Marriage News Watch: March 31, 2014

Marriage News Watch: February 24, 2014

Conservative Hypocrisy Over Marijuana

Colorado Republicans Flip-Flop on Disaster Aid

From Think Progress: 

Colorado Republican Reps. Mike Coffman, Cory Gardner, Doug Lamborn, and Scott Tipton joined their delegation in asking the president to send emergency funds to help their constituents combat and recover from the more than 14 inches of rain that have flooded Colorado this month.

All four also signed onto a July 10, 2013 letter from the entire delegation to President Obama asking him for a federal major disaster declaration for summer wildfires. Their request noted that such a declaration would “provide urgently needed resources and support to the state, communities, and especially the families who have been uprooted by these wildfires.”

But back in January, a vote in the House of Representatives provided $50 billionin Sandy relief, yet among those voting against the bill were Coffman, Gardner, Lamborn, and Tipton. Their opposition stemmed, in part, because they weunable to steer some of the Sandy aid to their own state. Though he had himself sought disaster aid after damages from Colorado wildfires in June 2012, Lamborn even voted against a smaller $9 billion emergency Sandy relief bill 11 days earlier.

The GOP mantra: I got mine, screw everyone else.

Marriage News Watch: February 19, 2013

"Catholic Charities" Vows To Discriminate

Using religion as an excuse to discriminate is still discrimination.

Marriage News Watch: January 28, 2013

Marriage News Watch: January 22, 2013

Anti-Gay Cake Shop Feels the Heat

From Denver Westword Blogs:

Yesterday afternoon, 28-year-old Dave Mullins and 31-year-old Charlie Craig stopped by Lakewood's Masterpiece Cakeshop to order their wedding reception cake -- what they hoped would be a rainbow-layered masterpiece decked out in teal and red frosting (their ceremony colors). Although they'll be reciting their vows in Provincetown, Massachusetts, in September, the couple plans to celebrate with a reception for friends and family in Denver in October. But after bakery owner Jack Phillips listened to their request, they say, he refused it. His business doesn't create cakes for gay weddings.

"It was the most awkward, surreal, very brief encounter," Mullins says. "We got up to leave, and to be totally honest, I said, 'Fuck you and your homophobic cake shop.' And I may or may not have flipped him off."

Mullins posted his reaction on Facebook, from where it branched to web sites such as Wipe Out Homophobia, creating a minor Internet frenzy. Since then, similar stories about the shop have surfaced, and Yelp reviewers have written more than sixty comments expressing disgust. There is now a Facebook-organized protest of the business underway and an online petition with signatures from several states and countries.

On the phone with Westword this morning, a Masterpiece staff member commented only, "We have nothing to say about that..."

You can read the rest of the article HERE.

RWNJ: Blame Gays For Colorado Shooting

From Gay Star News:

An American pundit is saying acceptance of gays and lesbians in liberal churches and media led to the tragic shootings in Aurora, Colorado.

Anti-gay group American Family Association’s news director Fred Jackson made these comments while discussing the Batman movie theater shooting that killed 12 people.

According to Right Wing Watch, he believes because Americans no longer fear God and hell, and growing more welcoming of gays and lesbians in churches, it is no wonder ‘why all these terrible things are happening to us’.

On his radio show AFA Today, Jackson said: ‘I know the AFA Journal has been dealing with denominations that no longer believe in the God of the Bible, they no longer believe that Jesus is the only way of salvation, they teach that God is OK with homosexuality, this is just increasing more and more.

If you read the article on from there, it just gets more bizarre as he starts making even more unsubstantiated and ludicrous claims.

Lowlights & Highlights: July 21, 2012

Clearly the worst thing to happen this week was the shooting in Colorado, and I don't need to tell anyone how tragic this is. As someone who lived in Blacksburg, Virginia on April 16, 2007, I know what this community is going through and they have my condolences and prayers.

Compounding the tragedy is that it has brought out the lunatic fringe elements of society. Case in point: Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas said that this happened because of an attack on Judeo-Christianity here in America. He went on to question why the people in the theatre (where the shooting took place) didn't have any guns, almost like he's blaming them for being sitting ducks. I have no idea how this man's thought process (assuming he actually has one) works, but his opinion would have been far better kept to himself since it does more harm than good.

***

While I certainly would not expect or even really ask people to boycott Chick-Fil-A in light of the fact that they have given millions of dollars to anti-gay organizations spreading falsehoods and misinformation about the LGBT community, I find it heartening that many people are voluntarily boycotting this business. Some of these people are quite high-profile. As I have mentioned earlier in the week, actor Ed Helms (The Hangover) and Boston mayor Thomas Menino (pictured) have both publicly voiced their feelings on this issue.

Chick-fil-A has every right in the world (or at least this country) to give money to whatever organization they wish. However, we the people have every right to make sure our dollars are not the ones that they give to proliferate hate, bigotry, and outright lies. Freedom is a two-way road folks.

Marriage News Watch: June 25, 2012

Marriage News Watch: May 21, 2012

The Wrap-Up: May 18, 2012

Chris Rock hits the nail on the head about marriage equality.

One of the killers of the Colorado civil unions bill has a gay son who is none-too-happy about what has father did.

An adamantly homophobic middle school teacher in Kansas has, thus far, gone unpunished for anti-gay statements on his Facebook page (the principle is looking into it).

Rep Mike Coffman (R-CO), who has tried to look like a moderate, stepped in it by saying President Obama is "not an American."

A Virginia legislator thinks that, contrary to what the Supreme Court said in Lawrence v. Texas, sodomy (which is technically ANY unreproductive sex act) is not a civil right. I don't always agree with SCOTUS (Citizens United for example), but I'll take their opinion on this over a homophobe..

Another side effect of President Obama publicly supporting marriage equality is that more prominent people in the black community are also voicing their support.

Bristol Palin is claiming to be the victim in the wake of negative response she got to her statement on Barack Obama supporting marriage equality. I say if she can't stand the heat, stay out of politics (and stop trying to give the President of the United States parenting advice).

Here is a look at the latest electoral map from the Washington Post.

And lastly, Vice President Joe Biden takes a shot at Mitt Romney on the auto-bailout.

BREAKING: CO. Speaker Blocks Civil Unions

Gov. John Hickenlooper

From the New York Times:

The legislation was voted down by Republican lawmakers on 5-to-4 vote along party lines after more than two hours of emotional testimony in the State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, where it was assigned Monday by Republican leadership in the House of Representatives. 

“Even as nearly a dozen courageous Republicans are standing on the right side of history and supporting civil unions, House leadership is pandering to the far-right fringe of their party,” Brad Clark, executive director of One Colorado, a statewide gay and lesbian advocacy group, said in a statement after the vote...

...But if the special session breathed fresh life back into the legislation, it was short lived. 

On Monday, despite the urgings of civil-union supporters who rallied at the Capitol in Denver, House Speaker Frank McNulty, a Republican from Highlands Ranch, assigned the bill to the state affairs committee, which was dominated by opponents of the legislation.

Credit still goes to Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper for calling the legislature back for a special session to try to pass this bill. Yet again, conservatives try to stand in the way of progress and justice. They can only fight the long defeat for so long.

Marriage News Watch: May 14, 2012

The Wrap-Up: May 10, 2012

In case you've been hiding in a cave since yesterday, President Obama said this.

Another former legislator from the GOP is stating how the party has become increasingly extreme.

After President Obama's announcement on marriage equality, the Log Cabin Republicans (a conservative gay group) praised him...by calling the announcement callous and offensive. I don't understand their "logic" either.

Based on information from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, gay men face higher rates of hate crimes than Jews, blacks, lesbians, etc.

In the wake of Amendment One's passage, a petition is circulating asking the Democratic Party to take their convention out of North Carolina. Because of North Carolina's importance to the national election, I doubt the DNC will take heed (but I signed it anyway on principle).

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)

In a monthly newsletter, a Republican group in Greene County Virginia is suggesting an armed revolution if President Obama is reelected.

Support for the "Buffett Rule" just came from a place where no one looked for it: actor Will Smith.

As time ran out for a vote on civil unions in Colorado, the Governor called for a special session to vote on the bill.

Here is a sample of positive reactions about President Obama's marriage announcement.

And lastly, Democratic strategist James Carville wants to issue a wake-up call to his party about this election cycle.

Marriage News Watch: May 7, 2012

Marriage News Watch: April 30, 2012

Marriage News Watch: April 23, 2012