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Global push for same-sex marriage

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http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-08-11-new-fda-approved-hepatitis-b-vaccine-found-to-increase-heart-attack-risk-by-700.html
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Author Topic: Global push for same-sex marriage  (Read 15600 times)
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« on: April 06, 2013, 03:00:31 pm »

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/04/world/same-sex-marriage-next-country/index.html?hpt=hp_t4
4/4/13
Same-sex marriage: Who will legalize it next?

(CNN) -- It's not just the United States grappling with the issue of same-sex marriage.

Many countries around the world are re-examining their laws, and some appear to be on the brink of changing them.

Senators in Uruguay approved a marriage equality bill Tuesday that puts them on course to be the 12th country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.

And this week, senators in France will begin weighing a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage and allow same-sex couples to adopt children. The bill, which has the support of President Francois Hollande, has cleared the lower house of Parliament.

It "would be a major advance for our country in terms of equality of rights," said the French gay, lesbian and transgender rights group Inter-LGBT. "The law must allow all couples to unite themselves as they wish and must protect all families, without discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity."

But like the United States, France is far from united on the issue. In January, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Paris to protest same-sex marriage. Most of France is Catholic, and the Roman Catholic Church strongly opposes the bill, along with social conservatives and other religious groups.

***Yet another Jesuitical, Hegelian Dialectic going on here...on one end, the gay right activists, and on the other end a pseudo-Christian group(RCC).

"I do not personally agree with gay marriage, as I am a Christian and believe what the Bible says about marriage being between one woman and one man for a lifetime," said CNN iReporter Oluwasegun Olowu-Davies, who shot video of the Paris march on his phone. "If your lifestyle doesn't allow you to conceive, there is a reason."

Across the English Channel, the United Kingdom is also considering legalization. In February, lawmakers in the House of Commons approved the second reading of a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in England and Wales. (Scotland has its own legalization bill in the works, while Northern Ireland rejected a similar measure in October.)

More debate and more votes are still necessary before the bill can become law, but the wide margin of February's vote -- 400-175 -- suggests that it may have the support it needs to eventually pass. Prime Minister David Cameron is also in favor of the bill, despite opposition within his own party.

"I am a great supporter of marriage," Cameron said in the House of Commons. "I want to promote marriage, defend marriage, encourage marriage.

"The great thing about (February's) vote is that two gay people who love each other will now be able to get married, and I think that is an important advance. I think we should be promoting marriage rather than looking at any other way of weakening it."

A former British colony, New Zealand, could legalize same-sex marriage this month. After a marriage equality bill passed two readings in Parliament -- the latest in March by a 77-44 margin -- the third and final vote is widely expected to be a formality.

The public, however, might be more split than its lawmakers. According to a survey conducted last month by the country's largest newspaper, the New Zealand Herald, opposition to same-sex marriage has increased to 48%. That sentiment is more in line with nearby Australia, where lawmakers overwhelmingly voted against a legalization bill in September.

In Uruguay, the bill approved Tuesday by a 23-8 margin now goes back to lawmakers in the lower house of parliament. That house approved a different version of the bill in December.

In 2009, Uruguay became the first Latin American country to allow same-sex couples to adopt children. It was also one of the first Latin American countries to allow civil unions. Same-sex marriage is backed by President Jose Mujica and, according to one poll, the majority of the public.

But Argentina is the only country in Latin America that has legalized same-sex marriage, doing so in 2010. Brazil and Mexico, like the United States, have same-sex marriages only in certain states.

***As we all know, Pope Francis I is from Argentina...

Of the 11 countries where same-sex marriage is legal, eight are in Europe. The Netherlands was the first, in 2001, and it was later joined by Belgium, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Portugal and Denmark. Argentina, Canada and South Africa are the three non-European countries in the group.

There are no Asian countries where same-sex marriage is legal, but perhaps that might soon change.

Last year, a same-sex Buddhist couple married in Taiwan, where a legalization bill has been pending since 2003. Taipei is also home to Asia's largest annual gay pride parade, according to organizers.

The Supreme Court of Nepal ruled in favor of legalization in 2008, but those rights haven't been put into effect because the country's new constitution has been stuck in limbo for years.

In July, the Justice Ministry in Vietnam said it would consider a provision for same-sex marriage rights in an amendment to the country's marriage laws.

"It's time for us to look at the reality," Minister Ha Hung Cuong said in an online debate at the time. "The number of homosexuals has mounted to hundreds of thousands. It's not a small figure. ... They may own property. We, of course, have to handle these issues legally."
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« Reply #1 on: April 10, 2013, 06:15:54 pm »

Gay marriage measure passes French Senate
Published: April 10, 2013 at 9:03 AM

PARIS, April 10 (UPI) -- A key article of a bill that would allow same-sex unions in France cleared the Senate on a 179-157 vote following 10 hours of floor debate.

"The vote on this article marks a victory in the fight against homophobia and for tolerance and democracy," said Francois Rebsamen, head of the Socialist group in the Senate, said in a statement after the vote Tuesday.

Despite efforts by Senate opponents of same-sex marriage, the measure was passed without amendments and on the first vote, meaning it won't have to be returned to the lower chamber for consideration, France's version of The Local reported Wednesday.

While the vote does not formally write same-sex marriage into French law, the Senate would have to reject the entire bill to prevent it from becoming law, officials said.

"The adoption of this article by a united Senate majority, puts an end to discrimination resulting from the sexual choices of our citizens," Rebsamen said.

The Senate is expected to vote on the entire bill in several weeks.

France's highest court, the Constitutional Council, which has the power to reject legislation if it is contrary to the country's constitution, already said it would accept what lawmakers decide, The Local.fr reported.

France would become the 12th country to legalize same-sex marriage if lawmakers approve the bill.


Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/04/10/Gay-marriage-measure-passes-French-Senate/UPI-23011365598992/#ixzz2Q6aHIbBf
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« Reply #2 on: April 10, 2013, 08:53:45 pm »

Uruguay approves gay marriage, second in region to do so
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/10/17694009-uruguay-approves-gay-marriage-second-in-region-to-do-so?lite=
4/10/13

MONTEVIDEO —  Uruguay's Congress passed a bill on Wednesday to allow same-sex marriages, making it the second country in predominantly Roman Catholic Latin America to do so.

Seventy-one of 92 lawmakers in the lower house of Congress voted in favor of the proposal, one week after the Senate passed it by a wide majority. Leftist President Jose Mujica, a former guerrilla fighter, is expected to sign the bill into law.

"I agree that family is the basis of society but I also believe that love is the basis of family. And love is neither homosexual nor heterosexual," said opposition lawmaker Fernando Amado of the center-right Colorado Party.

Uruguay is the 12th country to pass a law of this kind, according to Human Rights Watch. In Latin America, Argentina also has approved gay marriage and it is allowed in Mexico City and some parts of Brazil.

Roughly half a million people marched through Paris in January to protest the legalization of same-sex marriage, underscoring opposition to the measure in the heart of Western Europe.

In Uruguay, a nation of about 3.3 million people sandwiched between Argentina and Brazil, critics of the bill included the Catholic Church and other Christian organizations, which said it would endanger the institution of the family.

"We are opposed to this bill because we understand it distorts and changes the nature of the institution of marriage," said opposition lawmaker Gerardo Amarilla.

Damian Diaz, a 25-year-old teacher who is in a committed relationship with a man, said he was heartened by the move.

"We're definitely going to feel now that we live in a place where we're recognized for who we are, where we get more respect and more acceptance," he told Reuters Television.
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« Reply #3 on: April 17, 2013, 12:00:31 am »

Does anyone else feel this has become a gay-obsessed society now?

http://news.yahoo.com/rainbow-rebellion-australia-gay-crossing-torn-023932289.html
Rainbow rebellion in Australia after "gay" crossing torn up
By Michael Sin

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australians have taken to the streets to create rainbows with colorful chalk in protest after a rainbow pedestrian crossing in Sydney's main gay district was removed as a safety hazard, despite calls to retain it as a statement of gay pride.

Sydney's annual Mardi Gras gay pride celebration is one of Australia's biggest tourist draws, and the colorful stripes on Oxford Street were originally painted to recognize the 35th anniversary of the event in March for a one-month trial period.

But the crossing, which became something of a tourist magnet, was removed on April 11 despite a petition drive that netted 15,000 signatures and the support of people like former tennis star Martina Navratilova.

State officials said the crossing was dangerous, citing CCTV footage showing people lying down on the road to take photos.

In response, James Brechney, 29, chalked a rainbow crossing in the laneway outside his home and posted a photo on Facebook.

Now his "DIY Rainbow Crossings" page has garnered over 17,000 likes in under a week and prompted the chalking of similar rainbows on streets all across Australia and as far away as France, the United States and Germany. One woman posted a photo of a rainbow chalked on her legs.

"It was a celebration of the short-lived crossing that we had in Sydney and I'm just so thrilled it's taken off globally," Brechney said.

A YouTube video was even posted of men chalking rainbow stripes in front of the office of Duncan Gay, the roads minister in New South Wales state.

Gay said he was more than willing to take the criticism, but that the chalked rainbows themselves were potentially dangerous
.

"Please be very careful where you place these crossings because a young child might be injured or even killed," he said.

But the movement appears set to continue, with calls for rainbow chalkings outside parliament in New Zealand, which is expected to pass a marriage equality bill later on Wednesday.

"Our chalk rainbows have overridden the memory of seeing that big ugly machine scraping off our Oxford Street rainbow," wrote one post on Facebook. "Let's keep our voice loud and beautiful - the world needs a lot of this right now."
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« Reply #4 on: April 17, 2013, 03:11:20 am »

The whole unbelieving world is gay!  Roll Eyes
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« Reply #5 on: April 17, 2013, 12:11:36 pm »

New Zealand becomes 13th country to legalize gay marriage
4/17/13
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/17/17792194-new-zealand-becomes-13th-country-to-legalize-gay-marriage?lite=

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- New Zealand's parliament voted in favor of allowing same-sex marriage on Wednesday, prompting cheers, applause and the singing of a traditional Maori celebratory song from the public gallery.

It becomes the 13th country to legalize same-sex marriages, after Uruguay passed its own law last week. Australia last year rejected a similar proposal.

Countries where such marriages are legal include Canada, Spain and Sweden, in addition to some states in the United States. France is close to legalizing same-sex marriages amid increasingly vocal opposition.

Seventy-seven of 121 members of New Zealand’s parliament voted in favor of amending the current 1955 Marriage Act to allow same-sex couples to marry, making New Zealand the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to do so.

"Two-thirds of parliament have endorsed marriage equality," Louisa Wall, the openly gay opposition Labor Party MP who promoted the bill, told reporters after the vote. "It shows that we are building on our human rights as a country."

The bill was widely expected to pass, given similar support for the change in a preliminary vote held last month. It will likely come into effect in August.

The bill was opposed by the Roman Catholic Church and some conservative religious, political and social groups which campaigned that it would undermine the institution of the family.

The law makes it clear that clergy can decline to preside in gay marriages if they conflict with their beliefs.

New Zealand gave same-sex relationships partial legal recognition in 2005 with the establishment of civil unions.

"I have a boyfriend, so it means we can get married, which is a good thing," said Timothy Atkins, a student who was among a crowd listening to the hearing in the parliamentary lobby.

"It's important to be seen as equal under the law."
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« Reply #6 on: April 26, 2013, 03:14:47 pm »

John_15:19  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Fourth-Grader’s Reported Pro-Gay Marriage Essay: ‘If It Creeps You Out Just Get Over It’
http://news.yahoo.com/fourth-grader-reported-pro-gay-marriage-essay-creeps-161237839.html
4/26/13

An essay that was purportedly written by a fourth grader and subsequently uploaded to Reddit has captured quite a bit of attention. The short text -- one that is said to have come directly from the mind of a child -- addresses the controversial subject of gay marriage, telling opponents of legalization to just "get over it."

Posted by user "rafa3l2," an individual who claims to be the student's teacher, the message accompanying the image reads, "One of my 4th grade students chose gay marriage as his topic for a persuasive essay. This is the result. More sense than some adults."

The short essay, which argues why gays should be allowed to marry, makes the case that everyone should simply be happy for the "big moment" that marriage is in these individuals' lives.

ABC has more about the intriguing story:

"Why gay people should be able to get married is you can't stop two adult's from getting married because there grown and it doesn't matter if it creeps you out just get over it," the essay reads (spelling and grammar kept in tact). "And you should be happy for them because it's a big moment in their life.  When I went to my grandparents wedding it was the happies momment."

The written work concludes by calling for people not to judge others' lives. Here it is:



While the letter did get some structural and grammatical critique regarding how it was written, many commended the child's sentiment.

Of course, it's possible that the copy was written by an individual who isn't really in fourth grade; it's even possible that "rafa3l2" isn't a teacher. Then again, the errors present within the text do seem to add to its authenticity (again, those, too, could be fabricated).

Regardless, the letter is making a splash and, if it truly checks out, it's adding fodder for those who support same-sex nuptials.
« Last Edit: April 26, 2013, 03:16:41 pm by BornAgain2 » Report Spam   Logged
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« Reply #7 on: May 02, 2013, 10:43:01 pm »

For the most part, I pretty much firmly believe that these "guests" on these popular daytime "talk shows" are nothing but actors. I remember another daytime "talk show" pulling the same thing 20 years ago that Dr. Phil did recently.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/dr-phils-intolerance-for-the-ex-gay-community-94467/
4/25/13
Dr. Phil's Intolerance for the Ex-Gay Community

On April 1, 2013 Dr. Phil aired a show titled: "Shocking Mom Revelations." As a part of this episode, he interviewed a mother whose daughter identified as a lesbian. During the episode, the mother shared about her disapproval of her daughter's "lifestyle choice" and expressed a desire for her daughter to see a counselor to get help in exploring her same-sex attraction.

In shockingly un-therapeutic fashion, Dr. Phil flat-out shut the mother's opinion down, along with her Christian values, in favor for the simple explanation that "this is who her daughter is" and she should just accept it. Below is an excerpt from the letter we sent:

Dear Dr. Phil,

While we do not condone this mother's belief that homosexuality is simply a "choice" per se, science has recognized, through 100 years of peer-reviewed research, that homosexuality is in fact fluid for some individuals. For example, a recent study published in the prestigious Archives of Sexual Behavior journal titled: "Stability and Change in Same-Sex Attraction, Experience, and Identity by Sex and Age in a New Zealand Birth Cohort" (Dickson, van Roode, Cameron, and Paul, 2013) showed the experiences of same-sex attraction significantly decreased among women and men with increasing age. Similarly, prior research has shown that exclusive opposite-sex attraction is approximately 17 times more stable than exclusive same-sex attraction for men and 30 times more stable than exclusive same-sex attraction for women (Whitehead & Whitehead, 2011).

There is an abundance of scientific peer-reviewed research that shows homosexuality is not an enduring and immutable characteristic, thus proving the very statement that Dr. Phil said at the end of the episode: "I don't believe there is any such thing as an 'ex-gay'" as categorically false, unscientific, and defamatory to the thousands of former homosexuals, persons with unwanted same-sex attractions, and their families.

Further, Dr. Phil's comment to the mother: "Your thought is, if she sees a competent counselor, they will unravel all this confusion for her and the false sense of security she has in romantic relationships with women and this will be clear to her that she's straight as a string and get on with her life" is an overly-simplistic statement for an esteemed psychologist such as Dr. Phil to make.

Finally, Dr. Phil went onto say to the young woman: "given that you have been molested, that really changes who you are. It causes you to think about things differently, and when it happens at a very young age, it can create some cognitive patterns that are just inaccurate and program you to make some bad choices in your life, it creates a wound that needs healing, and you really do need help with that."

It is entirely possible that this young woman's feelings of same-sex attraction is a result of this childhood abuse, yet, Dr. Phil completely left this theory out for a politically-correct explanation to the mother that "this is who she is" – implying that her daughter was born a lesbian.

Please allow me to remind Dr. Phil what the American Psychological Association said in 2008 regarding the etiology of homosexuality:

"There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lesbian orientation. Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social, and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors. Many think that nature and nurture both play complex roles; most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation."

"There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lesbian orientation. Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social, and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors. Many think that nature and nurture both play complex roles; most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation."

For Dr. Phil to not explore ALL the possible reasons why this young woman may be experiencing homosexual feelings is to directly contradict the best evidence from scientists, and thus, mislead the general public. I am certain that he would not do this intentionally. Therefore, Voice of the Voiceless respectfully requests that Dr. Phil:

1) Publicly apologize to the ex-gay community for implying that "we do not exist"
2) Set the record straight on a future broadcast that his statement about former homosexual and the etiology of homosexuality was his opinion, not scientific fact
3) Invite myself and other former homosexuals and ex-gays, and their families, on a future episode of the Dr. Phil show so that we may tell America about our lives.

After weeks of attempting to speak with the show's producers, legal representatives, and media relations spokesperson, all we received was the following statement: " Thank you for sharing your opinions with us. Dr. Phil and his producers stand by the statements he made on this show."

This "response" is a slap in the face to the tens of thousands of former homosexuals, persons with unwanted same-sex attraction, and their families. Further, Dr. Phil's complete lack of respect for this mother's Christian values is defamatory towards the entire faith-based community who hold to traditional Biblical beliefs regarding homosexual behavior.

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« Reply #8 on: May 03, 2013, 01:18:12 pm »

America's gay-marriage evolution: A timeline
5/3/13
http://news.yahoo.com/americas-gay-marriage-evolution-timeline-062500891.html

Nearly three-fifths of Americans want to legalize gay marriage. Just a few years ago, that would have seemed inconceivable

What a difference a decade makes. A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll shows that 58 percent of Americans support legalizing gay marriage and only 36 percent oppose it. In 2003, it was the reverse: 37 percent favored same-sex marriage and 55 percent opposed it. How did we get here? Let's take a trip down memory lane...

October 15, 1971
Jack Baker and his partner James Michael McConnell are the first gay couple in the country to apply and sue for the right to get married. The Minnesota Supreme Court rules that marriage is "a union of man and woman, uniquely involving the procreation and rearing of children within a family." The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear the case.

1977
Gallup doesn't ask whether people approve of gay marriage — it asks, "Do you think homosexual relations between consenting adults should or should not be legal?" A full 43 percent of those polled say no.

1988
Despite the birth of National Coming Out Day, only 11 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage, according to polling data from the University of Chicago. 

May 7, 1993
Hawaii takes a step toward legalizing gay marriage when the state Supreme Court rules that a ban on same-sex marriages might violate the state constitution. Opponents later get around the decision by passing a "defense of marriage" constitutional amendment in 1998.

March 1, 1995
Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt signs the Defense of Marriage statute to "deny recognition to marriages performed elsewhere that do not conform to Utah law." That includes same-sex marriages. 

1996
Only 27 percent of those polled say gay marriage should be legal.

September 21, 1996
President Bill Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act, defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

December 20, 1999
The Vermont Supreme Court rules in Baker v. Vermont that same-sex couples are entitled to the same rights as heterosexual couples.

April 25, 2000
The Vermont House of Representatives passes a bill to allow gay and lesbian couples to form civil unions.

2003
An ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that support for gay marriage is up to 37 percent.

November 18, 2003
In a 4-3 decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules that the state cannot "deny the protections, benefits, and obligations conferred by civil marriage to two individuals of the same sex who wish to marry."

February 12, 2004
Mayor Gavin Newsom demands that the San Francisco city clerk issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In August, the California Supreme Court rules that he exceeded his authority and voids 3,955 marriages.

February 24, 2004
President George W. Bush backs a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. "Marriage cannot be severed from its cultural, religious, and natural roots without weakening the good influence of society," the president says.

February 28, 2004
Jason West, mayor of New Paltz, N.Y., follows Gavin Newsom's lead by solemnizing gay marriages outside of city hall. The state Supreme Court later issues a restraining order barring him and other village trustees from conducting same-sex marriages.

May 17, 2004
Marcia Kadish and Tanya McCloskey, after being together for 18 years, become the first gay couple to get legally married in the United States, at Cambridge City Hall in Massachusetts.

November 2, 2004
Gay rights activists take a "right hook to the chin" as 11 states — Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, Oregon, and Utah — pass bans on same-sex marriage.

September 7, 2005
The California Assembly passes a bill allowing same-sex marriages. Later that month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoes the legislation.

November 7, 2006
Gay-marriage bans pass in seven states, but Arizona voters reject Proposition 107, a constitutional amendment that would have strengthened the state's existing laws banning same-sex marriage.

July 31, 2008
Gov. Deval Patrick clears the way for same-sex couples from other states to get married in Massachusetts by repealing a 95-year-old statute that "barred out-of-state residents from marrying here if the marriage would be considered void in their home state." The legislation was originally meant to prevent interracial marriage.

October 8, 2008
Connecticut legalizes gay marriage thanks to a 4-3 state Supreme Court ruling that says that an existing law banning same-sex marriage "failed to establish adequate reason to justify the statutory ban."

November 4, 2008
Proposition 8, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, is passed by 52.1 percent of voters in California. Estimates put the amount spent on campaigns for and against the proposition at $72 million.

April 3, 2009
The Iowa Supreme Court rules that a 10-year-old ban on same-sex marriage "treated gay and lesbian couples unequally under the law," making the state the first in the Midwest to allow gay marriage.
April 7, 2009
The Vermont legislature overrides Gov. Jim Douglas' veto and makes gay marriage legal.

May 6, 2009
Lawmakers in New Hampshire and Maine pass bills in favor of same-sex marriage. In November, 53 percent of voters in Maine repeal the new law and make gay marriage illegal again. New Hampshire officially legalizes gay marriage in June 2009.

December 15, 2009
Washington, D.C., lawmakers legalize gay marriage.

December 22, 2010
After repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" law preventing openly gay men and women from serving in the military, President Obama tells ABC News' Jake Tapper that his "feelings are constantly evolving" on gay marriage.

June 24, 2011
A bill legalizing gay marriage squeezes through the Republican-led New York State Senate by a vote of 33-29. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signs the bill into law, doubling the number of Americans who live in states that allow same-sex marriage.

October 1, 2011
The Pentagon allows military chaplains to perform same-sex marriages as long as they aren't at official Defense Department events and don't violate local laws.
February 17, 2012
Gov. Chris Christie vetoes a gay marriage bill in New Jersey and asks the legislature to "trust the people of New Jersey and seek their input by allowing our citizens to vote on a question that represents a profoundly significant societal change."

May 8, 2012
North Carolina passes an amendment that says "marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state."

May 9, 2012
President Obama becomes the first president to say that "same sex couples should be able to get married," although he disappoints gay rights activists by saying the issue should still be decided by the states.

November 6, 2012
For the first time ever, gay marriage is legalized by popular vote. The American Civil Liberties Union calls the passing of measures in Maryland, Maine, and Washington state a "watershed moment" for gay rights in America. In Minnesota, a constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman fails to pass.

March 8, 2013
Bill Clinton writes an op-ed in The Washington Post saying that he regrets signing DOMA into law and now finds it "incompatible with our Constitution."

March 15, 2013
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) breaks with many in his party by declaring his support for gay marriage, saying that he changed his mind because his 21-year-old son is gay.

March 18, 2013
Hillary Clinton fuels rumors that she will run for president in 2016 by releasing a six-minute video announcing her support for gay marriage — a stance that is increasingly in the mainstream of American politics.

March 18, 2013
It's official: More Americans now support legalizing gay marriage than oppose it.

May 2, 2013
Governor Lincoln Chafee signs a bill passed by the state senate and house legalizing same-sex marriage in Rhode Island, the 10th state to do so. Several more states appear on the verge of doing the same.
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« Reply #9 on: May 03, 2013, 07:30:53 pm »

Cuba President's Castro's niece in Philly for gay rights conference
5/3/13
http://news.yahoo.com/castros-niece-philly-gay-rights-conference-210644480.html

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The niece of Fidel Castro said Friday on a trip to Philadelphia that she believes Cuba and the U.S. will have normal relations one day, but she doesn't know when.

"I wish ... I was a magician or (one of those) people who knows everything. That's not the case," Mariela Castro said through a Spanish interpreter. But, she said, "that dream (is) going to be a reality someday."

Castro spoke during a tour of the city's historic sites one day before she plans to attend a gay rights conference. The U.S. State Department had initially denied Castro permission to attend the event, but relented earlier this week.

Castro visited the Liberty Bell — an icon of democracy — even as critics say her family has run a repressive Communist dictatorship for decades. Her father, Raul Castro, is Cuba's president and the brother of retired strongman.

Mariela Castro spoke briefly to reporters during her sightseeing tour. Asked about the health of her uncle and father, Castro replied: "They're wonderful, and I learn a lot from their example."

Commenting on the gay rights movement in the U.S., she said, "In this election especially, they showed that they form a very important vote in American society."

A married mother of three, Castro leads Cuba's National Center for Sex Education, which is part of the island nation's public health ministry. She is the country's most prominent gay rights activist, having trained police on relations with the LGBT community and lobbied lawmakers to legalize same-sex unions. She was elected as a deputy in Cuba's parliament in February.

On Saturday she'll speak on a panel at the gay rights summit sponsored by the nonprofit Equality Forum and receive an award from the advocacy group.

She also plans to hold a news conference Saturday evening.

Castro took in the sights on Friday with Equality Forum executive director Malcolm Lazin and a few others.

At the Liberty Bell, a ranger from the National Park Service explained its history and significance to her in Spanish. The group then stopped at a historic marker across the street commemorating some of the country's first demonstrations for gay rights before heading to tour Independence Hall.
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« Reply #10 on: May 04, 2013, 12:14:46 pm »

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/junior-italy-minister-removed-gays-133342835.html
5/4/13
Junior Italy minister removed after comment on gays

ROME (Reuters) - A junior Italian equal opportunities minister was removed from her post on Saturday less than 24 hours after being sworn in to the new coalition government, after she said gays invited discrimination by "ghettoizing" themselves.

The abrupt departure of Michaela Biancofiore to another ministry was a fresh reminder of just how delicate Prime Minister Enrico Letta's fledgling left-right coalition is.

Gay rights groups protested on Friday after Biancofiore, a parliamentarian from former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right People of Freedom party (PDL), was made an undersecretary in the equal opportunities ministry.

They accused her of having made comments they considered homophobic, a charge she denied.

Responding to the criticism, she told Italian newspapers on Saturday: "For once, I would like to see gay associations, instead of 'ghettoizing' themselves ... say something to condemn the recent spate of killings of women (in Italy). All they do is defend their own interests".

According to Italian media, her comments had upset Letta, particularly because he had appealed to members of his government just a day before to observe "sobriety" in their public comments and work as a team.

Biancofiore, who says she is opposed to gay marriage but supports "civil unions" to protect gay couples, was re-assigned to the civil service ministry.

Letta's government is made up of his Democratic Party (PD), Berlusconi's PDL and centrists led by former prime minister Mario Monti, an uneasy alliance pitting old political enemies against each other.
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« Reply #11 on: May 08, 2013, 11:46:05 am »

I was reading recently how as time has gone on, especially in recent years, companies have slowly but surely made their products more gender-neutral. For example, boys' toys like legos were shifting toward marketing towards girls by changing their products little by little, and even girls' toys like Ken/Barbie was marketed toward boys as well by shifting some things around.

Here's another example - recently, the Little Debbie Logo was changed for the 4th time - yes, the changes are just little and subtle(and not that big or anything), but nonetheless look at the 4th change in their history they've made...



The changes from the 3rd to the 4th photo are hardly noticeable, and even the changes from the 1st to the 4th photo may leave you scratching your head. But nonetheless as this link article explains, look at the shirt Little Debbie is wearing in the 3rd and 4th photos, compared to the 1st 2. And look at the COLLAR in the 4th photo compared to the 3rd one. Yeah, upon further review, you can see they have subtlely transformed Little Debbie into a masculine character - she's wearing a man's shirt(the collar in the 4th photo looks more man-like, compared to the one in the 3rd photo). And then the blue color shirt on the 3rd and 4th photos.

From what I've read, this has also been part of the homosexual agenda being conditioned on the masses for years and years - using images and marketing their products as such(ie-crossing gender lines).

Little Debbie Logo Changes So Subtle You’d Hardly Know the Difference
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/little-debbie-logo-changes-subtle-d-hardly-know-174453852.html

Mat_18:6  But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
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« Reply #12 on: May 08, 2013, 03:49:07 pm »

The owners of McKee Foods are devout Seventh Day Adventists. SDA basically dominates the little town where the bakery is, Collegedale, which is a town next to Chattanooga. I've known more than one person who worked at McKee. The even cancelled a trucking contract with a company over it's truck driver getting caught on McKee property with cigarettes.

Seventh Day Adventists
http://endtimesandcurrentevents.freesmfhosting.com/index.php/topic,1827.msg5540.html#msg5540
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« Reply #13 on: May 08, 2013, 04:59:10 pm »

http://news.yahoo.com/gay-marriage-momentum-expands-2-midwest-states-200824694.html
5/8/13
Gay marriage momentum expands to 2 Midwest states

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Just six months after Minnesota voters turned back an effort to ban gay weddings, lawmakers are poised to make the state the first in the Midwest to pass a law allowing them.

The startling shift comes amid a rapid evolution of public opinion nationally in the debate over marriage. But with Minnesota and possibly Illinois set to broaden the definition to include same-sex couples, coastal states may soon have some company in enacting changes.

In November, voters unexpectedly defeated a measure that would have banned same-sex marriage in the Minnesota Constitution, even after more than two-dozen states passed similar bans. That prompted gay marriage supporters to quickly go on offense.

Those efforts culminate Thursday with a vote in the state House that Democratic leaders assured would pass. With the state Senate expected to follow suit, Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton could sign a bill as early as next week.

"We like to lead the way in Minnesota," said state Rep. Karen Clark, the Minneapolis Democrat sponsoring the bill.

In the past week, Rhode Island and Delaware became the 10th and 11th states to approve gay marriage. But so far, only legislatures in coastal or New England states have voted affirmatively for gay marriage. Except for Iowa, which allows gay marriage due to a 2009 judicial ruling, same-sex couples can't get married in flyover country.

Minnesota might go first, but Illinois could be close behind. The state Senate there voted in February to allow same-sex marriage, and supporters think they're close to securing the votes needed to get it through the House and on to Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, who says he'll sign it.

Although a few Republican politicians around the country have started to embrace gay marriage, the movement remains largely contained to states with Democrats fully in control. In the Midwest, only Illinois and Minnesota have Democratic-led statehouses. Democrats run the Nevada and New Mexico legislatures, but Republicans are governor in those states.

Democrats also control Colorado, but that state could only go as far as civil unions because of a constitutional amendment that blocks gay marriage. The same curb applies in Oregon, but a group has launched a drive to repeal the earlier ballot initiative.

Elsewhere, the political dominance of Republicans makes legalized gay marriage a difficult sell. Most of Minnesota's regional neighbors — Michigan, Wisconsin and both Dakotas — have entirely Republican power structures.

So far, only one Republican member of Minnesota's Legislature is a definite yes on gay marriage. But with the House vote looming Wednesday, the bill's backers said they would accept a handful of GOP-sponsored religious protections that could help them win over a few more Republicans.

Last fall's defeat of the gay marriage ban ended a nearly decade-long push by social conservatives for stronger prohibitions on gay marriage. But the massive activist and fundraising network built to defeat the amendment has now been harnessed to get it through the Legislature.

"Our opponents did us a huge favor," said Sen. Scott Dibble, the bill's Senate sponsor. "They really accelerated the whole issue."

Dibble and Clark are both gay. First elected in 1986, Clark says she's the longest-serving lesbian state lawmaker in the country. She first introduced a bill to legalize gay marriage in 1998, just a year after her colleagues approved a state law defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Dibble's Senate district, anchored in the city's trendy Uptown area, had the highest number of gay couples in Minnesota in both the 2000 and 2010 census.

It was the heavily populated Twin Cities area that delivered most of the votes against the constitutional gay marriage ban — making it part of the first electoral victories on gay marriage last November after years of losses. But the ban got huge support from more rural parts of the state, populated with higher concentrations of seniors, religious and socially conservative voters.

That's left gay marriage opponents to argue that the legislative push now underway is a case of pushing big-city values on small-town residents.

"The metro area shouldn't be allowed to force gay marriage on the rest of the state," read the flyer for a rally sponsored by Minnesota for Marriage, the chief lobbying group against the ban.

But in recent days, a handful of House and Senate Democrats from rural districts have announced plans to vote for the bill. Rep. Joe Radinovich, a 27-year-old freshman Democrat from the central Minnesota town of Crosby, acknowledged he would alienate some constituents when he votes for gay marriage.

"'I know there are people who voted for me last year that won't vote for me next year because of this," said Radinovich, who beat his Republican opponent by just 323 votes. "But I'm not going to start my political career by voting 'no' on something I know in my heart that I support."
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« Reply #14 on: May 09, 2013, 02:48:42 pm »

Same-sex marriage underlines social change in Ireland
5/7/13
http://euobserver.com/lgbti/119963

BRUSSELS - A recent convention in Ireland on same-sex marriage has highlighted the depth of social change in a country that decriminalised homosexuality only 20 years ago.

The 100-strong constitutional convention - made up of citizens (66%) and legislators - in April found an overwhelming majority (79%) in favour of amending the constitution to allow same-sex marriage.

The gathering also was strongly in favour (81%) of changing laws to reflect different family structures and to give all family members the same rights.

The convention's findings must now be sent to the government, which then has four months to respond, with a referendum needed to change the constitution.

"This brings us to a 20-year cycle of dramatic social change for gay and lesbian people in Ireland," MP John Lyons, told this website.

An activist for gay and lesbian rights, Lyons said he told the convention that "the blood that flows through my veins is the same as yours. But yet you treat me - and people like me - differently."

Tiernan Brady, from Irish gay rights group Glen, said he was "very happy" about the outcome which he noted "did not come out of nowhere" but was the result of a long process of "visibility."

A lack of such visibility allowed the government of the time to insert - undebated - a clause into the Civil Registration Act of 2004 that said being of the same sex would be an "impediment to marriage."

That this would be unthinkable today is largely due to one campaigning couple - Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan - who wanted to have their 2003 Canadian marriage recognised in Ireland.

Their efforts in large part led to the civil partnership act, in place since the beginning of 2011. This act was "hugely significant," says Brady.

"We've had 1000s of lesbian and gay people celebrating their love and commitment around the country," he says. "Those are real gamechanging events in terms of attitudes."

A recent poll show that 75 percent of people support same-sex marriage.

According to Sarah-Anne Buckley, a social historian at National University of Ireland in Galway, the progressive legal changes in Ireland was the result of a series of factors over recent decades - including joining the EU in 1973, an increasingly vocal feminist movement, the economic boom of the 1990s and the weakening grip of the Catholic Church, largely due to sex abuse scandals.

Many of the restrictive social laws were made in the 1920s and 1930s. They proved enduring. Only in 1973 was a ban on married women working in the civil service lifted. Women were not allowed to sit on juries before this date either. Nor were single mothers entitled to social assistance. Contraceptives became available to everyone only in 1984. Divorce - limited - arrived in 1986. In 1991, it became illegal for a man to **** his wife. Two years later homosexuality was decriminalised.

But Buckley said it would be wrong to think that ordinary citizens of these times had views from the "dark ages" despite such laws.

"I think that people were of a more radical perspective but the media would not have been reporting their views. Censorship was very stringent right in to the 1980s," she said.

One contributor to the citizens' convention on same-sex marriage appeared to bear this out.

"The bar was set on the first day," said MP Lyons recalling Yvonne, a 70-year-old woman who took the floor in the debate.

"She would come from an era where one would think there would be a conservative view. And she was essentially saying: 'why are we even debating this issue? Surely Ireland has moved beyond this'," Lyons noted.
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« Reply #15 on: May 13, 2013, 12:15:25 pm »

Transgender woman wins legal battle to marry
5/13/13
http://living.msn.com/love-relationships/the-heart-beat-blog-post?post=23565f02-b2f5-47c2-a691-21473c638124

One small step down the aisle could be a giant leap for Hong Kong’s sexual minorities.

She’s known only as W. Not many specifics are known about the Hong Kong woman, but this morning, her story made headlines—and history.  Now in her thirties, W was born a man but underwent surgery in 2008 to become a woman. Today, Hong Kong’s top court granted her the right to marry her boyfriend.

While the ruling falls short of allowing same-sex marriage, W is, of course, pleased with the groundbreaking legal win.

"I'm very glad that I can finally get married to my beloved boyfriend in Hong Kong,” she told reporters on a conference call.

In mainland China and in many other places in the Asia-Pacific region, same-sex marriage is illegal, but the law does allow transgender people to marry based on their new gender. China made the law official in 2003, and Hong Kong’s decision now follows suit. A transgender person born a male can marry a man, and a transgender person born a female can marry a woman.

News outlets have called the ruling a surprising “watershed” moment for Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal.

W says she hopes the decision will help change society’s view of sexual minorities. In a statement read by W’s lawyer, Michael Vidler, she added that she’s been living “as a woman and been treated as a woman in all respects except as regards my right to marriage. This decision rights that wrong.”

The Court’s judges pointed out “it appears in the Asia-Pacific region, such marriages are permitted.” In addition to mainland China, transgender marriage is also legal in Singapore, India, South Korea and Japan, to name a few. Same-sex marriage is still a rarity in this part of the world, however.

As W reaches her lifetime milestone, Hong Kong’s decision is also a milestone in the fight for gender equality.
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« Reply #16 on: May 14, 2013, 11:27:46 pm »

Brazil judicial panel clears way for gay marriage
http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/news/brazil-judicial-panel-clears-way-180958065.html
5/14/13

A top judicial panel cleared the way for same-sex marriage in Brazil Tuesday, ruling that gay couples could not be denied marriage licenses.

The National Council of Justice, which oversees the Brazilian judicial system and is headed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, said government offices that issue marriage licenses had no standing to reject gay couples.

"This is the equivalent of authorizing homosexual marriage in Brazil," said Raquel Pereira de Castro Araujo, head of the human rights committee of the Brazilian bar association.

The Brazilian Congress, where a strong religious faction opposes same sex marriage, has not yet approved a law legalizing gay marriages. And the council's decisions are subject to appeal before the Supreme Court.

But Supreme Court Chief Justice Joaquim Barbosa said there was no reason for the government's marriage licensing offices to wait for the Brazilian Congress to pass a law authorizing same-sex marriage before extending the right to gays.

He noted that the Supreme Court in 2011 recognized stable homosexual unions, ruling that the constitution guaranteed them the same rights as heterosexual couples.

"Are we going to require the approval of a new law by the Congress to put into effect the decision that was already taken by the Supreme Court? It makes no sense," he said in comments quoted by the G1 news website.

The Supreme Court decision "is binding" and should be followed by the lower courts, he said.

Some offices have granted marriage licenses to gay couples and others have not. While some state courts have recognized same-sex marriages, the council's decision was the first to set a national standard.

"Since the Congress is so slow, and doesn't decide, the judicial branch took the lead," said Luiz Kignet, a specialist in family law at PLKC Advogados in Sao Paulo
.

"The law is necessary, the judicial branch is not suppressing the obligation to have a law," he said.

But it is saying that same-sex marriage is constitutional, and the council's decision should accelerate the approval of a law formally authorizing homosexual marriage.

"When there is a law, everything is easier. The law regulates concrete cases for everyone," he said.

In theory, the council's decision could be challenged by the Supreme Court, but it is not likely to, said Kignet, saying it had reached a point of no return.

Brazilians Marcelo Sales Leite (L), and Roberto Fraga da Silva, hold hands as they get married in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on June 13, 2009. A top judicial panel cleared the way for same-sex marriage in Brazil Tuesday, ruling that gay couples could not be denied marriage licenses.
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« Reply #17 on: May 16, 2013, 12:25:29 am »

Civil Rights Group Calling for 'Modern Family' Gay Wedding: Marry Cam and Mitch!
5/15/13
http://tv.yahoo.com/news/civil-rights-groups-calling-modern-family-gay-wedding-192056247.html

The American Civil Liberties Union has finally weighed in on the topic that's been weighing on the national consciousness for far too long: Whether Mitchell and Cameron from "Modern Family" should tie the knot.

The civil-rights group launched a campaign Wednesday urging the public to "RSVP" to a "Modern Family" episode featuring a wedding between the show's gay characters, Mitchell Pritchett and Cameron Tucker, in hopes of persuading show creators Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd that such an episode would be a hit.

Oh, and they're also hoping to draw attention to the Supreme Court's upcoming decisions on the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8, which restrict marriage rights.

"The freedom to marry is being advanced in American living rooms as much as in court rooms," ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said of the campaign. "As we wait for the Supreme Court to rule, we want to keep this issue on the minds and screens of Americans everywhere."

The ACLU hopes to attract 750,000 online supporters for the campaign (read it here), at which point the organization plans present its "guest list" to Levitan and Lloyd.

ABC had no comment for TheWrap on the ACLU's campaign. However, in March, Levitan told TheWrap that he'd be "happy" if "Modern Family" helped to overturn Proposition 8.

"If we played even the tiniest role in helping to defeat Prop 8 and giving all gay people the equal rights they deserve, then I'm a happy man," Levitan said.
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« Reply #18 on: May 20, 2013, 01:52:39 pm »

Rudd endorses gay marriage
http://www.smh.com.au/national/rudd-endorses-gay-marriage-20130520-2jx65.html
5/20/13

Kevin Rudd has endorsed gay marriage, changing his position on the issue.

"The secular Australian state should be able to recognise same sex marriage," Mr Rudd wrote in a blog post on Monday night. "This change in position has come about as a result of a lot of reflection, over a long period of time, including conversations with good people grappling with deep questions of life, sexuality and faith."

The former Prime Minister, who only last September voted against legalising same sex marriage in a parliamentary vote that lost 98-42, said his change of thinking had been precipitated by a recent conversation with a friend and former colleague, who came out as gay.

"He then tells me that one day he'd like to get married to another bloke. And by the way, "had my views on same sex marriage changed?"," Mr Rudd wrote.

Mr Rudd said that his long-held opposition to gay marriage had made him ''the last of the Mohicans'' in his family.

His last remaining concern on the issue was the welfare of children raised in gay families.

In explaining his change of mind, Mr Rudd pointed to the large number of heterosexual marriages that end in divorce and academic research that showed children raised by same-sex parents are not developmentally compromised.

''Finally,'' he wrote, ''as someone who was raised for the most important part of his childhood by a single mum, I don't buy the argument that I was somehow developmentally challenged because I didn't happen to have a father.''

The loving nurture of children is a more complex business than that.''

He called on the Coalition to follow Labor's lead and allow a conscience vote on the issue.

But the former Labor leader, who declined to run against the Prime Minister in an abortive leadership spill in March, said he was not seeking a leadership role in the national debate on same-sex marriage.

Instead, he said he was writing to make clear his change of position to his local constituents.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/rudd-endorses-gay-marriage-20130520-2jx65.html#ixzz2TrP26nMq
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« Reply #19 on: May 20, 2013, 09:45:17 pm »

Gay marriage law strains UK Cameron's leadership, government
5/20/13
http://news.yahoo.com/gay-marriage-law-strains-uk-camerons-leadership-government-165426413.html;_ylt=A2KJ2Ug43ppRfhEAbpPQtDMD

Quote
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron's flagship gay marriage policy deepened a rift in his own party on Monday after many of his own lawmakers defied him in a sign of growing strains on his leadership and his coalition government.

Almost 40 percent of Cameron's 303 lawmakers in the lower house of parliament voted for an ultimately unsuccessful amendment that would have allowed registrars to refuse to perform gay marriage ceremonies if they objected.

Scores backed another amendment that the government said would have sabotaged its efforts to legalize same sex unions.

Cameron's failure to unite his ruling Conservative Party over gay marriage and over his other major policy - renegotiating Britain's membership of the European Union - risks undermining his chances of being re-elected in 2015 even as the economy is showing signs of returning to growth.


Gay marriage bill limps on after Tory deal with Labour
5/20/13
http://www.smh.com.au/world/gay-marriage-bill-limps-on-after-tory-deal-with-labour-20130521-2jxke.html

Quote
LONDON: Britain's coalition government must do a deal with Labour as it fights off attempts by Tory backbenchers to derail its controversial move to legalise gay marriage.

Tory MP Tim Loughton on Monday saw support for his amendment to allow straight couples to take up civil partnerships cut to 70 MPs after Culture Secretary Maria Miller pledged to review extending the measure immediately rather than after five years, as originally planned.

Ministers also promised to review the possibility of exempting teachers and schools from equality legislation forcing them to inform children about gay marriage in sex education classes, as they sought to appease Tory backbenchers angry at the reforms.

Mr Loughton, an education minister until last September's reshuffle, at one stage seemed to have enough support among his colleagues on the Tory backbenches and Labour MPs to scupper the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill by introducing an amendment allowing straight couples to take up civil partnerships.
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« Reply #20 on: May 21, 2013, 09:43:39 am »

Church of Scotland Approves Gay Ministers

The Church of Scotland’s General Assembly on Monday passed a historic vote to allow actively gay men and lesbians to become ordained ministers.

After more than six hours of debate, more than 700 commissioners attending the Presbyterian church’s 2013 General Assembly in Edinburgh voted in favor of gay ministers, but in a mind toward compromise agreed to allow parishes that disagree to opt out of the new rules.

The decision will now need to be endorsed by the church’s 48 regional presbyteries and, if it survives the regional ratification, will become official at next year’s General Assembly.

Echoing similar controversies that consumed the life of the Presbyterian Church (USA) for more than a decade, the church’s new moderator, the Rev. Lorna Hood, said: “This is a massive vote for the peace and unity of the Church.”

The debate over gay ministers has been simmering in Scotland for years. It exploded in 2009 when the General Assembly voted to uphold the appointment of an openly gay minister, the Rev. Scott Rennie, to Queen’s Cross Church in Aberdeen. That led two congregations and six ministers to leave the Church of Scotland.

In 2011, the General Assembly agreed to allow openly gay ministers appointed prior to 2009 to remain in their posts but placed a moratorium on further appointments of any gay clergy. Upwards of 60 congregations have already threatened to split from the Church of Scotland.

http://www.charismanews.com/world/39556-church-of-scotland-approves-gay-ministers
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« Reply #21 on: May 21, 2013, 10:26:17 am »

Church of Scotland Approves Gay Ministers

The Church of Scotland’s General Assembly on Monday passed a historic vote to allow actively gay men and lesbians to become ordained ministers.

After more than six hours of debate, more than 700 commissioners attending the Presbyterian church’s 2013 General Assembly in Edinburgh voted in favor of gay ministers, but in a mind toward compromise agreed to allow parishes that disagree to opt out of the new rules.

The decision will now need to be endorsed by the church’s 48 regional presbyteries and, if it survives the regional ratification, will become official at next year’s General Assembly.

Echoing similar controversies that consumed the life of the Presbyterian Church (USA) for more than a decade, the church’s new moderator, the Rev. Lorna Hood, said: “This is a massive vote for the peace and unity of the Church.”

The debate over gay ministers has been simmering in Scotland for years. It exploded in 2009 when the General Assembly voted to uphold the appointment of an openly gay minister, the Rev. Scott Rennie, to Queen’s Cross Church in Aberdeen. That led two congregations and six ministers to leave the Church of Scotland.

In 2011, the General Assembly agreed to allow openly gay ministers appointed prior to 2009 to remain in their posts but placed a moratorium on further appointments of any gay clergy. Upwards of 60 congregations have already threatened to split from the Church of Scotland.

http://www.charismanews.com/world/39556-church-of-scotland-approves-gay-ministers

This is no different from 20 years ago over the Southern Baptist Convention's compromise with Freemasonry - even though they condemned it, they nonetheless left it up to their individual SBC churches to decide what they want. Well...the results have gotten incredibly rotten has time has gone on. They now have 33rd Degree Masons preaching on pulpits.

A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump...
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« Reply #22 on: August 16, 2013, 05:31:16 pm »

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2013/08/12/3823575.htm?site=newcastle
Local gay couple to make marriage history(Australia)
8/12/13

Two Newcastle men who will make history as the first Australian same-sex couple to marry in New Zealand, say they were surprised and excited by Kevin Rudd's comments on gay marriage during the election debate.

Twitter activity peaked during the leaders' debate on Sunday night when the Prime Minister promised to introduce a Bill allowing gay marriage within the first 100 days if his government is re-elected, and permit a conscience vote for MPs.

Local vet Paul McCarthy will next week marry his partner of 11 years, Trent Kandler, in New Zealand, which has officially recognised same-sex marriage.

The couple won the wedding in a contest run by Tourism New Zealand.

Paul told 1233 ABC Newcastle's Jill Emberson the pair were both surprised and excited by Mr Rudd's commitment to marriage equality.

However, they are still going ahead with plans for their trans-Tasman nuptials.

"We ideally would love to be married at home and we hope that after last night's debate that may be more of a possible thing now," Paul says.

"But New Zealand were first and we've been waiting many, many years now to be able to say 'I Do' to each other and have our family and friends present.

"Next Monday, I'll be a married man!"

Paul and Trent weren't expecting Kevin Rudd to make such a strong statement on gay marriage, let alone set a time frame and allow a conscience vote.

"We were very, very suprised, to be honest," Paul says.

"We would like to think that the groundswell of pressure is reaching the powers-that-be, and that people are aware that there are so many people out there waiting for this legislation to come through.

"We were excited about the result."

Paul says he realises the nation is dealing with many important issues, but adds "for a lot of Australians, this is an important issue."

As for his own approaching wedding, the details have already been finalised.

"The suits have been chosen, the colour codes have been chosen, after much debate," Paul says.

"My partner has become a bit of a bridezilla, but we're working through that one!"

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« Reply #23 on: August 19, 2013, 11:28:11 am »

http://gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/new-zealand-gay-weddings-begin-1-at-39-000-feet-1.1221909?utm_content=1.1221909&utm_medium=RSS&utm_source=Feeds&utm_campaign=New_Zealand_gay_weddings_begin%2C_1_at_39%2C000_feet&localLinksEnabled=false&utm_term=News_RSS_feed
8/19/13
New Zealand gay weddings begin, 1 at 39,000 feet

Country became the first Asia-Pacific country, and only the 14th in the world, to legalise gay marriage


Queenstown, New Zealand: When Lynley Bendall and Ally Wanikau walked down the aisle to exchange vows, the fasten-seatbelt signs were off.

The couple celebrated the legalisation of gay marriage in New Zealand on Monday by getting hitched in a plane at 39,000 feet. Along for the ride was Jesse Tyler Ferguson, star of the ABC sitcom Modern Family.

Monday marked the first day same-sex couples could marry in New Zealand, where the law was changed back in April. About three dozen same-sex couples planned to marry in towns and cities throughout the country.

Bendall and Wanikau were flying high after winning a promotion by national carrier Air New Zealand.

They have been together 13 years and have three foster children.

Dozens of same-sex couples said “I do” Monday as New Zealand became the first Asia-Pacific country, and only the 14th in the world, to legalise gay marriage.

The Campaign For Marriage Equality said it ended an historical injustice and meant the love of all people was recognised as equal in the eyes of the law.

“A massive congratulations to the happy couples tying the knot today. Marriage equality has finally arrived in New Zealand,” spokesman Conrad Reyners said.

The amendment to the Marriage Act was passed by parliament in April but did not come into effect until Monday.

Two radio stations competed to host the first same-sex wedding, with the ceremonies broadcast live during their breakfast programmes.

In reality, the nuptials took place around the same time, at 8.30am Monday, after the government offices that issue marriage licences had opened.

Reverend Matt Tittle from Auckland’s Unitarian Church married one of the couples, Tash Vitali, 37, and Mel Ray, 29, who arrived at the ceremony in a horse-drawn carriage trailing a rainbow banner.

“It’s history in the making,” Tittle said.

“Hopefully it will help other countries to do the same and help New Zealanders to realise that everyone has worth and dignity no matter who they love.”

Wellington couple Jonathan Major and Marshall Donnelly opted for a simpler wedding attended by half a dozen friends and relatives at a city centre registry office .

“It hardly seems real,” said Major before the ceremony began, as his teenage daughter Naeve joked: “It’s not too late to back out.”

However, conservative lobby group Family First said changing the Marriage Act was “an arrogant act of cultural vandalism” that politicians had pushed through without a public mandate.

“Social engineers including politicians and activists are expecting marriage supporters to drop their deeply held convictions because of the misguided decisions of politicians,” said national director Bob McCoskrie.

The Anglican Church has also asked its ministers not to conduct same-sex weddings pending a report to its general synod next year.

New Zealand decriminalised homosexuality in 1986 and has allowed same-sex civil unions since 2005.

The Department of Internal Affairs said the number of marriage licence applications downloaded from its website had tripled in the week leading up to the law change.

At least 31 same-sex couples planned to marry Monday, while enquiries about staging same-sex weddings in New Zealand had been received from Russia, the US, Hong Kong, Britain, Singapore, Malaysia, Guyana and Belgium.

Among the first to be married were Australian couple Paul McCarthy and Trent Kandler, who beat 300 other pairs to win a Tourism New Zealand competition.

Their wedding will not be legally recognised at home but McCarthy said he hoped that day would come and the ceremony at Wellington’s Te Papa museum showed “we don’t have two horns, we’re not freaks [and] that there’s nothing to fear from marriage equality”.

About 1,000 same-sex couples in Australia have indicated they plan to travel to New Zealand to marry, according to the Australian Marriage Equality lobby group.

Tourism New Zealand chief executive Kevin Bowler said the country would market itself as a same-sex destination.

“New Zealanders are incredibly tolerant of people with different lifestyles, so I’m very confident the industry will embrace this opportunity,” he told TV3.
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« Reply #24 on: August 21, 2013, 12:57:59 pm »

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/08/21/13/thailand-may-legalize-gay-marriage
Thailand may legalize gay marriage

By Amy Sawitta Lefevre, Reuters

Posted at 08/21/2013 5:13 PM | Updated as of 08/21/2013 5:13 PM

BANGKOK - On a sweltering Saturday night in Bangkok's Patpong entertainment district, a group of men spill out of a neon-lit bar blasting dance music. Among them is Aashif Hassan and his long-term partner, both visitors from Malaysia.

"We're celebrating tonight. Where we're from, it's illegal to be gay. Here we feel liberated," said Hassan.

Known for its laissez-faire attitude, Thailand has positioned itself as a holiday destination for gay couples and could soon be cashing in on another niche market if a proposed law makes it the first Asian country to legalize gay marriage.

Other Southeast Asian countries such as Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei ban sexual relationships between men, but Thailand has become a regional haven for same-sex couples.

A civil partnership law in the works aims to give lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) couples the same rights as heterosexuals. One lawmaker sees it passing by next year.

Same-sex unions are not currently recognized under Thai law, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. That stops gay couples applying for joint bank loans or medical insurance.

In 2012, a group of lawmakers and LGBT activists formed a committee to draft legislation recognizing same-sex couples. But critics of the law say it will not give a level playing field because it raises the age of consent to 20 from 17 for homosexual couples. For heterosexuals it is 17.

Rights activists have another problem: the law would force transgenders to register their birth gender on their marriage certificate. Thai law makes it impossible for people to change their gender on a national identification document.

Beyond legal aspects, some wonder whether Thailand, quite conservative in many ways, is really ready to blaze this trail.

Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1956 but considered a mental illness as recently as 2002. Many Thai Buddhists believe homosexuality is a punishment for sins committed in a past life.

Superficial acceptance

In one notorious case in 2011, Nurisan Chedurame, 24, was found dead on her village rubbish dump with her head smashed in. Local media quoted police as saying her involvement with another woman was the reason she was murdered.

That same year, two women thought to have been in a sexual relationship were shot in a rice field outside Bangkok.

A worrying pattern of violent crimes prompted the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission to write to the Thai government in 2012 demanding that police stop dismissing gender-based violence as crimes of passion.

Anjana Suvarnanda, a co-founder of the Anjaree Group, an LGBT rights group, said violence towards lesbians was often blamed on the victims. Many turn to mainstream social networking sites like Facebook to air their grievances.

"Our inbox is overflowing with messages from women whose parents are pressuring them to marry men," said Anjana.

Thai film and television has no shortage of LGBT stars. But Prempreeda Pramoj Na Ayutthaya, a transgender rights activist and program officer at UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural agency, in Bangkok, said acceptance is often superficial.

"The entertainment industry accepts us with open arms because we poke fun at ourselves and make people laugh. But if we want to be taken seriously in a field like medicine we are not afforded the same courtesy," Prempreeda told Reuters.

Her friends will hesitate to back the draft bill, she said, because they do not want to be identified by their birth gender.

Wiratana Kalayasiri, an opposition lawmaker pushing the civil union bill, said getting it on the agenda was tough as most members of parliament have conservative views on the issue.

"At first they bad-mouthed me and wondered if I would be struck by lightning for backing this," he said.

But many now see the merits of appealing to LGBT voters, he said, predicting the bill would pass in "less than a year".

Rights activist Anjana believes there is no time to waste.

When her friend collapsed and fell into a coma, it took hours for staff at a Bangkok hospital to attend to her.

"They insisted her husband sign the medical release form. Her partner is a woman, but the nurses refused to acknowledge this," said Anjana. "We urgently need the law to protect us. The rest, including less societal pressure, will follow."
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« Reply #25 on: September 10, 2013, 02:44:27 pm »

http://news.asiaone.com/news/showbiz/first-gay-marriage-korea-stirs-controversy
First gay marriage in Korea stirs controversy
9/10/13

SEOUL - The first gay marriage in Korea on Saturday sharply divided the country, putting to the test its legal system and public tolerance of sexual minorities.

Film director Kim-Jho Gwang-soo and film distributor Kim Seung-hwan held a symbolic wedding in central Seoul. They have been partners for nine years.

The two men made their vows in front of guests reported to number about 1,000, including Kim-Jho's mother, movie director Byun Young-joo and civil activist Paik Ki-wan.

Their marriage, however, will not be formally recognised here, as Korea has not legalized same-sex marriage.

But Kim-Jho, 48, an openly gay activist, and his 29-year-old partner announced that they are now a married couple regardless of the law.

"It is important whether or not we become a legally bound couple. But more importantly, we want to let people know that gays can marry too in our society," Kim-Jho told reporters before the ceremony.

The newlyweds will seek legal approval for their marriage. They said they would consider filing a petition with the Constitutional Court if the government refuses to legally recognise their marriage.

Gay rights activists and some lawmakers have backed their decision, vowing to join the legal fight.
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« Reply #26 on: September 19, 2013, 03:25:26 pm »

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/19/20580271-pope-francis-says-church-cannot-focus-only-on-abortion-and-gay-marriage?lite&ocid=msnhp&pos=1
9/19/13
Pope Francis says church cannot focus only on abortion and gay marriage

Pope Francis said in an interview published Thursday that the Catholic Church cannot focus only on abortion, contraception and gay marriage, and that the moral structure of the church will “fall like a house of cards” if it does not find better balance.

The pope acknowledged in the interview that he has been criticized for not speaking more about those three issues, but he said that the church must “talk about them in a context.”

While the teaching of the church on those subjects was clear, he said, “It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.”

The pope’s remarks draw a contrast with both the doctrinal focus of his predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, and with church leaders in the United States and around the world who have urged him to speak more publicly about homosexuality, abortion and birth control.

“We have to find a new balance,” he said in the interview, published in Jesuit journals across the world. “Otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.”

He added: “The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently.” Huh

The pope, since his installation in March, has focused on the poor and those on the margins of society. He has also drawn praise from some parishioners for gestures of humility and frugality. He has declined some of the trappings of the papacy, and personally returned the phone calls of some of the faithful who have written to him.

On homosexuality, the pope said that he used to receive letters in Argentina, where he was a cardinal before his elevation, who were “socially wounded” and felt that the church had condemned them.

“But the church does not want to do this,” he said. “Religion has the right to express its opinion in the service of the people, but God in creation has set us free: It is not possible to interfere spiritually in the life of a person.”

He went on: “A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: ‘Tell me: When God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?’ We must always consider the person.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Acts 10:34  Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
Act 10:35  But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

Matthew 3:7  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Mat 3:8  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
Mat 3:9  And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Mat 3:10  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 3:11  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

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« Reply #27 on: September 30, 2013, 03:44:17 pm »

http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/09/momlessness_and_dadlessness_as_a_way_of_life.html
September 30, 2013
Momlessness and Dadlessness as a Way of Life

Former attorney general of Ohio Jim Petro and his wife have jumped on the "gay marriage" bandwagon because their daughter Corbin got hitched, so the fantasy goes, to another woman in Massachusetts. He joins another prominent Ohio politician, U.S. Senator Ron Portman, in recently discovering human rights our forefathers missed.

Many people don't believe two females are an authentic marriage, no matter how sincere, but the Petros are fully committed, parentally and politically, to the so-called "freedom to marry," as Jim said in recent newspaper editorials.

And he's willing to endorse the effort in Ohio to deconstruct marriage, now named "Why Marriage Matters Ohio" by the Human Rights Campaign affiliate, Equality Ohio, despite the lack of Ohio citizen support in recent polls, and also despite current marriage freedom and equality for people in Ohio. People can marry someone of the opposite sex, a right suddenly discovered by many ex-homosexuals. Same person, different perspective. Homosexual advocacy and the behavior itself are the stumbling blocks, not a lack of justice in Ohio.

Well, the Petros now have a grandson, and they are publicly cooing as most new grandparents do. Ecstatic or not, the reality is, this baby is actually the Petros' adopted grandchild -- no blood relation -- because their daughter's partner was the birth mother. The father? At the time of this writing, no one has said. Friend? Sperm donor? Who knows?

Oh, well, not important. An identifiable father in a boy's life, offering heritage, caretaking, known genetic background, wisdom, financial support, spiritual guidance? Dispensable, just as mothers are in the minds of two men who decide to be "parents." Just as children often are in the world of sexual liberals when they are not wanted.

But even when they are convenient, the children and their needs and rights are really not where the story begins and ends. The adults are the central figures in a play about "making me happy according to what I think I want today." The kids are essentially props to be trotted out, sadly, at events like "pride" parades. Yet at some point, children are not stupid and will figure this out.

No one needs to care who the other parent is, we are told. Asking the question displays immense bigotry.

But will it be bigotry motivating the Petro grandson, who at age six or so will most likely ask that awkward question, "Who is my daddy?" He will see children at school with moms and dads, and despite the best efforts of granddad, he will figure out the "dad" figure is missing, and no one will give him a straight answer, so to speak.

Dadlessness is a significant deficit in a child's life, but to do it deliberately, cavalierly, is close to child abuse. Every child deserves to know mom and dad. Homosexual parenting, deliberately excluding either a mom or dad, does not make sense, child-welfare-wise, and is frankly, cruel.

We are supposed to buy the fiction that "love is all that matters." But where's the love for the child? The structure of mom and dad is a foundation that others only mimic. Yes, it's a fact that moms and dads today too often do not stay together, but this doesn't justify same sex marriage or parenting. Just because the Mercedes has a cracked windshield, does not mean we also take a sledge hammer to the hood.

The social revolution does not end at the threshold of the new "gay" household, however. Advocates of homosexuality abound in primary and secondary education, and here's where they are having a dramatic and virtually unreported impact.

Your children are learning in the classroom that husband or wife, a mom or dad for their children, may be optional in their own futures.While sometimes an opposing viewpoint is allowed, in states where same sex marriage is legalized, the balance disappears. Marriage change puts the "gay" school agenda on steroids.

The insidious thing about same sex marriage is that it quickly becomes a weapon to force cultural change on everyone and to mess with the minds of vulnerable kids as early as possible. Little Logan will learn when he's seven that some people are born to be "gay" (despite a lack of science supporting this contention), that there's nothing anyone can do, and when he grows up, he will date and marry a girl or it might be a boy, and he's not supposed to stress out over the uncertainty of this emotional quicksand.

At age seven, he really dislikes girls, so does that mean he's "gay"? Logan doesn't know his future. Experimenting with the formative years like this is a recipe for deeply insecure children at a very basic level. Such insecurities won't be disclosed by many of them, because they won't know what "normal" is. They will have been taught that questioning the narrative means you are a hateful, horrible person, a "bully."

But free-floating guilt and denial of basic reality are the end products of school activism on homosexual "rights." Using the issue of bullying in school lessons, the ground is sowed with seeds of real and imagined mistreatment of past and future homosexuals. Simply punishing poor conduct of actual bullies isn't enough for the activists. Only re-education programs suffice so all children will welcome homosexuality.Those who don't are socially unjust bigots.

This propaganda, using children as guinea pigs, is the rotten fruit of same sex marriage as it has played out in Massachusetts and other parts of the liberal Northeast and West Coast and it may come to Ohio unless voters get wise. The daughters of future quasi-liberal politicians in Ohio and elsewhere will hear in school only one approved opinion, and it's not one that reveals the harmful truth about homosexual conduct, gender change chaos, and -- oh, yes -- prospective parenting options.

Because if same sex relationships are all about love, why are people bringing a third, unknown party into a relationship to be the "father" or "mother" behind the curtain? When this kind of love means you can never conceive a new human with the person you love, isn't this is a big clue that things were never supposed to be this way?

It's the ancient story. Humans insist on writing adisjointed tale, no matter what it costs us or our precious children. Yet some will nod approvingly and call this "progress."

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« Reply #28 on: October 21, 2013, 07:39:11 pm »

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AUSTRALIA_GAY_MARRIAGE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-10-21-18-25-07
10/21/13
Local Australian parliament debates gay marriage

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- A provincial Australian parliament began debating legislation on Tuesday that would allow same-sex marriages despite the threat of a court challenge by the federal government.

The Australian Capital Territory parliament began debating the bill that would create Australia's only law allowing gay couples to marry. It was likely to be passed later Tuesday with the support of lawmakers from the province's governing party, despite all eight opposition lawmakers in the 17-seat Legislative Assembly announcing they would vote against the bill.

Federal Attorney General George Brandis has threatened to challenge the validity of the law in the High Court if the bill becomes law and allows same-sex marriage in the national capital Canberra.

Australian federal law was amended in 2004 to specify that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott opposes gay marriage and his coalition has thwarted federal bills that would have allowed legal recognition of same-sex relationships.

His sister Christine Forster disclosed on Nine Network national television on Tuesday that she is engaged to her gay partner of six years, Virginia Edwards.

Forster said the couple would not marry until they were able to do so in their hometown of Sydney, either because of a change to federal or New South Wales state law.

Forster said the prime minister supported her relationship. However brother and sister disagreed on whether same-sex relationships should be legally recognized as marriages.

"He's always said: `Well, I'll be there at the wedding, Chris,'" Forster told Nine.

Gay lobby group Australian Marriage Equality said thousands of same-sex couples from across Australia had shown interest in tying the knot in Canberra.

If the legislation is passed, the first same-sex marriage ceremonies could be held in Canberra from December.

Australian Capital Territory Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said she had refused a request from the federal government not to allow same-sex marriages to take place until the High Court ruled on the law's constitutional validity.

"I think this is an issue that captured the imagination of people right around the country," Gallagher told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. "The ACT has never been afraid to lead the way."
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« Reply #29 on: October 22, 2013, 10:41:10 am »

Australian Capital Territory legalises same-sex marriage

The Australian Capital Territory has become the first part of Australia to legalise same-sex marriage.

The ACT parliament passed a bill that will allow gay couples to marry, after a short debate on Tuesday.

Celebrants will now be allowed to marry same-sex couples inside the ACT, regardless of which state they live in.

Federal law, however, specified in 2004 that marriage was between a man and a woman, and the federal government is expected to challenge the move.

The move was passed in the 17-member ACT Legislative Assembly, backed by Labor and the Greens, with the Liberals voting against.

"There is no longer any excuse, if there ever was, to discriminate against same-sex couples in our community," ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher told the parliament.

"They are our children, our parents, our brothers, our sisters, our leaders, our business people, our mentors and our colleagues."

"More than anything, they are our equals. The Marriage Equality Act puts this fundamental principle and human right into law," the Australian Broadcasting Corporation quoted her as saying.

Ms Gallagher said that the first weddings could take place by the end of the year.

'Invalid'
 
Attorney-General George Brandis, however, says the local law will face a legal challenge, because it is inconsistent with the national-level Marriage Act.

"It would be very distressing to individuals who may enter into a ceremony of marriage under the new ACT law, and to their families, to find that their marriages were invalid," a statement from the Attorney-General's Office said.

The ACT bill was amended shortly before it passed in an attempt to strengthen it against a potential challenge.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who leads a Liberal-National coalition, opposes same-sex marriage.

His sister, however, has recently disclosed that she is engaged to her female partner.

Last year, a bill allowing same-sex marriage was voted down in both houses of Australia's national parliament.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24619686
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