Tag Archives: marriage equality

Liberty Counsel will be thrilled: Public officials who are Catholic should not be obliged to celebrate gay marriages or civil unions, Pope Francis said Tuesday, his first public remarks on the issue since same-sex partnerships were legalised in Italy last week. “Once a law is approved, the state should be respectful of consciences. Conscientious objection must be possible on all …

From the Washington Blade: The daughter of Cuban President Raúl Castro on Saturday led in a march in Havana that commemorated the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. Mariela Castro, director of Cuba’s National Center for Sexual Education that is known by the Spanish acronym CENESEX, joined transgender actress Candis Cayne and hundreds of others who marched from the oceanfront …

The Irish Times reports: Christian bakers found guilty of discrimination for refusing to make a cake with a pro-gay marriage slogan could not commit a sin by going against their deeply held consciences, their lawyer has told an appeal hearing. The McArthur family, who run Ashers Baking Company in Belfast, are seeking to overturn a judgment which found they acted …

Earlier this year hate group leader Tony Perkins was named to the Republican convention party platform committee. Today he asks his supporters to send him money, otherwise GOP radicals like Paul Singer will “sabotage” the platform plank against same-sex marriage. He writes: For decades, the Republican Party platform has firmly stood for the sanctity of life and the vital importance …

UPDATE BELOW: Moore Has been suspended.  Earlier….. Just in from the SPLC: Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore could once again be removed from the bench as the result of judicial ethics complaints filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) after he instructed state court judges to defy a federal court order and enforce the state’s unconstitutional ban on same-sex …

SameSame reports: Attorney-General George Brandis and Minister of Justice Michael Keenan have confirmed Australia’s Federal Government has set aside a sum of $160 million for a plebiscite on same-sex marriage in tonight’s budget. “The Government has also made provision in the Contingency Reserve of $160 million for the plebiscite on same-sex marriage,” they confirm in a statement tonight. They’ve also …

John Kasich yesterday shrugged and said “probably” when a gay San Francisco man asked if he believes that people are born gay. CNN reports: Kelly Bryan, 62, asked Kasich the question at a forum hosted by the Commonwealth of California Club, telling the Ohio governor, “Gay people are human beings and not a lifestyle choice. Please respond without prayer being …

The Perchy Bird reports: On April 7th, Colombia’s Constitutional Court defeated a proposal from one of its conservative magistrates that would have barred same-sex couples from marrying on a vote of 6-3. The LGBT community and many supporters around the country rejoiced, but a successful counter-opinion from another magistrate in favor of expanding the right to marry was needed to …

Less than a month after last year’s landmark ruling from the Supreme Court, Freedom To Marry held its “going out of business” gala and has since closed its offices. But founder Evan Wolfson is far from retired from fighting for LGBT equality. From the US Embassy in Tokyo: “To mark the beginning of Tokyo Rainbow Week starting tomorrow, here’s a …

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, flanked by his hate group leader wife and Liberty Counsel head Mat Staver, this afternoon held a press conference to denounce the mentally ill “atheists, homosexuals, and transgenders” who conspired with the SPLC to file ethics complaints against him with the state Judicial Inquiry Commission. AL.com reports: The JIC, which could determine whether …

Yesterday the Liberty Counsel announced that crackpot Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore will hold a press conference at 3PM today about the SPLC’s ethics complaint against him. According to a columnist for the Montgomery Advertiser, Moore’s removal from the bench is all but guaranteed. From the Liberty Counsel: The Chief Justice and his attorneys will address complaints filed …

Via press release: On Saturday, retired Bishop Talbert co-officiated with Rev. Val Rosenquist at the wedding of Jim Wilborne and John Romano at First United Methodist Church in Charlotte, N.C., with other clergy present in support. The ceremony may immediately jeopardize the pastoral credentials of Rev. Rosenquist because the current anti-LGBTQ policy of The United Methodist Church (UMC) pointedly instructs …

Alabama News reports: An Alabama House committee has approved a bill that would replace state-signed marriage licenses with contracts in a bid to free probate judges from signing licenses for gay couples. The House Judiciary committee voted Wednesday for the bill, which passed the Senate in March. Republican Sen. Greg Albritton’s bill would require couples to file a form to …

ABC News reports: Sen. Ted Cruz today invoked the protections included in the Constitution when a gay man asked the Republican presidential candidate about his work protecting the rights of gay voters. Responding to a question from Todd Calogne, a married gay man who is a registered Republican and owner of a pizza parlor in New York City, Cruz said …

From the Democratic National Committee: This morning on CNN’s State of the Union, John Kasich was asked whether he would take steps to try to stop states from passing anti-LGBT “Right to Discriminate” laws. His blunt response? “No, I wouldn’t.” He added, “What I like to say is, just relax, if you don’t like what somebody is doing, pray for …

“The question is going to be, if we’re not in favor of same-sex marriage, what ARE we in favor of for people with same-sex attractions and how are we helping them live out their vocations? There’s a universal human desire for friendship, for companionship. We all have a need for relationships that matter. So when Thanksgiving comes around, when Christmas …

Last night John Kasich reaffirmed his earlier statements that same-sex marriage is a settled issue. “There could be an effort to pass a Constitutional Amendment. I’m not for doing it. I’m for moving on,” the Republican presidential hopeful said Thursday in a town hall airing on MSNBC. “Exactly where it is now, I’m fine with it,” he said when asked …

Reuters reports: Kentucky’s governor on Wednesday signed into law a bill that removes county clerks’ names from the state marriage license forms at the center of a controversy involving an official jailed last year for refusing to issue licenses to gay couples. Senate Bill 216, signed by Republican Governor Matt Bevin, also creates a single form that either heterosexual or …

The Guardian reports: A Chinese judge has rejected a gay couple’s attempt to secure the right to marry in the country’s first same-sex marriage case. Sun Wenlin, 27, from the central province of Hunan, had sued the civil affairs bureau in the city of Changsha for the right to marry his 37-year-old partner Hu Mingliang, a security guard. Sun decided …

Two days ago the Colombian Constitutional Court ruled 6-3 to legalize same-sex marriage and while some formalities remain ahead before weddings can commence, Levis yesterday extended their congratulations with a cheeky hanky code image.