WV: NOM Leads Small Rally Demanding Gay Marriage Vote

Frustrated by what they see as legislative indifference, about 150 people rallied at the state Capitol Thursday to a demand a statewide referendum aimed at reserving marriage for heterosexual couples. The Family Policy Council of West Virginia, which organized the rally, has set its hopes on a measure in the Senate that would allow a referendum to amend the state constitution defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

A similar measure has been bottled up in a House of Delegates committee, and Republicans there failed this week in an attempt to use a parliamentary procedure to force a vote on it. Jeremy Dys, executive director of the council, opposed the Republicans' effort, saying the maneuvering makes a partisan issue of something that has broad support among West Virginians.

Such wrangling was far from the minds of many who turned up to hear speakers from national groups warn of the dangers to traditional marriage, as snow fell and temperatures hovered in the 20s.

Full Story from the Charleston Daily Mail
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Portugal: Thousands Attend Anti Gay-Marriage Protest in Lisbon

Thousands of Portuguese poured onto the streets of Lisbon Sunday in protest of a gay marriage law currently seeking the president's approval, the Spanish news agency EFE reported. Organizers estimated the event, called "in defense of the family," attracted a crowd of 5,000, but no official figures were reported.

Demonstrators marched down Lisbon's main downtown artery Av. da Liberdade (Liberty Avenue) calling on President Anibal Cavaco Silva to reject a gay marriage law approved twice by lawmakers. Silva is a Roman Catholic and a member of the PSD party, groups which oppose the legalization of gay marriage, and he has publicly stated his opposition to gay marriage.

However, Silva has several options before him, including vetoing the bill. Commentators in the Portuguese press have speculated he could forward the issue to the Constitutional Court. Last year, despite the fact that Portugal's Constitution outlaws discrimination based on sexual orientation, the court denied a lesbian couple the right to marry in a narrow 3-to-2 decision. The ruling prompted Socialists to draft the gay marriage bill.

Full Story from On Top Magazine
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To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or 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.