Baldwin speaks out against 
anti-gay marriage legislation


WASHINGTON - Rep. Tammy Baldwin, the only openly lesbian member of Congress, said GOP-backed legislation stripping federal courts of jurisdiction over gay marriage would deny constitutional rights to gays and lesbians.

''With this bill, we face no less than the specter of a sign posted on the federal courthouse door which reads you may not defend your constitutional rights in this court,'' Baldwin, D-Wis., said shortly before the House passed the bill Thursday on a mostly party-line vote.

''You may not seek equal protection here. You may not petition your government for redress here. Today, the 'you' is gay and lesbian American citizens, but who will be next?''

Baldwin, who made the closing argument for Democrats in their unsuccessful attempt to defeat the bill, spoke loudly, pointing her finger at times. But she made no mention of her own sexual orientation


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Advocacy groups avoid ‘gay’ in recent ad campaigns
Critic says avoiding marriage issue makes ads look ‘foolish’
By JOE CREA


WASHINGTON — As the U.S. Senate geared up for a vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment, both the Human Rights Campaign and Log Cabin Republicans spent millions of dollars on advertisements aimed at defeating the constitutional ban on gay marriage.

The FMA stalled last week in the Senate on a procedural vote.

The HRC and LCR ad campaigns did not use the word “gay” or make clear in the messages that the amendment dealt with banning same-sex marriage.

Instead, the advertisements focused on opposing amending the U.S. Constitution to address controversial social issues and urged President Bush and other FMA supporters to focus on issues like the war in Iraq and the economy.


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Keep Your Mouth Closed On Gay Marriage GOP Tells Lynne Cheney
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff


(Salem, Oregon) The wife of Vice President Dick Cheney will address the state Republican convention this week and participate in at least one fundraiser for the party, but some members of the GOP are telling her not to ring up her views on gay marriage.

Lynne Cheney caused a maelstrom within the far right of the party last week when she voiced her disapproval of the Federal Marriage Amendment.  Cheney, the mother of Mary, an out lesbian, told CNN's Late Edition Sunday that marriage should be left up to the states.


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While the U.S. contemplates hate in its Constitution…
Europe Strives for Equality Across its Continent
By Jesse Garcia


Bulgarian activists Nedret Recep (left), Genko Genkov, Tzvetomir Deliyski, Aksinia Gencheva and Desislava Petrova welcome the EU expansion and the GLBT liberties associated with it.

Civil unions. Gay marriages. Terms mainstream America has come to know and vilify in 2004, thanks to political baiting and the media frenzy regarding institutions which have quietly thrived in Europe for more than a decade.

While the U.S. House and the president ponders a Federal Marriage Amendment, Europe is hard at work trying to equalize its GLBT citizens’ standing in the work place, in society and at the altar, throughout the continent.
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In 1989, Denmark became the first nation to legalize same-sex unions. Norway followed in 1993 and Sweden in 1994. France became the largest European nation to legalize same-sex unions in 1999, then the larger nation of Germany allowed them in 2001. Also that year, The Netherlands became the first country to legally recognize gay marriages, and Belgium followed suit in 2003.