Anti-gay marriage effort advances
Maine election officials on Tuesday approved the question that would appear on the ballot if opponents of the recently enacted same-sex marriage law collect enough signatures.
Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap announced that the question that will appear on petitions is “Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?”
Groups seeking to overturn the law, including the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland; the Maine Family Policy Council of Maine, formerly the Christian Civic League of Maine; and Maine Marriage Initiative could begin circulating petitions seeking to put the question on the ballot as early as Friday.
“We most likely won’t have petitioners out until after Memorial Day,” the Rev. Bob Emrich of the Maine Marriage Initiative said Tuesday afternoon. “We have to get petitions printed and distributed around the state. We also want to make sure that folks are properly trained in circulating petitions.”
See
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
 |
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/anti-gay-marr…
California State Supreme Court meets on gay marriage
The California Supreme Court will hear arguments today on whether Proposition 8, the anti-gay-marriage initiative, should be upheld and, if so, whether the marriages of an estimated 18,000 same-sex couples should remain valid.
During a three-hour televised hearing this morning, the San Francisco-based high court will examine whether the November ballot measure was an impermissible constitutional revision or a more limited constitutional amendment.
The court will need to decide the fate of existing same-sex marriages only if it is prepared to uphold Proposition 8, which many legal analysts believe is likely.
The justices’ questions to lawyers often reveal how the court is leaning. Legal analysts will be carefully watching Chief Justice Ronald M. George, whose vote often determines whether the conservative or more liberal wing of the court prevails.
The state high court ruled 4 to 3 on May 15 that same-sex couples should be entitled to marry. George wrote the ruling, which was signed by Justices Joyce L. Kennard, Kathryn Mickle Werdegar and Carlos R. Moreno.
Justices Marvin R. Baxter, Ming W. Chin and Carol A. Corrigan voted against overturning the state’s previous ban on same-sex marriage, arguing that the matter should be left to voters.
After Proposition 8 passed, only Moreno voted to put the measure on hold pending a decision on the legal challenges. Kennard, who usually votes in favor of gay rights, voted against accepting the revision challenge to the proposition but said she would hear arguments over the validity of existing same-sex marriages.
Some legal analysts believe the vote signaled that Kennard did not believe the revision argument would prevail. Without her vote, the court would be unlikely to muster a majority for overturning the measure.
In addition to arguing that Proposition 8 was an illegal constitutional revision, gay rights lawyers contend that it usurped the authority of the courts.
The hearing, scheduled to start at 9 a.m. and end at noon, will be broadcast live on the California Channel and streamed on its website. See State Supreme Court meets on gay marriage
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/03/california-st…
NH lawmakers debate same-sex marriage laws
The debate over same sex marriage is heating up in New Hampshire. The legislature is poised to take up three separate bills on the issue.
More than a year after civil unions became legal in New Hampshire, 621 couples have entered into that legal bond — 26 of them have since dissolved their union.
Two bills introduced Thursday seek to reserve the union of marriage for heterosexual couples:
A third would do just the opposite, and expand civil unions to gay marriage
Only a few of the scores who turned out to testify want to limit marriage as a way to preserve the traditional family: ”Society benefits from the stability of this relationship. When only one gender parents, society may become unstable.”
“Children are best reared within the confines of a healthy marriage with a mom and a dad. We think that’s why we’re seeing healthy marriage initiatives from the federal level, we’re seeing fatherhood initiatives from President Obama.”
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/02/nh-lawmakers-…
Judge: Prop 8 donor names must be public
(Sacramento, California) A federal judge denied a request Thursday to keep secret the names of donors to California’s anti-gay marriage initiative, saying the public had a right to know who gave money to state ballot measures.
Supporters of the Proposition 8 initiative, which overturned a state Supreme Court ruling that allowed …
Tags: Donor Names, Donors, Federal Judge, gay marriage, marriage, Marriage Initiative, Money, Sacramento California, State Ballot Measures, State Supreme Court, Supreme Court Ruling
