Austin couple challenges Texas gay marriage ban

Two Texas couples are challenging the state's gay marriage ban.

 The case heads to a hearing in front of a federal judge in San Antonio Wednesday. Austin couple Cleopatra DeLeon and Nicole Dimetman will be traveling to San Antonio for the case this week.They married in 2009. “We decided that it was the right thing to do and that it was the right thing to do for our son,” said Dimetman. “I think that, whatever happens — I think Nicole and I will feel like we’ve kind of pushed the ball forward for people like us,” DeLeon said. DeLeon and Dimetman got married in Massachusetts. When they returned home to Texas, the state didn’t recognize the marriage. That means — in the states eyes — they didn’t have the same parental rights, medical rights, or rights after death as heterosexual married couples. The motion for injunction states that Texas Constitutional amendment and policies violate “the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment”. DeLeon and Dimetman think of what a win for them would mean for their son. “He would never have to grow up feeling like the state of Texas didn’t protect our family,” said DeLeon. “I think it’s important to note that this issue has moved very quickly since 2005,” Dimetman said.

- kxan.com:

Brazilian judicial council: Notaries must recognize same-sex marriage

The Brazilian National Council of Justice, which oversees the nation's judiciary, passed a resolution Tuesday that denies notaries the right to refuse to perform same-sex marriages.

In Brazil, notaries officiate marriages and civil unions.

Recently, 12 Brazilian states began allowing same-sex couples to marry or convert their civil unions into marriages. However, since the Supreme Court does not carry legislative powers, it was up to each notary to officiate at their discretion, and many refused, citing the lack of law.

Joaquim Barbosa, president of the Council of Justice, said in the decision that notaries cannot continue to refuse to "perform a civil wedding or the conversion of a stable civil union into a marriage between persons of the same sex."

Barbosa, who also presides over the Supreme Court, says the resolution merely follows the transformation of society.

"Our society goes through many changes, and the National Council of Justice cannot be indifferent to them," he said.

Civil unions between same-sex couples have been recognized in Brazil since 2011, after the Supreme Court ruled that the same rights and rules that apply to "stable unions" of heterosexual couples would apply to same-sex couples, including the right to joint declaration of income tax, pension, inheritance and property sharing. People in same-sex unions are also allowed to extend health benefits to their partners, following the same rules applied to heterosexual couples.

Brazilian lawmakers have debated same-sex marriage, but in most cases, the bills introduced have not progressed through Congress.

Brazilian neighbors Uruguay and Argentina are the only other two countries in Latin America that have laws allowing same-sex couples to marry.

- CNN

UK Parliament to Vote on Equal Civil Partnerships

Straight couples could be allowed to enter civil partnerships, rather than get married, under proposals to be voted on by MPs.

MPs have tabled new amendments to gay marriage legislation currently going through Parliament to give straight couples the same rights as homosexual ones.

Campaigners said the amendment showed the changes risked weakening marriage by allowing straight couples to enter civil partnerships.

The measure, which is due to be voted on by MPs in the Commons at the end of May, would allow couples to be in civil partnerships rather than be married.

Tim Loughton, former Children’s minister, tabled the amendment to Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill in the Commons on Tuesday.

He said it was likely there would be “widespread support” for it when the amendment was voted on by MPs on the floor of the Commons next month.

Colin Hart, director of the Coalition for Marriage, said: “This is yet another amendment that pushes the redefinition of marriage beyond the consultation the Government has shifted its position constantly and this will report a further weakening of the institution of marriage.

The amendment will be seen as a direct challenge to Prime Minister David Cameron who suggested last month that he was against extending civil partnership rights to straight couples after MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of gay marriage.

Asked by Christopher Chope MP if he will “ensure that civil partnerships are open to heterosexual couples on an equal basis with homosexual couples”, he replied: “I will obviously listen carefully to what he says.

“But frankly I am a marriage man, I am a great supporter of marriage. I want to promote marriage, defend marriage, encourage marriage.

“The great thing about last night's vote is that two gay people who love each other will now be able to get married. That is an important advance. I think we should be promoting marriage rather than looking at any other way of weakening it.”

- The Telegraph

How Gay Marriage Destroys Straight Families

*

Nearly three quarters of Germans support same-sex marriage, according to a poll published on Wednesday, as Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives weigh up extending more rights to homosexual couples ahead of a September election.

Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit (first row 2nd R), U.S. Ambassador to Germany
Philip Murphy (first row 3rd R), Britain's ambassador to Germany Simon
McDonald (first row L) and the Green Party parliamentary faction co-leader
Renate Kuenast (first row 2nd L) open the Christopher Street Day (CSD)
parade in Berlin, June 23, 2012. The annual street parade parade is a celebration of
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender lifestyles and
 denounces discrimination and exclusion.

Nearly three quarters of Germans support same-sex marriage, according to a poll published on Wednesday, as Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives weigh up extending more rights to homosexual couples ahead of a September election.

The survey for RTL television and Stern magazine suggested 74 percent of Germans were in favour of allowing homosexuals to marry and 23 percent against.

Support is strongest among people voting for the opposition Greens and centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) but even among those backing Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), almost two-thirds were in favour, the poll showed.

The CDU wants to boost its appeal among urban voters as it gears up for this year's vote.

Merkel's government is preparing to amend the law to grant same-sex couples greater adoption rights after Germany's constitutional court ruled last week that gay people should be allowed to adopt a child already adopted by their partner. Heterosexual couples already have the right.

The court has given the government until July 2014 to amend the law.

Last weekend, a close Merkel ally hinted that the party may also be ready to abandon its opposition to giving gay couples the same preferential tax treatment as married heterosexuals.

Homosexuals in Germany can form civil partnerships but cannot marry. Opposition parties accuse the CDU, staunch advocates of traditional family values, of dragging their feet on gay rights.

The CDU's more conservative Bavaria-based sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), has warned against rushing to change the law.

Earlier this month, the lower houses of parliament in both France and Britain voted in favour of gay marriage.

(Reporting by Gareth Jones; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)

- Reuters

Illinois House committee advances gay marriage bill

A bill legalizing gay marriage cleared a Democratic-led committee late Tuesday and now moves to the full House, where the issue is expected to meet its toughest test.

The proposal, approved on a 6-5 vote in the House Executive Committee shortly before 10 p.m., is coming under increasingly heavy fire from church organizations who say same-sex marriage violates moral and religious principles. But advocates have ratcheted up calls for swift action.

Sponsoring Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, said the bill is needed “because we need to treat all Illinois families equally under the law” but the status of people in civil unions is often misunderstood.

Under the measure, marriage in Illinois would be allowed between two people rather than only a man and a woman. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has vowed to sign the legislation, a move that would make Illinois the 10th state in the nation to allow same-sex marriage. The Senate passed the legislation with only one Republican vote on Valentine’s Day.

Advocates said the proposal would allow ministers to refuse to perform same-sex marriages if it’s against their beliefs and would not require church officials to make their buildings or parish halls available if they don’t wish it. But opponents have questioned if the protections are strong enough.

The House has held close votes on same-sex issues over the years. The latest movement to support gay marriage in Illinois has evolved quickly. It’s been less than two years since the first civil union certificates were issued for gay and straight couples.

But with the Democrats increasing their majorities in both the House and the Senate during last fall’s elections, the gay marriage issue gained traction. Advocates tried to pass the measure in the brief, lame-duck legislative session in January, but they called off the bid and refocused on passing the bill in the newly seated General Assembly.

-continue reaing at Chicago Tribune

Republicans Sign Brief in Support of Gay Marriage

WASHINGTON — Dozens of prominent Republicans — including top advisers to former President George W. Bush, four former governors and two members of Congress — have signed a legal brief arguing that gay people have a constitutional right to marry, a position that amounts to a direct challenge to Speaker John A. Boehner and reflects the civil war in the party since the November election.

Jon M. Huntsman Jr., who opposed same-sex marriage
 during his 2012 presidential bid, signed the brief.

Meg Whitman supported Proposition 8
when she ran for California governor.

The document will be submitted this week to the Supreme Court in support of a suit seeking to strike downProposition 8, a California ballot initiative barring same-sex marriage, and all similar bans. The court will hear back-to-back arguments next month in that case and another pivotal gay rights case that challenges the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act.”

The Proposition 8 case already has a powerful conservative supporter: Theodore B. Olson, the former solicitor general under Mr. Bush and one of the suit’s two lead lawyers. The amicus, or friend-of-the-court, brief is being filed with Mr. Olson’s blessing. It argues, as he does, that same-sex marriage promotes family values by allowing children of gay couples to grow up in two-parent homes, and that it advances conservative values of “limited government and maximizing individual freedom.”

Legal analysts said the brief had the potential to sway conservative justices as much for the prominent names attached to it as for its legal arguments. The list of signers includes a string of Republican officials and influential thinkers — 75 as of Monday evening — who are not ordinarily associated with gay rights advocacy, including some who are speaking out for the first time and others who have changed their previous positions.

Among them are Meg Whitman, who supported Proposition 8 when she ran for California governor; Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and Richard Hanna of New York; Stephen J. Hadley, a Bush national security adviser; Carlos Gutierrez, a commerce secretary to Mr. Bush; James B. Comey, a top Bush Justice Department official; David A. Stockman, President Ronald Reagan’s first budget director; and Deborah Pryce, a former member of the House Republican leadership from Ohio who is retired from Congress.

Experts say that amicus briefs generally do not change Supreme Court justices’ minds. But on Monday some said that the Republican brief, written by Seth P. Waxman, a former solicitor general in the administration of President Bill Clinton, and Reginald Brown, who served in the Bush White House Counsel’s Office, might be an exception..

-New York Times, February 25th 2013

Related articles

• 75+ Prominent Republicans Sign Brief Urging Supreme Court to Strike Down Proposition 8 (towleroad.com)
• HP CEO Meg Whitman Changes Opposition Stance to Same-Sex Marriage (allthingsd.com)
• Obama May Bolster Gay-Marriage Bid in California Case - Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
• All-out assault on Proposition 8 (scotusblog.com)
• DOMA: U.S. takes tough line on marriage denial (scotusblog.com)
• Supreme Court is urged to allow gay marriage nationwide (latimes.com)

Approval expected but full House vote likely to be tough battle 21 FEBRUARY 2013 | BY GREG HERNANDEZ The next step in the path to Illinois becoming the 10th state in the US to make gay marriage legal will come next Tuesday (26 February) when it is to be considered by the House Executive Committee.

The committee is comprised of seven Democrats and four Republicans. At least six of the members must vote in favor of sending the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act to the full House for a vote. 

Since the Illinois State Senate passed the marriage equality bill by a vote of 34-21 last week, a full House vote would be the final step before Illinois Governor Pat Quinn can sign gay marriage into law. 

At least 60 House members must vote 'yes' to pass the legislation for it to move on to the governor.

Illinois already allows civil unions. It is believed legalizing marriage equality could generate the state anywhere from $39 to $72 million and up to $8 million in new tax revenues. 

But the marriage bill has seen strong criticism from religious and far right-wing groups.

- Gay Star News

Related articles

• In Valentine vote, Illinois Senate approves gay marriage (itsaqueerworld.blogspot.com)
• Illinois state senate approves gay marriage by vote of 34-21 (guardian.co.uk)

"Respect for Marriage" Ad Campaign

A pro-gay marriage group is set to launch a $1 million media campaign in support of same-sex nuptials, with full-page ads in several major newspapers and a television spot featuring President Barack Obama, former first lady Laura Bush and former Vice ,President Dick Cheney.

The Respect for Marriage Coalition, co-chaired by the Human Rights Campaign, is behind the ad campaign, which begins with TV spots airing on national cable and the Sunday-morning talk shows, along with ads in POLITICO, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, officials with the group said.

The goal of the spot is to show voices from both sides of the political aisle supporting gay marriage, an issue which saw statewide victories in Washington, Maryland, Maine and Minnesota on Election Day last November.

The spot doesn’t feature fresh sit-down interviews, but uses clips from Bush, Cheney, Obama and former Secretary of State Colin Powell discussing gay marriage.

In the ad, Bush is quoted as saying, “When couples are committed to each other and love each other, then they ought to have the same sort of rights that everyone has.”

Obama’s clip is from his inaugural address last month, in which he said, “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law.”

There are two major cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court that relate to gay marriage — one about the California gay marriage ban, the other about the federal Defense of Marriage Act — and the ad campaign takes place in the context of landmarks in the pro-gay marriage movement.

Pennsylvania Voters support Gay Marriage

A slim majority of Pennsylvania voters supports legalizing gay marriage, an issue that will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court next month.

Fifty-two percent support gay marriage, a Franklin & Marshall poll made public Thursday shows, up from 33 percent support measured by the college in a 2006 poll. The increased support mirrors a national trend and the results of a Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll in December 2011.

Muhlenberg pollster Chris Borick has been watching views on gay marriage shift dramatically. Support rose from 35 percent in 2004, to 42 percent in 2009, to 52 percent in 2011. In polling terms, he said, that's "meteoric."

It's also largely generational. Of Pennsylvanians younger than 35, 79 percent support gay marriage, while those over 55 back gay marriage by 42 percent, said G. Terry Madonna, pollster for F&M in Lancaster.

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"I think in 25 years this is not going to be much of an issue," Madonna said.

The issue has seen significant turning points in just the last year. President Barack Obama voiced his support for gay marriage ahead of the 2012 election, the national Democrats added it to their party platform and the president's inaugural address last month was the first to include mention of gay rights.

At the end of March, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over the constitutionality of two laws, one federal and one from California, that define marriage as between one man and one woman. Nine states — Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and Washington — have legalized gay marriage.

Adrian Shanker of Bethlehem, president of Equality Pennsylvania, a nonprofit that advocates for gay equality, said Pennsylvanians and most Americans, particularly younger ones, are now viewing the gay marriage issue as a matter of civil rights.

"In six years, which is not that long in terms of public opinion on most issues, we've just seen a sea change," he said. "I think hearts and minds have been changing. ... Those who actively oppose it are shrinking every single day."

- continue reading at  F&M 

Related articles

• Poll: Gay Marriage Gaining Support, Especially Among Catholics (queerchurchnews.wordpress.com)
• Pontifical Council for the Family Head: "Vatican Should Do More To Support Gay Couples" (news.queerchurch.com)
• POLL: Majority Of Pennsylvanians Support Marriage Equality (thinkprogress.org)
• Illinois gay marriage bill clears first of many hurdles (wgntv.com)

Taiwan government to study same-sex marriage in Asia | Gay Star News

Ministry of Justice commission study to attitudes to same-sex marriage in Asia

Taiwan Presidential Office Building

Taiwan's Ministry of Justice will commission studies into attitudes towards same-sex marriage in Asian cultures as part of research looking into legalizing gay marriage on the island nation.

Chung Jui-lan, deputy director-general of the Ministry of Justice's department of legal affairs said they wanted to enlist academics to study Asian attitudes to same-sex unions. The decision was made following complaints that a prior study only looked at Germany, France and Canada, Taipei Times reports.

Taiwan's Ministry of Justice are currently examining whether to change their civil code to accept same-sex marriage or to legislate for civil partnerships.

Separately a gay couple are suing the city of Taipei to get them to recognize their relationship. A ruling is expected at a court hearing tomorrow.

Also pressure group Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR) is working towards collecting a million signatures in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage.

Leader of the opposition Su Tseng-chang confirmed publicly that he supports same-sex marriage at Taiwan Pride day on 27 October. 

Gay Star News

Thai government drafting same-sex civil partnership law

 The Thai government has formed a committee to draft legislation on civil-partnership law for same-sex couples.

One of the committee members, Anjana Suvarnananda of LGBT rights group Anjaree told Gay Star News that the committee has already met and the timetable for drafting recognition of same-sex partnerships is six weeks.

'It's just drafting,' said Suvarnananda. 'And then they will send it to a legal department who will iron it out and make it more legal language. And then it needs to get approval from the government. I'm not sure how long it will take.'

No country in Asia currently has comprehensive civil partnership law. So if this legal recognition is passed, Thailand will be the first.

Thailand has a reputation for tolerance for LGBT people but there is no anti-discrimination law (and widespread discrimination) and even though it is a Mecca for sex reassignment surgery, Thai transexuals cannot change the gender written on their official documents. �

 Gay Star News:

Related articles

• Same-sex marriage becomes law in Washington state (cbsnews.com)
• Gay marriage a step closer in Scotland (itv.com)

Uruguay Lower House Approves Gay Marriage

Uruguay has moved closer to legalising gay marriage after the lower house of Congress approved a law making all marriages equal.

The measure, which was passed by a wide margin, now goes to the Senate where it is expected to be approved. After a long debate, Uruguayan deputies voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday night to approve the Marriage Equality Law.

"This is not a homosexual or gay marriage law. It is a measure to equalise the institution independent of the sex of the couple," said Julio Bango, one of the bill's authors.

The bill now goes to the Senate where President Jose Mujica's governing coalition has a majority.

In recent years, Uruguay has moved to allow same-sex civil unions, adoption by gay couples, and to allow gay members of the armed forces.

It would make Uruguay the second Latin American country after Argentina to allow gay marriages.

Uruguay's neighbour Argentina legalised gay marriage in 2010. Same-sex marriages have been legal in Mexico City since 2009. 

Same-sex marriages are legal in Mexico City, while civil unions are recognised in several countries in the region. In a recent decision Mexico's Supreme Court overturned a law in the state of Oaxaca that banned gay marriage. The ruling could pave the way to legalisation across Mexico, according to legal experts.

In May, Brazil's Supreme Court voted overwhelmingly in favour of allowing same-sex couples the same legal rights as married heterosexuals.

via BBC News

Related articles

• Uruguay House Overwhelmingly Approves Same-Sex Marriage By 81-6 Vote (joemygod.blogspot.com)
• Gay Marriage Bill Clears First Hurdle In Uruguay (ontopmag.com)

Rev Jimmy Creech, Methodist minister and gay activist

A Methodist Churchman who was dismissed from service after conducting a formal blessing for a union of two men in Chapel Hill.

In April of 1999, Creech celebrated the holy union of two men in Chapel Hill. Charges were brought against him and a church trial was held in Grand Island, Nebraska, on November 17, 1999. In August of 1998, the Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church ruled that the statement prohibiting "homosexual unions" was church law in spite of its location in the Social Principles. Consequently, the jury in this second trial declared Creech guilty of "disobedience to the Order and Discipline of The United Methodist Church" and withdrew his credentials of ordination.

Since the summer of 1998, Creech has been travelling around the country to preach in churches and to speak on college and university campuses, as well as to various community and national Gay Rights organizations. Currently, he is writing a book about his experiences of the Church's struggle to welcome and accept lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. ,He is the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Soulforce, Inc., an interreligious movement using the principles of nonviolent resistance, taught and practiced by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., to confront the spiritual violence perpetrated against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons by religious institutions.

(Read the full bio at LGBT Religious Archives)

New Hampshire Republicans Defend Marriage Equality

The impressive feature of yesterday's victory for marriage equality was the extent of Republican support for defending marriage equality. The GOP has an overwhelming 3 to 1 majority in the State House, but the bill went down by almost 2 - 1. Among the 211 votes against, were about 100 Republicans (nearly half of the total), who defied their caucus leadership on the matter.  This is a valuable illustration of how even political conservatives are coming to see gay marriage as consonant with their values, and not in conflict with their religious beliefs.

“The people that are supporting repeal want their personal religious views to be the law of the land. I hate to say it, but that's really what it's coming down to,” Representative Tammy Simmons added. “It's great to have faith and it's great to have religion, but that should dictate your life, not how somebody else lives their life.”

This decision to stand with libertarian principles rather than traditionalist impulses represents victory in the effort to modernize the Republican Party and expand its appeal rather than courting a backlash by reinforcing some of its negative stereotypes.

In particular, some legislators were concerned that an ideological over-reach by social conservatives could alienate independent voters—who make up a plurality of registered voters in the Granite State—in the next election. “I am concerned about the message it could sends to Independent voters,” said Schroadter. “I'm a Republican for small government, low taxes, and pro-business initiatives. This [marriage equality] is just one of those issues that government should probably stay away from.”

Attitudes toward same-sex marriage have changed dramatically in the past few years alone, with 59% of independents now supporting it, compared to 49% in 2010, according to Gallup. Significantly, only 7% of New Hampshire Republicans voted for the Freedom to Marry in 2009.

“What's happening here in New Hampshire is the amazing new direction that the Republican Party is taking at the state level,” said Tyler Deaton, a spokesperson for New Hampshire Republicans for Freedom and Equality PAC. “We’ve got so many Republican state representatives that are opposed to this repeal effort. And it's like the Republican Party's getting back to its roots—values of individual freedom and liberty and equality. It’s been an exciting thing to see. I think that New Hampshire is going to be a model for the national Republican Party to see that it is okay for the Republicans to be inclusive of gays and lesbians and to be in favor of equal rights. It's a new step forward for the party.”

It is healthy and heartening to see libertarians stand up to social conservatives on matters of principle and conscience, aiming for a philosophic consistency that reconnects the Republican Party to its roots as a force for expanding individual freedom.

- The Daily Beast.

Ostrich of the week award goes to the sponsor of the bill, Bill Bates, who said he simply did not believe the polls that showed very limited voter support for repeal.

In a poll released in early February by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, 59 percent of respondents were either strongly or somewhat opposed to repealing the law, while 32 percent said they supported repeal. But Mr. Bates said he did not believe that the results truly reflected public opinion.

Mr. Bates said the repeal effort could return next year, adding, “I don’t think this is the end of it.”

Related articles

• AP: "NH House kills gay marriage repeal bill"
  
• Should Two Left-handed People Be Permitted to Marry?

• New Hampshire House Kills Marriage Equality Repeal Bill (thinkprogress.org)
  
• IRONY ALERT: Anti-Gay Group Complains About Out-Of-Staters 'Buying' Marriage Equality In New Hampshire (thinkprogress.org)
  
• My Kids See Marriage Equality as a Non-Issue (mlp.org)

Poll: Australia leads Britain and US in support for equal marriage (PinkBananaWorld.com)

Australia is leading Britain and the US in its support for the implementation of equal gay marriage rights, a poll released today suggests.

An equal right for gay couples to marry had 49 percent support in Australia, 43 percent support in Britain and 42 percent support in the US, the Angus Reid Public Opinion survey found.

The survey also found that in Canada, where gay couples have been allowed to marry since 2005, a higher proportion of the public, 59 percent, were in favour of keeping that right in place.

The poll also found that 59 percent of Canadians, 53 percent of Australians and 49 percent of Britons believe people are born gay. 40 percent of Americans agreed.

Women across the four countries were more likely to back equal rights than men.

-Pink News

'via Blog this'

Poll: National Support for Marriage Equality Soars

In the US, the  balance of support on gay marriage continues to shift, and rapidly. Not only is total support increasing, so is the intensity of that support. In a new NBC / Washington Post poll, those "strongly" in favour increased from just 18% in 2004, to 32% in 2012. Conversely, the proportion "strongly" opposed collapsed from 51% to 31% over the same period.

Commentary at Seattlepi illustrates how this is an almost exact flip from the time when Republicans used gay marriage as a wedge issue to weaken the Democrats. This time around, the wedge issue will be setting Republicans against each other. (In all the recent wins for equality over the past year, victories have come with the help of GOP senators and politicians. In Colorado, where the state House is facing a bill to introduce civil unions, the Republicans are said to be evenly divided in a 3 - way split: for, against, don't care).

Support for same-sex marriage is up sharply in a dramatic public opinion shift from as recently as three years ago, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released on Monday morning.

The national poll showed 49 percent of Americans favoring marriage equality with 40 percent opposed. Support among younger voters approaches 60 percent. Only two groups among those surveyed — voters over 65 and Tea Party supporters — werein opposition.

The figures are an almost precise flip on the issue from an NBC/Journal poll in October of 2009. At that time, 41 percent favored same-sex marriage while 49 percent were opposed.

In 2004, Republicans used more than 20 statewide ballot measures, defining marriage as between a man and a woman, to get evangelical voters to turn out at the polls for President Bush’s reelection.

Same-sex marriage was opposed by a 30-62 percent margin in an NBC/Journal survey taken at the time.

“Progress is happening: The Republican Party, in what its presidential candidates are saying, is out of step with the mainstream,” said State Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, sponsor of Washington’s marriage equality legislation.

via seattlepi.com.

These results are also bad news for NOM and the other opponents of gay marriage. After the victory in New York last year, they pledged to raise money to campaign against any Republicans who voted in favour, a pledge they have repeated wherever gay marriage has advanced. In doing so, they may help their targeted officials, more then they hurt them. More voters say that they are more likely to vote for a supporter of marriage, than for an opponent.

California Gay Marriage Leader Tapped to Head Human Rights Campaign

SAN FRANCISCO — A political strategist from California who has played a leading role in trying to overturn the state’s same-sex marriage ban was named Friday as the new president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest and most influential gay rights group.

The Washington-based campaign’s directors voted to hire Chad Griffin, 38, to replace outgoing president Joe Solmonese, who announced last year that he would step down after seven socially transformative and sometimes internally stormy years at the organization’s helm."

“We’re ecstatic to have someone of Chad’s caliber as our next president,” Tim Downing, chairman of the campaign’s lobbying arm, and Sandra Hartness, who chairs its nonprofit education foundation, said in a statement. “His superior credentials and achievements, both as a visionary and strategist, make him uniquely qualified to lead this organization forward.”

- The Washington Post

'via Blog this'

Archie gay marriage comic sells out

Despite attempts by a conservative American mothers' group to have it pulled from sale, the new Archie comic, which features a gay marriage, has just sold out.

Tracing the adventures of the teenagers Archie, Betty and Veronica in the small town of Riverdale, the Archie storyline has been running for 70 years and is one of America's most popular comic series. Its publisher described the marriage of Kevin Keller, the series' first gay character, in the latest issue as "a historic moment", announcing yesterday that the Life with Archie #16 had sold out.

The strong sales follow a call from the American Family Association's website One Million Moms for Toys R Us to stop selling the new Archie issue. The conservative Christian group is concerned that "children are now being exposed to same-sex marriage in a toy store". "Please remove all the same-sex 'Just Married – Archie' comic books immediately from your shelves. My decision to shop in your stores depends on it," they have written to the retailer."

-Guardian.co.uk 

'via Blog this'

Dramatic leap in support for gay marriage: California poll.

A new poll shows gay marriage has arrived in California – in public opinion if not in state lawbooks.Golden State registered voters now favor same-sex unions by 59 percent to 34 percent, a 25-point gap that is the largest margin of support for the issue in the three-plus decades the Field Poll has been asking the question.

The new Field survey shows support has leapt markedly in the three and a half years since California voters approved Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage, 52.3 percent to 47.7 percent.
Poll Director Mark DiCamillo said the move to a 25-point gap goes beyond the gradual increase in support that has been expected as young voters age and "replace" older voters in the electorate.
"This is now showing that opinions are changing irrespective of generational replacement," DiCamillo said. "This is real change."

-The Sacramento Bee

(The Sacramento Bee also has links here to the detailed results)
'via Blog this'