Gay Marriage: April 2007 Archives

I just received this wonderful news from Love Makes A Family, concerning the marriage equality bill in Connecticut. I wanted to share it.

Thanks to your support, we made history today in Connecticut!

By a vote of 27 to 15, our legislature’s Judiciary Committee passed a marriage equality bill, making Connecticut only the second state in the country to win a marriage vote in a state legislature.

The legislators who voted with us today are the first in our state’s history to have had the opportunity to cast an up or down vote on a marriage bill. Whatever happens next, we will always remember them for their strong leadership.

The marriage equality bill will now go to the House of Representatives for a full debate.

Today we will celebrate this incredible victory, but tomorrow we will turn our attention back to the hard work of winning over a majority of House votes.

We will need YOUR help to win the next vote. If you have not made a donation this year to support our work (or if you can make another!), please consider doing so today by clicking here.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Anne Stanback, Executive Director
Love Makes a Family

How the legislators voted...

Edwards is making a push for gay support in the competitive Democratic presidential primary. In February, he came out in support of legislation that would end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prevents people who are openly gay from serving in the military. (source)

That’s nice. As for marriage equality....

Question: You oppose gay marriage?

EDWARDS: I do. But I believe that this is an issue that ought to be decided in the states. I think the federal government should honor whatever decision is made by the states. I would not support the Defense of Marriage Act today, if there were a vote today.

Question: You would not vote for it?

EDWARDS: I would not. I would not for a very simple reason. There’s a part of it that I agree with, and there’s a part of it I disagree with. The Defense of Marriage Act specifically said that the federal government is not required to recognize gay marriage even if a state chooses to do so. I disagree with that. I think states should be allowed to make that decision. And the federal government shouldn’t do it. The part I agree with is the states should not be required to recognize marriages from other states. That’s already in the law, by the way, without DOMA. The law today does not require one state to recognize the marriage of another state. - Source: Democratic 2004 primary debate at USC Feb 26, 2004

As a gay man, I’m so sick and tired of these wimpy politicians wanting it both ways. They throw us a bread crumb to solicit our help in putting their hypocritical asses into office, and then turn around (in a different speech of course) and say that they are against the protections for our families. Today, would they dare to that for interracial marriages? Of course not, because that is now accepted. Backbone is what I’m looking for here.

On another recent occasion, Edwards was once again asked if he was for marriage equality for gay couples. He summed it up perfectly by simply saying, “That’s a reach for me.”

Well, I can live with that Mr. Edwards (and I do, everyday). So I’m sure you will understand that it is a “reach for me” to support you. And to be fair to his fellow hypocrites, neither Hillary or Obama supports equality either. And each of them fall under the same category as Edwards.

Despite this, Edwards has a lot of support from many in the gay community, as does Hillary and Obama.

Skip Paul, Corporate Executive Darren Star, TV Producer
Julie Johnson, Human Rights Campaign Public Policy Committee Co-Chair
Eric Stern, Former National Stonewall Democrats Executive Director; Former Democratic National Committee LGBT Outreach Director
David Mixner, Former Bill Clinton for President Adviser; LGBT activist, fundraiser, author www.davidmixner.com
Dennis Erdman, TV Producer/ Director
Mary Snider, Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors Executive Committee Member
David Tseng, Kerry-Edwards 2004 National LGBT Advisory Committee Co-Chair; Former Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) National Executive Director
David Mariner, Former Out for Howard Dean Co-Chair; Founder, www.outfordemocracy.org
James Duff, TV Producer
Ramon Gardenhire, National Stonewall Democrats Black Caucus Co-Chair; Former DNC LGBT Deputy Outreach Director
Scott Benson, Majority Leader Minneapolis City Council
Shane Larson, AFL-CIO Pride @ Work National Executive Board Member; Association of Flight Attendants (AFA)-Communications Workers of America (CWA) Government Affairs Director
Scott Wiener, Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors Member; San Francisco Democratic Party Chair* (for identification purposes only)
Jeff Gardner, Garden State Equality Vice Chair; New Jersey for Democracy Co-Chair
Lynne Wiggins, Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) National Leadership Council Member; Former Human Rights Campaign Board of Governors Member
Ken Keechl, Broward County Commissioner; Former Dolphin Democrats President
Linda Elliott, Human Rights Committee Board of Directors Member
Dave Garrity, Former Democratic National Committee Member
Mark Periello, Former Human Rights Campaign staff member; Democratic strategist
Ron Ginsburg, LGBT Community Activist; business owner
Randall Kelly, LGBT Community Activist; attorney
Stephanie Kornegay, LGBT Community Activist; business owner
Robert D. Horvath, Mautner Project Board of Directors Member
Patrick J. Lyden, LGBT Community Activist; Homeland Security Advisor

Source

You get the idea. I guess I just keep wondering, when are we going to stop accepting our place in society as second best and demand equality from the people who want our support?

Vice President Dick Cheney revealed that his sixth grandchild, the first out-of-wedlock child for lesbians Mary Cheney and Heather Poe, will be a boy. He broke the news to ABC News Radio, the Washington Post column Reliable Source reported today.

Said Cheney: “I’m delighted I’m about to be a grandparent for the sixth time. I’m looking forward to the arrival of a new grandson.” [...]

Mary Cheney spoke about the child in February at Barnard College. She said: “When Heather and I decided to have a baby, I knew it wasn’t going to be the most popular decision. [points to womb] This is a baby. This is a blessing from God. It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate, on either side of a political issue. It is my child.” (source)

Well, to me, seeing Mary Cheney pregnant has proven to me that she is not a man! I used to think she was. She was cutting her hair shorter and shorter and looked more masculine than feminine to me. I thought that if she kept going, she was going to end up looking more like G.I. Jane.

...and the evil queen inside of me wonders...

Mary Cheney and her partner live in Virginia, a state that does not allow for a marriage between the two, does not allow for a civil union or a domestic partnership between the two, or even the ability for a same sex couple to adopt.

Dick Cheney states, “I think each state ought to have the capacity to decide how they want to handle those issues...And I obviously think it’s important for us as a society to be tolerant and respectful of whatever arrangements people enter into.” Right.

SO.............

Let’s suppose for a moment that it’s Heather Poe, Mary Cheney’s partner who is pregnant and having the baby. She has the baby. The relationship sours between Heather and Mary. Heather, being the mother, has decided that she no longer wishes for Mary to have any further contact with her child. And since Mary has no legal bond to the child, or to Heather, Mary, and presumably all the Cheney’s would be denied access to their new grandson.

I have to wonder, if this were the scenario, would Dick Cheney still feel that “each state ought to have the capacity to decide how they want to handle those issues”, or would he order the National Guard to invade Virginia? Oh wait, they are in Iraq. I forgot. Enough of that....

IT’S SPRING!!! ...even though it dropped some snow on us last night...

To celebrate spring, I’m feeling... LEMON! Yeah I know, you think Bill has lost it (more than usual). This week I made chicken piccata (with lemon, capers, and artichoke hearts), have embraced the new “lemon drop” martini (light and refreshing), and last but not least, a lemon cheesecake that I love (and it loves me too!).