Phelps clan hijacks NOH8 campaign

Leave it to the Phelps clan to use Adam Bouska’s NOH8 campaign to further propagate their particular brand of religious-based lunacy.

The New Civil Rights Movement reported earlier this morning that the Topeka-based bigots posted a 25-minute video to their Web site late last night that mocked the successful anti-Proposition 8 campaign—I received an error message when I clicked on the YouTube link from Bushwick. Their Web site also appears to be down.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 last month that the First Amendment protects the Phelps clan’s right to protest military funerals. The images of young Westboro Baptist Church members that accompany the so-called GodH8s video, however, simply speak for themselves.

"Constitutionally protected activity" cannot justify Proposition 8

Those who continue to defend California's Proposition 8 apparently failed to read the Constitution before they delivered their oral arguments to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday in San Francisco, but former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olsen provided a concise civics lesson.

"How can the fundamental right of marriage in California be taken away because of a constitutionally protected activity," said Olsen, referring to the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Lawrence vs. Texas decision that struck down the Lone Star State's sodomy laws.

In other words, homophobia alone cannot and should not justify discrimination against any person who wants to marry the person he or she loves.

Conservative California lawmakers resigns amid sex scandal

Add former California Assemblymember Michael Duvall [R-Yorba Linda] to the ever-growing list of socially conservative lawmakers who amount to nothing more than self-righteous hypocrites!

Duvall resigned earlier today after a Los Angeles television station broadcast audio tapes of comments he made during a "committee meeting in Sacramento held earlier this summer" about having sex with two younger women. A hot microphone caught them on tape. And KCAL reporter Dave Lopez described both women as "married lobbyists in Sacramento."

Duvall backed Proposition 8, and garnered an endorsement from Capital Resources Institute. The organization was all too quick to distance itself from the scandal-plaque former legislator.

"It is always disappointing when a champion of traditional values does not practice the same in his private life," CRI executive director Karen England said. And this appears to be the case with Assemblyman Duvall. Assemblyman Duvall was one of just a few California legislators to receive a 100% on CRI's annual scorecard. But CRI only tabulates votes. It was left to Mr. Duvall to reveal if those values are part of his own life."

Duvall himself announced his resignation in a one paragraph statement, but Rick Jacobs of the Courage Campaign has called for state Attorney General Jerry Brown to launch an investigation.

"This isn't just a sex scandal, it's a corruption scandal," Jacobs said. "A vice-chairman of the Committee on Utilities and Commerce was literally in bed with Sempra Energy's lobbyist. Assemblyman Duvall's 'sex for votes' affairs have cheated Californians out of honest government. We call on the attorney general to investigate Mr. Duvall to see if he can be prosecuted for selling his votes."

Jacobs applauded Duvall's decision to resign, but he blasted the conservative organizations that backed him.

"If Assemblyman Duvall is who conservative groups hold up as their ideal legislator, it shows how shallow their standards are," Jacobs said. "While Assemblyman Duvall has been fighting to make marriage a privilege for heterosexual couples only, he's been making a mockery of the institution in the California State Assembly, bragging to other elected officials about raunchy details of his affairs."

Indeed!

California Supreme Court upholds Prop 8

In a 6-1 decision, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8.

The court, which ruled last May a ban on marriages for same-sex couples violated the state Constitution, ruled the nuptials of 18,000 gay and lesbian couples who married after the justices handed down that decision and before voters approved Prop 8 remain valid.

Thousands of people are expected to march in lower Manhattan tonight to express their disappointment over the decision, and to urge the New York State Senate to pass legislation that would allow gays and lesbians to marry. Pictures and video will be posted later tonight.

Calif. Supreme Court to issue Prop 8 decision today

After months of anticipation, the California Supreme Court is expected to issue its long-awaited decision on the validity of Proposition 8 today.

The court could strike down the voter approved initiative, could rule Prop 8 is valid (along with the marriages of same-sex couples) or the amendment is valid and the marriages of gays and lesbians are invalid. This could prove a watershed moment in the recent history of the movement for LGBT rights. Activists across the country have planned protests, rallies and other actions to mark the decision.

In New York, for example, thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of the West Village this afternoon. The state Assembly passed a marriage bill earlier this month, and marchers will almost certainly send a powerful message to the state Senate to endorse the proposed legislation so Gov. David Paterson can quickly sign it.

Today will certainly be an emotional and/or exciting day depending upon how the court rules. The fight for marriage for same-sex couples is far from over, but today's Prop 8 decision could steer the direction of that battle. Stay tuned!

Calif. Supreme Court to issue Prop 8 decision on Tuesday

Protests, rallies and other events are slated to take place across the country once the decision comes down. Stay tuned...

California same-sex couples to start marrying today

The question of whether marriage for same-sex couples is an issue on which the broader movement for lesbian and gay (and transgender) rights should focus a significant amount of time, energy and especially money is one with several answers. There is an arguable groundswell of people within it who contend this issue is the most important civil rights concern of their generation. There are others who contend marriage is nothing more than a narrow sighted attempt to assimilate into heterosexual society. And there are those who maintain the push for marriage for gay and lesbian couples comes at the expense of anti-LGBT hate crime legislation, socio-economic and racial justice for LGBT people of color and other arguably more important issues.

This debate will certainly continue, but those couples in California who plan to pronounce their commitment to each other before their friends, families and communities starting today will almost certainly celebrate the date for what it is--a groundbreaking milestone towards equality and justice for all. Not everyone in LGBT America will get married. And there are certainly those who may deliberately shun this societal institution, but the choice as to whether one should get married should not lay with the government. Love is love. Commitment is commitment. And the couples who will begin to walk down the aisle today in the Golden State are certainly ready to legally express that reality.

Congratulations!

California extends marriage to same-sex couples

The collective movement for LGBT rights and its allies continues to rejoice in response to the California Supreme Court's ruling earlier today that overturned the Golden State's ban on marriage for same-sex couples. Activists across the country had prepared for months -- and even years -- for this decision, and they immediately applauded the landmark ruling.

"There is no more important and deeply personal decision than whether to take on the commitment of marriage," Shannon Minter Price, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said in a statement released shortly after the court announced its decision. "With today's ruling, the California Supreme Court declared that lesbians and gay men have an equal right to make that cherished commitment."

Equality California executive director Geoff Kors agreed.

"The California Constitution was written to protect the freedoms and equality of all people, creating a place where every person can realize his or her hopes and dreams," he said. "That is the California we choose to live in - a state that ensures dignity and respect for its diverse communities and families."

Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has indicated he plans to respect the decision. He expressed opposition to a proposed amendment to ban marriage for same-sex couples during the Log Cabin Republican's annual convention last month in San Diego. Activists expect opponents of same-sex nuptials will seek to overturn the ruling, but Kors remains confident Californians will support the decision.

"We are confident that Californians will respect the court's ruling for fairness and opportunity and affirm that lesbian and gay Californians deserve full equality under the law," he said.