RHODE ISLAND: Activists Demand Governor Veto Civil Unions Bill

Saying that Rhode Island's proposed civil unions bill will "allow religious organizations and their individual employees to completely disregard the validity of a civil union in any context," major LGBT activist groups are asking Gov. Lincoln Chafee to veto the act should it come to his desk. Via press release:

"This flawed civil union bill undermines a crucial principle that Rhode Island has always stood for -- respecting the separation of church and state,” said Marc Solomon, National Campaign Director for Freedom to Marry. “Not only does the bill propose a separate-and-unequal status instead of ending the denial of marriage itself, it grants an unprecedented license to discriminate against same-sex couples and their families. Governor Chafee should veto this defective bill and work with the legislature to enact a marriage bill that ends discrimination while preserving religious and personal freedom on equal terms for all.”

The letter, which was signed by groups including Freedom to Marry and GLAD, reads: This amendment could allow individuals, who are legally required to recognize everyone else’s legal commitments, to opt out of doing so only for gay and lesbian people. In practical terms, this law could allow religiously affiliated hospitals to deny a civil union spouse’s right to be by his spouse’s side and make medical decisions for him, and could allow religiously affiliated agencies to deny an employee’s right to leave in order to care for his civil union spouse under Rhode Island Family and Medical Leave.

BRAZIL: Judge OK's First Gay Marriage

In what may be a precedent-setting decision, a Brazilian judge has ruled that a gay couple can convert their civil union into a fully legal same-sex marriage.

A Brazilian state judge on Monday approved what the court said is the nation's first gay marriage. Sao Paulo state Judge Fernando Henrique Pinto ruled two men could convert their civil union into a full marriage. Brazil's Supreme Court cleared the way in May for the recognition of same-sex civil unions, but stopped short of approving gay marriages. A court statement said Pinto made the decision based on the top court's ruling on civil unions and on Brazil's constitution, which outlines how a civil union can be converted into a legal marriage. Benjamin Polastri, a spokesman with the Sao Paulo state Attorney General's Office, said it was not immediately clear if the ruling set a strong national precedent.

I'll post some analysis on this ruling when it comes in.

Jon Huntsman On Civil Unions

Lichtenstein Approves Civil Unions

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.

Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch

ILLINOIS: More Catholic Adoption Groups Close Doors Rather Than Comply With Law

Two more Catholic adoption agencies in Illinois have decided to close their doors rather than comply with the state's new civil unions law. They'd rather see children go without families. 



Glenn Van Cura, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Joliet, told The Advocate that his office is not accepting applications for new foster care or adoptive parents pending further clarification from the governor and attorney general's office. "What we want to make clear is that according to our beliefs, with any cohabitating couple, whether homosexual or heterosexual, we don't refer to licensing. It's just part of our social teaching," Van Cura said. Single individuals, whether gay or straight, have been eligible to become foster or adoptive parents, however. "We don't ask, nor is it any of our business," Van Cura said of a single applicant's sexual orientation. In a letter this week to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, Catholic Charities of Peoria CEO Tricia C. Fox wrote that the suspension could be lifted if the state amended the civil unions law to allow religious services to refer same-sex couples elsewhere.

Tony Perkins On Illinois Civil Unions

"The so-called Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act has already done more harm to religious freedom than good. The Roman Catholic diocese in Rockford has announced that it will close its doors on the church's adoption program before subjecting children to placement in homosexual homes. Like it did in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., the Catholic Church refused to violate its convictions. Unfortunately, it's only a matter of time before other dioceses follow suit. For the church, this is an act of self-defense. Without a religious exemption, the law makes programs like this one vulnerable to lawsuits or state budget cuts. Much to the frustration of the bill's own sponsor, the state refused to carve out special protections for the religious organizations like this one. And now the state's neediest children will be paying for it." - Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council.

PhoboQuotable - Porno Pete LaBarbera

"Homosexual behavior is always wrong, according to vast scope of Judeo-Christian history, so it is tragic to behold the State of Illinois – or any government entity – recognizing immoral same-sex relationships and treating them like marriage. Moreover, for the City of Chicago and Gov. Pat Quinn to celebrate homosexuality with a mass Civil Union ceremony June 2nd is an act of hubris and defiance toward the Creator that mocks His wonderful plan for real marriage – the sacred union of a man and a woman to produce children and family. The pandering Quinn – epitomizing the modern Democratic politician –mocks his own professed Catholicism by working tirelessly to undermine its clear moral dictates. The anti-Christian Civil Unions law must be repealed." - Porno Pete LaBarbera, who has launched a petition campaign to ban all LGBT relationship recognitions in Illinois.

ILLINOIS: Civil Unions Begin

Today Illinois becomes the sixth state with legalized civil unions.

Long lines are expected to form early Wednesday at the Cook County Clerk's downtown office of vital records as couples from across Chicago gather to be part of a historic moment — the issuing of the state's first civil union licenses. The doors will open at 7:30 a.m. and the clerk's office will celebrate what it calls "the momentous occasion" by awarding a special gift package to the first couple to get a license. Adding to the festive atmosphere, about 20 local businesses will be supplying gifts that will be raffled off to other couples in line. As with marriage licenses, couples will have to pay a $35 fee and wait one day before they can hold a civil union ceremony. Couples who are already registered as domestic partners in Cook County but want to enter into a civil union will get a $20 discount and their domestic partnership will be automatically dissolved.

Civil unions laws in Hawaii and Delaware have not yet gone into effect.

ILLINOIS: Local News Covers Porno Pete's Anti-Gay Marriage Rally

The red-caped loons were there!

ILLINOIS: Porno Pete Stages Anti-Gay Marriage Rally In Downtown Chicago

Porno Pete LaBarbera and his merry band of KKKloset Kases staged an anti-gay marriage rally in downtown Chicago yesterday.

Opponents of the new law that will allow same-sex civil unions rallied at the Thompson Center today demanding that Illinois voters be allowed to decide the fate of the issue through referendum. Days before a measure that will give gay couples the same state rights as a married man and wife is set to take effect, opponents and supporters faced off. As busloads of protesters crowded in front of St. Peter’s Church in downtown Chicago, a counter demonstration took form on the other side of the 100 block of West Madison Street. “There’s a battle between gay rights and religious freedom,” said Peter LaBarbera, president of the group Americans for Truth, as he coached people on how to correctly complete the signature sheets on which opponents hope to collect the required 300,000 signatures. “We want to give Illinois votes the same opportunity other states have had.”

More photos can be found at the Flickr account of Chicago Man.

Porno Pete Launches New Hate Group

The first action from Porno Pete's latest hate group will be an anti-civil unions protest today in downtown Chicago. LaBarbera is once again trying to place a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage on the Illinois ballot, something he laughably failed at in 2006 due to "questionable" petition signatures.

IDMI is a statewide effort to preservee the historic, traditional definition of marriaeg in the Land of Lincoln. IDMI needs to gather almost 300,000 signatures of registered Illinois voters by next April 2012 – to put an Advisory Question on the 2012 ballot asking the Illinois General Assembly to pass a Constitutional Amendment stating: “To secure and preserve the benefits of marriage for our society and for future generations of children, the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose.”

To accomplish this goal – and have Illinois join the 31 other states whose citizens have stood up for real marriage at the ballot box – we aim to gather 600,000 signatures by next year. This could help us avoid an expensive legal challenge by homosexual activists and the ACLU – who will go to any extreme to deny Illinois voters an opportunity to have their voices heard on traditional marriage.

ILLINOIS: Catholic Charities To End Adoption Services Due To Civil Unions

Catholic Charities of Rockford, Illinois announced yesterday that they will suspend all foster care and adoption services rather than comply with the state's new civil unions law.

Officials cited a lack of clarity in the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act, which does not specify whether religious child welfare agencies must place children with couples in civil unions. Without a specific provision protecting religious agencies, church officials said, the agency can't risk losing state contracts or facing lawsuits if it turns away gay couples or others in civil unions. State funds make up about half of Catholic Charities of Rockford's $7.5 million operating budget.

"While we understand leaving this work will be very painful for our client families, employees, volunteers, donors and prayerful supporters, we can no longer contract with the state of Illinois whose laws would force us to participate in activity offensive to the moral teachings of the church — teachings which compel us to do this work in the first place," said Frank Vonch, director of social services for the Diocese of Rockford, which includes Kane and McHenry counties.

Catholic adoption agencies in other Illinois cities say they have not yet decided whether to stay open.

GLAD Denounces RI Civil Unions Bill

Via press release from Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, who are very unhappy with the religious exemption in Rhode Island's civil unions bill:

Everyone agrees that religious denominations should not be required to join any two people in any legal relationship – whether marriage or a civil union – that is contrary to their religious teachings. However, the religious exemption amendment goes much further in allowing religious charitable and educational organizations – such as social service providers, hospitals, and educational institutions – to treat legal civil unions, authorized under Rhode Island law, as invalid for any purpose.

Karen Loewy, Senior Staff Attorney for GLAD, said “This unprecedented exemption means a civil union spouse could be denied the ability to make medical decisions for her spouse in a hospital; it means that a math teacher at a religiously-based school could not get the same health insurance for his legally recognized partner that all other teachers receive. This exemption actually diminishes nondiscrimination protections in public accommodations and employment that Rhode Island employers and institutions have successfully lived with since 1995. It just inflicts gratuitous harm on Rhode Island’s gay and lesbian families.”

RI House Approves Civil Unions

The Rhode Island House has overwhelmingly approved civil unions by a vote of 62-11 after a last-ditch attempt to convert the bill to full marriage equality failed. The bill now goes to the state Senate, where it is predicted to pass easily. Gov. Lincoln Chafee has promised to sign it.

Civil Unions Advance In RI House

The Rhode Island state Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday voted 9-3 to send a civil unions bill to the full chamber.

The civil union bill has attracted little public support from groups and lawmakers on both sides of the marriage debate. Gay marriage supporters say civil unions treat gay couples as second-class citizens. Opponents say civil unions are marriage by another name and worry they could open the door to gay marriage in Rhode Island. Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont and the District of Columbia currently recognize gay marriage. Four states -- Illinois, Hawaii, New Jersey and Delaware -- have passed civil union laws similar to the one being considered in Rhode Island.

The House is expected to vote on the bill tomorrow.

Ted Olson & NY AG Eric Schneiderman Editorialize Against Civil Unions

Former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman today published an op-ed piece in the New York Daily News explaining why civil unions are an unacceptable compromise in the marriage equality battle. Olson, as you doubtlessly know, was the co-lead attorney in the battle to overturn Prop 8. An excerpt from today's essay:

A civil union is not a marriage, nor is it an adequate substitute for one. To suggest otherwise is a cruel fiction. Even if all of the inherent confusion and complexities could be resolved and civil unions could somehow provide couples with the same rights and responsibilities of a true marriage, the separation of the two institutions creates a badge of inferiority that forever stigmatizes the relationships of committed same-sex couples as different, separate, unequal and less worthy. Time and time again, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that marriage is one of the most fundamental rights that we enjoy as Americans under the Constitution. It's a right older than the Bill of Rights and older than our political parties. It is the foundation of society. The time to grant the right of marriage to all New Yorkers is now.

Read the entire article.

Catholic News Round-Up

The anti-gay hate group Renew America is one of the sponsors of this daily "Catholic News Round-Up" channel on YouTube, which today warns that evil Brazilian gays, unsatisfied with their recent win on civil unions, are now targeting defenseless little children with an anti-homophobia campaign.

NOM Robocalls Against RI Civil Unions

(Via - Good As You)

Matt Baume: Marriage News Watch