Episcopal church approves same-sex rites

It's not "marriage," but it's enough to give the Anglican bigots in Africa an aneurysm. From the LA Times:

The Episcopal Church has approved a liturgy that will allow priests to bless same-sex couples, making the church the biggest in the United States to endorse such a rite.

Starting on Dec. 2, the first Sunday of Advent, priests whose bishops give the OK will be allowed to bless the unions of gay and lesbian couples, whether same-sex marriage is legal in that state or not. (It’s currently legal in six states, as well as in Washington, D.C.)

The church’s two voting bodies approved the rite by nearly an 80% majority Tuesday at the Episcopal General Convention in Indianapolis.

Read the rest of this post...

Civil union takes place on military base

Some are calling this a wedding, but it's apparently not a wedding - it's a civil union ceremony.  Still, seems historic at an Air Force, Army, Navy base (it's apparently a joint base). Read the rest of this post...

CO GOP lawmaker's campaign outs own son to prove how anti-gay she is

Special place in hell for this mom.

Denver Post:

State Rep. Marsha Looper's campaign manager forwarded an e-mail to supporters that praised the lawmaker for voting against civil unions even though she has a gay son.

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

GOP kills civil unions bill in Colorado

More evidence that the Republican party is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the far right. Read the rest of this post...

Republican speaker may kill civil unions bill in Colorado

Ken Mehlman is involved too, here's Mehlman's message to the GOP speaker:

"I care about the health of the Republican Party and blocking something the vast majority of voters support and that will undermine family values and undermine freedom seems to me to be both bad policy and bad politics."

Read the rest of this post...

Colorado may be on the verge of passing civil unions legislation

It's nice to know there's some good news out there too.

AP/Wash Post:

Later Thursday night, the civil unions bill to provide legal protections to gay couples similar to marriage passed in the Republican-led committee that rejected the same legislation last year. A Republican who previously voted against the bill said she switched her vote.

The measure faces two more committee votes, but sponsors are optimistic they have enough support to get the legislation within a week to Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is firmly behind the plan. The measure has already passed the Senate.

The newfound support means Colorado could become the latest of more than a dozen states to provide such protection.

Read the rest of this post...

A majority of NC voters are for amendment one, and support gay marriage or civil unions

Which means they're for an amendment banning gay marriage and civil unions, and support gay marriage and civil unions.

These ballot measures should be illegal.  It's absurd that in state after state we have people voting on things that they don't understand. And, this poll shows that if our side has the money to run an aggressive campaign, we can win. If you haven't contributed to the NC Money Bomb, do it here.

From PPP:

PPP's newest look at the marriage amendment in North Carolina finds it passing by a wide margin, but also that voters don't really understand what the ban does and that once they do things get a lot closer.

58% of voters in the state say that they'll vote yes on Amendment 1, while 38% are opposed to it. Republicans pretty universally support it, 76/20. Democrats are closely divided with 48% in support and 47% opposed. White Democrats are opposed to the proposed ban, but African Americans support it 61/30.

The group most opposed is actually independents, who say they'll vote against it 55/42. That's an important commentary on unaffiliated voters beyond this issue- they lean Republican in North Carolina right now because they're unhappy with the economy, but they're not hardcore social conservatives. The GOP needs to be careful about going too far out on a limb on social issues if it wants to keep its support with independents.

Although our poll finds support for the amendment, it also finds that 51% of voters in the state support some form of legal recognition for gay couples- 26% for marriage and 25% for civil unions- with only 45% completely opposed to any. It may seem inconsistent that a majority supports either gay marriage or civil unions but also supports the amendment that would ban both of them. But what we find is that voters don't actually know what it does:

-Only 31% of voters correctly identify that Amendment 1 bans both gay marriage and civil unions.

-28% think that it only bans gay marriage.

-7% think that it actually legalizes gay marriage.

-34% admit that they don't know exactly what the amendment does.

Read the rest of this post...

Number one anti-"gay marriage" group now supports civil unions - time to pass national law

If the most virulently anti-"gay marriage" group of the religious religious right is now in favor of civil unions, then we should ask the US congress to immediately pass a nationwide civil unions law.  At the very least, civil unions should now be exempted from DOMA (which requires the law to be amended), and it calls into question local DOMA laws that ban, or would ban, civil unions - again, if the number one religious right group that opposes gay marriage is now for civil unions, clearly banning them in the states is too extremist even for Republicans.  Also, we should now be using this as evidence that every state that has a DOMA law on the books should be forced to pass civil unions, now. Read the rest of this post...

Gay profs, students, to ditch U of Michigan as state moves to rescind health benefits

Other universities outside of Michigan take note. Now is your chance to grab someone currently teaching in Michigan.  And if you're a gay American or foreigner, considering teaching at, or even just attending, the University of Michigan, don't.  You're clearly not welcome.  There are a lot of other states in the US that are much more welcoming.  AnnArbor.com:

Coetzee, who moved to Ann Arbor from South Africa ten years ago, said he is frustrated that rights for same sex couples in Michigan appear to be “moving in the opposite direction” of most communities. This year alone, five states have passed or enacted legislation allowing civil unions between same sex couples.

“I question my decision to come to Michigan,” Coetzee said. When Coetzee accepted a job at U-M, he also turned one down at New York Univeristy. “I chose Michigan because it just seemed better. But now New York just made same sex marriage legal and now in Michigan… they want people like my partner to not get treated.”

U-M Latin professor Sara Ahbel-Rappe said that if bill 4770 passes there will likely be a large exodus of professors who leave the university.

“It’s a total slap in the face. It tells me that I don’t deserve the same consideration” as heterosexual couples, she said. “People will leave.”

Ahbel-Rappe and six other professors authored a letter to Gov. Rick Synder asking him not to sign bill 4770 if passed by the senate. The letter calls the bill discriminatory and says it will negatively affect staff recruitment at the university.

U-M officials are also concerned about the bill’s effects. Nearly all of U-M’s competitors offer benefits to same-sex partners. So do most Fortune 500 companies.

Ditch em. Michigan is a fine school, but there are a lot of other schools just as good or better. If Michigan wants to become Alabama, let them. They can teach creationism in their science classes and destroy a world class university. And by the way, Michigan's arch-rival, the University of Illinois - my undergrad alma mater - offers benefits to civil union partners, since we have civil unions statewide in Illinois.

Dump Michigan.  The state has gone anti-gay.  There are lots of others sane states, and sane universities, you can attend in places that don't aspire to be the deep south.

PS I pity the Michigan university system.  Once this anti-gay stuff gets online there is no getting rid of it.  Michigan will forever be marked as a hateful, bigoted, intolerant state when any kid, or foreigner, Googles and tries to find out more information about whether they should attend.  That state seriously ruined the reputation of a good school. Read the rest of this post...

RI’s Catholic Bishop: civil unions will "cause scandal and confusion"

Every Catholic Bishop knows a thing or two about scandal. They allowed one of the worst child rape scandals ever. But, Bishop Tobin may be right about the confusion part. Civil unions don't work. Marriage does.

Last week, Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee signed the state's new civil unions bill into law. It's a bill that marriage activists did not want. That was demonstrated in a letter to Chafee (pdf) urging a veto from, among others, American Civil Liberties Union, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders Freedom to Marry Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and Marriage Equality Rhode Island. Here's why, via last week's press release from Freedom to Marry and GLAD:

On the heels of a marriage victory in New York, marriage advocates including Freedom to Marry and the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) sent a letter late yesterday evening to Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee calling on him to veto the civil union bill currently under consideration if it comes to his desk in its present form. The bill contains a provision that would allow religious organizations and their employees to disregard couples’ civil union status, creating unprecedented, onerous and discriminatory hurdles for same-sex couples seeking to take care of one another.

"This flawed civil union bill undermines a crucial principle that Rhode Island has always stood for -- respecting the separation of church and state," said Marc Solomon, National Campaign Director for Freedom to Marry. "Not only does the bill propose a separate-and-unequal status instead of ending the denial of marriage itself, it grants an unprecedented license to discriminate against same-sex couples and their families. Governor Chafee should veto this defective bill and work with the legislature to enact a marriage bill that ends discrimination while preserving religious and personal freedom on equal terms for all."

So, the RI bill "it grants an unprecedented license to discriminate against same-sex couples and their families." Rhode Island has the second highest percentage of Catholics in the country. So, the Catholic Church will be the prime beneficiary of that ability to discriminate -- and it's still not good enough for them. The Bishop is apoplectic about the new law and used it as another opportunity to engage in rhetorical gay-bashing. Considering his fellow Church leaders aided and abetted child rapists for decades, Tobin gets mighty sanctimonious about scandal, morals and sins. The Bishop's words are homophobic rantings:

Saying that civil unions "promote an unacceptable lifestyle, undermine the faith of the church on holy matrimony, and cause scandal and confusion," Providence Bishop Thomas J. Tobin reminded Catholics that they may not participate in such ceremonies.

"To do so is a very grave violation of the moral law and, thus, seriously sinful," he said in a statement June 30, the day after passage of legislation that will give same-sex couples who enter into civil unions the same rights and benefits as marriage in Rhode Island.

The state Senate agreed to the bill, which the House had already approved, on a 21-16 vote late June 29 and Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee, an Independent, has said he will sign it. Some proponents of same-sex marriage in the state opposed the bill, however, saying it did not go far enough and allowed overly broad religious exemptions.

Bishop Tobin said he was "deeply disappointed" at the decision to permit civil unions.

Our side is deeply disappointed that the new law isn't marriage. Tobin and his fellow haters know that the trendline belongs to us. They can rant, but we're going to be equal. Read the rest of this post...

Garden State Equality, Lambda Legal file suit over NJ's civil unions, which don't give equal rights

Last weekend on the Meet the Press, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie boasted about his anti-gay views:

I am not a fan of same-sex marriage. It's not something that I support. I believe marriage should be between one man and one woman. That's my view, and that'll be the view of our state because I wouldn't sign a bill that--like the one that was in New York.

Whatever. Chris Christie might never even be part of the process. Advocates are going back to court:

The suit is led by Garden State Equality and joined by seven gay couples and several of their children.

Their main argument is that the state Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that same sex couples should be guaranteed the same rights as heterosexual married couples, but in a 4-3 vote left it up to the Legislature how to achieve that. The minority in that decision said the state needed to allow marriage for same-sex couples.

The Legislature chose civil unions instead, which come with the exact same legal rights.

But plaintiffs said the legal rights are only equal only in theory. They offered stories about trying to visit their partners in hospitals or make medical decisions for them, but being initially denied by staff who did not understand what a civil union was.

More from Blue Jersey:

Flanked on the podium by same-sex couples and their children, Steve Goldstein, President of Garden State Equality, today spoke about "The Civil Union wall tearing at New Jersey's moral fabric." He said, "Its time to tear down that wall and end the stigma." Civil Unions have not been fixed, as some politicians promised over a year ago, and cannot be fixed as they create a separate and unequal status which invites others to discriminate.

In 2010 the N. J. Supreme Court decided not to intercede in Lambda's case which called for the court to end Civil Unions and insure compliance with its originally mandated equality. Instead the court required further proceedings in a Superior Court. Today Haley Gorenberg of Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit in the Mercer County Court arguing that the Civil Union Law violates both the NJ Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment of the Federal Constitution.

Read the rest of this post...

Windy City News "stands by" its reporting on Obama’s marriage surveys

Tracy Baim, the co-founder and publisher of Windy City Times, sent out a statement about Dan Pfeiffer's allegations that the Obama's 1996 survey on marriage wasn't real. Windy City News stands by its reporting:

Despite a statement by President Obama's White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer June 17 that a 1996 survey response was not written by the then-candidate for Illinois state Senate, Windy City Times newspaper stands by the reporting on Obama's early support of gay marriage in at least two gay surveys.

The surveys were from a 1996 response to Outlines newspaper (which now owns Windy City Times) and IMPACT, a now-defunct gay political action committee. They are online at are available available at http://bit.ly/gMBR4e and also printed in the 2010 book Obama and the Gays: A Political Marriage, by Tracy Baim, publisher of Windy City Times.

Pfeiffer, asked about the surveys by Joy Gray of the Daily Kos, said, "If you actually go back and look, that questionnaire was actually filled out by someone else, not the president." This is the first time a claim has been made that Obama did not complete the surveys himself, even though his signature is on the typed one sent to Outlines, and the IMPACT survey appears to be completed in his own writing.

To Outlines he typed in the survey response, dated Feb. 15, 1996: "I favor legalizing same-sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages." It was faxed from the law firm Obama worked for at the time. And it was reported in Outlines newspaper that he backed gay marriage, something his campaign never denied in 1996. He would have had a very small campaign staff, so it was unlikely he had someone else complete the form. In fact he went to the trouble of typing full answers when the form was actually able to be completed as a Q&A. Even if someone else completed the form, Obama signed it, and never denied subsequent reports of its content.

In January of 1996 he filled out the IMPACT questionnaire, and it appears to be in his own writing, and uses the first-person "I" throughout. While the IMPACT questions were a bit more complicated, Obama did say he would oppose any attempts to outlaw same-gender marriage, by supporting a resolution stating "the state should not interfere with same-gender couples who chose [sic] to marry and share fully and equally in the rights, responsibilities and commitment of civil marriage."

The complete surveys are online here.

More background is available here

The surveys weren't released by Windy City Times until January of 2009. There was no real debate about this during the 2008 cycle. We spent the 2008 election thinking Obama supported civil unions and opposed same-sex marriage, publicly at least. Back in 2008, civil unions was where most of the Democratic candidates were. It was more-or-less the acceptable and safe political position. Prop. 8 changed that.

The President should evolve already -- or re-evolve, as the case may be. This issue isn't going away. And, it's hard to grasp how he can attend the big gay DNC fundraiser in NY next week and not announce his support for marriage. It's really hard to understand how all the donors to that event aren't going to be demanding that the President evolve on marriage. They should demand it before they write their checks. But, too often, access and cocktail parties trump equality. Read the rest of this post...

Pics from Cook County Clerk's office in Chicago as civil unions commence in Illinois

Yeah, for my home! Read the rest of this post...

Civil union licenses are being issued in Illinois today: "It’s historic"

Big day in Illinois. Same-sex couples can now obtain legal protections from the state through the new civil unions law. Still not full equality, but a step in the right direction:

Illinois has issued its first civil union license, launching a historic day for same-sex couples across the state.

Janean Watkins and Lakeesha Harris camped overnight outside the Daley Center to be the first in line as the state's new civil unions law kicked in.

"It's historic," said Watkins, who has been with Harris for 10 years. "We wanted to be first. We wanted to make a statement. For us, for our kids. It really means something."

The couple has six children who will all be in attendance at a formal civil union ceremony tomorrow.

Watkins and Harris were followed by more than 100 other couples who arrived early to get licenses.

Congrats to all those (same-sex and straight) couples who are getting civil unions.

And, there's an excellent explanation of what the new civil unions law does -- and doesn't do -- for same-sex couples at 10,000 Couples. It's written by Jill Metz, who is President of the Board of the ACLU of Illinois. Here's how it concludes:

Civil unions are not a magic wand that will remove all prejudice and discrimination. Nor do the laws that apply to civil unioned couples provide the most comprehensive legal protections. They only provide some safety net. Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, pre-nuptial agreements, post-nuptial agreements, and second parent adoptions provide the most comprehensive legal protections, even for people in a civil union.

That said, civil unions are a huge and important step in protections and toward ending prejudice and discrimination.

Read the rest of this post...

Rhode Island civil unions bill faces first legislative test

I previously posted about Rhode Island's controversy over their attempt to pass a gay civil union bill after legislators dropped the push for marriage. This Tuesday, it will face its first legislative test.

A proposal to create civil unions for gay couples in Rhode Island will soon face its first legislative test.

The House Judiciary Committee has set a vote on the measure for Tuesday. If the committee endorses civil unions the proposal will head to the full House for consideration.

The controversy within our community is whether or not civil unions is an acceptable alternative to same-sex marriage. Legislators in Rhode Island have attempted to make the case that they only have the votes for civil unions while our enemies claim even civil unions are an unacceptable stepping stone to full marriage equality.

Basically, Rhode Island has become a microcosm of the whole civil unions and marriage debate. It is also an example of political expediency versus ideological purity that has entered our national discourse on the question of gay marriage. Our community still struggles with the question whether or not civil unions create a second class institution or whether we should push for it and try to have full marriage recognition later. Read the rest of this post...

Delaware's Governor Jack Markell signed the civil unions bill at a "long-awaited party"

Great news from Delaware, via The News Journal:

With the Rainbow Chorale of Delaware providing the grace notes and fluted glasses of champagne on hand for a long-awaited party, Gov. Jack Markell signed Delaware's civil unions bill into law before a jammed and cheering house at the Queen Theatre Wednesday evening.

"Tonight, we say to loving and committed couples across the state who want the law to endorse the promise that they made long ago in their hearts, 'Your love is equally valid and deserving, your family is now equal under the law,' " Markell told the crowd.

Effective Jan. 1, the law will provide legal protections and benefits for same-sex couples who solemnize their relationships. With the signing, Delaware becomes the eighth state to grant comprehensive same-sex relationship rights -- either through same-sex marriage laws, civil unions or domestic partnerships. The law does not change federal law, which restricts marriage benefits to opposite-sex couples.

And, check out the video. Winning is much more fun. And, DOMA still has to go.
Read the rest of this post...

Rhode Island roils over same-sex marriage / civil union debate

Hundreds of people showed up for a same-sex marriage rally in Rhode Island where the debate has been whether or not a civil union bill is acceptable versus gay marriage. To add added drama, the House Speaker Gordon Fox, D-Providence is openly gay.

Last week, House Speaker Gordon Fox, D-Providence, announced that he was throwing his support behind civil unions because gay marriage legislation couldn't pass the Senate. Fox is openly gay and his announcement deeply angered many gay marriage advocates. One carried a sign at Tuesday's rally reading "Fox Hunting Season is Open."

"It's time to disband the House and Senate," said the protester, Gary D'Amario of Cranston. "It's time to get rid of all of them."

Those at the rally included religious groups, students, couples gay and straight and a young woman with a vuvuzela. Miss Rhode Island Deborah Saint-Vil attended, as did several lawmakers.

Of course, the National Organization for Marriage(NOM)-Rhode Island was there to claim their "Debbie Downer" position that they are against any kind of recognition of gay anything. Read the rest of this post...

No marriage, but civil unions could move in Rhode Island this year

After stating that marriage won't pass in Rhode Island, the openly gay Speaker, Gordon Fox, is going to push a civil unions bill this year:

“I am the Speaker of the House and I am an openly gay man. This is very emotional for me,” he said. “But as speaker, I understand counting votes and what I can deliver for all of us. And I believe I am delivering rights to us today and it’s not killing the cause.”

Protester Wendy Becker, of Providence, begged him to put gay marriage to a vote, saying: “We need to let people do the right thing.”

Fox replied: “I understand that. This is the right thing for now. We’ll keep working.”

His move won support from both Governor Chafee, a strong advocate of same-sex marriage, and Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed, an opponent, but it was lambasted by the lead sponsor of the abandoned same-sex marriage bill, the protesters outside Fox’s State House office, and a phalanx of advocacy groups, including Marriage Equality Rhode Island.

As a same-sex marriage advocate, Chafee said he “had hoped that legislation enacting it would have reached my desk this year,” but he respects Fox’s political assessment and believes “passage of civil-union legislation would be a step forward for our state and I would sign such a bill if and when it reaches my desk.”

Given how the gays got screwed on marriage, the civil unions bill better reach his desk. Then, it can be challenged in court as separate and not quite equal. Rhode Island's legislature is in session until July 1.

NOM and its benefactors in the Catholic Church are clucking about their "victory" in Rhode Island, but that will be short-lived. The trendline is moving our way -- and they know it. What happened in Rhode Island sucked, but we're going to prevail. NOM knows it. The Catholic Bishops know it. We know it.

And, I imagine Maggie, Brian and the rest of their band of haters will be spending all their time in New York, because that's the battleground. That's the big prize this year. Read the rest of this post...

Delaware House passed civil unions bill, now over to Governor

Progress in Delaware:

The Delaware House of Representatives gave final approval Thursday evening to a civil unions bill that will provide same-sex couples with all of the rights and benefits of marriage under state law.

The House voted 26-15 in favor of the measure. The Delaware Senate voted 13-6 to approve the bill on April 7, and the state’s governor, Democrat Jack A. Markell, has said he plans to sign it

Congrats to all involved. Read the rest of this post...

Good news from the Illinois legislature: Anti-gay bill defeated in committee

Yesterday, we wrote about the effort by State Senator David Koehler (D-Peoria) to attach an anti-gay amendment to a bill that would aid blind people (seriously, the bill would amend the "White Cane Law.") Koehler's amendment would have allowed adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples.

Today, the nasty amendment was defeated.

Since Phil Reese tipped us off about this development yesterday -- and did an amazing job of rallying the LGBT netroots -- we'll let him share the news:

When you put your mind to it, you can achieve just about anything!

Thanks to hundreds of calls being made by people all over Illinois and all over the nation, the Senate panel in charge of overseeing SB 1123 rejected the discriminatory amendment to the bill, and sent the anti-gay set packing out of Springfield. The vote was very close: seven to six with one abstention.

"This is a huge victory for the LGBTQ community and families across Illinois," Anthony Martinez, Executive Director of The Civil Rights Agenda, said in a press release late Wednesday morning. "This is also a huge win for the tens of thousands of children that are in the adoption and foster system and need loving families. We applaud the members of the Executive Committee that voted no on this bill. They have shown that discrimination in any form is unacceptable." Full disclosure: I sit on the Advisory Board for TCRA.

Great work to all involved. Read the rest of this post...