D.C Will Recognize Your Marriage

By: http://www.advocate.com

The Washington, D.C., city council voted unanimously on Tuesday to recognize same-sex marriages conducted in the growing number of states where marriage equality is now legal.
Tuesday's 12-0 vote on the contentious issue is expected to bring the council in direct conflict with the U.S. Congress, which approves of the city's laws under Home Rule.
"It's high time we send a clear, unequivocal message to those persons of the same sex and married in another jurisdiction that their marriage is valid in D.C.," openly gay council member Jim Graham said, according to The Washington Post. He added, "I hope this city recognizes this is a human rights struggle."
Openly gay council member David Catania said that it's only a matter of time before the District of Columbia grants marriage equality to all of its residents. "It's no secret that I have been working on legislation that would take us further," he said. "This is the march toward human rights and equality. This is not the march toward special rights. This is the equal march and that march is coming here."

Same-Sex Marriage Legalized in Vermont

By: http://www.advocate.com/

Following tense and emotional proceedings on the legislative floor, the Vermont house voted 100-49 at 11 a.m. on Tuesday to override Gov. Jim Douglas's veto of marriage-equality legislation. After an earlier morning vote by the senate, 23-5, to override the veto, the house vote makes Vermont the first state to recognize marriage equality through the legislative process without first being ordered to do so by the court.
The outcome of the highly anticipated house vote remained uncertain until it occurred. In the end, the 100 votes generated was the minimum needed to meet the two-thirds majority requirement for the veto override.
Marriage-equality advocates hailed the milestone in Vermont, which was the first state to create civil unions for same-sex couples in 2000.
“This historic vote in the Vermont legislature reminds us of the incredible progress being made toward equality," said Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese in a statement. "Less than five years ago, lesbian and gay couples began marrying in Massachusetts. Now, with the Iowa court decision last Friday and today’s vote in Vermont, there will be four states recognizing the right to marry for loving, committed lesbian and gay couples," he said.
House members who spoke on the floor before the vote cited the "stress and anger" that surrounded the same-sex marriage debate in Vermont, with one noting the "disrespectful comments on both sides." Another legislator, who voted not to override the veto, called it "the most emotional and passionate issue I’ve ever been involved in."
Gay and lesbian couples may begin to marry in Vermont on September 1.

Suecia aprueba matrimonios gay

Estocolmo - (DPA)

Por: www.sentidog.com

La propuesta se aprobó por mayoría parlamentaria, sustituirá a una normativa de 1995 que permitía a las personas del mismo sexo obtener el reconocimiento de pareja.

Una amplia mayoría en el Parlamento sueco en Estocolmo aprobó hoy la legislación que permite a personas del mismo sexo contraer matrimonio, después de un debate de seis horas.

Seis de los siete partidos con representación parlamentaria respaldaron la propuesta redactada por el Comité de Asuntos Civiles para introducir una ley de matrimonio neutral con respecto a los sexos.

Sólo los cristiano demócratas, uno de los cuatro partidos del gobierno de coalición de centro-derecha, se opusieron a la propuesta de ley, en consonancia con su declarada intención de mantener "un concepto centenario" del matrimonio, según señaló la diputada Yvonne Andersson.

La nueva legislación entrará en vigor el 1 de mayo y sustituirá a la normativa de 1995, que permite a personas del mismo sexo obtener el reconocimiento de pareja de hecho.

Los cambios legales no afectarán las ceremonias eclesiásticas. La Iglesia sueca, luterana, se mostró dispuesta a discutir su postura con respecto al matrimonio homosexual el pasado otoño.

Una mayoría de obispos en la Iglesia de Suecia afirmaron en febrero que su institución no debería seguir ocupándose de los registros legales del matrimonio.

Vermont House Oks gay marriage

By: www.365gay.com

(Montpelier, Vermont) The Vermont House on Thursday passed marriage equality legislation but not by enough of a margin to override a threatened veto by Gov. Jim Douglas (R) .

The bill passed the House on a 95-52 preliminary vote. A final vote will be held on Friday. It would need 100 votes to overturn a veto.

The Senate overwhelmingly passed its version of the legislation earlier.

The two versions still need to be harmonized before going to Douglas’ desk.

The House bill would guarantee that churches would not be obligated to marry same-sex couples. Another preserves the words husband and wife on marriage licenses while affirming same-sex couples can marry, and a third allows private church-based organizations to refuse facilities and membership to gay couples.

House leaders now must try to sway the five votes to ensure it is veto-proof.

Vermont was the first state in the country to legalize civil unions in 2000. Since then, LGBT groups have criticized the law for creating a “two tiered” system - marriage for opposite-sex couples and civil unions for gays.

Under the Senate version, the civil unions law would allow marriage of same-sex partners beginning Sept. 1. Civil unions, which confer some rights similar to marriage, would still be recognized but no longer granted after Sept. 1.

Hundreds of supporters and opponents of the legislation turned out at the State House for Thursday night’s debate.

Earlier in the day, about 200 opponents staged a rally and then went into the building, jamming a hallway outside a news conference where Douglas was reiterating his opposition to the bill.

Supporters cast the debate as a civil rights issue, saying a civil unions law enacted by the state in 2000 has fallen short of the equality it promised same-sex couples. Its appeal has declined, too: In 2001, the state granted 1,876 civil unions, compared with only 262 last year.

An impact study released earlier this month suggests there is a link between the economy and gay marriage.

The study, by the Williams Institute at UCLA, found that approval of gay marriage in Vermont could generate $31 million in new spending and $3.3 million in state taxes over three years.

Last November, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, the Boston-based LGBT rights group that brought the successful legal challenges leading to same-sex marriage in Massachusetts and Connecticut launched the “Six by Twelve” campaign to legalize gay marriage throughout all six New England states by 2012

Iowa Courts Says yes to Marriage Equility

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From: www.advocate.com

Photo from: www.365gay.com

The Iowa supreme court ruled unanimously this morning that gays and lesbians in the state have the right to marry, the Des Moines Register reports.

“The Iowa statute limiting civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman violates the equal protection clause of the Iowa constitution,” the justices said in a summary of their decision.

According to the decision, “the language in Iowa Code section 595.2 limiting civil marriage to a man and a woman must be stricken from the statute, and the remaining statutory language must be interpreted and applied in a manner allowing gay and lesbian people full access to the institution of civil marriage.”

The case, Varnum v. Brien, involved six same-sex couples who sued Polk County recorder Timothy Brien after being denied marriage licenses. The couples challenged the Iowa law that says marriage can only be between a man and a woman. Polk County district judge Robert Hanson sided with the couples in 2007, but suspended his decision pending a ruling from the high court. Today’s ruling affirms that decision.

"The court has ruled today that when two Iowans promise to share their lives together, state law will respect that commitment, regardless of whether the couple is gay or straight," Iowa senate majority leader Mike Gronstal and Iowa house speaker Pat Murphy said in a joint statement.

The decision makes Iowa the first Midwestern state to allow same-sex marriages, and only the fourth in the nation to have achieved marriage equality. (Marriage equality currently exists in Massachusetts and Connecticut. California, which allowed same-sex marriage for five months in 2008 after a supreme court ruling in its favor, is currently in limbo over the Proposition 8 voter initiative to overturn it, now back in the court's hands.)

Actividad Recaudar Fondos hoy miércoles 1ro abril en Estudio 54

Esta noche en el club Estudio 54 en Rio Piedras esq. Ave. Universidad, se llevará a cabo una actividad de recaudación de fondos pro Comité contra la Homofobia comenzando a las 10pm. Donativo de $5.00 en la entrada.
Esperamos la asistencia de TOD@s....

Rivera Schatz y los "torcidos"

Voces / 68
Miércoles 11 de Marzo de 2009 / El Nuevo Día

CECILIA LA LUZ

Presidenta de Unidos por la Igualdad

Por un par de meses Thomas Rivera Schatz trató de dar una imagen limpia y renovada de su persona como nuevo presidente del Senado. Pero era cuestión de tiempo en cuanto a cuándo volvería a explotar con uno de sus insultos viscerales y enseñar otra vez su verdadero yo. Lamentablemente su primera explosión fue en contra de los homosexuales, aprovechando la ocasión de la confirmación de los nuevos jueces del Supremo al decir que estos jueces "defenderían los derechos de la familia puertorriqueña y los valores tradicionales de la familia, no la familia ’torcida’ que pretenden algunos que se implemente en Puerto Rico a través de legislación o a través de jurisprudencia".

Aunque días después trató de arreglar sus comentarios alegando que se refería a familias "t o rc i d a s " como aquéllas que no atienden a sus ancianos y otras disfuncionales, ya era muy tarde, pues todos sabemos que los que pretenden aprobar nueva legislación y crear nueva jurisprudencia somos los "t o rc i d o s " ciudadanos gays, lesbianas, bisexuales y transexuales de Puerto Rico.

Por eso me alegra que en mi última columna le pedí precisamente a los gays del PNP a activarse, debido a que se avecinaban truenos fundamentalistas con esta nueva administración. Acto seguido, el primer episodio desagradable fue protagonizado por el nuevo presidente del Senado representando esa voz fundamentalista. Y como la que suscribe es una mujer "t o rc i d a ", voy a ilustrar al honorable Rivera Schatz con un poco de historia sobre las familias "t o rc i d a s " de Puerto Rico. Primeramente el Partido Nuevo Progresista cuenta con más de 100,000 electores activos "t o rc i d o s ", que sin pena, pueden decidir una elección. Por cierto, en ésta última hubo mayor incidencia en esa comunidad de votantes "t o rc i d o s " a favor de Fortuño.

Por otro lado, asumo que ahora mismo habrá un gran número de éstos bien ofendidos por sus palabras. No tan sólo los "t o rc i d o s ", sino sus padres, tíos, sobrinos y nietos estarán ofendidos también porque muchos no quieren cuen- tas con estos miembros "t o rc i d o s " bien amados en su familia. Como otro dato importante, un censo realizado hace varios años, demostró que un 30% de los empleados de la Le- gislatura pertenece a familias "t o rc i d a s ", entre éstos legisladores. Quizás entre sus propios empleados, hay varios "t o rc i d o s " también.

Y más importante que todo, el poder adquisitivo de las familias "t o rc i d a s " es mayor que el de una familia no "tor - cida", probado por estudios del mercado de los "t o rc i d o s ". Y en un tiempo de crisis económica como la que estamos atravesando, los consumidores "t o rc i d o s " son bien importantes para mantener la economía a flote. Por esta razón, debe de tener cuidado a quien se margina con palabras que no se vaya a incomodar a una población "t o rc i d a " afluente, que en tiempo de crisis, tienen más líquido para gastar que familias no "t o rc i d a s ".

Prueba de esto lo fue la llegada de un crucero de 1,800 mujeres "torci das " que atracó la semana pasada en San Juan aportando miles de dólares a la economía de Puerto Rico. Y lo más que me gusta de todo el discrimen contra nosotros los "t o rc i d o s " es que hay que recordarles a los amigos del PNP que las decisiones jurídicas federales se imponen sobre las de Puerto Rico.

Por eso muchos de nosotros los "t o rc i d o s ", quizás la mayoría, nos arropamos también con la pecosa. Y ahora con un gobierno demócrata en Estados Unidos donde asegurarán implementar garantías para los "t o rc i d o s ", éstas estarán por encima de las decisiones discriminatorias de los nuevos jueces fundamentalistas del Supremo local. Entonces que vaya Rivera Schatz a Estados Unidos a pedirles a los jueces de allá que se aseguren de marginar a las familias "t o rc i d a s ". Gracias a Dios que contamos con un presidente de la nación americana que defiende a los "t o rc i d o s ".