A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Hate Crimes Bill On Verge Of Passage
This from JMG:
Last night the House of Representatives voted down a GOP motion to strip the hate crimes act from the defense authorization bill to which it's attached. The vote was 234-178, virtually exactly along party lines. Tomorrow the House will see a final conference vote on the bill, after which the Senate will see a conference vote before the bill lands on Obama's desk. That may not happen until next week, but there appears to be a chance that President Obama may have something very nice in his pocket when he appears at the HRC dinner on Saturday. Below, Barney Frank defends attaching the hate crimes act to the DOD authorization.
Obama's Big Gay Speech
If I were advising President Barack Obama, I would tell him to pay as much attention to the ornery jeers from protesters outside the Human Rights Campaign's October 10th Washington dinner as the cheers coming from inside the ornate ballroom.
Quote of the Day
"Or consider the Bahá’ís who assert as a central tenet of their religion the interanimating harmony of religion and science comparing them to the two wings of a bird, each essential if the bird is to take to the air the Bahá’ís explicitly reject as any religious teachings that are at odds with the scientific revelation of God's truth. Surely the Bahá’ís have something here; science ought to be regarded as the close friend of true theology, for it is enormously helpful in ridding of superstition."
- Mark Johnston
Alert! Protect marriages of same-sex couples in California
The same people who passed Prop. 8 are now flooding the Governor with calls about Equality California's legislation authored by Senator Mark Leno that will recognize the marriages of same-sex couples performed in other states and countries.
They claim we are trying to circumvent the law, undercut the Constitution and disregard the will of the people.
Once again, they are lying in an attempt to deny us equality.
Help counter their lies and set the record straight. Call the Governor today and express your support for SB 54, the Marriage Recognition and Family Protection Act (Leno, D-San Francisco).
Capitol Office (automated line)
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fresno Office
Phone: 559-477-1804
Los Angeles Office
Phone: 213-897-0322
Riverside Office
Phone: 951-680-6860
San Diego Office
Phone: 619-525-4641
San Francisco Office
Phone: 415-703-2218
The Marriage Recognition and Family Protection Act would ensure that California recognizes marriages performed out of state in a way that is completely consistent with state law and the Supreme Court ruling upholding Prop. 8. But, that hasn't stopped the extreme right-wing hate mongers from trying to strip away the rights the Court ruled we were entitled to and deserve.
Please, call the Governor right now to express your support for SB 54 so legally married couples who were married out of state will have their marriages recognized in California. Also, if you haven't yet, email the Governor using our Action Center.
http://www.eqca.org/siteap
The bill can be signed or vetoed at any moment. There is no time to waste.
Thank you,
Geoff Kors
Executive Director
Equality California