Iowa's Gay Marriage Ban Overturned

Good news for North-american gays living in Iowa. Article from Associated Press.

A Polk County judge on Thursday struck down Iowa's law banning gay marriage.

The ruling by Judge Robert Hanson concluded that the state's prohibition on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and he ordered the Polk County recorder to issue marriage licenses to six gay couples.

"This is kind of the American Dream," said plaintiff Jen BarbouRoske, of Iowa City. "I'm still feeling kind of shaky. It's pure elation, I just cannot believe it."
Camilla Taylor, an attorney with Lambda Legal, a New York-based gay rights organization, said the ruling requires "full equality for all Iowans including gay and lesbian Iowans and their families."
"The Iowa Constitution has lived up to its promises of equality for everyone," she said.
Gay couples from anywhere in Iowa could apply for a marriage license from Polk County. The process takes three days, however.
Polk County is expected to appeal the ruling to the Iowa S upreme Court.
County Attorney John Sarcone said the county would immediately seek a stay from Hanson, which if granted would prevent anyone from seeking a marriage license until an appeal could be heard.
The case will be appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court, which could refer it to the Iowa Court of Appeals, consider the case itself or decide not to hear the case.
Des Moines lawyer Dennis Johnson represented the six gay couples who filed suit after they were denied marriage licenses. He called the ruling "a moral victory for equal rights."
Johnson argued that Iowa has a long history of aggressively protecting civil rights in cases of race and gender. He said the Defense of Marriage Act, which the Legislature passed in 1998, contradicts previous court rulings regarding civil rights and should be struck down.
Johnson called the Defense of Marriage law "mean spirited" and said it was designed only to prohibit gays from marrying. He said it violates t he state constitution's equal protection and due-process clauses.
Lambda Legal, which spearheaded a same-sex marriage drive across the country, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the gay and lesbian couples in Polk County District Court on Dec. 13, 2005.
Roger J. Kuhle, an assistant Polk County attorney, argued that the issue is not for a judge to decide.
Rachel Cunningham, a spokeswoman for the conservative Iowa Family Policy Center, which opposes gay marriage, said the decision will be appealed.
"We're very disappointed and will pursue to the next level of courts," she said.
In his ruling, Hanson said the state law allowing marriage only between a man and a woman violates the constitutional rights of due process and equal protection.
"Couples, such as plaintiffs, who are otherwise qualified to marry one another may not be denied licenses to marry or certificates of marriage or in any other way prevented from entering into a civil marriage... by reason of the fact that both person comprising such a couple are of the same sex," he said.
The judge said the state law banning same-sex marriage must be nullified, severed and stricken from the books and the marriage laws "must be read and applied in a gender neutral manner so as to permit same-sex couples to enter into a civil marriage..."
State Sen. Ron Wieck, R-Sioux City, said he was surprised by the ruling and promised the Legislature would take another look at the issue.
"We'll look at something we can do legislatively," Wieck said.
House Minority Leader Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, said the judge's ruling only illustrates the need for a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
"I can't believe this is happening in Iowa," he said. "I guarantee you there will a vote on this issue come January."
Sarcone, the Polk County attorney, said the arguments in the case were similar to those made in litigation around the cou ntry.
"I know Judge Hanson took a lot of time with it," Sarcone said. "He made his decision and we respectfully disagree."
Kate Varnum, another plaintiff, said she was elated but expected more legal battles.
"I don't expect this to be the last one," said Varnum, of Cedar Rapids.

The Portuguese Great Dictator

Homophobia is everywhere! This turn it comes from the Portuguese island of Madeira, in the Atlantic ocean. The President of the Regional Government is the same since 1978: his name is Alberto João Jardim. This weekend, during a speech, he said the homosexual marriage is not a cause but "a debauch and the degradation of the Portuguese moral values". It is quite funny to hear that from someone who spent the last years imposing his will to the people of the island he rules.

He has been elected and re-elected the last 29 years, somehow like Lukashenko in Belarus, pretending to be a very democrat person and to rule a very democratic island. The truth is that Mr. Jardim allowed a group of people connected with his political party [the conservative PSD] to occupie all the kew-places and to control peoples lives. So, Madeira is an island where a lot of poeple works directly or not to the Regional Government, all mayors of the island are from PSD and people are sometimes afraid of telling waht they think about their Regional President. Mr. Jardim is not for sure the right person to tell something about "moral values of the Portuguese people" not even to tell something about abortion - he refuses to accept the new Portuguese law of abortion with the allegation of lack of money to do so.
Picture at left is from a popular party every Summer... He makes speeches and drinks beer. Picture says a thousand words...









At the same time, also in Portugal, some economist who writes articles in newspapers, Mr. César das Neves, accused the Portuguese government of "making divorce easier and promoting unions, promiscuity and homosexuality". He added "the Portuguese people is becoming extinct" and the government should make a law "to force the Portuguese couples to procreate". Another one who is a frustrated for not being Bishop or Cardinal...

Independence day

This ad of gay.com was removed in Boston after complaints from the conservative group Article 8 Alliance which opposes same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.
Anyway, happy 4th July!

"I do" for gay marriage in NYC

First of all SORRY, SORRY, SORRY!!! I really have to apologize for not having posted for so long, but I've been busy and had no time till today.

As the lack of time is an universal problem, let's go to the point and I will quote an article, wich is much better than I could ever write. The article is from Times Union (author: Rick Karlin) and tells us about the votation in New York assembly about gay marriage.
Let's not forget that gay marriage is just legal in Massachusetts. Other states as California, Vermont and New Jersey have legalized the civil union between people of the same sex.

After more than three hours of impassioned debate, the Assembly on Tuesday night approved a bill to allow same-sex marriage in New York.

Assemblyman David O'Donnell, D-Manhattan, sponsor of the same-sex marriage bill, speaks Tuesday before the bill's passage in the Assembly.
(Philip Kamrass / Times Union)

Even though the bill is not slated for discussion in the Senate, proponents said the Assembly action was an important first step if New York is ever to legalize such marriages.
"I'm very proud of my colleagues," said a buoyant Daniel O'Donnell, D-Manhattan, an openly gay lawmaker who carried the bill on behalf of Gov. Eliot Spitzer. The bill passed 85-61, more than he'd expected.
"This was one of those nights where the debate changed votes," said Assemblyman Ronald Canestrari, D-Cohoes. "It doesn't happen that often."
The debate included testimonials by lawmakers who are gay or who have homosexual children or other relatives. Some called gay marriage the civil rights issue of its time.
"Why are we doing this now? The answer is very simple. I believe this is the most important human rights issue facing this legislature," said Richard Gottfried, D-New York.
Tuesday's vote marked the first time same sex marriage has been debated in the Legislature.
Only one state, Massachusetts, recognizes same sex marriages.
While Democrats, who control 107 seats in the 150-seat Assembly were in the majority of those voting yes, some Republicans joined in as well.
And opinions on the issue crossed not only party lines but racial and religious lines, with lawmakers who were black and white, Catholic and Jewish, voting on both sides.
Ultimately, though, supporters said they saw no reason that gay and lesbian New Yorkers shouldn't enjoy the same legal privileges and protections, and chance for happiness, as heterosexuals.
"It is not a life choice, it is not something someone can change," said Teresa Sayward, R-Elizabethown, who has a gay son.
"I went through a great deal of my early life knowing who I was and knowing that there was no place for me," said Deborah Glick, D-New York, who is openly gay. "This is about being a full human being and having the respect and the protection, not just for oneself but for one's family."
Some opponents pointed to religious qualms on the issue.
"It's a direct challenge to the way I was brought up," said Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, who was raised in the Catholic faith. He added that residents in his district mostly oppose same sex marriage.
"It is about tradition," said Dov Hikind, D-Brooklyn, an Orthodox Jew who said his personal faith proscribes same sex marriage.
But Joel Miller, R-Poughkeepsie, who also is Jewish, said tradition and discriminatory religious beliefs should not guide legislative decisions, "There was a time when the world was flat," he said. "Sometimes you just have to move forward."
In the Capital Region, Canestrari and fellow Democrats Jack McEneny of Albany and Paul Tonko of Amsterdam voted for the measure, while Democrat Robert Reilly of Colonie, Republican Minority Leader James Tedisco of Schenectady and independent Tim Gordon of Bethlehem voted against it.The vote was a win for Spitzer, who last year was endorsee by Empire State Pride Agenda, a gay rights group that pushed hard for same-sex marriage.O'Donnell earlier said he had been assured by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, that the measure wouldn't be brought to the floor unless there enough votes for it to pass. The bill needed a minimum of 76 votes to pass. O'Donnell wanted at least 85 members backing the bill before it came up for debate.
"The worst thing is to have it on the floor and voted down," O'Donnell earlier told New York "City Hall" Web site. "The second worst thing is to have it voted up by just one vote. You don't want to be in that precarious situation."
The unofficial tally showed 81 Democrats and four Republicans voting for it, and 22 Democrats, 38 Republicans, and one independent voting against it.
For lawmakers in districts who don't have a large enrollment edge, the vote posed a dilemma, given polls showing most New Yorkers oppose same-sex marriage.
A Cornell University Empire State Poll recently found that 52 percent of respondents opposed the idea. And a Quinnipiac University Polling Institute survey released Tuesday found just 35 percent of registered voters favored same-sex marriage.
Prior to Tuesday evening's vote, opponents including the Catholic Conference explained why they are against same-sex marriage.
"Recognizing same-sex unions will only serve to devalue marriage even more than what has already occurred in recent years," said the conference's memo opposing the bill.
O'Donnell, the brother of comedienne Rosie O'Donnell, stressed that nothing in the bill forces clerics to perform same-sex marriages.
States that already recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships for gay couples are California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Washington, D.C.
Shortly after the vote, Matthew Titone, D-Staten Island, said that he received a call on his cell phone.
"I have my partner here on the phone and he just asked me to marry him, and my answer is 'yes,' " he said.