So, And Thus...

Mary, Merry, Marry... Maryland!

I'm glad more and more people are realizing that this is all about fairness:

Md. Gov. Would Recognize Gay Marriages  | News | Advocate.com

Maryland governor Martin O'Malley said Monday that he is open to recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states, according to WTOP-FM.

"I think that it's very difficult to deny equal rights to people when it comes to rights that are disbursed by a government rather than a faith or a church," O'Malley told the radio station’s Ask the Governor program. "If the person has these rights under another state, I think we're sort of pressed to deny those rights. So, yes, we probably should respect those rights."

So, when Ein Oso and I go to visit my mom, we will be recognized as a married couple. I hope we'll be okay going through Pennsylvania.

Coming Out Can Help Change Views On Same Sex Marriage

I agree with Andrew Sullivan on this.

Look at the chart from his blog entry. it shows that there is more support for Same Sex Marriage among those who personally know someone who is gay.

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

If gays are really serious about marriage rights, they need to accelerate the process of coming out. It's not often that a minority group has this option - African-Americans don't. But gays, like Jews, can "pass", and by passing, we don't even give many people the option of changing their minds and hearts by better understanding who we are, and why our relationships and families strengthen society rather than weakening it.

I know it's a lot easier being "out" here in New York. Also, working for a retail company, it's no big deal to be gay. But in social situations outside of the "gay world", I've made it a point to introduce Ein Oso as my husband and let everyone make the connection on their own. I am proud to be married to Ein Oso. I want people to know that.

I feel both very fortunate and very encouraged that I haven't experienced any negative reactions to my being open about my sexuality and my marriage.

Let's show them!

The License

Funny!

Another example of how marriage has changed over time.

Gay Maine!

Gay marriage is now legal in Maine!

AP News : LimaOhio.com

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) -- Maine's governor signed a freshly passed bill Wednesday approving gay marriage, making it the fifth state to approve the practice and moving New England closer to allowing it throughout the region.

New Hampshire legislators were also poised to send a gay marriage bill to their governor, who hasn't indicated whether he'll sign it. If he does, Rhode Island would be the region's sole holdout.

The Maine Senate voted 21-13, with one absent, for a bill that authorizes marriage between any two people rather than between one man and one woman, as state law currently allows. The House had passed the bill Tuesday.

Democratic Gov. John Baldacci, who hadn't previously indicated how he would handle the bill, signed it shortly afterward. In the past, he said he opposed gay marriage but supported civil unions, which provide many benefits of marriage.

It feels so good to see this happening.

Gaining HoMomentum

This is great!

ABC Washington Post Poll: 49% Support Full Marriage Equality - Towleroad, More than gay news. More gay men

A new ABC/Washington Post poll shows that for the first time ever, supporters of same-sex marriage in the U.S. outnumber opponents. These are even better numbers than the stunning CBS Poll released just two days ago which found that 42% of Americans support marriage equality.

Even the GOP knows this is going to be a non-issue for most people.

DC Recognizes Gay Marriages

Read this over at Towleroad.

What a month for Gay Rights!

D.C. Council Votes to Recognize Other States' Gay Marriages - washingtonpost.com

Domestic partnerships are already legal in the nation's capital. But yesterday's vote, billed as an important milestone in gay rights, explicitly recognizes relocated gay married couples as married.

The initial vote was 12-0. The unanimous vote sets the stage for future debate on legalizing same-sex marriage in the District and a clash with Congress, which approves the city's laws under Home Rule. The council is expected to take a final vote on the legislation next month.

Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), who is gay, called the amendment a matter of "basic fairness."

The city's laws on same-sex unions have been murky, he explained. Couples ask, he said, "Is my marriage valid in D.C.? For years now, it has not been clear."

"It's high time we send a clear, unequivocal message to those persons of the same sex and married in another jurisdiction that their marriage is valid in D.C.," said Graham, who added, "I hope this city recognizes this is a human rights struggle."

Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large), who is also gay, predicted it was only a matter of time before the council also takes up a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the District. "It's no secret that I have been working on legislation that would take us further," he said. "This is the march toward human rights and equality. This is not the march toward special rights. This is the equal march and that march is coming here."

I guess Ein Oso and I have yet another place to live and stay married. It's a shame that we even have to think that way.

Gay Marriage in Vermont!

I'm glad to see that people are choosing love over hate.

HRC Back Story

BREAKING: Moments ago, the Vermont House voted 100-49 to override the marriage bill veto! The House vote, which followed the Senate voting 23-5 this morning to override Gov. Douglas’s veto, means that Vermont becomes the first state to OK marriage equality through the legislative process.

Okay Obama, it's time to do something for us on the federal level.

Gay Marriage in Iowa!

Read this over at AmericaBlog:

Iowa court upholds ruling; marriage no longer limited to one man, one woman | DesMoinesRegister.com | The Des Moines Register

The Iowa Supreme Court this morning unanimously upheld gays’ right to marry.

“The Iowa statute limiting civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman violates the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution,” the justices said in a summary of their decision.

The court rules that gay marriage would be legal in three weeks, starting April 24.
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The court affirmed a Polk County District Court decision that would allow six gay couples to marry.

This happened in the Midwest! This is great!

Grow Up Before Getting Married?!?!

It's really unfortunate that the full force of the Republican party got involved in life of these kids. Any decision they wanted to make (including the baby, marriage, etc...) was taken away from them because of how Bristol's mother, Sarah Palin, would come across to the voting public.

AP News | Culpeper Star-Exponent

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- The former fiance of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter says he hopes they can reconcile at some point.

Levi Johnston told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday that he and 18-year-old Bristol Palin ended their engagement after deciding it would be better if they separated for a while.

The two are the parents of an infant son, Tripp, born on Dec. 27. Johnston says the couple needed time to grow up before following through on marriage plans.

A Step Towards Federal Benefits For Gays

I hope that this will get things moving for gay marriage.

AP News : LimaOhio.com

BOSTON (AP) -- Mary Ritchie, a Massachusetts State Police trooper, has been married for almost five years and has two children. But when she files her federal income tax return, she's not allowed to check the "married filing jointly" box.

That's because Ritchie and her spouse, Kathleen Bush, are a gay couple, and the federal Defense of Marriage Act makes them ineligible to file joint tax returns.

Now Ritchie, Bush and more than a dozen others are suing the federal government, claiming the act discriminates against gay couples and is unconstitutional because it denies them access to federal benefits that other married couples receive, such as pensions and health insurance. Plaintiffs also include Dean Hara, the widower of former U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds, the first openly gay member of the House of Representatives.

In Ritchie's case, she and her spouse say they have paid nearly $15,000 more in taxes than they would have if they had been able to file joint returns.

"It saddens us because we love our country," Ritchie said. "We are taxpayers. We live just like anyone else in our community. We do everything just like every other family, like every other married couple, and we are treated like less than that."

The lawsuit was being filed Tuesday in federal court in Boston by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, the anti-discrimination group that brought a successful legal challenge leading to Massachusetts becoming the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage in 2004.

.....

Mary Bonauto, GLAD's Civil Rights Project director, said the lawsuit is the first major challenge to the section of the law that denies same-sex couples access to more than 1,000 federal programs and legal protections in which marriage is a factor.

All the plaintiffs are from Massachusetts and have marriages that are recognized by the state. They include a U.S. Postal Service employee who wasn't allowed to add her spouse to her health insurance plan; a Social Security Administration retiree who was denied health insurance for his spouse; three widowers who were denied death benefits for funeral expenses; and a man who has been denied a passport bearing his married name.

"This law is an absolute intrusion into an area that states have governed for centuries - marriage," Bonauto said.

Good luck guys!