Friday, December 7, 2012
Via JMG: SCOTUS Reactions
ACLU
Windsor is represented by attorneys from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; the American Civil Liberties Union; the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic. While New York and eight other states now give same-sex couples the freedom to marry, DOMA requires otherwise legally married same-sex couples like Edie and Thea to be treated by the federal government as if they had never married,” said New York Civil Liberties Union executive director, Donna Lieberman. “It is time for the Supreme Court to strike down this unconstitutional statute once and for all.”NY Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell
While I am disappointed that Californians will now have to wait even longer for Marriage Equality to be restored in their state, I am profoundly hopeful that the Supreme Court is taking this opportunity to consider the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act. I was proud to help lead New York’s successful Marriage Equality fight, but until the federal government recognizes marriages like mine, we have not achieved true Marriage Equality.GLAD
DOMA creates a gay-only exception to federal recognition of state-licensed marriages, and we believe that the federal government should stop discriminating against same-sex couples legally married by their states. We know from working with legally married same-sex couples since 2004 in Massachusetts that DOMA undermines their security in every aspect of life and death. GLAD has been leading the fight for marriage equality for two decades, including the historic marriage equality breakthroughs in Massachusetts and Connecticut. That the issue will soon be heard by the Supreme Court is a vindication of our work to achieve equal protection under the law for same-sex couples. This day has been long in the making, and we are committed to the success of this case.Empire State Pride Agenda
Although marriage equality in New York and the recent wins in Maine, Maryland and Washington were major victories, DOMA currently prevents our marriages from being recognized on the federal level. This means that our commitments are not honored and our families are not protected by the federal government. We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will grant all married couples, in New York and other states, the recognition they deserve by upholding the multiple lower court rulings that have already declared sections of DOMA and Proposition 8 unconstitutional. We view these deliberations as necessary to end discrimination and advance full equality for all Americans.Human Rights Campaign
Today is a milestone day for equal justice under the law and for millions of loving couples who want to make a lifelong commitment through marriage. The passage of Proposition 8 caused heartbreak for so many Americans, but today’s announcement gives hope that we will see a landmark Supreme Court ruling for marriage this term. As the Court has ruled 14 times in the past, marriage is a fundamental right and I believe they will side with liberty, freedom and equality, moving us toward a more perfect union as they have done in the past. “Proposition 8 has been already been declared unconstitutional in Federal District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Now the Supreme Court has an opportunity to do the same and send a resounding message of hope to LGBT young people from coast to coast that they have the same dignity and same opportunities for the future as everyone else.Freedom To Marry
By agreeing to hear a case against the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, the Court can now move swiftly to affirm what 10 federal rulings have already said: DOMA’s ‘gay exception’ to how the federal government treats married couples violates the Constitution and must fall. When it comes to the whole federal safety net that accompanies marriage – access to Social Security survivorship, health coverage, family leave, fair tax treatment, family immigration, and over 1000 other protections and responsibilities -- couples who are legally married in the states should be treated by the federal government as what they are: married." “Additionally, gay and lesbian couples in California – and indeed, all over the country – now look to the Supreme Court to affirm that the Constitution does not permit states to strip something as important as the freedom to marry away from one group of Americans.CA Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom
Today marks the beginning of the end for a California journey that started eight years ago when San Francisco issued same-sex marriage licenses. By agreeing to hear the Proposition 8 case the U.S. Supreme Court could end, once and for all, marriage inequity in California. Forty-five years after the Supreme Court ruled that marriages between interracial couples were constitutional in Loving vs. Virginia, Justices can once again reaffirm the basic American principal of equality for all. Today’s announcement starts the clock towards the final decision for California. History will one day be divided into the time before marriage equality and the period that follows. And thankfully, we will be on the side of history worthy of being proud of.Marriage Equality USA
It’s crystal clear that the United States Supreme Court should rule in favor of the freedom to marry. Our Constitution guarantees every American the fundamental human right to marry the person they love – regardless of their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or any other external characteristic. Proposition 8 targeted lesbian and gay people – and lesbian and gay people alone – to take away their freedom to marry and thus exclude them from the American dream. Proposition 8 cannot stand.NGLTF
The recent election signaled just how far we’ve come on the path toward treating all families fairly, with landmark statewide victories affirming the right of loving, committed same-sex couples to share in the celebration and responsibilities of marriage. This long road to the high court has been filled with thousands of personal conversations about why marriage matters to us, and of how discrimination hurts our families. The transformative nature of talking about our love and our lives is clear, as we saw with the recent sweeping statewide marriage victories, and in the fact that the majority of Americans now supports the freedom to marry. But the journey is not finished, for as long as DOMA and Prop. 8 remain intact, then true equality remains out of reach. It’s time the Supreme Court strike down DOMA and Proposition 8, once and for all.More as they arrive....
Labels: ACLU, Daniel O'Donnell, DOMA, LGBT rights, Proposition 8, Protect Marriage, SCOTUS
Via JMG: BREAKING: Supreme Court To Hear Proposition 8 & Windsor DOMA Cases
Trying to sort this all out, it is clear that the Court has agreed to consider the merits case in Prop. 8, because that is what the petition presented as its question, but that it is also going to address whether the proponents had a right to pursue their case. If the Court were to find that the proponents did not have Art. III standing, that is the end of the matter: there would be no review on the merits of Proposition 8, or of the 9th CA decision striking it down.UPDATE: The decisions have been posted.
Reposted from Joe
Via Gay Politics Report:
- LGBT Americans feel increasing acceptance, poll finds
- Ninety-one percent of LGBT Americans say people in their communities have become more accepting of them in recent years, a poll finds, but almost as many say discrimination is still a somewhat serious or very serious problem in the U.S. The USA TODAY/Gallup poll also found that 53% of all Americans now say they support allowing same-sex couples to marry, compared with 27% in a 1996 Gallup poll. USA Today (12/5)
Via FB:
"Through our practice of mindfulness we become aware of the feelings which arise when we make sense contacts. Feelings happen all the time and need to be recog
nised so that we can change our
instinctive way of living to a deliberate way of being alive.
Instinctively we are a constant reactor; deliberately we become an
actor."
- Ayya Kema
- Ayya Kema
Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma December 7, 2012 |
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Acts of Universal Generosity
- Andrew Olendzki, "Dana: The Practice of Giving"
Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 9th, 2012
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Thursday, December 6, 2012
Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:
| Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma December 6, 2012
Transforming Anger
Perhaps
the most important reason for getting to know our anger is that anger
is actually a precious energy that becomes anger only when it is caught
up in complex egoic patterns. Those patterns include my stories about
anger’s cause and object as well as many deluded beliefs, not the least
of which is the delusion of separation. This energy needs to be freed
and transformed rather than distorted or destroyed.
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- Nancy Baker, "Precious Energy"
Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 8th, 2012
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Via JMG: REPORT: Openly Gay Banker Under Consideration For Obama Cabinet
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Washington Blade that Hochberg is under consideration for various positions within the administration, although commerce secretary is the role for which he’s seen as most fit. “What I’ve been told is Fred very well regarded, he’s done a great job at the bank, and he’s one of the folks that they are looking at carefully for Commerce,” the official said. But the official said Hochberg hasn’t been involved as of Monday in direct talks with the White House about the position, nor could the official offer any timeline for when the administration would make an announcement.RELATED: Shortly after last month's election, the Human Rights Campaign began advocating for the president to consider adding an LGBT person to his cabinet.
Via Buddhism on Belief:
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Via JMG: URUGUAY: Lower House To Vote On Same-Sex Marriage Bill Next Week
Five months ago, the government approved the recognition of same sex marriage legalized in other countries. The law was supported by the Constitution Committee and the Codes of the House including two opposition legislators. Frente Amplio legislator Julio Bango, a supporter of the law, said the law would pass the Senate in 2013 after the summer recess. He noted the dispute about name order for children of same sex marriages but said that issue would be resolved in the next week. The law reads, “the institution of marriage will mean the union of two parties, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation thereof at the same terms with the same effects established in the Civil Code”. The law will extend to include homosexuals, lesbians and transsexuals.In 2007 Uruguay became the first South American nation to legalize civil unions.
Via NEB - International Network of Engaged Buddhists
Deer Park Monastery
A holiday letter from Thay Phap Dung, Abbot of Deer Park Monastery:
Dear Beloved Thầy,
Dear Sanghas throughout the World,
Dear Dharma Brothers and Sisters,
Our loving Mother Earth is still there for us, right beneath our two feet. She is a miracle, a jewel in the cosmos, refreshing and healing. She has shown unlimited patience throughout human history and an uncanny ability to transform just about anything with equanimity and acceptance. She is now calling us for help. She is suffering from our human activities based on our craving, discrimination, fear, and despair.
The Gift of Practice - This holiday season, we have a chance to express our love and care for Mother Earth by the way we care for our self, our family and our environment. We can practice mindfulness to care for our inner environment, our feelings and our emotions so that we do not lose ourself in worries about the future or regrets about the past, or lose ourself with our feelings and thinking in the present moment. We practice in such a way that we are peaceful, free and happy right in the here and now. We can practice to be more relaxed in our body and mind as we drive our car to work, or cook for our family, or play with our friends, or even rest when we return home. We can look deeply into our relationships with our loved ones, with our environment, our neighborhood, and our workplace and find skillful ways to care, to renew and to improve them. Care is a priceless gift.
Having Enough – Concretely this Holiday Season, we invite you to make an effort to find ways that you can give a gift that does not require you to spend a lot of money or even any at all. The greatest gift is, of course, our practice, our true presence, our understanding and love. The giving of this gift will require more effort, more creativity, and deeper looking into your beloved. You can make something. You can surprise him or her with a message that has been waiting for so long.
“Dear Father, I know you are there and I am happy.”
“My son, I am here for you completely.”
“My dear, I am sorry; let us begin a new chapter.”
“Dear Mother Earth,I take refuge in you and bow down deeply.”
A reminder, a memory, a simple attention with skillfulness in expression can touch and transform. Understanding and compassion cannot be bought.
This is an invitation to all practitioners throughout the world to join us this Season for a silent resistance – to the mass pressure to consume, to the forces that cause us to run away from ourself in forgetfulness. Let us change the way we spend our Holiday Season this winter. Let us show our care for the planet in concrete ways. Let us say to Mother Earth that She can have trust in us. And please share this with the larger community by writing about your priceless gift: your gift of practice; your gift of transformation, with by messaging us here at the Deer Park Facebook page, or by commenting below.
With trust and confidence,
Brother Pháp Dung for the Plum Village Community
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma December 5, 2012
Generosity of the Heart
Genuine
happiness in relationships comes forth naturally when it’s no longer
blocked by all the conditions that we normally add—our agendas, our
needs, our expectations. When we’re more able to refrain from indulging
our self-centered motivations, we no longer look at our relationship in
terms of what we will get. Instead, as we move toward the generosity of
the heart, we naturally want to give.
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- Ezra Bayda, "Giving Through Relationships"
Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 7th, 2012
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
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