From the Times Union Capital Confidential:

Senate sources say a debate and vote on gay marriage is still likely to follow close upon the heels of passage of the $2.8 billion deficit package currently being hammered into vote-ready form.

If there's a phone call you can make, please make it.

If not, a prayer would be great!

Gov. Paterson is trying really hard to get the State Senate to pass a same-sex marriage bill during the session that started today.

He will sign it once  it gets to him.

I live in Sen. Betty Little's district (the Northway, basically), and I am in favor of same-sex marriage in new York.

I think it's important for our citizens, and I think it's important to take the momentum away from the decision in Maine.

Our senator, Betty Little, who is generally and good and supportive senator, has oppsed same-sex marriage in the past, and I have express my concern about that.

 I called her office at (518) 455-2811 and talked to Kathy, who said the senator does not think the state should redefine marriage.

She also said they are keeping track of the number of calls they receive expressing an opinion.

Honestly, if you have a strong opinion on this, I urge that you call either way.

In case you are not up here, this site will tell you how your senator stands on the issue -- http://tools.advomatic.com/24/nyequality/totals

Even if your senator has declared opposition to same-sex marriage, please contact him/her so our voices can be heard.

Update: Fom the Albany Times-Union's "Capitol Confidential" blog a little while ago:

As for legislation legalizing gay marriage, the Senate Democrats engaged in heated discussion during conference earlier — a conference meeting that did not include Sen. Tom Duane, the lead Senate sponsor of the bill. But so far, there’s been no indication that it will be brought on the floor today.

we_do_too has been dormant too long. It's "a community for posting information and perspectives about the ongoing same-sex marriage debate. It is assumed that members will support same-sex marriage, however, nonsupporters will not be discriminated against."

(x-posted to no_on_prop_8)

Having now had a few days to look over some of the information that has come in and been pored over by personal friends of mine who are lawyers and ivy league professors, I have come to accept that my reaction (as the case has been with many) was very knee-jerk in my previous post. I was angry and upset, and as a result I posted my rage without really scrutinizing what actually took place. I have since deleted that post as it serves no purpose. I know now what I didn't then and until or unless you take the time to read and process what others have simplified so generously, own that your righteous anger may be rooted in the wrong things. I'll own my ignorance and the fact that I'm neither proud of it nor happy with myself for giving in to it so quickly. I've accepted it and I'm moving on as I hope we all will, with a renewed sense of purpose and a plan to act - because there is work to be done and we all have a fair share.

If you're interested to know what has happened in regard to the Obama DOJ's brief that has effectively turned us all into hysterics (I'm just as guilty and I admit it) then I recommend reading two things. The first is a post written by my friend Joe at his blog: Everyone Calm Down On Obama DOJ’s DOMA Brief!, which offers a breakdown compare/contrast of John Aravoisis' post that whipped the masses up into an unecessary lather. In retrospect the AmericaBlog post seems way out of context when you assess the situation reasonably and with logic, scrutiny, and without personal bias.

The blogosphere is on fire because of the recent brief submitted by Obama’s DOJ in response to a lawsuit, Smelt v. United States, seeking to overturn the federal Defense of Marriage Act that states marriage to be only between a man and a woman. The fires are being stoked by Americablog, which in my opinion twists what’s going on in the brief out of context for people who are not well-versed in the legal arguments being made. I’m not happy that Obama is defending DoMA, but let’s have a rational discussion about what’s really going on.

The other thing to read after the Centerblue post from Joe is my friend Ian's post here: Don't Moan, Organize:

I can't help wonder if some folks expected Obama's victory to solve all our problems. The campaign to win last year was critical and wonderful -- but it was the pre-game show; now the work really begins. I'm reminded of Frederick Douglass' stirring admonition: power never concedes anything without a struggle -- it never has, and it never will.

Let us all offer our collective gratitude to Joe and Ian for taking the time and care to weigh in on these issues and sort the proverbial wheat from the chaff.

I want to explain a bit more about my initial reaction. I for one felt like a lit fuse and I take full responsibility for my own part in creating and/or fueling any anti-Obama hysteria. I was wrong to have done that and I take no pride in my actions. I will not offer excuses, but I will explain why I went from 0 to 80 so fast, because I think it is similarly felt and the point is that there is now a lot more work that has to be done and we cannot afford to be lazy - this affects us all and in order to remain vigilant and bring about change, we have to be that change. It's not coming to us, we must work and fight for it, and we must stop fooling ourselves and each other with the kind of arrogant thinking that replaces effective action.

I got the news of the DOMA brief on the very day that marked the anniversary of the Loving v. Virginia decision, which was a the civil rights case in which the United States Supreme Court declared Virginia's anti-miscegenation statute, the "Racial Integrity Act of 1924", unconstitutional, thereby overturning Pace v. Alabama (1883) and ending all race-based legal restrictions on marriage in the United States. This past May was the 1 year anniversary of the death of Mildred Loving, a woman I admire deeply, and I had only a few days earlier brought the case up in a discussion with a friend of mine about marriage equality as a civil rights issue. She was weighing heavily on my mind that day in particular and when this news came floating into my inbox with all the subtlety of a flying brick I had the reaction anyone without the facts of the situation might have given the gravity of the state I was in. Add to that the multitude of conversations I've had in recent months with others about how good it feels to have hope again with someone like Barack Obama in office in the current political climate, which I haven't felt in many years now. In light of the Cairo speech, I am of the opinion that a similar opportunity could not have been pulled off as effectively with Hillary Clinton as President, and the opportunity would never have happened with John McCain. It mattered and it meant something.

As someone who has blogged about civil rights and equality for years, as someone who has studied the legislature and worked with countless organizations, I've had to accept that I'm a human being and there are times when it all just gets to be too big, too much, too fast. I crack under pressure sometimes. I felt two days ago as if the wind had been let out of my sails, but that was all self delusion on my part for following the mob mentality that was angry and wanted a pound of flesh. I get it now. I'll take care not to do that again.

My apologies to anyone who was upset, offended, or mislead by my words and actions. I'm a very passionate man about my activism, but I'm still a man with faults like anyone else. All I can do is admit when I'm wrong and use the opportunity to learn something, in this case how not to make the same mistake again.

I am sorry for anyone who has felt let down by me, and I will make amends by digging in my heels a little bit deeper and continuing to open doors for others wherever I can because that is what I do.

Pass this on to EVERY Christian you know, and encourage them to share it with others.

The Defenders


The License

These links are a permanent fixture on the sidebar of this community's layout.

( Our History )

( National & State Organizations )

( Military )

( Religious/Secular Organizations )

( Studies & Findings )

( News )

( Blogroll )

Originally posted on my own journal, but I'd like it to get a wider audience.

I loveblogged the Prop 8 oral arguments on twitter (as @prop8liveblog) yesterday (along with maryadydd, and for those of you who didn't get to hear them, well, I wasn't encouraged.

The Vermont Senate has given its final stamp of approval to a bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry in the state.  Lawmakers passed the measure on Tuesday in voice vote with no debate.

No word yet on whether Gov. Douglas will sign the bill.

Watch streaming video of the CA Supreme Court Oral Arguments for and against Prop 8: http://www.calchannel.com/

I'm saddened that this group has gone quiet. Anybody out there? Bueller, bueller, anyone?

At Equality California's Lobby Day event in Sacramento this week, I had the opportunity to hear Fr. Geoff Farrow talk about out cause.

Father Geoff, for those of you who don't know of him, was thrown out of his position with the Catholic Church for opposing Proposition 8, moreover, since then, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has blackballed him, forcing the progressive interfaith organization CLUE-LA from continuing to consider him for the position of their Executive Director by threatening to withhold all donations from that organization otherwise. (Of course, there is absolutely no mainstream media coverage of that blackmail, one thing I'd ask you to do right now is to write your local papers and television stations and ask them why this isn't news but Scott Eckhern got thousands of articles and television stories?)

Anyway, go, read now.

Why We Fight

And let me know if you're out there reading this.

Essentially- there have been legal briefs filed, and there's a movement to nullify the marriages of gay couples in California that occurred before the passage of Proposition 8.  In the link below, there's a rather moving video about this ordeal, and there's also a letter that they ask you to sign.

Please check out this link to see more information, the video, and the letter itself: http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/s/divorce

I figured this is something that members here would be interested in participating in.

I know this was posted to the community as a photo collection, now it's a video to fight Kenneth Star's pro-8 legal brief.

Don't divorce us!


(In case an intro is needed --  I just joined the community, steered here by xforge . I'm a straight-but-not-narrow MCC member living in Indy)

As you may remember, I posted a few weeks ago about the inaugural parade invitation that was extended to the Lesbian and Gay Band Association. I'm pleased to report that since then, there has been a veritable cavalcade of media reports on us, from local and national (and international) sources, almost all of it positive! At the LGBAC's rehearsal in NYC last week, we were filmed/recorded by reporters from LOGO, Univision, and WNYC public radio.

( Here's a selection of stories from around the country and the globe )

So long story short, tomorrow morning I (and 39 of my neighbors) hitch a ride down to DC for rehearsals Sunday and Monday, and brave (possibly brutal) cold weather and crowds to make history on Tuesday with my little old clarinet. I'm so happy!


*Just as well I can't find it. I remember leaning over to my friend saying, "Watch, now there's going to be national news footage of me making faces at my reed" (which was misbehaving that night) and I was right! I'm the one in the maroon shirt in the front row. Aaaahahaha.

Over here, I argue that the issues of Proposition 8 and the new AG argument are so large that my words will almost certainly be taken as hyperbole, I argue that upholding 8 over the AG's argument essentially voids CA's Declaration of Rights, invalidates the philosophical basis for the California Constitution, and invites anarchy or revolution. Enjoy.

AL SHARPTON DENOUNCES ANTI-GAY BLACK MEGA-CHURCH PASTORS

Thanks, kibbles, for this article!

Says Al: "There is something immoral and sick about using all of that power to not end brutality and poverty, but to break into people's bedrooms and claim that God sent you."

Amen, brah!

Here is the entire article:
Call me Al

Libertarian Bob Barr, author of the Defense of Marriage act, calls for it's repeal. While Barr originally believed DOMA was about federalism, he now feels that it gets in the way of federalism.

"In effect, DOMA's language reflects one-way federalism: It protects only those states that don't want to accept a same-sex marriage granted by another state. Moreover, the heterosexual definition of marriage for purposes of federal laws -- including, immigration, Social Security survivor rights and veteran's benefits -- has become a de facto club used to limit, if not thwart, the ability of a state to choose to recognize same-sex unions."