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The Outspoken Generation

Young people all over the country raised by LGBT parents are living proof that the millions of LGBT parents in the United States are raising happy, healthy families. 

Same-Sex Marriage Bill Passes Final House Of Lords Vote — Marriage Equality To Come To Britain?

The British House of Lords moments ago passed the third and final reading of a same-sex marriage bill, all but one-hundred percent ensuring marriage equality in Britain and Wales. All that is left is for the House of Commons to approve the House of Lords’ bill, and for the two bodies to compromise and agree on any differences to form one bill.

“If the House of Commons makes changes, the bill returns to the House of Lords, and can go back and forth until both are agreed,” Pink News UK explains:

This process is known as parliamentary ping pong, and is scheduled for 16 and 17 July, when Parliament goes into recess. If the process is not agreed by then, the bill cannot be debated again until late into 2013.

Once eventually passed in both Houses, the bill will be given Royal Assent, before coming law, however it is unlikely that Royal Assent will be given until after summer recess.

WELL-STRUNG Mozart Meets Kelly Clarkson

Pennsylvania AG To Refuse To Defend Ban On Gay Marriage

Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Kathleen Kane, a Democrat, is by all reports expected to refuse to defend her state’s ban on same-sex marriage in court. The move, similar to the Obama administration’s decision several years ago to not defend DOMA in court and California deciding to not defend Prop 8 in court — which ultimately led to their demise at the Supreme Court last month — likely will not have long-standing consequences.

That’s because Pennsylvania’s horrendous Republican Governor, Tom Corbett, likely will defend the ban in court.

Of Course: DOMA Ruling Is Evidence The ‘Rapture Is About To Occur’

The Pastor of a Texas Megachurch is claiming the Rapture is about to occur, and points to the Supreme Court’s DOMA ruling as proof. Matthew Hagee, the executive pastor of San Antonio, Texas megachurch Cornerstone Church, responded to a caller on his “internet based video channel with a mission to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the Earth.”

Picking The States Where Marriage Equality Will Happen Next

Heads up Illinois, Hawaii, New Jersey and Oregon. Marriage equality may be coming your way and soon. Freedom to Marry, the advocacy group that has been at the forefront of the marriage battle, has unveiled a new strategy that targets those four states as the best chances for marriage equality in 2013 and 2014. The plan, called Roadmap to Victory, aims by 2016 to make marriage equality legal for the majority of Americans and push public support to marriage equality to 60%.

“The key to winning is, as it has always been, that when we get to the Supreme Court with the next marriage cases, we go with more states and more support creating the climate for the justices then to do the right thing,” says Freedom to Marry founder Evan Wolfson.

ENDA Passes Senate Committee By Huge Margin

The  Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) just passed through the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee by a huge margin, 15-7, with bipartisan support. The legislation, which has been introduced into every Congress in one form or another since 1974, seems to have a chance at passing through the U.S. Senate as well. Currently, ENDA has 53 Senate co-sponsors, and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) says he believes there are 60 votes to pass it. In today’s Senate committee vote, three Republican Senators crossed the aisle to support the bill: Orrin Hatch of Utah, Mark Kirk of Illinois, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

If You Can Play - great message from Cal Athletics

GAY COUPLES APPLYING FOR MARRIAGE LICENSES IN INDIANA COULD FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES

Thanks to a 1997 state law, couples applying for marriage licenses in Indiana could potentially face Class D felony charges upon submitting their application to the clerk, even if said application is denied.

The law in question declares it illegal to falsify any information on a marriage license application, including physical conditions such as gender. Since the state's electronic marriage license application explicitly designates places for one "male applicant" and one "female applicant", a same-sex couple could certainly trigger the law.

The same law also declares it a Class B misdemeanor for any clergyman, judge, mayor, city clerk or town clerk-treasurer to perform a same-sex marriage ceremony or solemnize a same-sex marriage in any way, which carries a penalty of up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1000.

ACLU AND LAMBDA LEGAL TO SEEK SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN LAWSUIT SEEKING MARRIAGE EQUALITY IN ILLINOIS

Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Illinois will file a motion for summary judgment and request a swift ruling in favor of the freedom to marry in Illinois, according to a press release sent out by the two groups:

Together, Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Illinois each filed lawsuits on May 30, 2012, representing a total of 25 same-sex couples from across the state of Illinois seeking the freedom to marry. Two days later, the Illinois Attorney General's office filed papers agreeing that barring same-sex couples from marriage is unconstitutional. The Cook County Clerk and State's Attorney also agree that the marriage ban is unconstitutional.

'Vomit' Button on Facebook for Photos of Gay Couples

  Televangelist Pat Robertson responded to a viewer's question about whether it's sinful to push the "like" button on Facebook for photos of same-sex couples by saying he wishes the company would create a "vomit" button so he could press it every time he sees one
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Another Ohio Republican Comes Out for Marriage Equality

 

Former Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro announced his support for marriage equality, citing his married lesbian daughter.

'SKIP ENDER'S GAME'

Author Orson Scott Card has already caused a stir earlier this year at DC Comics, thanks to his well-publicized homophobic views and his involvement with the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage.

Card's anti-gay activism has become the center for controversy once again, months ahead of the release Ender's Game, the sci-fi film based on his 1985 bestselling book. The queer-geek group Geeks OUT has launched an online protest entitled "Skip Ender's Game", which encourages all members and allies of the LGBT community to boycott the film on all of its various platforms.

"Do NOT see this movie! Do not buy a ticket at the theater, do not purchase the DVD, do not watch it on-demand. Ignore all merchandise and toys. However much you may have admired his books, keep your money out of Orson Scott Card’s pockets."

The group has launched the site SkipEndersGame.com, where supporters can sign a pledge to boycott the movie, as well as keep track of relevant news updates.

Pope Francis seeks Church of England’s help on defending marriage

Pope Francis has waded diplomatically into the gay marriage debate, telling the Archbishop of Canterbury he wants to work together to promote family values “based on marriage.”

Francis, who vigorously opposed gay marriage in his native Argentina, and Archbishop Justin Welby met Friday for the first time since both were installed in March.

Welby has been opposing legislation in Britain that would legalize same-sex marriage, saying it would undermine family life.

Francis said he hoped they could collaborate in promoting the sacredness of life “and the stability of families founded on marriage.”

Significantly, Francis didn’t say that marriage should be between a man and woman, which is how Benedict XVI routinely defined marriage.

Costa Rica lawmakers mistakenly vote to legalize same-sex unions

Lawmakers in Costa Rica have accidentally voted to amend a law that could legalize same-sex civil unions in the Central American country.

The country’s Legislative Assembly voted Monday to amend the country’s Family Code, striking down the legal definition of a union as only between a man and a woman.

The bill now states that a civil union is recognized “without discrimination contrary to human dignity, social and economic effects of domestic partnerships that constitute publicly, notoriously unique and stable, with legal capacity for marriage for more than three years.”

Several conservative lawmakers, including Evangelical Manrique Oviedo, said they voted for the bill without realizing its legal impact.

The bill requires a ruling by the country’s Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court before being signed into law by president Laura Chinchilla.

If ruled legal and signed, experts say the change in the country’s Family Code would effectively allow same-sex unions.

Conservative lawmakers insisted that the bill should be interpreted as referring to heterosexual couples only and demanded Costa Rica’s president Laura Chinchilla to veto the bill.

Chinchilla rejected their calls stating: “No, we’re going to go forward and will sign this law. We understand that the debate is over how some interpret the law and this alone is not sufficient for the executive to veto the law,” in video posted today by AmeliaRueda.com.

Costa Rica’s Communications Minister Carlos Roverssi confirmed the president’s statement, according to the daily La Nación.

If ruled legal, Costa Rica will become the first Central American nation to recognize same-sex unions.

In Latin America as a whole, five countries have already recognized gay civil unions; Argentina and Uruguay have full marriage equality, while Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador recognize same-sex unions.

Happy 4th of July

Eleven same-sex couples file lawsuit to overturn Ark. gay marriage ban

A group of 11 same-sex couples from Arkansas on Tuesday asked a judge to overturn the state’s ban on gay marriage, the latest effort aimed at repealing the amendment after recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings supporting gay couples.

The lawsuit filed in Pulaski County Circuit Court seeks to strike down the constitutional amendment voters approved in 2004 that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The amendment also bars the state from recognizing same-sex marriages from other states.

“Gays and lesbians are a distinct group, singled out due to their sexual orientation to be denied rights enjoyed by all other adult groups,” the lawsuit states.

“They are unequal in the eyes of the state of Arkansas and their families are denied the same respect as officially sanctioned families of opposite-sex individuals.”

The lawsuit was filed less than a week after the U.S. Supreme Court issued two rulings supporting same-sex couples.

Federal Judge Slaps Down Michigan’s Governor Rick Snyder – Cites The DOMA Decision

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has been a thorn in the side of the LGBT community. When Public Act 297, was passed by the Republican majority Michigan House and Senate, the governor signed it, registered it with the Michigan Secretary of State, and put it into effect all in the same day. Public Act 297, entitled by its authors, the “Public Employee Domestic Partner Benefit Restriction Act” told same-sex spouses of all public employees — I don’t care what my predecessor Governor Granholm promised you, or what your union contract says, your health insurance is going away.

Five same-sex partners sued the governor. They complained Gov. Snyder had violated their rights of equal protection, and of due process. Friday, Judge David Lawson, who is hearing the case, enjoined Public Act 297 from being enacted, citing the Supreme Court’s DOMA decision.

Judge Lawson:

The Court takes guidance from the Supreme Court’s decision invalidating DOMA, which determined legislative purpose by looking to the “history of . . . enactment” and the statute’s “own text.” Looking to the history and text of Public Act 297, it is hard to argue with a straight face that the primary purpose — indeed, perhaps the sole purpose — of the statute is other than to deny health benefits to the same-sex partners of public employees. But that “can never be a legitimate governmental purpose.”

The 'Extreme Court' has done it again

Everyone is Gay

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CULTURE WAR OVER GAY MARRIAGE

Kennedy rejects ‘emergency’ bid to stop gay marriages in California

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy on Sunday denied a last-ditch request from the sponsors of California’s now-overturned gay marriage ban to halt the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses in America’s most populous state.

Kennedy turned away the appeal with no additional comment just as San Francisco’s gay pride parade was getting under way in San Francisco, where dozens of couples have gotten married since Friday and where the clerk’s office was expected to issue more licenses on Sunday.

Same-sex marriage opponents asked Kennedy to step in on Saturday, a day after the federal appeals court in San Francisco allowed same-sex marriages to go forward.

The opponents said the appeals court had acted about three weeks too soon when it cleared the way Friday for same-sex marriages to be legal in California for the first time in 4 ½ years by lifting a hold it had imposed on such unions while a lawsuit challenging Proposition 8, the gay wedding ban, made its way to and through the high court.

'Young and the Restless' Actor Greg Rikaart Comes Oot

Emmy-winning Young and the Restless star Greg Rikaart revealed he's gay early this morning when he tweeted a photo of he and a presumed boyfriend, along with a message:

"Not getting married anytime soon, but celebrating #equality tonight nonetheless."