Bi-Partisan Ohio Leaders Join Opposition to Federal Marriage Amendment

CLEVELAND, July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of Republican and Democratic leaders from across Ohio today announced their opposition to the unnecessary Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) and released a list of its supporters.
"This amendment is a distraction from the very real and pressing issues our communities and country as a whole are facing," said Rev. Kenneth Chalker, Pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Cleveland. "The time and energy lawmakers spend on this amendment is of little comfort to the many Ohioans dealing with unemployment, the emotional and financial hardship of having a loved one serving abroad and other serious challenges."
The group includes religious, political and business leaders from both parties that announced their opposition to the unnecessary amendment which would duplicate existing federal and state laws that govern marriage in the United States.


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Yoko Ono takes gay marriage fight to clubs
Lennon widow's remix climbing
dance club music charts
Yoko Ono recently performed “Every Man Has a Man Who Loves Him” at a gay pride rally in New York.
The Associated Press


NEW YORK - Yoko Ono has joined the chorus in support of gay marriage by recording “Every Man Has a Man Who Loves Him,” a gay-friendly version of a song she wrote nearly a quarter-century ago.

The song “Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him,” included on her last album with John Lennon before he was killed in 1980, was also retooled into another version: “Every Woman Has a Woman Who Loves Her.”

It’s both a political statement and a tribute to an audience that has improbably made her a hit act in the dance clubs at age 71.

“I should think that people would be more interested in politics and all that is happening, rather than two lovebirds who are looking to wed,” she said. “I think it’s very nice that in an age when love is so scarce that people are willing to gamble on getting married.”


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1,000 Rally for Gay Rights
Supporters protest new law they say is discriminatory.
By David Harrison


Before Dallas Miller moved to Fairfax City from South Carolina to live with his partner, he was more concerned about discrimination against gay men in the District — where he works as a psychologist and actor — than in Virginia. But he found he had more to fear in Virginia.

"I was dismayed once I realized," he said.

Three years later, Miller still lives in Fairfax and active in efforts to resist legislation designed to make Virginia less gay-friendly. Last Wednesday, he joined about 1,000 other demonstrators for an afternoon rally outside the Fairfax County Government Center protesting the implementation of a new law forbidding same-sex couples to enter into contractual agreements.

The new law is "of dubious constitutionality and morally bankrupt," said Del. Brian Moran (D-46), speaking for Northern Virginia lawmakers who opposed the law and joined him on the stage.


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New Jersey News
Same-sex couples earn greater rights Saturday
Domestic partners can register under new law.
By TERRENCE DOPP
The Express-Times

TRENTON -- It provides more say in medical decisions. It gives the right to collect a deceased partner's pensions. In Michael Blake's words, it provides legal legitimacy.

New Jersey's Domestic Partnership Act, which takes effect Saturday, affords registered same-sex couples in New Jersey legal rights previously unavailable. Gov. James E. McGreevey signed the bill in January.

Under the legislation, gay and lesbian couples will have guaranteed hospital visitation rights, something now controlled by patients' families. Activists say before the law, families could deny access to long-term partners because of prejudices.


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Mayor defends gay-vow decision
NEWSOM TELLS ACLU HE'S ADVANCED DEBATE
By Mary Anne Ostrom
Mercury News


San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom told liberal activists Wednesday that his decision to allow same-sex marriages in February has not created the political backlash feared by some prominent Democrats.

Newsom spoke to more than 1,500 members of the American Civil Liberties Union as they gathered for their annual convention in San Francisco. He said that his decision took the spotlight off presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry and has advanced the debate from domestic partnerships to the full rights of marriage.


``Now we get beyond domestic partnerships. Now civil unions almost seem passe. And now we're having a real debate about discrimination,'' Newsom said. ``I think in a curious way, it's helped the Kerry campaign.''