Obama On Marriage Equality: I'm Not Gonna Make News On That Today

More from today's press conference: "I'm gonna keep giving you the same answer until I get a different one. And that won't be today."

Obama: Marriage Is A State Issue And I'm Happy About The Vote In New York

At today's press conference, the president was asked if he believes marriage is a civil right. Obama side-stepped the question and said this:

We’ve said that we cannot defend the federal government poking its nose into what states are doing and putting our thumb on the scale against same-sex couples. What I’ve seen happen over the last several years and what happened in New York last week, I think was a good thing. Because what you saw was the people of New York having a debate, talking through these issues. It was contentious, it was emotional, but ultimately they made a decision to recognize civil marriages and I think that’s exactly how things should work. I think it’s important for us to work through these issues because each state is going to be different and each community is going to be different.

(Transcript and video via Igor Volsky at Think Progress)

Giuliani Won't Marry Gay Pals?

Remember when former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani fled to the home of his gay best friends during his divorce? And how he promised to personally marry them once it became legal? Not so much.

"I asked if he would marry us," recalled Howard Koeppel, the unlikely provider of an emergency Midtown crash pad to Giuliani for six months when his marriage to Donna Hanover was crumbling and Gracie Mansion was a war zone. "He said, 'Howard, I don't ever do anything that's not legal. If it becomes legal in New York, you'll be one of the first ones I would marry.'Ten years later, Koeppel is distressed that his former house guest hasn't returned the many calls he began making before the legislation was passed last week. "It seems like a lot of people he was close to become persona non grata," Koeppel observed.

One political wag observed: "[Presiding at the wedding] would be a sign he's no longer interested in running [as a Republican] for president -- ever."

Marriage: The Wedge Issue Of 2012?

Lambda Legal To Sue NJ For Marriage

Just in via press release:

Lambda Legal to Announce Marriage Equality Lawsuit with Garden State Equality on Wednesday at 10:00 am

Save the Date: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 10:00 a.m.

(Trenton, June 28, 2011) - Tomorrow Lambda Legal and Garden State Equality will hold a press conference announcing a marriage equality lawsuit.

When: Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Where: Trenton Marriott Downtown, Salon C
1 West Lafayette Street
Trenton, New Jersey 08608

Who: Hayley Gorenberg, Lambda Legal Deputy Legal Director ; Steven Goldstein, Chair and CEO of Garden State Equality; Case plaintiffs

Interesting timing!

Upstate NY Town Clerk: Jeebus Won't Let Me Issue Homo Marriage Licenses

Aaaand here come the pious town clerks.

Barbara MacEwen, the town clerk in upstate Volney who is responsible for signing marriage licenses in the town, said she’s morally opposed to same-sex weddings and does not intend to affix her signature to any marriage documents for gay or lesbian couples. “If there’s any possible way to not do it, legally, then yes, I would not want to put my name on any of those certificates or papers,” MacEwen told POLITICO. “That’s their life, they can do it, but I don’t feel I should be forced into something that’s against my morals and my God.” MacEwen said she’s written her state senator – Republican Patty Ritchie, who voted against legalizing gay weddings – to determine her legal options.

MacEwen, 75, is up for reelection this fall. Hopefully she'll have been fired long before then.

Vatican Adviser: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Should Be Denied Communion

One day after World Net Daily called for NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo's arrest for supporting same-sex marriage, a top Vatican adviser has declared that Cuomo should be denied Holy Communion.

A senior adviser to the Vatican, who is a theology professor in Detroit, blasted the Catholic governor of New York for his strong backing of same-sex marriage, saying that he should be punished for his "brazen" violation of Catholicism by being denied Holy Communion — a key part of the Catholic faith. He's also calling for the Catholic Church to investigate Gov. Andrew Cuomo for violating church law, calling the politician's actions a "danger" to faithful Catholics. Professor Edward Peters of Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, a consultant to the Vatican's highest court, hopes that punishing Cuomo would "serve as an example" to other Catholic politicians and clergy across the U.S. who might be considering same-sex marriage in light of New York's approval on Friday.

TOTALLY FUCKING RELATED: The Vatican adviser quoted above is the father of Thomas Peters, the douchebag NOM staffer who made news last week by preemptively declaring in the National Review that gay marriage had been defeated in New York. (National Review yanked the article within a couple of hours.) The younger Peters writes a blog titled The American Papist, which is hosted on CatholicVote.org.

George Takei On New York Marriage

"I am confident that Proposition 8 will be gone by the end of the year and we'll have marriage equality again in California too."

MAINE: Another Run At Marriage?

Buoyed by the result in New York, some activists in Maine say they are considering bringing same-sex marriage back to the ballot in 2012. In 2009 Maine's voters rescinded same-sex marriage mere months after it had been approved by the state legislature.

Since the defeat, gay rights advocates said they have been working behind the scenes to try to change public opinion and said same-sex marriage could come up for a vote again in 2012 in the form of a citizens' initiative. "We do have that option, and we'll decide once we get to the point where we've had enough conversations and we believe the majority of voters support us. And I will say that people are changing, people are moving, people are changing their minds on this issue," said Betsy Smith with Equality Maine.

If another ballot campaign is launched, activists must collect 57,000 petition signatures by this January.

HRC's Joe Solmonese: NOM Made A Lot Of Noise In New York But Came Away Losers

Photo Of The Day

(Via - Bilerico)

NOM Cheers Queerty "Admission"

Once again, Queerty says something the wingnuts love to hear.

Even LGBT organizers agree that they’d rather pass marriage equality by legislature than at the ballot because at the ballot WE ALWAYS LOSE. People who oppose the ballot also like saying that if America voted on interracial marriage in the 60s, that still might be illegal too. But is that really our only defense against the ballot argument? If so, it’s no wonder that Obama hasn’t articulated a reason to support marriage that doesn’t fly in the face of the democratic process that had denied us our rights.

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.

Quote Of The Day - David Frum

"I find myself strangely untroubled by New York state's vote to authorize same-sex marriage -- a vote that probably signals that most of the 'blue' states will follow within the next 10 years. I don't think I'm alone in my reaction either. Most conservatives have reacted with calm -- if not outright approval -- to New York's dramatic decision. Why? The short answer is that the case against same-sex marriage has been tested against reality. The case has not passed its test. Since 1997, same-sex marriage has evolved from talk to fact. If people like me had been right, we should have seen the American family become radically more unstable over the subsequent decade and a half. Instead -- while American family stability has continued to deteriorate -- it has deteriorated much more slowly than it did in the 1970s and 1980s before same-sex marriage was ever seriously thought of." - Conservative columnist David Frum, announcing a change of heart on marriage equality.

Maggie Gallagher Vs. Danny O'Donnell

New York Marriage Gets Animated

AMA Comes Out For Marriage

In response to the vote in the New York legislature, the American Medical Association has issued a call for the marriage equality across the United States. Via press release from Freedom To Marry:

With the New York State now the sixth – and largest – state to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage, the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a policy position declaring that excluding same-sex couples from marriage is “discriminatory” and reaffirming existing AMA policy to support relationship recognition of gay and lesbian couples as a means of addressing health disparities faced by those couples and their families. “With this deliberate policy statement by the American Medical Association, the nation’s doctors diagnose the pain and injury that exclusion from marriage inflicts on lesbian and gay couples, their children, and loved ones – and make clear that ending marriage discrimination is the cure,” said Evan Wolfson, founder and President of Freedom to Marry. “The AMA now joins every other mainstream public health organization in America in making the case for providing the freedom to marry – and the critical safety-net that comes with marriage – to loving, committed same-sex couples.”

Bill Donahue On New York Marriage

"Ultimately, this issue will not be resolved in the courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court: it will be decided by a constitutional amendment. Though the Federal Marriage Amendment prevailed in the House in 2006 by a margin of 236-187, it failed to achieve the necessary 290 votes required to pass a constitutional amendment; two-thirds of both chambers of Congress, and three-fourths of the states (38), are needed.

"Standing in the way of a constitutional amendment is the legitimate reluctance on the part of federal lawmakers to decide what many believe to be a matter for the states. But given that we are left with the scenario of the people vs. the elites, we are quickly reaching a tipping point, and when that happens, chances are good that this issue will be resolved by a constitutional amendment." - Catholic League blowhard and pedophile defender Bill Donahue, writing on his personal blog.

NYT Rips Obama On Marriage

From today's New York Times editorial:

After he took office, it became evident that Republicans intended to portray him as a radical, out-of-touch leftist no matter what he did. Supporting same-sex marriage at this point is hardly going to change that drumbeat, and any voter for whom that is a make-or-break issue will probably not be an Obama supporter anyway. Firm support for gay marriage is, on the other hand, likely to help him among his cheerless base. Mr. Obama opposes the Defense of Marriage Act and is presiding over the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” He signed the United Nations declaration on gay rights, and allowed the Census to count same-sex relationships. But he has been absent from the biggest and most difficult drive of all.

Public opinion has swung toward acceptance of gay marriage since 2008; five more states and the District of Columbia have lifted marriage bans. Thousands of gay men and lesbians now possess marriage certificates and many former skeptics have come to realize that the moral foundation of the country has been strengthened. It is long past time for the president to catch up. He often criticizes discrimination with the memorable phrase, “that’s not who we are.” Favoring this discrimination should not be who he is.

Linda Harvey On New York Marriage

"This 'freedom' will include much more than a perpetual pansexual pagan party. It will, and already does, include libel, slander, intimidation, corruption of youth, revolt in congregations, suppression of parental rights, revision of language, disease, loss of employment and loss of life. Oh, and did I mention public sex, the porn explosion and public nudity? Welcome to entitlement sex. The New York crowd was on board with this concept, too, erupting into applause for Obama at all the appropriate moments. And why not? They live in a city that has already earned its Good Sodomizing Seal of Approval. More than 36,000 men who have sex with men in New York City are currently living with HIV/AIDS. This bleak prognosis casts a shadow on these 'marriages,' but no one wants to think about that." - SPLC-certified hate group leader Linda Harvey, writing for World Net Daily. You can write to Linda here.