This is a major reason that it is important to support conservative, pro-marriage candidates, and retain such a party platform for the GOP.
By having such a marriage legal at the federal level, for the military, in federal employment, and in immigration, and in many states, how long can individual states hold out against stories like this?
When libertarians try to find ways to keep you from opposing gay marriage, know what they are seeking, libertarians are libertarians at ALL levels of government.
When you see one running for president and avoiding the issue by saying “I personally oppose” “leave it to the states”, “blah”, “blah”, “blah”, remember that he is running to head the FEDERAL govt., and knows darn well what he is doing, and it sure isn’t fighting gay marriage.
“The Mississippi River broke through a protective dike today...What is a protective dike? Is it a large woman that says ‘Don’t go near there!’ ‘But Betty—’ ‘Don’t go near there! Don’t go down by the river!’... No, we can’t say ‘dyke’ on the air, we can’t even say ‘lesbian’ anymore, it’s ‘women in comfortable shoes’...thank you!”
Since "spouse" has a legal definition, and an unrecognized union isn't included, maybe they should be buried somewhere else?
Grandpa told this decades ago.
Two gay guys go to a funeral home. They tell the funeral director “when we die, we want to be buried in the same coffin.” The director said “I’m sorry but I can’t do it State and federal regulations prohibit that.” One of the queers asked “well then can we be buried in coffins touching each other.” They were again told no, caskets have to be buried at least two feet apart by law. The second gay guy asked “then can we at least be cremated and have our ashes put in the same urn.” The director said “yes, but in your case I’d use a fruit jar.”
If a nauseating disgrace like that ever occurs near me and I catch wind of it...I’ll *personally* dig that motherbleeper up and transport it to the nearest dump.
It appears to us that appellants are prevented from marrying, not by the statutes of Kentucky or the refusal of the County Court Clerk of Jefferson County to issue them a license, but rather by their own incapability of entering into a marriage as that term is defined. A license to enter into a status or a relationship which the parties are incapable of achieving is a nullity. If the appellants had concealed from the clerk the fact that they were of the same sex and he had issued a license to them and a ceremony had been performed, the resulting relationship would not constitute a marriage. ... In substance, the relationship proposed by the appellants does not authorize the issuance of a marriage license because what they propose is not a marriage.
Guest Opinion: Woman, partner denied plot welcome to mineTo say that the story of Navy veteran Madelynn Taylor's fight to share a resting place in Idaho's Veterans Cemetery with her lesbian partner is disheartening would be an understatement. Actually, the right word escapes me. I suppose I'm just tired of all the hoo-hah over something this ridiculous.
I honestly couldn't care less if somebody is gay, or "straight" for that matter, just as I couldn't care less about somebody's anti-LGBT views. People seem to want you to be uptight one way or another about it, and I am content to simply respect somebody's differences without a lot of fuss as long as there's no harm done.
Unfortunately, harm often is done, though, to people like Madelynn, and then I do care.
It also seems to me that relationships can be awfully difficult no matter who you choose to be in one with. So if you find one that works... well, good for you. My hat is off to you.
As a lifelong Idahoan and a 27-year Army veteran of two wars, I've worked beside heterosexuals, gays, lesbians and bisexuals. I've really never wanted to hear about anybody's sex life or sexual preferences, one way or another. Besides, everybody more or less knew who is who regardless, and I don't recall anybody in the military ever saying a thing about it. Never.
Frankly, the only thing traumatic about the policy change for our armed forces of allowing gays to openly serve our country was all the media making a big deal about it. It didn't change a thing for any of us doing the job. Serving in uniform has always been about earning trust and has never been about sexuality.
Most of us just shrugged and endured sitting through hours of mind-numbing briefings on a change that essentially changed nothing.
Then we have Madelynn Taylor, who seems like one heck of a lady. She cared for another person with all her heart and had to watch that person die. She is a veteran. She loves her country. She wants her partner by her side and she wants to eternally rest among veterans in the state she made home.
Madelynn, you deserve that.
I'll tell you what. I will donate the plot I earned in the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery to you and Jean. I am happy to give my fellow veteran that small peace of mind. And I do it to honor all the great Americans I've served with along the way -- gay, straight, whatever. (I don't know whether it is possible to donate my plot, but I am quite sincere about my willingness to do so.)
Like Madelynn, I love this state and I respect the views of all my neighbors, whether I agree with those views or not. At least having those differences makes for interesting conversations. But let's not pick on people who aren't hurting anybody and simply minding their own business.
Give Madelynn and Jean and others like them a break. Stop finding reasons to make life -- and in this case, death -- harder than it needs to be.
That's just irritating as hell and disrespectful to boot.
BARRY JOHNSON (Colonel, US Army, retired)