Tag Archives: civil unions

The Illinois General Assembly is expected to vote on civil unions today and it looks like the vote may be very close. Kevin Wayne reports at Chicago Pride: As the probable Tuesday vote looms, Equality Illinois and The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA) continued to lobby legislators in support of the bill late Monday. Both advocacy groups have returned to the …

The Illinois Family Institute, a SPLC-certified hate group, says that if civil unions are approved in Illinois, polygamous marriages will be next. Section 10 of this bill states that any partner in a civil union shall be legally considered a “spouse” and “family.” “This is same-sex marriage sans the name,” said David E. Smith, executive director of the Illinois Family …

“Everyone has a right to marry, but no one has the right to change the nature of marriage. Marriage is what it is and always has been, no matter what a Legislature decides to do; however, the public understanding of marriage will be negatively affected by passage of a bill that ignores the natural fact that sexual complementarity is at …

As the Illinois legislature prepares to “fast track” a bill to legalize civil unions, NOM has launched a campaign urging their followers to deluge state reps with complaints. Here’s an excerpt from their sample letter. Same-sex marriage advocates have made clear time and again that civil unions are not a compromise, but rather a stepping stone to full same-sex marriage …

Gay couples in civil partnerships have been included in Ireland’s immigration reform bill. According to gay group GLEN, inclusion of civil partners in immigration law will build on progress already made in providing recognition for same-sex couples in immigration regulations. In provisions for people in de facto relationships, non EU same-sex partners of Irish or EU nationals are now entitled …

Thanks to the election of pro-gay Gov. Pat Quinn, a civil unions bill may be presented in the Illinois legislature as soon as this Tuesday when lawmakers return after the election break. During the gubernatorial campaign, Governor Pat Quinn said he favored civil unions. “We have legislation in Illinois very close to passage,” said Quinn during an appearance at Market …

“Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) will be heading up a legislature that was less affected by the GOP tide. Democrats still control the general assembly and Governor’s office, prompting state Sen. Dave Luechtefeld (R) to say, ‘I woke up the morning after, and I thought, ‘the same people are running the place.” And those same people want to redefine marriage. …

Gay-friendly former Rep. Neil Abercrombie has won Hawaii’s gubernatorial race over GOP candidate Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona, who infamously rallied with the red-shirted Christianists during the battle for civil unions. That fight was won in the state legislature, but outgoing (closet case) Gov. Linda Lingle sided with hate and vetoed the bill. While in Congress, Abercrombie earned a 100% …

Polish LGBT activists have launched a billboard campaign called Love Doesn’t Exclude Us in Warsaw and Lodz to support their demand for a civil partnerships law. Campaign organizer Wojciech Szot writes us today: The aim of the campaign is to draw attention to the fact that Poland has no civil partnerships law, and Polish legislation provides no regulations for same-sex …

Not a huge amount, but satisfying nonetheless. Hawaii Family Forum, a Christian charity that helped lead the fight against civil unions, spent so much money politicking last year that it had to pay the IRS $20,741 in taxes for its “excessive lobbying,” according to its latest tax return. The nonprofit group reported spending $125,695 on lobbying last year, a huge …

Dean thinks the downtown NYC mosque should be located elsewhere, a “good reasonable compromise” he compared to the creation of civil unions when he was governor of Vermont.

Via Catholic Culture: A survey of over 3,000 Californians conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute in June has found that Catholics strongly support the legal recognition of homosexual unions. Only 22% of white Catholics and 23% of Latino Catholics oppose the legal recognition of homosexual unions. 37% of white Catholics and 44% of Latino Catholics support same-sex marriage, while …

“Gay marriage advocates were trying to do an end-run around the normal legal process, and the New Jersey Supreme Court refused to comply. The sense of entitlement among gay marriage advocates is growing so rapidly, it was always absurd to think that the judges would skip the normal steps. Under Governor Christie the state will actually try to defend the …

In a 3-3 split decision (one seat is vacant), this morning the New Jersey Supreme Court declined to hear a case challenging the unfairness of the state’s civil unions law. The case was brought by Lambda Legal and Garden State Equality. Metro Weekly’s Chris Geidner quotes GSE: “Because of the legislature’s inability to act and the Supreme Court’s decision today, …

Today President Mary McAleese signed Ireland’s civil partnerships bill into national law. It extends marriage-like benefits to gay and lesbian couples in the areas of property, social welfare, succession, maintenance, pensions and tax. The act also offers additional rights and protections for other cohabiting couples including a redress scheme for financially dependent long-term cohabitants on the end of a relationship. …

Another interesting entry by JMG reader Sean Chapin.

“For those people who want to makes this into a civil rights issue, and of course those in favor of the bill, they see it as a civil rights issue. And I understand them drawing that conclusion. But people on the other side would point out, well, we don’t allow other people to marry even — it’s not a civil …

As expected, yesterday Ireland’s Seanad rubber-stamped the nation’s lower chamber and approved its civil unions bill 48-4. The Green Party Minister for State Ciarán Cuffe, who instigated the move to introduce the legislation in 2007, welcomed its approval last night. He said changes will need to be made in social welfare and tax laws to facilitate the change. He said …

Argentina’s Senate advisory panel has rejected the marriage equality bill approved by the nation’s lower chamber last month, but a civil unions bill may be approved next week by the full Senate. The marriage bill is not dead, however. The Senate’s General Legislation Committee on Tuesday signed two resolutions: nine out of the Committee’s 15 members signed to reject a …

JMG reader Josh writes: I thought your readers might just love this photo of us with Governor Lingle, taken at the Kailua Independence Day parade (held on July 5). This photo was taken just 24 hours before Governor Lingle vetoed the civil unions bill, and at the Independence Day parade, no less. The Governor spent 15 minutes posing for photos …