Gay Marriage Watch: June 21st-27th

Here's our Sunday weekly recap of the latest news on gay marriage from around the world. Woody Award: Our woody award this week goes to "name and address supplied" - the only moniker we could find on this lovely letter to the Derry Journal: "Congratulations to the Derry Journal for printing the letter from Pastor Bradfeild on the issue of gays. While I may not necessarily agree with him I would defend his right to express his views in an open forum. I like to think that I am fairly liberal person but the truth is I do find the homosexual act disgusting. I'd be a hypocrite if I said that it doesn't offend me. Why can't gay people accept the fact that there are people like me with this view and be sensitive to my feelings on the issue? If they are comfortable with their sexuality then please let them not confront my sensitivities. In good conscience I cannot say that I support parity between gays and heterosexuals just because it is fashionable and trendy. Legislation on gay marriage and adoption is ridiculous and is happening because gays want to make the point that they are equal. I am bombarded with gay propaganda in the media all the time and people who disagree with the gay agenda are labelled fascist. Political correctness is the biggest danger in modern society because if you prevent free speech then people will be drawn into the arms of extremists." OK, first off, your right to free speech is a) not being violated, and b) does not come with a guarantee that your own sensibilities will never be offended. The other side has their right to free speech as well. I love this plea to preserve the freedom of speech, while simultaneously calling for the gay community to shut up. Second, the idea that we're fighting for gay mariage because it's trendy? What, we got tired of Prada one day and decided to try Matrimony instead? Um, Mister NAAS, I don't want to make the point that my partner and I are equal - we just want to be equal. And, believe it or not, that has nothing to do with what you choose to think or feel. I could care less if you respect me, or if you believe I should have equal rights - those are your opinions, and you are entitled to them. Heck, I'd even defend your right to express those views. But I do want my government, to whom I and my partner pay taxes, just like you, to respect me under the law. Finally, on the issue of sensitivity, we live in a heterosexual culture - 99% of everything on TV, in film, in the papers, and in magazines has nothing to do with being gay. Do I like the Real Housewives of Orange County? No. Do I like watching the Batchelor make a mockery of straight marriage? No. Do I enjoy the soft-core (straight) porn that passes for entertainment on a lot of shows? No. But guess what? I can change the channel. Enjou your woody, Mister NAAS. Runner-up goes to letter writer Mary Dunckel, for this statement: "All people who believe that same-sex marriage is not acceptable for the common good including Jews, evangelical Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, all people of faith must not allow the name-calling to silence us." Um, two things here, Miss Dunckel. One, on the whole silencing you thing, see the paragraphs above. We don't want to silence you - but we also don't want you to block us from our legal rights, either. You have the right to believe whatever you want, and to say whatever you feel. I'm hearing this line over and over and over again from opponents of gay marriage - that this all a massive campaign to silence the true believers. Nothing could be further from the truth. I'll say it one more time. We don't want to silence you. We don't want to force you to change your minds. We just want equal rights. But what really caught my eye here was this: "including Jews, evangelical Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, all people of faith". Guess what, Miss Dunckel? All people who believe gay marriage is a matter of equal rights include Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, all people of faith, too. In fact, a recent study found that many gay and lesbian folks are just as religious as their straight counterparts, and if you ever did go to a gay marriage rally, you'd see a coalition of faith leaders, some gay, many straight, are standing on our side of the aisle too. So enough, really, with the religion card. And I'm sorry, Miss Dunckel - no woody for you. Special Mention to David Klinghoffer, who quotes "An American Scholar" who tells us that gay marriage will lead to most men having sex with other men and neglecting their women, because "once they've experienced sex with other men, Catullus tells us, men are unsatisfied with what their new wives provide them." There are no words for this one. Gay Marriage Watch: Now on to this week's Gay Marriage Watch. The blog is now organized almost entirely by area, with news of the week, upcoming marriage equality events, and great recent articles and columns. For a longer history of past news stories, just click on one of the older Gay Marriage Watch blogs from our archives. To subscribe to this blog, or if you have any thoughts about how we can make this feature better or easier to use or any updates on the issues covered here, let me know at info@purpleunions.com. We now publish updates daily, and a weekly recap on Sundays. You can also now find us on Facebook - just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you'll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We're also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc Enjoy the rest of the Watch! --Scott ---------------------------------------------- ASIA: --news--> 6/23: Nearly a dozen gay leaders and minority rights activists will be meeting in New York Friday for the first South Asian Queer Leaders’ Summit to discuss future strategies and strengthen the trans-national network of the sexual minorities. Source ---------------------------------------------- AUSTRALIA: --news--> 6/22: --Disadvantages to government recognition of same sex couples include drops in government allowances and being ‘outed’ on Government databases. Source --A survey company dedicated to market research recently found that most teens are quite supportive of gay rights, with 75% supporting gay marriage. Source 6/23: Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young introduced her private member's Bill, proposing to grant gay couples equal marriage rights, into the Upper House on Wednesday. Source --upcoming events--> Sydney: 8/1: The organisers of a huge protest for gay marriage in New South Wales hope over 400 same-sex couples set a world record by sharing vows on Saturday 1 August, as Australia's LGBT community continues to fight for gay marriage. Source --articles--> SA Senators Say Unions Aren't Good Enough, from Same Same Source ---------------------------------------------- BULGARIA: --news--> 6/26: An open letter signed by four of the Christian communities in Bulgaria called upon Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov and Sofia city hall to not allow the Gay Pride Parade due to take place in Sofia on June 27 2009. Source ---------------------------------------------- CANADA: --news--> 6/24: Colin Farrell’s big brother Eamon is officially married – at least in Canada. Eamon and his long-term partner, Dublin artist Stephen Mannion, journeyed to Vancouver earlier this month and became Mr. and Mr., according to the Sunday World. Source --articles--> Could Proposition 8 happen in Canada? by Christina Perry Source ---------------------------------------------- GERMANY: --news--> 6/26: Forty years after the landmark "Stonewall uprising," German politicians and gay rights activists are demanding changes to the constitution to include equal rights for gay people. Source ---------------------------------------------- GUAM: --news--> 6/23: Discussions on whether same-sex civil unions should be allowed on Guam continued last night during a town hall meeting on Bill 138 at the Mangilao Community Center. Source ---------------------------------------------- ICELAND: --news--> 6/23: Gay marriage may be only months way for Iceland. Source ---------------------------------------------- IRELAND: --news--> 6/22: Irish minister for justice Dermot Ahern has said he will soon seek cabinet approval for a civil partnerships bill which could be enacted by the end of the year. Source 6/26: Ireland recognized the legal rights of same-sex couples for the first time Friday in a civil partnership bill that gave people in long-term relationships many of the statutory rights of married couples. Source 6/28: The Director of Amnesty in Ireland has said the Government's Civil Partnership Bill further enshrines discrimination against gay people into Irish law. Source --articles--> Step in the right direction, from Independent.ie More Info ---------------------------------------------- NETHERLANDS: --upcoming events--> Amsterdam: 7/31-8/2: Organizers of Amsterdam Gay Pride have announced that during the celebration in August, Mayor Marius Job Cohen will marry five same-sex couples compromised of one American and one Dutch national. The action commemorates the 400 years of links between the Dutch and the American city they called New Amsterdam, with the hope it will inspire progress toward full marriage equality in the United States. More Info ---------------------------------------------- UNITED KINGDOM: --news--> 6/22: A Christian registrar demoted to receptionist after refusing to marry gay couples in civil ceremonies was due to take her case to the House of Lords today. Source 6/27: 61% of the public want gay couples to be able to marry just like the rest of the population, not just have civil partnerships. And 51% of the public want children to be taught in school that gay relationships are of equal value to marriage. Source --upcoming events--> Cardiff: 10/4: Gay wedding show. More Info Manchester: 10/18: Gay wedding show. More Info Brighton: 11/15: Gay wedding show. More Info ---------------------------------------------- USA: --news--> 6/23: President Obama invites gay leaders to the White House for Stonewall Anniversary observation. Source 6/26: In court briefs filed Thursday night, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Center for Lesbian Rights formally endorsed the arguments of a high-powered legal team trying to block Prop 8 in federal court in San Francisco. Source --articles--> New England's Gay Marriage Compromise, by David Gauvey Herbert Source Obama's two pressing problems, by Robert M. Shrum Source US support for gay marriage falls, but not by much, by Kelvin Lynch Source ---------------------------------------------- USA, ARKANSAS: --news--> 6/28: The University of Arkansas System's three largest campuses have resurrected an effort to extend employee health insurance benefits to domestic partners and other nontraditional families. Source ---------------------------------------------- USA, CALIFORNIA: --news--> 6/22: A national organization headed by an Ossining woman that has pledged to spend more than $1 million to defeat a gay marriage bill in New York is defending itself in California against allegations that it was organized by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to defeat similar bills nationwide. Source --upcoming events--> Aliso Viejo: 7/25: Team Courage OC Canvass for Equality, 12 PM. More Info Fresno: --6/29: Phone banking For Equality, 5:30 PM. More Info Fullerton: 8/9: Canvassing for Marriage Equality with Team Courage OC- Fullerton, 12 PM. More Info Hayward: --7/18: Come Canvass in Hayward! Alameda County Equality Team, 1 PM. More Info Laguna Niguel: 7/25: canvassing for marriage equality, 12 PM. More Info Los Angeles: --7/9-7/19: Outfest is the oldest continuous film festival in Southern California. Since its founding in 1982, Outfest has presented more than 4,500 films and videos for audiences of over half a million people. More Info --8/1: Los Angeles Equality Awards. More Info --Every Monday: LA Equal Roots Meeting. More Info Mendocino: 6/30: Get engaged tour event, 7:30-9:30 PM. More Info Merced: 8/22: Merced County Equality Team introduction, 6 PM. More Info Mountain View/Sunnyvale: 8/22: Canvassing event, 11 AM. More Info Pacifica: 7/14: Get engaged tour event, 7-9 PM. More Info Palm Springs: --10/17: Palm Springs Equality Awards More Info --11/7-11/8: Palm Springs Pride More Info --7/8: Get engaged tour event, 7-9 PM. More Info Palo Alto: 6/29: Get engaged tour event, 7-9 PM. More Info San Diego: --7/18-7/19: San Diego Pride More Info --7/1: Get engaged tour event, 6-8 PM. More Info San Francisco: --7/3: Panel: Prop 8 is Going Down! Winning Gay Marriage in California, 7-9 PM at the Women's Building on 18th St. More Info --7/15: Torie Osborn: The Fierce Urgency of Now: Toward a New American Movement in the Obama Era (Special Presentation), at The Commenwealth Club, 5:30-7:30. More Info San Jose: 6/30: Get engaged tour event, 7-9 PM. More Info Santa Rosa: 7/1: Get engaged tour event, 7-9 PM. More Info Sunnyvale: 8/22: Canvassing in Mountain View/Sunnyvale with the Santa Clara Equality Team (Equality Team Event), 11 AM-4 PM. More Info Tustin: 7/12: Canvassing for Marriage Equality with Team Courage OC- Tustin, 12 PM. More Info Walnut Creek: 7/12: Get engaged tour event, 2-4 PM. More Info --articles--> California’s Next Gay Marriage Vote, by Josh Goodman Source ---------------------------------------------- USA, DELAWARE: --news--> 6/23: Senate set to vote on anti-discrimination bill. Source ---------------------------------------------- USA, CONNECTICUT: --news--> 6/22: Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, has changed his position on gay marriage, announcing over the weekend that he now supports it. Source ---------------------------------------------- USA, FLORIDA: --news--> 6/22: The Temple Sholom synagogue in Pompano Beach, Florida, has placed adverts in a local Jewish newspaper offering 'Jewish Covenant of Love” ceremonies to gay couples. Source --------------------------------------------- USA, ILLINOIS: --upcoming events--> Westmont: 6/30: Green Party Forum “Civil Unions, Equal Marriage and Straights: How marriage equality in Illinois benefits everyone.” The forum will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30, at the Westmont Public Library, 428 N. Cass, Westmont, IL. More Info --------------------------------------------- USA, INDIANA: --articles--> Gays honor marriage, even if state won’t, by Emma Downs Source --------------------------------------------- USA, IOWA: --articles--> Same-sex weddings, heartland style, by Jessica Ravitz Source --------------------------------------------- USA, MASSACHUSETTS: --news--> 6/23: Vice President Joe Biden got an earful from furious protesters camped outside Fenway Park [map] yesterday who hurled insults at him over a recently filed anti-gay legal brief. Source --------------------------------------------- USA, MINNESOTA: --news--> 6/23: It may soon be possible for same sex couples to register as domestic partners in the city of Saint Paul. Source ----------------------------------------------- USA, NEW HAMPSHIRE: --news--> ----------------------------------------------- USA, NEW JERSEY: --news--> --------------------------------------------- USA, NEW YORK: --news--> 6/22: New York Gov. David Paterson pledged in an interview with The New York Times on Sunday to make sure the state senate votes on marriage equality before it breaks for the summer, after his commitment sounded tentative during an earlier news conference. Source 6/23: --Governor Paterson calls the Senate into a special session Tuesday to complete unfinished business, possibly including gay marriage bill. Source --New York State voters have shifted their support for the first time to a slim majority backing a law to allow same-sex couples to marry, Quinnipiac University said in a poll released on Tuesday. Source 6/24: After bizarre Senate day Tuesday where both parties held competing sessions at the same time in the same room, the leadership struggle continues today, with the gay marriage bill hanging in the balance. Source 6/26: As the State Senate continues the fight for power, paralyzing the chamber, the movement for same-sex marriage is getting sidelined indefinitely. Source --upcoming events--> Brooklyn: 9/9: Family Law Day, In Conjunction with Lavender Law 2009, Brooklyn, NY, Co-sponsored by the National Lesbian & Gay Law Association and the National Family Law Advisory Council of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. More Info --articles--> A closer look at the New York marriage poll numbers, by James Withers Source Nothing succeeds like secession, by Erik Engquist Source ----------------------------------------------- USA, TEXAS: --news--> 6/24: Texas Lyceum's third annual poll reveals that Texans support legalizing gay unions by a whopping 57%. But when asked specifically about gay marriage, only a quarter of respondents agreed. Source ----------------------------------------------- USA, UTAH: --news--> 6/23: Current and former Mormons opposed to the church’s stance on same-sex marriage and its efforts to ban it have launched a Web site asking the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to soften its views. Source ----------------------------------------------- USA, WASHINGTON DC: --news--> 6/26: --At LGBT fundraiser, Biden promises repeal of DADT, DOMA. Source --Despite protests over Obama's Department of Justice DOMA brief and lack of movement on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and other LGBT issues, last night's LGBT DNC Fundraiser brought in $1 milllion for the Democratic party, up from $750,000 last year, according to The Advocate. Source --articles--> When Gay Marriage Turns Black, by Ta-Nehisi Coates Source ----------------------------------------------- fini