That's the interesting take from an article in the New York Daily News (hat tip PageOneQ):
Following bitter defeats in California, Maine, and New York, the gay and lesbian community has a New Year's victory to celebrate. New Hampshire joins four other states - Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts and Vermont - in legalizing gay marriage. And the nation's capital is also onboard. Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty put it this way: "Marriage inequality is a civil rights, political, social, moral and religious issue."
He covered all the bases, except one: It's a constitutional issue as well.
Thomas Jefferson set the stage in the Declaration of Independence: "[T]o secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men." The primary purpose of government is to safeguard individual rights and prevent some persons from harming others. Heterosexuals should not be treated preferentially when the state carries out that role. And no one is harmed by the union of two consenting gay people.
For most of Western history, marriage was a matter of private contract between the betrothed parties and perhaps their families. Following that tradition, marriage today should be a private arrangement, requiring minimal or no state intervention. Some religious or secular institutions would recognize gay marriages; others would not; still others would call them domestic partnerships or assign another label. Join whichever group you wish. The rights and responsibilities of partners would be governed by personally tailored contracts - consensual bargains like those that control most other interactions in a free society.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
Has government intruded too much into marriage of any type? We'd like to hear your views.
January 09, 2010
Encouraging Words 1/9/10-"Be Who You Are"
Here's an excerpt from an advice column from author Michelle Zink (hat tip to Twitter user CommonComrades):
Q: I’m gay, and live in a very small/conservative town. If I came out, I’d probably get kicked out of the house. I’ve tried to not be the way I am, it’s just not happening.
Should I tell anyone, or just keep it quiet until I can move away? Or something else?
A: I get emails all the time from gay teens who are struggling with the issue of when and how to come out. And no matter how many I get, I still always think, “For serious? This is still an issue for people?” That’s because in my book, everyone is entitled to love, in whatever form that takes (as long as it’s not harmful to others). I couldn’t care less whether you’re gay, straight, transgender, or celibate. You are deserving of love.
Anyway, you don’t say how old you are, but I’m going to assume somewhere between 16 and 20. Not knowing that makes this a tough one to answer, because there’s a world of difference between being 16 and in high school and being 20 and nearly out in the world.
I wish I could use my mantra for all things, “Be who you are” here, because really, we should all be able to do that and know that we’re guaranteed love and acceptance – especially by the people closest to us. But part of the downside to being an adult or almost-adult is the accepting that our decisions and actions have consequences. Sometimes, those consequences aren’t fair, but ranting about that isn’t going to get us anywhere, is it? In this case, as with most cases, we have to deal with what IS, even though it totally sucks.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
Q: I’m gay, and live in a very small/conservative town. If I came out, I’d probably get kicked out of the house. I’ve tried to not be the way I am, it’s just not happening.
Should I tell anyone, or just keep it quiet until I can move away? Or something else?
A: I get emails all the time from gay teens who are struggling with the issue of when and how to come out. And no matter how many I get, I still always think, “For serious? This is still an issue for people?” That’s because in my book, everyone is entitled to love, in whatever form that takes (as long as it’s not harmful to others). I couldn’t care less whether you’re gay, straight, transgender, or celibate. You are deserving of love.
Anyway, you don’t say how old you are, but I’m going to assume somewhere between 16 and 20. Not knowing that makes this a tough one to answer, because there’s a world of difference between being 16 and in high school and being 20 and nearly out in the world.
I wish I could use my mantra for all things, “Be who you are” here, because really, we should all be able to do that and know that we’re guaranteed love and acceptance – especially by the people closest to us. But part of the downside to being an adult or almost-adult is the accepting that our decisions and actions have consequences. Sometimes, those consequences aren’t fair, but ranting about that isn’t going to get us anywhere, is it? In this case, as with most cases, we have to deal with what IS, even though it totally sucks.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
It's Not All About Marriage, It's About Relationship Rights
That's the interesting take that The Bilerico Project contributor Alex Blaze has on the Rhode Island legislature's veto override that granted domestic partner death rights in the state. Is another way to equality diminishing the privilege of married couples, and is that a bad thing? Here's an excerpt from Blaze's essay:
The Rhode Island legislature overrode the governor's veto to pass a bill to allow gay and straight unmarried partners to plan their partners' funerals in the case of death. I blogged about the governor's veto of this bill last November under the title "Everything is not marriage," because the governor cited the slippery slope to same-sex marriage as a reason to reject the bill.
While everyone is focusing on the same-sex couples that the bill will help, it applies to straight couples as well who might not marry for whatever reason. Elderly straight couples often don't marry so that they don't lose their deceased spouses' pensions and Social Security, younger couples are waiting longer and longer to get married (the bill applies to couples who have been together for at least a year, which isn't enough time for many straight people to get married), and lots of people just avoid the whole institution because of all the baggage that comes with being married.
This is "beyond marriage" win - it takes a right associated with marriage and opens it up to all relationships or the population as a whole. If we're saying we want to get married for the all the rights associated with the institution, another solution to being excluded from marriage is to just stop associating those rights with the institution.
Click here to read the rest of the essay.
The Rhode Island legislature overrode the governor's veto to pass a bill to allow gay and straight unmarried partners to plan their partners' funerals in the case of death. I blogged about the governor's veto of this bill last November under the title "Everything is not marriage," because the governor cited the slippery slope to same-sex marriage as a reason to reject the bill.
While everyone is focusing on the same-sex couples that the bill will help, it applies to straight couples as well who might not marry for whatever reason. Elderly straight couples often don't marry so that they don't lose their deceased spouses' pensions and Social Security, younger couples are waiting longer and longer to get married (the bill applies to couples who have been together for at least a year, which isn't enough time for many straight people to get married), and lots of people just avoid the whole institution because of all the baggage that comes with being married.
This is "beyond marriage" win - it takes a right associated with marriage and opens it up to all relationships or the population as a whole. If we're saying we want to get married for the all the rights associated with the institution, another solution to being excluded from marriage is to just stop associating those rights with the institution.
Click here to read the rest of the essay.
Daily Devotional 1/9/10 Free to Choose
From: Love Worth Finding
“What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall He teach in the way that He shall choose.” Psalm 25:12
You are free to choose. You are not free, however, not to choose. Then, after you make a choice, your choice chooses for you.
There are consequences for your choices – always. If you choose to step off the roof of a ten-story building, you are not, then, free to choose the consequences of your choice. Your choice has chosen for you.
What if you make a bad choice? What is God’s reaction? First, He is in control. Your choices will not take Him by surprise. Thanks be to God, He can prevail over our bad choices to restore us into fellowship with Himself!
Have you made a choice in your past that has brought consequences reverberating even to this day? Then share that insight with someone who is younger in their faith than you.
“What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall He teach in the way that He shall choose.” Psalm 25:12
You are free to choose. You are not free, however, not to choose. Then, after you make a choice, your choice chooses for you.
There are consequences for your choices – always. If you choose to step off the roof of a ten-story building, you are not, then, free to choose the consequences of your choice. Your choice has chosen for you.
What if you make a bad choice? What is God’s reaction? First, He is in control. Your choices will not take Him by surprise. Thanks be to God, He can prevail over our bad choices to restore us into fellowship with Himself!
Have you made a choice in your past that has brought consequences reverberating even to this day? Then share that insight with someone who is younger in their faith than you.
January 08, 2010
Portugal's Parliment Votes to Permit Same-Sex Marriage
Here's the AP report via the New York Times:
Portugal's parliament passed a bill Friday that would make the predominantly Catholic nation the sixth in Europe to permit gay marriage.
Conservative President Anibal Cavaco Silva is thought unlikely to veto the Socialist government's bill, which won the support of all left-of-center parties. His ratification would allow the first gay marriage ceremonies to take place in April -- a month before Pope Benedict XVI is due on an official visit to Portugal.
Right-of-center parties opposed the change and sought a national referendum on the issue, but their proposal was rejected and the government's bill was passed by 125 votes to 99.
Gay rights campaigners applauded from the galleries, hugged and kissed outside the building and ate wedding cake.
''This law rights a wrong,'' Prime Minister Jose Socrates said in a speech to lawmakers, adding that it ''simply ends pointless suffering.''
Click here to read the rest of the story.
Portugal's parliament passed a bill Friday that would make the predominantly Catholic nation the sixth in Europe to permit gay marriage.
Conservative President Anibal Cavaco Silva is thought unlikely to veto the Socialist government's bill, which won the support of all left-of-center parties. His ratification would allow the first gay marriage ceremonies to take place in April -- a month before Pope Benedict XVI is due on an official visit to Portugal.
Right-of-center parties opposed the change and sought a national referendum on the issue, but their proposal was rejected and the government's bill was passed by 125 votes to 99.
Gay rights campaigners applauded from the galleries, hugged and kissed outside the building and ate wedding cake.
''This law rights a wrong,'' Prime Minister Jose Socrates said in a speech to lawmakers, adding that it ''simply ends pointless suffering.''
Click here to read the rest of the story.
Encouraging Words 1/8/10-"Confession of a Christian 'Broad'"
Here is an excerpt from an essay posted at Whosoever.org by Lori Heine:
No one forces God to love us. We are entirely dependent upon God's goodness. God's good - and always will be - because that's Who God is. As "His" Name, as given to Moses at the burning bush, implies, "I am who I am." Or, translated more correctly, "I will be who I will be."
Those who are good to those they don't have to be good to testify to the light of God. There's no "what's in it for me?" attitude for them. The less self-interested their love for others happens to be, the more God-like it is.
God weeps with us when we cry. But God doesn't have to do that. No one would punish "Him" if "He" stonily hid away and left us to weep all alone.
We make much - and rightly so - of the fact that Jesus was born a human being, in this human world, to live, and laugh, and cry, and suffer and die alongside of us. But there were other choices He could have made along the way.
No one forces God to love us. We are entirely dependent upon God's goodness. God's good - and always will be - because that's Who God is. As "His" Name, as given to Moses at the burning bush, implies, "I am who I am." Or, translated more correctly, "I will be who I will be."
Those who are good to those they don't have to be good to testify to the light of God. There's no "what's in it for me?" attitude for them. The less self-interested their love for others happens to be, the more God-like it is.
God weeps with us when we cry. But God doesn't have to do that. No one would punish "Him" if "He" stonily hid away and left us to weep all alone.
We make much - and rightly so - of the fact that Jesus was born a human being, in this human world, to live, and laugh, and cry, and suffer and die alongside of us. But there were other choices He could have made along the way.
An LGBT Parenting Agenda for 2010
Dana Rudolph, the publisher of the blog Mombian, contributed an essay to Bay Windows proposing an agenda for LGBT families to take on in the new year:
It is a bit of a cliché to joke that our "agenda" as LGBT parents goes something like this: "Grocery shopping. Laundry. PTA meeting. Kids’ soccer practice."
It’s funny because it’s true. The beginning of the year, however, is a good time to reflect on a broader agenda to help create equality for our families. Here are some of the items on my list:
Nationwide recognition of our parental status: Being in a legally recognized relationship in one jurisdiction is no guarantee that other jurisdictions will recognize the parenthood of a non-biological (or non-adoptive) parent. This can impact custody disputes, hospital visitation, or the simple ability to sign school forms.
Even when an adoption is legal in one state, parents sometimes have to fight for other states to recognize it. A federal appeals court last year ordered a hold on an order for Louisiana to put both gay dads on the birth certificate of a boy adopted in New York but born in Louisiana, where same-sex couples cannot adopt. The court heard the case in October, but has not yet ruled.
Last May in Florida, too, a biological mother tried to deny visitation to her ex-partner, who had done a second-parent adoption when the couple lived in Washington. The court ruled that despite the Florida ban on adoption by gay men and lesbians, it had to recognize the out-of-state adoption. Good news -- but opposite-sex parents would not have had to fight that battle.
Click here for the rest of this essay.
It is a bit of a cliché to joke that our "agenda" as LGBT parents goes something like this: "Grocery shopping. Laundry. PTA meeting. Kids’ soccer practice."
It’s funny because it’s true. The beginning of the year, however, is a good time to reflect on a broader agenda to help create equality for our families. Here are some of the items on my list:
Nationwide recognition of our parental status: Being in a legally recognized relationship in one jurisdiction is no guarantee that other jurisdictions will recognize the parenthood of a non-biological (or non-adoptive) parent. This can impact custody disputes, hospital visitation, or the simple ability to sign school forms.
Even when an adoption is legal in one state, parents sometimes have to fight for other states to recognize it. A federal appeals court last year ordered a hold on an order for Louisiana to put both gay dads on the birth certificate of a boy adopted in New York but born in Louisiana, where same-sex couples cannot adopt. The court heard the case in October, but has not yet ruled.
Last May in Florida, too, a biological mother tried to deny visitation to her ex-partner, who had done a second-parent adoption when the couple lived in Washington. The court ruled that despite the Florida ban on adoption by gay men and lesbians, it had to recognize the out-of-state adoption. Good news -- but opposite-sex parents would not have had to fight that battle.
Click here for the rest of this essay.
Daily Devotional 1/8/10 Let Jesus Lead the Way
From: Love Worth Finding
“Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.” Psalm 31:24
Who knows you better than the One who created you?
Who cares more for you than the One Who died for you?
Who leads you more carefully than the One Who knows the end from the beginning?
There is no greater picture of courage than the picture of Jesus Christ – the Savior Who lays down His life. You can know security because the One Who loves you is compassionate, caring, and courageous.
Jesus knows you. He cares for you. He wants to lead you into the abundant life.
Are you willing to lay down your life for the sake of the Lord?
“Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.” Psalm 31:24
Who knows you better than the One who created you?
Who cares more for you than the One Who died for you?
Who leads you more carefully than the One Who knows the end from the beginning?
There is no greater picture of courage than the picture of Jesus Christ – the Savior Who lays down His life. You can know security because the One Who loves you is compassionate, caring, and courageous.
Jesus knows you. He cares for you. He wants to lead you into the abundant life.
Are you willing to lay down your life for the sake of the Lord?
January 07, 2010
Breaking News: New Jersey Senate Votes No on Same-Sex Marriage
From Timothy Kinkaid at Box Turtle Bulletin:
Today the full New Jersey Senate voted on a bill to provide the same legal protections, responsibilities, and recognition to same-sex couples that it offers to opposite-sex couples. As expected, the full Senate voted against marriage equality 20 – 14. To pass, the bill needed 21 votes, seven more than it received.
(for the record, Sen. Teresa Ruiz nearly brought me to tears)
What this means in practical terms is that New Jersey will not have marriage equality for the four (or eight) years of Chris Christie’s governance. Or, I suppose, until two thirds of the senate is committed to marriage and can overturn a veto.
However, we finally have a tally of those who believe in equality under the law and those who believe that our lives, our relationships, and our citizenship are inferior to their own. I’ll bring you the roll call once I know it.
It is quite likely that support for the idea of marriage in New Jersey will continue to grow. At some point I think it likely that the no vote of some Senators today will cost them their career.
Let’s try and make that sooner rather than later.
Due to limited Internet access at this time, we won't have any more updates tonight. For further reaction, check out our "LGBT News" link under Resources or the Google News Feed, both on the right hand side of our site.
Today the full New Jersey Senate voted on a bill to provide the same legal protections, responsibilities, and recognition to same-sex couples that it offers to opposite-sex couples. As expected, the full Senate voted against marriage equality 20 – 14. To pass, the bill needed 21 votes, seven more than it received.
(for the record, Sen. Teresa Ruiz nearly brought me to tears)
What this means in practical terms is that New Jersey will not have marriage equality for the four (or eight) years of Chris Christie’s governance. Or, I suppose, until two thirds of the senate is committed to marriage and can overturn a veto.
However, we finally have a tally of those who believe in equality under the law and those who believe that our lives, our relationships, and our citizenship are inferior to their own. I’ll bring you the roll call once I know it.
It is quite likely that support for the idea of marriage in New Jersey will continue to grow. At some point I think it likely that the no vote of some Senators today will cost them their career.
Let’s try and make that sooner rather than later.
Due to limited Internet access at this time, we won't have any more updates tonight. For further reaction, check out our "LGBT News" link under Resources or the Google News Feed, both on the right hand side of our site.
Encouraging Words 1/7/10-"A Call For a Nuanced View of Religious Leaders"
We believe this is an exceptional essay and offers a viewpoint we strongly agree with. From Timothy Kincaid at Box Turtle Bulletin:
Most of us are capable of seeing our coworkers, family, and neighbors as possessing varying degrees of rejection or support.
We know that Aunt Gladys will ask when you’re going to go to Vermont to marry your young man and we appreciate her. But we also know that Uncle Fred will keep his mouth shut but, if asked, will say, “well, any of your special friends are always welcome in my home, but I’m just old fashioned and think a marriage is between a man and a woman”. And Cousin Susan loves you and supports you but really wishes that you were straight because, “the gay life is so much more difficult”.
Somehow we are able to accept Uncle Fred and Cousin Susan and their limitations without denouncing them as vile people. But too often our community views religious leaders through a dichotomous lens; either the minister is a fully supportive political ally, or a hate-filled anti-gay bigot.
But truthfully, most are neither.
Click here to read the rest of the essay.
Most of us are capable of seeing our coworkers, family, and neighbors as possessing varying degrees of rejection or support.
We know that Aunt Gladys will ask when you’re going to go to Vermont to marry your young man and we appreciate her. But we also know that Uncle Fred will keep his mouth shut but, if asked, will say, “well, any of your special friends are always welcome in my home, but I’m just old fashioned and think a marriage is between a man and a woman”. And Cousin Susan loves you and supports you but really wishes that you were straight because, “the gay life is so much more difficult”.
Somehow we are able to accept Uncle Fred and Cousin Susan and their limitations without denouncing them as vile people. But too often our community views religious leaders through a dichotomous lens; either the minister is a fully supportive political ally, or a hate-filled anti-gay bigot.
But truthfully, most are neither.
Click here to read the rest of the essay.
LGBT Helping Hands 1/7/10-AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
ARCW is among the largest and most comprehensive AIDS service agencies in the country. We provide a vast array of health and social services to over 3,000 Wisconsin residents living with HIV disease. Through a wide variety of aggressive AIDS prevention programs, we make over 150,000 prevention contacts every year with people who are at risk for contracting HIV.
Health Care
The ARCW Medical Center is the largest provider of HIV health care in Wisconsin. Our medical, dental and mental health clinics are available to people with HIV disease regardless of their ability to pay. Clinic appointments are easily made by clicking on the links to the left.
Social Services
We also provide an array of important social support services which include residential housing, rent assistance, legal assistance, food services, alcohol and drug treatment, benefits advocacy and case management. To access these services, click on the links to the left.
AIDS Prevention
We offer a comprehensive continuum of AIDS prevention programs throughout Wisconsin. We are proud of our Lifepoint clean needle exchange program which operates in 11 Wisconsin cities. From abstinence support to HIV risk reduction counseling to HIV testing, we bring the most effective AIDS prevention strategies to gay men, injection drug users, women and youth at risk for HIV disease.
Click here to find out more.
Health Care
The ARCW Medical Center is the largest provider of HIV health care in Wisconsin. Our medical, dental and mental health clinics are available to people with HIV disease regardless of their ability to pay. Clinic appointments are easily made by clicking on the links to the left.
Social Services
We also provide an array of important social support services which include residential housing, rent assistance, legal assistance, food services, alcohol and drug treatment, benefits advocacy and case management. To access these services, click on the links to the left.
AIDS Prevention
We offer a comprehensive continuum of AIDS prevention programs throughout Wisconsin. We are proud of our Lifepoint clean needle exchange program which operates in 11 Wisconsin cities. From abstinence support to HIV risk reduction counseling to HIV testing, we bring the most effective AIDS prevention strategies to gay men, injection drug users, women and youth at risk for HIV disease.
Click here to find out more.
The "Gay Panic" Defense Won't Go Away
From Change.org:
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stab you to death, but I was freaked out about your sexual orientation.
Sounds ridiculous, but the venerable "gay panic" defense is being tossed about surrounding a murder in Indiana, where an Indiana University professor was killed last week. That professor, Don Belton, was stabbed in his own kitchen six times with a ten-inch military knife. The assailant, Michael Griffin, is a 25-year-old ex-marine and Bloomington, Indiana resident.
The details of the case are murky. Journals from Belton's own home indicate that the two had some sort of relationship, dating back a few weeks. Griffin also apparently told police that he stabbed Belton because the professor wouldn't apologize for an unwanted sexual advance on Christmas Day. But the extent to which these two knew each other, and how they knew each other, hasn't really been fully disclosed just yet.
But that's not stopping some from speculating that "gay panic" led to Belton's murder. Take Ryan Smith over at CBS News, who writes, "Though his defense strategy is not yet clear, others with similar cases have pursued a 'gay panic' defense, hoping to persuade juries that they were rendered temporarily insane by the perceived romantic or sexual advances of the victim."
In 2010, one might think "gay panic" is as much an oxymoron as "jumbo shrimp" or "fighting for peace." After all, let's call "gay panic" what it really is -- an act by someone so self-loathing or insecure that they annihilate a person because they can't come to terms with their own issues. As a friend of mine put it, yeah, that may be panic. But defensible? Hardly.
Click here to read the rest of the story.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stab you to death, but I was freaked out about your sexual orientation.
Sounds ridiculous, but the venerable "gay panic" defense is being tossed about surrounding a murder in Indiana, where an Indiana University professor was killed last week. That professor, Don Belton, was stabbed in his own kitchen six times with a ten-inch military knife. The assailant, Michael Griffin, is a 25-year-old ex-marine and Bloomington, Indiana resident.
The details of the case are murky. Journals from Belton's own home indicate that the two had some sort of relationship, dating back a few weeks. Griffin also apparently told police that he stabbed Belton because the professor wouldn't apologize for an unwanted sexual advance on Christmas Day. But the extent to which these two knew each other, and how they knew each other, hasn't really been fully disclosed just yet.
But that's not stopping some from speculating that "gay panic" led to Belton's murder. Take Ryan Smith over at CBS News, who writes, "Though his defense strategy is not yet clear, others with similar cases have pursued a 'gay panic' defense, hoping to persuade juries that they were rendered temporarily insane by the perceived romantic or sexual advances of the victim."
In 2010, one might think "gay panic" is as much an oxymoron as "jumbo shrimp" or "fighting for peace." After all, let's call "gay panic" what it really is -- an act by someone so self-loathing or insecure that they annihilate a person because they can't come to terms with their own issues. As a friend of mine put it, yeah, that may be panic. But defensible? Hardly.
Click here to read the rest of the story.
Daily Devotional 1/7/10 Dependence on God - A Witness of His Power
From: Love Worth Finding
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7
If you’re like most people, you don’t realize your dependency on God until you’re burned out from stress — either self-induced or caused by circumstances beyond your control.
Why is that? Paul says it’s because we are fragile, but he doesn’t stop there. He says that God made us this way so that His power may be known through us!
Maybe someone told you, “Oh, just tie a knot and hang on!” But sometimes God wants us to let go of the rope because it is keeping us tied down to our destructive habits. We are totally dependent on God so that the love of His Son may be made known to the world.
Get a piece of rope and tie a knot in it. Let it sit on your desk this week as a reminder that God is more than just a knot at the end of the rope; He is the Savior of the World!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7
If you’re like most people, you don’t realize your dependency on God until you’re burned out from stress — either self-induced or caused by circumstances beyond your control.
Why is that? Paul says it’s because we are fragile, but he doesn’t stop there. He says that God made us this way so that His power may be known through us!
Maybe someone told you, “Oh, just tie a knot and hang on!” But sometimes God wants us to let go of the rope because it is keeping us tied down to our destructive habits. We are totally dependent on God so that the love of His Son may be made known to the world.
Get a piece of rope and tie a knot in it. Let it sit on your desk this week as a reminder that God is more than just a knot at the end of the rope; He is the Savior of the World!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 06, 2010
Would a Supreme Court Ruling In Favor of Same-Sex Marriage Be a Bad Thing For LGBT People?
That's the interesting take from Gay Patriot, a gay conservitive blog (hat tip to CommonComrades on Twitter). We think they raise some interesting points, but we believe that ultimately the pros still strongly outweigh the cons.
...take heed to the results of a little 1973 Supreme Court decisions, Roe v. Wade. There, the court removed the issue of abortion from elected legislatures and overturned their bans on the practice. And as a result, for the past thirty-six years, abortion has become a divisive social issue.
And back then, some states were already moving to legalize the practice (just as some are moving today to recognize gay marriage). If federal courts mandate state recognition of gay marriage, gay marriage will become a political football like abortion, forever dividing us. Mr. Frum should recall that gay marriage first became a political football in the 1990s shortly after the Hawai’i Supreme Court ruled that its state “statute limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples is presumed to be unconstitutional“, remanding the case to lower courts to see if there were compelling “state interests” which justified the ban. Three years later, a trial court found that there were none.
The same year, Congress enacted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Two years after that, Hawai’i voters amended their state’s constitution to limit marriage to opposite sex couples. A raft of state referenda with goals similar to the Aloha State initiative followed. In this century, the Goodridge decision in Massachusetts mandating that the Bay State legislature recognize same-sex marriages led to a similar flood of state initiatives limiting state recognized marriage to its traditional definition.
In short, court-mandated recognition of same-sex marriage only serves to further social divisions. To avoid such divisions, gay marriage advocates should first convince the people of the merits of expanding the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples. That is why it is better to move this issue through legislatures. And given last month’s election returns, it would be better to move incrementally, first pushing civil unions for which there seems to be significant support (at least in the nation’s coastal regions).
Click here to read the rest of the post and join in what you can imagine is a very spirited discussion.
...take heed to the results of a little 1973 Supreme Court decisions, Roe v. Wade. There, the court removed the issue of abortion from elected legislatures and overturned their bans on the practice. And as a result, for the past thirty-six years, abortion has become a divisive social issue.
And back then, some states were already moving to legalize the practice (just as some are moving today to recognize gay marriage). If federal courts mandate state recognition of gay marriage, gay marriage will become a political football like abortion, forever dividing us. Mr. Frum should recall that gay marriage first became a political football in the 1990s shortly after the Hawai’i Supreme Court ruled that its state “statute limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples is presumed to be unconstitutional“, remanding the case to lower courts to see if there were compelling “state interests” which justified the ban. Three years later, a trial court found that there were none.
The same year, Congress enacted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Two years after that, Hawai’i voters amended their state’s constitution to limit marriage to opposite sex couples. A raft of state referenda with goals similar to the Aloha State initiative followed. In this century, the Goodridge decision in Massachusetts mandating that the Bay State legislature recognize same-sex marriages led to a similar flood of state initiatives limiting state recognized marriage to its traditional definition.
In short, court-mandated recognition of same-sex marriage only serves to further social divisions. To avoid such divisions, gay marriage advocates should first convince the people of the merits of expanding the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples. That is why it is better to move this issue through legislatures. And given last month’s election returns, it would be better to move incrementally, first pushing civil unions for which there seems to be significant support (at least in the nation’s coastal regions).
Click here to read the rest of the post and join in what you can imagine is a very spirited discussion.
Matthew 25 Resource 1/6/10: Helping Up Mission (Baltimore, MD)
Since 1885, Helping Up Mission has been coming to the aid of the poor and homeless in the City of Baltimore and surrounding region. During the last half of the twentieth century, the Mission narrowed its focus to serving the spiritual and physical needs of the poor and homeless men in the region.
Yet, to really support poor and homeless men in Baltimore, the Mission began a long-term residential Spiritual Recovery Program for men struggling with drug and alcohol addiction in the 1990’s. Today, the work of Helping Up Mission centers on a 12-month residential Spiritual Recovery Program in a 12 Step therapeutic community. The focus is on addressing the intellectual, physical, social and spiritual needs of every man we serve.
Click here to find out more.
Yet, to really support poor and homeless men in Baltimore, the Mission began a long-term residential Spiritual Recovery Program for men struggling with drug and alcohol addiction in the 1990’s. Today, the work of Helping Up Mission centers on a 12-month residential Spiritual Recovery Program in a 12 Step therapeutic community. The focus is on addressing the intellectual, physical, social and spiritual needs of every man we serve.
Click here to find out more.
How Will Marriage Equality Affect Presidential Politics in Iowa and New Hampshire?
Blogger Joe Mirabella finds it very interesting, as we also do, that the two states which are always the first focus of presidential campaigns also both have fully legal same-sex marriage. His post over at Pam's House Blend offers interesting insight how that fact might impact the 2012 presidential campaign, which will be upon us before we know it:
Iowa and New Hampshire politics are intimate. When I lived in Iowa I regularly met presidential candidates. They are extraordinarily available. One day I was walking down the street in Iowa City and I ran into Joe Biden having a conversation with a picnic table full of Iowans. They were grilling him on everything from foreign affairs to equal rights.
I ran into Al Gore at my favorite coffee shop shortly after the presidency was given to Bush by the Supreme Court. He was sporting a thick beard and and several extra pounds, but he was in Iowa so I had hope he was going to make a comeback.
I also met Bush Senior, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Howard Dean, Dennis Kucinich, and John Kerry. I didn't meet these people because I was a powerful lobbyist or because I had a lot of money to donate, but because they were candidates and they desperately wanted me to like them because I was an Iowan.
Iowa and New Hampshire politics are intimate. When I lived in Iowa I regularly met presidential candidates. They are extraordinarily available. One day I was walking down the street in Iowa City and I ran into Joe Biden having a conversation with a picnic table full of Iowans. They were grilling him on everything from foreign affairs to equal rights.
I ran into Al Gore at my favorite coffee shop shortly after the presidency was given to Bush by the Supreme Court. He was sporting a thick beard and and several extra pounds, but he was in Iowa so I had hope he was going to make a comeback.
I also met Bush Senior, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Howard Dean, Dennis Kucinich, and John Kerry. I didn't meet these people because I was a powerful lobbyist or because I had a lot of money to donate, but because they were candidates and they desperately wanted me to like them because I was an Iowan.
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