Gay marriage stalls as RI lawmakers wrap up
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island seems almost certain to remain the only New England state that does not recognize gay marriage after measures legalizing same-sex unions stalled just before the part-time General Assembly ended the bulk of its annual work.
None of the bills legalizing same-sex marriage in Rhode Island advanced to a floor vote this session, continuing a trend begun in 1997.
The lack of State House action on gay unions means that Rhode Island is unlikely to allow same-sex marriage anytime soon, despite decisions this year by lawmakers in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont to join Connecticut and Massachusetts in legalizing marriage equality.
“I was hoping the momentum that was going around New England and the support we had in the House would get enough representatives to ask for it,” said Rep. Frank Ferri (D-Warwick), who is gay and sponsored same-sex marriage legislation. He and his partner wed in Canada.
Equally disappointed were marriage equality opponents, who wanted voters to be able to decide whether the state constitution should be changed to ban gay marriage.
“I think that if you put it to the voters on a statewide basis, gay marriage would fail,” said Rep. Jon Brien, D-Woonsocket.
See Gay marriage stalls as RI lawmakers wrap up
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Gay row minister to be inducted in Scotland
The gay minister whose appointment sparked a furious debate in the Church of Scotland is set to be formally inducted in Aberdeen.
The Reverend Scott Rennie will be introduced to his congregation at a service at Queen’s Cross Church.
Hundreds of ministers and thousands of Church of Scotland members signed an online petition opposing the move.
After arriving in Aberdeen, Mr Rennie said he was looking forward to serving God in the city.
The issue had gone to the General Assembly which narrowly voted in favour.
But there has been a two-year ban on the ordination of gay ministers and a special commission is considering the issue.
See
Gay row minister to be inducted
BBC News
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Gay row goes before Kirk’s ‘court’ as split threat talked down
A COMPLAINT against openly gay Kirk minister Scott Rennie will be heard before the Church of Scotland’s own equivalent of a civil court next week.
However, the moderator designate refused to be drawn into the controversy surrounding the appointment of Mr Rennie, 36, as he faced questions over the possibility of a split in the Kirk if it goes ahead.
During what was his first public appearance in the role, the Rev Bill Hewitt, 58, insisted his job would be to oversee a forthcoming Church debate on the issue and he would not be drawn into answering questions about the row.
However, reacting to the suggestions that supporters of controversial preacher Fred Phelps – who has protested against homosexuality in the United States – are planning to demonstrate outside the General Assembly when the issue is being discussed, he said: “People are free to demonstrate if they want. It won’t affect what happens inside.” SeeGay row goes before Kirk’s ‘court’ as split threat talked down Scotsman
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Anti-gay minister the Rev Ian Watson in ‘Nazi battle’ outrage Times Online
The Church of Scotland is moving towards a schism after one of its ministers compared an increasingly determined campaign against gay clergymen to the war against the Nazis.
The Rev Ian Watson railed against homosexual lifestyles, declaring that such people would not “inherit the kingdom of God” in a sermon that religious leaders and politicians condemned as deeply disturbing.
Mr Watson is a prominent opponent of Scott Rennie, an openly gay minister whose appointment to a parish church last year has caused divisions. Mr Rennie, a divorced father of one, lives with his partner, David, and has the support of his Aberdeen Presbytery. The Church of Scotland is due to debate his appointment at its General Assembly next week after a petition was signed by almost a third of ministers pushing for all gays to be banned from the pulpit.
A motion has been lodged urging the Church not to “train, ordain, admit, readmit, induct or introduce to any ministry of the church anyone involved in a sexual relationship outside of marriage between a man and woman”.
See Anti-gay minister the Rev Ian Watson in ‘Nazi battle’ outrage Times Online * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Vote caps decade-long gay marriage fight in Conn.
(Hartford, Conn.) A decade-long battle for marriage equality in Connecticut ended late Wednesday when the General Assembly voted to update the state’s marriage laws to conform with a landmark court ruling allowing gay and lesbian couples to tie the knot.
“It feels so good. It really does feel like the book …
Tags: Caps, Connecticut, Decade, Gay And Lesbian, Gay And Lesbian Couples, Gay Couples, Gay Lesbian, gay marriage, General Assembly, Hartford Conn, Knot, Landmark, marriage, Marriage Equality, Marriage Laws, State Laws, VoteChurch of Scotland magazine backs gay partnerships
A potential rift within the Church of Scotland over gay relationships emerged yesterday after the Church’s house magazine backed civil partnerships and openly gay ministers.
Accusing religious traditionalists of selectively quoting the Bible to support their attacks on homosexual relations, the editorial in Life And Work urged the Kirk to show strong leadership on an issue that has threatened to split the Church of England and could prove just as divisive in Scotland.
The article, which was written by the magazine’s editor, Muriel Armstrong, comes ahead of next month’s General Assembly in Edinburgh and has been timed to influence a key debate on whether openly homosexual ministers can be appointed to the Church.
Ms Armstrong rounds on the “selective literalists” who use parts of the Bible to bolster their own views but ignore other parts that undermine them. She says that these commentators “presumably no longer accept biblical teaching on sexual matters such as polygamy and sex with slaves” but are happy to quote Leviticus 18:22 on homosexuality: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.”
The Church said yesterday that the magazine was editorially independent. “It is not the voice of the Church of Scotland, which is not trying to steer debate on this important issue,” the Rev Angus Morrison, convenor of the council of mission and discipleship said. He added that he had already received “a couple” of e-mails expressing concern that the magazine was interfering in the “due process” of the Church.
Senior figures within the Church fear that the issue of gay partnerships could prove as damaging for the Presbyterian ministry as the row that has split the Anglican Church.
A minority in the Presbytery of Aberdeen has already challenged the appointment of an openly gay minister, the Rev Scott Rennie, to Queen’s Cross Church in the city. They have appealed to the Commission of the General Assembly, with a final decision on the matter to be made next month.
In her editorial Ms Armstrong also champions the right of gay ministers to serve in the Church. She said said that two years ago the Church had effectively shelved its decision on the issue and that the moment had come to challenge those who use the “familiar arguments” of tradition, orthodoxy and the “plain meaning of scripture”.
“The question of the integrity of a relationship didn’t enter the \ argument. It has been suggested that if the Kirk stuck its neck out on this one it would upset other churches that are still in a reflective no man’s land on this issue. Isn’t it time for leadership?
“What is clear to the lay-person is that not everything Biblical is Christ-like. Every student of the Bible is a selective literalist. Those who swear by the anti-homosexual laws in the Book of Leviticus wouldn’t publicly advocate slavery or stoning women taken in adultery. They presumably no longer accept Biblical teaching on sexual matters such as polygamy and sex with slaves.
“And yet there are many who continue to be bound by a few Biblical verses — none of them in the Gospels — about homosexuality, nowadays understood as a matter of genetics rather than lifestyle.”
The debate on gays in the Church will involve members from every Presbytery, drawn from Scotland and overseas. It is likely to polarise opinion, just as it has in other Churches.
See Church of Scotland magazine backs gay partnerships Times Online
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Conn. bill would update law for same-sex marriages
HARTFORD, Conn. — As Connecticut lawmakers consider updating state law to conform with a court ruling that allows same-sex marriages, opponents of gay marriage fear their effort will go too far to promote homosexuality.
The legislators’ work is being spurred by last year’s state Supreme Court decision that concluded same-sex couples have the right to wed in Connecticut. The state’s 2005 civil union law doesn’t give same-sex couples equal status of married heterosexual couples, the court said.
The General Assembly’s judiciary committee is considering a bill that would remove gender references in current state laws and transform same-sex civil unions into legally recognized marriages as of October 2010. The bill was the subject of a committee hearing Friday.
The measure also would strip language from a 1991 state anti-discrimination law that says Connecticut does not condone gay marriage, will not set quotas for hiring gay workers or encourage teaching in school about same-sex lifestyles. Some lawmakers consider the language outdated and unnecessary.
The proposal to delete that language has upset opponents, who think the court ruling could be used to affect social policy in other matters such as school curricula. See Conn. bill would update law for same-sex marriages * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Civil unions bill moves to Ill. House floor Chicago Tribune
SPRINGFIELD, Ill - Supporters of gay marriage say 2009 could be the year Illinois seriously considers establishing civil unions, but opponents say the pendulum of public support is swinging the other way.
A bill giving gay couples the right to form civil unions squeaked through a legislative committee Thursday. It would not legalize same-sex marriage, but it would give gay couples many of the legal benefits of marriage.
Rep. Deb Mell, who is gay, said 648 state laws — on topics from inheritance to health care — help married couples.
“I find it very strange that I can be elected to the General Assembly and vote on rules and laws, but these don’t apply to me and my family,” said Mell, D-Chicago. “We’re not protected.” See Civil unions bill moves to Ill. House floor Chicago Tribune
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Presbyterians explore civil unions
(New York City) The Presbyterian Church (USA) has appointed 13 members to special committee to study the issue of Civil Union and Christian Marriage.
The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, Moderator of the denomination, made the selection.
Last year, the church’s General Assembly voted to create the special committee, “representing the broad diversity and …
Tags: Chow, Christian Marriage, Civil Union, Civil Unions, Denomination, Diversity, General Assembly, marriage, New York City, Presbyterian Church Usa, Presbyterians, Special CommitteeMore anti-gay attacks on Ga. universities
The furor over “queer theory” and other reseach at Georgia’s public colleges and univesities has grown since this week’s issue of Southern Voice went to press, and shows disturbing signs of developing into a full-fledged witch hunt.
What started with comments from state Rep. Calvin Hill (see my editorial on that here) now includes Rep. Charlice Byrd, who spoke from the General Assembly well late this week to denounce “a major misuse of the state university system’s budget.”
“Did you know that the state universities offer such special interest classes and expertise on “Male prostitution”, “Queer Theory,” and “Oral Sex”? Yes, ladies and gentlemen… you heard right,” Byrd said, repeating Hill’s misunderstanding of topics listed in an “expert guide” distributed by Georgia State University.
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