New Hampshire Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage

I am very excited to hear this news. The more states that see marriage is a right for all humans the more I think Utah will some day pass a simlar law. I may not ever get married, but I would like to at lest know that if/when I want to, I can. Story below.
Link to article here.

June 4, 2009
By ABBY
GOODNOUGH
BOSTON — The New Hampshire legislature approved revisions to a same-sex
marriage bill on Wednesday, and Gov. John
Lynch promptly signed the legislation, making the state the sixth to let gay
couples wed.
The bill had been through several permutations to satisfy Mr.
Lynch and certain legislators that it would not force religious organizations
that oppose same-sex marriage to participate in ceremonies celebrating it. Some
groups had feared they could be sued for refusing to allow same-sex weddings on
their property.
Mr. Lynch, who previously supported civil unions but not
marriage for same-sex couples, said in a statement that he had heard “compelling
arguments that a separate system is not an equal system.”
“Today,” he said,
“we are standing up for the liberties of same-sex couples by making clear that
they will receive the same rights, responsibilities — and respect — under New
Hampshire law.”
The law will take effect on Jan. 1. As originally cast, the
legislation exempted members of the clergy from having to perform same-sex
weddings. Then Mr. Lynch, a centrist Democrat, said he would veto the bill
unless the legislature added language also exempting religious groups and their
employees from having to participate in such ceremonies.
Mr. Lynch also
ordered that the bill protect members of religious groups from having to provide
same-sex couples with religious counseling, housing designated for married
people and other services relating to “the promotion of marriage.”
But the
House rejected that language last month by a two-vote margin, and legislative
leaders appointed a committee to negotiate a compromise.
The committee last
week recommended changes further emphasizing the rights of religious groups not
to participate. They include a preamble to the bill that states, “Each religious
organization, association, or society has exclusive control over its own
religious doctrine, policy, teachings and beliefs regarding who may marry within
their faith.”
Republicans have called the committee’s work tainted because
the Senate president, Sylvia B. Larsen, a Democrat, replaced one of its
Republican members when that legislator would not sign off on last week’s
compromise. Under legislative rules, the committee’s decision needed to be
unanimous.
As more states have legalized same-sex marriage, opponents have
increasingly lobbied for “conscience protections,” language that exempts
religious organizations from having to participate.
But many of the bill’s
opponents believe the language adopted by New Hampshire and several other states
does not go far enough because it protects only religious groups and their
employees. New Hampshire’s bill does not exempt photographers or florists, for
example, from having to provide services.
But groups that advocate for gay
rights, some of whom poured money into the state in recent months, said the law
was yet another step toward mainstream America accepting same-sex marriage. “As
people get to know the loving and committed couples at the heart of marriage
equality,” said Neil G. Giuliano, president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance
Against Defamation, “our culture is moving to equality.”
Kevin Smith,
director of the Cornerstone Policy Research, a group opposing the bill, said
lawmakers “rammed this legislation through” in a way that “reeks of backroom
deals and a subversion of the legislative process.”

Mike Huckabee, douche bag.

Gov. Mike Huckabee release the following statement this afternoon regarding the Iowa Supreme Court Ruling on gay marriage…

I wanted to get this news to you immediately. The Iowa Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, struck at the heart of the family in Iowa and indeed in the whole country. The ruling, which, will be viewed as a victory for the gay rights movement, should instead, be viewed as an attack on the traditional family as recognized in this country. It is a sad day for Iowa and for the country

Now, because of the ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court, gay couples can legally marry in Iowa beginning April 24.

And Iowa, by the decision of the State Supreme Court, becomes the first mid-western state, and the third in the country, to allow same-sex marriages. I have long believed that marriage must be defined as a marriage between one man and one woman. To that end, we must pass a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. I continue to believe that neither the federal government or any state government should recognize same sex marriages.

As the late Cardinal O’Connor said, a domestic partnership law is legislation that says “marriage doesn’t matter.” The Cardinal was right. Marriage does matter. Our true strength as a nation comes from our families. We must continue to fight by every legal method available to us to preserve the importance of the family as a unit and to amend the Constitution of the United States to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

Continuing the Fight

Mike Huckabee

University hosts heated debate over gay rights

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=5643610

Comments about gays cost Sen. Buttars his chairmanship

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=5644436

Anti-Gay Marriage Initiative Funders Being Unfairly Forced to Accept Responsibility for Their Actions
POSTED BY: Dennis DiClaudio

When will the cruel persecution of people who persecute homosexuals come to an end?

Look, these people just want to live their lives the way they prefer -- making sure that a small minority of the population is denied the right to live their lives the way they prefer -- in quiet, anonymous isolation from consequence. Why can't we just leave these people alone, so that they can get back to interfering with our personal freedoms in peace...
A federal judge Thursday denied a request by Proposition 8 supporters to withhold disclosure of late campaign donors to California's same-sex marriage ban, saying the public has a right to know.
Claiming donors have been harassed, attorneys for Proposition 8 had sought a preliminary injunction to keep secret the identities of 1,600 donors who made contributions just before or after voters approved the measure on Nov. 4.
They asserted that First Amendment rights to be free from retaliation outweigh the state's interest in disclosure.
The judge, unfortunately, disagreed, stating that "the state is not facilitating retaliation by compelling disclosure."
Well, maybe not. But it's certainly not facilitating a bunch of covert gay-bashing, either. And isn't that really what the state is supposed to be doing? (I mean, secretly. Like, on the DL.)
Here's the problem with this: If people aren't allowed to anonymously shovel money into campaigns against minority groups, then shoveling money into campaigns against minority groups suddenly gets less fun. Because then you might have to take responsibility for your actions and convictions, and nobody wants to do that if your actions and convictions are mean-spirited and petty.
So, what happens is you get less people funding these hate campaigns against minorities, and then you get less people hating minorities. And then, eventually, people start to think about minorities as if they were actual people who live actual lives full of actual emotions and relationships. And that's when things start getting totally out of control.
I mean, look what happened with the blacks.

Federal Judge Rules That Students Can’t Be Barred From Expressing Support for Gay People

Article found here. Yeah for freedom of speech! I saw the article and it made me smile. Part of it because gay rights moved forward just a little bit. And part of me cause this judge looked at the situation and said someones rights are being violated, period. Check it out below.

Federal Judge Rules That Students Can’t Be Barred From Expressing Support for Gay People (5/13/2008)

Principal Said Rainbows Are “Sexually Suggestive”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: (212) 549-2673 or 2568; media@aclu.org

PANAMA CITY, FL – After a two-day trial in which a Florida high school principal testified that he believed clothing or stickers featuring rainbows would make students automatically picture gay people having sex, a federal judge today ruled that the school violated students’ First Amendment rights of students. The case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a junior at the school who had been forbidden by her principal to wear any sort of clothing, stickers, buttons, or symbols to show her support of equal rights for gay people.

“Standing up to my school was really hard to do, but I’m so happy that I did because the First Amendment is a big deal to everyone,” said Heather Gillman, a junior at Ponce de Leon High School and the plaintiff in the case.

Judge Richard Smoak of the United States District Court, Northern District of Florida, Panama City Division, issued an order that forces the school to stop its unconstitutional censorship of students who want to express their support for the fair and equal treatment of gay people. The judge also warned the district not to retaliate against students over the lawsuit.

“Freedom of speech for every person and every idea is one of the bedrock principles on which America was founded,” said Christine Sun, a staff attorney with the ACLU national Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project. “Censorship reflects a deep lack of faith in the American system, and it teaches students exactly the wrong lesson on what America is about. We are thrilled that the court in this case made the importance of students’ First Amendment rights so completely clear.”

The case came about after Heather Gillman and other students approached the ACLU about an atmosphere in which students say they were routinely intimidated by school officials for things like writing “gay pride” on their arms and notebooks or wearing rainbow-themed clothing. According to students, problems began in September of 2007 when a lesbian student tried to report to school officials that she was being harassed by other students because she is a lesbian. Instead of addressing the harassment, students say the school responded with intimidation, censorship, and suspensions. That student testified on Monday, breaking down on the stand as she described the school’s indifference to the harassment she experienced.

During the trial, which was held in Panama City yesterday and today, Ponce de Leon High School’s principal David Davis admitted under oath that he had banned students from wearing any clothing or symbols supporting equal rights for gay people. Davis also testified that he believed rainbows were “sexually suggestive” and would make students unable to study because they’d be picturing gay sex acts in their mind. The principal went on to admit that while censoring rainbows and gay pride messages he allowed students to wear other symbols many find controversial, such as the Confederate flag.

“I am very pleased with the judge’s ruling to uphold the students’ right to express their views on issues that are important to them,” said Benjamin James Stevenson, a staff attorney for the ACLU of Florida. “This whole experience has been important civics lesson about exercising our Bill of Rights.”

Ponce de Leon High School is located halfway between Pensacola and Tallahassee, in Florida’s panhandle. According to the school’s website, about 400 students are enrolled there. Heather Gillman is represented by Stevenson and Robert Rosenwald of the ACLU of Florida, Sun of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project, and Garrard Beeney, Maura Miller, Meg Holzer, Megan Bradley, Tom Laughlin, and Vincent Liu of Sullivan & Cromwell, LLC.

Gillman v. Holmes County School District, case no. 5:08-cv-34, was heard in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Florida. A copy of the ACLU’s complaint as well as the earlier letter and the school’s response can be downloaded at:
www.aclu.org/lgbt/youth/33859res20080131.html.

For more information on the ACLU’s LGBT advocacy work, visit www.aclufl.org or www.aclu.org/lgbt.

At first I thought maybe the principal really thought things like rainbows put "sex images" in there minds. I would say this is a narrow minded statement but whatever. When I read that he left students do stuff like sport a confederate flag which supports slavery, racism and intolerance, I thought "you are a homophobic ass." And this thought is supported by the schools lack of action when a lesbian student was gay bashed. This proves intolerance. Maybe this man has learned a lesson? I doubt it. One day gay rights will not be nearly the issue it is now, but it will always be an issue. There are still people that think women should not have rights, there are still people that think blacks should be slaves and there will always be people that thing homosexuality is wrong. And you know what? Thats there right. Weather I like it or not, this is America and the wonderful thing about America is you can like or dislike whatever you want. Just treat everyone the same, thats all I ask.

Ledger Funeral Picketers

So I found these articles on FeastofFools.net a long with a link to one of there podcasts where they interviewed Shirley Phelps one of the worlds most famous anti gay protesters. They also had Out Magazine columnist Josh Kilmer Purcell likes her. He feels she is good for the GLBT community, why? Cause her and her family make gay bashers look bad, really bad and actually HELP GLBT rights. He started a web site called http://phagsforphelps.com/, which pretty much goes over either you are with the gay people, or you are with the Phelps. Love us or hate us, none "love the sinner, hate the sin" bull shit. I think I agree. It very well could be black or white. There are straight people out there or say they are okay or don't care, maybe they are "with" us. Than there are the people who say they don't care, but when someone makes a joke they freak out, I would say they are with the Phelps. But is anything in the world black and white? No. Thats why we have a court system. I do have to agree with the fact that there extreme hate makes gay bashing look bad. I do agree that this could help gay rights move along. I never know if the gay rights fight will end in my lifetime, I hope so. I do not see this ending anytime soon, not even ten years. I see it being a lot better by than, but not over. I reside in Utah and feel that here the gay rights movement is at a crawl, I am sure the bible belt is worse but Utah is not exactly "loving" for the deviant kind. Than again the gay marriage law went up for voting a few years ago and we only lost by like 1 or 2%. Or at lest we where told.

Ledger Funeral Picketer Is A “Big, Fat Whore Bigot”

International News, By Tim D, 24th January, 2008

Just a day after Heath Ledger’s untimely death, the Christian folk at Westboro Baptist Church have said they plan to picket Ledger’s funeral because of his involvement in Brokeback Mountain.

Popular US gay blog Towleroad reports that the Kansas-based ministry plans to raise its profile by picketing “this pervert’s” funeral. “Heath Ledger thought it was great fun defying God Almighty and his plain word… God hates the sordid tacky, bucket of slime seasoned with vomit known as ‘Brokeback Mountain’. Heath Ledger is now in Hell, and has begun serving his eternal sentence there – beside which, nothing else about Heath Ledger is relevant or consequential.”

Westoboro spokeswoman Shirley Phelps was on Sydney radio this morning spreading her message further. Asked by hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O on 2DayFM if Westboro were going to come to Australia to picket his country, her answer was typically Phelps. “I wouldn’t set foot in your filthy country… I’m going stand outside any public memorial that we have here in the US.” Phelps also said her church, comprised of relatives only, would picket the Oscars.

Jackie O said she was “alarmed and disgusted”, angry callers to the station labeled her a “Christian terrorist” but the comment of the day has to go to Sandilands. It’s not often we agree with him, but his last words were priceless: “I’d rather be in hell than be a big, fat, whore bigot like you.”

Amen to that.

--

Radical church to picket Ledger memorial

Friday January 25, 2008

By ninemsn staff

A radical American church plans to picket Heath Ledger's memorial service because of his portrayal of a gay cowboy in Brokeback Mountain.

Members of Westboro Baptist Church, known for picketing the funeral of US soldiers who died in Iraq — arguing homosexuals are the cause of the war, said Ledger is now in hell, OK! magazine reports.

"Heath Ledger thought it was great fun defying God Almighty and His plain word; to wit; God Hates Fags! & Fag-Enablers!" the church said in a statement.

"Ergo, God hates the sordid, tacky bucket of slime seasoned with vomit known as Brokeback Mountain and He hates all persons having anything whatsoever to do with it."

The Kansas based group is renowned for their anti-gay stance and run numerous websites such as GodHatesFags.com.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) said Ledger would forever be remembered for his groundbreaking role as Ennis del Mar in the movie.

"His powerful portrayal changed hearts and minds in immeasurable ways," the association said.

The editor of Sydney's gay and lesbian magazine, SX said the media coverage is just want the group wants.

"I think they're best ignored. The media coverage is what they want. It's disgusting and ridiculous," Brad Johnston said.

"It's needless to say that it's an absolute disgrace."

Reports are suggesting that Ledger's funeral will take place in his hometown of Perth after his body was transferred to New York's Frank E Campbell funeral chapel before the trip.

A memorial service is expected to take place in Hollywood later this week ahead of his burial.

The star was found dead in his Manhattan apartment yesterday and police suspect a drug overdose as the cause of death.