Via JMG: GERMANY: High Court Rules That Gay Couples Deserve Equal Tax Benefits

In what is being characterized as a setback to the administration of Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany's highest court has ruled that same-sex couples are entitled to the same tax benefits granted to married straight couples.

The verdict requires a change in the law and is a red rag to some in Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and its traditionally Catholic Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), who worry that conservative values are being diluted. The ruling was widely expected after the court in February overturned a ban on same-sex couples adopting a child already adopted by one of the partners. "The provisions set out in the income-tax law violate the general rule of equality," wrote the Karlsruhe-based court, adding the law should be changed retroactively from August 2001. Same-sex partnerships have been legal in Germany since 2001 but do not enjoy the same tax benefits as married heterosexuals.

Openly gay Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle hailed the ruling, saying that the time has come "for German tax law to be as modern as its society." A spokesman for the Christian Social Union party denounced the news as an attack on the "sanctity of marriage." (Tipped by JMG reader Matthew)

Labels: Angela Merkel, Germany, LGBT rights

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Via JMG: Another Positive Marriage Poll

 

You'll have to embiggen the above image to see the details, but here's the gist of the latest Bloomberg Poll:

More than half of Americans support allowing same-sex couples to marry, endorsing the goal of gay-rights activists as the U.S. Supreme Court this month prepares to rule on the issue for the first time. Fifty-two percent say they back giving gay couples the right to marry, compared with 41 percent who are opposed, according to a Bloomberg National Poll conducted May 31-June 3. Of those supporters, more than half -- 61 percent -- want a national law rather than a state-by-state approach. During arguments in March, the justices signaled a reluctance to declare a right to same-sex marriage nationwide.

Labels: marriage equality, polls, SCOTUS

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Via JMG: POLL: Majority Of Same-Sex Marriage Opponents Say Legalization Is Inevitable

Jeremy Hooper writes at NOM Exposed:

This is what NOM is up against: a reality where even a majority of its own supporters know that marriage equality is going to happen, despite their driven efforts. This obvious inevitability is, far and away, the most damaging thing NOM faces—which is precisely why they are working so hard to deny it. They know that the writing on the wall demoralizes their support base and depresses their donations, so they are acting as if it's all a lie. They pretend the trajectory and polling is just something we've concocted rather than an accurate representation of where America stands. This Pew Poll shows them to be wrong. More importantly, it shows that even a majority of their own supporters know it.

Labels: marriage equality, NOM, polls

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Via JMG From Freedom To Work

Source.

Labels: employment, ENDA, Obama administration

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Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Considering the harm others do to you As created by your former deeds, do not anger. Act such that further suffering will not be created And your own faults will disappear. - Nagarjuna, "Precious Garland" More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 5, 2013

Not Judging our Emotions

There isn’t any such thing as a negative emotion. There are negative things that we do with our emotions, but our emotions themselves are neither negative nor positive.

- Robert Augustus Masters, "From Spiritual Bypassing"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through June 6, 2013
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Via JMG: Quote Of The Day - Rep. Earl Blumenauer

"Let's get real and stop the charade about what a 'social welfare' organization is. Last year, internal National Organization for Marriage (NOM) strategy documents were leaked, stating that the organization seeks 'to drive a wedge between gays and blacks' by promoting "African American spokespeople for marriage,' thus provoking same-sex marriage supporters into 'denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots,' and "to interrupt the assimilation" of Latinos into 'dominant Anglo culture' by making the stance against same-sex marriage 'a key badge of Latino identity.'

"Does this sound like social welfare to you? Social welfare organizations should work in the public interest -- not to divide, exploit, and conquer. When I brought this up at the hearing today, Dr. Eastman, Chairman of the Board of NOM, angrily groused, 'To say that defending traditional marriage doesn't qualify for defense of the public good is beyond preposterous.'

"To Dr. Eastman, I say that it is the denial of my constituents, and all Americans, the right to marry the person they love is preposterous. To exploit racial and religious differences so you can fundraise for and enforce your specific worldview is preposterous. But your right to be preposterous should not extend to taking political positions under the guise of a social welfare organization, raising money and campaigning." - Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), writing for the Huffington Post.

Labels: bigotry, Catholic Church, Congress, Earl Blumenauer, FTW, hate groups, John Eastman, NOM, racism, religion, Vatican

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Via JMG: California Marriage Support Grows

Source.

Labels: California, marriage equality, polls

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Via JMG: AFER Graphic On Prop 8 Outcomes

 

The Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling this month. Rulings come on Mondays, so the next possible date is June 10th.

Labels: AFER, California, Prop 8, SCOTUS

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Via JMG: Hate Groups Diss Gay Ark Painting

 

Gay artist Paul Richmond has created the above painting titled "Noah's Gay Wedding Cruise: MarriageEvolved Edition."  Among the "drowning sinners" are Ann Coulter, former Sen. Larry Craig, Oklahoma state Rep. Sally Kern, and Westboro founder Fred Phelps.
Saved on the ark are Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Elton John and David Furnish, and Joshua and Steve Snyder-Hill, the founders of MarriageEvolved.  NOM's Frank Schubert weighs in at the Christian Post:

"Since those couples are inherently unable to accomplish the very thing that God intended for those who inhabited the ark – the procreation of the earth following His wrath for failing to follow His commandments." "Marriage is intrinsically the union of one man and one woman," Schubert said. "Government didn't create marriage, it merely recognizes what nature and nature's God created. Marriage was designed to bring men and women together because only those unions have the capacity to create new life.

The Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg feels the same:

"The rainbow is God's symbol, not an LGBT symbol. It's particularly bizarre to use Noah's Ark," he said, noting that same-sex couples are incapable of natural reproduction, which is why same-sex is not included in the definition of marriage, and isn't recognized as marriage in most states.

The artist and his partner will be among 25 couples that will take the C-Bus Of Love to Washington DC on June 21st for a marriage ceremony outside the Supreme Court. That angers Peter Sprigg, who claims that since prayers are forbidden on the steps of the Court because that would be considered a political protest, a same-sex wedding ceremony should also be banned. Sprigg: "They're definitely trying to influence public opinion, and I hope people see through it."

Labels: activism, Frank Schubert, FRC, gay artists, marriage equality, MarriageEvolved, NOM, Peter Sprigg, SCOTUS

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Via JMG: Broken Bargain For LGBT Workers

 

A new report from the Movement Advancement Project:

A landmark new report released today examines how lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) workers might have the same job as a coworker, yet be legally fired, denied equal benefits and be required to pay thousands of dollars more in taxes simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. A Broken Bargain: Discrimination, Fewer Benefits and More Taxes for LGBT Workers illustrates how America’s basic bargain—that those who work hard can get ahead—is broken for LGBT workers. The report vividly shows how antiquated and discriminatory laws make it harder for LGBT workers to provide for themselves and their families, and offers detailed policy recommendations for addressing those inequities.

Read the full report.

Labels: employment, ENDA, insurance, LGBT rights

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Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	The one who wishes to escape from doubt Should be attentive and alert; Looking at mind and body both, He should see the causes and the origins. - Patisambbida Magga More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 4, 2013

Suffering Guaranteed

Of course we need to practice compassion in individual thoughts and acts—these are the bread and butter of practice, the real test. But where we see political and economic systems guaranteed to generate tragedy and despair, we must also respond to transform and humanize those systems.

- David Edwards, "Life Or Death"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through June 5, 2013
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Via JMG: DOD Pride Month Memo

(Via JMG reader Eloise)

Labels: DOD, gay Pride, military, Pentagon

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Via JMG: Updated Global Marriage Map

 

After last week's first gay wedding in France, the Agency France-Presse posted the above map.

Labels: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Uruguay

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Via JMG: Bar Association Group Issues Resolution Against Gay & Trans "Panic" Defenses

Via press release:

The National LGBT Bar Association applauds the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section for taking up a resolution to protect victims of so called gay and trans “panic” legal defenses. The resolution supports the LGBT community by no longer allowing defense attorneys to use victims’ identities or their sexual orientation against them in court.
“This resolution puts an end to a longstanding injustice in our legal system and gives a voice to countless lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender victims of violence, one we never hear because they are no longer here to speak for themselves,” said D’Arcy Kemnitz, executive director of the LGBT Bar.
Gay and trans “panic” defense tactics ask a jury to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity is to blame for the defendant’s excessively violent reaction. The perpetrator claims that the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity not only explain – but excuse – their loss of self-control and subsequent assault of an LGBT individual. By fully or partially acquitting the perpetrators of crimes against LGBT victims, these defenses imply that LGBT lives are worth less than others.

The American Bar Association's House Of Delegates must approve the resolution at their annual meeting in August in order for it to become official ABA policy.

Labels: ABA, gay panic, hate crimes

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Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	The Buddha said: 'If outsiders speak against me, the Teaching or the Order, you should not be angry for that would prevent your own self-conquest. Similarly if they praise us. But you should find out what is false or true, and acknowledge the fact. And even in praise it is only of trifling matters that an unconverted man might speak of me.' - Digha Nikaya More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 3, 2013

The Gifts Along the Way

The narratives implicit in spiritual training often contain misdirection of various kinds, under the shadow of which other kinds of change and growth, noticed and unnoticed, may be occurring. In the grand narrative of the voyage from samsara to nirvana, we may tend to overlook all kinds of unsought gifts that befall us along the way.

- Henry Shukman, "A Matter of Misdirection"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through June 4, 2013
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Via JMG: LIVE VIDEO: Sao Paulo Pride

The world's largest gay pride event is underway in Sao Paulo and you can watch it live here. Crowd estimates range as high as four million.  Their first parade in 1997 only had 2000 participants!

Labels: Brazil, gay Pride, Sao Paulo

Reposted from Joe