http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/samesexunions/ en-us Thu, 29 May 2008 03:29:58 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022786/posts ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson has directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada. In a directive issued on May 14, the governor’s legal counsel, David Nocenti, instructed the agencies that gay couples married elsewhere “should be afforded the same recognition as any other legally performed union.” The revisions are most likely to involve as many as 1,300 statutes and regulations in New York governing everything from joint filing of income tax returns to transferring fishing licenses between spouses. In a videotaped... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022786/posts#comment Thu, 29 May 2008 03:29:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1995063/posts LUXEMBOURG - EU nations that recognize same-sex unions as legal marriages must grant surviving partners the same pension rights as given to those in traditional marriages, the EU Court of Justice ruled Tuesday. The Luxembourg-based court ruling was seen as a victory for a German man who was denied his partner's retirement plan payments after his partner died in 2005. The EU court said pension plan had discriminated against the man on the grounds of sexual orientation because the men's relationship had been recognized under German law as a legally registered life partnership equivalent to a traditional marriage. The court... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1995063/posts#comment Tue, 1 Apr 2008 20:03:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1979483/posts Obama: Sermon on Mount Justifies Same-Sex Unions By Terence P. Jeffrey CNSNews.com Editor in Chief March 03, 2008 (CNSNews.com) - Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) told a crowd at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio, Sunday that he believes the Sermon on the Mount justifies his support for legal recognition of same-sex unions. He also told the crowd that his position in favor of legalized abortion does not make him "less Christian." "I don't think it [a same-sex union] should be called marriage, but I think that it is a legal right that they should have that is recognized by the state,"... cnsnews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1979483/posts#comment Mon, 3 Mar 2008 12:24:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1845177/posts State Sponsored Sodomy Dishonors Marriage Contact: Phil Magnan, Director, Biblical Family Advocates, 619-962-0659 phil@bfamilyadvocates.com SAN DIEGO, June 5 /Christian Newswire/ -- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, responding to a potential legal action by the ACLU will be changing its regulations to accommodate conjugal visits by homosexuals. In an article from the San Francisco Chronicle, Gays and lesbians allowed conjugal visits in prisons, "the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has begun to allow overnight visits for inmates with registered domestic partners and is to adopt permanent regulations later this year." Biblical Family Advocates Director (BFA) Phil Magnan responded... Christian Newswire http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1845177/posts#comment Tue, 5 Jun 2007 14:45:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1748408/posts The man who allegedly admitted to murdering nearly two dozen men told authorities he did so to keep them quiet after raping them. Ronald Joseph Dominique, 42, of Bayou Blue, is formally charged with killing 11 men over a period spanning nearly a decade. Police say he’s admitted to killing 23, and there may be others whose deaths haven’t been discovered yet. He targeted men with a transient life-style, those who walked or relied on a bicycle for transportation and may have had drug or alcohol problems. Some of those men were gay, others performed sex acts with men or... www.houmatoday.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1748408/posts#comment Mon, 4 Dec 2006 22:43:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1728701/posts Should Gay Couples In New Jersey Have The Same Rights To Benefits As Heterosexual Couples? Choice Votes Percentage of 4415 Votes Yes 2144 49% No 2271 51% NBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1728701/posts#comment Mon, 30 Oct 2006 20:45:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1689443/posts There is a breaking story in Washington State today that goes something like this: Straight Woman Seeks Equality Under Gay-Rights Law. I just finished an interview with KING 5 TV in Seattle and the news people are still trying to sort out all of the ramifications. Sandi Scott-Moore, an employee of Honeywell International in Redmond, WA, claims health insurance coverage for her male partner was denied because the unmarried couple is not of the same gender. Robert Ferris, of Honeywell, says the company does provide health benefits for partners of its gay and lesbian employees. He is also saying Honeywell... Faith and Freedom Network http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1689443/posts#comment Thu, 24 Aug 2006 19:53:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1688667/posts Straight woman seeks equality under gay-rights law: Unwed Redmond worker wants her male partner to receive health benefits One of the first tests for Washington's new gay civil rights law has an intriguing twist: The complaint was filed by a heterosexual woman. The state's discrimination watchdogs are investigating the case, which claims unmarried straight people should get the same domestic partner benefits as their gay and lesbian co-workers. But officials are treading carefully, Human Rights Commission Director Marc Brenman said, because upholding the claim could set a sweeping new precedent for Washington businesses. ... The complaint, filed last week, is... King County Journal (Seattle area) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1688667/posts#comment Wed, 23 Aug 2006 15:35:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1648779/posts Australia Strikes Down Law Recognizing Same-Sex Unions By Gudrun Schultz CANBERRA, Australia, June 13, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Australian government has followed through on its pledge to quash a law recognizing same-sex unions in the Australian Capital Territory. Attorney-General Philip Ruddock drew on rarely used Commonwealth authority Tuesday, asking Governor-General Michael Jeffrey, Australia's representative of Queen Elizabeth II, who is Australia's official head of state under the terms of the nation's consitutional monarchy, to declare the law invalid. "The ACT civil relationships ordinance has been disallowed," Mr Ruddock told reporters in Canberra. "Legislative amendments introduced to establish a civil arrangement... LIFESITE http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1648779/posts#comment Tue, 13 Jun 2006 22:18:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1639129/posts At last a senior and respected clergyman has stood up in New Zealand and addressed in no uncertain terms the vexed question of some churches' attitudes to sexuality. In fact, the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Rev Peter Jensen, has gone so far as to say that human sexuality is correctly the issue at which Anglican churches should consider breaking fellowship. But it is not just the Anglican Church torn apart by this controversy; the Presbyterian and Methodist churches are similarly afflicted. Archbishop Jensen made his comments in an address to a conference of the evangelical Latimer Fellowship in... VirtueOnline-News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1639129/posts#comment Sat, 27 May 2006 01:53:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1627493/posts SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court today dismissed a challenge by two Orange County men to a law denying federal marriage benefits to same-sex couples, saying a couple that isn't legally married under state law has no right to contest the federal definition of marriage. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reached the result urged by gay-rights groups, which opposed the federal suit because they are trying to overturn California's marriage law in state court. The appeals court also refused to consider the constitutionality of the state's ban on same-sex marriage, saying it should be addressed first by... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1627493/posts#comment Fri, 5 May 2006 19:48:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1625728/posts U.S. Immigration Law Inhumane to Same-Sex CouplesHRW via BBSNews - Washington, D.C., May 2, 2006 -- Thousands of U.S. citizens and their foreign same-sex partners face enormous hardships, separation and even exile because discriminatory U.S. immigration policies deprive these couples of the basic right to be together, Human Rights Watch and Immigration Equality said in a report released today. As Congress debates immigration reforms, it must end the discrimination that lesbian and gay Americans and their foreign partners endure under U.S. immigration law. The 2000 U.S. Census estimated that in the United States there were almost 40,000 lesbian and... BBS News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1625728/posts#comment Wed, 3 May 2006 02:33:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1612090/posts The reading of the Torah ended, and Cantor Charles D. Osborne led the congregation at Temple Emanuel in Newton in a poignant prayer for renewal. It was time for the sermon. Rabbi Michelle Robinson rose and delivered the most stirring sermon of her young career -- an impassioned demand that the Conservative movement in Judaism sanction same-sex unions and other Jewish rituals for gays and lesbians. If movement leaders, who are in the midst of a deep debate over these issues, disagree, Emanuel, one of the wealthiest and most influential Conservative synagogues in New England, should sanctify such unions anyway,... The Boston Globe http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1612090/posts#comment Sun, 9 Apr 2006 22:02:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1575393/posts A fresh focus on domestic partnersFocus on the Family is supporting legislation to provide expanded legal benefits for heads of untraditional households including gay couples. We were pleasantly surprised last week when Focus on the Family expressed its support for state legislation that would provide expanded legal benefits for same-sex couples and other non-traditional households. In the chaos of domestic-partner, civil-union and gay-marriage measures, there will be plenty of time to take sides in 2006 as state lawmakers and voters consider whether to expand the standing of same-sex couples to anything that resembles heterosexual marriage. Focus on the Family, the... The Denver Post Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1575393/posts#comment Thu, 9 Feb 2006 20:55:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1567237/posts The Episcopal Diocese of Washington voted yesterday to approve same-sex blessing ceremonies at its annual convention at the Washington National Cathedral, while the Diocese of Virginia, meeting in Richmond, passed an omnibus resolution that touted unity.     The Washington diocese has unofficially allowed same-sex ceremonies for years, and it has had a same-sex rite on the books since June 2004.     However, that rite has been put on hold until a meeting of the Episcopal General Convention in June in Ohio, when the denomination's future stance on homosexual clergy and same-sex blessings will be decided.     The Virginia diocese's resolution, passed in the... Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1567237/posts#comment Sun, 29 Jan 2006 06:54:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1546070/posts Two druid priests yesterday became the first North Wales same-sex couple to tie the knot in a so-called gay wedding. Seven couples across the region took part in the historic ceremonies. And one wedding guest said if the controversial partnerships were introduced earlier, an inheritance tax legal battle after his partner of 48 years died, could have been avoided. The first North Wales ceremony was held in T£ Dewi Sant, Wrexham, between Philip Main, 49, and David Girvan, 52. The keen druids both dressed in white robes for the 10am ceremony - which fell on the winter solstice, also a... NorthWales.co.uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1546070/posts#comment Fri, 23 Dec 2005 17:05:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1543009/posts With Great Britain’s first same-sex civil unions set to be recognized under law on Dec. 21, an informal poll conducted by the advocacy group Changing Attitude suggests uneven enforcement of disciplinary procedures spelled out in a July 25 pastoral letter by the House of Bishops. The new law on civil unions will allow same-sex couples to register their partnership with the state. Registration entitles the couple to most of the same civil benefits as heterosexual married couples. In the July 25 pastoral letter, the Church of England’s House of Bishops said the new law does not change doctrine or discipline.... The Living Church Foundation http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1543009/posts#comment Sun, 18 Dec 2005 22:52:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1542496/posts Whoever is detected in a shameful fraud is ever after not believed even if they speak the truth. - Phaedrus Most newspapers expect the readers to believe a news story will be an honest and unbiased presentation of an event factually written by a reporter and honestly reviewed by a news editor. Readers expect the news section will be bias free. An editorial or an op-ed piece in a newspaper represents the “official view” of the news by that particular newspaper or the opinion of an interested reader. And of course newspapers have the right to express their “official view”... MND http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1542496/posts#comment Sat, 17 Dec 2005 20:50:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1542113/posts Dear Friends Warm greetings to you all on a chilly December day. I have been sparing with the Ad Clerum genre over the last two years, but I think it's time to start making amends. And there is a pressing matter about which you need to know how things are shaping up. Last week the Civil Partnerships Act came into force, and couples of the same sex are now able to apply to register as Partners, with various tax and inheritance benefits very similar to those applying to married couples. After a short waiting period, registrations will take place, beginning... VirtueOnline-News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1542113/posts#comment Sat, 17 Dec 2005 02:02:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1481473/posts The Rev. John C. Danforth, an Episcopal priest who previously served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and U.S. senator from Missouri, recently told a political gathering in St. Louis he was open to performing rites for the blessing of same-sex unions, but would not officiate at a gay “marriage.” Speaking to the St. Louis chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans (which describes itself as “the leading voice for fairness, inclusion and tolerance in the GOP”) Fr. Danforth rejected calls for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, saying it was “nothing more than gay bashing.” He told The Living... The Living Church Foundation http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1481473/posts#comment Sat, 10 Sep 2005 01:13:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1455440/posts California's highest court ruled Monday that country clubs must offer gay members who register as domestic partners the same discounts given to married ones — a decision that could apply to other businesses such as insurance companies and mortgage lenders. The decision by the California Supreme Court dealt with a policy at the Bernardo Heights Country Club in San Diego that allowed only the children, grandchildren and spouses of married members to golf for free. Birgit Koebke, 48, an avid golfer who pays about $500 a month in membership fees, challenged the policy after being told that her longtime lesbian... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1455440/posts#comment Tue, 2 Aug 2005 16:50:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1455573/posts In country club case, court says domestic partners deserve same the benefits given married couples. By John Spano Times Staff Writer August 1, 2005, 1:01 PM PDT A country club that granted married couples benefits it denied to gay couples registered as domestic partners was in violation of California civil rights laws, the California Supreme Court ruled this morning. The wide-ranging ruling means that any benefits that California businesses provide to married couples must be offered to registered domestic partners. The court struck down a policy by the Bernardo Heights Country Club in San Diego against admitting gay couples as... KTLA news http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1455573/posts#comment Tue, 2 Aug 2005 20:24:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1455137/posts TOP justices in the western state of California have ruled that same-sex unions are on par with man-woman marriages when it comes to country club membership benefits, US attorneys said. The decision stemmed from legal action taken by B. Birgit Koebke and Kendall French after Bernardo Heights Country Club denied them the same access to its golf course afforded members in heterosexual marriages, according to a lawyer representing the couple. Striving for a "family friendly environment" was a legitimate business goal that was undermined, not bolstered, by discriminating against gay couples who qualified as domestic partners, state Supreme Court Justice... Herald Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1455137/posts#comment Tue, 2 Aug 2005 03:03:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1454908/posts San Francisco (AP) -- A country club must offer spousal discounts to same-sex domestic partners, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday, saying that a San Diego golf course discriminated against lesbians when relatives of married members played for free. Deciding a case brought against Bernardo Heights Country Club in San Diego, the state's highest court said that allowing the families of married members to golf gratis while charging the partners of gay members constitutes "impermissible marital status discrimination." While businesses might have once claimed a legitimate business interest for maintaining different policies for married couples and gay members who cannot... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1454908/posts#comment Mon, 1 Aug 2005 19:44:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1449565/posts "And yet for my husband and me, it seems that marriage simply adds a new category of potential suitors: the couple with a crush on us." -- David Valdes Greenwood ------------------------------------------------------ COUPLING Four's a Crowd Breaking up with one person is hard enough. But when it's a couple you want to avoid, it can get ugly. By David Valdes Greenwood | July 24, 2005 Once you marry, you think you are safely removed from the perils of dating. And yet for my husband and me, it seems that marriage simply adds a new category of potential suitors: the couple with... Boston Globe Sunday Edition - Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1449565/posts#comment Sun, 24 Jul 2005 19:00:40 GMT