Democrat

Democrat / North America / Politicians — No Comments
9
Oct 10

EXCUSES, EXCUSES

HRC no excuses dinner

John Aravosis raises really important points here in response to the announcement by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) that Valerie Jarrett from the Obama Administration will headline a big national dinner they are running tomorrow night.

I don’t agree with him100% on how to handle the Obama administration, but he’s right: if we can’t get advances on our biggest issues now, you have wonder when.  And in doing so we have to critique the people who have positioned themselves as leaders in the campaign for marriage equality, against the Defense of Marriage Act, against Don’t Ask Don’t Tell as so on.

Yes, we want Valerie Jarrett to engage with us and our issues – but that is not an end in itself. It shouldn’t be news that “Valerie Jarrett speaks at gay dinner” and it doesn’t mean anything unless she actually has a serious discussion about what can be done to get  the Obama administration out of the corner they have pushed themselves into. I’m not going to pre-judge this appearance, but I can assure you I will be surprised if we here more than platitudes.

The problem for Obama is … Continue reading →

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7
Aug 10

WE WILL WIN IN THE END

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

The positioning around Judge Walker’s over-turning of Prop 8 is making for high drama indeed!

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown have both asked that gay marriages resume immediately, as Judge Walker originally ruled (but then paused over). This is in addition to both of them refusing to defend Prop 8 in the original court case, even though nominally they must defend the Californian constitution.  (There is a lesson for Obama in that – he could just refuse to defend the Defense of Marriage Act [DOMA] in court to if his administration so chose).

So … all the appeals have now started but guess what … they can’t go anywhere.  Why?  Because on my understanding – if Brown and Schwarzenegger (or their successors after November’s elections) refuse to defend Prop 8 in court then the Supreme Court will refuse to hear the case (because there will only be one side in the case).  Equality haters can’t randomly appeal to the high court if both the plaintiffs (gay couples) and the defendants (the state of California) agree there is no case.

So be patient – we are going to win this in the end. Continue reading →

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5
Aug 10

PROP 8 OVERTURNED !!

Amazing news from California where the Federal Court has ruled that the ban on gay marriage in California cannot withstand any scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause of the United States constitution.

Excerpts from the federal court decision that found Proposition 8 violated the U.S. Constitution. 
Lovely photos here of the reaction to the news.

Great line from LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: “the court has affirmed that love doesn’t discriminate.”  This from Lady Gaga on Twitter: “At the moments notice of PROP 8 DEATH I instantly began to write music. … THIS IS JUST THE BEGININNG!”

The state has no interest, according to the judgement, in disadvantaging selected groups.  Private moral views do not count as a basis for legal restraints on couples.

Most importantly the fact that voters rejected the right to marriage equality is irrelevant because:  “fundamental rights may not be submitted to [a] vote.” Gender no longer forms an essential part of marriage; marriage under law is a union of equals!

 

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12
Jul 10

D.O.M.A. GOES DOWN

obama don't support doma

There have been important developments in the United States in the past week, but as with all these things, it is better to ‘let the dust settle’ before trying to understand their global implications.

The U.S. District Court in Boston struck down Section 3 of the anti-gay federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on July 8, and ruled that the act violates the US constitution’s Tenth Amendment.

Section 3 of the law is found to be unconstitutional (but will surely be because it abolishes states rights to determine if a certain (same-sex) couple is married or not.   The court has basically said that DOMA discriminates on an irrational basis. Continue reading →

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Democrat / North America / Politicians — 1 Comment
17
Jun 10

HENRY SANDERS ROCKS

This guy sure has my vote …

Marriage Equality is a key to economic recovery, by Henry Sanders Jr.

In a tough economy, cities, regions and entire states must do everything they can to compete. That means providing the best infrastructure, talent pool, and economic incentives necessary to attract and retain jobs. Among the most important factors businesses consider as they seek out sites to locate or expand operations is workforce. That’s why marriage equality is a key plank in Progressive Recovery, my 18-point job creation platform.

Marriage equality would lead to a significant immediate windfall in the tourism and hospitality industries, sectors that have especially suffered during the recent recession. A study by UCLA’s Williams Institute projects that recently-enacted marriage equality policies in the District of Columbia would grow the city’s economy by over $52.2 million over the first three years. Continue reading →

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12
Jun 10

PROP 8 CASE COMING TO A HEAD

Photo by David Yellen

I love these guys – both the layers and the bloggers who make sure we are informed of every step forward, sideways and backwards in regards to the attempt to have the California’s Prop 8 referendum overturned because it is unconstitutional.

Leading the good side is David Boies who noted on a conference call this week, that in addition to the defendants of inequality objectively performing poorly in the trial (“They didn’t fail because they’re bad lawyers, they failed because there isn’t any evidence to support the argument they’re advocating”), he says that the trial record demonstrates as “a matter of fact” that there is no harm to heterosexual marriage from permitting gay men and lesbians to marry.

We get the judge’s ruling in the next week.

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29
May 10

SURE THERE’S SEX IN THE CITY — BUT WHAT ABOUT GAY MARRIAGE

New York City is a place where anything can happen – and usually does. But for all the Sex in That City, and no matter how many times Rudy Giulani dresses in drag, the lawmakers are strangely reluctant to get with the equality programme of the people, the Mayor, and a whole host of others.

Andrew Cuomo made a great start to being the Democratic nominee for NY Governor – tweeting that he would bring marriage equality to New York. All the Sex and the City ladies are lashing out at the backwardness of it all (see video).

Continue reading →

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10
May 10

OBAMA CALLS ON AMERICANS TO REFUSE TO BE DENIED THEIR RIGHTS

President Obama not standing by gays and lesbians on marriage equality

An example of how Obama's ambiguity on gay rights leads to his position being misused against gays

US President Barack Obama rightly says that young Americans should take inspiration from Dorothy Height, the civil and women’s rights icon who died in April 2010. Height was extraordinary in “Refusing to be denied her rights, refusing to be denied her dignity, refusing to be denied… her piece of America’s promise,” says Obama.

That is what every person standing up for marriage equality is doing – refusing to be pushed into a second-class for an arbitrary reason.  So we should take Obama’s message about Dorothy Height and push it back at him on marriage.

Obama is explicitly against marriage equality, as this video shows, but presuming that he does not support racial segragation, he really shouldn’t be supporting marriage segregation either.

Obama can’t credibly pursue the ridiculous idea that separate is equal for gays, but not for blacks. It’s one or the other – but you can’t hold both positions without being either a coward or a hypocrite.

Continue reading →

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Democrat / Heroes / North America / Politicians / Religion — 1 Comment
16
Apr 10

HERO: A TRUE CHRISTIAN

The Baldacci Family

The Baldacci Family

My first ‘Hero of the Week’ is the Governor of Maine, John Baldacci, a Catholic.

Here he shows the real meaning of being a Christian in a display of solidarity with marriage equality supporting charity Homeless Voices for Justice.

The Catholic Church has recently cut off the group’s funding because they dared have an opinion on equality. Shame on them.

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