Legal, civil rights arguments fuel gay marriage debate
LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer Tuesday, March 2, 2004
Congress is taking its first steps toward what promises to be a divisive election-year battle over a constitutional amendment banning gay marriages.

Using the Massachusetts high court ruling permitting same-sex marriages as an impetus, the Senate Judiciary Constitution subcommittee is focusing on whether judges are overstepping their bounds and eroding traditional marriage. Gay rights supporters are fighting back, framing the issue as America's next civil rights


~

Anti gay marriage effort advances
March 3, 2004
FRANKFORT (AP) -- The Kentucky House on Tuesday lent its voice to a national uproar over gay marriages. It passed a resolution urging Congress to send to the states a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Proponents said they were defending the sanctity of marriage. Opponents called it gay bashing.


~

For Toronto Family, Gay Marriage Fortifies 'Normal'
By DeNeen L. Brown
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, March 3, 2004;
TORONTO
The pancakes had burned, the fuse to the microwave had blown, the dog needed to be walked. It was dinnertime.
Joyce Barnett and Alison Kemper were ready for supper.
"Honey!" Barnett called to her daughter, Hannah, 17, who was fast at work on instant messaging. "Dinner is on the table."
"Robbie," Kemper called to her son, 12, from the bottom of the stairs, "Supper, lovey! Turn the television off."



~

Gay 'marriage' rules sought
    BOSTON (AP) — With Massachusetts' first homosexual "marriages" drawing near, town clerks are seeking guidance from the state about details such as blood tests, the "bride-groom" wording of the "marriage" license and the state's residency requirements.

    Town clerks from across the state sent a letter to the governor, the attorney general and the public-health commissioner last week, asking for clarification on several points before same-sex "weddings" begin taking place as early as May 17 with the blessing of Massachusetts' highest court.


~

Mass. Election Tests Gay Marriage As Issue
By STEVE LeBLANC
Associated Press Writer
March 3, 2004, 1:39 AM EST
BOSTON -- A Republican lawmaker and a Democrat who strongly supports same-sex marriage were locked in a tight battle Tuesday in a special election for the state Senate that was seen as a key test of gay marriage as a campaign issue. The election was held to replace former Democratic state Sen. Cheryl Jacques, a proponent of same-sex weddings who resigned to head the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay-rights organization.


~

Madison council votes to oppose gay marriage ban
By KEVIN MURPHY
Special to the Journal Sentinel
Posted: March 2, 2004
Madison - By a wide margin, the Madison Common Council went on record Tuesday opposing efforts to amend the state or federal constitutions to ban gay marriage.

Citing the thousands of same-sex couples living and paying taxes in the city, Ald. Austin King said the issue is bigger than Madison or Dane County. National efforts to ban gay marriage, he said, represent the first time discrimination would be enshrined in the U.S. Constitution since it allowed slaves to be counted as three-fifths of a person.
The most recent census ranks Madison No. 1 among U.S. cities in the number of same-sex households, and many Madison police and firefighters are gay or lesbian, Ald. Mike Verveer said. A constitutional amendment banning gay marriage could jeopardize the health benefits the city offers its employees in domestic partnerships,


~

Gay Marriage Licenses Coming to Oregon
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: March 3, 2004
regon's most populous county will begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples today, a county commissioner said last night.

The board of commissioners for Multnomah County, which includes Portland, released a statement yesterday in favor of the policy change after the county attorney, Agnes Sowle, issued an opinion that the licenses would not violate state law.
Commissioner Lisa Naito said that the commissioners would hold a news conference this morning to explain their decision and that the licenses would be issued afterward.