I was not recognized as being the husband, I wasn’t recognized as being the partner.Roger Gorley • Discussing the situation he faced as he was forced away from the bedside of his partner, Allen, at a Missouri hospital earlier this week. The men, who have been in a civil union for five year, share power of attorney and make medical decisions for one another, but the nurse at the Research Medical Center in Kansas City did not recognize this. Gorley was arrested after a member of Allen’s family asked him to be removed. He was given a restraining order, which he plans to fight in court.
Map of the week.
Today’s news has obviously been dominated by coverage of the Supreme Court’s hearing on California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriages in the state back in 2008. And it’s worth keeping in mind just how the lay of the land looks for same-sex couples in this country. If this map looks familiar, that may be thanks to its resemblance of the electoral map from the 2012 presidential election — not a single state carried by the Romney/Ryan ticket so much as allows domestic partnerships, let alone civil unions or same-sex marriages.
I’m very, very disappointed. I am disappointed that my campaign manager forwarded an e-mail that would include any member of my family in policy discussions.Representative Marsha Looper • Commenting on campaign manager Lana Fore-Warkocz’s decision to include her son in a recent email praising Looper for voting against a civil unions bill in Colorado. The message pointed to Looper’s decision to vote against the bill, even though her son was homosexual, as proof of her commitment to her ideals. Unfortunately, the email also outed Looper’s son, who had not previously discussed his sexuality publicly. Yikes. source (via • follow)
They controlled the governor’s mansion and both chambers of the legislature for four years. Why didn’t they pass it then. Why did they wait until we had a divided legislature?Colorado Representative Don Coram • Explaining his decision to vote against a bill, meant to overturn a 2006 ban on gay marriage in Colorado, that was assigned to the House State, Veterans, and Military Affairs committee. The Republican representative from Montrose, who is also the father of a gay son, has been targeted by advocates of the bill who hope they can win the support of even a few Republicans. “[Gay Coloradans] deserve respect,” Goram said, adding, “but I feel an obligation to the voters I represent.” source (via • follow)
» The nitty-gritty: The bill was co-sponsored by 23 senators, including one Republican (Susan Collins of Maine). It passed the committee easily, via a bipartisan voice vote, and is actually rather narrow in scope: It only provides benefits for unmarried, same-sex domestic partners of federal workers. Married same-sex couples—and unmarried opposite-sex couples—are not included. The range of benefits provided, though, is pretty huge: medical, long-term care, disability, life insurance, workers’ comp, retirement, and more.
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» The GOP did maintain its hard-right stance on a number of other issues, with ninety-six percent of those in attendance voting to repeal “Obamacare”, and another eighty-nine percent supporting restrictive Voter ID laws. Eighty-three percent also voted in favor of making English the country’s official language.
How can our country, with a President who knows discrimination in his core, how can they continue to uphold DOMA?Vermont resident Frances Herbert • Discussing the issues her wife, Takaka Ueda, is facing. Herbert is legally married to Ueda — a native of Japan and her partner of 13 years — and in shock, after the Department of Homeland Security sent a letter denying Ueda’s request to stay in the country. Ueda moved to the US from Japan in 1999, but is now living in the country illegally and faces deportation. Vermont’s congressional delegation has even stepped in, submitting a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, asking them to reconsider. Now the couple plans to fight the ruling, and the Defense of Marriage Act in general, in hopes of preventing this from happening to anyone else. Think they’ll succeed? source (via • follow)
Less than 24 hours after the state assembly sent a same-sex marriage bill to his desk New Jersey Governor Chris Christie followed through on his promise to veto the measure, and continued his call for a ballot question. In his veto, the governor cited a continued belief that citizens should decide whether or not to redefine the state’s legal definition of marriage, and included a proposal for the creation of an ombudsman to oversee compliance with the state’s existing civil union laws. Many say the existing laws are both flawed and discriminatory. State Senate President Steve Sweeney(D) condemned the move, saying that Governor Christie, “had a chance to do the right thing, and failed miserably.” (image courtesy of flickr user bobjagendorf) source
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This will be the entry to a slippery slope. The next thing we’ll see will be consideration of gay marriage.Illinois Republican state representative Ron Stephens • Stating the obvious about the state’s move to allow civil unions, as if that’s going to stop it from getting signed into law. We’d like to congratulate Illinois for making the move to be the second state to allow civil unions and the seventh to allow gay marriage or civil unions – eighth if you count Washington D.C. Another seven states allow domestic partnerships that give varying degrees of rights. (On an unrelated side note, our source link is using this awesome new highlighting feature that the New York Times introduced today. Check it out. It’s futuristic.) source (via • follow)
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producermatthew:
Well-put, Matt.