Zach Wahls wants to know how bad gay marriage could be if he's the product of such a union.

Yesterday, the Iowa House of Representatives voted to change the state’s constitution so that it would be illegal for gay couples to get married. Ever since an Iowa judge ruled in 2009 that a voter-approved gay marriage ban was unconstitutional, the state has been one of the few in the U.S. to show equality for all.

Citizens knew the Legislature would take up a constitutional ban this year and hundreds turned out to a hearing on the matter Monday, including the 19-year-old son of two Iowa women. Continue reading »

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This acorn has fallen far from the tree.

Who says the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree? Such a notion is, um, nuts. At least as it pertains to a former first family.

During his presidency, George W. Bush made his stance on gay marriage known time and time again. He believed the institution was reserved for a man and a woman. Period. But it appears that at least one of his twin daughters doesn’t see the hot topic the same way as he does. And she recently took to YouTube to make that known. The first line she delivers in the video couldn’t be more clear.

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Prop 8 bad for family values

Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit of San Francisco heard arguments for and against Prop 8, the California ban on same-sex marriages.

This August, a lower district judge, Vaughn Walker, ruled the ban — which passed in California by 52 percent — violated constitutional rights to equal protection and due process.

Today, lawyers who appealed that ruling and want the ban re-instated had as one of their central arguments that gay marriage is, essentially, bad for society.

The New York Times captured an exchange between a judge and a lawyer arguing that a gay marriage was bad for us all:

Judge Hawkins, appointed by Clinton, asked why it was okay for the people of California to take away gay marriage rights — would it be okay for Californians to reinstate school segregation by a public vote? Continue reading »

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Tyler Clementi

One doesn’t have to search far and wide to find stories which detail the uphill battle our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered youth face. Even in a society which is growing ever more tolerant, there still exists widespread ignorance which often manifests itself in heartless episodes of bullying. The ridicule and rejection LGBT adolescents face is widely documented, as is the notion that such rejection, be it from peers or from a disapproving family, increases the incidences of depression and even suicide.

But what has not been widely documented is the flip side of that—namely acceptance, particularly when it comes from the family, and what that acceptance is capable of. Until now, that is. Thanks to important research conducted by San Francisco State University’s Dr. Caitlin Ryan via a study appropriately called the Family Acceptance Project.

On the one hand, LGBT lifestyle has never been more embraced by our society. Just Friday, actress Amber Heard officially came out as she walked down the red carpet alongside her girlfriend, Tasya van Ree, at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation’s (GLAAD) 25th anniversary party in Hollywood. I, like the vast majority of Americans, didn’t think twice about it. Except maybe to say, “Hey, good for her.” Continue reading »

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Exciting news for gay and lesbian couples in California!  The Wall Street Journal reports that San Francisco Federal Judge Vaughn Walker “lifted the stay on his ruling from last week, in which he found that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.”  Meaning that gay marriage ceremonies can once again be performed in California, starting August 18th.  In the six days between now and then, Proposition 8 supporters will surely appeal.

It’s heartening to note that, “Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown had urged Walker to permit same-sex marriages to resume.”  The other vocal supporters of gay marriage?  The children of gay parents. Continue reading »

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A federal court today struck down California’s Proposition 8, which forbids same-sex marriage in the state. While gay rights advocates celebrate, the opposition is planning their appeal. The issue will likely go all the way to the Supreme Court.

In today’s decision, Prop 8 was roundly trounced by the judge. Citing civil rights issues, Judge Vaughn R. Walker. Calling Prop 8 “…nothing more than an artifact of a foregone notion that men and women fulfill different roles in civic life,” Walker said it stood no chance of surviving scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause.

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In our house, it’s simply “The Trial”.  My brother-in-law, who follows such things, says that this is probably the biggest case in the last 40 years.  It will very likely affect every state in the nation and will either affirm or weaken the constitution, depending on the outcome.  And whatever the outcome, in another twenty years’ time, it will almost certainly be moot, except as a chapter in high school civics books.  The Trial, of course, is the case of Perry et al v. Schwarzenegger et al, also known as the federal challenge to California’s Proposition 8.

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