http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/samesexmarriage/ en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:54:02 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418681/posts Massachusetts, the first state to legalize gay marriage, yesterday became the first to challenge the constitutionality of a federal law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman, contending that Congress intruded into a matter that should be left to states. The suit filed by state Attorney General Martha Coakley says the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 violates the US Constitution by interfering with the state’s right to define the marital status of residents. The suit also says the law forces the state to discriminate against same-sex married couples - on certain health benefits and... Boston.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418681/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:54:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417995/posts WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia is the latest battleground for an escalating conflict between same-sex couples demanding the “right” to marry and churches defending their freedom to maintain the integrity of their institutions. Last month, the district’s City Council legalized same-sex “marriage,” prompting celebrations for homosexual activists — and a sober reckoning for the Archdiocese of Washington. Congress must still approve the city-council vote, and opponents of the proposed law vow to take their fight to Capitol Hill, or the courts. But nobody expects a quick resolution to an issue that will continue to plague Catholic bishops throughout the... NC Register http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417995/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:48:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417913/posts MSNBC, "the place for politics" strikes again, this time with character assassination in the name of same-sex marriage. On the Dec. 29 broadcast of "The Rachel Maddow Show," Maddow took aim at former Bush administration Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, now a Fox News contributor. She noted his prior opposition to same-sex marriage, which according to Maddow's citation of The Atlantic magazine, was done only to win elections. "In the Karl Rove political playbook, more than one chapter covers the tactic of gay-baiting, which Mr. Rove has used to notorious electoral effect," Maddow said. "To quote a 2004 profile... NewsBusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417913/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:54:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417175/posts BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — They had to travel to the ends of the Earth to do it, but two Argentine men succeeded in becoming Latin America's first same-sex married couple.After their first attempt to wed earlier this month in Buenos Aires was thwarted, gay rights activists Jose Maria Di Bello and Alex Freyre took their civil ceremony to the capital of Argentina's Tierra del Fuego province, where sympathetic governor backed their bid to make Latin American history.The couple exchanged rings Monday in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, closer to Antarctica than Buenos Aires. The informal ceremony was witnessed... Google http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417175/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:14:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416455/posts Thursday, March 12 PITTSFIELD — A woman who allegedly intended to artificially inseminate her wife with her brother's semen has been charged with domestic assault and battery. Pittsfield police responded to a call shortly before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in the city's Morningside neighborhood, where the assault allegedly occurred. Stephanie K. Lighten, 26, was released on personal recognizance after denying the allegations in Central Berkshire District Court Wednesday morning. Jennifer A. Lighten, 33, told police that Stephanie Lighten, her wife, was "all liquored up" when she returned to their Lincoln Street apartment, where the defendant then allegedly tried to use a... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2416455/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:45:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415548/posts The Hawkeye State has seen more than its share of bruising political battles. Despite not having a presidential nominating process in 2010, the coming year will see one of the biggest political fights in Iowa history: The War Over Gay Marriage. The Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415548/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 01:21:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411094/posts D.C. mayor signs same-sex ‘marriage’ legislation Unitarian Universalist pastor Rob Hardies poses for a picture with Mayor Adrian Fenty. Credit: All Souls Church. Washington D.C., Dec 19, 2009 / 06:57 am (CNA).- Mayor Adrian Fenty of Washington, D.C., has signed a measure recognizing same-sex “marriage” in the District. The law has been criticized for redefining marriage and also for its lack of strong religious freedom protections for those who do not approve of such unions.Fenty signed the measure at the Unitarian Universalist All Souls Church in the northwest part of the District.In his remarks at the signing, provided to CNA... CNA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411094/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:45:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410556/posts Albuquerque, N.M., Dec 18, 2009 / 04:12 am (CNA).- Attorneys for a small photography company charged with violating anti-discrimination laws for declining to photograph a same-sex “commitment ceremony” are planning to appeal a New Mexico judge’s decision to uphold the New Mexico Civil Rights Commission’s ruling against them.The Albuquerque company, Elane Photography, is co-owned by Elaine Huguenin and her husband Jon. They are being represented by attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF).In 2006 a woman named Vanessa Willock asked them to photograph a “commitment ceremony” that she and another woman wanted to hold in Taos, N.M. State law does... cna http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410556/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:11:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410275/posts Mayor Adrian M. Fenty will sign legislation Friday to legalize same-sex marriage in the District at a bill-signing ceremony so historic that his staff scrambled to find the perfect location Thursday. Would it be All Souls Unitarian Church, a Northwest house of worship known for its diversity, liberalism and welcoming of same-sex couples? Would it be Covenant Baptist Church, a predominantly black church in Southwest where husband-and-wife team of Dennis and Christine Wiley serve as co-pastors and support gay marriage? Or would it be a secular site? Late in the day, Katie Loughary, executive director at All Souls, said it... Washington comPost http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410275/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:34:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408646/posts A localized media frenzy has ensued after a Catholic reporter was let go from his 19-year position at a Maine newspaper for voicing his opinion against same-sex “marriage” and the campaign to legalize it in Maine. According to an article by the Maine Public Broadcasting Network, Larry Grard, a former employee of the Morning Sentinel, was sent a mass email from the pro-gay rights organization, Human Rights Campaign (HRC), following the repeal of the same-sex “marriage” law in Maine during the mid-term elections on Nov. 4. In the email, Trevor Thomas, spokesman for the HRC, voiced his disappointment with the... CNA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408646/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:41:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408225/posts The D.C. Council on Tuesday passed a same-sex marriage bill on a final vote of 11-2, prompting public witnesses in the Council chambers to erupt into cheers and extended applause. D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray allowed the applause for several seconds, then banged his gavel as the noise subsided and reminded the crowd that demonstrations are not allowed in the chambers. He chuckled as the crowd laughed in response. The bill, which could be signed by the mayor as early as tonight, must go to Congress for a review period of 30 legislative days before it becomes law. "Today... Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408225/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:54:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408171/posts The Washington City Council voted Tuesday to legalize same-sex marriage in the nation's capital. The bill will be given to Mayor Adrian Fenty, who has expressed his support and vowed to sign the bill. If the mayor signs it, Congress will have 30 days to intervene before it would take effect. It is considered unlikely that the Democratic majority on Capitol Hill will block the bill Tuesday's second vote was needed to send the measure to Fenty. The council passed the bill in an 11-2 vote December 1. If the measure becomes law, Washington will join Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408171/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:38:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408157/posts WASHINGTON — Washington D.C.'s City Council has voted to legalize gay marriage in the nation's capital. Mayor Adrian Fenty has promised to sign the bill, which was co-sponsored by 10 of the council's 13 members. The final vote Tuesday was 11-2. The bill now goes to Congress, which has final say over the district's laws. Opponents say they'll try to get Congress or voters to overturn it. Passage of the bill is a victory for gay marriage supporters, who have been dealt a recent string of defeats... Gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa and Vermont. New Hampshire will... Google AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408157/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:18:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2408036/posts Folks, this according to the Thomas More Law Center: ANN ARBOR, MI – Tomorrow, December 16, 2009, at 10 AM PST, a panel of eleven judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sitting in San Francisco will hear oral arguments concerning the constitutionality of San Francisco Board of Supervisor’s virulent resolution attacking the Catholic Church for its teachings against homosexual adoptions. The en banc panel will review the earlier opinion of a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit that upheld the resolution. Thomas More Law Center attorney Robert Muise will argue the case on behalf of the plaintiffs in... Vivificat - From Contemplation to Action http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2408036/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:30:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407257/posts A lesbian candidate won Houston's mayoral election Saturday night, a vote that made the city the largest in the U.S. to ever have an openly gay mayor. "This election has changed the world for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community. Just as it is about transforming the lives of all Houstonians for the better, and that's what my administration will be about," City Controller Annise Parker told supporters after former city attorney Gene Locke conceded defeat. Parker got 53 percent of the vote. More than 152,000 residents turned out to cast ballots in the fourth largest U.S. city. The... Assoc. Press, via MSNBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407257/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:19:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405852/posts On Wednesday, Liberty Counsel lawyers appeared in court to defend Lisa Miller. Last month a Vermont court ordered the custody of Miller's biological daughter transferred to her former lesbian lover. The ACLU and Lambda Legal Defense Fund are seeking to transfer custody of 7-year-old Isabella to Janet Jenkins, a Vermont resident who lived with Miller in that state before the latter's conversion from the homosexual lifestyle. Miller met with the ire of a Vermont judge after she refused to send her daughter to scheduled visitations with Jenkins because, she says, Isabella has been traumatized by past visits. The Virginia Court... Life Site News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405852/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 01:20:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404136/posts A former Duke University employee and adoptive gay father charged with molesting his five-year-old son--and offering the boy as a sex object to pedophiles online--is expected to make a plea bargain, according to a Dec. 1 article in local newspaper the Durham Herald Sun. Frank Lombard faces charges stemming from alleged instances in which he molested his young adopted son and chatted about the deeds online even as he carried them out. It’s thought that the U.S, Attorney’s Office is positioning the case for a plea arrangement because the Office is set to file an "information," which allows the prosecution... Edge (gay pride mag from Boston) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404136/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 23:50:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403514/posts NJ Vote on Gay Marriage Could Shape Battles Ahead REUTERS December 9, 2009 TRENTON (Reuters) - The legalization of same-sex marriage faces a critical test in New Jersey this week that advocates on each side of the controversial issue argue will shape the fate of gay-marriage battles across the nation. If the proposal to legalize gay marriage passes the state Senate vote on Thursday, New Jersey could be on its way to joining five other U.S. states that allow gay couples to wed. Advocates hope to pass the bill in the legislature so Governor Jon Corzine, a supporter, can sign... NYTimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403514/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 06:19:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402491/posts St. Paul, Minn. — A group of Twin Cities Quakers has decided to stop signing marriage certificates for opposite-sex couples until the state legalizes gay marriage. "We're simply trying to be consistent with the will of God as we perceive it," said Paul Landskroener, clerk of the Twin Cities Friends Meeting, in an interview with MPR's All Things Considered on Monday. The congregation will continue to hold both opposite-sex and same-sex weddings at its meeting house, but will no longer sign the legal marriage certificate for opposite-sex couples. Instead, couples will need to have the certificate signed by a justice... Minnesota Public Radio http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402491/posts#comment Tue, 8 Dec 2009 01:16:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402394/posts Grard was fired by Bill Thompson, editor of the Sentinel and its sister paper the Kennebec Journal in Augusta, shortly after the Nov. 3 election in which Maine voters repealed a same-sex marriage law approved by the Legislature. Grard said he arrived at work the morning after the vote to find an e-mailed press release from the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, D.C., that blamed the outcome of the balloting on hatred of gays. Grard, who said he’d gotten no sleep the night before, used his own e-mail to send a response. “They said the Yes-on-1 people were haters. I’m... Downeast.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402394/posts#comment Mon, 7 Dec 2009 23:03:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400712/posts  Click here to send your NJ legislators a message. NJCCTake action here for NJ and here for other states  National Organization for MarriageVote NO in this survey  Leader Newspapers, it's also important that you vote here because this paper is in the district of the state senator in charge of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Paul Sarlo, a 4th-degree member of the Knights of Columbus who is in favor of Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Civil Unions and not too sure about homosexual marriage.  The heat is on.  E-mail Sen. Sarlo HERE Should New Jersey legislators legalize same-sex marriages? Yes 98.24% (4814)... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400712/posts#comment Sat, 5 Dec 2009 02:35:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400516/posts Gay rights activists in New Jersey pressing lawmakers to approve a same-sex marriage law while there is still a governor in office who would sign it won assurances Thursday that the legislation would be posted for a vote. Sen. Paul Sarlo, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he would keep a promise to gay marriage proponents by posting the marriage equality act on Monday. But, he said he'd vote against the bill, underscoring the proposal's uncertain outcome. Senate President Richard Codey said he'd bring the bill to the full Senate next Thursday — if it clears Judiciary. A similar... SF Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400516/posts#comment Fri, 4 Dec 2009 21:50:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400096/posts New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn got angry and tearful at a news conference Thursday when asked about the failure of the gay marriage bill in the state Senate. She took exception to questions that she could have done more to stop lawmakers from voting down the legislation. "There are 60-plus people in that room, and they're the ones with a job to do," she said, referring to the senators. "They are the ones who failed, not anyone else." Quinn is openly gay and says she looks forward to the day when she can marry her partner, but she... MyFoxNY http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400096/posts#comment Fri, 4 Dec 2009 13:04:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400478/posts WATERLOO - The Iowa Legislature doesn't reconvene until January, but same-sex marriage opponents already have started drafting an amendment that could overturn last spring's Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage. "We're pretty sure (the issue) is going to be brought up several times," said Matthew Skuya, deputy field director of One Iowa, the state's largest group of gay and lesbian activists. "And I think it's important that we all do as much as we can to ensure marriage equality remains a part of our communities." Gay marriage supporters met Thursday night during a forum at Waterloo's public library. Nearly 60... Waterloo Courier http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400478/posts#comment Fri, 4 Dec 2009 21:02:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397920/posts Albany, N.Y., Dec 1, 2009 / 01:05 pm (CNA).- Responding to reports that the New York Senate could vote on same-sex “marriage” today, the New York State Catholic Conference noted that opinion polls “routinely overstate” support for the redefinition of marriage. The Conference argued that New York citizens do not want the legislature to redefine marriage.The Conference’s executive director Richard E. Barnes issued a statement on Tuesday which noted the success of Maine’s Question 1, which overturned the Maine legislature’s approval of same-sex “marriage.”“Just last month in Maine, advocates for reinventing marriage outspent their opponents by two to one... cna http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397920/posts#comment Tue, 1 Dec 2009 21:42:10 GMT