VIDEO- Little boy: "...Very 1st time I saw a husband & husband! That means you love each other!"

By GottaLaff

This is absolutely fantastic:



This little boy gets it. Why are there so many others who don't?

This is all that really matters. Husband + husband = Love.

H/t: MissShuganah

Prop 8 Watch: The ideal marriage test

By GottaLaff

The L.A. Times had an editorial about the Proposition 8 trial that is underway as we speak. It addresses what they call "the marriage test", challenging the reasons for getting/staying married, and why they should be irrelevant in this landmark case:

In what ways would same-sex marriages be the same or different from heterosexual marriages? Answer: It's nobody's business. [...]

Same-sex couples shouldn't have to prove that their marriages would be as "normal" as those of heterosexuals or meet some kind of artificial bar -- a bar that many heterosexual couples fall short of -- for an ideal marriage. [...]

Some people wed for money or health benefits. In this town, some of them enter short-term marriages for the publicity. (You know who you are.) Teenagers barely old enough to vote marry despite the higher likelihood that they will divorce. Serial monogamists wed. There are couples who swap spouses, and those who live apart yet maintain their sense of affection and responsibility toward each other. Many a marriage, even those begun in love, ends up quirky at best and dysfunctional at worst. [...]

[H]omosexuals, who have long faced unreasoned hatred and abuse in many forms, are being singled out for the withholding of this basic societal right.

This was a long overdue argument that doesn't seem to be too prevalent on the Tee Vee Machine. The Times nailed it. The double standard is beyond ridiculous.

The idea that we have to take this case all the way to the Supremes is even more ridiculous. But take it we will.

I also ran across this piece, called "Into the Closet":

Has anyone noticed that now that lesbians and gay men have left the closet to assert their equal rights as citizens, their adversaries seem to be running for a closet of their own?

My observation is, of course, prompted by the success that opponents of same-sex marriage had this week in persuading the Supreme Court to bar cameras from the San Francisco courtroom where Proposition 8 is now on trial.

This case has more layers than The Boehner's spray tan.

Pastor Rick Warren's church reports shortfall

By GottaLaff

Aww, $784892379237 isn't enough to keep the big guy afloat?

Evangelical pastor Rick Warren appealed to parishioners at his Orange County megachurch Wednesday to help fill a $900,000 deficit by the first of the year.

[...] "Dear Saddleback Family, THIS IS AN URGENT LETTER."

"With 10 percent of our church family out of work due to the recession, our expenses in caring for our community in 2009 rose dramatically while our income stagnated," the letter reads.

"Stagnation". What a perfect word to associate with Rev Ricky.

"On the last weekend of 2009, our total offerings were less than half of what we normally receive - leaving us $900,000 in the red for the year," the letter reads.

I guess the invisible man upstairs didn't feel someone who doesn't love some of his fellow men as much as others was worth it.

Gay marriage could be legal in New York by end of the week

By GottaLaff

First happy stem cell research news and now this. It's... too... much. Does... not... compute:

According to the Albany Times Union, the New York Senate "just put out a notice: yes they do plan to debate the same-sex marriage bill -- passed again by the Assembly last night -- today."

Several analysts indicate Democrats have the votes to pass the measure and Gov. David Paterson has already pledged to sign the measure into law.

Gay marriage could be legal in New York by the end of the week.

Same-sex marriage closer in D.C.

By GottaLaff

11-2:

The Washington D.C. city council Tuesday passed the first of two votes needed to legalize same-sex marriage in the nation's capitol.

In a couple of weeks, the second vote will take place.

Two adults who love each other should be able to get married. Discrimination is wrong. It's that simple. Honest.

Texas' gay marriage ban may have banned all marriages

By GottaLaff



Wouldn't it just be the most ironic thing ever?

Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Houston lawyer and Democratic candidate for attorney general, says that a 22-word clause in a 2005 constitutional amendment designed to ban gay marriages erroneously endangers the legal status of all marriages in the state.

The amendment, approved by the Legislature and overwhelmingly ratified by voters, declares that "marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman." But the troublemaking phrase, as Radnofsky sees it, is Subsection B, which declares:

"This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage."

So much for gay marriage ruining opposite marriage, huh guys? You did that all by yourselves.

She calls it a "massive mistake" and blames the current attorney general, Republican Greg Abbott, for allowing the language to become part of the Texas Constitution. Radnofsky called on Abbott to acknowledge the wording as an error and consider an apology. She also said that another constitutional amendment may be necessary to reverse the problem.

Well now, that worked out well.

Bill Clinton speaks out on decision to support same-sex marriage

By GottaLaff

Bill Clinton:

"I was against the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage nation-wide, and I still think that the American people should be able to play this out in debates," Clinton said. "But me, Bill Clinton personally, I changed my position.

I am no longer opposed to that. I think if people want to make commitments that last a lifetime, they ought to be able to do it."

Better late than never.

92% of Iowans: Gay marriage brought no real change to their lives

By GottaLaff

I'm still trying to figure out why anyone would oppose same-sex marriage. What possible impact on anyone's life could there be? I just don't get it.

Well, I do, but that's only when I start trying to think like someone utterly different from myself:

In the first Des Moines Register poll since the Iowa Supreme Court overturned a statutory ban on gay marriage in April, Iowans are evenly divided on the issue with 41% saying they would vote for a constitutional ban and 40% opposed to a ban.

However, the overwhelming majority of Iowans -- 92% -- say gay marriage has brought no real change to their lives.

Video- Ben & Jerrys celebrate Vermont's same sex marriage law

HA! /chris matthews laugh

Same-Sex Marriages Begin in Vermont

Mazel tov! Another personal Vermont story here.

(AP) After 17 years together, Bill Slimback and Bob Sullivan couldn't wait another minute to get married. So they didn't.

With Vermont's new law allowing same-sex marriage only a minute old, they tied the knot in a midnight ceremony at a rustic lodge, becoming one of the first couples to legally wed under a law that took effect at midnight Monday. Vermont is one of five states that now allow same-sex couples to marry. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Iowa are the others.

Dressed in suits, saying their vows under a large wall-mounted moose head, the two Whitehall, New York, men promised their love, exchanged rings and held hands during a modest 17-minute ceremony. Moose Meadow Lodge co-owner Greg Trulson, who's also a Justice of the Peace, presided.

Civil rights group threatens to fire local leader for gay marriage endorsement

By GottaLaff

People love each other. Some are gay, some are straight. Get. Over. It.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a civil rights group partly founded by Martin Luther King Jr., has threatened to fire the president of its Los Angeles chapter because he supports same-sex marriage.

The Rev. Eric P. Lee, president of the local SCLC chapter for two years, became an outspoken advocate of same-sex marriage during the recent campaign against Proposition 8, an amendment to the state Constitution that banned such unions.

The SCLC national board notified Lee on May 27 that he would have to attend a hearing at its Atlanta headquarters on June 4 to explain his stance on same-sex marriage. If he did not show up, they said, they would suspend and fire him.

Lee did not attend the hearing. He told the board he could not afford the last-minute trip but could participate via conference call. He said he never heard back from the board.

When Lee failed to appear for the hearing, he received an e-mail warning him to set a date to appear or face removal. [...]

But Lee said he was driven to support same-sex marriage by the teachings of King, who helped found the SCLC to champion civil rights 50 years ago.

"Any time one group of people are denied the same rights as other people, it is unequivocally a denial of civil rights," Lee said. [...]

Lee said he is not waiting for approval to continue his advocacy for same-sex marriage.

"I'm not going to let their inaction handcuff me from fighting for justice," he said.

We need about 4 million more like Lee.

Chris Dodd Backs Gay Marriage

By GottaLaff

Good on ya, Chris:

Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) issued a statement backing same sex marriage because his "young daughters are growing up in a different reality than I did."

Ben Smith: "One of the remarkable things about the speed of change in the marriage issue is that it's gone, in a year or two, from being something that could only be supported by people without higher ambitions to something embraced amid a tough reelection fight."

So what's taking everyone else so long? How hard is this? Oh yeah, I forgot. John Ensign's marriage was destroyed by Teh Gays. That's gotta be it.

Obama reiterates promise to "end" Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

By GottaLaff

"Increasing unrest" does tend to occur when invaluable members of our military are kicked out for simply being gay:

The President signed a gay pride proclamation today, reiterating deferred campaign pledges, including ending 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' but making no mention of same-sex marriage.

The Advocate's Kerry Eleveld wondered recently, "Will anything that doesn’t address “don’t ask, don’t tell” and full marital rights satisfy the [gay and lesbian] masses, who have shown increasing unrest lately?"

A proclamation seems unlikely to do that, though it does touch a series of issues:

My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security. We must also commit ourselves to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic by both reducing the number of HIV infections and providing care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS across the United States.

What does "in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security" mean exactly? Just asking.

Full proclamation here.

And how I wish Prez O would go back to what he signed off on back in 1996:

(click on image to enlarge)

VIDEO: Dick Cheney Supports Gay Marriage

By GottaLaff



Now, really, why can't Prez O be as progressive as the Nation of Dick?

That bit of snarkage was not easy to write.

They just can't marry the person they love

By GottaLaff

I can't link directly to the letter (only to the letters page), because the L.A. Times hasn't posted it online yet, but I am perfectly capable of typing it out all by my own self:

Despite this week's Supreme Court ruling, it's still perfectly legal for gay people to get married in California.

They just can't marry the person they love.

Makes the point concisely and clearly, does it not?

Michael Steele hits the Republican G-Spot

By GottaLaff

Equality starts with an E. That clearly disqualifies it from the rightie vocablulary. First Guns, now Gays. Seems Steele thinks he's hit the Rushpublic G-spot:

Republicans can reach a broader base by recasting gay marriage as an issue that could dent pocketbooks as small businesses spend more on health care and other benefits, GOP Chairman Michael Steele said Saturday.

[...] Steele said he used the argument weeks ago while chatting on a flight with a college student who described herself as fiscally conservative but socially liberal on issues like gay marriage.

"Now all of a sudden I've got someone who wasn't a spouse before, that I had no responsibility for, who is now getting claimed as a spouse that I now have financial responsibility for," Steele told Republicans at the state convention in traditionally conservative Georgia. "So how do I pay for that? Who pays for that? You just cost me money."

As Steele talked about ways the party could position itself, he also poked fun at his previous pledge to give the GOP a "hip-hop makeover."

"You don't have to wear your pants cut down here or the big bling," he said.

Vermont and Iowa have legalized gay marriage in recent weeks, and a Quinnipiac University poll released in April found that 57 percent of people questioned support civil unions that provide marriage-like rights. Although 55 percent said they opposed gay marriage, the poll indicated a shift toward more acceptance.

The last thing I want to think about is Michael Steele's pants.

H/t: Ellen

VIDEO: N.O.M. Warns Gay Marriage Will Turn Your Children Gay

By GottaLaff

Gramma, "my teacher says that [N.O.M] is so old fashioned," and consists of a bunch of homophobic, narrow-minded bigots:

Cornerstone Policy Research (CPR) and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) are trying their hardest to stop same-sex marriage from becoming legal in New Hampshire. The two organizations have just released an ad airing in New Hampshire called “I’m Confused,” which uses children to express how “confused” they will be if two men or two women are legally allowed to be married.

H/t: The Joshua Blog

Miss California to James Dobson: 'Satan Was Trying to Tempt Me'

By GottaLaff

Posting from school means I have very little time, a very slow computer that blocks every site imaginable, and therefore, very few options. Commenter Babzter sent this along in an email, which helps enormously. Consider it a follow-up to my previous post. Brought to you by Focus on the Shamily:

Dobson: It sounded, Carrie, like your first reaction was to hedge, to say "Well, this is a free country" and then something took over.

Prej ean: It really was a switch.

Dobson: And you did one of the most courageous things I've seen anybody your age or anybody else do. What was going on in your mind?

Prejean: I started off by saying I want to win this pageant so bad, I've worked so hard, I wanted to sound politically correct but still stay true to my values. But I just knew at that moment that God was just telling me "Carrie, how bad do you want this? Are you willing to compromise your beliefs for a one year crown of Miss USA." And I just knew right there . . . And I said you know what and the switch went off. And I said, "A marriage should be between a man and a woman and that's how it should be. "

. . . . And I knew there was no way I was going to win Miss USA. No way.

Dobson: So you put it on the line, that's what I mean when I said you're courageous because this was the goal of your life to that point. And yet you gave it up. And yet the Lord is using you all over this country.

Prejean: And we are all faced with that at times. And just by me being here, I want to encourage other people that when you're faced with an issue which you know in your heart what to say, but you're faced with someone asking it, don't ever compromise that just for pleasing them. Your goal should be to please God, not to please man . . . .

Dobson: Why did you give the answer you did with regard to the affirmation of marriage?

Prejean: . . . I felt as though Satan was trying to tempt me in asking me this question. And then God was in my head and in my heart saying, "Do not compromise this. You need to stand up for me and you need to share with all these people . . . you need to witness to them and you need to show that you're not willing to compromise that for this title of Miss USA."

And I knew right here that it wasn't about winning. It was about being true to my convictions.

Looks like Miss Cali fits right in with The Family. Her all-American, God-sanctioned message: Satan and Teh Gays are bffs. God only loves those who revere Opposite Marriage. And Carrie's winning a crown in a beauty contest would have pleased God enormously.

Nothing wrong with that logic at all. Nope.

You can listen to the full interview here.

Alabama House To Praise Miss California For Anti-Gay Marriage Position

By GottaLaff

Via Oliver:

A resolution has been introduced in the Alabama House that praises Miss USA contestant Carrie Prejean for speaking out against gay marriage during Sunday night’s televised pageant.

Because, you know, nothing says patriotism like an Alabaman House resolution touting California Carrie and her opposite marriage blabble. How American, focusing so intently on inequality and such also too.

VIDEO: Miss California Carrie Prejean likes opposite marriage better then gay marriage

By GottaLaff

Opposite Day:



Opposite marriage?