Free Republic

A bare majority of California voters would continue to allow gay marriage, according to a new poll released Friday. The Field Poll of 672 likely voters found that 51% oppose Proposition 8, which would amend the state Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and woman. Forty-two percent of voters support the November ballot measure. Poll director Mark DiCamillo said the results indicate a substantial change among voters since 2000, when Proposition 22, a similar ballot measure, was approved with 61% of the vote. Proposition 22 and other laws that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation were...

Californians are likely to support same-sex marriage in the coming November election, suggests to an opinion poll released Friday. According to the Field Poll, 51% of California voters surveyed said they would oppose Proposition 8, a ballot measure that would amend the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, thus banning same-sex marriage. Forty-one percent of voters surveyed said they would vote "yes" on the measure, according to the statewide survey that was completed this week. Those results are nearly identical to findings of a Field Poll in May that found 51% of Californian voters...

A hotel owner’s $125,000 donation to support a ballot initiative banning same-sex marriage in the state has become a flashpoint, with opponents calling for a boycott of two of his hotels and supporters highlighting the donation in a fund-raising letter. The hotelier, Doug Manchester, donated the money to support the collection of signatures to qualify the initiative, which would amend the state’s Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage, for the November ballot.

Weapons of Mass. Destruction The Massachusetts legislature is pulling out all the stops to recapture its title as the most liberal state in the union on marriage. Yesterday, the Bay State Senate voted to repeal a 95-year-old law that former Gov. MITT ROMNEY enforced to prevent out-of-state homosexuals from "marrying." (Thanks Mitt!!!! He's a GOOD GUY!) To justify the move, the Senate pointed to a report commissioned by the state that claimed non-resident "marriages" would bring in an estimated $110 million. As groups like FRC have argued, money can't undo the damage done to society by the state's campaign to...

ANNE BORDEN, MOTHER OF two, wasn't particularly concerned in 1999 when her husband suggested she become the family's sole breadwinner. As a corporate executive, she earned a salary of $200,000-plus — more than enough for the Seattle-based family to live on comfortably. There was more money: Her husband of four years had just cashed in several million dollars worth of Microsoft (MSFT: 27.26, +1.11, +4.24%) stock options. That windfall would go into savings, they decided, and the family would live off of Borden's paychecks. Soon thereafter, a red flag appeared: Borden discovered that her husband had deposited the options proceeds...

Many Californians applauded the state Supreme Court decision to allow same-sex couples to marry. Hundreds more raced to have their partnerships officially recognized by the state. But now, same-sex newlyweds in both California and Massachusetts are facing a different battle: being counted. The U.S. Census Bureau, reacting to the federal Defense of Marriage Act and similar mandates, will edit responses from same-sex couples who marry legally in California and Massachusetts for the 2010 census, changing their responses from "married" to "unmarried partner." The move has infuriated some LGBT civil-rights groups. "This is not an acceptable way to count same-sex couples,"...

Two lovers had a brush with death after their car plunged 46m down a cliff, while they were having sex in the back seat. According to the police Lin Gu, 25, and lover Lee Shin, 29, suffered broken bones when their car tipped over the edge of the hill in XinDian, Taiwan. "They had parked up close to the edge of the mountain and had left the handbrake off," Daily Telegraph quoted a spokesman, as saying. "When they started having sex the rocking motion started the car moving and it rolled off the hill. They were lucky they were not...

The Massachusetts Senate today passed a bill that would repeal a 1913 state law that prevents gay and lesbian couples from most other states from marrying in Massachusetts. The bill, which had the support of Senate President Therese Murray, passed with no objections on a voice vote. Proponents of the repeal called the 1913 law archaic and discriminatory. "There are very few laws on the books that I can say that I'm ashamed that they're on the books," said State Senator Mark Montigny, a New Bedford Democrat. He said he opposed the law because of the "immorality of discrimination." "This...

ROME, JULY 15, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university. Q: Many Catholic brides and grooms acknowledge themselves as "living together" right up to the time of a sacramental marriage, and/or they admit that they have not followed the precepts of the Church (Mass on Sunday, Easter obligation, etc.). They decide to have a "Catholic wedding." Their marriage preparation lacks the requirement that they attend the sacrament of reconciliation to place themselves in a state of grace. Must a Catholic bride and/or groom be in the state of grace...

The most effective of all morality-based arguments for same-sex marriage, the one that persuades more people than any other argument, is the one that equates opposition to same-sex marriage with the old opposition to interracial marriage. The argument, repeated so often that it sounds incontestable, is this: Just as parts of American society once had immoral laws that forbade whites and blacks from marrying, so, today, society continues to have immoral laws forbidding men from marrying men and women from marrying women. And just as decent people overthrew the former, decent people must overthrow the latter. Thanks in large part...

Don't try convincing Ed Jansen, 74, of Cutlerville, that the institution of marriage needs propping up. Or his wife Arlyn, 72. Or Ed's brother Charlie, 83. Or Charlie's wife, Cornelia, 78. Or Cornelia's sister-in-law Wilma VanKooten, 71. Or Wilma's husband Delmer, 75. Nor Guy and Janet Jansen. Berdena and Junior Vos? Nope. Same goes for Melvin Jansen and wife, Marilyn. And the Geelses — Doris and Nelson. You'll lose the argument. Because every living son and daughter born in the past century to the late Evert and Gertie Jansen — seven kids in all — has celebrated or is about...

It depends on who your wife is buddy. So he gets credit for the "it's the institution I don't like" and the "Marriage - it doesn't mean anything, It's how you feel" excuses. But he might have tried, "It's not you; it's me," or "Let's not rush this thing." Given what a sweet, loving, uncontrolling, happy-go-lucky, catch Michelle seems to be, I'm surprised he had to use any of these old cliches.

Video from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence picnic held in Aracata Ca July 12th 2008. Yes a strong Barack Obama presence crashed the party. Interviews with the Sisters, gay marriage couples, and the Barack Obama table. 07/14/08

The most effective of all morality-based arguments for same-sex marriage, the one that persuades more people than any other argument, is the one that equates opposition to same-sex marriage with the old opposition to interracial marriage. The argument, repeated so often that it sounds incontestable, is this: Just as parts of American society once had immoral laws that forbade whites and blacks from marrying, so, today, society continues to have immoral laws forbidding men from marrying men and women from marrying women. And just as decent people overthrew the former, decent people must overthrow the latter. Thanks in large part...

A new detail about the courtship of Michelle Obama: It took two years for Obama to finally propose. Though she knew he didn't fear commitment, Michelle had become a bit irritated with his struggle over whether marriage had become an outdated institution. Wow. And with this offhand comment, a thousand new excuses are born. "Honey, it's not that I fear commitment. It's that I'm struggling over whether marriage has become an outdated institution." I recall from that other Obama profile in the New Yorker, this one on Michelle: Barack had a more bohemian attitude toward romance. “We would have this...

Barack Obama's Struggle Over Whether Marriage Had Become 'An Outdated Institution'A new detail about the courtship of Michelle Obama: It took two years for Obama to finally propose. Though she knew he didn't fear commitment, Michelle had become a bit irritated with his struggle over whether marriage had become an outdated institution. Wow. And with this offhand comment, a thousand new excuses are born. "Honey, it's not that I fear commitment. It's that I'm struggling over whether marriage has become an outdated institution."I recall from that other Obama profile in the New Yorker, this one on Michelle: Barack had a...

Whither The Secular State?Brucelewis.com 20080714 A Christian registrar who refused to carry out gay 'weddings' won a landmark legal battle yesterday. Lillian Ladele, 47, was threatened with the sack [being fired], bullied and 'thrown before the lions' after asking to be excused from conducting civil partnerships for same-sex couples because of her religious beliefs. But yesterday a tribunal agreed that her faith had been ridden roughshod over by equalities-obsessed Islington Council, which had sought to 'trump one set of rights with another'. The groundbreaking decision could lead to firms facing 'conscience claims' from staff who say their own beliefs prevent...

The bad economy strikes again. This time – it’s marital relationships, or people’s ability to end them. NBC’s July 11 “Today” found an unlikely victim of the economic slowdown – divorce rates. According to the segment, the high cost of divorce is keeping some couple together. “[W]hile the price of divorce normally doesn’t run that high, there is evidence the troubled economy is forcing some troubled couples to stay together, at least for the time being,” NBC’s “Today” co-host Natalie Morales said.

A Christian registrar who refused to carry out gay 'weddings' won a landmark legal battle yesterday. Lillian Ladele, 47, was threatened with the sack, bullied and 'thrown before the lions' after asking to be excused from conducting civil partnerships for same-sex couples because of her religious beliefs. But yesterday a tribunal agreed that her faith had been ridden roughshod over by equalities-obsessed Islington Council, which had sought to 'trump one set of rights with another'. The groundbreaking decision could lead to firms facing 'conscience claims' from staff who say their own beliefs prevent them carrying out part of their job....

ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - A Russian woman in St Petersburg killed her drunk husband with a folding couch, Russian media reported on Wednesday. St Petersburg's Channel Five said the man's wife, upset with her husband for being drunk and refusing to get up, kicked a handle after an argument, activating a mechanism that folds the couch up against a wall.

County supervisors rejected two gay marriage proposals Tuesday, one banning the unions in Kern, the other asking San Bernardino County to deputize people to perform civil ceremonies here. County Counsel Bernard Barmann said the anti-gay marriage ordinance proposed by a conservative coalition would violate the California constitution. Pastor and Kern High School District Trustee Chad Vegas said the sin of gay marriage is “self-evident” and supervisors should not be swayed by Barmann's opinion that their oath to uphold the state constitution required them to block the ordinance. Vegas said in taking the same constitutional vow as a school board member,...

"I just believe, frankly, in the sanctity and unique status of marriage between man and woman. That's what I believe. And that's what I support. And that's what I will fight for."

You know that old adage ‘use it or lose it’? The saying can now be applied toward men and sex, according to new research involving erectile dysfunction, Reuters reported Monday. The July issue of the American Journal of Medicine reports that older men who have sex more than once a week are less likely to develop ED.

At least two counties in California have begun reviewing a plan to uphold the state's laws regarding marriage as being between one man and one woman and disregard a state Supreme Court opinion that has yet to be implemented by the Legislature. In the next step in the state's war over marriage – defined by voters as involving only one man and one woman and by the Supreme Court as two people of either gender – traditional marriage supporters will be attending the Kern County board of supervisors meeting tomorrow when the issue will be discussed. In an alert from...

Politics: In case you hadn't heard, Barack Obama has come out against a proposed ban on same-sex marriage in California. He says he's personally opposed but would prefer to let the states decide — at least the state courts.In a letter read at last Tuesday's annual luncheon of San Francisco's Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic Club, Obama stealthily announced his opposition to California's Proposition 8, a November ballot initiative that insists that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Prop 8 was spawned in May after the California Supreme Court...

Some Mormons are rejecting their prophet's call to campaign for a ban on same-sex marriage in California, suggesting the church leadership's sway over the issue of homosexuality may be weakening. In a letter circulated to all the state's congregations June 29, President and Prophet Thomas Monson called on Mormons to "do all you can" to support the November ballot measure "by donating of your means and time." The church strongly supported a successful 2000 California proposition that prohibited same-sex unions. The state Supreme Court struck down the measure May 15, opening the door for same-sex marriages. The intervening years have...

Bachelorhood And Its Discontents by Christopher Orlet (July 2008) Leibniz never married. He had considered it at the age of fifty; but the person he had in mind asked for time to reflect. This gave Leibniz time to reflect, too, and so he never married. — Bernard Fontenelle In a 1994 New Yorker piece commenting on a report that the Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser had strangled his wife to death, the pseudoprofound literary critic George Steiner pondered why it should have taken the Marxist philosopher so long to do the old biddy in. “Perhaps philosophers should strangle their wives,” wrote...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida Gov. Charlie Crist won't be sleeping alone in the governor's mansion much longer -- he is engaged (video: MyFoxOrlando) to a woman he met in New York City last September who quickly captured his heart. Crist, 51, asked Carole Rome to marry him Thursday morning at his St. Petersburg apartment, giving her a blue sapphire ring surrounded by diamonds. She immediately said yes. "I'm very happy and couldn't be more pleased. What a great way to celebrate America's birthday," said Crist, who has been mentioned as a potential running mate for Republican presidential candidate John McCain....

Madison, WI - When Dick Myers heard that California was going to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, he and his partner of nearly 13 years considered traveling there to get married. That is until Myers and his partner, Steve Brondino, learned of an obscure state law that makes it a crime for Wisconsin residents to enter into marriage in another state if the marriage would be prohibited here. The law imposes a penalty for those who enter into a marriage that's prohibited or declared void in Wisconsin of up to $10,000 and nine months in prison. "If we...

Leibniz never married. He had considered it at the age of fifty; but the person he had in mind asked for time to reflect. This gave Leibniz time to reflect, too, and so he never married. — Bernard Fontenelle In a 1994 New Yorker piece commenting on a report that the Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser had strangled his wife to death, the pseudoprofound literary critic George Steiner pondered why it should have taken the Marxist philosopher so long to do the old bitty in. “Perhaps philosophers should strangle their wives,” wrote Steiner. “The name of Socrates' wife has passed into...

In countries of the Third World, you often find American men in their fifties or sixties who have wives twenty or twenty-five years younger. In my considerable experience, they seem happy together. However, the arrangement upsets people back in the US. Why, I wonder? A couple of upsettances are common. The first, from feminists, holds that the man is exploiting the woman sexually (a flattering thought to a man in his sixties; more likely, she wishes he were) or that he wants a docile and pliable woman. The view springs from the common notion among American women that a female...

Wedding customs of the faithful range from solemn to colorful In the big picture of life, all weddings are the same — they're about two people joining their lives (and families) together. But, of course, all weddings are a little bit different, too, based on the couple's background and preferences. Those who opt for a civil ceremony might want a simple exchange of vows at the county courthouse or an elaborate gathering with the wedding party dressed in period costumes. Protestant weddings also can vary, depending on the denomination, church and officiating clergy. Some faiths (Catholic) have a lot of...

In a research brief this month, Bradford Wilcox, a sociology professor at the University of Virginia, analyzed three national studies in order to discover if "there is any evidence that religion is playing a role in encouraging a strong family orientation among contemporary American men?" His research led him to conclude that men who regularly attend Christian services are engaged in happier and stronger marriages and are more involved in the lives of their children than men who do not. "70 percent of husbands who attend church regularly report they are 'very happy' in their marriages, compared to 59 percent...

Stubble is the way to win a woman’s heart, a study has shown. Researchers found that women are more attracted to men with stubbly chins than those with clean-shaven faces or full beards. Women participating in the research rated men with stubble as tough, mature, aggressive, dominant and masculine - and as the best romantic partners, either for a fling or a long-term relationships. The findings of the experiment, carried out on British women aged 18 to 44, could explain the appeal of actors such as George Clooney and Brad Pitt who cultivate their unshaven look. The explanation for the...

Propositions that are on the November 4, 2008 General Election Ballot* Bond MeasureProposition 1 SB 1856 (Chapter 697, 2002). Costa. Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century.** **Note: The Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century was originally scheduled to appear on the November 2, 2004, General Election ballot. Subsequently, Senate Bill 1169, Chapter 71, Statutes of 2004, provided that it appear on the November 7, 2006, General Election ballot. However, most recently, Assembly Bill 713, Chapter 44, Statutes of 2006, provides for the submission of this Act on the November...

U.S. Senator John McCain yesterday declared his support for the California Protection of Marriage initiative on the state's November ballot, leaders of the ProtectMarriage.com campaign announced. In an email received by the ProtectMarriage.com campaign, Senator McCain issued the following statement: "I support the efforts of the people of California to recognize marriage as a unique institution between a man and a woman, just as we did in my home state of Arizona. I do not believe judges should be making these decisions." Commenting on the endorsement of Senator McCain, ProtectMarriage.com Chairman Ron Prentice said, "We are honored to have the...

In officiating at the June 17 “marriage” of the same lesbian couple he had joined in dubious wedlock four years ago, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom beat Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to the punch. But Villaraigosa, like Newsom a potential contender for the Democratic nomination for governor, was not to be bested. On June 23, Villaraigosa united Hollywood producer Bruce Cohen with his five-year-long male companion, art consultant Gabriel Catone. And, the previous week, the Los Angeles mayor voiced his warm support for legalized same-sex marriage. "The California electorate is coming into a new age realizing that [gay] marriage...

In a press release issued last week, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union and Equality California claimed that a November ballot initiative that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman is unconstitutional. The four groups filed a petition with the state Supreme Court on June 20, asking it to remove the initiative from the ballot because, “the rules for revising the California Constitution were not properly followed.” [[Volokh062808.jpg]]The argument of the four groups against the initiative turns on the distinction in constitutional law between an amendment and a...

VIRGINIA, June 27, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a research brief this month, Bradford Wilcox, a sociology professor at the University of Virginia, analyzed three national studies in order to discover if "there is any evidence that religion is playing a role in encouraging a strong family orientation among contemporary American men?"   His research led him to conclude that men who regularly attend Christian services are engaged in happier and stronger marriages and are more involved in the lives of their children than men who do not. "70 percent of husbands who attend church regularly report they are 'very happy'...

In a move that wasn't entirely unexpected, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain endorsed Thursday the controversial California Marriage Protection Act initiative expected to go before the state's voters this November. In an e-mail received by the ProtectMarriage.com campaign McCain issued the following statement: "I support the efforts of the people of California to recognize marriage as a unique institution between a man and a woman, just as we did in my home state of Arizona," McCain said in a message widely distributed via PRNewswire. "I do not believe judges should be making these decisions." Commenting on the endorsement,...

The Church of Sweden will carry out drive-in weddings lasting about seven minutes at a car rally next month in a bid to make marriage more accessible, it said on Thursday. Undaunted by soaring fuel prices, 36 couples have applied to get married at a gathering of auto enthusiasts in Vasteras in central Sweden, said priest Jerker Asterlund, the scheme's initiator. "Weddings are getting more and more commercialised and that is not something we have any interest in. We would like to make things simpler and more down to earth when people take the plunge and get married," he said....

Dr. Ahmad Al-Mub'i, a Saudi Marriage Officiant: It Is Allowed to Marry a Girl at the Age of One, If Sex Is Postponed. The Prophet Muhammad, Whose Model We Follow, Married 'Aisha When She Was Six and Had Sex with Her When She Was Nine Following are excerpts from an interview with Dr. Ahmad Al-Mu'bi, a Saudi marriage officiant, which aired on LBC TV on June 19, 2008: Dr. Ahmad Al-Mu'bi: Marriage is actually two things: First we are talking about the marriage contract itself. This is one thing, while consummating the marriage – having sex with the wife for...

Exactly 15 years ago this week the world first heard the story of John Wayne and Lorena Bobbitt. John Wayne, an ex-Marine, was accused of coming home drunk and raping his wife. Lorena was accused of retaliating by cutting off her husband's penis while he was asleep. Lorena went from anonymous to notorious - her story the subject of countless newspaper and magazine articles. Now in her first ever network morning show interview she discusses how she's using her notoriety to help others. "All of a sudden, my private life is out in the open and it's an open book...

An imam in Morocco's eastern city of Fez has said that marriages between Moroccan women and European men who are not Muslims are forbidden under Islam. Each summer in Morocco, a growing number of local women are reportedly marrying young European men. "This kind of marriage, between Moroccan women and European men, is forbidden by the Koran (the Muslim holy book) and the Sunna (the way or deeds of the Prophet Mohammed)," Sheikh Mohammed al-Tawil said in a TV interview. "A Muslim woman may not marry an unbeliever while a Muslim man may marry Christian and Jewish women," he told...

Recently, a friend described an exchange between a mother and her son, a senior at a top university. He wanted to marry his long-time girlfriend. His mother retorted that she was more ambitious for him than his girlfriend was; she advised him to avoid an “early” marriage that might limit his options. Another friend confided to me that he had counseled his high-school-age daughter to establish a decade’s worth of graduate school and career development before marrying. Marriage would complicate the task of achieving financial independence. And he just wasn’t sure that men could be trusted. Without a Script Many...

The couple's quarrels reached a crisis in 1994, when the wife pried open a bedroom door with a kitchen knife, slashed the sheets and lunged with the blade toward her husband . . . The marriage did not improve. In the 2003 affidavit, the husband testified he was afraid of his wife and had only stayed in the relationship “for the sake of the kids,” their two teenage sons. . . . But about 4:45 a.m. Monday, police said, Glen Denson ambushed his wife, Sharon Denson, at the North Side home of her boyfriend, shot them both and set them...

Contact: Frank Schubert, ProtectMarriage.com, 916-849-6627SACRAMENTO, June 21 /Christian Newswire/ -- Opponents of the California Marriage Amendment, which would restore marriage in California as only a man and a woman, filed a petition today asking the California Supreme Court to remove the proposed initiative from the November ballot, thereby silencing voters on this important issue.Based on the recent California Supreme Court's ruling that led to the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex partners this week, today's lawsuit contends that restoring the definition of marriage in the State Constitution cannot be legally accomplished by voter initiative, but rather must be passed through a...

Major U.S. newspapers express misgivings about California Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage decision An analysis of major newspaper editorials published in response to the California Supreme Court’s decision to overturn a ban on same-sex marriages shows that a majority of the editorials opposed the ruling. The analysis, provided by the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy (iMAPP) of Manassas, Virginia, examined 20 of the highest-circulation newspapers in the United States. Twelve of the 20 published editorial reactions to the California court’s decision. Of the twelve editorials, seven were opposed to the decision while only four were in favor. One major paper...

By order of its state Supreme Court, California began legally marrying same-sex couples this week. The first to be wed in San Francisco were Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, pioneering gay-rights activists who have been a couple for more than 50 years. More ceremonies will follow, at least until November, when gay marriage will go before California's voters. They should choose to keep it. To understand why, imagine your life without marriage. Meaning, not merely your life if you didn't happen to get married. What I am asking you to imagine is life without even the possibility of marriage. Re-enter...