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Voters in the tiny nation of Lichtenstein have approved a version of civil unions for LGBT couples.
Gay and lesbian couples will receive the same tax, inheritance and welfare rights as come with marriage following a referendum in which 68 percent supported the law, Swiss news agency ATS reported. Parliament had all but adopted the legislation earlier this year but its critics, the group Vox Populi, called for a public poll. The new law is based on the Swiss model which came into effect in 2007 and therefore excludes the right to adopt children. "With this clear 'yes' to partnerships, Liechtenstein... is putting an end to the current discrimination faced by same-sex couples," ATS quoted Prime Minister Klaus Tschuetscher as saying.Lichtenstein has a population of about 35,000.
"In the last 24 hours, another shoe dropped in the sprint to redefine marriage in New York. A second Republican has now come forward, promising to vote in favor of same-sex unions. Now that Roy McDonald has crumbled, the senate is just one vote shy of breaking down the door on marriage and redefining the family in one of the most pivotal states in the union. Earlier today, our sources on the ground said that the vote could come as early as tonight. Either way, the bill's fate rests in the hands of the state's Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R), who will make the final decision on whether to bring the legislation to the floor.
"Your involvement is crucial. Our only hope for stopping this runaway train is if New Yorkers call their senate offices today. In particular, reach out to Greg Ball (Putnam County), 518-455-3111; Joe Griffo (Utica), 518-455-3334; Mark Grisanti (Buffalo, Grand Island, Niagara Falls), 518-455-3240; Andrew Lanza (Staten Island) 518-455-3215; Betty Little (Plattsburgh to Glens Falls), 518-455-2811; and Jack Martins (Nassau County/Garden City) 518-455-3265. If you can't get on the phone, please get on your knees. Ask the Lord to intervene in the hearts and minds of these leaders that they would recognize the profound and lasting consequences of this moment." - Hate group leader Tony Perkins.
NOTE: Please do use the numbers provided above!
Openly gay New York state Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell has shepherded his chamber to an approval of marriage equality for the fourth time. Gay City News reports:
While State Senate Republicans on June 15 dragged their heels on moving a marriage equality bill to debate and a vote, the Assembly, having waived the three-day hold on newly introduced legislation, rushed Governor Andrew Cuomo’s measure through committee and to the floor, where it passed by an 80-63 vote Wednesday evening. This was the Assembly’s fourth vote on marriage equality, each one of them successful, since 2007. Upper West Side Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell, an out gay Democrat, is the lead sponsor. On the heels of two Republican senators pledging their “yes” votes in recent days, the majority in that chamber met behind closed doors for more than four hours on Wednesday morning, only to announce they would pick up the discussion again the following day. Senators who have yet to firmly commit to one side or another refused comment or stuck to their noncommittal positions. The public count of Senate supporters stands at 31, one vote shy of a majority.
Mike Rogers is at the podium kicking off today's Netroots 2011 LGBT Conference. In the room: Pam Spaulding, Jeremy Hooper, Michael Crawford, Rod McCullom, Jillian Weiss, Jarrod Chlapowski, Jerame Davis, Fred Sainz, Corey Johnston, Chris Johnson, Phil Reese, and about 100 more hard-working LGBT activists.
Clip description: "Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics against House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) regarding the $500,000 contracted by the Office of the General Counsel for the defense of the Defense of Marriage Act."
No news links yet, but Twitter users are reporting that France's Parliament just rejected a same-sex marriage bill by a vote of 293-222. Story developing....
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California has declared DOMA to be unconstitutional. The ruling arises from a case in which a married gay couple was denied the right to jointly declare bankruptcy. Chris Geidner at Metro Weekly provides the court's money quote:
This case is about equality, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, for two people who filed for protection under Title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code). Like many struggling families during these difficult economic times, Gene Balas and Carlos Morales (Debtors), filed a joint chapter 13 petition on February 24, 2011. Although the Debtors were legally married to each other in California on August 20, 2008, and remain married today, the United States Trustee (sometimes referred to simply as “trustee”) moved to dismiss this case pursuant to Bankruptcy Code § 1307(c) (Motion to Dismiss), asserting that the Debtors are ineligible to file a joint petition based on Bankruptcy Code § 302(a) because the Debtors are two males.
This takes the damn ass fucking cake, but it's no surprise to those of us on Twitter.
As the gay-rights movement advances, there's increasing evidence of an intriguing role reversal: Today, it's the conservative opponents of that movement who seem eager to depict themselves as victims of intolerance. To them, the gay-rights lobby has morphed into a relentless bully — pressuring companies and law firms into policy reversals, making it taboo in some circumstances to express opposition to same-sex marriage. "They're advocating for a lot of changes in the name of tolerance," said Jim Campbell, an attorney with the conservative Alliance Defense Fund. "Yet ironically the tolerance is not returned, for people of faith who don't agree with their agenda." Many gay activists, recalling their movement's past struggles and mindful of remaining bias, consider such protestations by their foes to be hollow and hypocritical.
The Associated Press reports:
Stone-throwing extremists have disrupted a gay pride march in Croatia, a day after the Balkan country was given the green light to join the European Union. State television has reported that dozens have been detained and several were injured Saturday in the conservative coastal town of Split. Croatia has pledged to protect human rights as part of efforts at EU membership. EU officials said Friday that Croatia could join in 2013. State TV said around 200 people participated in the pride march, while thousands of opponents lined the streets in protest. The report says riot police prevented direct clashes. Extremists threw rocks, bottles and firecrackers at the participants.
Before being elected to Congress, Hartzler headed the Coalition to Protect Marriage in Missouri, which in 2004 backed the successful campaign to install a statewide constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
The Moscow Times reports:
Channel One’s mock news show “Yesterday Live” imagined what might have happened if City Hall had permitted the [gay pride] march and the two sides had gotten together to celebrate, in a surprisingly tolerant comedy sketch. A news reader in a satin jacket reads from a pink page against a gay rights flag. “It would be curious to see gays and border guards marking their holiday on the same day,” he says. The sketch shows stereotypically mincing gay activists in Village People outfits and boas fraternizing with the swaggering border guards in stripy vests. “We’ve waited 17 years for Luzhkov to leave,” one says, referring to the openly homophobic mayor, sacked in September. The two sides join for a “West Side Story”-style dance routine to the tune of the song “America” with a joke about the sexual orientation of the pop singers at the traditional concert for the border guards. At the end, the two groups separate, but one border guard confusedly stays with the gay group, before running back to his brothers in arms with a scream of alarm.Courtesy of Blabbeando, here's the skit. The audio is unfortunately out of sync.
The Human Rights Campaign gives us a break from all the celebrity endorsements.
The Obama administration today launched a new official subsite titled "Winning The Future: President Obama & the LGBT Community." Chris Geidner reports at Metro Weekly:
In addition to the fact sheet and email sign-up page, the LGBT home page contains links to the administration's "It Gets Better" videos; White House blog posts relating to LGBT issues; LGBT-related news releases from the administration; and links to resources, including StopBullying.gov, AIDS.gov and the Defense Department's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal page.
The two-page, "The Obama Administration's Commitment to Winning the Future for the LGBT Community" fact sheet contains many bullet points of accomplishments -- similar to but more expansive than Tuesday's 2011 LGBT Pride Month proclamation from Obama -- and three bullet points about future progress. The "progress" points all relate, at least in part, to relationship recognition -- a topic absent from Tuesday's proclamation.
