(AP) The gay marriage legislation easily passed the Rhode Island House in January, and the Senate vote was seen as the true test. The bill passed 26-12, and now returns to the House for a largely procedural vote, likely next week, before going to Gov. Lincoln Chafee, who supports the legislation.
The second piece of good news today for proponents of marriage equality. The legislation was introduced by House Speaker Gordon Fox, who himself is gay, and could take effect as soon as August 1st. Meanwhile, in Delaware, legislation legalizing marriage equality passed the state House yesterday and now heads to the senate for consideration.
Have you been seeing red equal sign symbols popping up in your Newsfeed this week? Facebook did the math and estimates more than 2.7 million US users changed their profile pictures in support of gay marriage equality. (Some users even showed their support through equality strips of bacon, sideways cats, and red velvet cake.)
Above: Facebook’s marriage equality map
(via All Things D)
Who here was one of the 2.7 million?
Total minutes devoted to yesterday’s Prop 8 coverage on cable news.
Simple, effective, shareable.
If you look at it just from a legal standpoint there is nothing to argue. You can argue from a moral standpoint. You can say, ‘morally, I don’t like the idea of gay marriage’ because your church teaches you a certain thing. That’s fine. And we’re not asking anybody, or forcing churches to perform ceremonies. We’re not asking anybody to go outside of their religious beliefs. But marriage is not a religious right. It is a civil right. That is provided by the government. A church does not have a right to marry someone—except that it is given the right by the government. The government issues marriage licenses. The government decides who gets married and who doesn’t.Rob Reiner on the legality of gay marriage (via C-SPAN)
(Source: brooklynmutt)
At CPAC opponents of gay marriage spoke to nearly empty rooms while supporters spoke to a standing room only audience.
Great Chris Geidner piece.
You can say, ‘I believe my principles so much, I’m kicking you out.’ You can say, ‘I still believe in my principles, but I love you.’ Or you can say, ‘Gee, I love you so much, I am changing my principles.’ Rob picked the third path. That’s his prerogative.Newt Gingrich • Discussing Sen. Rob Portman’s decision to come out in support of gay marriage as a result of his relationship with his son, Will. Portman’s decision drew strong support from younger conservatives, but among older ones, it might be a tougher sell — just 30 percent of Republicans between 18 and 29 oppose gay marriage, while 68 percent of Republicans between 50 to 64 remain opposed. (In both cases, the total has gone down significantly in the past nine years.)
Today, same-sex marriage is legal in Maryland. (By the way, congrats!) Alas, not everyone’s a fan. The guy above, for example, who stopped a popular wedding trolley business that earned him $50,000 per year because he didn’t want to have to serve gay couples due to his Christian beliefs.
Same-sex marriage now legal in Maine: ”Donna Galluzzo, left, and Lisa Gorney leave the City Clerk’s office after obtaining their marriage license, early Saturday at City Hall in Portland, Maine. Same-sex couples in Maine are now legally permitted to marry under a new law that went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday.” (photo by Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press)
You vacillate, ambivalent about the role you wish to perform – the disciple of David or Nero. With such a contradiction between your statements and actions, on what basis can you expect anyone – Christians in particular – to trust or respect you?Joseph Devine, the Bishop of Motherwell • Ripping British Prime Minister David Cameron for his supportive stance on gay marriage, and calling Cameron “out of his depth” for his stance on the issue — as well as his lack of support on moves by Christians approaching the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to demand their right to wear the cross. “So far as the Roman Catholic Church … is concerned, you are out of your depth. We will take no finger-prodding lectures from anyone or any group devoid of moral competence,” Devine said. That last statement is odd: Devine is significantly more out of his depth than Cameron is.
BREAKING: US Supreme Court will hear gay marriage cases
The US Supreme Court has agreed to take up two gay marriage cases in their first serious look at the issue.
The court today granted review of the Defense of Marriage act, a federal law which says marriage can exist only between a man and a woman, and Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage in California, NBC News reports.
More updates on BreakingNews.com.
Photo: Gay marriage advocates cheer during a rally outside a federal courthouse in San Francisco moments before hearing that judges had struck down Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage, on Feb. 7, 2012. (Beck Diefenbach / Reuters file)
“Now that the Supreme Court is wading into the battle, the justices could decide the more basic issue of whether any state can ban same-sex marriage under the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection of the law.” This could be big, guys.
Watch: PCB gets a visual shout out on GMA’s Yahoo/Tumblr...
Wrote a thing.
Hat tip to this headline writer.
Congrats Tumblr!
Don’t screw this up Yahoo.
In 2007, I was...
I started tumblr when I was at one of the lowest points of...
Chick-fil-A says it will stop funding anti-gay groups
(Photo: Cody Duty / AP)
Chick-fil-A has agreed to stop funding groups with anti-same-sex marriage stances, according to a statement released Wednesday by LGBT advocacy group The Civil Rights Agenda.
Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno, who had blocked the fast-food chain from opening stores in Chicago because of its anti-gay views, likewise announced he would now let Chick-fil-A open up new outlets after he received a letter this morning from the company stating that they would cease donating to the groups.
Yet to be seen: Will this actually end the boycott? Or will pro-LGBT chicken fans continue to deny the chain their business?
[I have] a lot of friends who are individually gay but are in partnerships with loved ones, and they are as stable a family as my family is and they raise children. And so I don’t see any reason not to say that they should be able to get married under the laws of their state or the laws of the country.Former Secretary of State Colin Powell • Voicing support for same-sex marriage on CNN’s “The Situation Room.” Powell, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy went into effect, also said that policy was needed at the time due to political pressures. ”It was the Congress that imposed ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ it was certainly my position, my recommendation to get us out of an even worse outcome that could have occurred,” he said.
![producermatthew:
One Step Back: Just hours after President Obama voiced his support of same-sex marriage, the House Armed Services committee approved a measure that would ban gay marriage ceremonies on U.S. military bases. The measure was approved late on Wednesday, The Hill reports. The measure was included in the committee’s defense authorization bill for 2013, which now goes to the Republican-led House of Representatives for approval. [Photo: AP]The Hill: Committee votes to ban gay marriage on military bases
Actions speaking louder than words?](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3tbifkufG1qz5ew6o1_500.jpg)
One Step Back: Just hours after President Obama voiced his support of same-sex marriage, the House Armed Services committee approved a measure that would ban gay marriage ceremonies on U.S. military bases. The measure was approved late on Wednesday, The Hill reports. The measure was included in the committee’s defense authorization bill for 2013, which now goes to the Republican-led House of Representatives for approval. [Photo: AP]
The Hill: Committee votes to ban gay marriage on military bases
Actions speaking louder than words?
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