equality blooms with spring

[A_Wanderer]

Or maybe they figure that Iceland is already going to hell.

[Bono's shades]

Today was the first day same-sex couples could get their marriage licenses and in some cases get married in Iowa:

[URL=http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090427/NEWS/90427003[/URL]

[Bono's shades]

OK, trying that again:

http://http://www.desmoinesregister..../NEWS/90427003

[martha]

I'm really pleased that I'm visiting Iowa this summer.

[Bono's shades]

OK, hopefully the third time is the charm

Update: 360+ same-sex couples apply for marriage licenses; most in Polk Co. | DesMoinesRegister.com | The Des Moines Register

[Irvine511]

and Maine may well follow:

New Hampshire Senate Votes to Legalize Gay Marriage

April 29, 2009 by Patrick

The Democratic controlled New Hampshire Senate passed an amended version of the controversial measure to legalize gay marriage today. The vote was 13-11 in favor of the measure.

The House passed a similar measure last month by a 186-179 vote. The two chambers must reconcile small changes between the two measures in a conference committee but this is seen as a technicality. Democratic Gov. John Lynch must decide whether he will sign or veto the bill or allow it to become law without his signature. Lynch has been silent on the matter, though he has stated in the past that he opposes same-sex marriage.

In passing the bill, the Senate rejected the recommendation of a key legislative committee, which last week voted to kill the bill.

But undecided Democratic Senators secured concessions in the form of amendments in return for their commitments to vote in favor the bill during private meetings on Tuesday night. The key amendment would allow churches to refuse to conduct a same-sex marriage.

All state civil unions will become gay marriages in January of 2010.

Passage of the bill is seen as a major legislative victory for Democratic State Chairman Ray Buckley who lobbied aggressively for the measure during closed-door meetings over the past twenty-four hours.

The debate in the Senate was somewhat lopsided in that Republican Senators made a curious strategic decision on Tuesday night to say as little about the controversial measure as possible in order to, according to Republican Senate Leader Peter Bragdon, “preserve some decorum” and were not included in negotiations about the amendments.

Senators were subjected to a blizzard of lobbying from gay rights groups in the days leading up to today’s vote.

Lobbying efforts focused on a small handful of Democratic lawmakers who were seen as on the fence, including Senate President Sylvia Larson and Sens. Lou D’Allesandro, Betsy DeVries and Deb Reynolds. All but D’Allesandro voted in favor of the bill.

Sen. Reynolds may face criticism from conservative and Republican circles, as she voted to kill the measure in the committee and switched her vote on the Senate floor.

Sen. DeVries told constituents this weekend in voice mail recordings that she would vote against it, but she voted for it.

Every Republican member of the state Senate voted against the bill.

The measure capped off a morning of controversial decisions in the Senate. In other activity, the chamber voted to legalize the use of medical marijuana and voted against a transgendered rights bill.

and something's brewing in DC. it's going to be exciting to watch the Republicans try to make it a battle of "the gays" vs. "the black church." good times.

[BVS]

Will the GOP change their stance or at least drop all the campaign talk?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/us...nt&tntemail1=y

I somehow doubt it... maybe in another one or two elections.

[martha]

More significant is evidence in polls of a widening divide on the issue by age, suggesting to many Republicans that the potency of the gay-marriage question is on the decline. It simply does not appear to have the resonance with younger voters that it does with older ones.

Consider this: In the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, released on Monday, 31 percent of respondents over the age of 40 said they supported gay marriage. By contrast, 57 percent under age 40 said they supported it, a 26-point difference. Among the older respondents, 35 percent said they opposed any legal recognition of same-sex couples, be it marriage or civil unions. Among the younger crowd, just 19 percent held that view.

Too bad for the old folks.

[diamond]

I'm 46.

[martha]

Older than you think, apparently.

I'm 47 and thinking like a young person on this issue.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Miss California Carrie Prejean To Campaign Against Gay Marriage

I wonder if she'll lose her title. Her platform is supposed to be Special Olympics.

[martha]

The 21-year-old says that marriage is "something that is very dear to my heart" and she's in Washington to help save it.

God help her. Young, pretty, looks skinny in a swimsuit, not very bright. She'll have plenty of marriage "proposals" from the lecherous representatives who think marriage is sacred, but adultery is more sacreder.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Yeah that's the reason to have equal rights for marriage-it's a recession buster


BOSTON (Reuters) – Maine's Senate passed a bill on Thursday that could make the northeastern U.S. state the fifth in the country to allow gay marriage, but the lower chamber and governor have yet to approve it.

The legislation, which will go to a vote in the state House of Representatives next week, seeks to redefine marriage as the legal union of two people rather than between a man and a women. It passed the Senate by a 20-15 margin.

Maine Governor John Baldacci once opposed gay marriage, but said earlier in April he is keeping an open mind on the issue.

Approval in the Democratic-controlled Senate of the rural state of 1.3 million people underlines a concerted push for same-sex marriage recognition in New England's six states by gay and lesbian advocates.

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, a group of lawyers who led the legal fight for same-sex marriage in Massachusetts and Connecticut, has set a target of bringing same-sex marriage to all New England states by 2012.

In November, Connecticut became the second state to allow legal same-sex weddings after neighboring Massachusetts' top court ruled in 2003 that a ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional, paving the way for the first same-sex marriages in the United States the following year.

In a single week in April, Iowa and Vermont also legalized same sex marriage. And on Wednesday, New Hampshire's state Senate approved a gay marriage bill, about a month after its House approved it. The bill needs New Hampshire Governor John Lynch's signature to become law.

"With progress in New Hampshire and a win in Vermont, winning in Maine could put us only one state away from our goal," Lee Swislow, executive director of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, said in a statement.

Gay marriage legislation has yet to advance in Rhode Island.

Some economists say carving out an economic niche for gay and lesbian weddings -- and the spending that comes with them -- makes sense at a time same-sex marriage has stalled in California and a recession is deepening.

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by martha

God help her. Young, pretty, looks skinny in a swimsuit, not very bright. She'll have plenty of marriage "proposals" from the lecherous representatives who think marriage is sacred, but adultery is more sacreder.

it would be weird if she actually is dating Michael Phelps as some of the rumors say (though it's so hard to keep up), because i can venture a guess that they wouldn't agree on this topic.

as for recession busters -- legalize marijuana and then tax the shit out of it.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Originally Posted by Irvine511

it would be weird if she actually is dating Michael Phelps as some of the rumors say (though it's so hard to keep up), because i can venture a guess that they wouldn't agree on this topic.

That's way worse than the bong, if true. Then again, that's your brain on drugs. Methinks he thinks with something in his Speedo.

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by MrsSpringsteen

That's way worse than the bong, if true. Then again, that's your brain on drugs. Methinks he thinks with something in his Speedo.

they both deny it, and i've also heard about some cocktail waitress in Las Vegas. but who knows these days.

he will be in his first meet in a week or do, i think, and he's supposedly been putting on muscle, has changed his freestyle stroke, and will tackle shorter events for now.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Originally Posted by Irvine511

and i've also heard about some cocktail waitress in Las Vegas.

I've heard about her too, have seen pictures. It just seems like any random hot chick emerges and he's somehow linked with her faster than he even swims. He's got some sort of power there. Hopefully he wouldn't overlook the gay marriage issue for how hot she looks in a bikini (she's not my idea of beautiful but that's just my personal taste). But some people are willing to overlook anything/everything for looks. He should just swim and be monk-like otherwise now. Isn't it the same for swimming as it is for boxing and the like-sex is bad for it?

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by MrsSpringsteen

I've heard about her too, have seen pictures. It just seems like any random hot chick emerges and he's somehow linked with her faster than he even swims. He's got some sort of power there. Hopefully he wouldn't overlook the gay marriage issue for how hot she looks in a bikini (she's not my idea of beautiful but that's just my personal taste). But some people are willing to overlook anything/everything for looks. He should just swim and be monk-like otherwise now. Isn't it the same for swimming as it is for boxing and the like-sex is bad for it?

i don't think Phelps is political enough for it to make that much of a difference, but i am saying that i think there are people very important to him to whom it would make a big difference.

i think he goes into monk-like states at various parts of the year, but i think he spend much of the post-Beijing months in a decidedly not-very-monk-like state.

my guess is that most athletes competing in extremely rigorous sports like swimming or boxing probably forgo any kind of sexual release in the few weeks before a major competition.

[Irvine511]

... and DC:

D.C. Gay Marriage Measure Set for Mayor's Signature

By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 1:21 PM

An overwhelming majority on the D.C. Council voted today to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, sending the District deeper into the national debate and galvanizing supporters on both sides of the issue.

The measure, approved by a vote of 12 to 1, now goes to Mayor Arian M. Fenty (D), a supporter of gay marriage.

If Fenty signs it, the District will put the same-sex marriage issue directly before the Congress. Under Home Rule, the District's laws are subject to a 30-day congressional review period.

After the vote, a large crowd of opponents, led by local ministers, began yelling, "Get them off the council!" referring to the members who supported the measure. The crowd caused such a ruckus that security guards and D.C. police officers had to be called in to restore order.

"We need a new council. They are destroying our youth," shouted Paul Trantham, who lives in Southeast. "Every minister who fears God should be here. This is disrespectful to the nation's capital. There is nothing equal about same-sex marriage."

Another protester, C.T. Riley, added: "This is not over. We are going to the Hill with this issue."

The council initially voted unanimously, without debate, to approve the bill. But council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) apparently did not realize what he was voting on. A few minutes after the initial vote, Barry made a motion to reconsider the vote.

He then voted against the proposal. Before the final vote, Barry noted he has been a longtime supporter of gay rights but said he decided to stand with the "ministers who stand on the moral compass of God."

"It has been a very agonizing and difficult decision," Barry said. He then added, "I feel comfortable with this position because I know where my heart is. . . . I am representing my constituents. I have thought about it lot and I have been a friend of [the gay] community and will continue to be a friend of this community."

Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large), one of two openly gay members of the council, appeared to take a swipe at Barry over his stance.

"This issue is whether or not our colleagues on a personal level view me and [council member] Jim Graham as your equals," Catania said, referring to the other openly gay member of the council. "If we are permitted the same rights and responsibilities and obligations as our colleagues. So this is personal. This is acknowledging our families as much as we acknowledge yours."

Barry quickly fired back at Catania.

"I understand this is personal to you and Mr. Graham. I understand because I have been discriminated against," Barry said. "I resent the implication that because you are not here on this particular issue, that you are not being treated equally. . . . I resent Mr. Catania saying either you are a bigot or against bigotry as though this particular legislation represents all of that."

Catania responded he doesn't think Barry is a "bigot."

"But your position is bigoted," Catania added. "It is hard for me, as a friend, for you to vote against a status that you can enjoy, that I cannot."

If Congress does not try to block the bill to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, Catania has said he will introduce a separate bill later this year to allow same-sex marriages to be conducted in the District.

Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, who opposes gay marriage, said opponents are developing a "political and legal strategy" to block same-sex marriage in the District.

Supporters of same-sex marriage, who also descended on the Wilson Building today, said they will be ready for that fight.

Steven Gorman of Crestwood held a "marriage equality" sign in front of the Wilson building during the debate.

"I've been out for 25 years, and I've been battling for 25 years," said Gorman, who married his partner last summer in California. "This is not over, but we are winning."

[yolland]

He's from my hometown, Marion Barry...he was actually a fairly important figure in the Civil Rights Movement, one of the Freedom Riders and an early chairman of SNCC. Kind of a messed-up later life I know, though I don't really know much about his DC career. But that's probably where the 'I resent the implication of bigotry, as though this legislation represents all of that' is coming from.