or say something almost sane that the far right controlling the GOP gets to them, and suddenly Romney/Ryan are to the right of Atila the Hun just in time for the evening news.

Yesterday, Paul Ryan surprised everyone by saying that he didn't think DADT should un-repealed.

So what happens next? A particularly offensive comment from Ryan about marriage equality, clearly to make up for the pro-gayness that he showed yesterday.

Romney and Ryan are so predictable. Just yell in their face and they cave, no matter the issue. Not a very lovable trait in a president. Read the rest of this post...

Catholic archbishop: If you disagree with church on marriage, don't bother with communion

How about if you disagree with the church aiding and abetting pedophilia?

And what a surprise that the Catholic church is again trying to usurp our democracy only one month out of an election. And these are the same folks who tell us not to worry about uber-religious candidates, they won't let their church control them in office - until their church tries to control them office.  (There's a bit of a "deny me three times" element to the ongoing denial of uber- people of faith on this point - your faith is your number one guidepost but you won't legislate based on it.  Right.)

What a mean-spirited faith. And the Catholics wonder why they have such a hard time getting new priests and followers.  Perhaps because no one wants to wake up early on a Sunday to get yelled at.

In a sweeping pastoral statement to be made public today, the leader of more than 1 million North Jersey Catholics urges them to vote “in defense of marriage and life,” and warns that the passage of same-sex marriage laws might lead to a government crackdown on their religious freedoms.

Newark Archbishop John J. Myers said the statement on gay marriage was not timed to coincide with the November election, now little more than a month away, and that he was not calling on Catholics to vote for a particular candidate. But he said they should examine the “full spectrum” of each candidate, including how they stand on abortion and “a proper backing of marriage.”

He also said in the statement, a copy of which was provided to The Record before its release, that Catholics who disagree with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church on marriage should “refrain from receiving Holy Communion.” He said he issued the statement because of what he described as a lack of clarity on the subject by other bishops.

(H/t Towleroad)
Read the rest of this post...

Marriage compared to pedophiles playing in parks

(Nearly) speechless.

So often the core of arguments against our rights are rooted in the belief that all gay people are pedophiles.

Today, it's usually done with enough subtlety that people don't have to confront the ugliness of the defamation (since more and more people know openly gay people and know this isn't true).

That's not the case in this video from one of the former leaders of the Moral Majority, and prominent televangelist.  Right Wing Watch reports that this video was posted on Bishop Harry Jackson's YouTube page in advance of an upcoming "Defense of Marriage Summit."  Jackson is one of the leaders in the failed fight to prevent marriage in DC, and is active in Maryland.

The good news is that I think the more often this argument is laid bare, the more of an advantage we gain by people who are mortified when confronted with the bigotry we face.

Read the rest of this post...

Maine firefighters do ad for marriage equality

Tomorrow Mainers United will launch a new ad for the upcoming vote on marriage.  The ad features four firefighters - three who are straight and one who is gay.  Watch below:



It's the first ad of the cycle that has prominently featured someone who would benefit from marriage equality.  Previous ads that feature families of gay people discussing why marriage is about fairness are important for voters on the fence (see the brilliant Harlan ad), but I think these messengers are important in reaching the people who still can't imagine that they'd have a gay relative.  Plus, let's be honest, everyone trusts and respects a firefighter. Read the rest of this post...

Restaurant cancels gay wedding party because gay and feng shui don't go together

And he's in Greenwich village! NY Daily News:

The couple contends that later that same day, a senior manager of Amber Village — a man identified only as Mr. Fong — summoned Ho.

“Fong was visibly angry and told Ho that he didn’t want any ‘gay parties’ at Amber Village,” the suit charges.

“Fong instructed Ho to ‘make an excuse’ and tell Greene that his rehearsal dinner could not take place at Amber Village and that his wedding could not be catered by them either.

“Fong also told Ho that it's ‘very bad’ for Amber Village to book ‘gay parties’ and that big groups of ‘gay partyers’ are especially bad for feng shui.”

Wait for the religious to say, "see we told you so."

And yes, we are intolerant of your intolerance.
Read the rest of this post...

Maine marriage campaign preempts religious freedom attacks

As Mainers United for Marriage kicks off the final phase of the marriage campaign, they've released a new ad that takes on the issue of religious freedom.  Knowing the NOM/Schubert playbook will feature lies about the impact of this law on churches, they're addressing the attack early.

Reverend Michael Gray, the lead signer on the petition that put marriage back on the ballot and a vocal supporter is featured in a new ad (below) that was released last week, as well as taking to the the opinion page of the Portland Press Herald.  In the letter he makes the point that real religious freedom is protected by approving marriage in November.

...Despite assertions made by columnist M.D. Harmon ("Religious groups overwhelmingly oppose same-sex marriage," Sept. 14), religious freedom means that all churches -- and not just some churches -- should be free to make their own decisions in regards to solemnizing marriages between same-sex couples.

In Maine, there are more than 75 congregations -- including more than 400 pastors, rabbis and lay leaders -- who support the freedom to marry.

I am among that group. I'm the pastor of Old Orchard Beach United Methodist Church.

I got involved in this issue after prayerful consideration. My faith informs me, first and foremost, that God is love, and that we should do all we can to treat others as we ourselves would hope to be treated. For me, that means supporting the ability of all loving, committed couples to marry...

...The citizens initiative ensures that churches, clergy, religious institutions and denomination cannot be required to host or perform any wedding that falls outside of their beliefs. It also guarantees that no church or religious institution could be sued for declining to host or perform a ceremony. [read the full letter here]

Here's the ad with Rev. Gray and his wife:

Read the rest of this post...

The bestest gay marriage story EVAH

Very hard to excerpt. It's just such a wonderful story, and so wonderfully written by the NYT's Paula Schwartz. Read this excerpt, then go read the entire thing.

“It became clear we had to have a conversation as to what we were doing,” Mr. Jackson said.

When he walked Mr. Roth home, he said they should date.

“It’s complicated,” was Mr. Roth’s response.

“That’s all he said,” Mr. Jackson remembered. “He didn’t say anything else but ‘It’s complicated.’ And I knew. I thought, I’m 10 years older, I’d just come out of a 15-year relationship, and I have a 3-year-old son, Jackson, and I didn’t say any of that. All I said was, ‘It’s worth it.’ ”

For nearly a half-hour on the street they went back and forth, with Mr. Roth saying, “It’s complicated,” and Mr. Jackson replying, “It’s worth it.”

Finally Mr. Roth said: “You have a son. We’ll get together, you and your son, and I’m going to fall in love with this child, and he will fall in love with me, and then we will break up, and then what happens?”

Mr. Jackson said, “Why are you thinking of how to get out before you get in?”

Mr. Roth offered this explanation later: “It never occurred to me that not ending was one of the choices, because I had never had a relationship that didn’t end.”

Read the rest of this post...

Loving this football guy

USA Today:

"The tide is changing," Ayanbadejo said. He's noticed a shift in NFL locker rooms that he feels mirrors a shift in society. Some teammates used to call him gay when he advocated gay rights, he says; now they listen to him even when they don't agree. Many players who oppose same-sex marriage do so on religious grounds, he noted.

"I'm against it," New York Giants offensive tackle Will Beatty said. "It's just my religious background and, from what I understand from reading the Bible, it's a sin. I mean, we all have sins. No one's perfect. That doesn't mean I'm for sin."

Ayanbadejo respects the opinion but disagrees with it. "The disconnect is that religion is not law," he said. "And some guys have trouble seeing the difference."

Same-sex marriage will be law in Maryland in 2013 if voters affirm the legislation, the outcome Ayanbadejo expects.

"It's a new day, and we'll keep pushing forward until it becomes second nature: â??Oh, there's a same-sex couple and they have a child,' and we're not going to look twice," he says.

Read the rest of this post...

More about that NFL player's letter to the homophobic politician

A nice write up in the Sun Times about that letter the football player wrote to the homophobic Maryland state legislator.

I don’t want to spend the whole column quoting Kluwe, but he asks Burns a question that should be put to all fearful haters who believe a few lines in their particular faith’s special book will excuse their loathsome bias forever: “Why do you hate freedom? Why do you hate the fact that other people want a chance to live their lives and be happy, even though they may believe in something different than you, or act different than you?”

Now other NFL players are also speaking out. Which should remind the bigots-hiding-behind-Bibles that when you’ve lost pro athletes, you’ve lost. Freedom is a one-way street. Blacks don’t contemplate a return to slavery. Women don’t agonize whether getting the vote was a good or bad thing. Having fought their way out of the closet and tasted the joys of daily life, unafraid and unashamed, gay people are never going back. That’s just a fact. You can be among those who helped, or you can be a stumbling block, but the end result will be the same. Me, I went online and joined the Chris Kluwe Fan Club.

Read the rest of this post...

NFL player takes on homophobic legislator, hilarity ensues - a serious must-read

This merits a serious read. This is the background below, then click through and read the entire thing - it's a joy.  And just a heads up, but it's fairly vulgar in parts.  Though I'm not convinced unnecessarily, as we're talking an NFL player, and the influence this may have on his fans.  Speaking their language isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo has spoken out in favor of a Maryland ballot initiative that would legalize gay marriage. Yahoo has published a letter that Maryland state delegate Emmett C. Burns Jr. wrote last week to Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, urging him to "inhibit such expressions from your employee." This is Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe's response to Burns.

And here's only the beginning of the letter, it gets better as it goes on.

Dear Emmett C. Burns Jr.,

I find it inconceivable that you are an elected official of Maryland's state government. Your vitriolic hatred and bigotry make me ashamed and disgusted to think that you are in any way responsible for shaping policy at any level. The views you espouse neglect to consider several fundamental key points, which I will outline in great detail (you may want to hire an intern to help you with the longer words):

1. As I suspect you have not read the Constitution, I would like to remind you that the very first, the VERY FIRST Amendment in this founding document deals with the freedom of speech, particularly the abridgment of said freedom. By using your position as an elected official (when referring to your constituents so as to implicitly threaten the Ravens organization) to state that the Ravens should "inhibit such expressions from your employees," more specifically Brendon Ayanbadejo, not only are you clearly violating the First Amendment, you also come across as a narcissistic fromunda stain. What on earth would possess you to be so mind-boggingly stupid? It baffles me that a man such as yourself, a man who relies on that same First Amendment to pursue your own religious studies without fear of persecution from the state, could somehow justify stifling another person's right to speech. To call that hypocritical would be to do a disservice to the word. Mindf*cking obscenely hypocritical starts to approach it a little bit.

Read the rest of this post...

On gay rights, like every other issue, Mitt Romney is cheating on himself

Mitt Romney took a veiled swipe at gay marriage last night.

Whatever.

The guy is so all over the map on everything that nothing he says anymore means anything.  He will say quite literally anything to get elected - he'll lie about Obama, he'll lie about himself.  Nothing he says means anything.  I he can pivot 180 degrees on every firm conviction he's ever had - with no other justification than political expediency - then he can pivot again.  Which ought to trouble GOP voters.

It's a lot like the old saying about falling in love with a guy who's cheating on his wife to be with you.  What's to say he won't do the same to you?  Especially if, like with Gingrich's current wife, you're number 3 on the cheat-then-marry index.

Except in this case, by lying about his own lifelong positions, such as his once-promise that he'd be more pro-gay than Ted Kennedy, Romney is now cheating on himself.  And there really isn't a bigger betrayal than that. Read the rest of this post...

Loathed GOP billionaire brother Koch comes out for marriage equality

Huh.

Though a good friend thinks gay marriage is the popular beard that Republicans are using to try to seem less hateful.  It gives them cover with their liberal friends in NYC, so they can still keep going to all the society parties.

Still, this one merits a good "huh." Read the rest of this post...

Creepy Gary Bauer upset with Orrin Hatch on marriage

Bauer is yet another creepy religious right leader who sets off all sorts of gaydar. First time I saw him on PBS during the gays in the military debate in 1993, I turned to someone in the room and ask "who's that fag?" Bauer used to run the Family the Research Council.

More from Signorile:

Bauer, president of American Values and former president of the conservative Family Research Council, responded to Hatch's turnaround in an interview on SiriusXM OutQ radio program.

“Of course as you know that’s not the goal of the gay rights movement. The goal of the gay rights movement is to take a state that has same-sex marriage and to use that state as a battering ram and a lawsuit before the Supreme Court to force every state to have same sex marriage," he said. "So I’m sorry that Orrin fell for it. But if only your side was willing to allow each state to make the decision on their own. I think Orrin Hatch may have had a bad moment or he forgets what’s happened in the last 30 years -- courts forcing radical social change on the American people.”

Right. And then when we win in the states, like Maine and Iowa, the religious right tries to overturn it. So spare us the "if only your side was [sic] willing to allowed each state to make the decision on their own." Bauer helped the FRC master its art of lying.  It is said that these self-proclaimed Christian leaders have such difficulty with the truth.  Which is a sin, by the way that the Bible does talk about. Read the rest of this post...

NZ takes 1st step towards gay marriage because of Obama's open endorsement

Wow, this is just wild. From AP:

New Zealand lawmakers on Wednesday overwhelmingly cast a first vote in favor of a gay marriage bill that was given impetus by President Barack Obama's public support of the issue.

The proposed changes can be directly traced to Obama's declaration in May in support of gay marriage. That prompted center-right Prime Minister John Key to break his long silence on the issue by saying he was "not personally opposed" to the idea. Then lawmaker Louisa Wall, from the opposition Labour Party, put forward a bill she had previously drafted.

"If I'm really honest, I think the catalyst was around Obama's announcement, and then obviously our prime minister came out very early in support, as did the leader of my party, David Shearer," Wall told The Associated Press. "The timing was right."

I'm seriously bowled over. I really do believe that words can matter. But for the President's words to inspire a leader half a world away. I'm just in awe. Read the rest of this post...

French govt to introduce marriage legislation in October

Vive la France! It always amazes me how in Europe the majority party can just charge ahead with stuff like this.

WSJ:

The French government will introduce legislation in October authorizing gay marriage, a move that would bring France in line with a host of European countries and fulfill an election promise of President François Hollande.

"In October, we will send a bill to the National Assembly and the Senate to allow same-sex couples to marry," French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said ...

Read the rest of this post...

Gay man told to marry woman or lose inheritance

A fascinating, and somewhat confusing, article about father's will requiring his son to marry a woman (specifically, the boy's mom) lest the son's child not receive any inheritance from the grandfather. From ABC News:

The words "child," "grandchild" and "descendant" include natural and adopted children and children born out of wedlock, according to the will, which was filed in Manhattan Surrogate's Court.

"However, such words shall specifically not include an adopted child of Robert, if adopted while Robert is a single person, or a biological child of Robert, if Robert shall not be married to the child's mother within six months of the child's birth," the will states.

Robert Mandelbaum is challenging the will on the basis that it would require him to enter into a "sham marriage" which would violate New York marriage-equality law.

I don't remember from law school if racist provisions of wills are enforceable, but I doubt it. If not, I would think this would fail along the same lines, since NY state has marriage equality laws. Read the rest of this post...

Anti-gay Amish pastor guilty

Some respect for family and children. From the NYT:

Photo via Shutterstock

After only four hours of deliberation, a federal jury in Burlington, Vt., found an Amish-Mennonite pastor guilty of abetting international parental kidnapping in a widely publicized case involving a same-sex union and religious opponents of homosexuality.

After splitting up with her former partner, Janet Jenkins, in 2003, Ms. Miller, who is not related to Mr. Miller, moved to Virginia, declared herself a born-again Christian, tried in court to strip Ms. Jenkins of her parental rights and interfered with mandated visits. In 2009, as a frustrated Family Court judge in Vermont threatened to transfer custody of the girl, Ms. Miller disappeared with her daughter.

Read the rest of this post...

Dems approve marriage-equality inclusive platform

Washington Blade:

A committee of more than 100 Democrats unanimously approved on Saturday a version of their party’s platform that includes a plank endorsing marriage equality as well as other pro-LGBT language.

The full platform committee, which consists of around 120 Democrats, gave the OK to the manifesto following a meeting in Detroit, Mich., that was chaired by retired Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy, the first woman to reach the rank of three-star general, and Newark Mayor Cory Booker. During the several hour long meeting, members offered views on principles to advocate for within the party and proposed amendments to the platform.

The next step in the process is sending the platform to delegates at the Democratic National Convention, which will be held in Charlotte, N.C., during the week of September 3. Delegates at the convention will vote on giving the platform final approval.

Read the rest of this post...