Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Via JMG: New Gallup Marriage Poll



Gallup reports:
Fifty-three percent of Americans say the law should recognize same-sex marriages, the third consecutive reading of 50% or above in Gallup polling over the past year. The 53% in favor ties the high to this point, also measured last November and in May 2011. Gallup's May 2-7 poll suggests Americans' support for gay marriage is solidifying above the majority level.

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: OREGON: Portland Timbers Pro Soccer Fan Club Display Denounces Homophobia



On Sunday the fan club for the Portland Timbers pro soccer team created the above display in support of the International Day Against Homophobia, which is this Friday. From the Major League Soccer site:
Sometimes, supporters groups' tifo displays are designed to look really cool, to recognize a player's career-long contributions to the club or even to intimidate that day's opponent with a massive pregame display that covers the entire end of a 70,000-seat stadium. And other times, the displays transcend the sport of soccer altogether, making a statement about life in general. On the same day a match in Italy – one that happened to involve United States national team midfielder Michael Bradley's club team, AS Roma – had to be momentarily halted because of racist chants aimed at opposing AC Milan players, the Timbers Army chose to spend their Sunday afternoon taking a stand against another sensitive social issue in the sports world: homophobia. The 5,000-person section used roughly 4,500 colored cards to create the display, according to Timbers Army 107 Independent Supporters Trust board member Abram Goldman-Armstrong in an e-mail exchange with MLSsoccer.com on Monday.
The article adds: "The Timbers Army will be the first of many independent supporters groups across MLS to lend their support to the 'Pride, Not Prejudice' cause this week."  Very, very cool. By the way, the Timbers won their game. (Tipped by JMG reader Lance)

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Marriage Now Legal In All Of Brazil?


It does appear that way.
O Conselho Nacional de Justiça (CNJ) aprovou nesta terça-feira (14), por maioria de votos (14 a 1), uma resolução que obriga os cartórios de todo o país a celebrar o casamento civil e converter a união estável homoafetiva em casamento.  Os cartórios não poderão rejeitar o pedido, como acontece atualmente em alguns casos. A decisão do CNJ poderá ser questionada no Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF).  Segundo o presidente do CNJ e autor da proposta, Joaquim Barbosa, que também é presidente do STF, a resolução visa dar efetividade à decisão tomada em maio de 2011 pelo Supremo, que liberou a união estável homoafetiva.
JMG reader Ricardo provides us with a translation:
The Brazilian Conselho Nacional de Justiça (CNJ) decided by 14-1 vote that notary offices (where civil marriages are performed) in ALL 26 Brazilian states and the capital do Brasília have to officiate same sex marriages. Until this past week, the decision was up for local jurisdictions: 12 states and the federal district had already started doing them. Notary offices can't refuse to perform the unions, as it was happening in some places. In 2011, the Brazilian Supreme Court had decided that gay unions were legal, but left the regulation of marriage to Congress, that has never acted on the matter. Civil unions were law nationwide for the past two years. Federal benefits, like pensions and immigration, have been the norm since 2001.
I'll have more on this today when it hits the English-language press.  Zoom, zoom, zoom!
UPDATE: O Globo has more.
UPDATE II:  Here's the first English-language report.
A top judicial panel cleared the way for same-sex marriage in Brazil on Tuesday, ruling that gay couples could not be denied marriage licenses. The National Council of Justice, which oversees the Brazilian judicial system and is headed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, said government offices that issue marriage licenses had no standing to reject gay couples. The Supreme Court "affirmed that the expression of homosexuality and homosexual affection cannot serve as a basis for discriminatory treatment, which has no support in the Constitution," said Chief Justice Joaquim Barbosa on the council's website, referring to a 2011 ruling by the top court.

Reposted from Joe

The Brazilian Supreme Court voted to legalize gay marriage in the whole country.

 
Casamento gay está liberado em todo o Brasil, decide CNJ. Nenhum cartório em território nacional pode mais se negar a fazer a união civil. Veja mais em http://migre.me/exKbv 

Foto: Reuters
 
Casamento gay está liberado em todo o Brasil, decide CNJ. Nenhum cartório em território nacional pode mais se negar a fazer a união civil. Veja mais em http://migre.me/exKbv

Foto: Reuters

Via http://www.pewstates.org:

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:


Daily Buddhist Wisdom






When we demand the rights and freedoms we so cherish, we should also be aware of our responsibilities. If we accept that the others have an equal right to peace and happiness as ourselves, do we not have a responsibility to help those in need?
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama