Marriage Anniversary

Five years ago, Massachusetts began marrying same-sex folks legally.

One year ago, two days, California began marrying same-sex folks legally. 

In Massachusetts, support for same-sex nuptuals is through the roof, as people found that it's no big deal.

In California, voters overturned the ruling with the now-infamous Proposition 8, and support in that state has stalled to about the same percentages as voted for/against the measure. 

We fight on -- winning in Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa, and Maine... and possibly soon in New York and New Hampshire. We find that, as people marry, the less people care if other people are marrying. 

And so we fight on. California, we'll be back. We'll celebrate, again, and we'll win, again.

Thank you to all who are fighting, will be fighting, and have fought. But we aren't done.

Image from Mother Jones.

Marriage Round-Up!

From across the US:

• California: The Governor's race is heating up between the two potential Democratic candidates over same-sex relationships. On the one side, we have Gavin Newsom who, as mayor of SF, allowed same-sex couples to start marrying in the city in 2004. Now, he wants to take on the census and demand that married couples be counted (SSM is not recognized on a federal level). Meanwhile, an emergency bill by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, his expected challenger in a primary, passed in Washington to stop the deportation of a Phillipino lesbian living in the US. Both her partner and her two children are US citizens.
• Connecticut: This is anti-climactic, but the bill legalizing equal marriage in Connecticut sailed through the House and Senate and was signed by Gov. Jodi Rell. It also turns existing civil unions into marriages... effectively ending civil unions? Why does that make me feel weird?
• DC: The city council has approved acknowledging out of state relationships for same-sex couples, and word on the street is that there may be an equal marriage bill in the nation's capital next year. The local pastors are angry -- "History will ask, where were the pastors?" -- no, I think history will ask, why did the pastors bother at all?
• Maine: Lots of people attended the Judiciary Committee's hearing on the same-sex marriage bill, something like 4000 of them. But we kinda knew that was going to happen. Other bloggers have already posted some of the testimonies appearing on YouTube, so I'll just move on.
• New Hampshire: The Senate Judiciary Committee has recommended (3-2) that the marriage bill passed by the Assembly not be brought to the floor of the Senate for a vote, effectively killing it. I think, for now, the chance in NH is dead.
• New Jersey: A new poll from Quinnipiac shows NJ voters pro-marriage at a rate of 49-43 (I guess we're assuming an 8% undecided rate). Still, that's pretty good.
• Utah: From one of the more unexpected supporters of LGBT rights in the mountain west, Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman is openly asking whether that state's constitutional DOMA covers civil unions... and saying that maybe the courts will have to decide that.

I have been very, very busy the last few days so I just wanted to throw these bits out there for you to NOM on. Kisses!

Oh, and can I just say that I am over, over, over the Miss USA contestants? Don't care, don't care, don't care. This is my impression of homosexuals over the situation (including myself): "ZOMG! She's from California! She's been asked a question by a gay man! ZOMG! How dare she say what she think!" Meanwhile, all of us suddenly realize that there are lots of people that we assume are our friends really aren't.... like ignorant beauty queens.

And, by ignorant, I'm not talking the type that "she just needs exposure," because god knows she's exposed. I'm talking the type that she's just plain close-minded.

Regardless, over her.

Push for Trans Rights Moves Forward in Three States

Have you been following trans-rights in this country? I know I haven't been keeping as close of an eye as I usually do, so let me do a quick round up for everyone that's interested on three different states:

• Massachusetts and New Hampshire: Both are trying to move gender identity and expression protections through their statehouses.
• New Hampshire: Originally, the bill died in the House in a 181-149 vote, but the body reconsidered it and voted 188-187 to pass it on to the Senate.
• Connecticut: The protections bill died recently in the House judicial committee, but activists are organizing to take it to the floor.

Hrm. Is this weird to anyone else -- Mass and Conn both have equal marriage, and New Hampshire seems like the next one to go (with Maine)... but they don't have protections for gender? Weird.

Trans-Rights?

Cincinnati has protections for gender identity/expression. 

Did you know that both Massachusetts and Connecticut were gearing up for a fight to gain protections in those states? The story: Mass/Conn are good on marriage, bad on trans-rights; Cincinnati is good on trans-rights, bad on marriage.

Weird. I'm actually really surprised by this. 

Catholics Hate Gay Connecticut

The Catholics have lost their freaking minds, out of Connecticut:

The Connecticut Catholic Conference is asking lawmakers to expand the category of those who don't have to comply with the state's new same-sex marriage law if their religion holds that such unions are wrong.

People such as florists, wedding photographers and justices of the peace.

"Same-sex couples have their liberties protected fully. Religious people are wondering, 'How is this going to affect me?'" said David Reynolds, lobbyist for the Catholic Church.

Reynolds raised his concerns Friday as the legislature's judiciary committee considered a bill to ensure that existing statutes comport with the landmark state Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

"A situation has been created ... where state policy seriously conflicts with the religious beliefs of a large number of the citizens of the state," Reynolds said. He cited examples in other states where businesspeople have faced legal action because they declined, on religious grounds, to provide goods or services to same-sex couples.

Don't the Catholics have some souls to save? Some counseling to do? Some sermons to preach? Something else to do besides encourage discrimination against LGBT people in the state?

I mean really. It's been a weird week for gay people.

Don't forget the shady shit done by the Kentucky Senate in advancing the anti-gay adoption bill. Apparently, when you're losing, just play dirty politics and everything will be OK.

Trans-Rights Happening... and fast!!!

There are lots of news stories from the last week of huge jumps the "gender identity and expression" movement has made... so quick run down (I'm doing a lot of Google news searching this evening, can you tell? :-)):

• The University of Cincinnati will add gender protections to their non-discrimination policies! Congratulations to GenderBloc for all of their hard work! (George Washington University is trying to do much the same!)
• The ACLU has filed suit in court to have two women's gender appropriately listed on their birth certificate in Illinois. Apparently there seems to be some question as to whether or not they have gone through the surgery, and a case of bureaucrats selectively deciding when they can and can't do certain things.
• Connecticut is looking to become the next state to protect trans-identified and gender variant individuals. I freaking love the source that you have linked there -- it's a Christianist source, and this is my new favoritest (insane) arguments evar:

  "People who have had sex-change operations; people who are cross-dressers," he offers. "Essentially [it means] people who are confused about their gender, their sexual identity, and think they should have been born the opposite sex from the one that God gave them."
  
  The proposal would bar discrimination based on "gender identity" or "gender expression." Similar laws have been enacted in several states, including California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Oregon.
  
  But one critic in the Connecticut House has expressed concern about the effect the measure could have on the state's public schools, saying it would impact the learning environment. For example, a male elementary school teacher could have surgery and return to classes dressed and acting as a female.
  
  "This is something that's still classified in the medical books to this day as a mental illness," Wolfgang reveals. "These folks want to raise their mental illness to the level of a protected class -- like race or sex." And impose acceptance on the rest of society, he adds.

• Massachusetts, apparently, does not already have a transgender civil rights bill, but it's on the plate for this year.

I would like to point out, too, that Cincinnati does protect people based on their gender identity and expression, and "transgenderism" appears in the Ohio Revised Code in such a way as it could be considered as under "sexual orientation."

In short: we're ahead of Massachusetts?

Was anyone else in the world surprised when they found out Minnesota was the first state to pass gender protections? I'm still flabbergasted.

Really? Minnesota? They can't even decide on a Senator.

Congratulations, Connecticut!!!

A little good news today :-). Congratulations, Connecticut couples, we're all waiting for the day to cheer our own on.

We love you, our brothers and sisters.

POLITICS: PREDICTIONS: Gay Rights

Few people probably remember the random blogs I did on political issues, because I have mainly been talking about the Election. So, now that that's over, let's make some suggestions and offer some predictions of what will happen in the next two years...

• ...Don't Ask, Don't Tell will be repealed... this will be pushed by Hillary Clinton.
  
• ...ENDA will pass without gender identity and expression included (and we will all hate HRC a little more). 
  
• ...Connecticut will start officially offering gay marriage, as will New York State (which will mean David Paterson will probably lose the governorship, and likely Rudy Giuliani will try to take the mansion) and probably one more (Vermont? Maryland? Illinois? Rhode Island? Oregon? which one are yall betting on???)
  
• ...the tide of anti-gay marriage amendments will start turning and we will start defeating them as often as we are losing.
  

If the Dems retain Congress in 2010, then...

• ....the 1996 Federal DOMA will be repealed.
  
• ...ENDA will be amended to add gender identity and expression.
  

If Barack wins again a second term, by 2016, we will have...

• ...full civil unions in the country and a legal marriage challenge.
  

What do you think? Bridges too far, or right on?

GAY STUFF: CONNECTICUT SUPREME COURT SAYS YES TO GAY MARRIAGE!!!

Hell yea, Connecticut. And it's too late to get it on the ballot. From the MSNBC story:

Connecticut's Supreme Court ruled Friday that same-sex couples have the right to marry, making that state the third behind Massachusetts and California to legalize such unions.

The divided court ruled 4-3 that gay and lesbian couples cannot be denied the freedom to marry under the state constitution, and Connecticut's civil unions law does not provide those couples with the same rights as heterosexual couples.

"I can't believe it. We're thrilled, we're absolutely overjoyed. We're finally going to be able, after 33 years, to get married," said Janet Peck of Colchester, who was a plaintiff with her partner, Carole Conklin.

I will do a history of gay marriage tonight, but -- HELL YEA CONNECTICUT!!!

4-3 ... it was close. But it's ok :-).