Film documents Mormon role in gay marriage debate
(Salt Lake City) Reed Cowan’s reasons for making a film about the Mormon church’s activism against gay marriage in California are personal.
Himself gay and Mormon, Cowan clashed with his family over his sexual orientation and the beliefs of their faith, but it was a conversation between him and a sibling …
Tags: Activism, California Personal, Faith, Film Documents, Film Gay, Gay California, Gay Marriage Debate, Gay Marriage In California, Gay Personal, marriage, Mormon Church, Personal Gay, Reed Cowan, Salt Lake City, Sexual Orientation, SiblingGay leaders blame TV ads, Obama for loss in Maine
(San Francisco) Stunned and angry, national gay rights leaders Wednesday blamed scare-mongering ads - and President Barack Obama’s lack of engagement - for a bitter election setback in Maine that could alter the dynamics for both sides in the gay-marriage debate.
Conservatives, in contrast, celebrated Maine voters’ rejection of a law …
Tags: barack obama, Conservatives, Gay Ads, Gay Leaders, Gay Marriage Debate, Gay Rights Leaders, Gay Tv, Maine San Francisco, Maine Voters, marriage, Rejection, Scare, Setback, Tv AdsStudy: Bans on gay marriage lead to rise in HIV infections
Gay marriage bans can be tied to a rise in HIV infections, according to a new study by economists at Atlanta’s Emory University.
“In the first study of the impact of social tolerance levels toward gays in the United States on the HIV transmission rate, the researchers estimated that a constitutional ban on gay marriage raises the rate by four cases per 100,000 people,” the university announced in a press release today.
“We found the effects of tolerance for gays on HIV to be statistically significant and robust — they hold up under a range of empirical models,” said Hugo Mialon, an assistant professor of economics.
Andrew Francis, also an assistant professor of economics, cited the gay marriage debate currently sweeping the nation. See Study: Bans on gay marriage lead to rise in HIV infections
Sovo.com
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Quotes from New Hampshire’s gay marriage debate
“Thank you!” — Gay marriage supporters to lawmakers as they left the Statehouse following Wednesday’s gay marriage vote.
“A lot of New Hampshire families have come to know people in their families who are gay — co-workers, former classmates — and that’s what really made this difference. We are no longer talking about an issue. We are talking about people.” — The Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson, Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire, the church’s only openly gay bishop.
“This legislation makes clear that we understand that certain faiths do not recognize same-sex marriage, and it protects them from having to participate in marriage-related activities that violate their fundamental religious principles.” — Gov. John Lynch, as he signed the gay marriage bill into law.
“We certainly would like to see new legislators and a governor who keeps his word on the issue. If he tells the voters he doesn’t support same sex marriage, that’s what he means. If that happens, who knows, we may be looking at repeal in the next legislative session.” — Kevin Smith, executive director of gay marriage opponent Cornerstone Policy Research. See Quotes from New Hampshire’s gay marriage debate Chicago Tribune
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DC gay marriage debate moves issue to black community
(Washington) In the District of Columbia, where African-Americans are the majority and black congregations dominate, the recent vote to recognize same-sex marriages may signal the gay rights movement is making inroads among groups traditionally opposed to it.
With this month’s vote, Washington became the first place in the U.S. with a …
Tags: Congregations, District Of Columbia, Gay Black, Gay Marriage Debate, Gay Rights Movement, Groups, Inroads, marriage, Same Sex Marriages, VoteAnd the Gay Tax is? $1820 per year
NPR contributor Nancy Goldstein has calculated the “gay tax” — the amount gay couples must spend to receive the same services that married heterosexual couples can count on everyday. In a column, she writes:
The cost of love isn’t an abstract concept in my household: It’s precisely $1,820 per year. That’s the “gay tax” we shell out for me to be on my wife’s health insurance plan, because her company must treat that benefit as additional taxable income.
Goldstein adds that “The media’s primary focus on the morality debate around same-sex marriage means that most of the public, gay or straight, knows little about the very real economic costs of inequality.”
The largest costs of marriage inequality also tend to be the easiest to quantify: Social Security survivor benefits denied, joint tax returns not filed, and many, many other cost savings that most married couples probably don’t even think about.
It’s this side of the gay marriage debate that has led the normally middle-of-the-road financial guru Suze Orman to wade into the debate. See And the Gay Tax is? $1820 per year WalletPop * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Miami hospital kept woman from dying partner’s bedside
The gay marriage debate has earned a lot of headlines in the last year, but here’s a story in our own backyard that shows the kind of struggles people face when they have no legal claim to their partner.
The New York Times reports Janice Langbehn of Washington was unable to be by the bedside of her dying partner of 18 years, Lisa Pond. During a Florida vacation, Pond collapsed with an aneurysm and was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital trauma center, where doctors refused to let Langbehn visit her. Pond died without seeing Langbehn or the couple’s three adopted children.
Gay rights groups, who say same-sex partners often are barred from hospital rooms because they aren’t “real family,” are watching the federal lawsuit in Florida, according to the New York Times.
See Miami hospital kept woman from dying partner’s bedside Vero Beach Press-Journal (subscription)
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Exemption for Religious Foes Of Gay Marriage Debated
As a growing number of states legalize same-sex marriage, there is growing attention on exemptions for religious institutions and individuals who find the concept morally objectionable and religiously untenable. This week, New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) said he would sign legislation to make his state the sixth to legalize gay marriage if the legislature ensured religious protections.
Vermont and Connecticut have enacted laws that exempt clergy from performing same-sex marriages and give religious groups the right to refuse their facilities for same-sex marriage celebrations and allow them to refuse to provide insurance benefits to same-sex partners.
With those exemptions, said George Washington University constitutional law professor Ira Lupu on the legal blog Concurring Opinions, “religious conservatives and secular progressives now have the opportunity to reach political bargains.”
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Gay marriage debate puts Lynch in hot seat
Dear Gov. John Lynch: On Wednesday the Senate passed a bill allowing gay couples the right to a civil marriage. The vote came after a lengthy process including the testimony of dozens of New Hampshire residents supporting the right to marry just as heterosexual couples have that right. The Senate received the bill only after the same process took place in the House. In addition to all those testifying, hundreds of letters, e-mails and calls were received by House and Senate members urging them to vote for this equal rights issue. Polls show a majority of New Hampshire residents support gay marriage. Your initial reaction upon hearing of this bill’s passage was to state through your spokesperson that there is no difference between civil unions and gay marriage until the federal government changes its laws about gay marriage. If there were no difference, why would thousands of people support gay marriage? I believe your statement is similar to saying that you’d see no difference between living with your wife Susan and marrying her. Imagine if you weren’t allowed that choice. You had the privilege of marrying her and acted on it. It had nothing to do with federal legislation. Many people are asking you to have the courage to sign this bill. I don’t believe an act of courage is needed. You have a 70 percent approval rating, the majority of people in New Hampshire support gay marriage, and the bill’s careful crafting and amending ensures that no religion or religious person has to perform a gay marriage. It is more an act of humility that is now required of you: the recognition that you don’t know better than the majority of your constituents what is in the best interests of gay and straight New Hampshirites. We lived for two years with your predecessor who with arrogance and pride ignored the interests of those he served and did what he wanted in major decisions affecting this state. Please continue to bring back the dignity of the office of governor and sign this bill which may not reflect your personal opinion but does reflect the majority of those you serve. Thanks for your consideration and support of equal rights. (Carol Moore lives in Concord.)
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“People’s veto effort” likely if gay-marriage becomes law in Maine
UGUSTA — Michael Heath of the Maine Family Policy Council announced this week he will work to gather the signatures necessary for a people’s veto of the gay-marriage bill.
A few things need to happen first, but during Senate debate Thursday, many senators said they felt it was inevitable that the question would end up before voters.
The Senate voted Thursday 22-14 in favor of the bill. It will be taken up in the House Tuesday, then come back to the Senate for a final vote.
From there, it goes to Gov. John Baldacci, who has not taken a position on the bill.
Assuming he doesn’t veto it, it would be set to take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns. Adjournment is set for June 17, give or take a day or two.
This is where the people’s veto comes in.
Heath and others would have 90 days from the date of adjournment to gather 55,087 signatures.
Julie Flynn, deputy secretary of state, said any group wanting to turn in signatures for a people’s veto would have until Sept. 15 to submit signatures. Her office would then have 30 days to determine whether there are enough valid signatures to call for a public vote.
However, in order to make the November ballot, groups would have to turn in signatures by Sept. 3 or 4, because it must be at least 60 days before the election, she said.
If not, the question wouldn’t go to voters until June.
See
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