6 posts tagged “same-sex marriage”

As of now Florida does not legally protect its gay citizens. For those of you that might regularly check in with my blog from time to time, this is nothing new. For those of you who might have stumbled across this posting here, it's important for you to know why gay rights and protections are of ultimate importance. Please follow this link to a short video of Eric Breidenbaugh, of Florida, and try to put yourself in his shoes as he tried to get information on his partner's whereabouts after an aircraft "incident". Just try to imagine if your loved one was missing.

Please spread the word to those who live and vote in Florida: vote "No" this November on a Florida State constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and unions. Take this fight a step further by clicking on the following link and joining HRC, Human Rights Campaign. You can donate money or volunteer your time. Most importantly, just vote "No" in November.

Have you gotten wind of this yet? A radio station, in of all places West Virginia, gave away a free legitimate divorce for a Valentine's Day promotion.

Social conservatives are often outraged by the thought of gay marriage and blame gay-rights as a threat to the sanctity of this institution. The true threat to traditional marriage is the straight community and their nonchalant attitude; marriage isn't taken seriously anymore by many people. It is evident in all aspects of our culture from reality TV shows, to Vegas style nuptials and even to radio stations promoting divorce.

It seems that you can't escape reality TV these days, especially during the peak of the writers' strike. You don't have to be a fan to have noticed that there are television programs that actually promote the union of two strangers, in the short time period between the first episode and the season finale -- literally only a couple of months.

Then there are those that run off to Vegas and sign on the dotted line while in a drunken stupor. Even celebrities are in on the fun. Remember when Britney Spears married a long-time friend on a whim? I think it was for only a matter of hours.

Well, now here is the next insult to the sacred institution of marriage. I'll even give you a hint. It has nothing to do with two loving committed people of the same gender wanting to make a spiritual and legal commitment to each other. The threat once again comes from the straight community itself.

In the conservative southern state of West Virginia, a radio station gave away a free divorce for a situation "where maybe you despise your spouse and resent the entire day." This is according to Jay Nunley, the Program Director of WKLC-FM, referring to Valentine's Day. He spoke of giving away concert tickets in place of the divorce. "That's going to make you happy for a little while. This is the chance to make someone happy for the rest of their life."

The threat to marriage doesn't come from anyone in the gay community wanting to legalize or legitimize their unions. It comes directly from those who have the legal right to marry; the institution of marriage has turned into a trivial game, easily entered and easily escaped. One thing is for sure, those of us fighting for equal treatment under the law wouldn't take this American right for granted.

Charlotte Robinson, gay-marriage activist and Emmy Award winning producer and director, formerly of CBS and ABC news, discusses her new pro-gay-marriage film with conservative talk show host, Tom Fredriksen of Old Glory Radio. Charlotte's short film, can be seen at OUTTAKEonline.com.

The radio interview aired yesterday, February 7, 2008. It was rather civil and productive, with host Tom Fredriksen allowing Charlotte to educate his conservative listeners on the topic of gay-marriage. If you haven't already listened to the interview, click on the podcast player above. It is a surprisingly comfortable exchange.

Click on the podcast player below, to hear listener reaction to yesterday's interview with Charlotte Robinson. I must say, the host, Tom Fredriksen was very impressive.

As our country continues to be divided about extending equal rights to its gay citizens, individual states are attempting to figure out where they stand on the issue. As one state progresses forward, another sinks deeper into the abyss of the dark ages.

Oregon was the latest to offer some type of protection for its gay community. The state finally extended a domestic partnership law after it was held up in court for a short period of time. Just this Monday, same-sex couples were able to legally apply for domestic partnership. This move provides gay couples with many of the responsibilities and benefits of marriage, but not all.

How can anyone reconcile that in their hearts and in their heads? Yes, it's a step in the right direction but the new law does not treat gay people as equal. Why only provide for some of the duties and protections of marriage, and not all? The mind-set in that logic is blatantly discriminatory.

Meanwhile, New York's appellate court decided it must recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages as equal to its recognition of heterosexual marriages. A court challenge, by a Canadian lesbian couple, led to this ruling. The lawsuit began when one of the women was denied health care benefits by her partner's employer. Because the two had entered into a civil union in the state of Vermont many years earlier, the court ruled they must be treated as any married couple.

The New York Times reported that the court concluded that gay marriages meet the state's "marriage recognition rule". The court said, “In our view, the Court of Appeals thereby indicated that the recognition of plaintiff’s marriage is not against the public policy of New York.”

Again this is a step in the right direction, but when and how does this ruling begin to apply to the other thousands of gay couples in the state? Of all states, New York has been slow to move on this issue; in the greater context of things this doesn't make too much sense. I'm confident, however, that it will only be a matter of time until the state makes things right, but it should have led the movement, not followed.

And now, as I've pointed out several times recently, Florida is on the verge of going in the opposite direction. This November the state will vote on whether to ban all forms of gay marriages and unions. The gay community needs its state representatives to lead on this issue. It has been rumored that Florida Governor, Charlie Crist, is against this proposed measure. If that is the case, then will he stand up for us? He is a very popular Governor with about 70% approval. He and others should speak out against the proposed amendment.

It can be defeated but only if we work to defeat it. The most important thing you can do as a Florida voter is to VOTE! And, don't forget to spread the word to your family, friends, and neighbors.

You can also join the fight by checking out and joining these organizations: Fairness For All Families, Equality Florida, and Human Rights Campaign Fund

Editorial Note: With Florida considering a state constitutional amendment to ban gay unions and gay marriage in November, I thought this earlier post from September, was worth posting again. In this piece, I try to clearly explain what the big deal is for those opposing gay marriage vs. those supporting it. As time gets closer to the November election, I will probably post it again. Please feel free to share this with other people who might not understand what the fuss is all about.

Original Post:
It’s no secret to most of us that many mainstream denominations are against gay marriage. But are you aware that many mainstream religions actively spend money to lobby Congress, in an effort, to deny the gay community its basic legal rights?

For decades religion has had a presence in Washington, D.C. Most faiths are represented, including: Catholics, Southern Baptists, United Methodists, Reform Jews and Quakers, just to name a few. Some of these lobbyist groups serve as the voice for individual denominations, while others represent a larger body of associations. Religious lobbyist groups concern themselves with issues ranging from loosening immigration policy, to anti-abortion measures and of course, working against gay rights.

Many of the religious lobbyists have exerted their power to help push the passage of positive and important legislation, such as civil rights in the 1960s, ending the Vietnam War in the 1970s, and the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. However, over the last decade or so, there has been an enormous uprising against the gay community by many of these organizations. We have also seen the emergence of groups like The Christian Coalition, The Family Research Council, and the American Family Association all of which work to decry anything they deem to be “immoral”, including or especially, homosexuality.

The groups working to “save the institution of marriage” are not only attempting to claim the word, marriage, as their own, but are also attempting to deny the gay community their basic legal rights, as Americans. Not all of the religious lobbying groups are anti-gay. Episcopalians and The United Methodists, for instance, are known to be gay-friendly.

The fight in the gay community isn’t about faith, or religious belief; it’s about having legal and equal protection under the law. Let me be clear, it’s about legal rights, not religious beliefs! This is very important. In the larger picture, one truly has nothing to do with the other. The only binding force between the two is the word, “marriage”.

By denying legal and equal protection to the gay community, the law is denying hospital visitation, inheritance rights of property, and adoption of children to long-term same-sex couples.

So if as an example, I were to be on my death-bed at the hospital and my doctor told everyone to leave the room except my family, my partner of more than nine years would have to leave. He would legally be denied the right to hold my hand and comfort me through my final hours. Then after my death, my half of the home we both share (financially, domestically and spiritually) would be inherited by my next of kin. If my kin wanted to liquidate their share, then they could force my partner to sell his own house.

Granted, there are ways to legally protect property through the terms in a will, as well as the terms on a property deed. However, paying to protect one’s self through a legal contract does not guarantee that the legal contract won’t be contested in a court of law (and many have been). Also, drawing-up legal contracts is costly, often ranging into the thousands of dollars; whereas, if one were able to marry his/her same-sex partner these protections would simply be afforded to them like any other married heterosexual couple. It would be automatic protection, under the law.

Remember, these powerful religious lobbying organizations operate tax-free under the federal law. So, before the next time you or your church-going loved ones tithe, ask questions and do some light investigative work because your money could very well be going to deny yourself, or your family and friends their legal rights.

Below is an example of how giving money in church funnels its way to work against the gay community. Please understand that this example IS an accurate path that church money takes; however in all fairness, the Southern Baptist Convention is NOT THE ONLY group to lobby against gay rights. Click on the chart below to enlarge it.

I have written several times before on this topic; and, unfortunately, it has now come to be. Florida will decide in November 2008 if the gay community, and others, in the state will permanently be banned from every form of civil union or gay marriage. The anti-gay group, collecting signatures supporting an amendment to Florida's constitution, collected enough support to get their anti-gay marriage proposal on the ballot in the fall.

If passed by Florida voters, the amendment will affect all unmarried Floridians not just those of us in the gay community. Many from the straight community, including seniors, firefighters, teachers and police officers living together for financial purposes, will also be impacted by this.

The most important thing we can do is to spread the word and ask all of those who love and support us, to vote "NO" on the proposed Florida state constitutional amendment known as the so called "Marriage Protection Act". Equality Florida, a non-profit group seeking equality and justice for Florida's gay community, suggested talking to your circle of influence, stepping outside of your comfort zones and engaging the people in your neighborhoods and the places where you shop. We must not allow this kind of inequality to be permanently written into the state's constitution.

Two laws and a court decision already prevent gays in Florida from marrying. Why do we now have to write this into the constitution? If it succeeds in passing, our relationships will never be legally recognized. We will be legally prevented from visiting our life-partners in the hospital; we will be in jeopardy of losing our own homes upon the deaths of our partners; our children will be legally prevented from visiting a gay parent with whom they grew up in the event of a separation. And, the list goes on.

How does giving our community legal protection threaten traditional marriage? By not legally recognizing our relationships, the law would in effect, promote a lack of commitment and responsibility to each other. The law actually encourages us not to be faithful to each other. Why would Floridians and our government support that? This anti-gay group is attempting to mislead fair-minded citizens in the state. Their message is all about religion and fear. Since Massachusetts enacted gay marriage many years ago, heterosexual marriage hasn't collapsed. It won't anywhere else either.

Please join me by helping to defeat this ignorant and hurtful proposal in November. You can help by voting "NO", by spreading the word to other Floridians, by volunteering or contributing to organizations working for true equality. You can learn more by linking to these websites: Equality Florida and Fairness For All Families.

You can also read my other postings on this topic by clicking on any of these links here: Florida Gay-Rights Supporters Beware; Gay Floridians Still in Harm's Way; Attention Florida Voters: We Need Your Help; Religion & Politics: A Match Made In Heaven?