Thursday, November 30, 2006

South Africa Has Same Sex Marriage

South Africa became the first country in Africa to legalize same sex marriages:

"(The) acting president ... has signed into law the Civil Union Act, 2006," the president's office said in a statement.

The legislation came into operation on Thursday, and allows for civil unions to be solemnized by way of either a marriage or a civil partnership.


Marriage Equality is on the march!

Citizen Romney's New Suit

Citizen Romney's suit is being heard today by a single justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. For all of you keeping score, yes, the absentee Governor of Massachusetts filed the suit in his capacity as a citizen of the Commonwealth and NOT the governor. Yet he held a rally for the suit as Governor, interesting.

The other co-signers of the suit are a who's who of anti-gay activists in the State and some of the 30 original signers of the petition*:
  • C. Joseph Doyle,* the confirmed bachelor and regular "guest" on Massresistance: The Radio Show, signer
  • Raymond "I'm not a bigot" Flynn*
  • Richard F. Guerriero*
  • Bronwyn E. Loring*, she signed the letter out of concern for her granddaughters (Is she afraid they won't be enough straight men left for them to get married?) and seems to be a bit obsessed with gay sex. She also founded the North Shore Christian Network.
  • Robert S. Miranda*, also know as Roberto who links Sept 11th to Boston to Marriage Equality. Oh, and marriage equality is the work of the devil.
  • Philip D. Moran*
  • Joseph R. Nolan*, former Supreme Judicial Court Justice who Romney wanted to be special prosecutor in 2004 to stop the same sex marriages from happening.
  • Jossie E. Owens*
  • Richard W. Richardson*, who was/is with the spokesman for the Black Ministerial Alliance
  • Mitt Romney (now why didn't he use his legal name and is he in the State today?)
  • Philip Travis*, who is retiring from the legislature because he feels it has lost its moral courage. This from the man who was caught soliciting financial contributions for an Indian tribe in his district from several banks, at the same time controversial banking legislation was before the committee.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Catholic Church Tries to Extort Government

In the UK that is. The Archbishop of Birmingham, Rev Vincent Nichols, warns the government:
Archbishop Nichols said that the proposed regulations, designed to ensure equal treatment for gays, could mean the end of the Church's co-operation with the Government in providing a range of welfare services.
It amazes me that the Catholic Church would still try to flex is flabby arm of power to put down gay and lesbian people. God knows that helping the poor is less important than those terrible gays proclaiming love and loyalty for life.

Ann Widdecombe, the former Conservative minister, said that the proposals spelled the "end of freedom of conscience in our country".

"They create a hierarchy of rights and whenever a homosexual right comes up against any other right the homosexual right prevails," she said, adding that the Government "seems to have no clue practising a religion means more than going to church".

That's right, it means standing up and proclaiming that certain people should be discriminated against and do not deserve that same rights as others!

What would Jesus do, help the poor and needy or stand up against gay people?

Saturday, November 25, 2006

For Some It Will Never End...

All this week absentee Massachusetts Governor Willard Romney has been touting the "Let the People Vote" mantra whenever and where ever he can. He even staged a photo op last Sunday and used the Vote on Marriage people as a backdrop for his presidential ambitions. He and Kris Mineau (pronounced minnow like the little fish) are even trying to turn this into a constitutional vote thingy and not an actual vote on same sex marriage.

But lets step back a minute. The signature gathering for an amendment is only to get it to the legislature NOT actually to put it on the ballot and what if it actually went to the ballot and was voted down, what then? Well, the head of the Mass Family Institute, Kris Mineau says that he would abide by the whatever the voters agreed to, but would he....

Last week on Massresistance: The Radio Show, they had on failed State Senate candidate Sandi Martinez*. Brian asked her about a comment Kris Mineau made on TV when he said it would be over if the voters voted the amendment down, her response (you can listen to it on Massresistance's website here, it's about 13 minutes into the show):
Well, if the people vote on it, I think again it would depend on what the voter turnout was, it would depend on a lot of things. I mean some people are going to say, ok the voters have spoken and that's it, other people aren't going to be silenced until, ya know, they feel that everything possible that can be done has been done. And from I have been seeing in other states is that the majority of the people do not support homosexual marriage and I don't believe that we would lose.
She had been talking about a meeting she went to to prepare for the anti-gay rally that was held last week.

Essentially, they will never stop even if the people vote it down which is precisely the reason why the legislature should end this now. Is this really all the people in Massachusetts want to hear about for the next two years? It's pretty pathetic when the Governor of Massachusetts puts more energy into advocating for discrimination than he did to help the poor and needy in the State.

By the way Governor, aren't you doing the same thing you are accusing the legislature of, trying to subvert the constitution, by going to the SJC?

*In the general election Sandra Marinez lost to Susan Fargo by a margin of 64 to 36%.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have lots of things to be thankful (and hopeful) for:

  • That no one was seriously hurt in that blast in Danvers
  • That Deval Patrick will be the next Governor of Massachusetts
  • That Governor Mitt Romney will only be governor for about 42 days (and probably only in the state for 5 of those days)
  • For those 109 Legislators who voted to recess until January 2nd and raised the ire of the absentee governor.
  • That our troops in Iraq will be coming home sooner rather than later
  • Massresistance: The Radio Show because next to American Idol it's one of the finest forms of entertainment today.
  • That we live in the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Feel free to add your own!

Monday, November 20, 2006

You've Got Pictures!

Chris over at Take Mass Action has some wonderful pictures and video from yesterday's rally. You shouldn't miss it!

Sunday, November 19, 2006

BUH BYE Guv!

Well, Massachusetts' absentee governor held his presidential campaign rally, er, anti-gay marriage rally today in front of the State House. (From the looks of it, I wonder if tax payer money was used to put together this heinous show of discrimination?) All the news stories so far have said "hundreds" of people showed up on both sides. Me thinks they didn't get the turnout they were hoping for. Even Cardinal O'Malley and Ex-Boston Mayor Ray Flynn got about a thousand in 2004 for their hate fest.

I think it's funny that Romney, who has about a 30% approval rating in this state is trying to "lead the masses". He didn't do it four years ago and he can't do it today.

Yes, Governor, soon you will be history. I'm sure you won't be forgetting that two weeks ago Massachusetts voters overwhelming chose a Pro-Marriage equality candidate for the corner office. Your hand picked Lt. Governor floundered terribly. The Republican party you said you were going to built in the state has sunk to lows not seen since the Civil war. (Does anyone remember Ron Crews who ran the Mass Family Institute ran for state wide office, lost miserably and left the state?)

Yes, Governor, the people HAVE voted and you lost. BUH BYE!

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Governor Romney's Photo Op.

Well, look who's in town on Sunday:
In a move to publicly pressure lawmakers who have so far ignored him, Gov. Mitt Romney plans to appear at a Statehouse rally on Sunday to demand the Legislature vote on a proposed ballot question that would end gay marriage in Massachusetts.
It appears that every time Governor Willard makes an appearance in Massachusetts it has something to do with same sex marriage. God know he's not appearing to announce that more jobs are coming into the Commonwealth or that violence in the State is dramatically down. Who are you kidding, everyone knows that this will be a photo opportunity for the absentee Governor. Brings to mind Governor George Wallace blocking the school doors from African American children.

Of course he's now repeating the new mantra of the anti-gay marriage supporters:
"No matter how you may feel about the marriage issue, people have a right to participate in their own government."
Uh, Governor, you might have been out of town, but an election was held last week and your Lt. Governor, Sherry Healey lost. Deval Patrick, the man who said during at least one televised debate that the Mass SJC "got it right" when they ruled for marriage equality, trounced her. Do you remember? Were you around that day? I know you were around in the evening because I saw the presidental campaign speech you gave that night, I mean the introduction you gave to the Lt. Governor when she conceded. Remember?

Anyhow, I can't wait for the photo op, oops, I mean rally. I'm sure you'll get a lot of people, especially if you bus them in right from the churches and nursing homes.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Inside the Statehouse

Here are some wonderful pictures of the victory celebration in Nurse's Hall. Just look at the joyful faces (click on a picture of get a larger view):








Pictures from the Con Con

Here are some pictures from the Constitutional Convention. (Hat tip to Iandb1 at the DemocraticUnderground.com) Click on a picture to get a closer look:




Here are a few pictures of Article 8/Massresistance head Brian Camenker "entering the Lion's Den" to take some photos for their website:











Here is one from the other side of the street where the anti-gay protestors stood. There were really quite a small group. There are more to come from inside the statehouse.

Friday, November 10, 2006

It was Unanimous!

What a glorious week this has been. Every day seems to get better and better. In the up coming days I will be posting some pictures of the past week, you may even see yourself in some of them.

My husband and I were lucky enough to be in the gallery yesterday during the Constitutional Convention when they were voting on same sex marriage. Most of the speakers literally brought tears to my eyes.

Then there were the speakers that were advocating for discrimination in the constitution (I was sorry for them). However this time they were trying a new tactic. Instead of saying how they didn't want same sex marriage, they couched it in a "well we should do the process thing and let the people vote." Amazing. These people didn't even have the nerve to stand up for their beliefs.
One of the anti-gay Reps, Rep. Phil Travers, must have forgotten that he and Emile Goguen submitted the anti-marriage bill (which Article 8/Massresistance take credit for) they were voting on because he called it unconstitutional and said that no one should vote for it. I wonder why he didn't think that when he first submitted it (which WAS after the Goodridge decision)? Needless to say the whole legislature defeated it unanimously. Here's Massresistance's take on it:

Shockingly, today we learned that there's not a single honorable, courageous legislator in Massachusetts. Item #19 on the calendar, the pure definition of marriage with a ban on civil unions (just before the weaker VoteOnMarriage amendment, #20) was voted down 196-0, just before the ConCon adjourned. Now what is wrong with #19? Our group filed it as a bill (H653), in an effort to strengthen the definition of marriage in our statutes. (Gov. Romney recommended this very course in his famous Wall Street Journal op-ed of February 2004!) The bill's co-sponsors were Rep. Goguen and Rep. Travis.

Granted, homosexual activist Sen. Barrios turned #19 from a bill into an amendment. (Though he never said a thing about that in his slimey speech.) But it could never have passed today anyhow (needing 50%+), so the pro-family legislators could safely have voted for it -- but still didn't. Unbelievable.

Reps. Goguen, Loscocco, Parente, DeMacedo, Sens. Brown, Hedlund: What happened to all of you? What twisted strategy were you following? The wording of #19 is exactly the same as the marriage amendment you supported in 2002! So why the change? Not a single legislator in Massachusetts is "brave" enough to confirm marriage is between a man and a woman, and civil unions should be banned! And that the Goodridge ruling is illegitimate; and that current same-sex "marriages" are illegal and should not be protected!

Of course, I don't understand why they call Sen. Barrios' speech"slimey" since he did exactly what they wanted, he just pushed their bill forward. They should be happy that the whole legislature finally got to vote on their bill. Did I say it was unanimously defeated?

I agree with Massresistance, I don't understand why the anti-gay reps (who were either voted out or are retiring) didn't vote for this amendment. It was exactly what they wanted. In the purest sense of the law, the whole legislature was given a choice, vote for marriage as the union of one man and one woman or not. They voted a resounding NO.

Monday, November 6, 2006

Oh How the Mighty Fall!

For the life of me I can't understand this whole Rev. Haggard problem. Here's the timeline:
  • Wednesday of last week, a male escort, Mike Jones, announces that he had a three year sexual relationship with Rev. Haggard who called himself "Art".
  • Rev. Haggard, head of the New Life Church and president of the National Association of Evangelicals denied even knowing Mike Jones.
  • Haggard steps down from both posts pending an investigation.
  • On Friday, Haggard denied having sex with Mike Jones but admits to buying "meth" and getting a massage from him in an interview in his car with his wife in the passenger seat and his kids in the back seat.
  • On Sunday, a letter is read to the New Life Church's congregation's where Rev. Ted Haggard admits to "sexual immorality" He has resigned from the National Association of Evangelicals and was fired from the New Life Church.

Now here's the thing, if there was such a thing as an "ex-gay" don't you think that the leader of a megachurch, who supposedly has "God's ear" would have been able to break free of his gay tendencies? This man, Reverend Ted Arthur Haggard, was married with 5 kids yet he still snuck out to "hook up" with a male prostitute all the while preaching that being gay is bad.

This "Christian" thought that it was better to admit to buying drugs and lying to thousands of people than to admit to having a relationship with another man.

If God didn't want anyone to be gay, don't you think he would have at least made the leader of a megachurch and president of a National Evangelical organization straight? (My husband says God has a sense of humor)

The Ex-Gay Watch website has the letter that was read to the congregation. In it, Rev. Haggard says he tried to change but couldn't:

Through the years, I’ve sought assistance in a variety of ways, with none of them proving to be effective in me. Then, because of pride, I began deceiving those I love the most because I didn’t want to hurt or disappoint them.

The most telling thing about the whole letter is that Rev. Haggard cannot name what his "sexual problem" is. Additionally, Ex-Gay Watch notes:

Unfortunately, Haggard's failure to name the failed forms of assistance leaves other people vulnerable to the same ineffective and costly treatments.

Ex-gay therapies, PFOX, Exodus and so many others are just a sham and cannot change someone's sexual orientation, Rev. Haggard proved that! I mean come on folks, if he can't reverse his sexual orientation through prayer and accepting Jesus as his personal savior who can? I think God is having a good laugh.

Sunday, November 5, 2006

Vote Your Conscience

I must admit that the Massresistance Radio show today was probably the most interesting out of all the shows so far. This only is because of the last guest they had on their show, Pastor Kevin Thompson. Pastor Thompson proudly posts of his appearance on the show:
I will be appearing on Mass Resistance radio this weekend. The program is hosted by Brian Camenker and Amy Contrada. They invited me to come on and talk about voting your conscience.
Pastor Thompson is one of the first people I've heard who is actually intellectually honest. I don't agree with his opinions but I respect the fact that he is not voting for someone because they are the "lesser of two evils" and instead is holding to his beliefs. I find Pastor Thompson more intellectually honest than the Cardinal O'Malley because of Cardinal O'Malley's stance on the Massachusetts anti-gay marriage amendment.

Saturday, November 4, 2006

Haggard Resigns

All the media outlets are reporting that Haggard has resigned from his position as leader of the New Life Church:
“We, the Overseer Board of New Life Church, have concluded our deliberations concerning the moral failings of Pastor Ted Haggard,” a statement from the church said. “Our investigation and Pastor Haggard’s public statements have proven without a doubt that he has committed sexually immoral conduct.”
Let me repeat that again "SEXUALLY IMMORAL CONDUCT". Apparently, Rev. Haggard is FOR gay sex but against gay marriage since he was one of the most vocal proponents of Colorado's anti-gay marriage amendment.

Rev. Haggard should look at the bright side, next year he can be the keynote speaker at Massresistance's annual fundraising dinner ("Ex-gay" Stephen Bennett is already speaking this year).

Doogie's Gay (oops!)

Yep! I first read it on Take Mass Action and it's been all over the news sites on the internet. Neil Patrick is a happy gay man:

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Neil Patrick Harris is gay and wants to quell any rumors to the contrary.
He wants to make sure that no one assumes he's straight, I love it! I saw Neil in Assassins in New York a few years back. He's been doing more theatre these past few years (he also played the Emcee in Cabaret) and of course he played an "Ex-gay" on Will and Grace.

In case you missed it, one of the cast members, T. R. Knight, who plays Dr. George O'Malley on the hit show Grey's Anatomy also recently came out:

"I guess there have been a few questions about my sexuality, and I'd like to quiet any unnecessary rumors that may be out there," Knight tells PEOPLE in a statement. "While I prefer to keep my personal life private, I hope the fact that I'm gay isn't the most interesting part of me."
How many days/weeks/months do you think will pass until Rev. Haggard does an interview and says "yes, I am a Gay Evangelical?

Friday, November 3, 2006

Update on the Haggard Story

ABC news is reporting that Haggard has admitted to buying drugs from the male prostitute not having sex.
"I bought it for myself but never used it," the Rev. Ted Haggard said today to a reporter for KISS who interviewed him as he was sitting in his car with his wife outside his Colorado Springs, cola., home. "I was tempted, but I never used it."
Oh but it gets better...
Haggard said he got a massage from the man, 49-year-old Mike Jones, after receiving a recommendation from a Denver hotel, but said he never had sex with him.
RRRRight, you got a massage from a male prostitute and you never had sex. wink, wink...

I didn't know that Rev. Haggard had the ear of the President of the United States.

Ok, if you're keeping count (and I know I'm going to miss some here) the Republicans have:

I hope all the "value voters" are paying attention.

Thursday, November 2, 2006

Another Hypocrite

Well, well, well, the leader of the National Association of Evangelicals, a vocal opponent of the drive for same-sex marriage, resigned Thursday after being accused of paying for sex with a man:

The Rev. Ted Haggard also stepped aside as head of his 14,000-member New Life Church while a church panel investigates, saying he could "not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations."

The investigation came after a 49-year-old man told a Denver radio station that Haggard paid him to have sex.

Ok, now how many people, who didn't have anything to hide, would have "stepped aside" because of "accusations"? Don't ya cha love these people who are living almost the same life they are condemning?

Mike Jones, 49, told The Associated Press that Haggard paid him to have sex nearly every month for three years. His allegations were first aired on KHOW-AM in Denver.

Jones said that he had advertised himself as an escort on the Internet and that a man who called himself Art contacted him. Jones said he later saw the man on television identified as Haggard.

He said that he last had sex with Haggard in August and that he did not warn him before making his allegations this week.

Jones said he has voice mail messages from Haggard, as well as an envelope he said Haggard used to mail him cash, though he declined to make any of it available to the AP.

"There's some stuff on there (the voice mails) that's pretty damning," he said.

So much for "leaving the lifestyle" behind, he he.