Marriage Equality

But he’ll totally party at Sydney’s gay mardi gras. From the Sydney Morning Herald: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has failed to endorse a pledge made by Attorney-General George Brandis to hold a same-sex marriage plebiscite, and change the Marriage Act, by the end of 2016. Speaking on Sky News on Sunday, Senator Brandis said the government would hold a plebiscite …

From the Daily Mail: The Queen did not approve of the legalisation of same-sex marriage, the Daily Mail can reveal today. While in favour of civil partnerships, as a woman of deep Christian faith she took a different view on the legislation allowing same-sex couples to ‘marry’. She expressed her frustration to a friend at the height of the controversy, …

From the Daily Mail: Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump refused to answer a question about same-sex marriage during a press conference Saturday night, following his electoral split of four primary and caucus states with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. DailyMail.com asked Trump to say whether or not he favors marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples, and whether U.S. Supreme Court …

Malta Today reports: The Malta Gay Rights Movement has called on parliamentarians to put forward a Bill opening up marriage to all couples irrespective of their gender, “without delay”. MGRM coordinator Gabi Calleja welcomed the cross-party consensus on gay marriages after both Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Opposition leader Simon Busuttil came out in favour of the matter. “MGRM welcomes …

But he’s still blocking a vote on same-sex marriage. Perth Now reports: It’S a parade of firsts at this year’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, despite it being the 38th edition of the iconic Sydney event. Malcolm Turnbull arrived to watch the parade, making it the first time a prime minister has attended the event. Mr Turnbull was mobbed as …

Kentucky GOP state Rep. Joe Fischer thinks he can thwart SCOTUS with a 454-page bill that would replace every reference to “marriage” in state law with the word “matrimony.” And guess who can’t enter into matrimony? “Only a matrimony between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a matrimony in Kentucky.” Zack Ford reports at Think …

Stuff reports: West Australian Senator Joe Bullock has announced he is retiring from politics, citing an inability to support the Labor Party’s position requiring MPs to vote in favour of same-sex marriage. Calling it “homosexual marriage,” the 61-year-old right-wing Senator told Parliament on Tuesday night that he was “morally obliged” to quit, just two years after entering Parliament because he …

The Age reports: Social media giant Facebook has waded into the divisive same-sex marriage debate in an unprecedented partnership with Australian marriage equality advocates. From Tuesday, Facebook will give its 14 million Australian users the option of adding an Australian Marriage Equality banner to their profile pictures, in what AME hopes will demonstrate “the mainstream support” for the reform. The …

Primarily thanks to residents of Bern and Zurich, today Switzerland’s voters very narrowly rejected a tax bill which contained a “Trojan horse” section which defined marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman. Swiss Info reports: What had seemed like a sure “Yes” in January became a close contest after an energetic “No” committee argued that the terms of …

It could not possibly have been more heated than last night’s debate in Charlotte, which was hands down the most wacko I’ve ever seen. And that includes Hawaii. But here’s how things went last night in Tennessee’s Washington County as reported by the Johnson City Press: Washington County Commissioner Forrest Boreing attributed the early Tuesday morning failure of a resolution …

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore and the rest of the his court are being attacked from the right. From World Net Daily: Marriage activists in Alabama have filed complaints with the state Judicial Inquiry Commission against the nine members of the state Supreme Court because they have failed to rule on the application of the U.S. Supreme Court’s …

Back in 2013 the mayor of a Pittsburgh suburb won lots of fans here on JMG when he officiated the wedding a local gay couple in violation of Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriage. That mayor, John Fetterman, is now running for the US Senate and during last night’s MSNBC presidential town hall he aired a campaign ad touting his support …

Brian Tashman reports at Right Wing Watch: In an interview with Pat Robertson’s television network yesterday, Donald Trump insisted that anti-gay conservatives can rest assured knowing that he is committed to overturning the Supreme Court’s landmark decision striking down state bans on same-sex marriage. When the Christian Broadcasting Network’s David Brody asked the GOP presidential frontrunner what he thought of the …

We know somebody who’ll be VERY unhappy about this. CNN Philippines reports: Should he win the national elections, presidential candidate Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte said he would consider legalizing same-sex marriage if a proposal is presented to him. “If it reaches me in whatever capacity, I’ll consider it,” Duterte said on Thursday (February 18). The Davao City mayor said the law …

This is major, especially for a Japanese corporation. Rocket News 24 reports: Panasonic, the Japanese electronics producer and one of the Olympic Games’ biggest sponsors, announces sweeping policy changes. LGBT rights in Japan have been in the headlines quite a bit the last few years, but today it looks like the LGBT community can count another win: Osaka-based Panasonic has …

Tomorrow Colombia may join Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay and become the fourth South American nation to legalize same-sex marriage. From our very own Perchy Bird: Originally, the [Supreme] Court’s website wrote that the debate on the issue of whether gay couples can marry and if existing marriages performed by civil court judges should be annulled was planned on February 4th, …

Finland’s parliament today finalized the details of the marriage equality law which goes into effect in March 2017: Parliament has approved legal changes that will allow same-sex couples in registered partnerships to convert their legal status to ‘married’ by notifying the authorities. MPs voted in favour of the legislation by 106 votes to 42. The move also eliminates registered partnerships …

Ohio Gov. John Kasich was confronted today by a gay college student who demanded to know his positions on same-sex marriage and LGBT rights. What followed was interesting: “If I see discrimination in anything, like I said earlier, I’m willing to do what I can,” Kasich said. “Whether it’s executive order or legislation. That’s fine with me. As for marriage …

Via USA Today: Spc. Shane Adriano and Pfc. Tristian Resz chose the Greene County Courthouse as a venue because they wanted something small and intimate for their Feb. 11 wedding. It was to be just the happy couple, a few supportive friends and a judge. But after they shared their “first married kiss” photo on Facebook, their small ceremony turned …

Sky News reports: Lyle Shelton, the head of the Australian Christian Lobby, says if Australia legalises same-sex marriage people could assume heterosexual men such as himself are gay. Speaking to Sky News on Sunday Mr Shelton says if there is a change to the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples it could no longer be assumed that ‘millions of …