Andrew Cuomo

“I don’t want to be the governor who just proposes marriage equality. I don’t want to be the governor who lobbies for marriage equality. I don’t want to be the governor who fights for marriage equality. I want to be the governor who signs the law that makes equality a reality in the state of New York,” said the Democratic nominee.

The declaration was “music to our ears,” one activist said.

There were initially some reports that Cuomo wasn’t going to show up at the event, and that he declined to fill out ESPA’s candidate questionnaire. Over the summer, the NYT ran a story quoting activists questioning his dedication to advancing gay rights.

As for his GOP rival, Carl Paladino, Cuomo said: “We are looking at an extreme political agenda on the other side of the election, and you saw it this week with the LGBT community — but it’s not just the LGBT community.”

The Paladino campaign has been in high damage-control mode since Sunday, when the candidate made what some considered highly offensive remarks about gays during a visit with Orthodox Jewish leaders in Brooklyn. He has since apologized for those remarks while maintaining his stance against gay marriage.

Cuomo then went on to hit Paladino for his stands on immigration and abortion rights, and urged the group to make it to the polls on Election Day.

“Take nothing for granted because people are afraid, people are anxious and these forces are looking to exploit that,” Cuomo said.

The attorney general called Paladino’s remarks about gays “alarming and divisive and negative,” but declined to say how his daughters felt about them — particularly Paladino’s criticism that the girls should not have been allowed to accompany their dad to this summer’s pride parade.

Mayor Bloomberg, making his first appearance at the event in years, vowed to the audience, “I will fight with you until we achieve marriage equality for all New Yorkers” as Judy Garland tunes played in the background, Kate reports.

Just married ...

German tabloid Bild is reporting that Guido Westerwelle, the country’s openly gay foreign minister, has “married” his 43-year-old partner, event manager Michael Mronz.

With the headline Secret Wedding, the paper reported that the couple entered a civil partnership in Westerwelle’s home town of Bonn on Friday. The ceremony was presided over by Bonn Mayor Juergen Nimptsch and only close friends and family attended, the newspaper said.

Civil partnerships offer gay and lesbian couples some but not all the rights of marriage.

According to media accounts, the two men met in 2003 and were first seen together attending Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 50th birthday party in 2004. The couple has been crowned a “power couple” by Germany’s media.

Westerwelle, the 48-year-old leader of the pro-business Free Democrats, was appointed foreign minister last year.

A spokesman for the Free Democrats reportedly has confirmed the report, but would not comment any further.

Other high-profile, openly gay politicians in Germany include Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit and former Hamburg Mayor Ole von Beust.

Westerwelle presided over last month’s opening ceremony for the 2010 Gay Games in Cologne’s RheinEnergie Stadium.

Online Gay Marriage

The number of states where gay marriage is legal will rise to five on January 1st 2010 as New Hampshire joins Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa and Vermont. This means that there is now one more option for gay and lesbian couples who want to marry out of state, but two Michigan State University professors believe they have come up with an even better option – that states offering same sex marriage should allow couple to obtain a marriage license online, wherever they are based in the country.

Saying that they believe marriage laws need to be more flexible in meeting the needs of both the couple and the state, Adam Candeub, who is working on the theory alongside fellow law professor Mae Kuykendall, said “states should formalize in their laws what they’ve always been doing in smaller degrees in specific areas, which is, allow people outside their states to use their laws”.

Source Text:

www.gayagenda.com

Washington DC to vote on gay Marriage

City council members in Washington DC will vote on gay marriage on 1st December with the general consensus being that it will easily pass with a 10-2 vote.

There is, however, worry from some that even if passed, Congress, who have jurisdiction over Washington DC, could decide to step in and invalidate it, though the reality is it’s unlikely they are going to do such a thing, following the fact they didn’t when DC passed a gay marriage recognition law in the Spring.

If it does pass through the City Council uninterrupted by Congress then the good news is, unlike Maine it’s there to stay as DC government have said they will not allow any measures to ban gay marriage onto the ballot believing such a vote would be unconstitutional.

Portugal Ready to Leagalize Gay Marriage

According to sources, José Sócrates, the Prime Minister of Portugal, has been busy developing a new government after the elections in September. Part of that new government is equality for the country’s LGBT citizens. On October 23, Sócrates stated that legalizing same-sex marriage will be one of the new leadership’s first changes.

According to a post on PortugalGay.pt:

The measure is part of the official program of the party and according to government sources, the move will be done as soon as the government is complete.” (Complete as in completely formed).

Portuguese lawmakers from all parties are in favor of the move and support marriage equality, leading to the belief the bill will pass with ease.
Portugal has recognizes “de facto unions” for both opposite and same-sex couples since 2001, but much like civil unions, they only grant limited rights to couples, so the lawmakers feel it’s time to even the playing field.

Portugal would become the nineth country to legalize same-sex marriage, joining the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden and Nepal in offering its LGBT citizens marriage equality.

Source Text:

http://www.gayagenda.com/2009/11/portugal-ready-to-leagalize-gay-marriage/

Source Text:

http://www.gayagenda.com/2009/11/sunday-funnies-gay-marriage-flow-chart/

A right or an issue?

At one time, women in this nation didn’t have the right to vote. When the suffrage movement came to fruition, and women gained the right to vote…it wasn’t voted on.

At one time, interracial marriage was outlawed in parts of this country. When the ‘activist judges’ overturned that law as discriminatory…it wasn’t voted on.

When desegregation was ordered in the south, allowing Blacks to attend the same schools as whites. Allowing Blacks to drink from the same water fountains, vote, use the same exits and entries into public establishments…it wasn’t voted on.

All the examples above are called progress. Those were all things that this country should be embarrassed ever happened. Why did they happen. White man, who forcibly took this land from its original inhabitants made those laws…and used the Bible to base them upon. According to the Bible (and I point my finger at Maggie Gallagher as I say this) women are to serve men. They are nothing more, nothing less. If you asked the Mormon church, up until they were threatened with taxation by the former President Jimmy Carter in 1978, people of color were people of color because they were being punished by God…therefore, segregation was God’s command. Even today, with the recent racial bigotry in Louisiana, interracial marriage was not condoned, yet condemned by the world of God…or the Bible, which was written by who?

Again, I’m glad we as a nation have moved past those extremely embarrassing times of our history. Ms. Gallagher is sure happy she has the right to vote…so she can vote against the evil gays wanting to be equal citizens. In fact, she, (as those who didn’t believe women should have the right to vote stated about a woman’s right to vote) has said, “it’s common sense” that gay’s shouldn’t be allowed to marry.

So why is it, that when it comes to a person in the LGBT community wanting to marry the partner they love, wanting to know they can’t be fired or denied housing for loving their partner, it’s put up to a vote? Why is it, when a state’s legislature, or a court of justices decide it’s unfair and discriminatory to not give a minority equality, their decision is allowed to be put up for a vote? Why are rights for LGBT citizens, the only rights in the history of this nation, allowed to be challenged by a Christian belief system, and put up for a vote?

Do I get to vote on where Maggie Gallagher lives? If I do, I vote for the moon.

Source text:

http://www.gayagenda.com/2009/11/why-are-gay-rights-being-voted-on/

2010: Year of Action for Same-Sex Marriage

Why November 28?

Groups around the country are busy gearing up for large demonstrations on November 28 to launch the Year of Action for Same-Sex Marriage. The Australian Senate is due to release a landmark report on same-sex marriage two days earlier, and we intend sending a clear message to the Government that the time for marriage equality is now. Please spread the word to friends, family and colleagues.

The Senate inquiry

The Senate is conducting an inquiry into the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2009 introduced by Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young. If enacted, it would redefine “marriage” under the Marriage Act in gender-neutral terms to allow for same-sex marriage. The Senate has received more than 20,000 submissions from groups and individuals either in favour of or against same-sex marriage.

If the Senate committee argues for reform, our rallies will put pressure on the government to adopt its recommendation. If the committee supports the status quo of discriminatory marriage laws, our rallies will be an opportunity to express our outrage, and further galvanise public support for the cause.

Source text and protest information:

http://www.equallove.info/nov28