Saturday, December 17, 2011

U.S. judge mulls overturning federal marriage law

 
www.vancouversun.com
 
A U.S. judge appeared sympathetic to a lesbian federal employee's bid to strike down a law denying health-insurance benefits to her spouse, in the first hearing since the Obama administration decided to quit defending the statute.

Viam JMG: Which Ban?

Via JMG: MINNESOTA: GOP Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch Resigns in Adultery Scandal


Defender of marriage and Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch (R) has resigned her post in disgrace after allegations of an affair with a Senate staffer. Koch, who is is married with one child, was one of the proponents of Minnesota's 2012 anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment. [Update below]
At a Capitol news conference Friday, Sen. Geoff Michel (R-Edina) said Senate staff recently brought up allegations of an “inappropriate relationship between Majority Leader Koch and a Senate staffer.” "We sit here with a lot of humility, sadness, and shock,” Michel said. Michel said multiple staffers reported allegations to Senate leaders. He said he doesn’t know how long the relationship was going on and legally cannot discuss the name of the Senate staffer involved with Sen. Koch. The Edina senator could only specify that it was “inappropriate” a “conflict of interest” and created an “unstable work environment for staff.” On whether or not the relationship was sexual, Michel said "I think there's only two people who could fully characterize that,” but GOP leaders said they never heard the word “sexual” used when the allegations surfaced.
And another anti-gay hypocrite bites the dust! Below is a bit of the May vote to place the anti-gay amendment on the 2012 ballot. UPDATE: Late this afternoon the media learned that while Koch has stepped down as majority leader, she may continue as a state senator. She did say that she will not seek reelection in 2012. Koch was the first female majority leader of the Minnesota Senate and her tenure was the shortest in its history.


reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 17, 2011

True Vision, True Understanding

The mind and the world are opposites, and vision arises where they meet. When your mind doesn't stir inside, the world doesn't arise outside. When the world and the mind are both transparent, this is true vision. And such understanding is true understanding.