Vermont Dems pledge gay marriage bill passage

(Montpelier, Vermont) The state leaders of the House and Senate have announced they will begin work on passing a marriage equality bill when the Legislature returns March 16.

At a joint news conference at the State House Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin (D) and Speaker of the House Shap Smith …

VT Leaders vow to pass gay marriage bill

MONTPELIER — State legislative leaders announced this afternoon they intend to take up a gay marriage bill when the Legislature reconvenes in two weeks.
Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin and Speaker of the House Shap Smith said at a join news conference at the Statehouse that the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a week of testimony and a public hearing on the matter. They predicted a bill would emerge from committee by week’s end.

The Legislature is on a two-week hiatus and will resume work March 17.

Shumlin and Smith also outlined a number of other priorities for the remainder of the session, including economic development measures. See Leaders vow to pass gay marriage bill BurlingtonFreePress.com

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Is Calif. Gov changing mind on Milk Day?

(San Francisco, California) Still fresh from winning the best-actor Oscar for playing gay rights hero Harvey Milk, Sean Penn expressed confidence Tuesday that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would sign a bill officially recognizing Milk’s birthday in California even though he vetoed it last year.

Appearing at a news conference with the bill’s …

Legal Groups, City of West Hollywood to Host Viewing of Oral Arguments in Proposition 8 Challenge

(West Hollywood, March 2, 2008) — Lambda Legal, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the City of West Hollywood will host a viewing of oral arguments in the Proposition 8 legal challenge on Thursday, March 5, 2009 at West Hollywood Auditorium, followed by a press conference…

Attorneys for same-sex couples, civil rights organizations and the state Attorney General’s office will appear before the California Supreme Court on March 5 to urge the court to strike down Proposition 8. At issue in the case is whether the initiative process can be used to strip lesbian and gay couples of equal treatment under the law by taking away their fundamental right to marry. Because the case has serious implications for any minority group, it has generated unprecedented support from many national and state civil rights groups as well as California legislators, local governments, bar associations, business interests, labor unions, and religious groups.

Community leaders and other members of the public, along with attorneys for the groups challenging Proposition 8, will be available for interview at the viewing of the oral arguments, which will be televised live. Following oral arguments, attorneys as well as representatives of friends of the court groups will hold a news conference at the auditorium to give their reaction to the day’s events and put them into perspective.

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Gay group boycotts Ken Garff dealerships

An anti-Prop 8 group on Wednesday announced it has targeted the Salt Lake City-based Ken Garff automotive dealerships in retaliation for $100,000 donated by the CEO’s wife to supporters of a California ballot proposition eliminating same-sex couples’ right to marry.

Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate, said the boycott will use an Internet campaign to ask people to boycott the automotive’s 40 dealerships in Utah, California, Texas and Iowa.

Karger accused CEO Bob Garff of “hiding behind his wife’s skirts” by claiming the $100,000 donation was a personal gesture. At a news conference in Salt Lake City, Karger also said the cash was “a family contribution” that was derived from dealership revenues.

See Gay group boycotts Ken Garff dealerships
Salt Lake Tribune, United States

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Gay group boycotts Ken Garff dealerships

Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate, said the boycott will use an Internet campaign to ask people to boycott the automotive’s 40 dealerships in Utah, California, Texas and Iowa.

See Gay group boycotts Ken Garff dealerships
Salt Lake Tribune, United States

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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/02/gay-group-boy…

Lawmakers to introduce gay marriage bill

Two Vermont House members are introducing legislation to move Vermont from civil unions to full marriage for same-sex couples.

Reps. Mark Larson, a Democrat, and David Zuckerman, a Progressive, both from Burlington, plan a Friday news conference to detail their proposal.

See Lawmakers to introduce gay marriage bill
Fox44 News – Colchester,Vermont,USA

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Battle over gay marriage shifts to Maine

BOSTON (Reuters) – A Maine lawmaker introduced a bill on Tuesday to legalize same-sex marriage, but it looks set to face tough opposition and bring a rancorous fight over the definition of marriage to the rugged eastern state.

The legislation proposed by Democratic state Sen. Dennis Damonck would make the state the nation’s third to allow same-sex marriage. It seeks to redefine marriage as the legal union of two people rather than between a man and a women.

“Today I have submitted an act to end discrimination in civil marriage and to affirm religious freedom,” he told a news conference in the state capital Augusta.

As he spoke, Republican Rep. John Tardy was drafting legislation to enshrine the definition of marriage as one man and one woman into the state constitution. “The language is being worked on now,” his spokesman said.

See Battle over gay marriage shifts to Maine
Reuters

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Bush defends his presidency

(Washington) By turns wistful, aggressive and joking in the final news conference of his presidency, President George W. Bush vigorously defended his record Monday but also offered an extraordinary listing of his mistakes – including his optimistic Iraq speech before a giant “Mission Accomplished” banner in 2003.

After starting what he …

Ireland among 14 states that restrict rights of gay partners

BRUSSELS – The majority of EU states, including the Republic of Ireland, deny same-sex partners of EU citizens the full right to move to join them as they do not recognise homosexual unions, the European Commission said yesterday.

“If a union is recognised in one member state, then another member should in principle accept that union,” justice commissioner Jacques Barrot told a news conference. EU citizens have the right to live in any of the union’s 27 states with their family but that does not apply in all states to the registered partners of homosexual citizens.

See Ireland among 14 states that restrict rights of gay partners
Irish Times, Ireland