CA: APA Shuns Manchester's Hotel in Support of Prop 8 Boycott

The American Psychological Association, which will hold its annual convention in San Diego in August, is the latest group to officially protest San Diego hotelier Doug Manchester's financial support two years ago of California’s gay marriage ban.

While the association is not formally calling for its members to boycott the Manchester Grand Hyatt, its governing body and many of those planning to attend the conference have opted to cancel meetings scheduled at the hotel as a way of expressing their displeasure over Manchester's financial contribution to the successful Proposition 8 campaign to outlaw gay marriage.

The group, which expects to draw 14,000 attendees to its first San Diego convention, acknowledges that it may take a financial hit for its cancellation of some meeting-room bookings, spokeswoman Rhea Farberman said.

Full Story from Sign On San Diego
Click here for gay marriage resources in California.
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.

CA: Both Sides File Written Arguments in Prop 8 Trial

Opposing sides in the legal battle over same-sex marriage in California have laid out their cases in writing to a federal judge, disputing the status of gays and lesbians in society, the nature of marriage, and the motives behind the ballot measure that defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman. "Californians voted for Proposition 8 because they thought it would strengthen the institution of marriage (and) ... because they thought it would benefit children," sponsors of Prop. 8 said Friday night in papers filed in federal court in San Francisco.

Their opponents, representing two same-sex couples and the city of San Francisco, said those purported goals of Prop. 8 were contradicted by overwhelming evidence at a 12-day trial in January that allowing same-sex couples to wed would benefit their children and the institution of marriage. Regardless of the intentions of individual voters, they argued, the Prop. 8 campaign was designed to appeal to fear and deep-seated prejudice.

"The evidence demonstrates that Proposition 8's actual motivation was moral disapproval of gay and lesbian individuals," said the measure's opponents, plaintiffs in the federal court case. They said the ballot measure "sends a message to gay and lesbian individuals that they are not welcome in California."

Full Story from SFGate
Click here for gay marriage resources in California.
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.

CA: Court Proposes Televising Prop 8 Closing Arguments

The U.S. district court in San Francisco has proposed that closing arguments in the trial over the anti-gay-marriage measure Proposition 8 be televised, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. An attempt to televise the entire trial failed after the U.S. Supreme Court intervened, saying the pro-Prop. 8 side feared its witnesses would be subject to intimidation. The anti-Prop. 8 side had supported televising the proceedings.

The proposal to televise the closing arguments was posted on the court's website, and the court has taken public comments on it. The plan to televise the full trial had received overwhelmingly positive comments from the public before the Supreme Court quashed it.

No date has been set for closing arguments; Judge Vaughn Walker had postponed them until after he received a final round of briefs, due Friday.

Full Story from the Advocate
Click here for gay marriage resources.
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.

CA: Gather Signatures to Repeal Prop 8 This Weekend

Just got this from Love Honor Cherish:

Help get signatures this weekend

This weekend volunteers throughout the state will gather to collect signatures to put a new initiative on the ballot in November 2010 that would repeal Proposition 8 and restore equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. In the Los Angeles area join us at these events:

Saturday:

Saturday, Feb 27
8 a.m. to 12 noon
Burbank Farmers Market
Meet at corner of 3rd and Orange Grove in Burbank (park at City Hall, same corner)

Saturday, Feb 27
9 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Torrance Farmer's Market
2400 Jefferson St. (park in parking lot)
Meet at 8:50 a.m. for a brief training

Saturday, Feb 27
10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Whole Foods Market - Redondo Beach
405 N. Pacific Coast Hwy (park in parking lot)
Meet at 9:45 a.m. for a brief training

Sunday:


Sunday, Feb 28
8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Hollywood Farmers Market
Meet at Cinerama Dome, 6360 Sunset Blvd (park on street or at lot at Ivar & Delongpre - $2 for first 2 hrs w/validation at market)

Sunday, Feb 28
9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Santa Monica Farmers Market (Ocean Park)
Meet at grassy area near SW corner of Main St. and Ocean Park (park on street)

Sunday, Feb 28
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Studio City Farmers Market
Meet at main gate of CBS Studios, 4024 Radford (free parking at CBS)

THINGS TO REMEMBER:


Please come on time, but if you're late, look for the volunteers in the yellow SignForEquality T-shirts. And, be sure to bring:

1. A couple of clipboards and a few pens (if you can).
2. Plenty of quarters for parking meters (City of Los Angeles meters now operate on Sundays!)
3. $10 donation for our Sign For Equality volunteer t-shirt

To find out more about signature gathering, or to learn how you can help, go to SignForEquality.com, the first-ever social networking site for volunteer signature gatherers. Download a petition, print it, get signatures and then send it in. You can also:
- Get trained using online videos.
- Join or create a signature gathering team and set goals for yourself and your team.
- Share tips and learn about events where signature gathering is taking place.

P.S. Join us for our next weekly meeting Tuesday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. at Crescent Heights United Methodist Church, 1296 N Fairfax Ave.

New Music Video Opposes Prop 8

Justice Through Music, www.jtmp.org, a national non profit that works with famous bands to bring attention to important social issues, teamed up the band Op-Critical in a music video called Prop 8, to oppose the California referendum that was used to overturn the state's gay marriage law. The video, now on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0ls8cIRwuM, looks at the struggle for marriage equality through the lens of past struggles for women's rights, civil rights and voting rights.

Op-Critical's Storm wrote the tune in a 1930's Delta Blues style and recorded it on a 1937 National resonator steel guitar. The video was filmed with Storm on a porch, sitting in a rocking chair playing the steel guitar like so many well known blues artists.

"The battle for marriage equality is historic in the same way as past civil rights struggles," he said. "The best way for us to portray that was by channeling past blues masters who sang with conviction about the struggles they were seeing during their lifetimes. The next generation will look back on the gay rights battles with the same dismay we now look at previous civil rights battles. It takes a while for people prejudices to be overcome but they always are. We are hopeful that this video will help and give people a real perspective on what is occurring rather than seeing this as simply a matter of politics or religion."

Full Story from PR Newswire
Click here for gay marriage resources.
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.

CA: Signature Gathering in Hollywood & Los Angeles to Repeal Prop 8

From Love Honor Cherish:

Help get signatures this weekend in Larchmont Village and Hollywood
This weekend volunteers throughout the state will gather to collect signatures to put a new initiative on the ballot in November 2010 that would repeal Proposition 8 and restore equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. In the Los Angeles area join us at these events:

Saturday, Feb 20

Hollywood
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Hollywood Lutheran Church
1733 North New Hampshire Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027
(Durkee Hall - downstairs) Lots of free parking on nearby streets or in parking lot. We'll have a brief training lasting until 10:30 or so and then we'll hit the streets nearby!

Sunday, Feb 21

Hollywood Farmers Market
8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Meet at NE corner of Ivar and Sunset (park on street or at lot at Ivar & Delongpre - $2 for first 2 hrs w/validation at market).

Sunday, Feb 21

Larchmont Farmers Market
10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Meet at SW corner of Beverly and Larchmont (park on street).

THINGS TO REMEMBER:

Please come on time, but if you're late, look for the volunteers in the yellow SignForEquality T-shirts. And, be sure to bring:

1. A couple of clipboards and a few pens (if you can).
2. Plenty of quarters for parking meters (City of Los Angeles meters now operate on Sundays!)
3. $10 donation for our Sign For Equality volunteer t-shirt

To find out more about signature gathering, or to learn how you can help, go to SignForEquality.com, the first-ever social networking site for volunteer signature gatherers. Download a petition, print it, get signatures and then send it in. You can also:
- Get trained using online videos.
- Join or create a signature gathering team and set goals for yourself and your team.
- Share tips and learn about events where signature gathering is taking place.

P.S. Join us for our next weekly meeting Tuesday, February 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Crescent Heights United Methodist Church, 1296 N Fairfax Ave. Our special guest will be Brad Sears, Executive Director of the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. Brad will talk about the Institute's research on same-sex marriage and its use in the federal case challenging Prop 8, as well as the Institute's groundbreaking work with the U.S. Census.

Aaron Carter Joins NoH8 Campaign

American singer Aaron Carter has taken a stand against proposition 8 which banned same-sex marriage equality in California in 2008. The popstar posed for the NO H8 campaign run by photographer Adam Bouska who photographs anyone who wants to show their solidarity with the movement to repeal prop 8.

Full Story from Queers United
Click here for gay marriage resources.
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.

Proposition 8 Movie Picked Up for National Distribution

One of Sundance's most controversial films has found a buyer.

ABC 4 News has learned that "8: The Mormon Proposition" has now sold its North American rights to distributor "Red Flag Releasing."

The documentary details the LDS Church's involvement in California's Proposition 8 ballot measure, the successful effort to ban gay marriage there.

Full Story from ABC4
Click here for gay marriage resources.
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.

What Conservatives Are Saying About Gay Marriage Trial Judge

Social conservatives are crying foul over the recent San Francisco Chronicle outing of Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who is about to rule in the first federal trial to decide the constitutionality of a gay marriage ban. The outing would “explain much of his bizarre behavior throughout the trial,” blustered Matt Barber, director of cultural affairs at Liberty Counsel, a Christian-based group opposed to gay rights.

“At every turn he's displayed extreme bias in favor of his similarly situated homosexual activist plaintiffs. These individuals have eschewed the democratic process and seek to employ like-minded judicial activists to radically redefine the millennia-old definition of natural marriage.”

“In unprecedented form, and to plaintiff's' delight, he has created a circus-like atmosphere throughout,” Barber added.

Full Story from On Top Magazine
Click here for gay marriage resources.
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.

Should Judge Walker's Sexual Orientation Disqualify Him From Prop 8 Case? The Short Answer is No

Editor's note: In a February 7 column, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on “the biggest open secret in the landmark trial over same-sex marriage”: that U.S. district judge Vaughn R. Walker, who is presiding over the federal lawsuit challenging California’s Proposition 8, is gay. Erwin Chemerinsky, a top constitutional law scholar and founding dean of the University of California, Irvine, School of Law, discusses the ramifications of the outing, and what effect — if any — it has on the case.

Judges constantly decide cases that might personally affect them or their family members. Female judges of reproductive age are allowed to decide cases involving the availability of abortion. Catholic judges can hear challenges to abortion laws even if their church threatens to deny them communion if they support abortion rights. Judges who are also parents can hear challenges to affirmative action programs even if they have children who might benefit or be hurt by the eventual decision.

The list of situations in which a judge’s life might be affected by the decision is endless. This is insufficient by itself to challenge a judge’s hearing of a case or an ultimate decision.

Full Story from The Advocate
Click here for gay marriage resources in California.
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.

CA: NOM Tries to Muddy the Water With Post on Prop 8 Judge's Impartiality

What's that adage about spin - say it long enough, hard enough, loud enough and eventually it will take on the cloak of truth? Well, the latest missive from National Organization Executive Director Brian Brown reads more like a fairy tale - showing that this Emperor has no clothes.

Brown's email to supporters was in response a San Francisco Chronicle column published Sunday ostensibly "outing" Judge Vaugn Walker - who was not in the closet. That bit of "news" was not really new - which blogger Michael Petrelis pointed out with a Cheshire cat grin since he was the one who first raised the issue publicly in July. Queerty picked it up as a stand-alone story, while other bloggers and reporters referenced it in passing or didn't feel it was relevant to Walker's ability to try the case. After all, if Walker's sexual orientation is an issue in him deciding an LGBT-related case, well then, what about a straight judge who's been divorced judging a case involving marital relations? Indeed, US Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas would have to recuse himself from any case involving gender equality or sexual harassment.

Here's Brown's email so I'm not accused of taking anything out of context- after which I'll have some fun with facts.

Full Story from the Huffington Post
Click here for gay marriage resources in California.
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.

CA: Prop 8 Trial's Judge Walker is Gay

The biggest open secret in the landmark trial over same-sex marriage being heard in San Francisco is that the federal judge who will decide the case, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, is himself gay. Many gay politicians in San Francisco and lawyers who have had dealings with Walker say the 65-year-old jurist, appointed to the bench by President George H.W. Bush in 1989, has never taken pains to disguise - or advertise - his orientation.

They also don't believe it will influence how he rules on the case he's now hearing - whether Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure approved by state voters to ban same-sex marriage, unconstitutionally discriminates against gays and lesbians.

"There is nothing about Walker as a judge to indicate that his sexual orientation, other than being an interesting factor, will in any way bias his view," said Kate Kendell, head of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which is supporting the lawsuit to overturn Prop. 8. As evidence, she cites the judge's conservative - albeit libertarian - reputation, and says, "There wasn't anyone who thought (overturning Prop. 8) was a cakewalk given his sexual orientation."

Full Story from SFGate
Click here for gay marriage resources in California.
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.

Profile of One of the Prop 8 Trial Couples

Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo had hoped for years to get married, but as they watched anti-same-sex marriage campaign material proliferate in their Burbank community, the obstacles facing them became clear. More than a dozen “Yes on 8” signs — supporting the 2008 initiative that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman — cropped up in one neighbor’s yard as the election approached.

“It was a slap in the face every time you left for work, and it was a slap in the face every time you came home,” Katami said. But when the campaigning was over, and the state’s law prohibiting their union was passed, the couple decided to challenge it.

Together with a lesbian couple from Berkeley, the men are part of a federal lawsuit in San Francisco claiming that the same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional because it discriminates against a minority group. Proposition 8, the couple said, was too troubling of an affront on their rights to allow it to stand, particularly after they had built a relationship together and fallen in love like any other couple.

Full Story from the Burbank Leader
Click here for gay marriage resources.
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.

CA: Join the Largest Signature Gathering Event of the Prop 8 Repeal Campaign Tomorrow

Feb. 6th is the Day of Action for the repeal of Prop 8! Equality supporters from all over the state will be out collecting signatures to reverse 2008's divisive ballot measure. RE2010's goal is to collect 100,000 signatures in just one day. The bigger the number of volunteers, and the bigger the number of volunteers those volunteers invite to the event, the more easily that goal will be met! This is a crucial day for marriage equality, and one that all supporters of equality should have a chance to be a part of.

Here are the current locations and dates:

San Diego Central:
Place - The Bamboo Lounge
Address - 1475 University Ave
Time - 10 AM

San Diego North County - Oceanside:
Place - The Hill Street Cafe
Address - 524 South Coast Highway
Time - 10 AM

San Diego South:
Place - Chicano Park
Address - National Ave & Dewey St
Time - 10 AM

San Francisco:
Place - Justin Herman Plaza, San Francisco
Address - 1 Market St. Embarcadero Plaza
Time - 11 AM
Bay Area:
Place - Justin Herman Plaza, San Francisco
Address - 1 Market St. Embarcadero Plaza
Time - 11 AM

Chico:
Place - Congregational Church of Chico
Address -1190 E. First Avenue
Time - 10 AM

Bakersfield:
Place - Casablanca Club
Address - 1825 N Street, Bakersfield
Time - 10:00 PM - 2:00 AM

Fresno:
Place -just outside the Chicken Pie Shop
Address - 835 E. Olive (Tower District)
Time - 10:00am

Sanger / South Fresno County:
Place - Sanger Wal-Mart Parking lot (South-East Parking lot area near Jamba Juice)
Address: 2761 Jensen Ave., Sanger, CA
Time - 2:00PM - 4:30PM

Inland Empire - Riverside:
Place - Riverside Plaza (in front of Borders)
Address - 3615 Riverside Plaza Dr, Riverside, CA 92506
Time - 11-3pm
Orange County:
Location: Metro Q Bar & Grill
Street: 19092 Beach Blvd Ste J Huntington Beach, CA
Time: 11:15am - 4:00pm
See more information on Facebook

Los Angeles:
Place - Echo Park United Methodist Church
Address - 1226 North Alvarado Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026
Time - 1:00pm to 4:30pm

Place - Hollywood Lutheran Church
Address - 1733 North New Hampshire Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Time - TBA
Latino Unity @ Olvera Street
Community Education, Outreach & Signature Gathering for Marriage Equality
Place - Iglesia Nuestra Señora Reina de los Angeles
Address - 535 N Main Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Time - Check-In 11:30 am in front of La Placita Church

Place - Michael & Nowlin's Home
Address - 15426 Lull Street, Van Nuys, CA 91406
Time - TBA

Long Beach:
Place - East Village Long Beach Certified Farmers Market
Address - 1st Street between Elm and Linden
Time - 9:15 AM to 11:30 PM

Oxnard:
Place -Oxnard Flea Market. Oxnard Community College.
Address - 4000 South Rose Ave.
Time - 9AM to 1 PM

Ventura:
Place -Ventura Flea Market and Swap Meet. County Fairgrounds.
Address - 10 Harbor Boulevard
Time - 9am-3pm

North San Fernando Valley:
Place - TBA
Address -
Time -

Oakland:
Place - Rockridge BART Station Parking Lot
Address - 5660 College Avenue, Oakland
Time - 10:30 AM

For updates, visit the Restore Equality 2010 Website at http://restoreequality2010.com/pressroom.htm

NY: NoH8 Holds Photoshoot in New York City

You’ve certainly seen the photos — white backdrop with white t-shirts, mouths taped shut, glossy bright eyes and the standard “NOH8″ logo on the cheek. Since November 4, 2008 (the night Prop 8 passed in California), Adam Bouska (the photographer) and his partner, Jeff Parshley (the visionary), have been photographing thousands of individuals in California for the photo project and silent protest known as the NOH8 Campaign. The project has grown exponentially over the last year to include notable celebrities and politicians: Jane Lynch, Kathy Griffin, Cindy McCain, Meghan McCain, Ashlee Simpson, Pete Wentz, Marlee Matlin, and Isaiah Washington have all posed for the campaign.

However, until this week only those in LA LA land had the opportunity to participate (shoots have also been held in San Diego and Palm Springs). On February 1, an open shoot was held at the Empire Hotel in New York City, inviting everyone and anyone to throw on their best white t-shirt and strike a pose. Over 500 New Yorkers lined up from 2 – 8pm (despite the cold) to have their photo taken by Bouska and during the time I was there, I saw a healthy mix of ages, races and gender.

While in line among strangers, I chatted with two adorable men living in Brooklyn, Steven and Abdul, ages 31 and 26, who had been following the campaign since the beginning: “I had been following them online and just waiting for them to come to New York, just stalking them til they got here. We stand and get photographed for tons of other things that aren’t important at all, so why not be photographed for something and make a statement? We support the idea of marriage quality.”

Full Story from Autostraddle
Click here for gay marriage resources in New York.
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.

CA: First Episode of the Prop 8 Trial Re-enactment Posted

In its January 13, 2010 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the public broadcast of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, a U.S. District Court case challenging the constitutional validity of California Proposition 8. Working from court transcripts and first-hand accounts from bloggers who are present at the trial, we are re-enacting the trial and posting it here for public viewing.

We offer context for each episode from our two experts, David Cruz and Linda Hirshman. First, Cruz gives an overview of what is happening during the day’s proceedings--introducing the players and providing an explanation for the legal strategies being employed. Then, Hirshman recounts her first-person experience in the courtroom from San Francisco--describing the dynamics in the room and pointing out the social significance of what you are watching unfold.

See the First Episode Here
Click here for gay marriage resources.
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.

CA: Therese Stewart Fights for Marriage Equality at the Prop 8 Trial

The fact that Therese Stewart didn’t get much publicity during the landmark federal court trial challenging Proposition 8 isn’t really a surprise: Lesbians do tend to be invisible. But Therese (pronounced tuh-REZ) Stewart had a fairly visible role—right up there with the big guns of Ted Olson, David Boies, and Charles Cooper –the nationally known attorneys at the center of the publicity.

Stewart, known as Terry to family and friends, gave an opening statement for the City of San Francisco, right after Olson did for the plaintiff couples and Cooper did for the Yes on 8 defense. She provided direct examination of George Chauncey, an expert witness on the history of gay discrimination. And she’ll be giving a closing argument, too.

She was born in San Francisco in 1957 and grew up in Marin, thinking she might run for Congress someday. As a kid, she recalls, she put on a man’s suit and carried a briefcase that, in retrospect should have been a hint that she might grow up to be gay. “But I didn’t figure it out til I was 24,” said Stewart. Her spouse, Carole Scagnetti, an attorney and head of Marriage Equality USA, teases her about that.

Full Story from Keen News Service
Click here for gay marriage resources.
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.

CA: SF Gay Men's Chorus Goes on Freedom Tour in Prop 8 Territory

They came. They sang. They wore pink cowboy hats. When the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus embarked on its Freedom Tour into the heart of Proposition 8 territory over the weekend, there were concerns. Would red-state towns like Redding and Chico turn out to see gay men in tuxedos singing "Over the Rainbow"? Would there be protests, threats or fear-mongering from Shasta County's fundamentalist community?

But chorus artistic director and conductor Kathleen McGuire asked: "Who is afraid of a choir?"

Make no mistake, this isn't a tour. It's a groundbreaking political action. In the upcoming months, they'll visit Bakersfield, Fresno and Tracy, all strongholds for Prop. 8, the measure that banned same-sex marriage in California. They hope their music will help personalize the fight for gays to marry. It is more than a small gamble. They could face protests, fights or even worse - complete indifference.

Full Story from SFGate
Click here for gay marriage resources in California.
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.

Repeal Prop 8 Signature Gathering This Weekend

From Love Honor Cherish:

Help Us Get to 1 Million Signatures!
Go to SignForEquality.com, where you can download a petition form and learn how to get signatures. If you're in the Los Angeles area, join us for signature gathering on these dates:

Saturday, Jan. 30
8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Santa Monica Farmers Market (S.M. Promenade)
Meet at corner of 3rd St. and Arizona Ave. (park on street)

Sunday, Jan. 31
8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Hollywood Farmers Market
Meet at NE corner of Ivar and Sunset (park on street or at lot at Ivar & Delongpre - $2 for first 2 hrs w/validation at market). Call Mike at (310) 433-5915 for more info.

Sunday, Jan. 31
9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Santa Monica Farmers Market (Ocean Park)
Meet at corner of Main St. and Ocean Park (park on street)

Sunday, Jan. 31
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Studio City Farmers Market
Meet at main gate of CBS Studios, 4024 Radford (free parking at CBS)

Sunday, Jan. 31
2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Grammy Awards (Staples Center)
Meet at SW corner of Chick Hearn (11th) and Figueroa. Park in private lots east of Figueroa on Olympic Blvd. & 11th streets (cheaper the further east you go)

THINGS TO REMEMBER:

Please come on time, but if you're late, look for the volunteers in the yellow SignForEquality T-shirts. And, be sure to bring:

1. A couple of clipboards and a few pens (if you can).
2. Plenty of quarters for parking meters
3. $10 donation for our Sign For Equality volunteer t-shirt

We need 1 million signatures in the next 13 weeks. Let's get thousands this weekend!

P.S. Join us for our next weekly meeting Tuesday, February 2 at 7:30 p.m. at Crescent Heights United Methodist Church, 1296 N Fairfax Ave.

For more on this effort, go to SignForEquality.com, where you can:

- download a petition form
- Get trained using online videos.
- Join or create a signature gathering team and set goals for yourself and your team.
- Share tips and learn about events where signature gathering is taking place.

CA: Defense May Need Imperial County Involvement to Appeal Possible Prop 8 Court Loss

Last December 15, local marriage equality activist Fernando Lopez found himself involved in the marriage equality issue in an unexpected way when the Board of Supervisors in Imperial County voted 3-2 to intervene in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the federal court challenge to California’s Proposition 8.

According to Lopez, the Alliance Defense Fund, one of the organizations involved first in passing Proposition 8 and then defending it in court, sought out Imperial County Board of Supervisors chair Wally Leimgruber and asked him to get the county involved in the case. Lopez said that the Alliance Defense Fund offered to pay all costs for the county if it agreed to intervene in the case on the side of upholding Proposition 8. Leimgruber told the ivpressonline.com Web site that the Board was acting in the interest of the more than 69% of country voters who supported Proposition 8, to “uphold what they voted on.”

“Wally’s up for re-election, and so with the conservative base there he took it up and brought it to the board,” Lopez recalled. “It actually wouldn’t have passed, but one of the seats there was just vacated by a progressive Democrat, and Governor Schwarzenegger appointed a Republican to fill his seat. So it passed on a 3-2 vote.”

Full Story from Indybay.org
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