Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

Lots of good news this week.

O'Donnell On Senate DOMA Debate

LIVE VIDEO: Senate DOMA Debate

UPDATE: The live stream has concluded.

TODAY: Senate Considers DOMA Repeal

The U.S. Senate will today begin debate on the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. Among those scheduled to testify are a long list of gay Americans who've suffered under DOMA.

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider a bill that would do that and — for the first time — give federal benefits to same-sex couples who marry. Those benefits would have made a big difference for Ron Wallen of Indio, Calif., who spent more than half a century with Tom Carrollo. Carrollo died in March after a long illness, a few months shy of their third wedding anniversary. Now Wallen's not only grieving for his husband, but he's also facing financial chaos. "It's hard to accept that it's the American government that's throwing me out of my family home," Wallen told NPR. Under the federal Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, a marriage must be between a man and a woman. So Wallen is not entitled to get his husband's small monthly pension or his Social Security survivor's benefits, which are double the payments Wallen gets on his own.

Yesterday President Obama endorsed the repeal attempt, which of course has virtually no chance of passage in the U.S. House.

GHANA: Arrest All Gays

A Ghana official has ordered the "immediate arrest" of "all homosexuals in the region." From an anti-gay African news site:

The Western Region Minister Paul Evans Aidoo has ordered the immediate arrest of all homosexuals in the region. He has tasked the Bureau of National Investigations and all security agencies to smoke out persons suspected to be engaging in same sex. He also enlisted the services of landlords and tenants to provide reliable information which will lead to the arrest of homosexuals. His directive follows months of campaigns against the practice of homosexuality in the country. Only yesterday, the Christian Council of Ghana capped months of protestations against the practice of homosexuality with a strongly worded message against the practice and courting Ghanaians not to vote for any politician who believes in the rights of homosexuals.

Quote Of The Day - Bishop David Richey

"I'm not afraid of the many disasters that are happening simultaneously in our world. I'm not afraid of all the wars that are currently raging on almost every continent on the globe. The potential for nuclear accidents globally doesn't frighten me. What terrifies me are good men and women saying and doing nothing when politicians we voted into office are making moral laws that contradict everything a Holy God stands for. [snip] If someone desires to indulge in bestiality, anal sex, homosexuality or any other perverted sexual act, why does it have to be made a law? More important, why have more than 50 percent of Americans bought into the lie that it has to be legalized?" - Bishop David Allen Richey, writing for Charisma Magazine.

(Via - Right Wing Watch)

The (Gay) Edge Of Glory

Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

New From FCKH8.Com

MARYLAND: Another Run At Marriage

A coalition of LGBT and civil rights groups are working together to take another run at marriage equality in Maryland.

Equal rights organizations are joining forces today at 11 a.m. at Baltimore City Hall to launch a coalition that seeks to secure marriage equality in Maryland during the 2012 legislative session. The organizations comprising Marylanders for Marriage Equality are Equality Maryland, Progressive Maryland, the American Civil Liberties Union, Communication Workers of America, Service Employees International Union, the Human Rights Campaign, and Freedom to Marry. According to a press release issued by HRC, "press conference will include coalition members, state and local elected officials, Maryland couples who are currently being denied access to marriage equality and clergy leaders who support the freedom to marry."

Birds Of A Feather

"Sen. Diaz, you are in my prayers. Three years ago I was the target of the homosexuals because of statements I made regarding the dangers of the homosexual agenda. So I know what you are going through. Continue to stand strong on God’s Word. What the homosexuals mean for evil toward you, God will use for His glory, your good, and the benefit of others. God bless you and your family." - Oklahoma state Rep. Sally Kern, quoted in the latest press release from New York state Sen. Ruben Diaz.

PCUSA: Gay Pastors Now Welcome

Beginning today, openly gay pastors may preach in Presbyterian Church USA pulpits.

Gone will be the requirement that clergy live "in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness." Elimination of that language clears the way for ordination of clergy in same-sex relationships. The change was endorsed last year by the Presbyterian national assembly, but required approval by a majority of the denomination's 173 regional presbyteries. That threshold was crossed in May.

Brooklyn Bishop: Ban All Pro-Gay Lawmakers From Catholic Places

Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio is telling the Catholic schools and churches in his diocese to ban all visits from pro-gay state legislators.

DiMarzio, the leader of the Brooklyn diocese, has urged the Catholic institutions to decline donations and speaking engagements from Gov. Andrew Cuomo and any lawmaker who voted "yes" on the bill legalizing same-sex marriages. Calling New York's passage of gay marriage "another 'nail in the coffin' of marriage," DiMarzio issued a statement two days after the New York gay marriage bill was approved by the Legislature demanding that "all pastors and principals to not invite any state legislator to speak or be present at any parish or school celebration." The Catholic bishop also said the church should now speak more "forcefully and clearly" against gay marriage.

I'd like to see the Brooklyn diocese's list of top annual donors, just to cross-reference them with New York City's known mob-connected murderers and organized crime figures. Wanna bet there's a lot of names of both lists?

Activists Discuss Indian Health Minister's Claim That Homosexuality Is A Disease

PhoboQuotable - Bishop Thomas Tobin

"The Church reminds its members that homosexual activity is contrary to the natural law and the will of God and, therefore, is objectively sinful. Persons with same-sex attraction are required to live the Christian virtues of chastity and modesty, as all persons are. Because civil unions promote an unacceptable lifestyle, undermine the faith of the Church on holy matrimony, and cause scandal and confusion, Catholics may not participate in civil unions. To do so is a very grave violation of the moral law and, thus, seriously sinful. A civil union can never be accepted as a legitimate alternative to matrimony." - Rhode Island Bishop Thomas Tobin, banning all Catholics from civil unions.

FRC Issues "Emergency" DOMA Plea

Embiggen the above image and taste the desperation!

Bishops Denounce RI Civil Unions

Unsurprisingly, Catholic Bishops are ever so pissed about Rhode Island's civil unions bill.

“In no way can civil union measures be considered a permissible compromise or a step in advancing the common good, said Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, Chairman of the U.S. bishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, in a July 1 statment. “Instead, they directly violate principles of justice and accelerate the push to redefine marriage itself.” The bill, likely to be signed by Governor Lincoln Chafee, would allow same-sex couples to enter into a “legal union” with “all the rights , benefits, protections, and responsibilities” as those of people who are married,” according to a statement released by the Senate. The bill passed with a vote of 21-16. Speaking on behalf of the U.S. bishops, Bishop Cordileone said that marriage, “the communion of husband and wife,” is a unique reality that has no equivalent. He also noted that the legalization of civil unions in Rhode Island would harm the unique status and meaning of marriage, and promote the “crossing of moral boundaries.”

India Minister: Gayness Is A Disease

Charming.

India's health minister has called homosexuality a disease, saying it is “unnatural” and “fast-spreading” in the country. Ghulam Nabi Azad told a conference dealing with HIV/AIDS on Monday that homosexuality was only recently imported from “the developed world.” The comments enraged many gay activists in India, who say that homosexuals in the country are routinely harassed. Gay sex in India was illegal until 2009, when a Delhi court overturned a colonial era law that referred to same-gender relationships as “unnatural.”

Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

The impact of the New York vote spreads.

RHODE ISLAND: Gov. Lincoln Chafee Signs Civil Unions Bill Into Law

Against the vehement objections of some LGBT rights groups, today Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee signed his state's controversial civil unions bill into law.

The new law includes a section that says no religious organization -- including some hospitals, cemeteries, schools and community centers -- or its employees may be required to treat as valid any civil union, providing a religious exemption "of unparalleled and alarming scope," Chafee said in a statement. As a result, a civil union spouse could be denied the right to make medical decisions for his or her partner, access to health insurance benefits, property rights in adjoining burial plots or family memberships at some community centers. That could cause partners significant harm at critical moments in their lives, the governor said. "This extraordinary exemption eviscerates the important rights that enacting a civil union law was meant to guarantee for same sex couples in the first place," Chafee said.