The Heart Is Noble: The Moon

Lua Cheia - Ouro Preto, MG - Nov 16, 2013 / Daniel C. Orey

I want to share with you a feeling I have. I feel that my love does not have to remain within the limitations of my own life or body. I imagine that if I am no longer in the world, my love could still be present. I want to place my love on the moon and let the moon hold my love. Let the moon be the keeper of my love, offering it to everyone just as the moon sends its light to embrace the whole earth. 

- The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out by Ogyen Trinley Dorje

Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient - Tam O'Shaugnessy on Behalf of Sally Ride

Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma November 23, 2013

Freedom and Choice

Most people equate choice and freedom. It seems so reasonable. Freedom means you are free to choose, right? It means you are free from restrictions. If you can’t choose, then you are not free. And it would seem to follow that the more choice you have, the more freedom you have. But it doesn’t work out that way.

- Ken McLeod, "Freedom and Choice"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through November 24, 2013
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Dalai Lama's guide to happiness

Publicado em 08/10/2013

 

This video looks at 'Buddhism and Happiness', as we ask are they a match made in heaven or something else? This eight minute epic reveals some incredible insights into human behaviour and values that impact our happiness, particularly in this materialistic Western life so many are living, or reaching for.

The Dalai Lama's talk is from his 'the quest for happiness' public talk in Adelaide during his 'Beyond Religion' tour in Australia.

While we would have ideally used footage of Tibetan monks in this video, we were unable to and instead used footage from our recent trip to Burma, where we acknowledge there may be subtle differences in how Buddhism is practiced. We do not mean to offend anyone by this and if you would like to fly us to Tibet to re-film this we'll happily take up the offer.

PLUS... Find us on Facebook to see more than 20,000 smiles!!!

Via JMG: OREGON: Christian Group Files Measure To Legalize Anti-Gay Discrimination

An anti-gay Christian group has filed an Oregon ballot measure that would make it legal for businesses to refuse to provide wedding services to gay people on the grounds of religious belief.

The initiative comes after Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian launched a well-publicized investigation against a Gresham bakery that refused to provide a cake for a marriage between two women. "We are deeply concerned that even Oregon elected officials are becoming hostile towards religious freedom," said Teresa Harke, spokeswoman for Friends of Religious Freedom, a group formed to support the initiative campaign. Harke is also communications director for the Oregon Family Council, a group opposing the proposed initiative that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state. Jeana Frazzini, executive director of Basic Rights Oregon, the state's major gay-rights organization, said in a statement that "while we are all entitled to our religious beliefs, those beliefs don't entitle any of us to discriminate against others, or disobey laws that are already in place to ensure that everyone is treated equally."

The group must have the wording for the measure approved before it can begin collecting the required 87K signatures to place it on the 2014 ballot. (Tipped by JMG reader Sam)

Labels: 2014 elections, bigotry, hate groups, marriage equality, Oregon, public accommodations, religion

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma November 22, 2013

Necessary Failure

Do not fear failure. Whatever happened in the past is past; do not worry about it happening again. Before you meet with success, failure is natural and necessary.

- Master Sheng-Yen, "Being Natural"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through November 23, 2013
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Via The Gaily Grind.com / FB:

JMG Facebook Graphic Of The Day

Source.

Labels: marriage equality, Mary Fallin, National Guard, Oklahoma

Reposted from Joe

Via George Takei / FB:

Ellen Vs Hallmark

Viva Illinois!

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma November 21, 2013

Perfect Awakening

Being self-aware in the midst of our daily lives provides us with so much material with which to notice the reality of our imperfect selves but, at the same time, to be brought to realize how we are embraced by Ultimate Wisdom and Compassion at all times. There’s no practice a person can specifically do to attain perfect awakening, whether it’s meditation or trying to follow precepts. Of course these are good practices, but we can never totally free ourselves of our blind passions. If we believe we can do it this way, the calculation is a reflection of our ego-selves. Instead, we can be mindful of the dharma as we go about our lives.

- Reverend Patricia Kanaya Usuki, "The Great Compassion"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through November 22, 2013
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Vi JMG: New Site: The Regnerus Fallout

Via press release:

The University of Central Florida (UCF) has ramped up its legal efforts to block the release of over 50,000 documents related to the flawed same-sex parenting study by Mark Regnerus that appeared last year in the publication Social Science Research, housed at UCF. A judge ruled the university had to release the documents, deemed public records under Florida law. Late last week, UCF retained legal counsel and ignored the court order. The Law Office of Andrea Flynn Mogensen, P.A., and Barrett, Chapman & Ruta, P.A – which represents John Becker, the reporter who initially sought the documents under Florida public records law - immediately filed an emergency motion for civil contempt. "What is UCF hiding?" asked Becker. "And why are they fighting tooth and nail - spending taxpayer dollars in the process - to keep these public records under seal?"
Judge Donald Grincewicz ruled on November 13 that emails and documents possessed by UCF related to the Regnerus study’s peer-review process must be turned over to Becker. UCF houses the journal Social Science Research, and the editor of the journal, UCF Professor James Wright, led the peer-review process for the research. Grincewicz has since inexplicably recused himself. And yesterday, an appellate court in Orlando granted a stay in the case until such time as a new judge can be appointed. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation funded the litigation and today launched “The Regnerus Fallout” web site (www.regnerusfallout.org) detailing the flaws, funding, and real purpose of the so-called study.

Visit Regernus Fallout.

Labels: crackpots, gay families, gay parenting, hate groups, HRC, Mark Regnerus, marriage equality, religion

Reposted from Joe Jervis

VIa JMG: ILLINOIS: Gov To Sign Marriage Bill Today

 

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn will sign the marriage equality bill today and according to one report he will sign the bill on Abraham Lincoln's desk, which Quinn is quietly having shipped from the state capital to his office in Chicago. Oh-em-Jeebus, the Tea Things will scream. I'll post a live stream of the signing ceremony later today.

Labels: Illinois, LGBT History, marriage equality, Pat Quinn

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma November 20, 2013

Great Responsibility

You see, the past is past, and the future is yet to come. That means the future is in your hands—the future entirely depends on the present. That realization gives you a great responsibility.

- H.H. the Dalai Lama, "The Experience of Change"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through November 21, 2013
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma November 19, 2013

A Complete Practice

When people talk about practicing the buddhadharma, I think they sometimes fail to realize that the buddhadharma is a comprehensive religious system. It doesn’t just mean sitting on your meditation cushion and focusing on your breath. Buddhism is a practice for your whole life.

- Charles Prebish, "Pursuing an American Buddhism"

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Via JMG: Op-Ed Of The Day - Patricia Madrid

"Some will recall that as attorney general, I stopped the Rio Rancho county clerk from issuing marriage licenses. But that had nothing to do with the constitutionality of same-sex marriage and everything to do with individual county clerks acting on their own without the law behind them. I applaud the clerks for asking for a swift resolution by the state Supreme Court of the current checkerboard, where some counties grant marriage licenses and others do not. While I’m hopeful the state Supreme Court will grant marriage equality in New Mexico, I believe that is where the issue should be decided. The Legislature should resist any temptation to continue to make marriage a divisive issue.

"New Mexico has always been a land of freedom, of live and let live, and we all try to apply the Golden Rule — to treat others as we want to be treated ourselves. To me, that speaks directly to the freedom to marry. Marriage has been the cornerstone of my life, and I hope that soon in New Mexico, our gay and lesbian friends, neighbors and family members can have that same mix of celebration and security." - Former New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid, writing for the Albuquerque Journal. (Tipped by JMG reader George)

Labels: LGBT rights, marriage equality, New Mexico

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Openly Gay Teen Scientist Honored by Vatican as Positive Role Model

CROWNSVILLE, Md. — An openly gay teen scientist has been honored by the Vatican for his work to develop a cost-effective method to detect pancreatic cancer.

Jack Andraka, speaking at the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference earlier this year.

Jack Andraka, a high school junior from Crownsville, Md., was awarded the International Giuseppe Sciacca Award for his work Saturday. The Vatican awards the prize to recognize youth who are positive role models and outstanding in their fields.

Andraka was hoping to meet Pope Francis while he is in Rome.

He told WBAL Radio he felt is was amazing to be recognized by the Vatican even though he is gay. He says it shows how much the world has grown to accept gay people.

Andraka developed the cancer test when he was 15 after the death of a family friend from pancreatic cancer.
He is talking with two biotech firms to manufacture the test.

Read more about Jack in LGBTQ Nation’s profile of the teen scientist →

and

http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2013/11/openly-gay-teen-scientist-honored-by-vatican-as-positive-role-model/

Via Too Informed To Vote Republican / FB:

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma November 18, 2013 Reconditioning the Mind There is a place at a certain point for overcoming concepts and conditioning, but there is also a lot of reconceiving and reconditioning. The idea is to transform the mind, not just to extract it from all cultural influences. Buddhism itself is a culture—one that attempts to train and condition minds in specific ways conducive to awakening. - David McMahan, "Context Matters" Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through November 19, 2013 For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member Read Article

Tricycle Daily Dharma November 18, 2013

Reconditioning the Mind

There is a place at a certain point for overcoming concepts and conditioning, but there is also a lot of reconceiving and reconditioning. The idea is to transform the mind, not just to extract it from all cultural influences. Buddhism itself is a culture—one that attempts to train and condition minds in specific ways conducive to awakening.

- David McMahan, "Context Matters"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through November 19, 2013
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 November 18, 2013

Reconditioning the Mind

There is a place at a certain point for overcoming concepts and conditioning, but there is also a lot of reconceiving and reconditioning. The idea is to transform the mind, not just to extract it from all cultural influences. Buddhism itself is a culture—one that attempts to train and condition minds in specific ways conducive to awakening.

- David McMahan, "Context Matters"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through November 19, 2013
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma November 17, 2013

Not about Comfort

A central component of spiritual life is recognizing that practice is not about ensuring that we feel secure or comfortable. It’s not that we won’t feel these things when we practice; rather, it’s that we are also bound to sometimes feel very uncomfortable and insecure, particularly when exploring and working with our darker emotions and unhealed pain.

- Ezra Bayda, “The Three Things we Fear Most”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through November 18, 2013
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8 Openly Homophobic Companies To Avoid

If CEOs these days were smart, they would realize that over half of America supports marriage equality. Companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Starbucks, Google, and many more have famously “gone gay” and come out in support of LGBT rights through monetary donations, employee protection, and publicly promoting equality. It seems like publicly opposing equality would be PR suicide these days, doesn’t it? Surprisingly, this isn’t the case. The Human Rights Campaign conducts an annual Corporate Equality Index and consistently hands out failing grades to companies for either being un-inclusive, or downright homophobic. Some of the following companies might be familiar to you, but you might be surprised by who else made the list.

Make the jump here to read the full article here

Via Being Liberal / FB:

How long do you think it will take them?

 

 

Via JMG: City Of Night Turns 50

John Rechy's landmark novel, City Of Night, was published 50 years ago this week.  From the Los Angeles Times:

The book is a landmark not only of gay literature -- it tells the story of a street hustler as he moves through the shadow world of the 1950s -- but also of American literature. “City of Night” was not the first overtly gay-themed book (Radclyffe Hall’s “The Well of Loneliness” appeared in 1928, and in 1956, Allen Ginsberg published his long poem “Howl,” followed, three years later, by William S. Burroughs with “Naked Lunch”) but it may be the most unapologetic, a searing screed of life on the edge. “Later I would think of America as one vast City of Night,” Rechy writes in the novel’s opening sentence, “stretching gaudily from Times Square to Hollywood Boulevard -- jukebox-winking, rock-n-roll-moaning: America at night fusing its darkcities into the unmistakable shape of loneliness.”

Years ago I mentioned here that City Of Night remains my favorite novel of all time. Since I first read it decades ago in college, I've gifted it to friends dozens of times. (I still hate the ending.) You might also enjoy Rechy's Numbers and The Sexual Outlaw.

Labels: books, gay writers, John Rechy, LGBT History

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: God Sent The Russian Meteor Because He Was Pissed About All That Gayness

 

According to Russian television host Arkady Mamontov, the meteor that hit Russia earlier this year was sent by God because of "gay activity."

In a reference to the Old Testament story of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, famous journalist Arkady Mamontov said on his program that the fall of the Chelyabinsk meteorite on February 15 in Russia was related to the country’s growing gay activity. Mamontov’s program ‘Special Correspondent’ airs on state channel Rossiya 1. The host called the meteorite a warning "to all of us that we should keep the family tradition, traditional love, or else something else - not only the Chelyabinsk meteorite - will hit us." The Russian LGBT Network rights group filed a complaint with the prosecutor’s office on Thursday. The group accused the show of hate speech, according to group chairman Igor Kochetkov. He said that Mamontov also claimed that gays and lesbians want to "destroy [traditional] Russia.”

Over 1500 people (including hundreds of children) were injured by the meteor's shock wave.
RELATED: Yesterday I reported about the secret recordings of LGBT groups made by the Russia government. It was on Mamontov's show that the recordings were aired.

Labels: batshittery, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, crackpots, crazy people, get the net, religion, Russia

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma November 16, 2013

One Day

The life of one day is enough to rejoice. Even though you live for just one day, if you can be awakened, that one day is vastly superior to one endless life of sleep. . . . If this day in the lifetime of a hundred years is lost, will you ever touch it with your hands again?

- Zen Master Dogen, "Groundhog Day"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through November 17, 2013
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Via JMG: FLORIDA: UCF Faces Contempt Charge For Refusing To Hand Over Regnerus Files

The University of Central Florida is facing a contempt of court charge for refusing to hand over internal documents related to the publication of discredited researcher Mark Regnerus' deeply flawed study on gay parenting. UCF was ordered to release the documents following a demand by gay activist John Becker. Via the UCF student newspaper:

John Becker’s attorney, Andrea Mogensen, filed a motion for contempt against UCF for refusing to comply with court orders telling UCF to produce records relating to a controversial study by Mark Regnerus on gay and lesbian parenting. According to the motion, Becker seeks sanctions, including fines or imprisonment, for UCF’s Board of Trustees for failure to comply with the court’s Nov. 13 order, which stated that UCF had until Nov. 14 to produce the records. But even after UCF’s lawyers asked the court for clarification over the production of the records and received an extension to produce the records, UCF continued to disobey the court’s orders, the motion states. “It is inexcusable – and, frankly, inexplicable – for UCF to fail to produce public records in direct contravention of a court order,” said Barbara Peterson, attorney and president of Florida’s First Amendment Foundation. “The university’s failure to comply shows, unfortunately, not only contempt for the court but for the public’s constitutional right of access to government records.”

The Regnerus study has been cited by numerous hate groups in their attempts to thwart LGBT equality and was even presented to Russia's national legislature as part of the campaign to allow the government to seize the children of gay parents. Regnerus claims to have been an impartial researcher, but he has testified against gay families before state legislatures and even submitted a SCOTUS brief against the repeal of DOMA. Read today's contempt filing in full. (Tipped by JMG reader Str8 Grandmother)
UNRELATED:  UCF is the largest public university (by enrollment) in the nation and I am an alumnus. Go Knights?

 

Labels: crackpots, education, Florida, gay families, gay parenting, hate groups, Mark Regnerus, religion, UCF

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: MISSOURI: Gov Endorses Gay Marriage, Will Recognize Out-Of-State Marriages

Surprising and welcome news out of Missouri.

Gov. Jay Nixon said Thursday that he supports legalizing gay marriage in Missouri during a news conference announcing that homosexual couples married under the laws of other states would be allowed to file combined state tax returns. In an executive order, Nixon directed the Department of Revenue to accept the combined returns as a reaction to the June ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act. That law barred same sex couples who were legally married from receiving any marriage-based federal benefits, such as tax exemptions and Social Security payments. Under state law, couples who file a joint federal return are required to file a combined state tax return. The executive order clarifies that the law applies to all couples, Nixon said.

Nixon: "Many Missourians, including myself, are thinking about these issues of equality in new ways and reflecting on what constitutes discrimination. For me, that process has led to the belief that we shouldn’t treat folks differently because of who they are."

RELATED: Missouri passed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in 2004. A total of 21 states passed such bans from 2004-2006 when Ken Mehlman headed the RNC.

Labels: Jay Nixon, marriage equality, Missiouri

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG:Sen. Mark Kirk Cancels Senate Meeting Space For Anti-Gay Christian Groups

Yesterday I reported that a coalition of anti-gay Christian groups would be meeting today in official US Senate office space to discuss how they might copy Russia's anti-gay pogrom here in the United States. After outcry from LGBT groups, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) has kicked them out of the space. And they are PISSED.

“Shame on you, Senator Kirk, for allowing vocal radical sexual minorities to drown out the voices of the natural family and faith that have made our nation free, prosperous, and stable for more than 200 years,” said Larry Jacobs, managing director of the World Congress of Families in an email to BuzzFeed. “Obviously Senator Kirk doesn’t care about families and children and freedom and has chosen to side with the policies of decline, death and disease promoted by the Sexual Radicals.” A spokesman for Kirk, Lance Trover, told BuzzFeed on Thursday night, “Sen. Kirk doesn’t affiliate with groups that discriminate.”

Late last night the coalition sent out their press release again but with this "correction" at the top: "The Capitol Hill Symposium has been moved to Room #1539 in the Longworth House Office Building (NOT THE Dirksen Senate Office Building, room 562.)" OK, now who's in charge of the Longworth Building? (Tipped by JMG reader Ned)

Labels: hate groups, LGBT rights, Mark Kirk, religion, Russia, Washington DC, World Congress Of Families

posted by Joe

Via JMG Boehner Rescues The Hate Groups

 

A follow-up from Buzzfeed's J. Lester Feder:

The office of House Speaker John Boehner secured meeting space for the World Congress of Families after their original sponsor, Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, canceled their space in a Senate office building following an outcry from LGBT activists, the group’s leader said. World Congress of Families President Allan Carlson praised Boehner’s intervention at in opening remarks at the event, which is focusing on what “pro-family legislators” can learn from foreign laws like Russia’s ban on “promoting non-traditional sexual relationships to minors.” “At least in the House of Representatives people have not succumbed to the great fear” of LGBT activists, Carlson said, likening the situation to developments in Germany, France, and Italy as fascism took hold of Europe. “A great fear seems to be descending over what has been called the world’s greatest deliberative body … ideas are being suppressed, debate is being shut off, and minds are being closed.”

More from Right Wing Watch:

Another speaker, Concerned Women for America’s Janice Shaw Crouse, who is also on WCF’s board of directors, blamed the change of plans on “a group of radicals” – an odd accusation since there had been no organized effort to prevent the event from taking place. Finally, Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute’s Austin Ruse declared that Sen. Kirk’s action made him less friendly to free speech than Russia – whose law criminalizing pro-gay-rights speech has the vocal support of C-FAM and WCF.

RELATED: Ruse, not incidentally, is a columnist for Breitbart, which never identifies his work for anti-gay hate groups. Similarly, Breitbart does not identify columnist Ken Klukowski as a vice president of the KKK-affiliated Family Research Council.

Labels: Austin Ruse, Buzzfeed, GOP, hate groups, John Boehner, LGBT rights, religion, Russia, U.S. House, World Congress Of Families

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma November 15, 2013

Transforming Conflict

Learning how to negotiate conflict demands that we become more present, more fearless. We may need to relinquish the hopeful image of ourselves as remaining serene under all circumstances, like sitting buddhas carved from wood or stone. We have to expect our composure to be compromised as we learn about the possibilities and creative solutions of working directly with the conflict in our relationships. Even, and maybe especially, when things don’t turn out as we want, our engagement with discord refines and teaches us something, altering our life’s very course.

- Diane Musho Hamilton, “Transforming Conflict”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through November 16, 2013
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Via The Gaily Grind.com / FB:

Via JMG: Missouri Governor Endorses Gay Marriage

Surprising and welcome news out of Missouri.

Gov. Jay Nixon said Thursday that he supports legalizing gay marriage in Missouri during a news conference announcing that homosexual couples married under the laws of other states would be allowed to file combined state tax returns. In an executive order, Nixon directed the Department of Revenue to accept the combined returns as a reaction to the June ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act. That law barred same sex couples who were legally married from receiving any marriage-based federal benefits, such as tax exemptions and Social Security payments. Under state law, couples who file a joint federal return are required to file a combined state tax return. The executive order clarifies that the law applies to all couples, Nixon said.

Nixon: "Many Missourians, including myself, are thinking about these issues of equality in new ways and reflecting on what constitutes discrimination. For me, that process has led to the belief that we shouldn’t treat folks differently because of who they are."

RELATED: Missouri passed a constitutional ban in same-sex marriage in 2004. A total of 21 states passed such bans from 2004-2006 when Ken Mehlman headed the RNC.

Labels: Jay Nixon, marriage equality, Missiouri

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma November 14, 2013

Our Participatory Universe

Mass, energy, space, and time as they are conceived by the human mind have no existence apart from our conceptual awareness of them—no more than our dreams at night. All appearances exist only relative to the mind that experiences them, and all mental states arise relative to experienced phenomena. We are living in a participatory universe, with no absolute subjects or objects.

- Alan Wallace, “Awakening to the Dream”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through November 15, 2013
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Via jMG: No More Mr. Nice Gay: Ender's Game

Clip recap: "In this edition of No More Mr. Nice Gay, Guy explains why he isn't going to see the film adaption of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. Mr. Card, Guy knows you're homophobic, but he's not boycotting to kill profits; he's doing it for good, old self-respect."

Labels: boycott, Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card, rant

Reposted from Joe

Paul & Trent's Wedding Video - Making History

Via JMG: LOVE WINS: Marriage For Hawaii!

 

Photo source.

Labels: Hawaii, LGBT History, marriage equality

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Hawaii Gov To Sign Marriage Bill Today

 

Via the Associated Press:

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie is expected to sign a bill Wednesday legalizing gay marriage, expanding the state's aloha spirit and positioning the islands for more newlywed tourists. Abercrombie was expected to sign the bill Wednesday morning at an invitation-only ceremony at the Hawaii Convention Center, near the tourist heart of Waikiki. The measure will allow thousands of gay couples living in Hawaii and even more tourists to marry in the state starting Dec. 2. Another 14 states and the District of Columbia already allow same-sex marriage, while a bill is awaiting the governor's signature in Illinois. "I look forward to signing this significant piece of legislation, which provides marriage equity and fully recognizes and protects religious freedoms," Abercrombie said.

I'll post a video link to the ceremony this afternoon.

Labels: Hawaii, LGBT History, marriage equality, Neil Abercrombie

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Legalized, But Not Same-Sex Marriage

As of yesterday, it's no longer illegal to stage gay weddings or commitment ceremonies in Vietnam.

The south-eastern Asian country has officially allowed same-sex couples to organize weddings and have the right to live together. While the unions won’t be legally recognized, gay rights campaigners believe it is a large step on the path to equal marriage. The Government has taken this step after two fines were handed out to gay and lesbian couples who chose to have a marriage ceremony in the southern provinces of Kien Giang and Ca Mau.

Last week Vietnam's National Assembly began hearings on removing the ban on same-sex marriage, the first step towards legalization.

Labels: Asia, marriage equality, Vietnam