Gay Marriage Watch: July 26th-August 1st

Here's our Sunday weekly recap of the latest news on gay marriage from around the world. Our favorite thing of the week? The gay weddings performed yesterday by the mayor of Amsterdam between 5 couples, each with a spouse from Amsterdam and one from New York, to bring attention to the fundamental unfairness of DOMA and US marriage law to international gay and lesbian couples. Woody Award: Our woody award this week goes to letter writer Bert L. De Beuchamp, for this little screed in which he points out why gay marriage is really so terrible (hint, it's the hormones): "The male, however, has no such hormonal mechanism that urges him to care for the progeny he sires. His hormones only urge him to procreate. By the time his mate bears her young, he is usually far away and long forgotten... Since same-sex couples cannot produce children, the status and rewards of traditional marriage do not apply and gay marriage only serves to denigrate the acceptance of traditional marriage by young men." Basically, his argument is that, if men weren't enticed into marriage with a bunch of rewards and goodies, they would never stick around to raise the kids, and society would collapse into the trash-bin of history. Which I'm sure will come as a great surprise to the many, many devoted fathers out there. He goes on, in his gracious way, to say: "I can appreciate the desire of gay couples to gain status for themselves and to correct legal concerns - however, not at the expense of our children! Civil unions should satisfy their legal needs." Oh really? So if you don't decide to have kids, Mister De Beauchamp, will you be happy to settle for a civil union, too? After all, we need to protect the children, and by your own admission, marriage is "for the purpose of enlisting the male in the support and protection of his progeny." So getting married without having kids is sure to "a negative effect on the willingness of young men to accept the responsibility of marrying their sexual partners and supporting and raising their children." Right? I'm guessing not. Well, enjoy your woody, then, Mister De Beauchamp! 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 gay marriage 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 ---------------------------------------------- ALBANIA: --albania gay marriage news--> 7/30: Albania's recently re-elected Prime Minister Sali Berisha held out the possibility on Thursday of legalising gay marriages despite hostility in the Balkan country. Source ---------------------------------------------- AUSTRALIA: --australia gay marriage news--> 7/28: AME spokesperson Alex Greenwich said far-right Christian groups are conducting a concerted delegate lobbying campaign that may see marriage equality knocked off the Conference agenda. Source 7/29: Parliament votes to extend some rights to gay/lesbian couples, but not marriage. Source 8/1: --More than 250 couples even tied the knot, albeit illegally, and more than 8,000 people took part in the national protests, organisers said. Source --Gay rights activists in Tasmania have started a national petition for legal recognition of same-sex marriages. Source --Australia's government has voted in favor of recognizing gay and lesbian unions but stopped short of endorsing gay marriage, the AFP reported. Source --australia gay marriage articles--> Same-sex couples still waiting at the altar for a basic right, by Tim Wright Source Labor party debates same-sex marriage, by Sandra O'Malley Source ---------------------------------------------- GUAM: --guam gay marriage news--> 7/27: Fight over Guam domestic partner bill continues. Source 7/29: Supporters and opponents of a domestic partnership bill attended a 5 hour, emotionally charged meeting to air their views. Source ---------------------------------------------- IRELAND: --ireland gay marriage news--> 7/28: Civil partnership legislation planned for the Republic is cowardly, rooted in bigotry and treats gay people as second-class citizens, an Amnesty International leader has said. Source --ireland gay marriage articles--> One Irish gay man's quest to marry immigration and love, by Cahir O'Doherty Source ---------------------------------------------- ISRAEL: --israel gay marriage news--> 8/2: Four couples will take part in what is being called Israel's first, public, gay wedding ceremony on 8/7. Source ---------------------------------------------- JAMAICA: --jamaica gay marriage articles--> Homophobia in Jamaica, by Diane Abbott Source ---------------------------------------------- NETHERLANDS: --upcoming netherlands gay marriage events--> 8/1: Mayor Job Cohen of Amsterdam presided over five same-sex marriage ceremonies during the city's gay pride celebration on Saturday. Source ---------------------------------------------- PORTUGAL: --poland gay marriage news--> 8/1: Two women in Portugal have lost their court appeal to allow them to marry. Source ---------------------------------------------- SWEDEN: --sweden gay marriage articles--> 7/27: Gay marriage has been permitted in Sweden since May, but the country's bureaucrats are proving slow to catch on. Same-sex couples who tie the knot are still being registered by the tax office as domestic partners. Source ---------------------------------------------- UNITED KINGDOM: --united kingdom gay marriage news--> 7/29: Pink Weddings, a UK company that specializes in wedding/civil union planning services for same-sex couples is planning to launch a channel called TogetherTV that will be devoted to gay and lesbian weddings, on September 1st. Source 7/30: Quakers in the United Kingdom voted to approve same-sex marriage on Friday and called on the government to provide full and equal marriage rights to same-sex couples, reports The Times. Source --upcoming united kingdom gay marriage 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: --usa gay marriage news--> 7/27: Ted Olson, the conservative half of the team arguing for gay marriage in a federal court in California, told the Los Angeles Times that gay marriage is a “conservative value,” among other things, over the weekend. Source 7/28: --Former US Senator, Rick "Man on Dog" Santorum [R-PA] is lending his name to National Organization for Marriage. Source --The effort to repeal the federal ban against same-sex marriages will not include extending rights to LGBT couples in domestic partnerships or civil unions. Source 7/29:--According to a new study, the higher their percentage of Catholics in the population, the more likely a state is to support gay rights. Source --Current Miss Universe, Dayana Mendoza, recently told US radio show host Howard Stern that she supports gay marriage. Source 7/30: Reflecting changing national views on gay and lesbian relationships, a House subcommittee voted Thursday to extend employee benefits to the same-sex partners of federal workers. Source 8/1: Gay rights activists in D.C. are lobbying a Wisconsin lawmaker to introduce in the Senate legislation that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Source --upcoming usa gay marriage events--> USA: 8/15: The Great Nationwide Kiss-In, on Saturday, August 15, 2009, at 2 p.m., EDT (or 11 a.m., PDT). More Info Washington DC: 10/10: On October 10-11, 2009, we will gather in Washington, D.C. from all across America to let our elected leaders know that now is the time for full equal rights for LGBT people. This is simply a major national strategy to kick start our national grassroots Equality Across America campaign. More Info --usa gay marriage articles--> A Simple Right, by catwho Source Same-Sex Marriage as a Means to Something Better, by Carlos A. Ball Source Confederate Emancipation And Gay Marriage, by Ta-Nehisi Coates Source ---------------------------------------------- USA, CALIFORNIA: --california gay marriage news--> 7/26: 120 people marched in Salinas for Pride and gay marriage. Source 7/31: --A documentary on California's gay marriage fight is set to open the West Hollywood International Film Festival (WHIFF) Wednesday. Source --On the anniversary of the small window of opportunity to marry California presented to same-sex couples, the Sacramento News and Review featured lucky newlyweds on the cover. Several local businesses decided to stop carrying the local paper. Source --upcoming california gay marriage events--> Citrus Heights: 9/6: Join us in Citrus Heights for some door-to-door neighborhood canvassing. We'll talk to voters about same-sex marriage to enlighten and spread truth. Before the canvass, we'll train and feed you! 5-8 PM. More Info Del Mar: 8/8: San Diego Metro Equality Team Kickoff Meeting. 12-2 PM. More Info Fullerton: 8/9: Canvassing for Marriage Equality with Team Courage OC- Fullerton, 12 PM. More Info Hayward: --8/20: Tabling in Hayward for Marriage Equality! Alameda County. 5:30-8:30 PM. More Info --9/17: Tabling in Hayward for Marriage Equality! Alameda County. :530-8:30 PM. More Info Los Angeles: Every Monday: LA Equal Roots Meeting. 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 Oakland: 8/15 & 8/16: Tabling at Oakland's Art and Soul Festival, 9 AM-6 PM. More Info Palm Springs: --10/17: Palm Springs Equality Awards More Info --11/7-11/8: Palm Springs Pride More Info Rancho Cordova: 8/23: Let's do some neighborhood walks (aka Canvassing) and talk to people door-to-door for marriage equality!! 5-8 PM. More Info Sacramento: 11/7: Camp Courage Sacramento - Camp Courage is an intensive 2-day training program that teaches principles of community organizing; Camp Courage intends to train those working to restore marriage equality in California. 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 Tarzana: 8/20: SFV Equality Team Kickoff Meeting, 7-9 PM. More Info Victorville: 8/8: High Desert Courage Team Mixer (Houseparty). 6 PM-2 AM. More Info West Hollywood: 8/4: Love Honor Cherish, the leading proponent of repealing Prop 8 in 2010, has released its Blueprint for Equality: How We Will Restore the Right to Marry in 2010.  The latest version of the Blueprint and a press release are at www.LoveHonorCherish.com. We'll be talking about the Blueprint and what you can do to make it happen at our next weekly  meeting, 8/4 at 7:30 PM at Crescent Hts United Methodist Church. More Info --california gay marriage articles--> Repealing Prop 8: Should We Do it in 2010 – or 2012? by Paul Hogarth Source Repeal Prop 8 Leadership Summit Recap, by Chris Prevatt Source ---------------------------------------------- USA, MAINE: --maine gay marriage news--> 7/30: A group fighting to overturn a new law legalizing same-sex marriage in Maine is planning to turn in an undisclosed number of petition signatures to the Secretary of State on Friday, demanding that the issue go before voters in November. Source 7/31: --Supporters of gay marriage have gathered more than 60,000 signatures from people pledging to vote against a repeal of Maine's new law allowing same sex marriage. Source --Mainers seeking to overturn the state's new law legalizing same-sex marriage cleared a major hurdle on Friday when they delivered 100,000 signatures to the State House in Augusta. Source --------------------------------------------- USA, MICHIGAN: --upcoming michigan gay marriage events--> Lansing: 8/13: Joining in a nationwide grass-roots activity declaring a national kiss sit in, an area resident set up an event for Michigan in Lansing, on Aug. 13 at 4 p.m. at Gone Wired Cafe. Same-sex couples and their supporters are invited to the rally. More Info --------------------------------------------- USA, NEW JERSEY: --upcoming new jersey gay marriage events--> Maple Shade: 8/4: Fight for rights (Social). A time for all gays/bisexuals to express their problems and differances without judgement. More Info --------------------------------------------- USA, NEW YORK: --upcoming new york gay marriage 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 ----------------------------------------------- USA, WASHINGTON: --washington gay marriage news--> 7/30: A federal judge in Tacoma has temporarily blocked release of the names and addresses of those who signed petitions for Referendum 71, which would repeal a recent law giving gay couples new marriagelike benefits. Source 7/31: Social conservatives who organized the Referendum 71 challenge to domestic-partnership rights for same-sex couples turned in fewer signatures than initially thought. Source 8/1: The secretary of state's office reports that its initial check of signatures on Referendum 71 - the attempt to repeal Washington's "everything but marriage" same-sex domestic partner law - shows a "better-than-average" accuracy rate. Source ----------------------------------------------- USA, WASHINGTON DC: --washington dc gay marriage articles--> October's Advance, by Yusef Najafi Source --upcoming washington dc gay marriage events--> Washington DC: 10/10: On October 10-11, 2009, we will gather in Washington, D.C. from all across America to let our elected leaders know that now is the time for full equal rights for LGBT people. This is simply a major national strategy to kick start our national grassroots Equality Across America campaign. More Info ----------------------------------------------- USA, WISCONSIN: --wisconsin gay marriage news--> 7/27: Registration for domestic partnerships starts next week. Source --wisconsin gay marriage articles--> Domestic partnerships unfairly challenged in Wisconsin, by Chris Walker Source Gay Milwaukee 101: What is required for a domestic partnership? by Cylest Brooks Source ----------------------------------------------- fini