Tag Archives: gay marriage

Yesterday Oregon’s Senate approved a domestic partnership bill that will give the state’s gay couple most of the rights of full marriage. The bill is expected to be signed into law next week by Gov. Ted Kulongoski. Oregon will join New Jersey, Vermont, Connecticut, and New Hampshire as one of the five states to offer civil unions to gay couples. …

Mayor Jason West lost his reelection bid in New Paltz, New York yesterday. You may remember West from 2004, when he followed the lead of SF Mayor Gavin Newsom and presided over the weddings of 24 gay couples in his tiny village on the Hudson, ramping up debate on gay marriage in the New York area. West was charged with …

Rudy Giuliani has reversed his previous position on civil unions, saying he is opposed to yesterday’s New Hampshire civil union vote. His campaign issued this statement: “Mayor Giuliani believes marriage is between one man and one woman.Domestic partnerships are the appropriate way to ensure that people are treated fairly. In this specific case the law states same sex civil unions …

The New Hampshire legislative approved of same-sex civil unions today, sending the bill to Gov. John Lynch, who has said he will sign it, joining NH with New Jersey, Connecticut and Vermont. Iowa today extended civil rights protections to LGBT folks in an ENDA-tpe bill that took 15 years to gather enough votes to pass. Almost two-thirds of polled New …

Governor Eliot Spitzer has announced his plan to introduce a bill to legalize gay marriage in New York. The bill is not expected to pass. Same-sex marriage legislation has never made it to a floor vote in the New York Assembly or Senate. Still, marriage equality activists are heralding Spitzer’s plan, saying his move will lend “strategic and symbolic weight” …

New Hampshire Governor Bill Lynch said today that he will sign the civil unions bill which is expected to pass the NH Senate next week. When that happens, New Hampshire will join Vermont, Connecticut and New Jersey as the fourth state to offer civil unions to same-sex partners. Gov. Lynch has said that he still opposes marriage for gay partners, …

“I cannot in good conscience take office without noting my strong opposition to the recent amendment that so blatantly discriminates against my fellow Wisconsinites who are gay or lesbian.” – Madison, Wisconsin’s newly elected Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, during yesterday’s swearing-in ceremony. Half of Madison’s city council joined Cieslewicz in altering their oaths of office, earning the wrath of conservatives. Fantastic.

The Archbishop of Italy, Angelo Bagnasco, has compared the current battle in Italy for same-sex marriage to incest and pedophilia, saying, “Why say ‘no’ to forms of legally recognised co-habitation which create alternatives to the family? Why say ‘no’ to incest?” Why say ‘no’ to the pedophile party in Holland?” Italy is preparing for a vote on a civil union …

Best-selling author Terry McMillan is suing her gay ex-husband (who is now a hairdresser) for $40 million, saying he tried to defame her during their divorce. She originally settled her divorce for an “undisclosed sum”. What will the sequel be called?.

Early figures are showing that gay couples in New Jersey aren’t exactly rushing to be civil unioned. Only 229 couples have applied for licenses in the first month (although not all municipalities have reported in), which some activists say is indicative of a feeling that gay marriage will eventually come to the state, causing many couples to wait. If true, …

I didn’t comment on last week’s mini-furor about A Prairie Home Companion host Garrison Keillor’s Salon.com essay that seemed to slam gay marriage, because knowing Keillor’s deadpan delivery so well, I thought the piece was pure satire. The country has come to accept stereotypical gay men — sardonic fellows with fussy hair who live in over-decorated apartments with a striped …

Today the ACLU launches a new website, 10Couples.org, to support the campaign for same-sex marriage. In order to put a human face on the issue of marriage for same-sex couples, and to reach a wider audience using new media tools, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has teamed up with Emmy-award winning production company Public Interest to launch a video …

EqualMarriage.org has comissioned three great spots, created by Young & Rubicam. Check out the sweet, simple videos and have a laugh. I’m not sure what’s up with the English-accented voice-over, but these non-strident, real-life messages are winners. (via Jockohomo.)

Congratulations to Daniel Gross and Steven Goldstein, the first gay couple in New Jersey to have a civil union ceremony. Today New Yorkers have another reason to move across the Hudson, besides the cheaper real estate.

The Attorney General of New Jersey has announced that gay unions performed in other jurisdictions will be recognized as such, even if other the unions were called “marriage”. Activists consider this partially good news. On the one hand, gay people married in Massachusetts, Canada, Spain, etc, will have all the rights and privileges of “civil union” couples in New Jersey. …

“I think that the people care about issues like insurance premiums. They care about property taxes. They care about public safety, and I think it’s important that not only those of us in government, but the party focus on those issues, too.” – Closeted Florida Governor Charlie Crist, saying that the Republican Party shouldn’t pursue a statewide ban on gay …

The Washington State Supreme Court recently ruled that the state could prevent gay and lesbian couples from marrying because the state has a legitimate interest in preserving marriage for procreation. In a clever response, gay marriage activists have filed a state initiative that will allow only couples capable of having kids to marry, and require that they file “proof of …

I was all set to write a post encouraging attendance at The Big Voice, the critically-raved off-Broadway musical about, written by and starring two gay men in a 22-year relationship. This is the slow time of year for theatre attendance and when the shows with less than packed houses tend to fold. Then I got the following press release: An …

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newson, the darling of some gay marriage activists, has been exposed for having an affair with the wife of his election campaign manager. Newsom is up for re-election this year and faces a grassroots campaign urging openly lesbian state Sen. Carole Migden to run against him. Not all gay marriage proponents are Newsom fans. Some activists …

I really hope YouTube Google MySpace keeps this video up, it’s beautiful PR for gay activism. I mean, COME ON, take a swishy bear in a PINK shirt and have him sing about fighting homo temptation? It’s GOLD, Jerry! And the line “To enter heaven, there’s no backdoor”? Priceless. And check out the list of gay bands to stay away …