WHAT HAPPENED-WHAT MATTERED In Same-Sex Marriage

 

 

We lift up these headlines from sources around the world for special attention because they focus on important issues in our fight for marriage equality and other matters affecting same-sex couples and our families. Follow us on twitter.

 

5th Texas Court of Appeals declares two Dallas gay men may not divorce

Houston Gay Issues Examiner  September 1, 2010

The 5th Texas Court of Appeals declared Tuesday that a Dallas judge did not have the jurisdiction to grant a divorce to two gay men married in Massachusetts.

The Republican state attorney General Greg Abbott appealed the decision from October of 2009, when he released a statement saying, “The Office of the Attorney General will appeal the court's ruling to defend the traditional definition of marriage that was approved by Texas voters."

The case was argued before a three judge panel in April of this year. It was yesterday Justice Kerry P. FitzGerald issued an opinion to reverse Judge Tina Callahan’s original ruling that the two men, referred to as J.B. and H.B., would be granted a divorce rather than a voidance of their marriage.

Media Focusing on Gay Marriage Support Among Republicans

Opinion by GLAAD  September 1, 2010

In the days since former RNC head Ken Mehlman came out last week, the media has taken a good, long look at where the issue of marriage equality stands in the Republican Party now - compared to where it was in 2004, when Mehlman was running George W. Bush’s re-election campaign.

The Washington Post says that Mehlman is just the latest in a long line of prominent conservatives fighting for marriage.

US News and World Report looks at the current state of gay Republicans, and where they’re putting their money.

Baltimore Sun columnist Jean Marbella says Mehlman is “what gay looks like” now.

The New York Times ran a series of five different opinions on whether the LGBT community now has a place within the Republican Party.

In an interview with the Daily Caller, former Ambassador to the UN John Bolton adds his name to the list of Republicans who have “no problem” with marriage equality.

World-Herald to accept gay wedding announcements

Associated Press August 31, 2010

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - After a flurry of criticism, the Omaha World-Herald is easing its ban on gay marriage announcements to allow notices about legally recognized same-sex unions.

World-Herald Publisher Terry Kroeger announced the change Tuesday, a week after an online firestorm erupted about the newspaper's refusal to print a lesbian couple's commitment notice.

Kroeger says the World-Herald may have been slow to react to this issue, but the newspaper never hated gays and lesbians.

Kroeger says the newspaper changed its policy because five states, including neighboring Iowa, and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage. The World-Herald will now accept paid announcements of weddings, engagements and anniversaries from areas that sanction gay marriage.

Lesbian Presbyterian minister plans to appeal against court ruling regarding same-sex marriages

By Christopher Brocklebank • August 31, 2010

A retired lesbian minister who officiated at a number of same-sex weddings during the period in which they were legal in California, says she will appeal against the ruling of a Presbyterian court last Thursday which rebuked her for going against the constitution of her denomination.

The court ruled that Reverend Jane Adams Spahr's actions sent contradictory messages about the church's support of gay rights.

The court, part of the Redwoods Presbytery district of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Napa, California, did however, acquit Rev Spahr on a charge of failing "to further the peace, unity and purity of the church".

Rev Spahr was also praised by the court for "her prophetic ministry that for 35 years has extended support to 'people who seek the dignity, freedom and respect that they have been denied'".

AVIS Offers Worldwide Discounts to LGBT travelers with International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.  August 30, 2010

Avis recently signed a three-year partnership with the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association that provides gay travelers with discounted car rentals. The Avis Worldwide Discount (AWD) number B450300 provides savings of up to 25 percent on global rentals.
 
"Avis leads the industry in its commitment to the gay and lesbian community," says IGLTA President/CEO John Tanzella. "We encourage all travelers to use the discount booking code to get the best rates and reciprocate Avis's show of support."
 
Additional deals can be found on the Avis website at www.avis.com/iglta. IGLTA member travel agents will receive commissions when using the Avis discount code.
 
Avis is currently the only car rental company to hold a top-tier partnership in IGLTA, the leading global organization dedicated to connecting businesses in the LGBT tourism industry.

Same-sex marriage gains GOP support

The Washington Post  August 27, 2010

A growing number of Republicans are breaking with the party's traditional stance to publicly state their support for same-sex marriage, a shift strategists say stems as much from demographics as from the renewed focus on economics and the "tea party" movement.

A solid majority of adults younger than 30 - about six in 10 - support the right of gay and lesbian couples to legally wed, according to a Washington Post poll in February.

But even many older Americans and self-identified social conservatives have changed their view on an issue that just six years ago galvanized voters in support of President George W. Bush's reelection.

Presbyterian minister to be censured for gay weddings

The Press Democrat  August 27, 2010

A retired Bay Area Presbyterian minister was found guilty Friday by a church tribunal of presiding at the marriage of same-sex couples in 2008 and will be censured, pending an appeal.

The six-member panel announced its verdict in the case of the Rev. Jane Spahr, 68, of San Francisco, who was accused of violating church law by performing 16 gay and lesbian ceremonies, including the marriage of a gay Santa Rosa couple.

The trial at Convenant Presbyterian Church in Napa was a difficult test for the national denomination, which has been split for years over whether to allow ordination of gay ministers and to permit ministers to sanction same-sex marriages.

Ed Miliband calls for marriage equality describing civil partnerships as "not good enough"

By Christopher Brocklebank • August 25, 2010

In an exclusive comment column for PinkNews.co.uk, Ed Miliband, who is a contender in the Labour leadership race, has pledged that his party will fight for full marriage equality, an end to homophobic hate speech and better treatment of LGBT asylum seekers.

Mr Miliband is almost neck-and-neck with his brother David in the leadership polls. The other three candidates are Diane Abbott, Ed Balls and Andy Burnham. Shadow foreign secretary David gained the backing of 165 constituency parties, followed by Ed on 148. However, Ed was backed by more union leaders.

When asked about going head-to-head with his brother for the coveted position of Labour leader, Ed reportedly said: "Brotherly love will survive because brotherly love is more important than politics."

In his article for PinkNews.co.uk, Ed Miliband described the "Separate but equal" status of civil partnerships as "not good enough", writing "PinkNews.co.uk’s own recent poll demonstrated the huge support in the LGBT community for a right to marry. The cruel consequence of the current compromise is trans people forced to divorce their partners before they could be legally recognised in their new gender. I want to see heterosexual and same-sex partnerships put on an equal basis and a Labour Party that I lead will campaign to make gay marriage happen."

Oprah's Former Chef Art Smith Sprints into Wedded Bliss

People Magazine  August 24, 2010

Forget a limo – James Beard award winning chef Art Smith went a different route for his wedding transportation: He kicked off the day with a four-mile run through Washington, D.C., alongside his longtime partner Jesus Salgueiro and 485 guests.

"We had the runners, the joggers, the walkers," Smith tells PEOPLE. "We had sweat on our shirts but nobody cared because it was beautiful."

The run, which began at Smith's D.C. restaurant Art and Soul, ended at the base of the Lincoln Memorial, where the grooms shared a marriage blessing last Saturday.

"It was this big gay wedding," Smith, 50, who served as Oprah's personal chef for 10 years, says, laughing. "But it was a wedding made up our friends from all over the world."

Jane Spahr, California minister to face trial for wedding gay couples when legal, before Prop 8

BY Aliyah Shahid  DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER, August 24th 2010

It may have been legal - but as far as the church is concerned, it was an unholy offense.

Retired Presbyterian minister Jane Spahr will go on a church trial in California for marrying gay couples during the brief period when same-sex marriage was legal in the state.

Spahr, 68, is being accused of violating church doctrine when she wedded 16 gay and lesbian couples between June and November 2008.

It isn't the first time the lesbian evangelist has had a brush with church officials over same-sex marriage.

A regional church court convicted Spahr in 2007 for marrying two lesbian couples. She was later acquitted by the church's top court who deemed the ceremonies were not real marriages.

Lesbian minister to go before Presbyterian court for performing same-sex marriages

By Christopher Brocklebank • August 24, 2010

A lesbian minister who officiated at a number of same-sex weddings during the period in which they were legal in California, is to go before a Presbyterian court this Thursday charged with going against her denomination's constitution.

Reverend Jane Adams Spahr's case comes less then a month after a federal court judge declared that the state's ban on same-sex marriage, known as Proposition 8, was unconstitutional.

This case is of special interest because of the difficult position that the changing definition of marriage is putting ministers in.

Faith school denies place to daughter of lesbian couple

By Christopher Brocklebank • August 24, 2010

A private Christian school in Texas has refused admission to the daughter of a lesbian couple. The school say their reason for the refusal is that they base their enrollment policies on the "clear teaching of the Christian faith".

St Vincent's Cathedral School in Dallas reportedly said in an email to the HLN news network that they would not deviate from their stance over "matters of marriage and sex outside marriage" by admitting 4-year-old Olivia Harrison.

The Reverend Ryan Reed reportedly said: "We based our decisions about enrollment on what is best for the children of St Vincent's as a whole and in conformity with the above standards. We regret the disappointment the mother feels, but also do not understand why she would want to enroll her child in a school that would undercut her own personal values."

Proposed film may test Greek attitudes to gay marriage

By Christopher Brocklebank • August 23, 2010

A new screenplay about gay marriage by a Greek-based British author is expected to be shot next summer by a consortium of UK production companies.

With the working title of Shocking the Donkeys: the Gay Marriage that Rocked the Cradle of Civilisation, James Collins's screenplay seeks to bring attention the the Greek attitude to same sex marriage, which as reported in Queer Times, 85 per cent of the country's population are against.

The film's producers are hoping it will do for the film's as-yet-undecided location in Greece what Mamma Mia! did for Skoplelos.

Mr Collins said: "When they [the viewers] visit the island, we want them to see and experience everything they saw in the film, except the [homophobic] characters, of course."

Currently, Greek marriage laws refer only to two "persons" and not to one man and one woman.

Wedding expo caters to Md. gay couples planning to marry in D.C.

The Baltimore Sun  August 22, 2010

The topic was her wedding, but the tears in Tracey Nolan's eyes had nothing to do with joy. Instead, she was recalling how two different Baltimore venues had declined to host her unofficial wedding ceremony next spring after she and fiancee Lori Aikens officially tie the knot in Washington.

"It's the most important day of your life," said Nolan, a 43-year-old Parkville resident. "We want to feel comfortable; we don't want to feel like we're outsiders."

Their quest for friendly vendors took them Sunday to Club Hippo in Mount Vernon, site of a wedding expo for gay couples. Three dozen companies — including caterers, photographers, officiants and Bloomingdale's — set up tables to market their wares and services to those eyeing a wedding in Washington, one of the few places in the nation where same-sex marriage is legal.

"It's given us somewhere to start," said Aikens, a trucking company manager. She and Nolan plan to wed in Washington, then have another ceremony and reception in Baltimore.

Gay couples call for full rights

The Irish Times - August 22, 2010

SAME-SEX couples should not be grateful for being given half the rights of married couples in Ireland, a demonstration to highlight shortcomings in civil partnership legislation was told yesterday.

Anna McCarthy, organiser with Noise, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender campaign group, said while the introduction of civil partnership legislation may have been a victory for decency, it was not a victory for equality or civil rights.

More than 2,000 people took part in the march in Dublin city centre yesterday afternoon from City Hall to the Department of Justice on St Stephen’s Green.

Organisers said the Government had tried to “pacify” the gay community but had failed. They called for the right to marry for same-sex couples. The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2009, signed into law last month, extended marriage-like benefits to gay and lesbian couples in some areas but did not address the rights of children.

Appeals court fails to explain Prop. 8 ruling

San Francisco Chronicle  August 21, 2010

The most surprising thing about a federal appeals court's decision in the Proposition 8 case this week wasn't its conclusion - that same-sex marriages remain barred while the case is on appeal - but the court's lack of an explanation.

The three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco wasn't required to state its reasons for issuing a stay Monday that put the marriages on hold until the court decides whether Prop. 8 violated the constitutional right to marry one's chosen partner. That ruling won't come until at least early next year.

Massachusetts Decision on Federal Benefits for Gay Couples Stayed

WSJ Blogs  August 20, 2010

It’s déjà vu all over again, as Yogi Berra might say. Earlier this week, after Prop 8 was struck down in a federal district court, gay couples in California learned they would have to wait at least awhile longer to get married after the decision was stayed. And now, in Massachusetts, it appears a decision striking down a ban on federal benefits for same-sex couples will experience a similar fate.

Unlike in California, this stay, agreed to on Wednesday, actually had the blessing of all parties involved, according to the National Law Journal.

The plaintiffs consented because they preferred certainty on the issue rather than face the prospect of making repayments to the government in the event the decision was reversed. “Only a final victory ensures that,” said Mary Bonauto of the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, which represented the plaintiffs.  Bonauto also said they hoped the stay would help avoid confusion for married couples across the country.

British man in Nepal's first foreign gay marriage ceremony

By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk • August 20, 2010

A foreign gay couple had a gay marriage ceremony in Nepal this week.

Sanjay Shah, a British man from Leicester, married an Indian man who did not want to be named in a ceremony on Tuesday evening.

The couple's wedding was organised by gay group Blue Diamond Society, run by Nepal's best-known gay activist, MP Sunil Pant.

The group arranged for them to have a marriage certificate and to have the ceremony blessed by a Hindu priest.

Although Nepal does not yet recognise same-sex marriage, wedding ceremonies performed by priests are usually accepted in society.

Gay vicar won't promise to remain celibate after civil partnership

By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk • August 20, 2010

The Rev Colin Coward, director of the liberal Changing Attitude church group, plans to tie the knot with his fiance in a civil partnership in October.

Rev Coward, 65, a priest at St John the Baptist church in Devizes, Wiltshire, hopes to have a civil partnership with his boyfriend of three years, 25-year-old Bobby Egbele.

The pair plan to have a "carefully-worded" blessing in church, which to keep in line with Church of England laws, must not actually mention them as a gay couple.

Instead, the couple will have a Communion Eucharist service which blesses "friendship".

Rev Coward also plans to reject requests for him to stay celibate. Church of England law accepts gay priests, including those in civil partnerships, so long as they do not have sex.

Swedish story of gay pair adopting

The Philadelphia Enquirer  August 20, 2010

In most ways a competent and praiseworthy movie, Patrik Age 1.5 has a single drawback that can't be overlooked, at least from the standpoint of an American viewer. It's predictable.

If it were predictable simply in terms of its outcome, it wouldn't matter: Action movies never end with the hero's funeral, and romantic comedies don't wind up with lovers deciding divorce is the best option. The predictability of Patrik Age 1.5 goes deeper and is ever-present. It's predictable in the nature of its scenes, in its feints in the direction of comedy, in the shading of its relationships, in its manufactured crises. It's predictable in the personalities of its central characters, in their doubts, and in their essential radiant goodness. And in the end, it all arrives at a place that's foreordained.

A gay couple move into a middle-class neighborhood, where Goran (Gustaf Skarsgard), the younger and more openhearted of the partners, goes to a block party. "Where's your wife?" they ask; whereupon on cue, Sven (Torkel Petersson) emerges in all his bald, bearded glory. "This is my husband." Gasps. Discomfort. Adjustment. Then smiles: The neighbors are nice people.

Gay marriage surprise issue in Australian election

(AFP)  August 20, 2010

Gay marriage has popped up as the surprise question in the Australian election campaign, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her right-leaning opponent Tony Abbott repeatedly challenged on the issue.

Gillard, an unmarried atheist who lives with her partner, and staunch Catholic family man Abbott both say that marriage should only be between a man and a woman.

On Friday, Labor leader Gillard told The Australian newspaper she rejected same-sex weddings because "the marriage act has a special status in our culture", adding that she appreciated "our heritage as a Christian country".

Abbott also faced questioning, with one voter asking him when he would "overcome your fear and ignorance of gay people and give them the dignity and respect that you'd happily give to all other Australians".

The former trainee priest said that while he did not support same-sex marriage, he hoped he would "always find it in my heart to treat people the way everyone should be treated -- with dignity and respect".

UK: Adoption charity can't ban gay couples

(AP)  August 19, 2010

A Catholic adoption advisory service that refuses to help gay couples cannot win an exemption from anti-discrimination laws, Britain's charity regulator said Thursday.

Catholic Care, a charity in Leeds, northern England, had argued that as a religious group it should be allowed to offer adoption-support services only to heterosexuals. It said its funding from the Roman Catholic church was dependent on its policy of helping only married heterosexual couples to adopt.

In March, it won a High Court appeal of the original decision in the case, but in a final ruling Britain's Charity Commission said the group's policy was discriminatory and breached European human rights laws.

The commission ordered the group to either cease its work to place children with adoptive parents or to abide by equality laws — meaning it would need to consider gay couples as prospective parents.

"The charity is very disappointed with the outcome, Catholic Care will now consider whether there is any other way in which the charity can continue to support families seeking to adopt children in need," the group said in a statement.

What Does Obama Really Think About Gay Marriage? A Telling Timeline

The New Republic  August 19, 2010

In the gay marriage debate, President Obama says that he supports civil unions for same-sex couples. But has this always been his view? A look back at his statements on gay marriage, from his days as a state senate candidate until his time in the White House, suggests that Obama's public stance has shifted notably:

1996: In response to a questionnaire from Outlines newspaper (now part of Windy City Times), Obama, a candidate for the Illinois state senate seat representing the wealthy Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, writes, “I favor legalizing same-sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages." Eight years later, in a letter to Windy City Times, Obama would say that he opposed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) of 1996, calling it “an effort to demonize people for political advantage” that should be repealed.

Poll: Public support for same-sex marriage grows

Rhode Island News  August 19, 2010

A poll on same-sex marriage released Wednesday shows that support for legalizing same-sex marriage in Rhode Island is growing while opposition is decreasing.

“It shows, for the first time, a convincing majority of Rhode Island voters supporting equality,” said David Walker, vice president of Greenberg Quinlan and Rosner Research, a Democratic polling firm based in Washington, D.C., that conducted the poll in July.

Catholic charity's appeal over gay adoption fails

BBC News UK  August 18, 2010

A Roman Catholic adoption charity's appeal to be allowed to discriminate against gay people wanting it to place children with them has been rejected.

Catholic Care wants exemption from new anti-discrimination laws so it can comply with Church teaching ruling out homosexual couples as adoptive parents.

The Charity Commission said gay people were suitable parents and religious views did not justify discrimination.

The Leeds-based charity said it was "very disappointed" and might appeal.

Catholic Care - which had been placing children with adoptive parents for more than 100 years - was among a dozen Catholic agencies in England and Wales forced to change their policy towards homosexual people by the equality laws passed in 2007.

Indian-Briton gay couple ties knot in Nepal

Press Trust of India   August 18, 2010

A Gay couple — from India and Britain — has tied the knot at a ceremony held at a Hindu temple here, as Nepal taps on the gay and lesbian community to promote tourism, which had suffered during the Maoist insurgency.

Social worker Sanjaya Shah, 42, from the UK on Tuesday married in a Teku temple S Khan, 30, from Gujarat under the aegis of Blue Diamond Society (BDS), an organisation dedicated for the cause of gay and lesbian in Nepal. The BDS charged $200 to issue them a marriage certificate to, said Sunil Babu Pant, President of the Society, who is also the first Nepalese gay lawmaker.

As there was no law to permit same sex marriage in India, they came to Nepal for the purpose of wedding, he said.

Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka Expecting A Girl & A Boy

By On Top Magazine Staff   Published: August 17, 2010

It'll be a girl and a boy for gay dads-to-be Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, celebrity glossy Us Weekly reported.

Openly gay actor Harris tweeted to his thousands of followers Saturday that the couple is expecting twins.

“So, get this: David and I are expecting twins this fall,” he messaged. “We're super excited/nervous/thrilled.”

“Hoping the press can respect our privacy...” he added.

An unnamed source told Us Weekly that the couple will welcome a son and a daughter via surrogate in the fall. Harris and celebrity chef Burtka entered a domestic partnership in 2004. Also see them in the 10,000 Inspiring Couples Gallery

LGBT Community More Aware of Gender Inequality

10,000 Couples by Angela Minor   August 17, 2010

Polling public opinion is a favorite pastime in America. We have “representative sampling” on all manner of topics from politics to fast food. The results are often presented in news formats, intimating that these opinions are “facts.” Occasionally, these results are indeed closer to factual than many would like to admit! Such is the case in the latest Harris Poll (www.witeckcombs.com/news/releases/20100817_harris.pdf ) on the topic of gender equality.

The purpose of the poll was not to question whether the playing field between women and men is level, since most are in agreement that it is not. The purpose was to measure the perceptions of hetero respondents compared to gay respondents. When asked if it is true that gender equality is balanced and “fine” between the sexes, 55% of men agreed and 32% of women agreed (in the hetero responses). In the LGBT community, only 32% of men and 22% of women agreed.

German court: gay couples entitled to equal treatment on inheritance tax

The Associated Press  August 17, 2010

Germany's highest court has ruled that gay couples in civil partnerships are entitled to the same favourable inheritance tax rules as married heterosexual couples.

The Federal constitutional Court on Tuesday decided in favour of two homosexual plaintiffs after each had lost their partner and contested rules under which they had to pay inheritance tax as if they were distant relatives of the deceased.

The court found that there is no reason to discriminate against people in registered homosexual partnerships. Such unions have been possible in Germany since 2001 but legally fall short of marriage.

Court Extends Stay on Allowing Gay Marriage

By JESSE McKINLEY, The New York Times  Published: August 16, 2010

A federal appeals court has extended a stay on same-sex marriages in California until it decides whether a ban on such unions is constitutional.

It is just the latest turn in a protracted legal battle over Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban.

The ruling, issued by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, came less than a week after a federal district judge, Vaughn R. Walker, lifted a stay he had imposed to allow proponents of the ban to argue why same-sex marriages should not proceed. On Aug. 4, Judge Walker ruled that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional.

Mexico supreme court upholds gay adoptions

By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO (AP)  August 16, 2010

Mexico's Supreme Court voted Monday to uphold a Mexico City law allowing adoptions by same-sex couples.

The justices voted 9-2 against challenges presented by federal prosecutors and others who had argued the law fails to protect adoptive children against possible ill effects or discrimination, or to guarantee their rights to a traditional family.

Justices voting with the majority argued that once same-sex marriages had been approved, it would be discriminatory to consider those couples less capable of parental duties than heterosexual couples.

The court voted earlier this month by the same margin to uphold same-sex marriages themselves under a Mexico City law enacted March 4.

Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples have married under the law, but city officials have not yet reported any applications by those couples to adopt children.

     

Poll: Most Nevadans oppose gay marriage

The Associated Press  August 14, 2010

Most Nevadans still oppose legalizing gay marriage in the state, according to a statewide poll released Saturday. The Las Vegas Review-Journal and KLAS-TV survey found that 46 percent oppose same-sex marriage, 35 percent support it and 19 percent were undecided. That compares with two-thirds of Nevadans who gave final approval in 2002 to a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

The telephone poll of 625 registered voters was conducted Monday through Wednesday by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc., and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

'Eat, Pray, Love's' Elizabeth Gilbert To Support Gay Binational Couples

By On Top Magazine Staff   Published: August 14, 2010

Best-selling author Elizabeth Gilbert will join Immigration Equality in lobbying Congress for the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA).

Gilbert, whose film adaptation of Eat, Pray, Love starring Julia Roberts opened nationwide on Friday, is half of a binational couple herself. She chronicled her experience in her follow-up book Committed.

Immigration Equality has been lobbying for passage of the UAFA, a bill that would allow gay Americans to sponsor an immigrant partner for citizenship. Currently, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) forbids any federal agency from recognizing married gay couples.

Gilbert will join the Washington-based group on September 30 to talk to lawmakers about the inequity.

Brown urges speedy return to gay marriages

By PAUL ELIAS and LISA LEFF (AP)  August 14, 2010

Attorney General Jerry Brown urged a federal appeals court Friday to waste no time in allowing gay marriages to resume in California now that a lower court has overturned the state's same-sex marriage ban.

The brief legal papers came in response to efforts by same-sex marriage opponents to get the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals to block a lower court judge's ruling striking down Proposition 8 from taking effect next week.

If the 9th Circuit refuses to intervene, it would clear the way for same-sex couples to marry starting after the close of business Wednesday.

Brown, the Democratic nominee for governor, said there was no reason for the appeals court to stay Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's decision because the potential inconvenience to state and local agencies pale in comparison to the harm suffered by gay couples whose civil rights are being violated.

"While there is still the potential for limited administrative burdens should future marriages of same-sex couples be later declared invalid, these potential burdens are outweighed by the district court's conclusion, based on the overwhelming evidence, that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional," he said.

CNN Poll Finds Majority Support for Marriage

Opinion by GLAAD  August 12, 2010

On August 4th, Federal Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that California’s ban on marriage between gay and lesbian couples violates the US Constitution. According to CNN pollsters, nearly half of America agrees – and more than half feel that gay and lesbian couples should have the right to get married.

The full results of the poll can be seen here.

Researchers asked “Do you think gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to get married and have their marriage recognized by law as valid?” 49% of Americans said yes – a four percent jump over another poll conducted just last year. 51% said no, a three percent drop from last year. (Last year, 1% had no opinion. This year, that was not the case.)

Researchers then asked a second sample “Do you think gays and lesbians should have a constitutional right to get married and have their marriage recognized by law as valid?” (emphasis added) Here, for what’s believed to be the first time, 52% of Americans said yes.  46% said no, and the other 2% had no opinion.

Gay Marriages Resume As Judge Vaughn Walker Denies Prop 8 Stay

By Carlos Santoscoy  Published: August 12, 2010

Gay marriages will resume in California after a federal judge Thursday denied a motion to stay his ruling against Proposition 8.

“California is now the sixth state where same-sex couples share in the freedom to marry,” Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, said. “As the governor, the attorney general and Judge Walker have all concluded, there is no good reason to continue excluding same-sex couples from marriage.”

City lawmakers in West Hollywood announced immediately after the decision was announced that the city would begin marrying gay and lesbian couples on a first-come, first-serve basis at a local park. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaragosa told the Los Angeles Times that the city will begin performing marriages on the steps of City Hall later today. Demonstrations and marches are also expected to take place in major cities.

All Mexican states must recognize gay marriages

(AP) – August 10, 2010

MEXICO CITY — Mexico's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that all 31 states must recognize same-sex marriages performed in the capital, though its decision does not force those states to begin marrying gay couples in their territory.

In a 9-2 decision, the tribunal cited an article of the constitution requiring states to recognize legal contracts drawn up elsewhere.

It did not specify what degree of recognition must be granted to same-sex couples.

Mexico City's same-sex marriage law, enacted in March, extends to wedded gay couples the right to adopt children, to jointly apply for bank loans, to inherit wealth and to be covered by their spouses' insurance policies. Some of those may end up applying only in the capital.

The Supreme Court ruled last week that same-sex weddings are constitutional — though it is holding separate discussions this week on the adoption clause.

One of the justices, Sergio Aguirre, argued against adoptions by same-sex couples Tuesday, saying children might suffer discrimination as a result.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Portia De Rossi Files For Ellen DeGeneres' Surname

By On Top Magazine Staff   Published: August 10, 2010

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres' wife Portia de Rossi has filed paperwork to change her name to Portia Lee James DeGeneres, TMZ.com reported.

The legal document was filed in L.A. County Superior Court last Friday, but was signed by the actress in late March. “Petitioner is taking the last name of her spouse,” the document says.

During the brief 2008 June-to-November window when gay marriage was legal in California, DeGeneres exchanged vows with De Rossi. The pair announced their engagement during a May taping of DeGeneres' popular talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, after a four-year romance.

SAME-SEX WEDDING COMPETITION HONORS CIVIL RIGHTS AND LOVE

10,000 Couples by Angela Minor August 10, 2010

Our nation’s capital passed its Civil Marriage Equality Act in December 2009, which added a sixth location where same gender couples can legally commit to each other. Five states and Washington, DC are at the forefront of this ongoing struggle to recognize the legitimacy of same gender relationships. In celebration of the passage, Freedom2Wed launched a competition like those seen on Good Morning America, only with a twist – the couples are gay and lesbian!

Each submission from hundreds of couples across the country consists of a YouTube video where they share a glimpse into their lives as couples. The field of competitors has been narrowed to the final six couples. Each couple is hoping to win an extravagant wedding package complete with attire, rings, decorations, venue, California honeymoon, and more valued at over $100,000.

While the “prize” is incredible and the wedding itself will be the memory of a lifetime, this is not the only reason the final six couples are competing. Each of the videos reveals qualities about the individuals and the unique challenges faced by same gender couples. Without exception, each video demonstrates that our personal lives are part of the larger fabric of society.

Everyone should really watch these - they are tremendously touching!

My Fellow Conservatives, Think Carefully About Your Opposition to Gay Marriage

By Margaret Hoover  August 10, 2010