LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY idragosani)

NORFOLK, Va. - Getting divorced in Virginia may be more difficult if a conservative advocacy group gets its way.

Family Foundation, which led the push to ban same-sex marriage in Virginia, has formed a commission that will recommend public policies that could preserve traditional marriages.


Read more

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY jehovahsfitness)

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We need more like him.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/15054276.htm

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY jargon_john)

BYU Prof. Let Go for Gay Marriage Stance

PROVO, Utah (AP) - Brigham Young University has decided not to rehire a part-time instructor because he publicly opposed the Mormon church's stand against marriage for same-sex couples.

Jeffrey Nielsen, a philosophy instructor at the church-owned university, said in an op-ed piece for the June 4 edition of The Salt Lake Tribune, "I believe opposing gay marriage and seeking a constitutional amendment against it is immoral."

Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have spent millions of dollars campaigning against gay marriage and on May 28 called on members to support a constitutional amendment banning it.

Nielsen, a Mormon, said he learned of the school's decision regarding his employment in a June 8 letter from Daniel Graham, chairman of the Department of Philosophy.

"Since you have chosen to contradict and oppose the church in an area of great concern to church leaders, and to do so in a public forum, we will not rehire you after the current term is over," the letter said.

BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins confirmed that Graham decided not to rehire Nielsen because of the op-ed piece.

Nielsen said he is sticking by his views - and his religion.

"I have no desire to be anything but a member of the church," he said Tuesday.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY velvetpage)

I don't think they realized that I was one of the people who answered all the demographic questions "correctly" - Christian, white, middle-class, etc - and still disagreed with them. I figure if they're going to start another petition, I'm going to post the link here so all of you lovely people (Canadians, at least, and I can get you a few postal codes if you're interested in padding the vote, as the other side is doubtless doing) can vote against re-establishing the traditional definition of marriage.

( cut for length and the possibility that the message may nauseate some on my friends list. )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY exotic_princess)

( Editorial cartoon - is it really that far-fetched? )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY britzkrieg)

An anti-gay marriage petition circulated in Massachusetts has received a record number of signatures. But are they all legitimate?

Supporters of the ban said their effort shows that gay marriage is still a burning issue among thousands of voters, and legislators should pay heed.

"The people have not just spoken, they have shouted to let the people vote on the definition of marriage," said Kristian Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, which spearheaded the signature drive...

Opponents of the ballot question say the eye-popping number of signatories does not reflect a tidal wave of support for overturning the Supreme Judicial Court's landmark 2003 ruling that declared same-sex matrimony legal. Rather, they said, it shows that paid signature-gatherers were particularly effective at tricking unsuspecting voters into signing a petition they didn't support.

"This is a groundswell of fraud and deceit, not of voter insistence," said Arline Isaacson, cochairwoman of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus.

Hundreds of Bay State residents complained to gay organizations and state officials this fall that they were duped into signing the antigay marriage measure when they thought they were backing a proposal to allow supermarkets to sell wine. The state Senate this year passed a bill outlawing paid signature-gathering, but the measure sits in the House with little prospect of success.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY kynn)

A judge has ordered the city of San Jose to stop offering benefits to the same-sex partners of municipal workers who were married in areas where those unions are legal. [...]

The Christian conservative Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund filed suit on behalf of the Values Advocacy Council of San Jose and the Proposition 22 Legal Defense Fund claiming the benefits violate Proposition 22 which defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

The ADF is involved in fighting same-sex marriage across the country and the Proposition 22 Legal Defense Fund is one of two groups currently collecting signatures for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in California.

The Alliance Defense Fund is the lawsuit-happy lawyer wing of the Dominionist movement.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Meet the Fundies
By Steve Satterwhite, Texas Observer
Posted on October 20, 2005, Printed on October 20, 2005
Alternet

Every soul who testified at the Texas Senate State Affairs Committee hearing on May 19 on the topic of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and civil unions had more to say than they could cram into the three minutes made available to each speaker.

There were so many people who wanted to testify that the hearing was held in a packed Senate Chamber instead of a committee room. For upwards of 10 hours, they took their turns, the on-deck speaker sitting beside the one who was already testifying.

For those who supported gay marriage and gay rights in general, the proposed amendment was cast as a hideous step toward the Dark Ages, a crippling legal twist on the civil definition of marriage. What's worse, it codified discrimination in the state constitution, a document that should be used to guarantee civil rights. It would deny some human beings the freedom to be fully human.( Warning: Some of this article contains graphic material. )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY deridetenebras)

From Media Matters: Quicktime Video of Pat Robertson calling homosexuals "self-absorbed narcissists" and blaming them for abortion & divorce

You go back to the various laws that took away the difficulty of getting a divorce, and the people leading the charge were homosexuals, way back in the '70s. So we have no-fault divorce. Who are leading the charge for abortions? So often, you'll find people who are lesbians leading the fight for the destruction of human life. Now they want to destroy marriage.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Church's gay marriage decision proves faiths change with time

BY RON GROSSMAN
Chicago Tribune

(KRT) - With faith-based conservatives on a seemingly endless roll, this hasn't been a fun season for the liberally inclined. The religious right styles itself as a divinely installed power behind the throne. Fundamentalists are so convinced that the road to heaven runs through their church's door, and they issued such finely detailed specs for a Supreme Court nominee, that even President Bush was taken aback.

Yet while the era now seems as distant as Noah and the flood, a respect for human diversity and a sense that no creed has a monopoly on truth once were in the mainstream of American religious thought. Now, though, it virtually requires what the Bible calls "signs and wonders" to believe that the spirit of toleration might someday return.

So here is a sign - and, even more so, a wonder - for the progressive and perplexed to contemplate. On July 4, the general synod of the United Church of Christ endorsed same-sex marriage.( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY hummingwolf)

From the New York Times Magazine: What's Their Real Problem With Gay Marriage? (It's the Gay Part)

In the words of Gary Bauer, president of American Values -- one of what is now a total of 61 organizations under the Arlington Group banner, with a combined membership of 60 million -- gay marriage is ''the new abortion.'' He meant that, as with abortion, conservatives see gay marriage as a culture-altering change being implemented by judicial fiat. But gay marriage is also the new abortion in that it is for groups like Bauer's a base-energizing and fund-raising issue of tremendous power.

Hundreds of thousands of people led by 20 Roman Catholic bishops and conservative opposition leaders clogged downtown Madrid on Saturday in a demonstration against the Socialist government's bill to legalize gay marriage and permit gay couples to adopt children....

[Fr. Jose Ramon] Velasco compared the bill to the beginnings of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

"Back then the majority of people also backed Hitler just like the majority back this law," he said. "I'm serious, give it time and it will destroy the moral fiber of Spain and the West."

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

This Alternet article not only talks about gay marriage, but also provides another framework to see and understand the group of people often lumped together as 'evangelicals'.

The Gospel On Gay Marriage

By Letha Dawson Scanzoni, AlterNet
Posted on June 16, 2005, Printed on June 17, 2005
http://www.alternet.org/story/22241/

In his book, "God's Politics," Jim Wallis wrote about how the religious right has narrowed faith-based values to a few "hot-button" issues, while ignoring the biblical vision of social justice in areas such as poverty, the environment, and questions of war and peace.

But hot-button issues like same-sex marriage can't be cast aside at a time when influential religious leaders are rallying the troops for a war against a minority group already suffering the pain of discrimination. Chuck Colson has trumpeted the battle cry by saying that the "number one cultural priority of Christians" should be "stopping the spread of same-sex marriage" and that "pastors, priests, and clergy of all denominations should be leading the charge."( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

This Daily Kos diary has links to audio files and several telecom websites which are Christian oriented and vehemently anti-gay, among other things...

After the call reaches a person they are prompted to press "1" if they oppose gay marriage. A holding message says "Please do not hang up ... This information will describe how the ACLU and gays are getting gay marriage in every state." The operator then enters the conversation:

Operator: Did you press 1 to oppose same sex marriages?

Mr. Mirman: Oh, I pressed it, yes.

Operator: Okay, that's great to hear. And are you against same sex marriages?

Mr. Mirman: Well, I want to destroy it, yes.

Operator: Okay. That's great to hear... -

Mr. Mirman: Like the fist of God we will smash them!

Operator: Exactly.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY britzkrieg)

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Using an evangelical school gymnasium as a backdrop, Gov. Rick Perry put his signature to legislation restricting abortions and added his backing to a measure barring same-sex marriage.

Perry signed a bill Sunday requiring girls under the age of 18 to get their parents' consent before having an abortion and also imposes more limits on late-term abortions...

During the 1-1/2 hour program, Perry also signed a resolution to amend the Texas Constitution by banning same-sex marriages. However, that signature was only ceremonial since voters must approve the ban in November.

"A nurturing home with a loving mother and loving father is the best way to guide our children down the proper path," said Perry, who was joined by several legislators. He also thanked the "pro-life" and "pro-family" organizations...

"The critics are generally those who object to people of faith participating in government or the electoral process," said Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt. "There are a number of critics who would object to this bill-signing if it were in a public school, a library, a Wal-Mart parking lot or any other venue, because they oppose pro-life and pro-family issues."

Pastor Larry White, of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Houston, said the gathering there was about life, family and marriage. "There are those that would drive people of faith from the public square if they could," White said.

Full Story

Stunts like this one make me furious. (x-posted)

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

This Guardian article explains how big businesses who support anti-discrimination laws are under pressure from the Religious Right:

David Teather explains how US companies supporting anti-discriminatory legislation are under pressure from the religious right

David Teather
Wednesday May 4, 2005

Guardian Unlimited
Last week, Microsoft unwittingly found itself caught in the crosshairs of America's culture wars.

The software company is widely regarded as a progressive employer, and has offered benefits to the partners of its gay and lesbian workers since 1993. Earlier this year, it toughened up its anti-discrimination policy still further to cover "gender identity or expression", including transsexuals and transvestites.

It took Wal-Mart, the biggest employer in the US, until 2003 to even include a clause covering gays and lesbians in its anti-discrimination rules, although this was a welcome enough move from what is an otherwise deeply conservative company.

But in a widely reported decision, Microsoft recently withdrew its support for a bill that would have made it illegal to discriminate against gays and lesbians in its home state of Washington.

The company had supported a similar bill a year earlier, and its decision to take a "neutral" position caused uproar and drew accusations that it had bowed to the demands of religious conservatives.( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY britzkrieg)

HARTFORD, Connecticut (AP) -- Connecticut on Wednesday became the second state to offer civil unions to gay couples -- and the first to do so without being forced by the courts...

"I have said all along that I believe in no discrimination of any kind, and I think that this bill accomplishes that, while at the same time preserving the traditional language that a marriage is between a man and a woman," [Governor Jodi] Rell said...

Roman Catholics and other activists plan a big rally Sunday in opposition to the bill...

Brian Brown, head of the Family Institute of Connecticut, said his group intends to keep the issue squarely before the public.

"Our mission will be to let every person know in the state of Connecticut which lawmakers voted to redefine marriage, and which lawmakers voted to protect marriage," he said.

Full Story

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY anarchys_savior)

I don't have a link to it, but I was watching NBC news this morning and apparently the Christian Coalition is going to remove their support of Bush's Social Security plan(man, do these people differ on anything?) unless he pushes for a national ammendment of gay marraige. That was very upsetting to me. They'd rather have their kids fucked over because there's no Social Security Reform(I'm not endorsing Bush's plan, just saying...) as long as gays can't marry whomever they want? That's really, really disgusting and sad. I can't imagine living with so much hate in me.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

This Maine Press-Herald article talks about a Christian group who is bent on outing political officials. As David Letterman would say, "Kids, I'm not making this up."

AUGUSTA — The Christian Civic League of Maine is asking supporters for "tips, rumors, speculation and facts" about the sexual orientation of the state's political leaders so it can post the information on its Internet site.

The move, which follows the group's losing fight for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, prompted outrage from critics, who accused the organization of trying to "out" gays and lesbians by violating their privacy. It also added fuel to a debate over gay marriage that is expected to be an issue in this fall's State House races and next year's legislative session.

A popular metaphor with the social left in recent decades is "coming out of the closet." It seems to have fallen out of use in recent years.

We are going to resurrect it, and see if we can help our friends in the State House. In this age of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and "Sex in the City," it is only appropriate that all of us here in Maine understand the "sexual orientation" of our leaders. Since this matter of "sexual orientation" is of such fundamental importance that we must turn civilization on its head to accommodate it, we feel duty-bound to help you gain a better understanding.

We will therefore be writing about state leaders in coming months regarding their "sexual orientation." We are, of course, most interested in the leaders among us who want to overturn marriage, eliminate the mother/father family as the ideal, etc. The list is long, so we won't lack for material.

If you can help us, please do. E-mail us tips, rumors, speculation and facts. The more information we have the better. We will respect and honor confidentiality. Help the League stand for righteousness.

By proposing to "out" public officials, Smith said, Heath lends credence to the comment last week by Gov. John Baldacci's spokesman, Lee Umphrey, that league members who attended a recent State House rally against same-sex marriage are "cuckoo clocks."

Umphrey has since said his comment was inappropriate. But he criticized the league again Tuesday.

"Christianity is about charity, kindness and respecting others," Umphrey said. "There is nothing moral about intolerance towards gay couples."

The league's plan also drew criticism from lawmakers in both major parties.

Rep. Scott Cowger, D-Hallowell, who is openly gay, said it is wrong for any organization to be "outing" people because it is up to officials to decide for themselves whether they want to reveal such information.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

I've been following the whole sanctity of marriage debate, and seen various points of view expressed about it. The most outrage has been from the Christian Right, who believe that they should be the sole beneficiaries of this institution, and other people shouldn't have a look in.

I didn't thing much about that until I read an article from Americans United for Separation of Church and State that stated this whole thing is meant to serve the interests of the Religious Right, who will be instrumental in getting Bush reelected.

A Federal Marriage Amendment, the AU letter asserts, would harm religious liberty by writing the view of marriage favored by certain religious groups into constitutional law for all to follow. The letter notes that some religious denominations approve of same-sex unions and others do not.

“Far from protecting religion, the Federal Marriage Amendment would harm religion by expressing a preference for those religions that limit marriage to a man and woman and by relegating to second-class status the members of religions that have chosen to recognize same-sex unions,” reads the AU letter. “Not only would the Amendment thereby contravene the longstanding Establishment Clause principle that government should not endorse some religious perspectives over others, but it would do so through a change to the Constitution itself, reflecting the government’s greatest imprimatur and rendering this preference even more egregious.”

Religious Right groups and their allies have been pushing for a marriage amendment in light of recent state court rulings requiring state governments to recognize gay marriages or civil unions. While religious groups have the right to advocate for the amendment, Americans United asserts in its letter to Congress that the drive is misguided because the amendment “would enshrine into the Constitution a particular religious viewpoint and would severely limit the religious liberty of millions of Americans.”