AZ eliminates gay partner ben’s
AZ lawmakers repealed same-sex partner benefits for state employees citing budget concerns.
Tags: Budget Concerns, Gay Partner, Lawmakers, Partner Benefits, Sex Partner, State EmployeesIDs of gay partnership foes could be released next week
The names of people who signed petitions seeking to overturn Washington’s “everything but marriage” same-sex domestic partner law won’t be released publicly following a federal judge’s temporary restraining order.
Sponsors of Referendum 71 went to U.S. District Court in Tacoma Wednesday seeking the order. U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle has set a full hearing on the matter for Sept. 3.
The names of everyone who signed Referendum-71 petitions are publicly available under open-government laws. A gay-rights group says it wants to post all the names online. But the R-71 campaign says that could lead to harassment.
Nick Handy, state elections director, said in a statement: “Referendum petitions become public records under the law once they have been turned over to us by sponsors. Our consistent practice has been to make these available upon public request. By early next week we will be in a position to make these available, and absent a court order, our intent has been to respond to public records requests in a timely way.”
Backers of R-71 turned in about 138,000 signatures Saturday. They need 120,577 valid voter signatures to qualify for the fall ballot.
Election officials suggest submitting about 150,000 signatures to offset any invalid signatures. Dave Ammons, spokesman for the secretary of state’s office, said usually about 18 percent of signatures checked turn out to be invalid.
The process of counting and verifying the signatures could go until the last week of August.
See IDs of gay partnership foes could be released next week Seattle Post Intelligencer
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
 |
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/ids-of-gay-pa…
Wash. gay partnership foes try to shield signers
State officials won’t resist a temporary restraining order that would block public release of petition signatures for a gay-partnership referendum.
The case centers on Referendum 71, which would ask voters to approve or reject expanded partnership rights for gay couples.
The names of everyone who signed R-71 petitions are publicly available under open-government laws.
A gay-rights group is planning to post all the names online, so partnership supporters can talk to those people about the referendum.
But the R-71 campaign says that could lead to harassment. So they’re asking a federal judge to keep the petitions secret, until they can make their argument in court.
See Wash. gay partnership foes try to shield signers
Seattle Times
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/wash-gay-part…
Gay partnership foes turn in referendum signatures
Opponents of a measure that passed the Legislature this year giving same-sex domestic partners all the rights of married people turned in signatures to the secretary of state’s office Saturday in attempt to overturn the new law through a citizen referendum.
Referendum 71 needs 120,577 valid voter signatures to qualify for the fall ballot. Exactly how many signatures the R-71 camp turned in Saturday wasn’t immediately clear. The secretary of state’s office said it received the first batch a little after 3 p.m. Saturday.
Election officials suggest submitting about 150,000 signatures to offset any invalid signatures. Dave Ammons, spokesman for the secretary of state’s office, said usually about 18 percent of signatures checked turn out to be invalid.
He said Saturday that R-71 backers were cutting it very close.
“They’re definitely running on fumes, in terms of trying to get their pad,” Ammons said.
The process of counting and verifying the signatures could go until the last week of August.
If R-71 proponents don’t have enough signatures, the domestic partnership expansion will immediately take effect. If the measure does qualify, voters will be asked to either approve or reject the new law.
See Gay partnership foes turn in referendum signatures
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/gay-partnersh…
Wash. gay partnership foes say “too close to call”
OLYMPIA, Wash. —
Washington state’s latest expansion of domestic partnerships for gay couples was hanging in limbo Friday as opponents announced a final push to force a public vote, calling their effort so far “too close to call.”
In a statement to supporters, organizers of the Referendum 71 campaign said they believe they will have at least the minimum 120,577 petition signatures needed by Saturday to qualify for the ballot.
However, R-71 organizer Gary Randall said the campaign doesn’t have enough extra signatures to act as a cushion for erroneous or duplicate petition signatures, which must come from registered Washington voters.
To help meet the deadline, Randall appealed to R-71 supporters to gather additional signatures and drive them to the state Capitol on Saturday afternoon.
“We’re not trying to have a rally or anything,” Randall said later by telephone. “We need the signatures, we truly do.”
The new “everything but marriage” expansion of domestic partnerships is scheduled to take effect Sunday, but the law will be delayed if referendum sponsors turn in their petitions.
See Wash. gay partnership foes say “too close to call”
Seattle Times
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/wash-gay-part…
Gay partners celebrate rite to bless relationships
Denise Chustz held on to her partner, Wendy Suchowski, tightly as they stared at one another Saturday afternoon.
As the sun beamed down on the Pointe Coupee couple, they began to smile broadly after the Rev. Keith Mozingo, announced, “You may now kiss your partner.”
Next to them, their friends, Adam White and Bolton Morris, of Plaquemine, did the same. The two couples were among the approximately 30 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender couples who took part in a blessing of relationships ceremony during the third annual Baton Rouge Pride Fest.
Mozingo, pastor of Metropolitan Community Church, officiated over the blessing of relationships at Magnolia Mound Plantation. The church is part of a national denomination that recognizes and supports gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender lifestyles and relationships.
Mozingo said the blessings performed Saturday do not constitute legally recognized unions.
“It’s finally saying to those couples that (they’re) in a valid relationship,” Mozingo said.
White said he and Morris will wait to get married until it is legal in Louisiana.
See
Gay partners celebrate rite to bless relationships
2TheAdvocate
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/06/gay-partners-…
Obama to extend some benefits to gay partners of federal employees
John Berry, director of the White House Office of Personnel Management and the highest-ranking gay member of the administration, called the move “long overdue progress in our nation’s journey to equality.”
The setting will cast an especially bright light on the president’s action, but many expressed disappointment that the president was not taking bolder steps, particularly in the area of healthcare benefits.
“This is not enough. I want to be able to add my wife to my policy in the same way that every other federal employee can add their spouse to their policy,” said Kate Kuykendall , a federal worker Los Angeles. She noted that the federal government is the only employer exempt from a California law that requires companies to extend benefits to same-sex partners.
Berry said Obama’s move would allow employees’ domestic partners to be added to the government’s long-term insurance program, which covers such illnesses as Alzheimer’s disease. The memorandum also would allow employees to use sick leave to take care of domestic partners and children, and would let the same-sex partners of diplomats use medical facilities at foreign posts.
See
Obama to extend some benefits to gay partners of federal employees
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/06/obama-to-exte…
San Angelo mayor resigns to be with gay partner
San Angelo, Texas residents were surprised this past week when Mayor J.W. Lown resigned from his office to be with his partner in Mexico. Lown, who was re-elected for a fourth term by a landslide vote, is helping his partner, a non-U.S. citizen, get a visa.
“I made the final decision …
Tags: Citizen, Final Decision, Gay Partner, Gay Texas, Landslide Vote, Lown, Mexico, San Angelo Texas, Texas Residents, VisaDrive to stop gay partnership law is dividing conservatives
Reporting from Seattle — A campaign to roll back gay rights that kicked off in Washington state over the weekend has split the Christian conservative community, with some wondering whether it is the right time for a fight and others arguing that time may be running out.On the heels of the recent California Supreme Court ruling that upheld Proposition 8’s prohibition against same-sex marriage, conservative groups here began collecting signatures for a ballot referendum to block a new Washington state law that substantially expands rights for domestic partners.
The law that Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire signed in May has been dubbed the “everything but marriage” bill. When it takes effect in July, it will expand previous domestic partnership laws to include issues like adoption, child support, pensions and other public-employee benefits.Washington’s secretary of state approved the referendum petitions Friday and signature collections began over the weekend. If referendum backers collect 120,577 signatures by July 25, the law would be suspended pending a vote in November.But some conservatives fear that public support for domestic partnership rights and a preoccupation with the economy could doom the effort — and make it harder to battle same-sex marriage down the road. See Drive to stop gay partnership law is dividing conservatives
Los Angeles Times
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/06/drive-to-stop…
Jim Gibbons, In Midst Of Messy Divorce, Plans To Veto Gay Partners .Bill to Stand Tall For Traditional Marriage!
The Nevada legislature has successfully passed two gay rights bills, one that outlaws job discrimination based on sexual orientation, and another that establishes domestic partnerships for gay couples.
But Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons has said he will veto the domestic partnership bill, which would give same-sex couples equal rights to married partners in areas like estate planning, medical decisions, community property and child custody.
“The governor believes that government has no business in your medicine chest or your bedroom,” spokesperson Daniel Burns said. With good reason: Gibbons who filed for divorce in 2008, allegedly had having an affair with playboy model Leslie Durant, as well as sending more than 860 text messages to another woman, Kathy Karrasch, from his state-owned cell phone. When Gibbons was running for governor, he was accused of sexually assaulting a cocktail waitress.
See Jim Gibbons, In Midst Of Messy Divorce, Plans To Veto Gay Partners … Huffington Post * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/jim-gibbons-i…
