Same-Sex Marriage General Discussion Thread

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my old way of writing verbose passages on religion and history in response to reactionary vitriol has now been replaced with two words: "Fuck you."

Glad I got in before the replacement. . . :wink:

In all seriousness, you had a lot to do with changing my beliefs on the issue. Granted, I don't recall coming across as vitriolic in those days, but nevertheless. . .
 
Glad I got in before the replacement. . . :wink:

In all seriousness, you had a lot to do with changing my beliefs on the issue. Granted, I don't recall coming across as vitriolic in those days, but nevertheless. . .

Well, I do hope you know what I meant. :wink:

I'm still apt to engage in long debates with people, particularly if I find them witty, charming and sincere. I just don't have patience for the rabble (i.e., all GOP primary candidates) anymore.
 
Just checking in to see if the U.S. Military has descended yet into all-out buggery and shower homo-rape since the repeal of DADT?

Are our brave straight men still able to do their jobs with all the hard cock waving around between their eyes and the gunsights?

:sad:
 
i'm beginning to think that "latest Republican who hates gay people caught up in sex scandal" should get it's own thread. unlike most of the recent scandals, this one doesn't seem to involve gay sex or crystal meth, but it is cool because it's a woman, showing that women can be fully capable of rank, filthy hypocrisy.

this woman spend her time defending her own marriage from herself:

Sen. Koch quit over 'inappropriate' relationship

Article by: RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER , Star Tribune
Updated: December 17, 2011 - 8:47 AM

Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch resigned from her leadership post the day after fellow Republicans confronted her about allegations that she had an "inappropriate relationship" with a staff member.

"We're here today with a lot of humility and some sadness and even shock," interim Senate Majority Leader Geoff Michel said Friday at a hastily called Capitol news conference.

Koch, the state's first female majority leader, was widely considered a hard-working and savvy campaigner who helped Republicans win control of the Senate last year for the first time in four decades. Her sudden resignation stunned Republicans, ending one of the shortest tenures for a Senate majority leader since 1933. The move will reshuffle the Senate leadership a month before the legislative session and less than a year before a high-stakes 2012 election in which Democrats are vowing to win back control of the Senate and the GOP will campaign for a proposed constitutional amendment that would preclude gays from marrying.

Koch could not be reached for comment Friday. Michel and the others refused to identify the staffer by name.

Michel and other senators said they had heard from several staffers over the past two weeks that Koch was having a relationship with one of her direct subordinates. They said that when they confronted Koch on Wednesday night, she didn't admit to the relationship or deny it.

"Her response to the conversation was ...'I think I need to consider resigning,' " said Assistant Senate Majority Leader David Hann, R-Eden Prairie.

However, Koch gave no indication she would do so right away.

[...]

Koch, 40, is married and has a teenage daughter. The day she resigned, she betrayed no hint of scandal. In an interview with the Star Tribune, she joked, laughed and brushed aside questions about whether her leadership had been threatened from inside her caucus.

"This was a decision about me looking to the next option. That's what this is about," Koch said. "It's public service and it is not supposed to be forever."

In all, her term lasted less than a year.

During that time, she recruited and campaigned for Republican candidates, helping the GOP achieve its historic takeover of the Minnesota Senate.

She introduced more than two dozen new senators to the ways of the Legislature, handling freshmen enthusiasm and occasional freshman conflict. She also negotiated a hard-fought budget deal with DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and the GOP-controlled House that ended a three-week state government shutdown this past summer.

Senate Republicans will elect a new majority leader within two weeks. More than a half-dozen senators have already said they might seek the job.

Sen. Koch quit over 'inappropriate' relationship | StarTribune.com
 
Huffington Post

WASHINGTON -- The Denver Broncos have responded to an online campaign urging the team to make a video for the It Gets Better project, indicating that they won't be jumping on the anti-bullying project anytime soon.

Nearly 8,000 individuals have signed onto a Change.org petition for the Broncos and their high-profile quarterback Tim Tebow to become the first NFL team to create a video for It Gets Better, which was started by sex columnist Dan Savage and his husband in September 2010 in response to the disturbing number of suicides by teenagers who said they were being bullied for being gay or perceived to be gay.

In 2010, Tebow controversially starred in an ad for the right-wing group Focus on the Family, which opposes LGBT rights. In fact, the organization has argued that there "is no evidence that homosexuals, as a class, are discriminated against in the present society."

Petition organizer and Broncos fan Andy Szekeres said an It Gets Better video would help Tebow and the Broncos say, "We may have differences on abortion and gay marriage, but stopping kids from killing themselves is an issue we can all get behind."

But in a statement to The Huffington Post, Broncos spokesman Patrick Smyth gave no indication that the team would be participating anytime soon.

"The Denver Broncos are committed to tolerance, acceptance and respect for all in the community," said Smyth. "The National Football League is currently working with USA Network on its 'Characters Unite' campaign combating prejudice and intolerance, and our organization is in full support of that movement to help raise awareness for this very important cause."

Smyth declined to provide a specific comment on It Gets Better.

"I commend the Broncos and all of the NFL for their work on a Characters Unite program to stand up against prejudice and intolerance but that is not enough or the same as standing in support of the It Gets Better Project," responded Szekeres.

"The Broncos have a rare opportunity to make a difference and give hope to thousands of LGBT youth across the country as the first NFL team to make an It Gets Better Video. I think I can speak for the thousands of people who signed this petition when I urge the Broncos to show the country that Colorado and the Broncos stand against bullying LGBT teens and youth," he added. "The Broncos have the chance to lead the league and stand up for one of the country's must vulnerable populations."

In the last few months, the Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants have all made videos.

"While any effort to confront discrimination should be celebrated, the nearly 8,000 people who've signed this petition are hoping the Broncos will stand up and condemn a particular type of discrimation: anti-LGBT bullying," said Michael Jones, senior organizer at Change.org. "Scores of Major League Baseball teams stepped up to the plate and created 'It Gets Better' videos, yet no NFL team has publicly committed to speaking out against anti-LGBT bullying. That makes this a unique opportunity for the Denver Broncos to listen to their fans, who are urging the team by the thousands to break new ground and become the first pro football team to create an 'It Gets Better' video of their own."
 
Huffington Post

WASHINGTON -- The Denver Broncos have responded to an online campaign urging the team to make a video for the It Gets Better project, indicating that they won't be jumping on the anti-bullying project anytime soon.

Nearly 8,000 individuals have signed onto a Change.org petition for the Broncos and their high-profile quarterback Tim Tebow to become the first NFL team to create a video for It Gets Better, which was started by sex columnist Dan Savage and his husband in September 2010 in response to the disturbing number of suicides by teenagers who said they were being bullied for being gay or perceived to be gay.

In 2010, Tebow controversially starred in an ad for the right-wing group Focus on the Family, which opposes LGBT rights. In fact, the organization has argued that there "is no evidence that homosexuals, as a class, are discriminated against in the present society."

Petition organizer and Broncos fan Andy Szekeres said an It Gets Better video would help Tebow and the Broncos say, "We may have differences on abortion and gay marriage, but stopping kids from killing themselves is an issue we can all get behind."

But in a statement to The Huffington Post, Broncos spokesman Patrick Smyth gave no indication that the team would be participating anytime soon.

"The Denver Broncos are committed to tolerance, acceptance and respect for all in the community," said Smyth. "The National Football League is currently working with USA Network on its 'Characters Unite' campaign combating prejudice and intolerance, and our organization is in full support of that movement to help raise awareness for this very important cause."

Smyth declined to provide a specific comment on It Gets Better.

"I commend the Broncos and all of the NFL for their work on a Characters Unite program to stand up against prejudice and intolerance but that is not enough or the same as standing in support of the It Gets Better Project," responded Szekeres.

"The Broncos have a rare opportunity to make a difference and give hope to thousands of LGBT youth across the country as the first NFL team to make an It Gets Better Video. I think I can speak for the thousands of people who signed this petition when I urge the Broncos to show the country that Colorado and the Broncos stand against bullying LGBT teens and youth," he added. "The Broncos have the chance to lead the league and stand up for one of the country's must vulnerable populations."

In the last few months, the Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants have all made videos.

"While any effort to confront discrimination should be celebrated, the nearly 8,000 people who've signed this petition are hoping the Broncos will stand up and condemn a particular type of discrimation: anti-LGBT bullying," said Michael Jones, senior organizer at Change.org. "Scores of Major League Baseball teams stepped up to the plate and created 'It Gets Better' videos, yet no NFL team has publicly committed to speaking out against anti-LGBT bullying. That makes this a unique opportunity for the Denver Broncos to listen to their fans, who are urging the team by the thousands to break new ground and become the first pro football team to create an 'It Gets Better' video of their own."
Where you at, Tebow?
 
JUrMT.jpg


Oh, baby.
 
I like that Phillies video :up:. I think only 2 or 3 of the Red Sox did the video, I guess they were too busy with fried chicken and beer ;) I don't have any idea how many on each team are asked, how the process works.

I would gain so much more respect for Tim Tebow if he did one of those videos. I already have respect for some aspects of him. I think he takes unnecessary crap and many people completely misstate what he says and thinks and misrepresent him, and he does seem like a genuinely nice guy. But if he did that video, it would be such a powerful statement. No NFL team has done one, and it's obvious why he's being "targeted" for this. There are many Christian athletes who could be targeted for it, he's just the most prominent right now. And the whole Focus on the Family thing too. I do think that people should want to do it and should not be pressured into doing it, because that just makes it lack authenticity and intention.
 
#gaycommunitywinning

Gay community apologizes to Amy Koch for ruining her marriage
By Kevin Hoffman Thu., Dec. 22 2011 at 10:23 AM


​The gay and lesbian community of Minnesota has issued a letter of apology to recently resigned Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch for ruining the institution of marriage and causing her to stray from her husband and engage in an "inappropriate relationship."

"On behalf of all gays and lesbians living in Minnesota, I would like to wholeheartedly apologize for our community's successful efforts to threaten your traditional marriage," reads the letter from John Medeiros. "We apologize that our selfish requests to marry those we love has cheapened and degraded traditional marriage so much that we caused you to stray from your own holy union for something more cheap and tawdry."

​The letter comes on the heels of Koch's own apology, released yesterday, in which she expressed her deep regret for "engaging in a relationship with a Senate staffer." Although the letter did not specify the identity of the other participant in the "inappropriate relationship," it is widely rumored to be former communications chief Michael Brodkorb, who lost several positions with the GOP in the wake of the scandal.

Koch, Brodkorb, and their fellow Republicans campaigned this year to put a constitutional amendment on next year's ballot to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman, thus forbidding gay marriage. Sadly, the amendment comes too late to prevent Koch from straying from her own marriage.


An Open Apology to Amy Koch on Behalf of All Gay and Lesbian Minnesotans

Dear Ms. Koch,

On behalf of all gays and lesbians living in Minnesota, I would like to wholeheartedly apologize for our community's successful efforts to threaten your traditional marriage. We are ashamed of ourselves for causing you to have what the media refers to as an "illicit affair" with your staffer, and we also extend our deepest apologies to him and to his wife. These recent events have made it quite clear that our gay and lesbian tactics have gone too far, affecting even the most respectful of our society.

We apologize that our selfish requests to marry those we love has cheapened and degraded traditional marriage so much that we caused you to stray from your own holy union for something more cheap and tawdry. And we are doubly remorseful in knowing that many will see this as a form of sexual harassment of a subordinate.

It is now clear to us that if we were not so self-focused and myopic, we would have been able to see that the time you wasted diligently writing legislation that would forever seal the definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman, could have been more usefully spent reshaping the legal definition of "adultery."

Forgive us. As you know, we are not church-going people, so we are unable to fully appreciate that "gay marriage" is incompatible with Christian values, despite the fact that those values carry a biblical tradition of adultery such as yours. We applaud you for keeping that tradition going.

And finally, shame on us for thinking that marriage is a private affair, and that our marriage would have little impact on anyone's family. We now see that marriage is more than that. It is an agreement with society. We should listen to the Minnesota Family Council when it tells us that marriage is about being public, which explains why marriages are public ceremonies. Never did we realize that it is exactly because of this societal agreement that the entire world is looking at you in shame and disappointment instead of minding its own business.

From the bottom of our hearts, we ask that you please accept our apology.

Thank you.
John Medeiros
Minneapolis MN
 
They've put him in a private room. Through the window, the London Eye can be seen turning languidly in the heat. On the table there is a jar of gefilte fish and a can of pickles; on the wall is a get-well-soon card from the Pet Shop Boys. A bouquet of flowers from Vivienne Westwood (who was turned away by hospital staff, having arrived outside visiting hours) is on the windowsill. And lying in bed, pale, bruised and dishevelled – yet nevertheless looking irrepressibly pre-Raphaelite – is the iconic gay socialite Philip Sallon, his extravagant black hair forming a corona around his head.

"I still feel weird. Like it's a dream or something," he tells me. "When they first brought me in, I couldn't even remember the details of my parents' deaths. And now I'm suffering from terrible headaches. Does my memory seem all right to you?"

The night before, Sallon – a committed, if not religious, Jew – hosted a Passover "Seder night" in the ward (hence the gefilte fish, the pickles). Among the guests were Boy George and Matt Lucas's mother. But after a while, plagued by severe headaches, Sallon retired to bed.

In Piccadilly Circus, central London, in the early hours of April 3, Sallon was seriously assaulted. Having suffered a haemorrhage on the brain, he was given a 50/50 chance of survival. Now, with the aid of round-the-clock medical care, he has stabilised. The reason for the attack remains unknown; his memory of it is blank.

Although homophobic crime overall dropped by 3% in London last year, in the West End it increased by 20.9%. This is symbolised, perhaps, by the fatal homophobic attack on Ian Baynham in 2009, minutes from where Sallon was assaulted. Last January, Ruby Thomas, 19, was sentenced to seven years for the crime. (By a strange coincidence, she was defended by Sallon's cousin, Christopher Sallon QC.)

When these are added to other assaults, such as the homophobic murder of Jody Dobrowski in 2005, and the stabbing of the 20-year-old gay student Oliver Hemsley in Hackney in 2008 – which left him paralysed – an impression emerges of a trend that is at once shocking and insidious.

"The majority of homophobic attacks are never reported," says the gay-rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. "Low-level assaults could easily be multiplying under the radar. It can be even worse for prominent gay figures like Philip. I myself have been attacked more than 300 times in the past 20 years. As a result [of an attack by neo-Nazis in Moscow], I suffer from permanent brain damage."


Homophobic attacks: 'There's so much hatred out there' | World news | The Guardian
 
on a positive note, i think this deserves a fist pump?

N.J. Legislature to introduce bill legalizing gay marriage | NJ.com


what's interesting is how this might play out politically, and how Democrats see this as an opportunity to actually damage Chris Christie, who will no doubt use this to prove his conservative credentials looking towards 2016, but that's dangerous territory -- kicking gays is increasingly likely to alienate the moderates Christie would have to court to ever win a national election, even if it means making him a little less, erm, "regional" to the base.
 
cobl04 said:

The Vatican is becoming increasingly irrelevant even to it's own congregation, at least in the states. They try to act progressive with one hand saying that there is nothing wrong with being homosexual, while with the other hand they say it's sinful or a homosexual to act on their desire - and now this. Not to mention They just rolled out a new updated "translation" of the liturgy that only further widens the divide between clergy and laypeople.
 
Heh, that reminds me, when my dad was a teenager and had his hair longer, his mom freaked on him about cutting it before a church service or something once. He shot back with, "Oh, yeah, Mom, I'm sure the church wouldn't want to be associated with anyone with long hair."

She didn't really have a response to that :D.

I don't get why criticism of the Pope is so earth-shatteringly horrible. So he supposedly has a direct line to God. He's NOT God, he's still human, so he's not immune. It's like when I heard about the whole freakout when Sinead ripped up that picture of the Pope on "SNL". Really, people? You were that bothered? Man, if we got that outraged over stuff that actually was important (like, you know, the thing Sinead was actually protesting with that action), we could make some real headway in this world.

But again, all this is coming from a girl raised Protestant, so...
 
My mother is old school, went to Catholic school and is still traditional in some ways. But socially and politically she is less conservative and definitely comparatively "liberal", especially for her age. I told her recently that I don't listen to a word the Pope says and she said "neither do I". It just felt awesome, frankly. She has her faults like everyone but it just made me proud and made me feel like she's "cool". In that way I'm proud to be like her, and I am so glad that she lets me express my views. I don't think she always likes it but I do anyway and she does listen.

Most people vastly overestimate the importance of the Pope to the majority of Catholics these days.
 
The concept of following the words of a man instead of extrapolating from the Bible your own path...it's just absurd to me. By following the words of the Pope at the expense of self-evaluation and contrasting opinions, you're placing your faith in a man-made institution (one could argue the Christian faith is man-made, though I have differing opinions in that regard) that doesn't even reflect the actions of its membership anymore.

Yeah, I'll call bullshit on the Pope when his statements are diametrically opposed to Christian ideology, and his claims regarding homosexuality place him as far away from the teachings of Christ as you can be.
 
In Queensland, if you murder someone, you can get acquitted by using the "gay panic" defence. That is, if the person you murdered was the same sex and you think they were coming on to you, murder is justifiable :happy:
 
In Queensland, if you murder someone, you can get acquitted by using the "gay panic" defence. That is, if the person you murdered was the same sex and you think they were coming on to you, murder is justifiable :happy:

The defense for the guys who killed Matthew Shepard was something along that line, too :sigh:. It didn't work in their case, though, thankfully.
 
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