Steve’s Weblog
Carrie Prejean Stripped Of Miss California Title
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Carrie Prejean has been stripped of her Miss California title.
“The Miss California USA Organization, in conjunction with the Miss Universe Organization and with the blessing of its owner, Mr. Donald J. Trump, announced today the termination of Carrie Prejean as Miss California USA 2009, citing continued breach of contract issues,” the Miss California Organization said in a statement to Access Hollywood.
By RAY HENRY, Associated Press Writer Wed Feb 21, 10:43 PM ET
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rhode Island should recognize state employees’ gay marriages that are performed in neighboring Massachusetts and extend benefits to their partners, the state’s attorney general said in an opinion released Wednesday.
Gay marriage vote put off in Mass.
By STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press Writer Thu Nov 9, 8:39 PM ET
BOSTON – Massachusetts lawmakers on Thursday again avoided taking a formal stand on a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, recessing a constitutional convention instead of taking up the thorny issue.
If lawmakers do not vote on the measure before the next Legislature takes office, the measure will not appear on the November 2008 ballot. A vote appeared unlikely because they recessed until Jan. 2, the last day this Legislature is in session.
Lawmakers voted 196-0 to reject a proposed amendment that would bar same-sex marriages and invalidate the thousands that already have been conducted, but decided 109-87 to recess without voting on another measure that would stop such marriages only after the amendment was enacted.
“This is over. It’s over,” said Arline Isaacson of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus.
Gay marriage ban rejected in Arizona
By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer 2 hours, 17 minutes ago
In a triple setback for conservatives, South Dakotans rejected a law that would have banned virtually all abortions, Arizona became the first state to defeat an amendment to ban gay marriage and Missouri approved a measure backing stem cell research.
“What we’re seeing is that fear-mongering around same-sex marriage is fizzling out,” said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. He noted that the bans that succeeded won by much narrower margins, on average, than in the past.
By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer Mon Oct 30, 8:32 PM ET
STATESBORO, Ga. – President Bush has for months cast the midterm elections as a choice about just two issues: taxes and terrorism. Now, with polls predicting bleak results for Republicans, he is trying to fire up his party by decrying gay marriage.
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples must be given all the benefits of married couples, leaving it up to the state Legislature to decide whether to extend those rights under the structure of marriage or something else.
One alternative, civil unions, is an idea Bush supports. But he ignored that on the way to portraying the New Jersey decision as the kind of thing America should do without.
Here’s a reminder…
(it’s really so simple though… the New Jersey Supreme Court decided that homosexuals are entitled to the same legal rights as heterosexuals under our Constitution. How is that activism?)
By GEOFF MULVIHILL, Associated Press Writer
3 minutes ago
TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey’s highest court opened the door Wednesday to making the state the second in the nation to allow gay marriage, ruling
that lawmakers must offer homosexuals either marriage or something like it, such as civil unions.
N.J. court opens door to gay marriage – Yahoo! News
Analysis of political implications of the decision from Glenn Greenwald, posted at Crooks and Liars:
(1) There is nothing new here. The ruling today is almost identical to what the Vermont Supreme Court ruled seven years ago, back in 1999 — namely, that the state constitution requires that same-sex couples have the same rights and privileges as married couples, but it is up to the democratic processes (the legislature) to decide whether to allow gay couples to “marry” (as opposed to enter civil unions).
(2) Today’s decision is very limited in scope and reach. After the Vermont ruling, the Vermont legislature enacted a domestic partnership bill (signed into law by then-Gov. Howard Dean) in order to comply with the court decision. That bill gave full rights to same-sex domestic partnerships but did not legalize gay marriage, and it thus had no impact on anyone other than Vermont residents. That is almost certain to happen here.
(3) The decision today is entirely consistent with the democratic will of New Jersey residents. The New Jersey legislature already enacted a domestic partnership bill two years ago which recognizes, and grants a whole array of marital rights to, same-sex couples. But the way the laws were written, some rights were still assigned only to “married” couples. The court decision today simply requires that those same-sex partnerships have all of the rights which are given to married couples. But New Jersey voters, through their representatives, already approved of recognition of same-sex relationships two years ago.
(4) Finally, a majority of Americans have long (since at least 2004) approved of civil unions of the sort which this decision mandates. The decision is purely within the mainstream of American beliefs. It is those who oppose not just gay marriages, but also civil unions, who are on the fringe. Polls even show that the anti-gay-marriage referenda which Republicans placed on the ballot this year in states such as Virginia and Wisconson have far less support than they did in the past. The ability of Bush followers to distract from their ineptitude and corruption by demonizing gay people and exploiting the gay marriage issue is rapidly diminishing.
Fri Sep 8, 3:10 PM ET
NEW YORK – Brad Pitt, ever the social activist, says he won’t be marrying Angelina Jolie until the restrictions on who can marry whom are dropped.
“Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able,” the 42-year-old actor reveals in Esquire magazine’s October issue, on newsstands Sept. 19.
President Bush signs new pension bill
By MARY DALRYMPLE, Associated Press Writer
15 minutes ago
WASHINGTON – President Bush signed a broad overhaul of pension and savings rules Thursday, giving millions of people a better chance of getting the retirement benefits they have earned.
The Human Rights Campaign praised the law for changes that the group said will help same-sex couples by expanding benefits once only allowed for spouses or dependents.
President Bush signs new pension bill – Yahoo! News
By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 7 minutes ago
WASHINGTON – President Bush on Thursday signed legislation extending for 25 years the Voting Rights Act, the historic 1965 law which opened polls to millions of black Americans by outlawing racist voting practices in the South. “Congress has reaffirmed its belief that all men are created equal,” he declared.
All men, except gay men, that is…
Wash. court upholds gay marriage ban
By CURT WOODWARD, Associated Press Writer Wed Jul 26, 9:07 PM ET
OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Washington Supreme Court upheld the state’s ban on gay marriage Wednesday, dealing the gay rights movement its second major defeat in less than a month in another liberal-leaning state that had been regarded as a promising battleground.
Massachusetts is still the only state that allows same-sex couples to wed.
Justice Mary Fairhurst said the majority improperly bowed to public opinion. “Unfortunately, the (majority) are willing to turn a blind eye to DOMA’s discrimination because a popular majority still favors that discrimination,” she wrote.
Thanks to Doro for pointing me to this news item:
House rejects gay marriage ban amendment
By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer 45 minutes ago
WASHINGTON – The House rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage on Tuesday…
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