But in the eyes of the military the marriage will not be recognized and the couple will still be denied most of the benefits the Defense Department gives to heterosexual couples to ease the costs of medical care, travel, housing and other living expenses.
The Pentagon says the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act — which defines marriage for federal program purposes as a legal union between a man and woman — prohibits the Defense Department from extending those benefits to gay couples, even if they are married legally in certain states.
That means housing allowances and off-base living space for gay service members with partners could be decided as if they were living alone. Base transfers would not take into account their spouses. If two gay service members are married to each other they may be transferred to two different states or regions of the world. For heterosexual couples, the military tries to avoid that from happening.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Via JMG: Rainbow Falls
In order to highlight what they predict will be booming gay marriage tourism, city officials in Niagara Falls say they are working to have the falls illuminated in the colors of the rainbow on the first days of legalized same-sex unions. Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster said “This event, which will highlight Niagara Falls on an international level as a premier wedding and honeymoon destination, will serve as a tremendous economic shot in the arm for not only the area’s hotels and attractions, but for the florists, bakeries and restaurants throughout the city.” Dyster said. “Those who come here will see the efforts made by this administration in reinventing our downtown tourist district and be welcomed into a city that will once again reclaim its title as the honeymoon capital of the world.”
Via CNN: My Take: Bible condemns a lot, so why focus on homosexuality?
Editor's Note: Jonathan Dudley is the author of Broken Words: The Abuse of Science and Faith in American Politics.
Growing up in the evangelical community, I learned the Bible’s stance on homosexuality is clear-cut. God condemns it, I was taught, and those who disagree just haven’t read their Bibles closely enough.
Having recently graduated from Yale Divinity School, I can say that my childhood community’s approach to gay rights—though well intentioned—is riddled with self-serving double standards.
I don’t doubt that the one New Testament author who wrote on the subject of male-male intercourse thought it a sin. In Romans 1, the only passage in the Bible where a reason is explicitly given for opposing same-sex relations, the Apostle Paul calls them “unnatural.”
Problem is, Paul’s only other moral argument from nature is the following: “Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair, it is degrading to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory?” (1 Corinthians 11:14-15).
Few Christians would answer that question with a “yes.”
In short, Paul objects to two things as unnatural: one is male-male sex and the other is long hair on men and short hair on women. The community opposed to gay marriage takes one condemnation as timeless and universal and the other as culturally relative.
I also don’t doubt that those who advocate gay marriage are advocating a revision of the Christian tradition.
But the community opposed to gay marriage has itself revised the Christian tradition in a host of ways. For the first 1500 years of Christianity, for example, marriage was deemed morally inferior to celibacy. When a theologian named Jovinian challenged that hierarchy in 390 A.D. — merely by suggesting that marriage and celibacy might be equally worthwhile endeavors — he was deemed a heretic and excommunicated from the church.
How does that sit with “family values” activism today?
Yale New Testament professor Dale B. Martin has noted that today’s "pro-family" activism, despite its pretense to be representing traditional Christian values, would have been considered “heresy” for most of the church’s history.
The community opposed to gay marriage has also departed from the Christian tradition on another issue at the heart of its social agenda: abortion.
Unbeknownst to most lay Christians, the vast majority of Christian theologians and saints throughout history have not believed life begins at conception.
Although he admitted some uncertainty on the matter, the hugely influential 4th and 5th century Christian thinker Saint Augustine wrote, “it could not be said that there was a living soul in [a] body” if it is “not yet endowed with senses.”
Thomas Aquinas, a Catholic saint and a giant of mediaeval theology, argued: “before the body has organs in any way whatever, it cannot be receptive of the soul.”
American evangelicals, meanwhile, widely opposed the idea that life begins at conception until the 1970s, with some even advocating looser abortion laws based on their reading of the Bible before then.
It won’t do to oppose gay marriage because it’s not traditional while advocating other positions that are not traditional.
And then there’s the topic of divorce. Although there is only one uncontested reference to same-sex relations in the New Testament, divorce is condemned throughout, both by Jesus and Paul. To quote Jesus from the Gospel of Mark: “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery.”
A possible exception is made only for unfaithfulness.
The community most opposed to gay marriage usually reads these condemnations very leniently. A 2007 issue of Christianity Today, for example, featured a story on its cover about divorce that concluded that Christians should permit divorce for “adultery,” “emotional and physical neglect” and “abandonment and abuse.”
The author emphasizes how impractical it would be to apply a strict interpretation of Jesus on this matter: “It is difficult to believe the Bible can be as impractical as this interpretation implies.”
Indeed it is.
On the other hand, it’s not at all difficult for a community of Christian leaders, who are almost exclusively white, heterosexual men, to advocate interpretations that can be very impractical for a historically oppressed minority to which they do not belong – homosexuals.
Whether the topic is hair length, celibacy, when life begins, or divorce, time and again, the leaders most opposed to gay marriage have demonstrated an incredible willingness to consider nuances and complicating considerations when their own interests are at stake.
Since graduating from seminary, I no longer identify with the evangelical community of my youth. The community gave me many fond memories and sound values but it also taught me to take the very human perspectives of its leaders and attribute them to God.
So let’s stop the charade and be honest.
Opponents of gay marriage aren’t defending the Bible’s values. They’re using the Bible to defend their own.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jonathan Dudley.
Via JMG: MD Gov Vows Marriage Support
As Maryland's activists gear up to take another run at marriage equality, Gov. Martin O'Malley has pledged his full support. "I certainly plan to be very active in support of it, and we'll have other announcements in upcoming months," O'Malley said at the National Governors Association meeting in Salt Lake City. O'Malley has long supported civil unions and has said that if lawmakers passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, he would sign it. But Friday marks the first time O'Malley has made same-sex unions a legislative priority. The Democratic governor said he would favor a measure in Maryland that mirrors the same-sex marriage law recently enacted in New York, which protects religious organizations from being required to ordain same-sex marriages.
Via JMG: "Ex-Gay" Convention Set For Minnesota
Exodus International will hold its 2012 annual "ex-gay" convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. Did the Bachmanns have something to do with that? Amid news that Rep. Michele Bachmann’s Christian counseling clinic performs therapy aimed at “curing” gays and lesbians of homosexuality, the nation’s largest “ex-gay” organization, Exodus International, announced it will hold its annual conference, “Exodus Freedom,” in St. Paul next year. The last time an Exodus conference came to Minnesota, Bachmann gave it a glowing endorsement. According to Exodus International, the conference will be held the last weekend of July 2012 at Northwestern College. Northwestern is a private Christian college with deep connections to Minnesota’s most conservative Christians. Minnesota Family Council CEO John Helmberger was a member of the college’s board of trustees until 2008, and current MFC associate Megan Doyle sits on the board. Bachmann’s been a speaker at the college, and the school has placed interns with her office.When Exodus last held its convention in Minnesota, Crazy Eyes welcomed them: "I know that Love Won Out will present the truth about homosexuality and present it in a compassionate and loving manner. Those of us working to safeguard marriage from redefinition by radical judges must inform our efforts with an understanding of the deep emotional wounds that many in the homosexual community carry. I look forward to welcoming Minnesotans and residents of surrounding states to hear the message of healing that is possible."
Labels: "ex-gay", con men, Exodus International, frauds, hate groups, liars, Michele Bachmann, Minnesota, scams, still totally gay
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Via JMG: Quote Of The Day - Rudy Giuliani
'I think the Republican Party would be well advised to get the heck out of people's bedrooms and let these things get decided by states. We'd be a much more successful political party if we stuck to our economic, conservative roots. I think it's wrong [gay marriage], but there are other things that I think are wrong that get decided by democratic vote. I see more harm, however, by dwelling so much on this subject of gays and lesbians and whether it's right or wrong in politics." - Rudy Giuliani, speaking today to CNN.
Via Lester & Charlie: Pray Away the Gay!
 Could you say that louder, God? Something funny is going on at Bachmann & Associates, the Christian counseling clinic that's run by 2012 GOP hopeful Michele Bachmann and her awfully "funny" husband. According to undercover video and accounts from former clients, the Bachmanns want homosexual men to pray the gay away. The Bachmanns have long denied that their clinic advises gay patients that, with prayer, God will magically make them straight. Bachmann's husband, however, is already on record as calling gays "barbarians" -- and Michele herself said in 2004 that to be gay is to be "part of Satan" and advocated a return to derogatory gay stereotypes on television, a return to a "kind of tittering, making fun." But trying to turn gays straight? That, apparently, is too much for them to own up to. An undercover video made by a gay rights advocacy group and aired on ABC News, however, exposes the lie. In it, counselors at the Bachmanns' clinic (which received $137,000 in federal Medicaid funds over the past five years) are clearly advising a patient that prayer can "re-orient" him and make him attracted to women. In a moment of extra-special creepiness, the counselor focuses specifically on being attracted to a woman's breasts. Some news reports have called this "reparation" therapy foisted on gay men by the Bachmanns and their ilk "rather controversial." Perhaps they would also say it's "rather controversial" to insist that the Moon is actually the head of the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Or maybe they should just call it what it is: hogwash. So what else are the counselors at Bachmann & Associates up to? Michele won't say, merely stating that they offer a variety of services but can't comment because of client confidentiality. But what do YOU think? What else are the Bachmanns hoping people will "pray away" at their Christian clinic? |
Via JMG: CBN On British "Ex-Gay" Sting
Joe covered the below incident when it took place in 2009. CBN is looking for a fresh angle in light of the Bachmann situation.
reposted from Joe
reposted from Joe
Via AmericaBlogGay: Leader of discredited ex-gay movement compares it to Weight Watchers
Michele and Marcus have put a spotlight on the discredited ex-gay movement. And, Alan Chambers, who identifies as ex-gay, is jumping in front of the tv cameras to defend that movement. Via ABC News, Chambers compared being gay to being obese:
In an interview with ABC News Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross, a leading figure in an "ex-gay" movement claims many evangelical Christians have been able to change their sexual orientation through faith, prayer, and therapy.
"Does counseling help people who are struggling to live through the filter of the faith over their sexuality? It definitely, absolutely does," said Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International. Chambers says that the group's efforts to promote therapy to turn gays away from homosexuality have been unfairly criticized.
"We can look at other organizations who help people dealing with other life struggles. For instance, Weight Watchers, which has tremendously benefited my life. Should we go after Weight Watchers and tell them 'Don't say that there's anything beyond obesity' for people who are struggling with obesity and want an alternative to that?"
Obesity? I'm trying to imagine the Weight Watchers-like point system Chambers uses. Something like one point for not checking out guys, two point for not checking Manhunt or Grindr...and it would only go up from there...
Watch as Chambers make his outlandish claims after Dr. Jack Drescher explained,"This so far outside the mainstream it's practically on Mars" -- and has Chambers bleached his hair?:
Apparently, Alan still "struggles." From Ex-Gay Watch:
Yet this is the same Alan Chambers who says he still struggles daily with his attraction to men. His fundamental orientation is unchanged. This is what he said of his “same-sex attractions” in 2008:
And so every single morning — this is a ritual for me — I wake up and I say, “Dear Lord, I can’t make it today without You. I choose to deny what comes naturally to me. I choose to submit my will to the Lordship of your Son, Jesus Christ. And I choose better. I choose to follow You, I choose to allow Your Holy Spirit to walk before me, to guide me, to speak for me.”
NOTE FROM JOHN: It's interesting that ABC failed to note that the head of Exodus recently told - who? - ABC that it's not possible to change your sexual orientation.
In an interview with ABC News Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross, a leading figure in an "ex-gay" movement claims many evangelical Christians have been able to change their sexual orientation through faith, prayer, and therapy.
"Does counseling help people who are struggling to live through the filter of the faith over their sexuality? It definitely, absolutely does," said Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International. Chambers says that the group's efforts to promote therapy to turn gays away from homosexuality have been unfairly criticized.
"We can look at other organizations who help people dealing with other life struggles. For instance, Weight Watchers, which has tremendously benefited my life. Should we go after Weight Watchers and tell them 'Don't say that there's anything beyond obesity' for people who are struggling with obesity and want an alternative to that?"
Obesity? I'm trying to imagine the Weight Watchers-like point system Chambers uses. Something like one point for not checking out guys, two point for not checking Manhunt or Grindr...and it would only go up from there...
Watch as Chambers make his outlandish claims after Dr. Jack Drescher explained,"This so far outside the mainstream it's practically on Mars" -- and has Chambers bleached his hair?:
Apparently, Alan still "struggles." From Ex-Gay Watch:
Yet this is the same Alan Chambers who says he still struggles daily with his attraction to men. His fundamental orientation is unchanged. This is what he said of his “same-sex attractions” in 2008:
And so every single morning — this is a ritual for me — I wake up and I say, “Dear Lord, I can’t make it today without You. I choose to deny what comes naturally to me. I choose to submit my will to the Lordship of your Son, Jesus Christ. And I choose better. I choose to follow You, I choose to allow Your Holy Spirit to walk before me, to guide me, to speak for me.”
NOTE FROM JOHN: It's interesting that ABC failed to note that the head of Exodus recently told - who? - ABC that it's not possible to change your sexual orientation.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Via JMG: CALIFORNIA: Hate Group Launches Petition Drive To Repeal History Bill
The anti-gay Christianist hate group Capital Resource Institute filed the paperwork yesterday to launch a petition drive to place a referendum item on the 2012 ballot which would repeal California's just-approved LGBT history bill. The Capitol Resource Institute is a hard-line, socially conservative organization that has long opposed efforts in California to expand rights for the LGBT population. Backers eventually would have to collect 433,971 signatures to allow voters to decide whether to keep the law in place or reject it. [Spokesman Paulo] Sibaja said that a coalition has formed behind the proposed measure, though he would not name the other members. He said a news conference Wednesday would give more details. When asked how the group planned to fund the referendum, he said, "That's what the press conference will be about."(Tipped by JMG reader Steve)
Via AmericaBlogGay: 9th Circuit again tells Obama administration to stop discharging gays
From Lambda Legal's Jon Davidson, via Rex Wockner:
Today's order from the Ninth Circuit rather modestly states that it reinstates the stay of the injunction against enforcement of Don't Ask, Don't Tell "in all respects except one." The order goes on to provide that the injunction remains in effect "insofar as it enjoins [the government] from investigating, penalizing, or discharging anyone from the military pursuant to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy." In other words, all that today's order does is allow the military to once again stop accepting or processing applications from openly lesbian, gay or bisexual people, for now. Discharges, discharge proceedings, and investigations remain on hold.
The order reflects that the judges are upset that the government provided "considerably more detailed information concerning the implementation of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act ... than [it] did in [its prior] opposition to the motion to lift the stay" and orders the government to supplement its motion for reconsideration by 5 p.m. this Monday "to address why [it] did not present in [its] May 20, 2011 opposition to lift the stay the detailed information now presented in the motion for reconsideration." In addition, the order gives Log Cabin Republicans until 5 p.m. on July 21st to respond to the motion for reconsideration, but then gives the government only until noon the next day to reply. (Can we say "annoyed?")
This whiplash is surely confusing for many people. The administration needs to stop saying that certification under the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act is coming soon and just issue it. But, even then, the actual end of the policy won't happen for 60 days after certification. The government has failed to show any reason why the policy cannot be halted immediately other than to claim that the military will respond better if it is not having to do so pursuant to a court order. Imagine if other people ordered by courts to stop violating people's rights similarly argued, don't issue an injunction, just let me fix the problem myself, on my own timetable, while I continue breaking the law!
Oral argument of the appeal has now been set for September 1st, in Pasadena.
Jon W. Davidson - Legal Director Lambda Legal
Friday, July 15, 2011
Via Faith in America:
Please watch. You'll enjoy......as longtime LGBT advocate and Faith in America Founder Mitchell Gold disarms one of the most vitriolic voices within the anti-gay religious industry. This is how we confront religion-based bigotry toward the LGBT community and the hostility the Religious Right and its anti-gay organizations promote toward our community.http://www.youtube.com/watch? |
Via JMG: HomoQuotable - Marcus Bachmann
"I was talking in reference to children. Nothing, nothing to do with homosexuality. That's not my mindset. That's not my belief system. That's not the way I would talk. I think the strongest myth is the myth that I have ever called a homosexual a barbarian. We don't have an agenda or a philosophy of trying to change someone." - Ladybird Marcus Bachmann, claiming that the audio tape in which he calls gays "barbarians" was doctored.
Robert and Stylianos sent this picture to us last night, upon hearing that after 15 years of DOMA, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold the first-ever hearing on repealing the horrendous law. No matter your marital status or sexual orientation, please follow their lead and click here to send in your "Please repeal DOMA for..." photo for our new video project!
Dear Daniel,Two years ago, when 18,000 California same-sex couples and their marriages were under attack, we launched "Fidelity," a multimedia video featuring Regina Spector's hit song and photos of members like you. We did it to send the California Supreme Court a message: don't let Prop 8 forcibly divorce same-sex families. It became the most-watched video in California political history, viewed 1.2 million times on YouTube and Vimeo.
Now, we're under attack again: this time by anti-gay activists who want to protect the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Fortunately, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a first-ever hearing next week on repealing DOMA. So it's time for Fidelity II.
Is your family impacted by DOMA? Do you know anyone who pays thousands more in federal taxes or can't sponsor their husband or wife for permanent residency? Or would you just like to express your support for the thousands harmed by this discriminatory law?
If so, please take a picture with a plain 8.5" by 11" piece of paper that sends a special message, like "Please Repeal DOMA for my family," "Please Repeal DOMA for my mothers," "Please Repeal DOMA for my friends, Name and Name," or "Please Repeal DOMA for all happily married couples." Print it out, or write it clearly in big, block letters. Then click here to send us your photo to include in our new video.
The time has come for Fidelity II because the Senate Judiciary Committee has the votes to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal DOMA. Winning in committee -- which we have the votes to do -- would make headlines around the country, educate the public, and inject new momentum into the national movement, helping push more Senators to co-sponsor the bill.
This is your opportunity to play a big role in educating the public, Daniel. Click here to send in your photo, holding up a sign that says "Please Repeal DOMA."
Opportunities to change the hearts and minds of Americans on DOMA don't come along very often. The Senate Judiciary Committee is giving us one. Let's make sure to take it.
Thanks for all you do,Opportunities to change the hearts and minds of Americans on DOMA don't come along very often. The Senate Judiciary Committee is giving us one. Let's make sure to take it.
--Rick, Cait, Arisha, Adam, Anthony, and the rest of the team at the Courage Campaign
..............
To power our campaign to repeal DOMA, please chip in what you can today:
Via JMG: Hate Groups React To CA History Bill
Catholics For The Common Good
Claims that this bill is needed to reduce bullying against children that are experiencing gender confusion or take on 'gay' or 'lesbian' identities are absurd. Children must be taught respect for all persons because of their intrinsic value, not because they agree with their behavior or like their characteristics. In fact, reducing people to merely a sexual identity obscures the fact that they are so much more than that.Traditional Values Coalition
SB 48 was priority number 1 for Traditional Values Coalition. We committed all the resources we had to try to make sure that SB 48 failed. We are talking about molesting the minds of young impressionable youth, as young as Kindergarten, with an agenda and message that is not age-appropriate and that is offensive to the values of a vast majority of California’s families. We have failed at our core educational mission and yet we are now going to inject gay studies into the classrooms. It’s absurd and offensive.Save California
It's ridiculous that Jerry Brown says he's making history 'honest'. The bill he signed prohibits teachers and textbooks from telling children the facts that homosexuality has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, higher cancer rates, and earlier deaths. These important facts about lifestyles children will being forced to admire will be omitted. And Brown calls this 'honest'? This revisionist history will actually make more children believe a lie -- that homosexuality is biological, which it's not, and healthy, which is isn't."
Labels: California, Catholic Church, education, hate groups, LGBT History, Mark Leno, Save California, Traditional Values Coalition
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Via JMG: LGBT Characters Map
SACBEE.COM BREAKING NEWS ALERT
Jerry Brown signs bill requiring schools to teach gay history
Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation requiring public schools to include the contributions of gay and lesbian people in their curriculum, making California the first state to adopt such a requirement.Read more.
Thought Becomes Form
The thought manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character;
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let it spring from love
Born out of concern for all beings...
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character;
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let it spring from love
Born out of concern for all beings...
As the shadow follows the body, as we think, so we become.
— The Dhammapada
(Sayings of the Buddha via Thought Becomes Form)
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Via JMG: The Real Costs Of "Ex-Gay" Therapy
Think Progress comments on the real cost of "ex-gay" therapy like that performed by Marcus Bachmann:Beliefs that gay people need to be “cured” of their sexual orientation also contribute to harassment and violence against gay people and anyone else who doesn’t conform to rigid stereotypes of gender and sexuality. In 2008, more than 2,400 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people were victims of crimes perpetrated against them on the basis of their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Significant underreporting means that the actual number of hate crimes against gay and transgender people is probably much higher than the statistics show. Ex-gay therapy tears at the mental health of gay people while contributing to the poisonous attitudes that mark them as targets for violence and discrimination. And for this “therapy,” it’s society as a whole that foots the bill: every blow at the ability of gay people to take care of themselves and their families has its costs, whether in the loss of a job because of harassment, days missed at school because of bullying, or medical bills for dealing with depression or the aftermath of violence.
Via JMG: Crazy Eyes: Gays Are Part Of Satan
"Any of you who have members of your family that are in the lifestyle—we have a member of our family that is. This is not funny. It’s a very sad life. It’s part of Satan, I think, to say this is gay. It’s anything but gay. And so we are not here tonight -- in fact, I wish this whole room was filled with the gay community -- because we'd reach our hand out in love. The Love Won Out conference was here not too long ago in the Twin Cities, and it’s profoundly sad to recognize that almost all, if not all, individuals who have gone into the lifestyle have been abused at one time in their life, either by a male or by a female." - Rep. Michele Bachmann, speaking in 2004.Via JMG: Romney Rejects Iowa Marriage Vow
Mitt Romney has refused to sign the virulently anti-gay pledge that the hate group Iowa Leader is demanding of all GOP presidential candidates.Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for Romney, told The Associated Press in a written statement Tuesday that Romney "strongly supports traditional marriage," but that the oath "contained references and provisions that were undignified and inappropriate for a presidential campaign." Bachmann and Santorum have been campaigning hard to court the influential social conservatives in Iowa, which holds the nation's first caucuses. Romney's rejection of the pledge reflects his diminished focus on winning Iowa, where he spent $10 million during his 2008 presidential campaign only to finish second. None of the other GOP presidential hopefuls, including former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, have said whether they will sign the pledge.
Via JMG: Will CA Jerry Brown Sign History Bill?
It remains unclear whether California Gov. Jerry Brown will sign the LGBT history bill approved earlier this month by the state legislature. Brown is under enormous pressure from anti-gay hate groups nationwide. Equality California weighs in: As a community we must convince Governor Brown to sign the FAIR Education Act (SB 48 - Leno). We don't have a lot of time. Please email him today. http://tinyurl.com/sb48-b . This critical bill would ensure that students in public schools learn about the LGBT civil rights movement and the contributions of LGBT people to other movements and to society. With this bill, we will have the opportunity to define who we are, instead of being defined by harmful messages filled with bigotry that dehumanize us. We believe that learning about the heroic struggles of LGBT individuals and our diverse LGBT communities brings an understanding that prevents violence against our LGBT youth and those perceived as LGBT regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. We are shifting the conversation. Instead of being stigmatized, marginalized and demonized, people will understand that we have a proud legacy and heritage of struggle and contribution.Hit this link to sign Equality California's petition to Brown. Or call his office directly: 916.445.2841.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Via JMG: Massachusetts Town To Pay Married Gay Employees To Offset Tax
Marriage gay city employees of Cambridge, Massachusetts will become the first in the nation to be paid a small stipend to cover a federal tax that their heterosexual colleagues don't have to pay.
Like many people, these 22 school and city workers chose to put their spouses on their employer-provided health insurance. Because they're in a homosexual relationship, the value of that health coverage is considered taxable income by the federal government. But starting this month, Cambridge will become what is believed to be the first municipality in the country to pay its public employees a stipend in an attempt to defray the cost of the federal tax on health benefits for their same-sex spouses. The city employees hit by the extra tax pay an additional $1,500 to $3,000 in taxes a year and officials estimate the stipends would cost the city an additional $33,000. "This is about equality," said Marjorie Decker, a Cambridge city councilor. "This is a city that models what equality really means."
Via JMG: Linda Harvey: Teacher Unions Are Paying Children To Become Homosexual
"The group’s website says they raise money for teen scholarships given to those kids who consider themselves homosexual. The past few years the scholarship winners have not simply been young people persuaded to be in this deviant lifestyle, but are students who have unfortunately bought the party line and become involved in activism projects like homosexual clubs and the pro-homosexual Day of Silence in their schools. And so now kids are given financial incentives to be actively engaged in both the political goals of homosexuals as well as the risky behavior. This is appalling. In these tough economic times many kids will be struggling to get money together for college and here we have a really sleazy connection for them to make. It’s just one more outrageous thing going on with our teachers’ unions." - Linda Harvey, whackadoodle leader of the SPLC-certified hate group, Mission America.Via JMG: Chile Preps Civil Unions Bill
Chile's legislature is about to see a bill legalizing civil unions. The bill, which could be presented to Congress by next week, would grant legal rights to gay couples who have lived together for more than one year, the Santiago-based newspaper reported, citing a copy of the draft legislation it obtained.Click over for the latest on partnership rights across South America.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Via JMG: PCUSA: Gay Pastors Now Welcome
Beginning today, openly gay pastors may preach in Presbyterian Church USA pulpits.
Gone will be the requirement that clergy live "in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness." Elimination of that language clears the way for ordination of clergy in same-sex relationships. The change was endorsed last year by the Presbyterian national assembly, but required approval by a majority of the denomination's 173 regional presbyteries. That threshold was crossed in May.
Labels: LGBT rights, religion
JMG Quote Of The Day - Gary Johnson
“This ‘pledge’ is nothing short of a promise to discriminate against everyone who makes a personal choice that doesn’t fit into a particular definition of ‘virtue’. While the Family Leader pledge covers just about every other so-called virtue they can think of, the one that is conspicuously missing is tolerance. In one concise document, they manage to condemn gays, single parents, single individuals, divorcees, Muslims, gays in the military, unmarried couples, women who choose to have abortions, and everyone else who doesn’t fit in a Norman Rockwell painting." - Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, the first 2012 GOP candidate to officially denounce the "offensive" moral pledge already signed by Crazy Eyes and Frothy Mix.Saturday, July 9, 2011
via JMG: BREAKING: Pentagon Orders Halt To DADT Dismissals, Welcomes Openly Gay Troops
Just in from the Army Times:
The Pentagon has ordered a halt to all separations of gay troops under “don’t ask, don’t tell” and will begin accepting applications from prospective recruits who identify themselves as homosexuals. The moratorium issued Friday came after a ruling Wednesday by a federal appeals court in California ordering the Defense Department to immediately stop enforcing the law. The court said the law is unconstitutional because it treats gay Americans differently under the law. Meanwhile, defense officials will continue to prepare for the law’s formal repeal, which Congress approved in December. The law will be formally repealed 60 days after the defense secretary and chairman of the Joint Chiefs “certify” that it will not adversely impact military readiness.
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