Froth Slosh B'Gosh

HOORAY FOR PENNSYLVANIA!!!

PROGRESS!!!

First Oregon, now The Keystone State!

The law barring same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania is unconstitutional, a  federal judge based in Harrisburg ruled today.

“By virtue of this ruling, same-sex couples who seek to marry in Pennsylvania  may do so, and already married same-sex couples will be recognized as such in  the Commonwealth,” wrote U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III.

The ruling comes in a case filed in July by 11 gay couples, two teenage  children of one of the pairs and a widow. The couples include Deb and Susan  Whitewood of South Fayette, Diana Polson and Dawn Plummer of Point Breeze, and  Lynn and Fredia Hurdle, of Crafton Heights.

The only sad thing is that this had to be done by a court order, because the legislature made it illegal in the first place.

More here:  Allegheny County isn't wasting any time!

“We are pleased that the Court is affirming the rights of all people to form a  marriage union to express their commitments, form a family in the eyes of the  law, and have their rights recognized," Allegheny County Executive Rich  Fitzgerald said in a statement. "This is what we have been advocating for quite  some time and it is a day to celebrate.”

Once a couple has been issued their wedding license, at least one public  official said he'd love to marry them.

"I am overjoyed by the judge's decision today, and can't wait to throw open  the doors of the Mayor’s Office to honor marriages of all couples," Mayor Bill  Peduto said in a statement. "I would be thrilled to make the marriage of an LGBT  couple the first one I officiate as Mayor.”

Good for Fitz and Bill!

Progress Marches On

Michigan.

 

No, You're The Real Bigot

Ruth Ann Dailey argues that it is intolerant to require the religious to be tolerant.

Par for the course. And as an added bonus, she gets spanked in the comments.

PA Gay Marriage Ban Heads To Federal Court

Very interesting, especially with some of Judge Jones' comments:

A lawsuit seeking to overturn the state’s ban on gay marriage cleared an early  hurdle today as a federal judge ruled against three motions to dismiss that were  filed by state and county-level officials...

U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III, of the Middle District of  Pennsylvania, noted that there was a time when federal courts did not weigh in  on gay rights claims, but that time has passed.

“The Supreme Court has decided several cases since [1972] which demonstrate  that it no longer views constitutional challenges based on sex or sexual  identity classifications as unsubstantial,” he wrote. “Finally, in June of this  year, the Supreme Court held that a federal statute defining marriage as only  between heterosexual couples violated the equal protection and due process  rights of same-sex couples who had married in states where same-sex marriage is  legally recognized.”

Of course, trying to divine how a judge is going to rule based on statements issued before the case is even heard is a fool's game, but it sure sounds like the judge will carefully weigh the arguments.

 

 

Cue The Conservative Freakout In 3...2...1....

Nice to see someone telling the legislature to shove it.

Montgomery County will not deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples, the  county's recorder of wills said Tuesday.

"I decided to come down on the right side of history and the law," Recorder  of Wills D. Bruce Hanes said, in explaining his stand.

Gotta love some of the wingnutty comments!

The USA is just turning gay...and the have fun at the Adult book  Stores...

I'll never be satisfied until I can marry my dog. She is so good!

Coming soon to a TV near you - a commercial for Cialis with two men in  bathtubs....

This whole movement is perversive in nature. It is homosexuality attacking a  heterosexual institution established in ancient times. Some including myself  believe it to be established and endorsed by GOD in creation. What better way to  attack traditional marriage and religion than to propel homesexual unions at  this ancient sacrament. But you can't change the defintion. Since it was founded  by GOD then GOD defines it as between a man and woman. Any attempt to refine it  would be futile. It will never be marriage simple as that.

This is clearly against State Law.  This guy is a nobody trying to make a name  for himself with his friends in the Gayborhood.  Sorry buddy, ain't no  gayborhood in Montco! 

Mark 10:5-7,  "And Jesus answered and said to them, For the hardness of your  heart He wrote you this precept.  But from the begining of the creation  God  made them male and female.  For this cause a mann shall leave his Father and  Mother and join to his wife."  Sorry guys,  gay is still gay and still a  fruitless aberration in human behavior.

Will this guy marry me and my beautiful Labrador Retriever?

Messing with Mother Nature.  Yuck.  Sausage  smugglers.
Messing with Mother  Nature.  It's a sickness.  Rump Wranglers.

What is it with the fascination with beastiality?  It makes me think that some of these people really DO want to marry their dogs!

 

 

Kane Wont Defend DOMA

Well, isn't this interesting!

Attorney General Kathleen Kane, who is the state's chief legal officer, declined  Thursday to defend against a lawsuit challenging the state's prohibition on same  sex marriage, calling it unconstitutional and leaving the job of bolstering the  ban to Gov. Tom Corbett.

Which brings up this question:  Is she required, as attorney general, to defend the law?  Daryl Nutcase, The Shame of Butler County, thinks so.

"This is clearly dereliction of duty. It's her responsibility to defend the laws  of the commonwealth regardless of her personal feelings," said state Rep. Daryl  Metcalfe, R-Cranberry. "If she doesn't want to do that, maybe she can resign and  have the governor appoint someone who wants to do the job."

I'm sure if I wanted to, I could find many examples of Nutcase ignoring the laws of the Commonwealth due to his personal feelings.  Oh wait, here's one from a couple of weeks ago! Pot, meet kettle.

Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Sims, an openly gay legislator, was blocked from speaking on the floor of the state House on Wednesday by a colleague who believed Sims’ plans to speak about the U.S. Supreme Court’s marriage decision would be in "open rebellion against God’s law.”According to WHYY, Rep. Daryl Metcalfe raised a procedural objection to stop Sims from speaking during a part of the House session in which legislators often give wide-ranging remarks. "I did not believe that as a member of that body that I should allow someone to make comments such as he was preparing to make that ultimately were just open rebellion against what the word of God has said, what God has said, and just open rebellion against God's law," said Metcalfe, R-Butler.

"God's law", and secular law, are of course, different things.

What About Glenn Burke?

NBA player Jason Collins comes out as gay.  That's a remarkable thing, and its great that a major sports athlete feels confident enough to proclaim his sexuality.  But I have a problem with the media describing him as the first major sports athlete to come out while active, because its simply isn't true. 

Everyone forgets about Glenn Burke.

Burke played Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland A's back in the '70's.  When he played, there was no doubt he was gay.  He was "out" to his teammates, who largely didn't care, and "out" to his employers, who gave him a hard time. 

The fact that the media swept Burke's sexuality under the table by ignoring it isn't Burke's fault.  Collins' announcement says more about the changing attitudes of media jock sniffers towards homosexuality than it does about the attitude of athletes.

Ruth Ann Is Offended By Teh Gays Getting Married

Mind you though, she's not a homophobic bigot, because she's all in favor of teh gays getting civilly unionized, just don't call it marriage, because when you do that, you are opressing her religious beliefs.

News flash Ruth Ann, your church, or any church, is no way required to perform a marriage if it doesn't want to, but no church gets to own the definition of a word either.   Your religious freedom is in no way threatened by gays getting married, and by calling it marriage.

When I married the first time, the ceremony took place in a judicial magistrate's office, presided over by a judge.  No clerics were involved.  But we didn't get a "civil union" certificate, we got a marriage certificate.  When we applied for the license we didn't get a "civil union" license, we got a marriage license.  Our marriage was recognized by the state, although it wouldn't be recognized by a church.  That said, society viewed us as married, and not "civil union-ed."

Definitions of words and terms change.  At one time, divorce was considered scanalous, and divorcees were socially looked down upon.  Before that, divorce was difficult, if not impossible to obtain.

Ruth Ann might want to remember that, seeing as she's on husband number 2, IIRC.

Progress??

Interesting.  It seems that the BSA might just be ashamed enough to drop its prohibitions against gay scouts and scout leaders.  Under the proposal, individual troops can continue to be bigoted and maintain the gay ban, but the national organization will not revoke the affliation of scout groups who choose to a bit more inclusive.

Naturally, conservatives are outraged. 

Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, said a policy change would be "nothing less than disastrous for the Boy Scouts of America." ...

"This is going to raise a fundamental question for the Southern Baptist Convention at the national level and in the churches" about whether to reconsider a decades-old relationship with the Boy Scouts, Mohler said.

While that decision would be up to individual Southern Baptist churches, Mohler said: "I'm quite assured that those churches will be reconsidering that relationship if this policy goes into effect."

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins called the potential policy shift "a serious mistake."

They just cannot abide that they might be associated with the taint of teh gay, even though their own packs and troops can continue to be as hateful as they want to be.

Remember When?

Hey, remember when Mike Huckabee called for a "Support JC Penney Day" when One Million Moms started a boycott after the department store chain hired Ellen Degeneres as a spokesperson??  Oh wait, he didn't. 

But then there was the National Organization for Marriage's boycott of Starbucks over that coffee shop's support of marriage equality.  Huckabee stepped to the plate in support of Starbuck's free speech rights and called for a "Starbucks Appreciation Day!  Except he didn't.  

Then there's the AFA's "Naughty or Nice" list.  Its nice to know that Huckabee came through in defense of businesses' free speech right to use the inclusive "Happy Holidays."  But the reality is he didn't do that either.

Huckabee is only interested in defending the "free speech" rights of his own tribe's members.  Everyone else can STFU.