Are Sitcoms the Most Influential Messaging on Same-Sex Marriage?
A new poll shows gay marriage is winning support among American voters, thanks to shows like ‘Modern Family,’ ‘Glee,’ and ‘The New Normal’
Supreme Court To Decide Fate of Prop 8 and DOMA Cases in Conference on November 20
The Supreme Court will conference the DOMA cases and federal challenge to Proposition 8 in a private meeting on November 20, AFER reports:
The Justices will meet to discuss our case, along with several challenges to the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), at their private Conference scheduled for Tuesday, November 20.
The Court is expected to either:
Grant review of our Prop. 8 challenge, at which point AFER’s legal team, led by distinguished attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies, will submit written briefs and present oral arguments by April 2013. A final decision on Prop. 8 and marriage equality is expected by June 2013.
Deny review, making permanent the landmark federal appeals court ruling that found Prop. 8 UNCONSTITUTIONAL. Marriage equality will be restored in California.
The Court is expected to release an Order List with its decisions on cases it has granted or denied review from its November 20 Conference by Monday, November 26.
The Court has no obligation to set a timeline for making a decision on granting or denying review..
Sally Field’s moving speech at 2012 Human Rights Campaign National Dinner
The Court Cases That Changed Our World
Many of the greatest strides in the fight for LGBT social justice and sexual liberation were the result of court cases, often involving accidental activists simply fighting for the right to live their lives like everybody else.
Defriended Over a Wedding, a Straight Man Gains Perspective
Folks started posting photos from the wedding on Facebook, and I proudly reposted photos of the ceremony (with me looking awesome in my new suit, of course). Shortly after that, I received this message from a FB friend:
“Hey David, I am removing you from my friends list…sorry man, that latest post is way over the top! Homosexuals joining in “Holy” matrimony…I don’t think so??? The Holy Bible speaks out against homosexuality and speaks highly of Holy matrimony between a man and a woman. It’s nothing more than a slap in the face to those who choose God’s Word, for homosexuals to join in a Holy marriage. I’m only defriending you so I don’t have to look at your anti-God stuff anymore…nothing personal!”
Wow.
Yes, of course we’d like the option to be there should we choose that path, but we have to get there, first. Trust me, I’m not exactly planning my wedding when men harass me on the street, telling me that my sexual identity is a “waste” and that they can “fix” me. I wasn’t hearing wedding bells when I weighed the consequences of coming out to my parents, not sure if I would have a stable home afterwards. Oh, and in high school? I certainly wasn’t concerned about marriage while the GSA posters were being stripped from the walls and deliberately torn to pieces.
Our voice is not being represented when issues such as bullying, youth homelessness, and abuse are overlooked in favor of the “victory” of marriage.
France Almost Certain To Adopt Marriage Equality
In an address on Saturday to fellow members of his Socialist Party, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said:
In October, we will send a bill to the National Assembly and the Senate to allow same-sex couples to marry. It would also allow them to form families and adopt children.
Looking at the Future of Gay Marriage
With voters in Minnesota, Maine, Washington state and Maryland all weighing in on marriage equality this November, Paul Waldman at The American Prospect offers a great, concise history of the same-sex marriage debate here in the States and looks forward to a not-so-distant future in which enshrined discrimination may be a thing of the past.
