Homosexual Marriage okayed in California

[jrosebud]

Yay!  Let's hope it sticks!

[Will]

I guess you could say that I was GLAAD that they made the right decision. Nyuk nyuk.

But seriously, this is a major victory for civil rights. Homosexual people have been victimized for far too long by the hypocritical religious right. I'll be voting soon to ensure that this decision becomes permanent.

Congratulations to our friends in the homosexual community. With any luck, this trend will continue to spread throughout our country.

[Evolved]

Lucky Californians.  I wonder what it's like to be in a progressive place.

It's funny how some folks think that it's bad if a man marries a man but it's okay when he marries his cousin...

[myleviathan]

Congratulations to our friends in the homosexual community. With any luck, this trend will continue to spread throughout our country.

I think it will. The US has been slower in it's recognition of homosexual relationships and non-married unions compared to Europe and Canada. But slowly and surely it's changing. I know that the recognition of homosexual marriage is a big step, but what about people who decide to stay together without being married? That's the next big jump. People who live together should have the same rights as those who decide to get married, no matter their gender.

[Tom62]

The US has been slower in it's recognition of homosexual relationships and non-married unions compared to Europe and Canada. But slowly and surely it's changing. I know that the recognition of homosexual marriage is a big step, but what about people who decide to stay together without being married? That's the next big jump. People who live together should have the same rights as those who decide to get married, no matter their gender.

That's the case in the Netherlands for more than 20 years now. Unmarried hetro- or homosexual couples that live together have the same rights as married couples. For the dutch law they do however need a "samenlevingskontrakt", which is nothing more than a legal document that declares that the couple is living together. Two of my brothers therefore never bothered to marry, eventough they've got kids.

[Smarmy Of One]

... It's funny how some folks think that it's bad if a man marries a man but it's okay when he marries his cousin...

Great line. Gay marriage has been legal in Canada for a few of years now.

How many States have legalized it so far? I think Vermont is one.

Unmarried hetro- or homosexual couples that live together have the same rights as married couples.

Same in Canada. The one stipulation is that in the event of death and there is no will, the law assumes that the spouse is the legal beneficiary, but not the same for a common law spouse.

[crocofish]

How many States have legalized it so far? I think Vermont is one.

Actually, I think Vermont is only civil unions, not marriage.  Vermont was the first state to legalize same-sex civil unions.  I think Massachusetts has same-sex marriage, and now California.  There was something in the news recently about New York state recognizing same-sex marriage performed in other states, even though New York has not legalized same-sex marriage performed in New York state.  At lunch today, I was reading in the newspaper that some Christian organization is suing the state of New York because of that decision.

[Will]

Can homosexuals sue the Christian churches for slander or defamation of character or something?

[Mister Joy]

They'd lose the case.

[Smarmy Of One]

They'd lose the case.

That's probably true, since they seem to have no legal rights.

[MariaEvri]

Good news
Two days ago there was also the first homosexual marriadge in greece. There have been many satisfied but also as many angry shouts since then.
The first step has been taken

[rlrose328]

They'd lose the case.

That's probably true, since they seem to have no legal rights.

It gals me that this country is so backwards, thanks largely to religion.  Women's rights are curtailed, gays rights are curtailed.  

It's seemingly amazing that a man of color (even diluted color) is running for president, though a friend of mine in North Carolina said she regularly hears people saying, "I'm not voting for no n***er or no woman, no way, no how," or other phrasing of that sort.

I continually ask for reasons OTHER than religious ones for why gay marriage should be banned... I've yet to hear a coherent answer.  All of the paperwork that the lesbian couple I know had to fill out to become "legal" as partners is astounding.  

On the Topix.com page, there is a link to an article about our lovely state upholding the same-sex marriage ban (this was after California okayed it).  Of course, there's all this crap about gays wanting "more rights" than heteros when they want to get married.  Some asshole (only word for him...) posted a response basically complaining that when he was laid off, he applied for medical benefits through his "female domestic partner's" employer and he was told he wasn't eligible because they're not married.  They were told that same-sex domestic partners were eligible.  His female partner also tried to use FMLA leave to care for her terminally ill sister and was told that unless it was a "mother, father, sibling, or same-sex partner," she couldnt' use FMLA.  This guy honestly believes that this means the gays want extra rights.  I told him that it seemed to me that he can get married, something he wants to deny the gays, AND have domestic partner rights, something he ALSO wants to deny gays.  So... who wants extra rights??

[crocofish]

It gals me that this country is so backwards, thanks largely to religion.  Women's rights are curtailed, gays rights are curtailed.  

It's seemingly amazing that a man of color (even diluted color) is running for president...

I can relate to Obama quite well.  He's less than two weeks older than me, and we are both mixed race (Obama is white/black, and I'm white/asian).  I have read that Obama had some racial confusion growing up since society loves to put people into categories.  As a kid, I wasn't racially confused until people kept trying to force me into categories.  The "check one box" for race mentality really aggravates me, but I have noticed that it is getting better in recent years.  The last U.S. census was the first time one could check more than one box for race.

Anyway, when it comes to gay marriage, I can relate it to my parents' marriage.  When they got married, and also when I was born, interracial marriage was banned in many states.  In Virginia where we lived, any kind of interracial marriage was banned.  My parents had to get married in neighboring Maryland which allowed asian-white marriages, but specifically banned black-white marriages.  It wasn't until 1967 that the Loving vs. Virginia ruling of the Supreme Court eliminated all bans of interracial marriage.  The Lovings were a black-white marriage, and they got married in D.C. and returned to Virginia, similar to what my parents did.  The Lovings were charged with a felony since Virginia specifically prohibited couples from evading the Virginia interracial marriage ban by marrying in other states.  The were sentenced to prison, but were allowed to avoid prison if they left the state.  The judge's ruling had the following statement (from Wikipedia)

Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay and red, and He placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with His arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that He separated the races shows that He did not intend for the races to mix.

Obviously, no separation of church and state in that decision.

As a kid, I was blissfully unaware of the racism in the Virginia, and it wasn't until recently that I learned that my parents could have been charged with violating the same law.  I was born in Virginia, so I guess I could have been considered an illegal child.

Although there may still be some very backwards areas in the U.S., I think we would consider interracial marriage fairly common and unremarkable today.  But in my lifetime, interracial marriage was in a similar situation as gay marriage is today.  The same type of religious people that wanted to ban my own parents' marriage are using similar arguments against gay marriage.

[Kylyssa]

Let's hope this ruling sticks.  I just don't understand why anyone would even care if consenting adults who love each other want to get married.

[nikkixsugar]

Yay!  Let's hope it sticks!

I reckon soon theys gunna wanna vote sum day too! hahahaha. Medieval Minds in a modern world.

Joking everyone.....