Recently in U. S. Marriage Category

Just another reason to get rid of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. GLBT service members are being advised to think long and hard about taking advantage of the new marriage laws in California.

I didn't realize that DADT said a service member "shall be separated from the armed forces" if "the member has married or attempted to marry a person known to be of the same biological sex."

Sadly homophobia is alive and well in the US. I'm appalled and disturbed by some of the comments being made on 24 hour new channels about the pending nuptials between Ellen and Portia.

Sure it was ok for Star Jones to whore her wedding out. But heaven forbid if a lesbian should just make a simple announcement that she and her partner are getting married.

If you ask me Jones made more of a mockery out of marriage than any GLBT couple could ever do. We all know how it's ending for Star... Next stop divorce court.

Now that California GLBT couples can look forward to getting married, George Takei has announced that he and his partner Brad Altman will be getting married.

Being of Japanese decent, George knows first hand the insanity that can result from discrimination. In 1942 after Pearl Harbor was bombed his family along with approximately 110,000 other Japanese was sent to internment camps. So I can only imagine his joy and excitement at being able to marry the man he has dedicated the last 21 years of his life.

Congratulations to George and Brad. I hope the two of you have another wonderful 21 years together.

There's a reason why I should check out friends blogs before posting to here. I was beat to the punch on finding a YouTube posting of Ellen's announcement. In my defense, I don't have real internet access at work unlike sammy.the.k LOL. Also when I got home today, surfing the web was the last thing on my mind. I wanted to catch up on some TiVo then watch BSG.



via: [the chaser blog]

With the California Supreme Court decision yesterday, this opens the door for everyone's favorite lez couple to get married. While calls and e-mails to Ellen DeGeneres were not immediately returned, The Associated Press is reporting that a source said that Ellen and Portia de Rossi will be getting married.

Ellen has been using her show as a platform for GLBT issues, and I would like nothing more than to see her and Portia tie the knot.

Congrats girls, maybe being one of America's best loved talk show hosts will turn this into a catalyst for change across the country.

In a recent analysis on Gay.com none of the Presidential hopefuls fully support the California Supreme Court's marriage decision.

John McCain, or should I say Bush III, is naturally the worst of the three. The only Republican willing to go on record as supporting the court is California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not only has the governator come out in support of the Supreme Court's ruling, he's gone as far to say that he will not support an amendment to the states constitution.

Even my boy, Barack, along with Hillary is only willing to go so far as to support civil unions. News flash for you two, giving us most or all of the same rights of marriage and dressing it up by calling it civil unions is not equal treatment under the law.

Civil unions are the legal equivalent of black only water fountains.

So if you ask me, all three candidates should receive a failing grade on GLBT issues. The only politician that has had the fortitude to step forward, not counting Mayor Gavin Newsom (who helped kick start all of this in California), is Schwarzenegger. It pains me in some ways to say this, but maybe we do need to amend the federal constitution and allow him to run for President.

Same sex couples in California are celebrating a victory on the road to full equality in issues of marriage.

The California Supreme Court, in a 4-to-3 ruling, struck down two laws defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman. The decision will become effective in 30 days, and will make California the second state in the nation allowing gays and lesbians equal treatment under the law when it comes to marriage.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Ronald M. George said, "In view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship." He went on to add, "the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples."

The court did leave open the possibility that the state Legislature could call a state sanctioned union something other than marriage. It would, however, have to be applied to all couples.

In my opinion, that's where things start getting tricky. What does a state call a civil recognition of a commitment between two people if not marriage? There are already groups campaigning to amend California's constitution to place a ban on same-sex marriage. If the Legislature steps in and decides all unions are to be called civil unions, I think that would add fuel the the amendment fire.

Maybe I'm just getting cynical in my old age.

I am happy to see the court rule that the current laws are unequal, I just worry about the possible backlash this political season. This wouldn't be the first election year that we've been thrown onto the sacrificial alter by the Republican party to show that they are the only moral ones to run this country.

While this is a great victory for GLBT people across the nation, I just hope everyone remembers we still have a long hard fight ahead of us. We must not let our guard down for one moment because of what has happened in California. If anything we need to mobilize and work even harder in states, such as my home state of Texas, that have already passed constitutional amendments banning marriage and get them removed.

A bill was introduced in Congress that would allow committed same sex couples to sponsor their foreign born partner to immigrate legally into the United States.

Personally I don't think the bill has a chance of passing. If it does there's nothing to say that our kind and compassionate President won't veto the bill.

The bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and in the Senate by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). According to Sen. Leahy the bill is a matter of basic fairness and compassion. He goes on to say We simply ask that gay and lesbian Americans in loving, committed relationships receive the same treatment as everyone else.

Call me cynical, but if politicians really cared about fairness for the GLBT community we wouldn't have things like the DOMA. If the law was fair, then almost every state in the union wouldn't have laws similar to the DOMA or constitutional amendments prohibiting same sex marriage or unions.

I am hopeful that things will eventually change for GLBT Americans, I just think the timing is wrong for this bill. We first need to be able to enter into legally binding relationships called marriage before trying to figure out how to handle relationships that cross national borders.

Technorati Tags: Immigration, Uniting American Families Act

I was overcome with curiosity last week and checked out the Sundance Channel's One Punk Under God. I liked what I saw, but was really interested in seeing this week's episode (more about that later).

For those who don't know, One Punk Under God is a documentary series about Jay Bakker. Most people probably know more about his parents, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. Jim and Tammy Faye were the center of one of the biggest scandals in American history. Jay, being their son, was caught in the middle and says as a result he felt God hated him. Jay has made his peace with God and in 1994 started a church called Revolution.

To have a successful ministry, Jay has a lot to overcome. He has to get the public to see that he is not his father. He has a hard core rocker look which probably intimidates more conservative people. Also, after watching tonights episode of One Punk Under God, he will now have to deal with his choice to speak in favor of gay marriage.

Yes, I said he is in favor of gay marriage. That was why I was interested in seeing tonights show. I was interested in seeing if he would follow the majority of religious leaders in America, or if he followed what I believe to be a true Christian life. It turns out he believes as I do. God made us with all our wonderful differences and loves each of us as we are, not as we should be. From episode one it is clear that Jay plans on shaking up modern religion, and it's safe to say that he is on track to do just that.

From what I've seen in each episode, I think Jay really has a chance to make a difference in American religion. Currently his church is funded by a conservative group, and I hope he can continue his ministry since his views are opposite of most conservative groups.

Now for some total disclosure. I have never followed any Christian religion. As a child we would occasionally go to church. Usually the Episcopal church in the next town over since there was only a Baptist church and a Church of Christ in the small town I grew up in. When I got out of the small town and in the Navy, I discovered books about Wicca, and have since considered myself to be a Wiccan. If I had discovered someone like Jay earlier in life, I think I would never had to look outside of the Christian faith to help with my spiritual growth. That's not to say that I plan on giving up my Wiccan beliefs. I think it is possible to hold on to your beliefs and when you encounter someone like Jay Bakker, you can understand the wisdom in what they are saying. Because when it comes right down to it, no matter the religion, they all want us to live a life of love and harmony.

Technorati Tags: Gay, GLBT, Jay Bakker, Religion, Queer, Same Sex Marriage

I finally got around to watching Wedding Wars (thank God for TiVo). It was a fairly predictable comedic attempt about same sex marriage in America. I did enjoy seeing everyones favorite uncle, John Stamos, playing a gay party planner turned wedding planner. Also I think I would watch just about anything that had Grey's Anatomy heartthrob Dr. McSteamy, Eric Dane, in it.

As I said, the movie was fairly predictable, and the biggest complaint I had was the use of musical montages. Sure A&E was trying to fill a two hour time slot, but instead of montages of planning for the wedding, couldn't they have tried to flesh the story out more? I counted four different ones, two of which occurred within the first 19 minutes of the movie. At the very least, space them out more...

All in all it was a cute movie. Once the news is out that a gay wedding planner is on strike because of a proposed state constitutional amendment to bar gay marriage, most of the gays and lesbians go on strike. It is kind of humorous to think what would happen if we didn't go to work just to prove a point.

I enjoyed some of the references in the movie. Such as when Stamo's character tells his boyfriend that he is going to camp out in front of the governor's house, his boyfriend told him "Heath Ledger won't be coming along for him to cuddle with." How can you fault a movie that references Brokeback Mountain? Also a decent analogy was made comparing civil unions and marriage. When the governor says he will back civil unions for GLBT's John Stamo's character states, "Sure, sitting in the back of the bus is just as comfortable as sitting in the front." That's really about as deep as the movie gets though when dealing with such a hot button topic for this country.

Given all the clichés and stereotypes in the movie, it can be a bit painful to watch. Still if your bored and want to kill a couple of hours, I would probably recommend TiVoing one of the upcoming showings and pass the time watching John and Eric. Eye candy always helps a couple of hours pass by pretty quickly.

Technorati Tags: Eric Dane, Gay, GLBT, John Stamos, Queer, Wedding Wars