Article here (http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2012/07/30/gay_marriage_democratic_platform_democratic_national_committee_platform_to_include_marriage_equality.html?wpisrc=newsletter_slatest)
Quote
The Democratic Party will include a plank backing gay marriage in its official platform at this summer's convention, marking the first time either major party has done so and handing same-sex rights advocates another major victory only months after President Obama came out in favor of marriage equality.
Rep. Barney Frank, who sits on the committee tasked with approving language for the platform, revealed the news to the Washington Blade Monday and party sources quickly confirmed it to other media outlets. Frank said that he and the other 14 panel members unanimously agreed to add the pro-gay marriage plank after a public hearing in Minneapolis over the weekend. The exact wording has not yet been released, but a DNC official told the Blade that it will also call for the repeal of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, something the president also supports.
Frank, who married his partner in Massachusetts earlier this month, explained that he was prepared to make a forceful case for the plank's inclusion but that, ultimately, his fellow panel mates didn't take much convincing. "There was a unanimous decision in the drafting committee to include it in the platform, which I supported, but everybody was for it," he said.
The final language will be approved next month by a full platform panel in Detroit before the September convention in Charlotte.
I am so freaking happy about this. Also, I love Barney Frank.
About time too!
Good sign of the times. Seriously, I don't get why people make such a fuss over letting two consenting adults legally bond and acquire some legal rights and duties to eachother. Talk about weird and primitive priorities.
This is huge. So proud to be a Dem right now.
Good. Now persuade the Republicans. :'(
Wow.... it's almost like we live in the 21st century. ;)
Why somebody's gender alignment should be a political issue in the first place shows just how uncivilised parts of the USA really are.
Quote from: Ali on July 30, 2012, 09:08:52 PM
I am so freaking happy about this. Also, I love Barney Frank.
I wasn't always his biggest fan until I started to actually pay attention to politics, read for myself, and even see him on CSPAN in the chambers. He is one of the more intelligent, thoughtful members, and of course courageous for serving as openly gay. He's rarely nasty in his political discourse, instead choosing to allow his natural demeaner and choice of words to drive daggers into opponents. He has stepped across the aisle to attempt to make things happen (yes, I know Dodd-Frank wasn't the best legislation in the world). He is one of the few Democratic voices working hard to get the facts out. Democrats don't do a really good job of selling their successes even when they have great positive value.
Quote from: Guardian85 on July 31, 2012, 01:22:46 PM
Wow.... it's almost like we live in the 21st century. ;)
No, you see,
we do.
They, on the other hand, are a different matter.
Quote from: fester30 on July 31, 2012, 05:39:53 PM
Quote from: Ali on July 30, 2012, 09:08:52 PM
I am so freaking happy about this. Also, I love Barney Frank.
I wasn't always his biggest fan until I started to actually pay attention to politics, read for myself, and even see him on CSPAN in the chambers. He is one of the more intelligent, thoughtful members, and of course courageous for serving as openly gay. He's rarely nasty in his political discourse, instead choosing to allow his natural demeaner and choice of words to drive daggers into opponents. He has stepped across the aisle to attempt to make things happen (yes, I know Dodd-Frank wasn't the best legislation in the world). He is one of the few Democratic voices working hard to get the facts out. Democrats don't do a really good job of selling their successes even when they have great positive value.
Yeah, Barney's a force to be reckoned with. Sadly, he's retiring after the elections this year.
This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYlZiWK2Iy8) is one of my favorite videos of him smacking one of those Lyndon LaRouche wackos who called Obama "hitler" over the health care bill.
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on July 30, 2012, 09:48:25 PM
Good sign of the times. Seriously, I don't get why people make such a fuss over letting two consenting adults legally bond and acquire some legal rights and duties to eachother. Talk about weird and primitive priorities.
My thoughts exactly.
How dare people not allow me to get offended by their private sexual encounters, and make it my business to stop them. :P
More on the congressional gay rights thing. This has a different twist and tends to deflate the Westboro Baptist, egregiously anti gay, lunatic fringe. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/veterans-bill-military-funerals_n_1733080.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular
Quote from: Asmodean on July 31, 2012, 05:44:49 PM
Quote from: Guardian85 on July 31, 2012, 01:22:46 PM
Wow.... it's almost like we live in the 21st century. ;)
No, you see, we do. They, on the other hand, are a different matter.
There is really no question about it they are the finest minds that the fifteenth century mindset can produce.
Quote from: Icarus on August 05, 2012, 01:34:05 AM
More on the congressional gay rights thing. This has a different twist and tends to deflate the Westboro Baptist, egregiously anti gay, lunatic fringe. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/veterans-bill-military-funerals_n_1733080.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular
While I like the idea behind this legislation I think that in the end it will be found to be unconstitutional.
Quote from: markmcdaniel on August 05, 2012, 07:05:54 AM
Quote from: Icarus on August 05, 2012, 01:34:05 AM
More on the congressional gay rights thing. This has a different twist and tends to deflate the Westboro Baptist, egregiously anti gay, lunatic fringe. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/veterans-bill-military-funerals_n_1733080.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular
While I like the idea behind this legislation I think that in the end it will be found to be unconstitutional.
I agree, I don't think you can revoke somebody's right of assembly and right to peaceful protest on the basis of "being a dick." I like the idea of the human wall that the article talked about better.
Quote from: Ali on August 05, 2012, 04:16:35 PM
Quote from: markmcdaniel on August 05, 2012, 07:05:54 AM
Quote from: Icarus on August 05, 2012, 01:34:05 AM
More on the congressional gay rights thing. This has a different twist and tends to deflate the Westboro Baptist, egregiously anti gay, lunatic fringe. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/veterans-bill-military-funerals_n_1733080.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular
While I like the idea behind this legislation I think that in the end it will be found to be unconstitutional.
I agree, I don't think you can revoke somebody's right of assembly and right to peaceful protest on the basis of "being a dick." I like the idea of the human wall that the article talked about better.
So do I, and this has been done before in a number of different ways. I've heard of ex-military bikers riding between the protesters and the funeral to drown out the protesters voices (altho it seems to me that would probably drown out the funeral as well), and then there was that early case of people showing up dressed as angels, complete with wings, and getting between the funeral and the protesters. Once the protesters started up they all spread their wings and started singing hymns, effectively blocking both the sight and sound of the protesters in a completely legal way. And very appropriate for a Xtian funeral as well.
There are ways of dealing with people like the WBC without either engaging them directly (which is about as useful as arguing with a wall, and likely to become just as disruptive as the protest itself) or trying to pass iffy laws.