Category: Marriage Equality

Athenae, Marriage Equality

Fuck Yeah, America!

Michigan’s first legal same-sex marriage: Last year, the Odawa tribal council debated a resolution to recognize gay marriage, but the measure failed by one vote. When it was reintroduced, the language was changed to require at least one spouse be a tribal citizen, and that swayed support. On March 2, it passed by a 5-4 vote. All that was needed was the signature of tribal Chairman Dexter McNamara, whose veto would have required a difficult 7-2 council majority to override. McNamara not only signed it, but also asked to perform the wedding ceremony. “I’ve always felt that either you believe … Continue reading Fuck Yeah, America!

Adrastos, Marriage Equality, Political Crack7 Comments

Portmania

We live in such interesting times that a hitherto boring pol made a big splash today: Ohio Senator Rob Portman. Portman is so boring that the reason he was considered as Willard Mittbot Romney’s running mate is that he was so dull that he wouldn’t overshadow Willard. Today, of course, Portman came our for marriage equality for highly personal reasons: his college age son is gay and came out to his parents a few years back. This reason has been controversial among some of my brothers and sisters on the left. Matt Yglesias and Irin Carmon made some very good … Continue reading Portmania

Adrastos, Current Affairs, Marriage Equality, Religion3 Comments

The New Pope On Same Sex Marriage

Peter Adrastos Athas

While I’m not surprised that Pope Francis is against marriage equality, I didn’t expect him to need a distemper shot on the subject: Shortly after Pope Benedict XVI announced his retirement, the gay rights activist who was the first to legally marry his partner in Latin America sent out a jubilant tweet. Argentina’s Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio “cannot be pope,”wrote Alex Freyre, because “he lost his papabile status the instant I married @josedibellow. Same for any other Argentine priest.” On Wednesday, Freyre was proven wrong. When the cardinals elected Bergoglio pope, they made history in two ways: They chose the first … Continue reading The New Pope On Same Sex Marriage

Athenae, Immoral Values, Marriage Equality, Religion2 Comments

You Don’t Get To Talk In Church

Allison Hantschel

Pray the non-gay-hating politicians away: Among those to decry the state’s pending marriage equality legislation, which is currently awaiting a House vote, was Bishop Lance Davis, senior pastor at a church in Dolton. “We want to make sure that we a send a message to our elected officials that as a collective community and a collaborative, we will not allow you to speak in our churches, you will not be invited to our church when you’re running for office because we as a community are incensed,” he is quoted by the radio station as saying. Wow, how awful for them. … Continue reading You Don’t Get To Talk In Church

Adrastos, Current Affairs, Marriage Equality, Religion3 Comments

The New Pope On Same Sex Marriage

While I’m not surprised that Pope Francis is against marriage equality, I didn’t expect him to need a distemper shot on the subject: Shortly after Pope Benedict XVI announced his retirement, the gay rights activist who was the first to legally marry his partner in Latin America sent out a jubilant tweet. Argentina’s Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio “cannot be pope,”wrote Alex Freyre, because “he lost his papabile status the instant I married @josedibellow. Same for any other Argentine priest.” On Wednesday, Freyre was proven wrong. When the cardinals elected Bergoglio pope, they made history in two ways: They chose the first … Continue reading The New Pope On Same Sex Marriage

Athenae, Immoral Values, Marriage Equality, Religion2 Comments

You Don’t Get To Talk In Church

Pray the non-gay-hating politicians away: Among those to decry the state’s pending marriage equality legislation, which is currentlyawaiting a House vote, was Bishop Lance Davis, senior pastor at a church in Dolton. “We want to make sure that we a send a message to our elected officials that as a collective community and a collaborative, we will not allow you to speak in our churches, you will not be invited to our church when you’re running for office because we as a community are incensed,” he is quoted by the radio station as saying. Wow, how awful for them. They … Continue reading You Don’t Get To Talk In Church

Athenae, Marriage Equality, Religion, Stupid Republican Tricks4 Comments

Excommunicate the Nonbeliever!

Allison Hantschel

Speaking of unpleasant people who want to wine-dine-69 Jesus but haven’t heard a damn word He said: The Rockford Pro-Life Initiative has called on Francis Cardinal George to excommunicate Governor Pat Quinn for his outspoken support of same-sex “marriage.” [snip] Governor Quinn’s support for same-sex “marriage” puts him at odds with the leadership of the Catholic faith he claims to belong to.ThreeIllinoisbishops released letters to be read from the pulpit in parishes statewide over the weekend opposing the legislation. Members of the Rockford Pro-Life Initiative, however, do not think the letters go far enough. “If Cardinal George and all the … Continue reading Excommunicate the Nonbeliever!

Athenae, Immoral Values, Marriage Equality1 Comment

Quit Blaming Your Kids

Allison Hantschel

Fuck yes, this, on how we tolerate all kinds of horrors and then are horrified by love and courage because rapes and murders and assaults just confirm our view of the world as a dark and small one, while courage and love make us reconsider how tightly we’ve drawn the circle around the things we’ve chosen to give a shit about. We have stories about child molesters, murders and all kinds of vicious, barbaric acts of evil committed by heinous criminals on our front page and yet we never receive a call from anyone saying ‘I don’t need my children … Continue reading Quit Blaming Your Kids

Athenae, Immoral Values, Marriage Equality1 Comment

Quit Blaming Your Kids

Fuck yes, this, on how we tolerate all kinds of horrors and then are horrified by love and courage because rapes and murders and assaults just confirm our view of the world as a dark and small one, while courage and love make us reconsider how tightly we’ve drawn the circle around the things we’ve chosen to give a shit about. We have stories about child molesters, murders and all kinds of vicious, barbaric acts of evil committed by heinous criminals on our front page and yet we never receive a call from anyone saying ‘I don’t need my children … Continue reading Quit Blaming Your Kids

Athenae, Marriage Equality

Love Love Love Love Crazy Love

Fuck Yeah, Illinois! SPRINGFIELD — The Democratic-led Senate delivered a Valentine’s Day victory to gay and lesbian couples today, passing legislation for the first time that would allow same-sex marriage in Illinois. The gay marriage measure now goes to the House, where the fight is expected to be tougher. Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to sign the bill if it reaches his desk. The 34-21-2 Senate vote represents a turnaround of sorts after advocates unsuccessfully sought to push a gay marriage bill through last month’s lame-duck legislative session. Supporters vowed to try again quickly with a new General Assembly that … Continue reading Love Love Love Love Crazy Love

Athenae, Marriage Equality

Love Love Love Love Crazy Love

Allison Hantschel

Fuck Yeah, Illinois! SPRINGFIELD — The Democratic-led Senate delivered a Valentine’s Day victory to gay and lesbian couples today, passing legislation for the first time that would allow same-sex marriage in Illinois. The gay marriage measure now goes to the House, where the fight is expected to be tougher. Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to sign the bill if it reaches his desk. The 34-21-2 Senate vote represents a turnaround of sorts after advocates unsuccessfully sought to push a gay marriage bill through last month’s lame-duck legislative session. Supporters vowed to try again quickly with a new General Assembly that … Continue reading Love Love Love Love Crazy Love

Adrastos, Current Affairs, Immoral Values, Marriage Equality1 Comment

Paragraph of the day

Peter Adrastos Athas

It comes from the preternaturally awesome Mary Elizabeth Williams at Salon. Her take on the “founding fathers” is to die for: Popular poultry purveyor Chick-fil-A has a long and well documented history of support for “traditional,” man-lady marriage. But after Wednesday’s Supreme Court rulings, the company’s president, Dan Cathy, couldn’t resist sharing his observation, via Twitter, that it was a “Sad day for our nation, founding fathers would be ashamed of our generation to abandon wisdom of the ages re: cornerstone of strong societies.” Yes, I am totally sure that self-described cougar chaser Ben Franklin, along with Thomas Jefferson, a … Continue reading Paragraph of the day

Adrastos, Marriage Equality, Stupid Republican Tricks11 Comments

Say what?

Peter Adrastos Athas

If this hadn’t been published on Saturday I’d swear it was an April Fool’s gag: Sue Everhart, chairwoman of the Georgia Republican Party, told the Marietta Daily Journal in a story published Saturday that once gay nuptials are legally permitted, there will be nothing to stop a straight person from exploiting the system in order to claim marital benefits. “You may be as straight as an arrow, and you may have a friend that is as straight as an arrow,” Everhart said. “Say you had a great job with the government where you had this wonderful health plan. I mean, … Continue reading Say what?

Athenae, Marriage Equality3 Comments

Marriage Equality for Illinois

The conservative Chicago Tribune: Much of the opposition stems from religious concerns, such as those cited by Cardinal Francis George, who has urged a “no” vote. We fully understand and respect the cardinal’s view that same-sex marriage violates natural law. But nothing in this bill affects the church’s authority to define what is right for Catholics. It recognizes the difference between religious rites and civil institutions. The Catholic church, after all, bars remarriage by divorcees, but Illinois grants marriage licenses to them. Allowing same-sex marriage does not limit the freedom of religious believers to reject it; it merely allows those … Continue reading Marriage Equality for Illinois

Adrastos, Diary, Law/Justice, Marriage Equality, Political Crack4 Comments

Not A Nellie, Just Nervous

Peter Adrastos Athas

I’ve always gotten a kick out of the term Nervous Nellies despite its mildly homophobic undertones. Lyndon Johnson was fond of calling peaceniks that, which clearly implied they weren’t Texas-style manly men. Actually, it takes a helluva lot more courage to oppose going to war in a culture that *thinks* it loves war until, that is, we enter one and do not win within 44 seconds. Then, the worm turns and hawks develop white plumage and dash into a dovecote or something like that. You’re probably where the post is going and so do I. Oh yeah, the Supremes taking … Continue reading Not A Nellie, Just Nervous

Adrastos, Diary, Law/Justice, Marriage Equality, Political Crack4 Comments

Not A Nellie, Just Nervous

I’ve always gotten a kick out of the term Nervous Nellies despite its mildly homophobic undertones. Lyndon Johnson was fond of calling peaceniks that, which clearly implied they weren’t Texas-style manly men. Actually, it takes a helluva lot more courage to oppose going to war in a culture that *thinks* it loves war until, that is, we enter one and do not win within 44 seconds. Then, the worm turns and hawks develop white plumage and dash into a dovecote or something like that. You’re probably where the post is going and so do I. Oh yeah, the Supremes taking … Continue reading Not A Nellie, Just Nervous

Adrastos, Law/Justice, Marriage Equality, Political Crack7 Comments

The politics of doing the right thing

There’s been a lot of pontificating punditry in the aftermath of the President’s admitting the obvious: that he supports marriage equality. The trend of administration policy on DADT, DOMA and all sorts of things have made this this the most pro-gay rights administration in history. Some of my brothers and sisters on the left think this was done grudgingly but the mere fact that it was done at all is remarkable. Bill Clinton is the guy who signed DOMA into law when he was triangulating like a crazy monkey. And DADT was the bastard offspring of Clinton’s attempt to end … Continue reading The politics of doing the right thing

Current Affairs, Jude, Marriage Equality5 Comments

This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

For true. So, as everyone in the world has noted by now, the President has affirmed his support for marriage equality. This would seem to be, to borrow a phrase, a big fucking deal. It’s time for those of us on the progressive side of things to down a shot, do a victory lap, and shout WOOOOOOOO in the face of the nearest homophobe we can find (I’d suggest checking the glory hole in the local GOP clubhouse restroom). But of course that can’t happen. At least 1/3 of the people commenting on my Facebook feed said something along the … Continue reading This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

Adrastos, Diary, Law/Justice, Marriage Equality, Political Crack1 Comment

Odds & Sods: Sweater Vest Sweep Edition

Peter Adrastos Athas

Sweater Vest Sweep: Former Senator Man Dog Sex kicked some ass Tuesday. He didn’t win a lot of delegates because of the goofy way the GOP allots them but Mitt has got Santorum sized shoe prints on his forehead. I don’t think it’s that ex-Senator Sweater Vest is suddenly popular, it’s that nobody likes Mitt and the more they see the less they like him. Hell, he lost 2 states that he won in 2008 and Colorado has a substantial LDS population. Plus, he had Tpaw’s support and finished third in Minnesota, which is not something that should happen to … Continue reading Odds & Sods: Sweater Vest Sweep Edition

Athenae, Marriage Equality4 Comments

Not One Single Step Back

It’s easy for me to say look how far we’ve come, after all. I’m married to who I want to be married to and there’s really no danger of some “family” values pecksniff coming along and dissolving that marriage because it upsets his worldview to think of my life.But look how far we’ve come. “Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples,” said Judge Stephen Reinhardt in the majority … Continue reading Not One Single Step Back