Update: NY court upholds gay marriage recognition

New York State’s highest court unanimously fought off a challenge to the NYS policy signed by Gov. David Paterson that recognizes gay marriages performed in other states.

However, the judges ruled narrowly, and asked that the legislature resolved the question of marriage equality.

From the New York Times:
…the decision gave gay advocates …

The Albany gay marriage back room

Gay City News reports that a high-stakes meeting that included the governor, senior Democratic lawmakers and top gay advocates offered “the best sign yet that marriage equality may become a reality by New Year’s Day.”

Says Gay City News:
Shortly after 8 p.m., Paterson, four senior Senate Democrats — Jeffrey Klein of …

California gay marriage fight goes to Chinatown

The path to gay marriage in California may start in Chinatown.

After a double defeat at the voting booth and in court, gay advocates are reassessing their plans to push for legal same-sex marriage in the most populous U.S. state.

The new drive, focused on getting the issue on the ballot again as soon as November 2010, is more personal and reaches farther beyond the liberal confines of San Francisco’s Castro or Los Angeles’ gay heartland West Hollywood.

Lost in the 2009 election wreckage for gays was the marriage campaign’s relative success in Asian communities, which have swung toward support of same-sex marriage at a faster rate than the rest of California and have become a model for other groups.

Asian Americans have been building grass-roots support in Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Filipinotown for four years. Gays, lesbians and straight allies have talked about the often-taboo topic of homosexuality, set up booths at festivals, harangued non-English language media to change coverage and lobbied elected officials for support.

“What we felt we had to do is talk to people who aren’t on our side. So that’s why we do these crazy things like walk through the streets of Chinatown as part of the New Year’s Parade. That’s why we go out to festivals from Little India to Little Tokyo and talk to complete strangers,” said Marshall Wong, co-chair of Asia Pacific Islander group API Equality.

See

California gay marriage fight goes to Chinatown

Reuters

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Busy First Day For Cleveland’s Gay Partner Registry

Cleveland city leaders offered a warm welcome to gay and lesbian couples arriving at City Hall to take advantage of a new domestic partner registry taking effect Thursday.
Gay advocates celebrated with a rally on the steps of City Hall. Six council members attended the rally, including Council Members Jay Westbrook, Joe Cimperman and Joe Santiago.
Registering with the city is mostly a symbolic act. Registered couples receive no guaranteed benefits or protections; any benefits gained would be strictly voluntary.
The registry’s shortcomings, however, appeared to be lost on the steady stream of couples lining up for it. Sixty-four couples, mostly gay or lesbian, had paid the $55 registration fee by 2PM, openly gay Councilman Santiago told On Top Magazine.
Opposition to the registry appears to have diminished since ministers called for its repeal in January. A group of mostly black ministers lead by Rev. C. Jay Matthews failed in an effort to stop the registry from taking effect. And while the group has vowed to place a referendum on the November ballot, it appears they missed a March deadline. See:

Busy First Day For Cleveland’s Gay Partner Registry On Top Magazine
Cleveland begins domestic partner registry for gay and other … Cleveland News – Fox 8
Cleveland’s Domestic Partner Registry a powerful symbol — Regina … The Plain Dealer – cleveland.com
Historic Day As Cleveland Opens Domestic Partner Registry Today E-Portage

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Stonewall Inn Owners To Dump Myers Rum and Red Stripe Beer in Sewer As Gay advocates are launch national boycott of Jamaica

Human rights activists have given Jamaica the infamous title: “The Most Homophobic Place on Earth.” Gay people have regularly been beaten and murdered on the island, while authorities do little to stop the violence.

“We, as the owners of the Stonewall Inn, birthplace of the Gay rights movement, refuse to support, in any way, shape or form, the oppression of any people especially our gay brothers and sisters in Jamaica,” the Stonewall Inn said in its statement. “We ask all people of all walks of life to send a clear message to the Jamaican people and their government, that as long as they continue to allow and condone violence and hatred toward the

“If you love your gay friends and family members, you won’t visit Jamaica,” said boycott co-organizer Wayne Besen. “If you care about the human rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, you won’t buy Jamaican products. We hope that all gay and gay friendly bar owners and restaurateurs across the nation will participate in ‘rum dumps.’ We can no longer subsidize our own slaughter.”

GLBT activists Michael Petrelis, Wayne Besen and Jim Burroway launched this boycott after a State Department report highlighted the violence faced by GLBT people. According to the report:

The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All Sexuals, and Gays (J-FLAG) continued to report human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention, mob attacks, stabbings, harassment of homosexual patients by hospital and prison staff, and targeted shootings of homosexuals. Police often did not investigate such incidents.

The West Coast portion of the boycott took place earlier this month with a rum dump in San Francisco that featured Petrelis and city Supervisor Bevan Dufty. Learn more about the boycott at www.BoycottJamaica.org.

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Obama team takes blame for Robinson slight

President-elect Barack Obama’s inaugural committee is taking the hit today for V. Gene Robinson’s invocation at the Sunday welcoming concert not being televised nationally, Politico reports.

Tens of thousands of attendees did hear the opening prayer given by Robinson, the openly gay New Hampshire Episcopal bishop, but viewers on HBO’s broadcast missed it.

The inaugural committee says the entire broadcast, including Robinson’s invocation, will be shown on the big TV screens along the National Mall on Tuesday.

“We had always intended and planned for Rt. Rev. Robinson’s invocation to be included in the televised portion of yesterday’s program. We regret the error in executing this plan – but are gratified that hundreds of thousands of people who gathered on the mall heard his eloquent prayer for our nation that was a fitting start to our event,” inaugural committee spokesman Josh Earnest told Politico.

Robinson had been given the slot after he and other gay advocates protested Obama’s selection of evangelical preacher Rick Warren to give the invocation at Tuesday’s inauguration. Warren pushed for Proposition 8, which overturned gay marriage in California. Obama team takes blame for Robinson slight
Boston Globe, United States - 1 hour ago
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