Heather's Blogpile

President Bush stated, “Yesterday in New Jersey, we had another activist court issue a ruling that raises doubts about the institution of marriage. I believe it’s a sacred institution that is critical to the health of our society and the well-being of families, and it must be defended.”

President Bush, if you really believe marriage needs defending so damn much, then pass a constitutional amendment making divorce illegal, moron.
It’s really funny that when a court rules in favor of equality for gays, they are called an “activist court”, and when they deny us equality, they are merely “doing what they are supposed to do.”

Posted by Heather at 6:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After the final debate last week, Gina writes of the 1049 Rights afforded to straight married couples that are denied to Gay and lesbian couples who would seek to marry, if only it were "allowed".

http://scribbling.net/1049-federal-rights-depend-on-marital-status

She mentions the Government Accounting Office Jan 1997 Letter from Henry Hyde listing the specific rights that marriage brings. http://www.gao.gov/archive/1997/og97016.pdf

Her story is so close to home! Emma and I moved in together over the Thanksgiving weekend, 8 years ago. We bought a home together August 1, 2000. We would share insurance, car registrations and all the rest, if it wasn't denied to us. We have gotten our wills done, had all kinds of external legal documents done, just in case one of us has an accident or dies. Yet we still won't be able to share social security benefits and many of the other "priviledges" granted to couples that are "approved by the state".

Posted by Heather at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Virginia actually did it. They passed a bill that kicks a group of people right in the teeth, and they have the audacity to say its "protecting" marriage. Thats right, they weren't content to let the existing Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA) show folks that they didn't support marriage between gay people. No, they had to pass an over-the-top law that says not only do they not support gay marriage here, but anything that even presumes to grant priviledges that are considered part of marriage is not legal. And by the way, if you do get Gay-married in another state, ... its not legal here.

Continue reading "Hateful HB751 goes into effect July 1st" »

Posted by Heather at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BoingBoing today has a link to The Oyez Project.   The Oyez project is releasing US Supreme Court oral audio of historic cases in streaming and MP3 format. This audio is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. This license allows listeners to download, share, and create derivative works using these audio files.

I did a search through their archives and soon Emma and I found ourselves fascinated listening to the oral arguments in the 1967 case of Loving V. the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Its a significant decision about Virginia's inter-racial marriage Law that anyone looking into Gay Marriage should know about ...

Loving v. Virginia
388 U.S. 1 (1967)
Docket Number: 395
Audio Resources
Oral Argument and MP3 form

(The streaming audio is 2 hrs & 15 minutes) http://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/case/214/audioresources

The United States Supreme Court, Mr. Chief Justice Warren, held that miscegenation statutes adopted by Virginia to prevent marriages between persons solely on basis of racial classification violate equal protection and due process clauses of Fourteenth Amendment.

Posted by Heather at 6:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well - the bigots of the Virginia House and Senate passed the hateful House Bill 751, an Affirmation to the Virginia Defense of Marriage Act today. ... here's what they passed

Summary as passed: Affirmation of Marriage Act for the Commonwealth of Virginia. States that a civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage is prohibited and that such an arrangement entered into in another state or jurisdiction is void in Virginia and any contractual rights created thereby are void and unenforceable.

Looks like we'll make that trip to Massachusetts in June after all to test the law - P'town here we come!

Continue reading "VA Bigots pass hateful amendment" »

Posted by Heather at 10:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After Emma and I made calls to VA Senator Jeannemarie Devolites, asking her to vote against Virginia HB751, Emma and I got a letter from her afterwards that stated "I voted for HB751, as I do not support marriage or civil unions between those of the same gender".     Link to her scanned letter

So I thought I'd google her to see what kind of strong moral fiber was behind such a bold position.

Continue reading "Devolites - A Family Morality" »

Posted by Heather at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Okay, its bad enough that the economy is taking hits all around, and good jobs are being "outsourced" to India and who knows where ... and the Virginia legislature certainly has enough "real work" to pay attention to, rather than to keep on kicking this mean-spirited dog of a Bill into law ...

Continue reading "Backwards Legislature - HB 751 interfers with OUR Family!" »

Posted by Heather at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Funny that Reverend Troy Perry has gotten so little copy in the last couple of months. And I have seen nothing in the press about Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) ... Rev Troy Perry started the church a year before Stonewall, back in 1968 and its grown to 300 churches in 22 countries. This church was an outreach by and for the queer community (GLBT). They did not require folks to deny who they are (like the ex-gay "ministries") and are not a afterthought as some of the recent "welcoming" churches are. At an MCC you and your partner can worship together as a couple, take communion together (At MCC, God's table is always open), and take blessings together. Different MCCs have a bit different flavor depending on the community, who is the pastor, and what the faith-journey is for the congregants.

Reverend Troy Perry of MCC has been working towards gay marriage since 1969!. The article linked mentions Rev Perry's lawsuit in California in the early 70s, and various actions since then, including the Mass Marriages during the Millenium March on Washington. Gay folks who want church weddings would do well to connect with their local MCC. Could be a great place to do some activism from ...

Posted by Heather at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My partner and I are currently preparing to spend nearly $700 in legal fees for legal papers (in Virginia) that will allow us Medical Power of Attorney, Financial Power of Attorney, and creating our Wills. Those 6 documents (3 each) only give us a very slight bit of what would be conveyed in a marriage.

Of course, we are also looking into a trip to Massachusetts in May - its just a shame we'd have to rush it and have it done away from home where our friends and family could not attend.

(Just because you CAN have a Las Vegas type marriage doesn't mean you want one ...)

This was originally a comment to a posting on Caitlin's Blog (now, sadly offline)

Posted by Heather at 8:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Please - take a stand against the bullying by President bush _ add your name to a petition to state:

"We, the undersigned, strongly oppose the adoption of an amendment to the Constitution that would require discrimination against any specific group of Americans. The Federal Marriage Amendment is a betrayal of the American principles of equality and fairness. We oppose the Federal Marriage Amendment."

Add your name!

Another fine post courtesy of Bill and Kent's weblog!

Posted by Heather at 9:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a column dated Thurs Feb 19, Holly Mullen, Salt Lake Tribune Columnist says:

The numbers are dizzying. In the week since San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom defied California law by allowing same-sex marriages in his city, more than 2,700 gay and lesbian couples have lined up at City Hall to recite their vows.

Should Newsom's act of civil disobedience withstand two hurried legal challenges by anti-gay marriage groups, the number of couples vowing to be "spouses for life" should exceed 3,000 by Friday.

Even if a California judge slams a hammer down on Newsom, as in issuing a "cease and desist" order against any more weddings, a big, clear picture is emerging from this kind of mobilization: The same-sex marriage movement is rolling. It will not be stopped.

Read more at: http://www.sltrib.com/2004/Feb/02192004/utah/140290.asp

Posted by Heather at 8:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Again, thanks to Bill and Kent's Weblog! for the alerts!

If you are a Virginia Resident, please call your representative and let them know your feelings on these proposed laws. If we stand up together, we CAN stop them. If you want Gay Marriage, you need to work for it. You can go to the form here, enter your address and zip and find out who and how to contact them. A phone call works great! (Be polite and professional!) (Link Expired)

Continue reading "Fair Treatment, Marriage, and more ..." »

Posted by Heather at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)