Two arrests made in Oakland Park anti-gay assaults: "Victor Gonzalez, 21, and Pargu Leandro, 25, both of Deerfield Beach,
were jailed in connection with the April 6 early morning attack that
left Craig Cohen, 47, on life support and caused severe head injuries
to David Villanova, 27. Gonzalez and Leandro each face attempted murder, battery and robbery charges" Background.
Little Britainto be feature film for Ben Stiller's production company Red Hour: "Creators & stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams have just finished
penning a script for the film that sets the action in Las Vegas. 'We’re
really happy with it, but the whole film project is still kind of
dependent on how much we can raise our profiles in America' says
Walliams."
Greek court rules same-sex weddings held on the island of Tilos last June invalid: "We will appeal within May ... but I fear the appeal court's decision won't be different, considering how conservative Greek courts are."
Quebec government supports LGBT seniors with $500,000 in projects: "Marguerite
Blais, the cabinet minister responsible for seniors, and
representatives of the gay and lesbian communities made the
announcement in Montreal today. The new initiatives are centred around
education campaigns that highlight the isolation felt by many
homosexual seniors.Laurent McCutcheon of the gay helpline Gai Ecoute says homosexuality
is taboo in many institutions which serve the elderly, leading many
Quebec seniors to hide their sexual orientation. Blais
says her support for the projects came after statements made during
Quebec-wide public consultations in 2008 on issues facing the elderly."
Lots of developments, opinions, and reports overnight on marriage equality and efforts to overturn it. With its misleading ad (above right), the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage has tossed a Molotov cocktail into the debate nationwide.
Here's info on NOM's new 2M4M initiative (note: takes you to their site) Sounds pretty gay, doesn't it? That stands for Two Million for Marriage.
More on that below.
First of all, the image above left comes from a rally that was held in Union Square last night in support of Vermont's marriage equality victory. World of Wonder has a nice slideshow of the demonstration, where state senator Tom Duane (left, with Anthony Brown) spoke to those gathered.
And now, a few updates from across the country:
D.C.: The AP looks at the recent decision in D.C. to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states and the looming showdown in Congress over it: "After the legislation receives final approval from the council, which
is supposed to come next month, the bill is then subject to a 30-day
congressional review. That review could be the new Congress' first
opportunity to signal its appetite for re-examining the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows states to do the same."
Said Culver: “[Opponents] can talk to their legislators about amending the
constitution. They will have the option on the ballot in
2010 to call for a constitution convention. So the voters will have an
opportunity to weigh in on this.”
CALIFORNIA: The recent decisions in Iowa and Vermont have inspired debate on how it will affect the Supreme Court's Proposition 8 ruling in that state:
"Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian
Rights, who led the challenge to Proposition 8 in oral arguments before
the California court last month, was jubilant Tuesday after Vermont
joined Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa as the fourth state to allow
gay marriage. While the other states went through lengthy legal
battles, Vermont's approval came when the Legislature overrode their
governor's veto. But Minter said it was Iowa's ruling that was important to California in two ways. First,
the Iowa court stresses 'that equal protection is such an essential
structural foundation of our system of government' that it can't be
left to the ballot initiative process, he said. Second, he said,
Iowa justices adopted the California Supreme Court's analysis of why
providing a separate status for same sex couples is inherently unequal. 'It
would be very ironic,' he said, 'if just at the time that other state
courts are following the California Supreme Court in holding that only
marriage can provide true equality, that California were to backpedal
away from that holding.'"
TIME magazine takes a look at how things are shaping up nationwide: "The sense that something big is happening has been felt by the other
side of the battle too. 'The momentum seems to be now on the side of
those pushing for the legalization of same-sex marriage,' the Rev.
Albert Mohler told TIME on Wednesday. 'The Vermont and Iowa
developments seem to signal the fact that, as many of us have sensed
for some time, the legalization of same-sex marriage is taking on a
sense of inevitability.' Mohler is president of the nation's flagship
Southern Baptist seminary in Louisville, Ky., and one of America's most
respected Evangelical thinkers."
Yesterday I posted the hateful, fear-mongering, and untruthful "Gathering Storm" ad from the National Organization for marriage. Response to the ad has been fast and furious, discussed on news programs last night and rebutted by both national organizations and individual activists (BELOW).
The ad was also discussed on news programs last night. Anderson Cooper discussed the ad and the marriage equality momentum being felt around the country on AC360 with Brian Brown of NOM, Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry, and legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
On Hardball, Mike Barnicle had a discussion with Maggie Gallagher, President of NOM, and Joe Solmonese of the Human Rights Campaign.
Sean Chapin and Jeremy Hooper at Good as You both posted video responses to the NOM ad.
Columbia, Missouri City Council passes domestic partner law in unanimous vote: "The legal recognition can allow partners to participate in health care
decisions, burial arrangements and other matters. The law is not
equivalent to legalizing same-sex marriage, and City Councilwoman
Barbara Hoppe pointed out that private employers don't have to follow
the registry."
Tony Blair: Pope wrong about gays. "There are many good and great things the Catholic Church does,
and there are many fantastic things this Pope stands for, but I think what
is interesting is that if you went into any Catholic Church, particularly a
well attended one, on any Sunday here and did a poll of the congregation,
you'd be surprised at how liberal-minded people were."
Six gay candidates were victorious in various elections nationwide on Tuesday. Victory Fund: "Salisbury, Maryland elected an openly gay mayor, Jim Ireton.
In Jacksonville, Illinois, Scott Hall won election to the city council. Robert Garcia won a race for a seat on the Long Beach, California, city council.
Shane Cohn will become the first openly gay alderman in St. Louis, Missouri.
In Nebraska, Barbara Baier advanced to the general election in her bid to retain her seat on the school board in Lincoln. She is the state’s only openly LGBT elected official.
Margaret Paul was elected alderman in the City of Berwyn, Illinois.
Swiss philosopher Tariq Ramadan causing controversy in Rotterdam over his defense of a "European Islam" and his perspective on gays and the role of women in society.
Gay families get invite to White House Easter Egg roll: "White House officials said that tickets for Monday's Easter Egg Roll
event were distributed to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
organizations, but did not specify how many or to which ones.
Representatives from Family Equality Council, Human Rights Campaign,
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and other groups confirmed they
were invited and encouraged to have their members participate. 'The
Obama administration actually reached out to us as an organization, and
said we want gay families there, and they are an important part of the
American family fabric,' said Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of
the Boston-based Family Equality Council, which is helping spearhead
the effort to organize families to attend."
The AP reports: "Gingrich said he sees the beginning of a 'major movement' to bring the judicial branch
into check in the wake of last Friday's Iowa Supreme Court decision.
The ruling said a state law limiting marriage to a man and a woman
violates the constitutional rights of equal protection. 'It's
the height of judicial arrogance,' Gingrich said. 'You have seven
lawyers who have decided, on their own, to fundamentally change Iowa.' ... Vermont's (legislative) process, Gingrich said, was 'healthier.'"
Said Gingrich: "The people of Vermont have every right to elect the legislators
they want and if they disagree with this decision they have every right
to replace them and so it is the people's branch overriding the
governor, who's elected, and it's not an isolated imposition by the
elite. Even for people who don't agree with the outcome, it's a much better process."
Gingrich is thought to be planning a run for president in 2012.
Vermont is now the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage (with Iowa, Massachusetts, and Connecticut) and the first to do it by a vote of the legislature.
The vote comes nine years after the state legalized civil unions and was the first time Douglas had been overridden in his tenure.
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