What everyone should know about the Gay Agenda

 

I guess there really is a lot to consider... and "fear"...

 

religion-and-politics

gay-life
politics
 

One Thing Straight

Let's get one thing straight here... if you can read the below and still justify your bias against gay relationships? Well, then I guess the moon is also made of green cheese. (Yes, of course that is a non sequitur... oh well!).

 

GLBT

same sex marriage

same-sex-relationships

lgbt

religion-and-politics

PS- there is no gay agenda!  

Jesus loves outlaws

Jesus was an outlaw, Jesus loves outlaws. And Jesus even loves these folks too.

I know they say that ignorance is bliss, but seriously, why be ignorant?

GLBT

same sex marriage

same-sex-relationships

lgbt

religion-and-politics

PS- there is no gay agenda! 

The 1st President to support...

...same-sex marriage in American history is our current President, Obama. USA Today is calling it a "political gamble," but the White House spokesman was quick to clarify that it was President Obama's personal opinion, and that he still believes the marriage equality issue should still ultimately be up to each individual State's decision.

Bridge's readers know why I am not "for" gay marriage anymore... and that is basically because no matter what each State decides, without DOMA being repealed, in the end it nets the LGBT community very little as far as Federally recognized relationship rights and protections.

GLBT

same sex marriage

same-sex-relationships

lgbt

Marriage & Relationship Recognition

 

I am not for gay marriage...

... anymore ...

But I still believe in love.
And I definitely believe in equal rights for all law-abiding Americans.
Will that ever happen?

Marriage & Relationship Recognition

GLBT

same sex marriage

same-sex-relationships

lgbt

Get a fire going

Yes, I am a child of the 70′s. I spent many a summer night around a campfire with my guitar and my peers singing camp songs. One of the songs I remember is “Pass it on.”

“It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around can warm up in its glowing.”

I thought of that song this recently when I saw that there is one Senator in the large state of Pennsylvania who is bold enough to introduce legislation to bring full marriage equality to Pennsylvania. Senator Daylin Leach is one little spark of hope in the otherwise (mostly) equality unfriendly state of Pennsylvania. In fact, there already others who are attempting to introduce an amendment to the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage (it is currently already banned legislatively). You can listen to senator Daylin Leach in a recent debate over marriage equality for Pennsylvania.

Here is hoping that this small spark can indeed become what is needed to fuel the fires of equality in the Keystone state.

An UPDATE: on protection of PA citizens: 

“As Pennsylvania’s top enforcer of the law, Pennsylvania Attorney General, Tom Corbett should be aggressively advocating for laws that protect ALL of Pennsylvania’s citizens,” Hoeffel charged Monday, calling on Corbett to support two statehouse bills that would create equal protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens of Pennsylvania.

HB 300, introduced by Rep. Dan Frankel (D- Allegheny County), would amend the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression” as protected classes. If passed, this bill will prohibit discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in housing, employment, and public accommodations.

HB 745, introduced by Rep. Josh Shapiro (D- Montgomery County), expands the definition of a hate crime to include crimes motivated by malicious intent toward an individual’s or group’s ancestry, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or gender or gender identity.

A recent poll showed that half of Pennsylvanians are in favor of marriage equality, so it's time to get a fire going for relationship recognition in Pennsylvania.

Marriage & Relationship Recognition

GLBT

same sex marriage

domestic-partnership

same-sex-relationships

lgbt

Dare we dream: DOMA down?

Well, no. Not yet. But at least now there is a glimmer of hope that at the National level one day DOMA indeed could go down as a "was" instead of a present reality hindering equality as law of the land.

It's no longer too far fetched to dream that one day in America LGBT adults may actually have the same privilege of being married across State lines to their chosen partner. Here are just some of the 1138 reasons why marriage equality matters.

Now, for the news from yesterday. The Obama administration said it will no longer defend the constitutionality of a federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriage: DOMA. To make that point, the White House instructed the Department of Justice to stop defending DOMA in court. Of course, this doesn't mean that the DOMA battle is over. But this signals that perhaps now the defeat of DOMA can begin in earnest.

Marriage & Relationship Recognition

same sex marriage

same-sex-relationships

lgbt

Legalization Is 'Inevitable'

The subject title of this post is based on a recent quote by Vice President Biden, who declared same-sex marriage "all but inevitable in the U.S." (a claim that may be news to President Obama).

"I think the country's evolving and I think there's an inevitability for a national consensus on gay marriage," he said in comments also reported by the New York Daily News. 

Read more about this here where you'll also see a brief clip of George Stephanopoulos' interview with the Vice President.

Well, hope springs eternal, but this may be a tall order with DOMA in place and only 2 years left in the Obama/Biden administration.
Time will tell. I wish our leaders would evolve already on some of these human rights issues!

continue to wrestle

Today President Obama signed into law the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't tell." This was a huge day in LGBT history!  Hours after signing the bill that will allow out gays and lesbians to serve in the military, President Barack Obama indicated he is open to fostering a dialogue on marriage equality in the U.S. 

"I think this is something that we're going to continue to debate and I personally am going to continue to wrestle with going forward."

That is movement since that last time he went on record on the topic of same-sex marriage.

Back in June of 2009 Brian Williams asked President Obama in his interview on NBC tonight “Inside the White House”: “do gay and lesbian couples who wish to marry in this country have a friend in the White House?”

 

If I hear President Obama (or any other politician) answer the question regarding whether they support same sex marriage for gays and lesbians with: “I have consistently supported civil unions–making sure they have the ability to visit each other in the hospital…” [and then the cop out] “I don’t think it makes sense for the Federal Government to get into the business of determining what marriage is…” I am going to blow the little top right off the lid of my good old-fashioned pressure cooker! I am sorry… that is just not enough. 

With Obama’s signing the repeal of DADT today (and Q.U. below reminded me that he signed the "hate crimes statute" also), he moves up from an "F" to a "C" on the LGBT score card. Here is hoping he will be able to achieve a "B" in the second half of his term!

President Obama skates on the thin ice of skirting the above LGBT issues. I am still hoping we will continue to see our "fierce advocate."

Can President Obama have it both ways? Can that be enough for the LGBT community? It’s not enough for me. I want more than a "visit to the hospital."

Marriage & Relationship Recognition

same sex marriage

same-sex-relationships

lgbt