Sweden - Gay Marriage Now Legal In.....

[Nova]

SweetT, I am so sorry that you and your brother suffered so much at such early ages.

Are you suggesting your brother is gay because of those experiences? I know some people who are uncomfortable being gay like to blame their sexual orientation on childhood molestations, but I know of NO scientific evidence that such experiences (however awful) cause gayness later in life.

Rather, scientific research suggests genetics and/or the mother's hormonal reaction (not her fault) to a male fetus as causal factors.

 

[Reader]

Senate nears historic vote on gay rights bill

http://www.centurylink.net/news/rea...p-senate_nears_historic_vote_on_gay_rights-ap

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate pushed toward a historic vote on legislation outlawing workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, demonstrating the nation's quickly evolving attitude toward gay rights nearly two decades after Congress rejected same-sex marriage.

All 55 members of the Democratic majority, including senators from the Deep South, and several Republicans were expected to unite on Thursday in backing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Sen. John McCain, the GOP's presidential nominee in 2008, signaled his conditional support on Wednesday.

"The time has come for Congress to pass a federal law," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who urged House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to reconsider his opposition.......more......

 

[noZme]

Senate OKs gay rights bill banning discrimination

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/11/07/3348928/senate-nears-historic-vote-on.html#storylink=cpy

How did your Senators vote? Email them smilies or frownies. (It's late & my quick search did not find the characters I need.)

 

[southcitymom]

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...he_collapse_of_employment_discrimination.html

 

[Reader]

Hawaii Senate passes gay marriage bill

http://www.centurylink.net/news/rea...p-hawaii_senate_to_take_last_vote_on_gay_m-ap

HONOLULU (AP) — The state Senate passed a bill Tuesday legalizing gay marriage, putting Hawaii a signature away from becoming a same-sex wedding destination.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who called lawmakers to a special session for the bill and has vocally supported gay marriage, said in a statement he will sign the measure. It will allow thousands of gay couples living in Hawaii and even more tourists to marry in the state starting Dec. 2............

 

[shana]

YES!

One of many links to the story on the net:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way...growing-list-of-states-with-same-sex-marriage

Illinois Joins Growing List Of States With Same-Sex Marriage

 

[Tulessa]

All these new advances, warm my heart. :blowkiss: Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE should have the chance to experience the love that my hubby and I do, regardless of gender! Nova, I love you dear friend, and all the others that have had to fight such an unfair battle. Love seriously, conquers all.

 

[Nova]

All these new advances, warm my heart. :blowkiss: Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE should have the chance to experience the love that my hubby and I do, regardless of gender! Nova, I love you dear friend, and all the others that have had to fight such an unfair battle. Love seriously, conquers all.

Thank you so much, Tulessa. But I must confess my husband and I have been very lucky: even before there were legal protections, we were blessed with families that if not thrilled, were at least tolerant of our relationship.

Unlike so many others, we've never had to worry that the relatives of one of us would swoop down and strip our house (something that has happened to far too many of our gay brothers and sisters).

Most of all, we are blessed that my husband's ex-wife always insisted that the children would have a full and loving relationship with their father and with me, as their stepfather. The "kids" are in their 40s now, but we are still reaping the benefits of their wonderful, wise and gracious mother! (And don't even get me started on our perfect-in-every-way grandchildren, who make no distinction between "Grandpas" by marriage and those by blood.)

But our "luck" is beside the point here, of course. My kids' mother is a rare and wonderful woman (now remarried to a terrific man, so karma is good). No gay couple should be at the mercy of the whims of their biological relatives.

 

[Nova]

If this stands, add New Mexico:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/19/new-mexico-gay-marriage_n_4474507.html


"For the times they are a'changin'…"

 

[Reader]

UTAH!

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/20/justice/utah-same-sex-marriage-ruling/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

(CNN) -- It was joyful mayhem Friday night in the county clerk's office in Salt Lake City, Utah, after a federal judge struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage, saying the law "conflicts with the United States Constitution's guarantees of equal protection and due process under the law."

"I proposed to my partner of 27 years in June, but I said, 'We're not going to get married until we can get married in Utah," state Sen. Jim Dabakis, who is openly gay, told CNN.

"He said, 'So, that's just an excuse never to get married.'"

Not so. As soon as the judge's ruling was reported, "We ran down here," Dabakis said as he surveyed the crowd. "It's a madhouse down here. There's hundreds of people, wedding certificates are being issued, there's marriages taking place all over the hallways. Everybody's embracing. It's just a warm, wonderful moment in the state of Utah."........

 

[Nova]

Utah! UTAH?

Well, slap my mouth and call me "Sally"!

And after Utah spent millions getting Prop 8 passed in California!

 

[nightwatch]

Utah! UTAH?

Well, slap my mouth and call me "Sally"!

And after Utah spent millions getting Prop 8 passed in California!

Hi Sally! Lol Greetings from Utah
Very surprising here. Jmo

Ciao

 

[Sonya610]

Utah! UTAH?

Well, slap my mouth and call me "Sally"!

And after Utah spent millions getting Prop 8 passed in California!

Yuppers, heard this yesterday from my gay coworker friend (long distance coworker but we talk a lot about all sorts of stuff, duck dynasty came up yesterday...lol).

Oh wait, saying he is a "gay coworker" isn't PC in some people's minds. He most certainly doesn't have a problem with it (being labeled) and I don't have a problem with it either.

 

[Nova]

Yuppers, heard this yesterday from my gay coworker friend (long distance coworker but we talk a lot about all sorts of stuff, duck dynasty came up yesterday...lol).

Oh wait, saying he is a "gay coworker" isn't PC in some people's minds. He most certainly doesn't have a problem with it (being labeled) and I don't have a problem with it either.

Dear Sonya, as it happens, I have been appointed by our tribal leaders to rule on all matters of political correctness as it applies to the GLBTQ… nation.

In your case, the fact that your coworker is gay relates to why he had this news to share with you. You weren't identifying him as such for gratuitous purposes.

So your usage was entirely correct and not at all un-PC.

(About 40 years ago, I was supervising a graveyard shift of 40 document processing operators at a large law firm. Somebody came in and asked to see "Linda". I replied, "Oh, she's the black woman about halfway back." AND PEOPLE AROUND ME GASPED OUT LOUD. Now "Linda" was the only black woman in the room at the time. How should I have identified her? It's not as if being black is a BAD thing! This was in New York City. (BTW, I later asked "Linda" and she agreed with me on the subject.))

 

[Reader]

http://centurylink.net/news/read/ca...p-supreme_court_puts_utah_samesex_marriage-ap

Supreme Court puts Utah same-sex marriage on hold

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Gay couples in Utah were thrust into legal limbo Monday as the U.S. Supreme Court put a halt to same-sex marriages in the state, turning jubilation to doubt just weeks after a judge's ruling sent people rushing to get married.

The justices did not rule on the merits of the case or on same-sex marriage bans in general, leaving both sides confident they'll ultimately win. The decision stays in effect while the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considers the long-term question of whether gay couples have a right to wed in Utah.......more.....

 

[southcitymom]

http://centurylink.net/news/read/ca...p-supreme_court_puts_utah_samesex_marriage-ap

Supreme Court puts Utah same-sex marriage on hold

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Gay couples in Utah were thrust into legal limbo Monday as the U.S. Supreme Court put a halt to same-sex marriages in the state, turning jubilation to doubt just weeks after a judge's ruling sent people rushing to get married.

The justices did not rule on the merits of the case or on same-sex marriage bans in general, leaving both sides confident they'll ultimately win. The decision stays in effect while the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considers the long-term question of whether gay couples have a right to wed in Utah.......more.....

Thanks, Reader. I just came here because I would love to hear Nova's thoughts about what the High Court putting Utah marriages on hold may portend!

 

[Nova]

Thanks, SCM, but i don't pretend to be an expert on appellate procedures.

I think it's clear that NOBODY wants to legally annul marriages. (When the appellate court annulled marriages performed in SF in 2004, it was countermanding a unilateral decision by the mayor, not a court ruling.) So SCOTUS would rather issue a stay than end up creating separate classes of gay-married and forbidden-to-gay-marry persons in Utah.

And we should keep in mind that the appellate ruling striking down Prop 8 also inspired a stay on same-sex marriages in California until the issue had made its way to SCOTUS.

So this stay may mean nothing in terms of what SCOTUS will eventually rule.

***

But I have to admit I don't understand exactly what the constitutional issue is that the 10th circuit is considering. The California appellate justice drafted his overturning of Prop 8 VERY carefully: in essence, he ruled that the voters can't retract rights that have been granted by the state constitution. Since gay marriage had been legal in 2008, Prop 8 was, in the appellate view, an illegitimate plebiscite.

So SCOTUS has not ruled that gay people have a federal right to marry (except where the state allows it). And I admit it's hard for me to imagine the Roberts court will do so. (But, then, if you'd told me SCOTUS would let Prop 8 and DOMA fall, I would have laughed out loud.) In general, SCOTUS has seemed to hold marriage rights as a prerogative of the states and struck down DOMA as an unconstitutional interference with state's rights.

 

[Nova]

One more thought: my appellate lawyer friend says the courts HATE a mess, such as was created when gay marriage was banned in California, but 18,000 couples remained gay-married.

That alone may be the reason for the stay.

 

[Reader]

Federal government to recognize same-sex marriages in Utah

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...nment-oks-same-sex-marriage-benefits-in-utah/

WASHINGTON – Attorney General Eric Holder said Friday the federal government will recognize more than 1,000 same-sex marriages in Utah, despite an earlier announcement this week from the state’s governor saying the state would not.

The decision means those Utah couples will have access to federal benefits that are available to married couples in other states, including the ability to file joint tax returns. It also adds to the confusion in the state following a surprise ruling last month against the state's same-sex marriage ban. ........

“Recently, an administrative step by the Court has cast doubt on same-sex marriages that have been performed in the state of Utah. And the governor has announced that the state will not recognize these marriages pending additional Court action,” Holder said. “In the meantime, I am confirming today that, for purposes of federal law, these marriages will be recognized as lawful and considered eligible for all relevant federal benefits on the same terms as other same-sex marriages.”

.......more.......

 

[southcitymom]

Oklahoma!!!!

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/14/justice/oklahoma-gay-marriage/index.html