It's about equal protection
03/08/04
This is going to come as a shock to the opponents of gay marriage: The Bible is not the basis for U.S. law.

As soon as society started assigning legal rights to marriage, it ceased to be a function of religion and became a function of law. Almost from the beginning, marriage was about property -- specifically, the wife as property -- and inheritance.

Nowadays we no longer see spouses as property, but the idea of common property between spouses is still very much a matter of law.

Then there's the matter of privileged speech. Communication between spouses has the same protection as conversations between doctors and patients, lawyers and clients or priest and penitent.

Under the 14th amendment to the Constitution, any right that's available to one portion of society must be available to all of society. It's called equal protection.

If you are against gay marriage, then you're against equal protection, equal access to property and inheritance and against equal access to privileged speech.
JORDAN LUND Southeast Portland

Democracy Took the Day Off
Thursday March 4, 3:28 pm ET
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 4 /PRNewswire/
-- Author and Gospel singer BobMiller, a registered Republican shocked his fellow song writers at their annual conference this week with his most unexpected political opinions. Miller said, "With the backbone of the Democratic Party, William Jefferson Clinton, out of the way and the Bush Storm Troopers in place, democracy took the day off. Then this war-for-profit crew moved forward with their plans as if world opinions were irrelevant."


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Same-sex marriage jumps into spotlight
Terrain shifts rapidly as pro and con fuel, feed each other
By David Von Drehle and Alan Cooperman
Updated: 11:53 p.m. ET March  07, 2004
As recently as late January, the same-sex marriage fight was something people could track on a calendar, a matter of court dockets, legislative schedules and months between major developments.


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Councilwoman wants New York City's mayor to allow gay marriage
New York-AP -- An openly gay New York City councilwoman is urging the city's mayor to muster enough courage to act on his own convictions. Councilwoman Christine Quinn says Mayor Michael Bloomberg should show some leadership and immediately start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.


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GOP Wants Ads That Criticize Bush Pulled
By SHARON THEIMER, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The Republican National Committee on Friday asked about 250 television stations to pull a liberal group's ads critical of President Bush.
The RNC sent the stations a letter Friday suggesting the outlets may be complicit in breaking campaign finance laws if they air the MoveOn.org Voter Fund ads. It asked them to decline to broadcast the ads.

Seattle to recognize marriages of gay city workers
05:17 PM PST on Sunday, March 7, 2004
Associated Press
SEATTLE -- Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels announced Sunday that the city will begin recognizing the marriages of gay employees who get their unions licensed elsewhere. Beginning on Monday, Seattle is going to give every married couple the same rights -- regardless of whether they're straight or gay, Nickels said.
Nickels supports gay marriage, but because counties -- not cities -- issue marriage licenses in Washington state, he said he lacks the legal authority to issue same-sex marriage licenses like mayors in San Francisco and New Paltz, New York, have done.


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Arizona county halts mail-in marriage licenses because of gay marriage controversy
(03-07) 12:39 PST PHOENIX
(AP) -- Phoenix-area heterosexual couples who plan to marry must now appear in person to obtain a marriage license because officials halted a mail-in program amid the controversy over same-sex marriages


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Steven Waldman: Bush may have done favor for the cause of gay rights
March 8, 2004
President Bush's endorsement of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage could prove to be a great moment for gay rights
This may seem an absurd statement, both to gay rights activists who have roundly denounced the decision and to religious conservatives who have cheered it.

Kennedy Endorses Gay Marriage

Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., said Sunday that he supports the right of gays and lesbians to get married, adding that he backs a court ruling that could legalize same sex marriages in his own state


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The Gender Circus
By William O. Beeman, Pacific News Service

The Massachusetts Supreme Court advisory, stating that nothing short of marriage for same-sex couples would satisfy the state constitution, has sent legislators throughout the nation as well as President Bush scrambling to define marriage as between "one man and one woman."


~

Poll shows voters in Florida oppose gay marriage, constitutional ban
BY ERIKA BOLSTAD
Knight Ridder Newspapers
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - (KRT) - While most Florida voters don't approve of marriage for gay and lesbian couples, a majority supports civil unions that would give same-sex couples the legal rights of married couples, according to a new poll.


Voters are also uncomfortable with a proposed federal constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage, with only 41 percent of those polled saying they would support President Bush's push to ban same-sex marriages.



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Same-sex marriage: breaking down the closet door
By Leslie Feinberg

As of March 3, civil disobedience in support of same-sex marriage is spreading through the U.S. In Portland, Oregon, the Multnomah County Board of Com mis sioners announced that it will issue marriage licenses to gays and lesbians today. In Detroit, supporters of same-sex marriage rallied downtown, with same-sex couples expected to request marriage licenses at the Wayne County clerk's office. At the Capitol building in Atlanta demonstration, gay rights activist Lisa Flick briefly blocked traffic by sitting down in the street and was dragged away by police. In New York state, the mayor of New Paltz says he will continue to perform same-sex marriages despite being charged with 19 criminal counts, possibly facing jail time for his actions. Joining him in defiance is Mayor John Shields of Nyack, who says that, not only will he marry other same-sex couples, he will seek a marriage license for himself and his same-sex partner


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Bloomberg shares parade duties with New Paltz mayor
By KAREN MATTHEWS
Associated Press Writer
March 7, 2004, 5:03 PM EST
NEW YORK --Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has sent mixed signals on same-sex marriage, and New Paltz Mayor Jason West, who was criminally charged for performing them, both marched in the gay-inclusive Queens St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday.


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Uncivil union: States not united on legal responses to gay marriage
By Lea Brilmayer
Special to The Washington Post
The news that gay and lesbian couples will be able to apply for marriage licenses and marry legally in Massachusetts starting May 17 pits the rights of states to formulate their own family-law policies against their conflicting obligations to recognize legal relationships entered into in other states.


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Personal Voices: Let's Get Married...Or Not
By Elisabeth Hurst, Bad Subjects
I'm queer, so everyone I know, and a whole lot of people I don't know, assume that I have something worthwhile to say about same-sex marriage. While they wait for me, I've been struggling to put my thoughts into something vaguely resembling coherency.

2ND MEDICAL BRIGADE SOLDIER DIES IN BAGHDAD 3/7/2004

Gays in N.J. watch, wait as same-sex marriage debate develops
March 7, 2004, 2:51 PM EST
ASBURY PARK, N.J. -- Joe D'Andrea sees the debate over gay marriage as embodying a larger issue: civil rights.
"It's all about equality," he said.

D'Andrea, a 50-year-old Web site publisher, is among a number of New Jersey gays and lesbians watching the debate unfold, propelled in part by mayors in San Francisco and Westchester County, N.Y., who have officiated at services for gay couples.


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The marriage brokers
Multnomah County's path to same-sex marriage was a quiet one, well-mapped, out of public view
03/07/04
DAVID AUSTIN, TOM HALLMAN JR. and SCOTT LEARN
She remembers the telephone messages starting in early January. A trickle -- two or three a day -- grew steadily until Roey Thorpe found at least 10 waiting each morning. She punched them up on her speaker phone, and listened at her desk. She says the pressure on her organization -- Basic Rights Oregon -- from same-sex couples grew each day. Polite requests for her group to push for same-sex marriage gave way to criticism and, finally, to outright anger. But Thorpe, the 41-year-old lesbian who headed the group, was cautious. And practical. She wore a diamond engagement ring and had pictures of her partner scattered about her office. But the way to achieve same-sex marriage, she figured, was not with the loud protest.


~

This article makes me wonder if there is any hope for America at all

It's been a while since anyone called homosexuality a mental disorder, so I guess we were about due. In a poorly written piece, Doug Wrenn has decided to explore that and other aspects of the drivel that both fundamentalist Christians and right wing extremists love to spout.

Gay-Rights Foes See Opportunity in Furor
By DAVID CRARY
AP National Writer
March 7, 2004, 1:23 PM EST
NEW YORK -- Even as they issue dire warnings, many longtime opponents of the gay-rights movement are welcoming the furor over same-sex marriage as a chance to expand the audience for their unfavorable views of homosexuality. Activists in this camp -- clergy, conservative lobbyists, men and women who say they moved away from homosexuality through prayer or therapy -- have been dismayed by gay-rights advances in recent years. But they see new opportunities for their cause if, as polls indicate, a majority of the Americans oppose the spreading push for gay marriage.


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Bill Frist and George W. Bush to America's Gay Community: Drop Dead, Faggots!
By Jeff Koopersmith
Mar 7, 2004, 09:05
I am damn furious. And yes, you're damn right, I have a lot of close friends and colleagues, men and women, who happen to be gay. Many of them are in dedicated and loving relationships, and some arte raising the children that George W. Bush and his kind would leave dead, starving, and dumb rather than think about caring for, feeding, or educating.

Constitution trumps Proposition 22 on gay marriage issue
GOV. Arnold Schwarzenegger's misunderstanding of the American constitutional system is a good reason why only native- born citizens should hold the highest elective offices in the land


~

Gay marriage
The New York attorney general's legal opinion on gay marriage, a breezy, 28-page read too light to prop open a door let alone halt the runaway train of same-sex marriage, points up an untenable conflict in state law that the Legislature and Gov. George Pataki should fix, in short order, and on the side of fairness for all New Yorkers. Doing nothing in Albany, the normal course, ignores history in the making, prolongs inequality and fosters uncertainty in a realm that can hardly afford to be more muddied. The history in the making is the battle for civil rights being waged by gay people, and people of good will, in town halls, city halls and municipal clerks' offices, in locales across the country, from San Francisco to Massachusetts, from Portland, Ore., to New York's New Paltz.


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Sharpton says gay marriage debate diverts attention from Bush policies
New York-AP --Al Sharpton says President Bush has been using the debate over gay marriage to divert attention from his public policy. The Democratic presidential candidate says Bush is trying to distract the country from the issues of jobs, health care, education and the war in Iraq


~



Transcript from panel on gay marriage


~

Gay couples' health coverage hailed as civil rights victory
By Nancy Cicco
ncicco@seacoastonline.com
PORTSMOUTH - As the national debate about gay marriage grabbed headlines across the country again this past week, the City Council on Monday unanimously extended health insurance benefits to same-sex domestic partners of the city’s firefighters - without so much as a single discussion on the issue.

First Public 'Gay Marriage' Held in Korea
With same-sex marriages becoming a source of controversy the world over, Korea's first public same-sex marriage was conducted in a Jong-no café Sunday

You can sign the petition at NARAL
to send a message to John Ashcroft about this. I would urge ALL wompos - on both sides of the abortion issue to do so. This is about far more than abortions, it's about our Medical privacy
which was supposedly protected in the paper-heavy HIPPA act.

Discriminatory Marriage Legislation Meets Defeat in Three States

Task Force Commends Community Leaders in Maine, Indiana and Wyoming

MEDIA CONTACT:
NGLTF Communications Department
media@ngltf.org
323-857-8751

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) leaders in the fight for marriage equality won two important victories this week, defeating proposed amendments to the Maine and Indiana state constitutions that would have explicitly denied gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.


These mark the second and third such victories in recent weeks, including the defeat of another same-sex marriage ban in Wyoming late February. Meanwhile, the battle continues on other fronts, including Georgia where right wing forces are attempting to push another vote in the state General Assembly.

Today, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman applauded community leaders in Maine, Indiana, Wyoming, and Georgia for their swift and effective action in defense of civil equality for LGBT people everywhere.

"I join the thousands upon thousands of gay and lesbian couples from these states in thanking their community leaders for taking a stand against the outrageous tide of discrimination we're seeing against us. In particular, we want to salute and honor Betsy Smith of the Maine Lesbian Gay Political alliance, Allen Thornell of Georgia Equality, and Linda Burt of the Wyoming chapter of the ACLU," Foreman said. "They've challenged prejudice with valor and are an inspiration to us all."

"When President Bush announced his support of a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would, if passed, permanently exclude same-sex couples from having the legal right to marry, defeating similar efforts at the state level became more important than ever," Foreman continued. "What we've seen since then is encouraging. It shows that fair-minded Americans from states in the north, south, east and west can agree: it is not in anyone's interests to write such blatant discrimination into the law."

BACKGROUND


On Tuesday March 5th, the Maine Senate refused to consider a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage by a vote of 17 against and 16 in favor. A similar proposal was defeated in the Maine House by a vote of 76 to 63 on February 18th.


Betsy Smith, executive director of the Maine Lesbian Gay Political Alliance, said the victory in their state was especially important. A bill still before the legislature that would give inheritance rights to domestic partners could have been negatively affected had the amendment resolution succeeded.

Smith still expects to see the same amendment resurface next legislative session, and is already preparing a broad coalition of many different advocacy groups, from the business community to communities of faith, to prepare for the fight ahead of them.

On Wednesday March 6th, Indiana House Republicans admitted defeat, bringing to an end their boycott of proceedings that had lasted a week and a half, in a last-ditch effort to ban equal marriage rights for same-sex couples with a similar constitutional amendment.


House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer - backed by the Democratic majority in the house - would not allow any debate on same-sex marriage, calling it a non-issue, and insisting that the legislature needed to deal with more pressing priorities.


On February 26, a bill to send to the voters an amendment to the Georgia state constitution to ban same-sex marriage had already failed to get the required 120 of 180 votes in House of Representatives, by a 3 vote margin. This victory was the result of an extraordinary campaign organized by Georgia Equality, the state's leading LGBT advocacy organization.


National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
1325 Massachusetts Ave. NW Suite 600 . Washington, DC 20005

Discriminatory Marriage Legislation Meets Defeat in Three States

Task Force Commends Community Leaders in Maine, Indiana and Wyoming

MEDIA CONTACT:
NGLTF Communications Department
media@ngltf.org
323-857-8751

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) leaders in the fight for marriage equality won two important victories this week, defeating proposed amendments to the Maine and Indiana state constitutions that would have explicitly denied gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.


These mark the second and third such victories in recent weeks, including the defeat of another same-sex marriage ban in Wyoming late February. Meanwhile, the battle continues on other fronts, including Georgia where right wing forces are attempting to push another vote in the state General Assembly.

Today, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman applauded community leaders in Maine, Indiana, Wyoming, and Georgia for their swift and effective action in defense of civil equality for LGBT people everywhere.

"I join the thousands upon thousands of gay and lesbian couples from these states in thanking their community leaders for taking a stand against the outrageous tide of discrimination we're seeing against us. In particular, we want to salute and honor Betsy Smith of the Maine Lesbian Gay Political alliance, Allen Thornell of Georgia Equality, and Linda Burt of the Wyoming chapter of the ACLU," Foreman said. "They've challenged prejudice with valor and are an inspiration to us all."

"When President Bush announced his support of a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would, if passed, permanently exclude same-sex couples from having the legal right to marry, defeating similar efforts at the state level became more important than ever," Foreman continued. "What we've seen since then is encouraging. It shows that fair-minded Americans from states in the north, south, east and west can agree: it is not in anyone's interests to write such blatant discrimination into the law."

BACKGROUND


On Tuesday March 5th, the Maine Senate refused to consider a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage by a vote of 17 against and 16 in favor. A similar proposal was defeated in the Maine House by a vote of 76 to 63 on February 18th.


Betsy Smith, executive director of the Maine Lesbian Gay Political Alliance, said the victory in their state was especially important. A bill still before the legislature that would give inheritance rights to domestic partners could have been negatively affected had the amendment resolution succeeded.

Smith still expects to see the same amendment resurface next legislative session, and is already preparing a broad coalition of many different advocacy groups, from the business community to communities of faith, to prepare for the fight ahead of them.

On Wednesday March 6th, Indiana House Republicans admitted defeat, bringing to an end their boycott of proceedings that had lasted a week and a half, in a last-ditch effort to ban equal marriage rights for same-sex couples with a similar constitutional amendment.


House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer - backed by the Democratic majority in the house - would not allow any debate on same-sex marriage, calling it a non-issue, and insisting that the legislature needed to deal with more pressing priorities.

On February 26, a bill to send to the voters an amendment to the Georgia state constitution to ban same-sex marriage had already failed to get the required 120 of 180 votes in House of Representatives, by a 3 vote margin.
This victory was the result of an extraordinary campaign organized by Georgia Equality, the state's leading LGBT advocacy organization.


National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
1325 Massachusetts Ave. NW Suite 600 . Washington, DC 20005

A chance to lead the way
Should the Massachusetts Legislature vote on Thursday to endorse a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, it will represent both a moral failure and a missed opportunity. The morality of the issue is clear: The virtues of loving companionship, devotion and stability among adult couples of any sex should be institutionalized and praised, not condemned.
It's an instance where the moral thing to do coincides with sound social policy.


~

Marriage center of legal war
'Traditional values' a cry from both sides
By AMY WOLD and PENNY BROWN ROBERTS
awold@theadvocate.com
Advocate staff writers
For Gene Mills, Steve Scalise, Shad Duplessis and Terrance Hyde, marriage represents the same thing -- tradition, fidelity and lifelong commitment. Nevertheless, the four men find themselves at war on the battleground to decide once and for all who can legally marry in Louisiana. At a Red Stick Republican Defense of Marriage Rally Saturday afternoon on the steps of the State Capitol, Mills -- executive director of the conservative advocacy organization Louisiana Family Forum -- and Scalise -- a Republican legislator from the New Orleans area -- threatened legal and political action to ensure the institution is limited to men and women.


~

Letters
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
03/07/04
4 commissioners are pioneers
Three cheers for the courageous actions of Multnomah County Chairwoman Diane Linn and County Commissioners Lisa Naito, Maria Rojo de Steffey and Serena Cruz.

House panel defeats pair of marriage bills
Measures were to prevent same-sex unions in Md.
By Kimberly A. C. Wilson
Sun Staff
Originally published March 6, 2004
In a victory for gay-rights advocates, lawmakers defeated last night two measures designed to shield Maryland's legal definition of marriage from challenges by same-sex couples. The House Judiciary Committee voted 11 to 9 to reject bills that would have bolstered existing state law that recognizes only the union of a man and a woman as a marriage.


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Same-Sex Couples Head To DMV For Name Changes
San Jose To Adopt Resolution Giving City Benefits To Couples
POSTED: 9:04 am PST March 6, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO -- Same-sex couples are doing what many people do after they get married -- they are heading to the Department of Motor Vehicles for name changes, NBC11 reported. And the DMV is recognizing the city marriage certificates as legal for the purposes of making name changes. The licenses will allow gay couples to change their name at the Social Security Administration to preserve their benefits.


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Supervisors weigh gay marriage
Wormhoudt wants board to ask county clerk to reconsider gay nuptials
By BRIAN SEALS
SENTINEL STAFF WRITER
SANTA CRUZ — The national debate over same-sex marriages is making its way to the county. Gay matrimony is on the county Board of Supervisors agenda Tuesday, as Supervisor Mardi Wormhoudt plans to ask for her colleagues’ support on three fronts:

* Authorizing her, as chair of the board, to write a letter asking County Clerk Richard Bedal to change his position on gay marriage and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

* Directing county legal staff to research ways to join in the city of San Francisco’s lawsuit against the state seeking to legalize same-sex marriages.

* Passing a resolution opposing a President Bush-endorsed constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions.

Wormhoudt’s requests come in the wake of San Francisco city officials issuing more than 3,500 same-sex marriage licenses since Feb. 12. Couples seeking to get married are on a waiting list now stretching into May.

Same-Sex Marriage Blurs Lines on Both Sides of the Political Aisle
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN
Published: March 7, 2004
Gay activists see Gov. George E. Pataki as one of the best governors in the country on issues that matter to them, even though he insists that marriage should be between only a man and a woman.
That position puts the moderate Republican governor in the same camp as many conservative Republicans - and moderate Democrats - across the nation.


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Western NY Officials Weigh In On Gay Marriage
(Oneonta and Ithaca, NY) AP 03/06/04
- Oneonta's openly gay clerk told The Daily Star of Oneonta that he won't issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. James Koury says he will follow state law, and he believes that means not issuing licenses to homosexual couples although he thinks marriage is a civil right that should be afforded to all citizens.

a bit of shameless self- promotion and promotion for CARVE 2


CARVE 2
is now available for $5 (subs $20). Featuring:

kari edwards/san francisco, CA
John Bradley/DeKalb, IL
Matvei Yankelevich/Brooklyn, NY
W.B. Keckler/Harrisburg, PA
Andrew Felsinger/San Francisco, CA
Ed Barrett/Boston, MA
Alan DeNiro/St. Paul, MN
Joel Sloman/Medford, MA
Greg Ford/NY, NY
Ron Starr/Seattle, WA
Jim Dunn/Boston, MA
Mike County/Boston, MA
Amanda Cook/Gloucester, MA

and cover art by Eric McDade/Philadelphia, PA

Please make checks out to Aaron Tieger
and send to:

51 Prentiss St. #7
Cambridge, MA 02140

Thank you.

AND if you're in the Boston area, please come hear us read at Wordsworth Books
on Saturday, March 13 at 5 pm. Featuring: Yankelevich, Ford, Cook, Dunn,
County, and Sloman.

Aaron Tieger, editor

CARVE

Rev Al: Support gay marriage
BY JEREMY OLSHAN
March 6, 2004, 6:44 PM EST
The Rev. Al Sharpton called on black religious leaders Saturday to support same-sex marriage, even if that means having to put aside their own beliefs.
To do otherwise, he told supporters of his presidential candidacy at the Emanuel AME Church in Harlem, would renew threats to civil rights and play right into the hand of the president.


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Why gay marriages are dividing America
From Ros Davidson in San Francisco
It’s become America’s most compelling and divisive social issue, one that is flustering politicians in an election year and enraging the religious right.


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Ottawa Marchers Support Gay Unions
Gaetanne Seguin
Saturday, March 6, 2004
Hundreds of people marched to Parliament Hill Saturday to show their support for gay marriage.
The demonstrators say allowing same-sex marriage is a human rights issue, and they chanted ``Equal marriage now. Equal marriage now''


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Activists appeal to Cheney's gay daughter
BY BOB KEMPER
Chicago Tribune
WASHINGTON -Gay-rights activists, outraged at what they see as the Bush administration's decision to provoke a culture war over gay marriage, are directing much of their anger at Cheney.

Troops Rally For Regime Change Battle
By Don Hazen and Tai Moses, AlterNet
March 5, 2004
Super Tuesday was John Kerry's Rubicon. The furious, but not so fast general presidential contest began, in all its excessive glory and gore. While George W. Bush made his disingenuous congratulatory phone call to Kerry on Tuesday, the president's campaign was working to churn out the beginning of millions of dollars of television and radio ads that will try to negatively define John Kerry for swing voters in a number of key states. Kerry, for his part, didn't hesitate to set the tenor of his campaign – his victory speech ripped Bush on health care, jobs and national security, and charged the administration with having "the most inept, reckless, and ideological foreign policy in modern history."


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A legal look at Oregon's move
Constitution, rulings back equal protection
John M. Hubbell, Chronicle Staff Writer Friday, March 5, 2004
Portland, Ore. -- Maverick county commissioners who suddenly authorized same-sex marriages here this week might be the most obvious people for Oregon's gay newlyweds to thank. But as couples continued to ring the Multnomah County building Thursday to be wed, state legal experts said their biggest allies may end up being the state's constitutional framers who long ago rejected the idea of a tiered society on the forming frontier.


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Chambers says Bruning has radical agenda
BY HENRY J. CORDES
State Sen. Ernie Chambers on Thursday accused Attorney General Jon Bruning of politicizing his office with his testimony before Congress in support of a ban on same-sex marriage. Chambers said Bruning backed an "extremist, radical, discriminatory political agenda" with his testimony Wednesday before a Senate subcommittee on the need for a constitutional amendment barring gay marriage. "The rest of the country is entitled to believe that his lame-brained simpletonness represents the state of Nebraska," the Omaha state senator said. "Who is to say (same-sex couples) are not entitled to the thrill of marriage and the agony of divorce?" Bruning and Dave Bydalek, the director of a pro-family organization, rejected suggestions that the attorney general's testimony was extremist.


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No Mayor, But New Paltz Gay Weds Continue
Mar 6, 2004 2:04 pm US/Eastern
(New Paltz, NY) New Paltz Mayor Jason West may have postponed his plans to marry more same-sex couples, but that hasn't stopped such weddings from taking place in his village. About two dozen same-sex couples gathered under a packed tent in a private parking lot on the village's Main Street Saturday to be married by local Unitarian


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NYC Mayor: Gay Couples Merit Equal Rights
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS
Associated Press Writer
Originally published March 6, 2004, 5:53 PM EST
NEW YORK -- The mayor of the nation's largest city says same-sex couples deserve the same rights in civil unions that straight couples enjoy in marriage, but he will continue to enforce New York state's ban on gay marriage.

Same-Sex Couples Head To DMV For Name Changes
San Jose To Adopt Resolution Giving City Benefits To Couples
POSTED: 9:04 am PST March 6, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO -- Same-sex couples are doing what many people do after they get married -- they are heading to the Department of Motor Vehicles for name changes, NBC11 reported. And the DMV is recognizing the city marriage certificates as legal for the purposes of making name changes.

The licenses will allow gay couples to change their name at the Social Security Administration to preserve their benefits.

Legal Discrimination
March 6, 2004
By Dylan Walker
Give me one really good reason why gay people aren't entitled to the same rights and privileges as straight people. Just one. One really good one.

Is it not true that some Americans are homosexual? And is it not also true that the Constitution clearly states that all Americans are entitled to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"? Nowhere in the Constitution does it grant rights to Americans and states "with exception to homosexuals." Nowhere.
So how come two people of the same sex cannot get married? Are gays not capable of loving or being loved?


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The FCC's Indecency Witch Hunt; A Dangerous Threat to Free Speech
by Rob Kall
OpEdNews.Com
The Republican dominated, christian right controlled congress has massively increased the fines for indecent use of the airwaves. The FCC has begun a witch-hunt that is clearly driven by the Bush administration's obesiance to fundamentalist right wing Christians who insist upon forcing their morals down the rest of the nation's throat.

City denies local men's bid to wed
By BRIAN MEYER
News Staff Reporter
3/6/2004
  Click to view larger picture
DENNIS C. ENSER/Buffalo News
A gay couple's unsuccessful attempt to get a marriage license Friday in City Hall sets the stage for a likely legal fight and a potentially polarizing local debate over same-sex marriage. Leaders in the gay and lesbian community praised David T. Cantaffa and Anthony J. Laulette of Buffalo for taking an action that they believe will become a catalyst for "educating" local residents about the issue.


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Civil Rights/Human Rights
Senate leader vows fast action to ban same-sex marriages: 'Renegade judges' must be stopped, Frist declares
By Mary Leonard
Mar 6, 2004, 10:59
March 4, 2004

-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist yesterday vowed to move quickly to amend the US Constitution to block gay marriages, predicting same-sex unions would spread like "wildfire" across all 50 states if Massachusetts starts issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples on May 17.

WV: Gay Friendly?
WTAP News
Denise Alex
A lesbian couple has asked the state Supreme Court to force the Kanawha County Clerk's office to start issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Pat Link and Sheila Chambers filed the petition Friday, after Kanawha County Clerk Alma King told their lawyer she would not issue the license. The clerk cited state law, which describes marriage as a "loving and lifelong union between a woman and a man."
Link and Chambers have been together 23 years. The couple was married in Canada last year and celebrated a civil union in Vermont in 2001.
Chambers' recent retirement and the realization that her married co-workers could leave survivor benefits to their spouses prompted the lawsuit.


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Census Bureau one day may track gay marriages
WASHINGTON - U.S. Census Bureau officials are discussing measuring gay marriage in America, but can't do so under current federal law.


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'We felt like we were part of history'
• Two men from Bremerton join about 1,000 other same-sex couples married this week in Portland.


~

Sacramento Bee/Paul Kitagaki Jr.
Spouses for life
Gays, lesbians cite personal, political reasons for marriage


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Wisconsin joins gay marriage brawl
BY JR ROSS
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. — The state Assembly approved a proposed amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution on Friday banning same-sex marriages or civil unions. In another volley in the ongoing national war over whether gay couples should be allowed to marry, lawmakers voted 68-27 to approve the amendment.

The vote came after an all-night session in which opponents decried the proposal as mean-spirited, bigoted and shameful.



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Delegate announces she is gay at hearing
by Thomas Dennison
ANNAPOLIS -- Del. Anne R. Kaiser urged the state Thursday to pass legislation that would establish medical decision-making authority for same-sex couples and announced publicly for the first time that she is gay.

With her family and rabbi in the audience, Kaiser (D-Dist. 14) of Olney told the House Health and Government Matters Committee that as a gay woman, she believes same-sex couples should be allowed to make medical decisions about their partners.

Hark back to civil-rights era
03/06/04
"It was exasperating -- if not entirely surprising --" to read your March 3 editorial denouncing Multnomah County's decision to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

The folks who hate gay marriage will hate it just as much if one does it nicely, begging at their feet for their support. The anti-gay crowd is not up in arms over the mannerisms of the action, they're opposed to the substance of it.

The Oregonian's editorial board might want to reflect for a little on how the "responsible" papers of the day were preaching similar warnings about not alienating people to those staging boycotts, sit-ins and freedom rides in the South during the struggle for black civil rights, as well as just where we might be today had those civil-rights activists foolishly decided to follow such advice.


~

Chafee questions need for gay marriage ban
JIM BARON , Journal Register News Service 03/06/2004
With federal budget deficits approaching hundreds of billions of dollars, with a war in Iraq that even Pentagon officials admit will be a "long, hard slog," and with fresh problems just a short distance off the Florida coast in Haiti, U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee wonders "why in the world are we diverting our attention to keeping people from getting married?


~

Gay Marriage? How Straight
By BOB MORRIS
Published: March 7, 2004
"It's very hard to speak freely right now," said Judith Butler, a gender theorist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley. "But many gay people are uncomfortable with all this, because they feel their sense of an alternative movement is dying. Sexual politics was supposed to be about finding alternatives to marriage."


~

County denies 20 gay marriages
Same-sex couples try to wed during rally
By Xochitl Peña
Palm Springs
The Desert Sun
March 6th, 2004
------------------------------------------------------------------------
INDIO -- It was a busy morning at the Riverside County Clerk’s Office, Friday. In the span of about half an hour, 20 same-sex couples marched into the county office and attempted to get married. One by one, they were rejected. A "denied" stamp on the back of all their applications serve as reminders of why they are fighting and rallying for equal rights.


~

Activists and revellers mingle
06/03/2004 13:54  - (SA)  
Sydney - A man wearing a skirt and Saddam Hussein mask and carrying a pink bag emblazoned with the words "I support gay marriage" was among thousands of people who took to the streets of Sydney on Saturday night for the city's annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
The annual street parade was launched in 1978 as a gay rights protest, but has since transformed itself into a vibrant parade celebrating all aspects of gay culture.


~

Two women who say they donned "little invisible coats" during much of their 22-year relationship delighted in their public wedding Wednesday


~

Mayor: I would if only I could
That’s his thought on presiding over gay weddings. He won’t, however, go against state law.


~

BATTLE OVER SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
Justices don't act immediately on S.F. case
Harriet Chiang, Chronicle Legal Affairs Writer
Saturday, March 6, 2004
Opposing sides in San Francisco's same-sex marriage controversy made their final pitches to the California Supreme Court on Friday as they anxiously awaited word on whether the state's top court will step in and decide the fate of gay and lesbian weddings. In briefs filed with the court, San Francisco city attorneys asked the justices to refrain from taking any action now and allow two lawsuits pending in Superior Court over San Francisco's parade of same-sex nuptials to go to trial and wind its way through the legal system


~

Alderman's daughter sees good in her arrest
March 6, 2004
BY STEVE PATTERSON Staff Reporter
This was the moment. The moment Thursday that allowed Deborah Mell to break chains, to boldly shout and do it without hesitation. An opening to Washington Street was there; gays and lesbians were sitting on the pavement; the crowd was chanting; cars were honking. And then it happened. Mell, the 35-year-old lesbian daughter of Ald. Richard Mell (33rd) and sister-in-law to Gov. Blagojevich, ran toward the street. Barreling head-first into a police officer trying to block activists, Mell was quickly in cuffs.

By Hallie Arnold , Freeman staff 03/06/2004
KINGSTON - The federal government has no business trying to legislate against same-sex marriage, U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey said Friday. "The president of the United States has, in his own way, attempted to try to drive a cultural wedge between the American people with a federal amendment to the Constitution to prohibit gay marriage," Hinchey, D-Hurley, said during a news conference at his district office on Wall Street in Uptown Kingston.

Gay Marriage Spreads To West Virginia
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: March 6, 2004 12:01 a.m. ET
(Charleston, West Virginia) A lesbian couple filed suit Friday to force the Kanawha County Clerk's Office to start issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Charleston, the state capital, is the largest city in the county. Pat Link and Sheila Chambers went to court after Clerk Alma King said she would not issue a license to them because state law describes marriage as a union between a woman and a man. "We will do whatever the courts direct," said David Dodd, a spokesperson for King. "But we will not issue a marriage license without the court telling us to."


~

Thank Gavin Newsom For Standing Up for Gay Marriage
Contributed by Working Assets
Who would have thought that the breakthrough in gay marriage would come from a wealthy, Irish Catholic, straight married man?

In the face of fear on the part of many in his own political party as well as loathing by the Christian Right, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has demonstrated that there is at least one last heroic politician willing to stand up for freedom and justice and do the right thing regardless of what the polls or pundits might claim.

Bush supporting open discrimination
Mar. 6, 2004 12:00 AM
George W. Bush has become the first president in U.S. history who openly supports a constitutional amendment to discriminate against a portion of the nation's citizens: gays and lesbians.
At the same time, since our society's understanding of marriage has its roots in religion, no matter what form the amendment takes, it would write into the Constitution a governmental establishment of a specific religious ceremony. Discriminating against a portion of the population and establishing recognition of religion - let freedom ring.

we ned to all be out there applying marriage licenses


From the The Advocate
Long Island same-sex couples seek gay-friendly town clerks

The battle over same-sex marriages moved Friday to Long Island, N.Y., where about 50 gay and lesbian couples rode from city to city in search of a town clerk willing to issue them marriage licenses. "Shame! Shame!" they chanted at one stop after the clerk read a statement reaffirming the edict by state attorney general Eliot Spitzer that gay marriages are not allowed in New York. Their first stop was at Babylon Town Hall, where a horn-honking caravan led by a brightly painted bus arrived Friday morning. Sheree Jeanes, 33, and Bonnie Reich, 42, of Huntington, entered the clerk's office only to receive a one-page statement shooting down their marriage plans. "We're disappointed," Jeanes said. "We want the same rights as any other couple, and we feel that we deserve that." Her partner said they would join any legal action taken to help their cause.

this is a great piece.. email it to everyone...

Bush resigns
commentary
By Jordan Roth


That’s what he did on February 24, right? Because clearly the America created by our Constitution is not the country George W. Bush wants to preserve and protect. He just wants to be President of the United States of Americans He Likes.

there are two polls at this site.. go fill them out..


Santa Cruz County To Consider Gay Marriage
Supervisor Wants County To Issue Licenses To Same-Sex Couples
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- Santa Cruz County may join San Francisco in its fight to make gay marriage legal.

The issue is on the agenda for the Board of Supervisors when they meet next week.
Supervisor Mardi Wormhoudt said will ask her colleagues to authorize her to write a letter asking County Clerk Richard Bedal to change his position on gay marriage and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Wormhoudt also wants to direct legal staff to research ways to join in San Francisco's lawsuit against the state seeking to legalize same-sex marriages. Finally, she wants the county to pass a resolution opposing a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages.
It's a position that's expected to meet stiff opposition in the community.


~

Administration Proposes Same-Sex-School Option
    By Diana Jean Schemo
    The New York Times
    Thursday 04 March 2004
     WASHINGTON, March 3 — The Bush administration has proposed regulations giving public school districts new freedom to create same-sex classes and schools, as long as "substantially equal" opportunities are also provided for the excluded sex.


     Supporters and critics alike said the proposed changes represented a major reinterpretation of antidiscrimination laws, some 50 years after the Supreme Court discredited racial segregation in "separate but equal" schools as inherently unequal, and 30 years after Title IX extended the concept to sex.

Gay couples working to wrest civil rights from reluctant nation
By Stephen Henderson
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Months before marriage for gays and lesbians became the subject of sometimes intemperate debate in courtrooms, legislatures and at dinner tables across the country, P.J. Sedillo reached a turning point in his own struggle for equality - and was about to catch a break.

For a decade, Sedillo had been prodding his employer, the Albuquerque Public Schools system, to extend health benefits to his partner, an Army veteran whose insurance didn't include dental or vision coverage.


~

Bill Maher
New Rule: Politics is about compromises. Really stupid compromises.

America has a rich history of solving hard moral problems with ridiculous compromises.


~

Maryland House Committee Kills Anti-Gay Marriage Bills
Friday March 05, 2004 7:03pm
Annapolis, Md. (AP) - Opponents of gay marriage saw two of their bills killed tonight in a House of Delegates committee.

Two anti-gay marriage bills died after close votes by the House Judiciary Committee. The vote probably ends any chance opponents of same-sex marriages have of passing a bill during the 2004 General Assembly session.


~

Bloomberg: Legalize gay marriage
BY DAN JANISON AND DEBORAH S. MORRIS
March 5, 2004, 7:32 PM EST

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has for years refused to give his personal stance on same-sex marriage, told members of a gay and lesbian group that he thinks state law should be changed to legalize it, witnesses said.


~

EDITORIAL
Gay marriage -- the path ahead
Friday, March 5, 2004
THE DEBATE over same-sex marriage -- or, as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist put it, "the wildfire" that began in San Francisco -- is moving fast. The intensity and velocity of the issue should not surprise anyone. The desire for long-suppressed rights, once unshackled, can have such an effect in this nation.

Even if the marriages being performed at San Francisco City Hall hold up to a legal challenge from state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, however, there is no escaping the reality that this must be -- will be -- headed for a national resolution. The federal government now lists 1,049 rights and responsibilities that are tied exclusively to marriage.


~

Gay Marriage Ban Advances In 2 States & Dies In 3rd  
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: March 5, 2004 6:34 p.m. ET
The Wisconsin Assembly  approved a proposed amendment to the state Constitution Friday that would prohibit same-sex marriages or civil unions.
"This is nothing more than state sponsored discrimination," said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison) the only openly gay member of the Assembly. "Somehow, I'm three-fifths of a citizen; I thought we got over that stuff a long time ago."


~

AP Interview: Gay bishop says he wishes he could marry his partner
By ANNE SAUNDERS
The Associated Press
3/5/04 6:31 PM
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) --
Days before he is to take over as the Episcopal church's leader in New Hampshire, Bishop V. Gene Robinson said he'd marry his same-sex partner "in a minute" if he had the chance.Robinson, whose election as the church's first openly gay bishop last year had divided Episcopalians, said Friday that the gay marriage issue is one of civil rights.

Dear Mr. President,
By STEVE DAVIS
I could not avoid you as your support for a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage blared throughout the airport lounge via CNN.

As I listened to your confusing messages about family and values and politics, I shared sadness with my fellow travelers about your continuing fear-driven approach to leadership. Your defense of traditional marriage rang hollow; rather, it was a poor endorsement for discrimination, ignorance and your conservative political base.


~

Where Is My Gay Apocalypse?
Over 3,500 gay marriages and, what, no hellfire? I was promised hellfire. And riots. What gives? By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist Friday, March 5, 2004
I have been waiting patiently.
I have been staring with great anticipation out the window of my flat here in the heart of San Francisco, sighing heavily, waiting for the riots and the plagues and the screaming monkeys and the blistering rain of inescapable hellfire. I have my camera all ready and everything.

Town of Brighton Takes Stand on Gay Marriage Issue
3/5/2004 5:00 PM
(Cathy Orosz, WROC-TV)
The issue of same sex marriage is hitting home in Monroe County. The town of Brighton is the first to take a pro-active stance. News 8's Cathy Orosz joins us to explain how.
When the state attorney general said marriage licenses cannot be issued to gay couples he also said the state must recognize same-sex unions performed out of state. Today the town of Brighton says it will comply.

On the heels of hundreds of same-sex unions in California, Eliot Spitzer says New York must recognize any gay marriage or civil union performed outside the state under legal pretenses. Brighton Supervisor Sandra Frankel is the first to publicly announce that Brighton plans to recognize the unions as well.  And although the town can not hand out marriage licenses to gay couples, the town is starting a registry should the law change.


~

N.Y. Judge Bars Mayor From Gay Marriages
By MICHAEL HILL
Associated Press Writer
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)--A state judge on Friday barred the mayor of a college town from performing more same-sex marriages for a month, saying Jason West was ignoring his oath of office.

State Supreme Court Justice Vincent Bradley issued a temporary restraining order against the 26-year-old New Paltz mayor at the request of the Florida-based Liberty Council, which acted on behalf of a local resident.

Town of Brighton Takes Stand on Gay Marriage Issue
3/5/2004 5:00 PM
(Cathy Orosz, WROC-TV)
The issue of same sex marriage is hitting home in Monroe County. The town of Brighton is the first to take a pro-active stance. News 8's Cathy Orosz joins us to explain how.
When the state attorney general said marriage licenses cannot be issued to gay couples he also said the state must recognize same-sex unions performed out of state. Today the town of Brighton says it will comply.

On the heels of hundreds of same-sex unions in California, Eliot Spitzer says New York must recognize any gay marriage or civil union performed outside the state under legal pretenses. Brighton Supervisor Sandra Frankel is the first to publicly announce that Brighton plans to recognize the unions as well.  And although the town can not hand out marriage licenses to gay couples, the town is starting a registry should the law change.


~

N.Y. Judge Bars Mayor From Gay Marriages
By MICHAEL HILL
Associated Press Writer
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)--A state judge on Friday barred the mayor of a college town from performing more same-sex marriages for a month, saying Jason West was ignoring his oath of office.

State Supreme Court Justice Vincent Bradley issued a temporary restraining order against the 26-year-old New Paltz mayor at the request of the Florida-based Liberty Council, which acted on behalf of a local resident.

STATEMENT ON ANTI-GAY SENATE HEARING AND "ACTIVIST JUDGE" DISTORTIONS
by: Lisa Hardaway, Lambda Legal
U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), chair of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee weighing a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution discriminating against gay couples, sponsored a hearing today called, "Activist Judges vs. Democracy." At the hearing, Cornyn said, "Why is this amendment necessary? Two words -- activist judges."

Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director of Lambda Legal who was present at today's hearing, said, "Today's hearing and this 'activist judge' rhetoric can be summed up in one word -- sham. I was very disappointed at how little discussion addressed the real issue, and the real danger, of amending the Constitution."

Friday, March 05, 2004
Legal briefs submitted in San Francisco gay marriage case


~

Lawsuit Filed To Try To Stop Gay Marriages
PORTLAND, ORE. - The first legal challenge to Multnomah County's new same-sex marriage policy is a lawsuit filed this morning by the newly formed Oregon Defense of Marriage Coalition.


~

Senate Leader Warns Gay Marriage Will Spread like Wildfire
March 5, 2004
Gfn.com NewsIf Massachusetts starts issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples on May 17, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist predicted yesterday gay marriage will spread like "wildfire" across the country.

What is "SAME-SEX anyway....

LGBTIQs challenge marriage rhetoric
by Zak Szymanski
Bay Area Reporter
March 4 2004

The LG community may soon realize that including the T, B, I, and Q in its movement should be more than symbolic, and in fact, may be critically necessary when it comes to the fight for marriage equality.

San Francisco made headlines last month when the city began issuing marriage licenses to "same-sex" couples, a term that has been used interchangeably with the words "gay" and "lesbian" to describe the thousands of weddings performed.

Yet many of the gay and lesbian couples married at City Hall in fact were not "same-sex," and likewise, some of the "same-sex" couples who received marriage licenses are not lesbian or gay.

Numerous transgenders ? including those who were actually born the "opposite" sex as their partners ? took part in the ceremonies, as did bisexuals and intersex people, all of whom for one reason or another do not fit neatly into the current political discourse.

Gays Take Marriage Battle to New York Courts 
Friday, March 05, 2004 2:08 p.m. ET
By Chris Sanders
NEW YORK (Reuters)
- A New York gay couple on Friday sued for the right to be legally married in the state, sending the same-sex marriage issue to a New York court as the movement picks up steam around the country.
Daniel Hernandez and Nevin Cohen, backed by gay rights advocates Lambda Legal, sued New York City Clerk Victor Robles in State Supreme Court to "challenge their discriminatory denial of a license to marry," according to the complaint.

Idaho Senate kills proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages


~

Idaho Senate kills proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages
Boise, Idaho-AP --Idaho lawmakers have shot down efforts to force a floor vote on a proposed constitutional amendment against gay marriage

it has been a long week of struggle.. and the conservative law makers are mustering legal moat about their precious domain. there has been arrests, threats of arrest (on gavin newsom).. and more arrests... civil disobedience is on the rise, in city after city, folks are showing up at city halls demanding to be married.. another front opened up in Oregon, and Massachusetts and New York are hedging-..

this is just the beginning. where one side has money and power, be must us tactics of civil disobedience, be moving targets, be organized, who willing do what it take.

*organize phone and email communication centers...

* keep other groups informed, so information can spread fast.. we need to organize...

*call your government representatives, from local to national, press for change.. call daily, send email.. organize a mail campaign...

* spread the word when votes are taking place, take action, make calls.

*create allies, other civic groups that will join in the struggle...call them just for there support.

*call the clergy.. they can only tell you to go to hell, or yes, well will help...

*write letters to the editor... send out press releases...

*donate money to legal organize and other putting up a propaganda fronts
check out (for a list):
http://transdada.blogspot.com/


it will be very easy to loose sight, get worn down, or get caught-up on who's on first, but this will be a long drawn out struggle. we can not settle for second class citizenry...

from before the imprisonment of oscar wilde, abuse, murder, criminalizing of queers through most of the 20th century we fought back, forming coalitions, organizations and action committees, but we have lost sight, now its time to rise up again, and keep our collective eye on the goal, on not give in...

show you colors...
rise the rainbow flag...
do something anything

use the weekend to create strategies, alliance and get ready for another week..

we need everyones assistance with this... I ask everyone who receives this, to take action somehow, today!!!!!

kari

KEEP SUBMITTING IT ANYWAYS.. DAY AFTER DAY.. WEAR THEM DOWN..!!!

Local towns not accepting gay marriage forms
By ROGER DuPUIS II and JENNIE DALEY
ITHACA -- Same-sex couples looking to submit marriage applications in Tompkins County will find that the stances taken by area town clerks don't reflect the position of the City of Ithaca.


~

NY Gays Head To Court To Marry
by Doug Windsor
365Gay.com Newscenter
New York Bureau
Posted: March 5, 2004 1:31 p.m. ET
(New York City) Gay marriage suits were filed in two separate actions Friday in New York State Supreme Court. In the first case Lambda Legal seeks to have state marriage laws which refer to "husband and wife" declared unconstitutional. 

From: Allison Cobb


to celebrate my birthday today, jen and i went down to the nyc city
hall to get "not married." we applied for a marriage license and were rejected, along with hundreds of others, i gather. we missed the morning rush, though, and got there at about noon, just when a Spanish speaking city councilor (a woman, I don't know her name) was on her way up to the clerk's office to ask for permission to marry queers. (she was wearing a collar). she was bureaucratically re-routed, of course, but said she would
persist and would, in the end, conduct marriage, even if she goes to jail. lots of Spanish-language press was there, and they took the opportunity to snap our picture as well--it was like paparazzi. i did a good job of smiling into each lense and announcing our "not married" status. the nypost took our picture (and will probably say something terribly bigoted about it all) so nyers look for us tomorrow. the idea is to take our official rejection letter (which is about 50 pages long, citing past case law) and add it as evidence to a class action lawsuit being filed by this civil rights attorney named norman siegel. mr. siegel is apparently very busy, however, since i can't get him on the phone. the rejection letter is very interesting. it cites merriam webster online, saying the meaning of the word "marriage" does include same-sex couples, but ONLY AS THE SECOND DEFINITION of the term. now if that ain't legal justification, i don't know what is.

Gay-Marriage Bans Advance in Wis., Kan.
Friday March 5, 2004 5:46 PM
By CHERIE HENDERSON
Associated Press Writer

Lawmakers in Wisconsin and Kansas pushed ahead Friday on efforts to amend their states' constitutions to ban gay marriage, two days after Utah's Legislature agreed to put the question to voters.


~

Do not settle for this...the consolation prize is still second, and separate but equal...


Friday, March 05, 2004
The Advocate
Washington governor: marriage, no; civil unions, yes
Washington State governor Gary Locke says he opposes same-sex marriage but favors civil unions that would give gay couples many of the same rights and responsibilities. The Democratic governor said Wednesday he also opposes the constitutional amendment option backed by President Bush to enshrine a same-sex marriage ban in the U.S. Constitution. "I don't think we should change our federal Constitution willy-nilly," the governor said. As scores of gay couples tied the knot in Portland, Oregon's largest city, Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski cautioned that the new county policy allowing same-sex marriages may be illegal.
He stressed that Oregon's marriage statute, passed in 1863, needs to be read within its historical context.


~

House To Begin Anti-Gay Amendment Hearings
by Paul Johnson
365Gay.com Newscenter
Posted: March 5, 2004 11:03 a.m. ET
(Washington, D.C.) The House Constitution subcommittee is preparing to hold hearings on legislation to amend the US Constitution to block same-sex marriage.  The announcement comes just one day after the parallel subcommittee in the Senate began its own hearings.
 
"The people and their elected representatives -- and not a handful of rogue judges and officials -- should have the right to make decisions regarding marriage policy," said House subcommittee chair Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio)


~

this should be happening everywhere... day after day...

Denial of Gay Marriages in Buffalo and NY
(Buffalo, NY, March 4, 2004) - - Gay couples here in Buffalo and across New York are challenging a state law that does not allow them to get married.

News 4's Marie Rice is in our newsroom with more 1 couple's attempt to get hitched at Buffalo's City Hall this Friday morning. Gay couples around the state are showing up at clerks' offices today requesting marriage licenses. The Buffalo City Clerk's Office is denying gay couples marriage licenses saying State Law prohibits it.


~

I think what is interesting is the long history of complaints from the consumptive conservative media on liberal spin, and now this headline.. you can almost see these little money grubbing christian rubbing there hands and smiling like scrooge... we won..

ps.. there is on spin on the above commentary...

Wis. Assembly OKs Outlawing Gay Marriage
By JR ROSS
Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. (AP)
--The state Assembly approved a proposed amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution on Friday to prohibit same-sex marriages or civil unions.

Action Wisconsin: Blasts Assembly Vote to Write Discrimination into State Constitution
3/5/2004
Statement by Action Wisconsin Executive Director, Christopher Ott
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Joshua Freker, 608.441.0143
Madison – “Today, a majority of the Wisconsin Assembly voted to approve one of the harshest antigay measures in the country. AJR 66 would ban marriage, civil unions, or any other comprehensive legal rights for lesbian and gay couples. Effectively, it would write a group of citizens out of the Wisconsin Constitution.
“The amendment would prevent future legislators from extending any measure of equal treatment to lesbian and gay couples and their children. It could only be overturned by a federal court or by another state constitutional amendment.

S.F. to ask state's top court to hold off on ruling
City wants trial to decide if law is biased against gay couples
Harriet Chiang, Chronicle Legal Affairs Writer Friday, March 5, 2004
San Francisco officials will urge the California Supreme Court today to back off the same-sex wedding controversy for now and let the two sides go to trial to resolve whether state law illegally discriminates against gay and lesbian couples by denying them the right to marry.

A preview of the briefs they will file shows that San Francisco city officials will ask the state's top court to allow the steady stream of same- sex marriages at City Hall to continue, insisting that Mayor Gavin Newsom and city officials are acting legally in issuing the licenses.


~

Same-sex marriage momentum stuns both its backers and foes
Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau Friday, March 5, 2004
Same-sex marriage -- considered so radical that mainstream gay rights leaders feared its emergence in an election year -- has gained a level of visibility that even its most ardent proponents did not imagine just two months ago.
Whether intentional or not, President Bush's pledge in his State of the Union address in late January to defend traditional marriage touched off a reaction that began in San Francisco and now is rippling across the country.


~

Pro-gay to play big on airwaves
By Elisabeth J. Beardsley
Friday, March 5, 2004
Pro-gay marriage forces are launching a massive public relations blitz - saturating the airwaves with a TV ad aimed at putting a human face on the same-sex marriage debate. The ad will air all next week, during the run-up to Thursday's reconvening of the Constitutional Convention that deadlocked three weeks ago without reaching consensus on a gay marriage ban.


~
Gay marriage ban faces House vote
Statehouse amendment passes initial test
By Scott Rothschild, Journal-World
Friday, March 5, 2004
Topeka — A politically explosive constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages in Kansas faces an uncertain fate today. The proposed amendment cleared the Kansas House on an unrecorded voice vote Thursday, but with less support than some had expected in the Republican-dominated chamber. The amendment can't leave the House for Senate consideration unless it gains 84 votes in final action set for today.


~

Transgender Group Readies for Lobby Days
By Jone Devlin
National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC) Chair and Houston transgender activist Vanessa Edwards Foster is getting ready to hit Washington D.C. in April, as part of the groups 2004 "Lobby Days", and she would love nothing more than to have a huge Houston contingent go with her. But while lobbying Congress can be exciting, Edwards Foster warns, it can also be difficult. "We've always been open game in Texas but now we are on the national level," she said.

Long Islanders join fight over same-sex marriage
By FRANK ELTMAN
Associated Press Writer
March 5, 2004, 10:49 AM EST
LINDENHURST, N.Y. --
Undeterred by the attorney general's edict earlier this week that state law prohibits same-sex marriages, about 50 gay couples converged Friday on Babylon Town Hall, their first stop in an anticipated daylong effort to find a town clerk on Long Island willing to issue them marriage licenses.


~

Queens Officials Come Out For Same-Sex Marriage
by Daniel Hendrick, Asst. Managing Editor March 04, 2004
   From Astoria to Laurelton and Bayside, congressmembers who represent Queens say they plan to vote against President Bush’s proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
   In addition, five borough members of the U.S. House of Representatives said they favor issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, while respecting individual state’s laws on the matter.


~

Vote Defining Marriage In Maryland Expected Friday
Lawmakers Consider Giving Certain Rights To Same-Sex Couples
POSTED: 10:27 am EST March 5, 2004
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The House Judiciary Committee could vote today on whether to reinforce the state Maryland law declaring that marriage in Maryland is between a man and a woman.

Wisconsin Assembly passes amendment against gay marriage
JR ROSS, Associated Press Writer Friday, March 5, 2004
(03-05) 07:36 PST MADISON, Wis. (AP) --
The state Assembly approved a proposed amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution on Friday to prohibit same-sex marriages or civil unions.
After meeting on the issue all night, the lawmakers voted 68-27 to back the proposal and send it to the state Senate. More approval from lawmakers and voters would also be required for it to become law.


~

New Paltz mayor postpones second round of gay marriages
The Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y. --
New Paltz Mayor Jason West said he will postpone a second round of same-sex weddings planned for Saturday so he can talk to state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer next week.


~

Gay marriage debate erupts with more weddings in Portland

Portland, Oregon-AP -- They'll be throwing wedding bouquets again today in Portland, Oregon, while gay-marriage opponents from coast to coast are throwing darts at those who are conducting the controversial weddings.

Gay debate continues
Web Posted - Fri Mar 05 2004
By Betty Holford
In Barbados the average person greets local news stories and rumours of gay weddings with disdain or laughter. Even the funerals of known homosexuals are considered a curiosity. You may recall the uproar some time ago when a same-sex marriage reportedly took place in Baxter’s Road. Many people were outraged, some were amused, but only a few were empathetic. And the recent debates on the legalisation of homosexuality and the appointment of an openly gay Anglican Bishop in New Hampshire were equally emotive and divisive.
So, no doubt, many of us are looking on in amazement, anguish, condemnation or confusion as the “cultural revolution” in gay rights, as it is being termed, is occurring on the international scene.


~

Jamieson introduces bill to ban gay marriage
by Ken Stanford
ATLANTA -A Democratic state representative from northeast Georgia lawmaker has introduced a proposal of her own that would ban gay marriage, and has taken a swipe at Republican legislation covering the issue.

~

On gay marriages and civil liberties
03/05/2004 16:28
PRAVDA.Ru

As I look at the state of the world today, and the evil people who control it, I am beginning to realize how desperately we need those chosen, enlightened few to once again touch our lives.


~

Group To File Lawsuit Seeking Marriage Rights For Gays
(Albany, NY) AP 03/05/04 -- The gay rights group Lambda Legal says it will file a lawsuit in Manhattan Friday seeking full marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples in New York

Meanwhile, a religious law firm has asked a court to bar gay marriages in New York and will seek to remove New Paltz Mayor Jason West from office.


~

An end to waiting An impromptu community celebrates amid a second wave of the ceremonies
03/05/04
LAURA GUNDERSON
Kristen Lorenz and Karen Gimarc jumped into their car after a late night at work Wednesday for the drive to Portland from their Seattle area home.

They had heard about Multnomah County's decision to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples from Lorenz's mother and stepfather, who made their own road trip from Goldendale, Wash., offering to camp out in line until the young couple arrived

As trend grows, activists seek same-sex weddings in N.J.
Gay advocacy groups draw parallel to anti-Jim Crow efforts at dawn of civil rights era
Friday, March 05, 2004
BY RUDY LARINI
Star-Ledger Staff
Gay rights advocates in New Jersey are keeping a close watch on the same-sex marriages occurring across the country, hoping the ceremonies raise public awareness of the issue while a legal effort is under way here to win approval of such unions through the courts.

Advocates agree the marriages would not be recognized in New Jersey, but believe they are helpful in focusing attention on the issue as a matter of equal protection under the law.

Three gay marriage advocates arrested in New Paltz
By Jesse J. Smith , Freeman staff 03/05/2004
NEW PALTZ - A SUNY New Paltz rally in support of Mayor Jason West and the same-sex marriages he favors spilled into the streets of the village on Thursday and led to the first arrests of activists since West touched off a firestorm of controversy by presiding over 25 gay weddings a week ago.


Three of about 80 protesters who marched along village streets were arrested for violating a section of New York state's loitering law that prohibits wearing masks at public events. The three male demonstrators were arrested after they ignored orders from police to remove bandannas worn over the lower half of their faces.


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Md. Assembly Debates Bills on Gay Rights, Same-Sex Marriage
By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 5, 2004; Page B01
Maryland lawmakers considered a measure yesterday that would give homosexual couples certain rights afforded to married people, while other delegates scrambled to line up votes for bills outlawing recognition of same-sex marriage.

The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote as early as today on whether to reinforce the state law declaring that marriage in Maryland is between a man and a woman.Committee members say the vote is too close to call, although gay rights supporters say they are growing increasingly confident it will fail.



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Ill. questions same-sex marriage
By Craig Colbrook | Staff writer
Published Friday, March 5, 2004
As the same-sex marriage debate expands across the country, legal experts, legislators and activists in Illinois are considering the dynamics of the issue.

No action has been taken in Illinois, but there are major hurdles to gay marriage in the state, said David Meyer, a University law professor.


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Panel discusses strategies for backlash against homosexuals

Say No to Marriage Discrimination in the Constitution

Action Needed:

Email your senators and representative
TODAY to oppose the right wing fundamentalists who want to amend the Constitution in order to permanently exclude lesbians and gays from the right to marry. George W. Bush has called on Congress to quickly pass a staunchly anti-gay proposed amendment that would define marriage, in the U.S. Constitution, as strictly between a man and a woman.

We cannot stand by idly while our opponents attempt to insert marriage discrimination into our Constitution. Now is the time to send aloud and clear message
to Congress in support of same-sex marriage and in firm opposition to the proposed "marriage discrimination" Constitutional amendment.

Background:

George W. Bush has called on Congress to quickly pass a staunchly anti-gay proposed amendment that would that would permanently exclude gays and lesbians from marrying.

Under this resolution the Constitution would be modified to include the following language: "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman." Ratification of such an amendment would set the dangerous precedent of amending the Constitution to restrict, rather than protect, civil rights.

This divisive and discriminatory federal proposal, following on the heels of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), would have a profoundly devastating effect on the lives of lesbian and gay families across the country if it is passed by Congress and ratified by the necessary number of states.

Now that George W. Bush has announced his support of this proposal, we need to stop this proposal in Congress, before it starts down the path of ratification in the 50 states—where it will be harder and more costly to stop. The right to marry is a crucial civil rights issue, and has been deemed a "fundamental right."

Without marriage rights, gay and lesbian couples are denied well over 1,000 rights, benefits and responsibilities available to married couples, including such fundamental protections as hospital visitation rights, health care benefits, inheritance rights, social security, immigration rights, tax benefits, and parenting rights. Gay and lesbian couples are also denied the intangible benefit of the peace of mind that comes from having your commitment and your family legally recognized.

This anti-gay and anti-marriage initiative comes from the same right-wing crowd that claims to be pro-marriage and pro-family. This mean-spirited attempt at enshrining marriage discrimination in the Constitution reveals that their true agenda is not marriage and family promotion but discrimination and exclusivity. Use this link
to say no to the marriage discrimination amendment.


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A civil rights movement for our time
Young Americans should fight intolerance and support gay rights movement
By John David Blakley
Published: Friday, March 5, 2004
by Ivan Flores
I was flipping through Life Magazine's "Our Century in Pictures" the other day, admiring photographs depicting the United States' steady and sometimes frustrating progress and achievements. One image in particular grabbed my attention. The photograph displayed a young black woman breaking segregation rules by sitting at the counter in a small Southern diner. In response to her quiet protest, several whites have surrounded her and are pouring sugar on her head, doing their best to degrade her. Sitting on both sides of the woman are two white youths, whose support earns them equal treatment from the antagonizing strangers. In a place and time in which racism was the status quo, three young people sat in silent protest against the rules and attitude of intolerance that had been accepted for generations.



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Gay marriage forums come to JHU
By Xiao-bo Yuan
March 05, 2004

In reaction to President George W. Bush's proposed constitutional amendment to define legal marriages as strictly heterosexual, gay rights activists and supporters from Johns Hopkins and the Baltimore community at large gathered at two different forums in the past week to discuss strategies for defeating Bush's proposal, advance gay-rights legislation and respond to discrimination.


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Katz supports marriage movement
BY CHRISTINA CHINLOY
Jonathan Katz founded two queer studies programs before creating the Larry Kramer Initiative for Lesbian and Gay Studies at Yale. He sat down with the Herald to discuss recent developments in gay rights.
KATE SISKEL/YH
Yale Herald: How and why did gay marriage become the icon of the gay rights movement that it is today?

Jonathan Katz: There has been a shift in the lesbian and gay community which has increasingly come to believe that, though it was once feared as only serving to replicate dying patriarchal institutions, marriage is validly an issue on our agenda. Ten years ago, if you had talked to me about marriage, I probably would have sneered and said the whole point of queerness is to re-invent institutions that are less disastrous than the ones that straight people have. Now, I am coming to realize that it's a choice issue. There are queer people who want to be married, and they should be allowed to. The Lawrence decision [Lawrence v. Texas] was one of the enabling factors. Most importantly, there have been a series of small-scale cultural skirmishes which have caused gay rights supporters to believe that we did not need to shy away from a battle which so many of us have wanted to see engaged for a long time.
This is both because the courts are on our side, for a change, and because there has been an increasing recognition that the United States is being left behind among Western nations in this regard.



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Analysis: Bush's gay marriage gamble
By Kevin Anderson
BBC News Online, Washington
Bush says marriage must remain a union between a man and a woman
President George W Bush had been facing enormous pressure from religious conservatives to take a strong stand opposing same-sex marriage.

His support for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage is sure to keep this key Republican constituency in the fold, but it is a move not without political risk.


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Brazilian go-ahead for gay unions

Court officials expect the first marriage requests within days
A panel of judges in a Brazilian state has ruled in favour of authorising same-sex marriages.

The southern state of Rio Grande do Sul is the first state to do so.

The ruling gives same-sex couples broad rights in areas like inheritance, child custody, insurance benefits and pensions.

Meanwhile in the US hundreds of gay and lesbian activists gathered at New York's City Hall to support gay couples denied marriage there.
Civil unions between homosexual couples are not recognised officially in Brazil.


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In God's Eyes
By Mary Jo McConahay, Pacific News Service
March 4, 2004
The ongoing controversy over same-sex marriages, sparked by San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, a Catholic, has forced many members of America's single largest denomination to wrestle with their beliefs. The Church, which has lost the battle on contraception, now is trying to hold firm on gay marriage.

For the country's 65 million Catholics, President Bush's call for a constitutional ban against gay marriage throws a troubling new public spotlight on personal beliefs. But here in San Francisco, the fire seems hotter.


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GOP calls foul on new bill
By JIM THARPE, ERNIE SUGGS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/04/04
Republicans and Democrats in the state Legislature turned up the volume Thursday in their bitter war of words over a proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in Georgia.

State Rep. Jeanette Jamieson (D-Toccoa) introduced a proposal to ban gay marriage, accusing Republicans of authoring legally flawed legislation that would fail court scrutiny.


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Countries worldwide address gay marriage
www.chinaview.cn 2004-03-05 11:27:14
BEIJING, Mar.5 (Xinhuanet) --†Three years after Amsterdam's mayor officiated at the Netherlands' first gay wedding, the gay marriage rate is falling, the first divorces are being registered and the issue has disappeared from the political agenda

While the United States is engaged in debate on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, Canadians are discussing a federal law to legalize it and many European countries are adopting civil unions for gay couples.


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03/04/2004
Bill To Prohibit Same Sex Marriages
Author: AP
Madison - Wisconsin lawmakers bickered Thursday night over a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would prohibit same-sex marriages or civil unions -- an issue that has
become a heated national debate.
The Assembly convened late Thursday afternoon and spent the first three hours debating procedural motions, with Democrats complaining that Republicans who control the chamber were trying to delay a vote as late as possible to avoid scrutiny over the divisive issue.


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News analysis
Gay marriage momentum stuns both backers and foes
Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau Friday, March 5, 2004

Same-sex marriage -- considered so radical that mainstream gay rights leaders feared its emergence in an election year -- has gained a level of visibility that even its most ardent proponents did not imagine just two months ago.


Whether intentional or not, President Bush's pledge in his State of the Union address in late January to defend traditional marriage touched off a reaction that began in San Francisco and now is rippling across the country.


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Priest Gagged For Supporting Gay Marriage
by Jack Siu
365Gay.com Newscenter
Toronto Bureau
Posted: March 5, 2004 12:01 a.m. ET
(Toronto, Ontario) A Toronto priest has been suspended from all duties after expressing his support for same-sex marriage.


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New York AG Says Gays Will Win Marriage War As New Paltz Mayor Charged
03.03.04
By Doug Windsor
(New York City) New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer says he decided not to fight gay marriages being performed in a small village north of Manhattan because it is a case the state can't win.

"We wouldn't have won," says Spitzer. The state, he says would have been unable to prove that there was any "irreparable harm" against any party - the standard needed to persuade a court to grant an injunction.

"I have no problem with gay marriage," Spitzer, a Democrat, says. "I think the law has moved to a point where people are comfortable that [marriage] can be extended to people of the same sex."