OK, kiddo! Here are all the fantastically amazing posts tagged with Same-sex marriage

Portugal Passes Gay Marriage Bill; Who’s next?

February 17th, 2010

Good news! The Portuguese parliament passed a same-sex marriage bill last week, which will make the country the eighth in the world to have equal marriage rights nationwide.

President Cavaco Silva can still veto the bill, but there hasn’t been any indication that he will do this, which gives it a pretty good chance of being ratified. Encouragingly, the bill sparked very little opposition in the public, even among social conservatives.

I’m not sure what country will be next, but I’ll be taking bets all morning on which country is more likely to give equal rights and freedoms to all of its citizens before the other: The United States… or Slovenia. (And just a head’s up for my stateside friends, Slovenia has recognized gay registered partnerships since 2005 and is likely to send a same-sex marriage bill to parliament this year; think you can beat them to it?)

Churches Want Involvement In Marriage Commissioner Case

February 5th, 2010

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal will consider and rule on whether or not civil marriage commissioners can deny their otherwise public services to gay couples. The case is in response to a request from the provincial government, which is seeking information on the constitutionality of a proposed legislation to allow just that sort of thing.

In addition to the usual suspects—unions, rights groups, and some individuals—several church organizations have sought intervener status so that they can speak on the case. Most will argue that presiding over a gay marriage violates the religious freedoms of the individuals doing the presiding.

Churches are already exempt from Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms and therefore do not need to serve everyone equally regardless of their gender, race, or sexual orientation. That does not, however, apply to individuals. At least not yet—and that includes civil marriage commissioners, who are, after all, just people who perform the legal duties at non-religious wedding ceremonies for people who do not wish to get married by a priest in a church. They’re not, nor are they supposed to be, representatives of their personal religion.

Nevertheless, the Canadian Fellowship of Churches and Ministers, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, the Chancellor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, and the Christian Legal Fellowship are all seeking to influence this public ruling. (I shall assume that they all pay taxes, then…)

Here’s my thoughts. Much in the same way that a vegetarian mustn’t deny a carnivore a boating license (lest the carnivore go fishing in violation of the vegetarian’s personal beliefs), a marriage commissioner  cannot deny a marriage license to a gay couple; and that’s the way it should stay.

I mean, where did this idea come from that you can just avoid the duties that you’re expected to do? (cough, cough)

Politician Accuses State of Selling Children to Gays

January 27th, 2010

Alfred Baldasaro, a Republican State Representative for New Hampshire, went on a bizarre rant this week, starting with the accusation that the state government was selling children to gay couples for $10,000 a pop.

The statement was made in reference to same-sex adoption, which has been legal in New Hampshire since 1999. When asked to rescind the offensive remark, Baldasaro simply repeated it: “I wanted to make sure everyone understood here, that this legislature sold the rights of $10,000 per kid under title four, when they said that homosexual couples, not married, can adopt.”

This was only the start of the rant, mind you. Baldasaro then directly compared gay couples to incestuous ones, asking “aren’t we discriminating against all them?”

“What about the Muslims?”, he continued. “Everyone’s praising the Muslims. They’re killing us. What about them, they want three, four wives. We’re discriminating against them!”

…

Well, that was a masterpiece of crazy.

Baldasaro’s statements were made in support of a bill that would ban same-sex marriage in the state, demonstrating exactly the type of people that are typically behind those types of bills.

Russian Court Says Canadian Marriages Aren’t Real

January 22nd, 2010

Two lesbians that wed in Canada last October will not be seen as married in their homeland. A Russian court threw out their case this week, saying that same-sex foreign marriages simply won’t be recognized. “I will have to uphold the decision made by the registry office in May,” said judge Boris Gerbekov, “foreign marriages accepted in Russia must involve a couple of opposite sex.”

This is the same couple that had tried to get a marriage license last May, but were rejected in early October. That prompted them to get a marriage license here in Canada, hoping it would be recognized. Now that their latest attempt has been turfed, they’ll appeal to the European Court of Human Rights where a decision could take up to five years.

Rights have to be fought with persistence. Best of luck, you two! It’ll pay off someday.

PEI Finally Puts Same-Sex Marriage On The Books

January 11th, 2010

Prince Edward Island finally updated their lawbooks over the holidays in recognition of same-sex couples for 29 pieces of legislation. While same-sex marriages have been legal in the province since federal law changed in 2006, spouses were still referred to as “husband and wife” and “man and woman” in provincial documents and laws until now.

There was no reason given for the nearly four year delay, but the change means that vital statistics, birth certificates, and other provincial documents and departments will now have accurate data.

Well, I’m glad to see you’ve joined the rest of the country, Island! (I can call you Island for short, right?)

DC Votes For Marriage Equality; Opponents Mobilize

December 16th, 2009

If anyone should obj---aw, crap...

Slap reader John writes in with some good news coming out of Washington, DC. The city council has voted in favour of legalizing equal marriage rights for gay couples!

The bill’s fate is now with congress, which has 30 days to veto it, which appears unlikely, or let it be.

Of course, gay marriage opponents are already in hysterics. A group calling themselves Stand4Marriage (meaning opposite-sex only marriage) has declared their intentions to put the issue to a referendum vote on the next ballot, asking every single resident whether or not to take away the marriage rights from gay couples.

Still, if all goes well, DC residents will have full equal marriage rights by St. Patrick’s Day. Here’s hoping for the best!

Gay Spouses Not That Different From Straight Ones

November 9th, 2009

All kinds of families are great!

Same-sex couples are virtually identical to opposite-sex couples when it comes to age, income, and child rearing according to census data released in the United States this month.

A study conducted at UCLA analyzed the data for nearly 150,000 gay couples to compare how they fare in comparison to their straight counterparts—taking into account gay couples who were legally married as well as those that still referred to each other as being married even if equal marriage rights were not legal in their state. The results show that gay married couples are 52 years old on average, earn a combined household income of $91,558, and have children 31 percent of the time. This compares to straight couples who are 50 years old on average, earn a household income of $95,075, and have children 43 percent of the time.

Gary Gates, a UCLA researcher who compiled the results, said that these numbers show that gay and straight families aren’t as different as lobbyists claim:

Most proponents of traditional marriage will say that when you allow these couples to marry, you are going to change the fundamental nature of marriage by decoupling it from procreation. Clearly [same-sex couples] are not decoupling child rearing from marriage.

Just goes to show you, gay people really aren’t all that different from straight people. Except for our extrasensory abilities and ability to wither your crops by blinking, that is.

Anti-Gay Canadians Are A Fringe Minority

October 26th, 2009

Doug from Trading Spaces and Moving Up seems angry today, doesn't he?

Last week, I said that people who hold anti-gay views were a small and shrinking minority. Behind their loud and obnoxious rally cries, there just isn’t any real support.

I’ve cited polls before, but most were conducted around the time of the same-sex marriage debate. I didn’t cite anything in my last post to back up my claim that Stephen Harper’s new speech writer (who believes that same-sex couples shouldn’t even be able to share each others benefits let alone get married) is part of a fringe group, so let’s see if we can put this to rest once and for all.

As it turns out, the most recent poll about equal marriage rights was conducted just five weeks ago by Angus Reid Strategies. They polled over 4000 people across three countries, including 1,006 Canadians. The result: 84% of Canadians believe that same-sex couples should have the same legal rights as straight couples. Of those, 73% support full-on same-sex marriage and the remaining 27% support civil unions with all the same legal rights.

The anti-gay side—Canadians who believe that gay couples should have no legal rights whatsoever—polled at 11%, a segment rapidly approaching the single digits. The remaining 4% were “not sure.”

Basically, Canada is leading both the United States and Britain in support for equality for gay people. It just looks like the staffers with which our Prime Minister surrounds himself aren’t among those supporters.

Lobby Group Angrily Demands “Grandma” Ad Pulled

October 14th, 2009

GRANDMAS ARE EVIL! BOYCOTT ALL GRANDMAS!

Catholic Vote Action, a religious political group based in Chicago, is demanding that an ad supporting equal marriage rights in the state of Maine be pulled off the air.

The ad, which features a real family including a Catholic grandmother who supports her gay son and his adopted child, was produced by Protect Maine Equality in response to an upcoming ballot initiative that would take away the existing right of gay couples to marry in the state. “I’ve been a Catholic all my life,” the grandmother says in the ad, “my faith means a lot to me.” She continues, “Marriage to me is a great institution that works, and it’s what I want for my children too.”

Essentially, it’s a real-life example of how it’s possible to harmonize one’s faith and family, supporting the loving relationships in which families can flourish.

Unacceptable, of course, according to Catholic Vote Action, who released a press release on Monday declaring that all Catholics do not support “counterfeit marriages” and demanding that the ad be pulled immediately. Because, as we all know, loving and supporting your family throughout hardships and mean-spirited attacks just isn’t a value worth keeping.

But back in the land of reality, for all my stateside friends who have a say in the matter, remember to support equality and vote NO on Maine’s Question 1!

Update: Slap reader Alan points out that you don’t need to live in Maine to help out with the No On 1 cause. With only a couple of weeks before the ballot, and with polls showing a statistical tie in opinion, now is exactly the time when volunteers and donations are needed the most! Visit ProtectMaineEquality.org and volunteer to phonebank from home or donate for more ad airtime.

An extended hat tip goes to Jim Burroway over at Box Turtle Bulletin for the story.

Russian Court Says No To Same-Sex Marriage

October 7th, 2009

Nuff said.

A Russian court has blocked what would have been the country’s first same-sex marriage. Irina Fedotova-Fet and Irina Shipitko were told that they couldn’t get married like other couples because of their sex. Shipitko has now told the media that they will fight the decision:

We are a family already. We live together and share household chores. We also would like to have children; that is why we want legal recognition of our union.

Irina and Irina are now planning to come to Canada and wed. They’re hoping that a marriage license obtained elsewhere will carry the same legal rights back home.

Good on you, gals! And good luck!

Older Posts »