And just in time for Pride Celebrations in San Francisco, Chicago and NYC the US Supreme Court delivers the news we’ve all been waiting to hear. State bans on Same Sex Marriages are unconstitutional. It has been a long road since the Massachusetts State Supreme Court mandated Massachusetts to allow same sex couples to marry in 2003, but it has been worth the wait.
NOTE THE PARTY NOW WILL START AT 7:30
AND WILL TAKE PLACE AT CLERY’S
DETAILS IN THE LINK BELOW
GLAD and TWC are hosting a Pop Up Marriage Equality Party to celebrate later today at 6PM in the Back Bay.
While nothing is certain, there is a great deal of optimism and hope surrounding the pending Supreme Court of the United States ruling on marriage equality. That ruling is expected as early as June 18th but could also be announced on 22, 25, 29, or 30th; the latter two dates (29th & 30th) are considered most likely.
In anticipation of that ruling both the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and The Welcoming Committee (TWC) are hosting a free pop-up party in the Back Bay at 6pm the day the ruling is announced.
Since the exact date of the ruling is not certain, check the GLAD & TWC Facebook event page for details once you hear the announcement.
The Human Rights Campaign joined with a number of other organizations today condemning Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan for signing into law what they described as “a package of extreme anti-LGBT adoption bills into law.”
For those who think PRIDE marches are no longer necessary, Gov. Snyder (R-MI) reminds us why we need to keep marching.
Once again hiding behind that code language of “religious freedom” Governor Snyder enshrined special taxpayer-funded discrimination into Michigan law that allows discrimination against committed and loving LGBT couples from adopting children. Under the legislation, faith-based agencies that contract with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services can operate in accordance with their beliefs.
Let us be very clear the only reason one cites “religious freedom” is to codify bigotry. People who have claimed their religious freedom is being impinged have a dubious history; religious freedom has been cited for the need to maintain slavery, oppose a women’s right to vote, ending segregation, banning interracial marriages and now most recently providing services to the LGBT community.
In a speech in earlier today, Hillary Clinton, called for federal legislation that would automatically register all Americans over the age of 18 and would mandate at least 20 days of early voting ahead of elections.
Hillary Clinton’s rally cry championing voting rights stands in stark contrast to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker; former Florida governor Jeb Bush; and former Texas governor Rick Perry who all championed and signed into law legislation that restricted voting rights and disproportionately impacted poor and minorities, making it harder for them to vote in elections.
It looks like Hillary wants to have a national dialog on voting rights in the US. This isn’t exactly surprising since there is a direct correlation between higher voter turn out and Democrats winning elections, but it is refreshing and something I welcome hearing more about in the general election.
This week’s Boston Courant article by David Rosen, Another Pot Shop Site Is Facing Opposition, is disheartening (but hardly surprising) to read. In 2012 MA overwhelmingly voted at the ballot to legalize marijuana for medical purposes, but since that time Beacon Hill and lobbyists working in conjunction with many neighborhood associations have done their best to make sure that not a single dispensary opens in the area.
Massachusetts citizens have overwhelmingly indicated their desire for these dispensaries to open and much to the chagrin of our current Governor who has said he will do anything he can to prevent a dispensary from opening a Suffolk / Boston Herald poll from 2014 indicates that 53% of likely voters favor legalizing marijuana for sale – similar to laws in Colorado and Washington state while only 37% of the electorate indicated they oppose it.
For the record, I would love to invite a dispensary to open here in the South End. I would certainly welcome having this here before another bank, mortgage or real estate office is permitted to open.
Yesterday morning Republican Presidential candidate Rand Paul surprised me with the passion which he expressed the sentiments shared above and how vigorously he pushed back when questioned about his foreign policy views which were described as ‘isolationist’.
Not a single one of them is willing to say they support marriage equality and every one of them think businesses that want to discriminate against gay couples should have the right based on “religious freedom”. Hashtag this post #STFU.
Congratulations to Ireland. While official results have not been formally tabulated it appears the general referendum on granting full marriage equality rights for gay couples has been overwhelmingly voted by the Irish people (some estimates are saying by 70%).
“It is about removing discrimination. It is about removing inequality. It’s historic, and that’s why I’ll be voting yes,” Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny
While I’m still not an advocate for voting on minority rights, this is an historic milestone for a devoutly Catholic country, which only 20 years ago in 1995 legalized divorce. Issues of social justice matter to Catholics and not all Catholics see homosexuality as a sin. Gone are the days that we need to accept the phrase “Love the sinner; hate the sin.” While the US is a completely different society, I hope the results in Ireland send a chill down Conservatives backs here and we can put this issue to rest in our own country next month when our US Supreme Court (hopefully) rules in favor of marriage equality.
I love the United States and think it is a great place to live, but sometimes American hubris gets in the way of what the rest of the world sees / knows. This picture makes the US look like it is still stuck in the 1970s.
Wow, it didn’t take the Jeb Bush a Republican Presidential candidate and supposed “moderate” to dodge to the right.
Last week Jeb Bush said on CBN News that Christian business owners should not have to provide services for gay weddings if it goes against their religious beliefs. By that line of thinking those same business owners should not be serving anyone who has been divorced; divorce is mentioned twice as often as homosexuality in the Bible. I’m not stupid and neither are you. We all know that one’s religious convictions have nothing to do with denying service to gay couples because the list of those who could not / should not be served by this logic would extend to so many groups (Jews, agnostics, etc…) that it would never be allowed – let alone supported by a Presidential primary candidate.
What do you think people’s reactions would be if Jeb Bush said, “Christian business owners should not have to provide services for Jewish weddings.”
I’m not surprised – just disappointed. Many in my family see Gov. Bush as a moderate and reasonable candidate inspite of the fact that he supports issues like this which I personally find offensive, discriminatory and illegal.
Friday, May 22nd Ireland will vote on whether or not they will allow same sex couples to marry under their Constitution. I wrote about this last month and shared a video called Marriage Equality: Bring your family with you.
Earlier this week Independent.ie shared the video above – talking to Irish seniors on how they will vote on Friday, May 22. If you know anyone in Ireland, I’d like to ask that you speak to them to ask how they will vote and encourage them to consider voting Yes for marriage equality in Ireland.
While it is true that Michele Bachmann is now a former Republican US Congresswoman and not running in the Republican Presidential Primary, she was part of the Republican Party’s leadership until earlier this year, and a former Republican Presidential primary candidate.
What will it take for alleged Republican Party “moderates” to forsake their party and stop making excuses for the inexcusable?
So when I discount the current field of Republicans who have announced their run for office of the President of the U.S. let’s keep in mind the former crop which doesn’t just end with Michele “I am a quack” Bachmann. It is harder and harder for me to take anyone who identifies with this party as a serious candidate.
No matter how liberal the ideas are from progressives like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, there is no comparison to the faith-laced gibberish all Conservatives seem to fall back upon. Bachmann’s comments are not the exception to the rule they are becoming more and more the language of the Republican Party.
The Supreme Court hears arguments next week in a landmark case on gay marriage, but most Americans already have made up their minds and the general consensus is that there’s no turning back according to a nationwide USA TODAY / Suffolk University Poll that was published this past weekend.
Those surveyed say by 51%-35% that it’s no longer practical for the Supreme Court to ban same-sex marriages because so many states have legalized them. One reason for the change in public views on the issue: Close to half say they have a gay or lesbian family member or close friend who is married to someone of the same sex.
USA TODAY published the full findings of their survey which also explores people’s attitudes / opinions on businesses seeking the right to discriminate on who they serve; using the excuse of ‘religious freedom’. Some of the findings surprised me and some of the findings disappointed me – only reinforcing Signorile’s point in his new book, It’s Not Over.
You can read the full article in USA TODAY, here.
I don’t think there are many people who read my blog who live in Ireland but I don’t think of LGBT rights in terms of cities, states, or nations. I think of them as human rights so I wanted to take a moment to voice my support and ask anyone who might have connections to Ireland to reach out and encourage people to vote yes next month.
BosGuy 