Jerry's email update on the fight for Equal Rights (December 1, 2005)
  

South Africa Legalizes Gay Marriage! (5th country to do so)

Canada's Government Toppled
Repeal of marriage rights is possible..

Friends,

I took last week off for the Thanksgiving Holiday, even though I was not feeling very thankful.  I'm sure that you have heard by now that tour opposition, lead by the Catholic Church and right-wing groups across the country, has claimed to have turned in over 120,000 petition signatures.  That is nearly double what is needed to get the proposal roll back marriage rights onto the MA 2008 ballot..

NOW is the time to be contacting your reps/senators to see where they stand on this petition.  ONLY 50 Legislators need to approve it, to put it on the ballot!


GLAD to challenge legality of marriage petition
Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) has announced that if enough signatures are certified to send a ballot question asking voters to amend the state constitution to ban civil marriages of lesbian and gay couples, it will file suit charging that the ballot question should never have been certified by Attorney General Tom Reilly in the first place.

Buseck said GLAD's argument in the suit will be that the certification of the petition violated Article 48 of the Massachusetts Constitution, which lays out the rules for initiative petitions and explicitly bans petitions that relate to "the reversal of a judicial decision." Buseck said it is clear that the intent of the marriage amendment petition is to overturn the Goodridge decision, and it clearly falls under Article 48's list of excluded subjects for petitions. 

To the layperson, GLADís reading of Article 48 seems fairly straightforward, but the issue is likely to get more complicated should the case go before the SJC. GLAD made the same argument to Reilly's office before he certified the petitions for signature gathering on Sept. 7, and Reilly and GLAD traded memos back and forth last August outlining their different readings of Article 48. Reilly argued that Article 48 only applied to amendments that explicitly recalled a judicial decision, rather than to those that changed the constitution to alter the way courts rule in future decisions. Both sides tried to bolster their argument by reaching back to the constitutional conventions of 1917 and 1918, when Article 48 was ratified, drawing on testimony during the conventions to argue for their interpretation of the law.

FULL STORY 


Mass. Lawmakers Propose Medicaid Benefits For Married Gays
Boston, Massachusetts: The legislature is considering a move to provide Medicaid benefits to married same-sex couples despite a federal prohibition.

Under the Federal Defense of Marriage Act gay and lesbian marriages are not recognized. Medicaid is funded by both the state and the federal government. That means that currently MassHealth administrators do not consider gay couples to be married when determining eligibility and distributing benefits.. 

Supporters say that the federal government is unlikely to oppose the plan, pointing to Vermont which has done the same thing for the past two years for couples who have have civil unions. 

The only sticking point appears to be Gov. Mitt Romney, a opponent of same-sex marriage. A spokesperson for the governor said that he has not yet taken a position on the bill.

FULL STORY 

TAKE ACTION
NATIONWIDE HERE!
Support Marriage Equality for ALL
From coast to coast, we are coming closer to achieving true marriage equality for GLBT Americans. But we need your help to fight efforts to deny marriage rights to same-sex couples, including any Constitutional amendment. Please, sign the Million For Marriage petition below, and be a part of this historic civil rights battle. Gay, straight, married, single...we need everyone who believes in marriage equality to stand up NOW.
Tell your Senator to Oppose the Marriage Protection Amendment
Tell your Senators that you oppose the "Marriage Protection Amendment."
 
Urge Senators to remove unfair tax on domestic partner benefits
Domestic partner health care benefits are taxed, while health care benefits for legally married opposite-sex couples are not. Urge your Senators to sign on to a bill that would end the unfair taxation of domestic partner health care benefits.
Tell Scott Bloch to do his job
Scott Bloch at the Office of Special Counsel has been refusing for two years to enforce long-standing protections for federal workers from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Congress is considering legislation to compel Mr. Bloch to enforce the law. Urge your Representative to support this bill - and if he refuses to do his job, urge Congress to remove Mr. Bloch from office.

Denounce Secretary of Education's Intolerance
Send this message to Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings to let her know you disapprove of her intolerance. Urge her to reconsider her comments.
Support Ford Motor Company
On the heels of ending a failed boycott against the Walt Disney Company, an anti-gay lobbying group called the American Family Association has called for a boycott of Ford Motor Company because of its family- friendly policies. Contact Ford today and let them know you appreciate their support of the LGBT community!
Support my friend's new online store and proceeds go to fight for Equality!

Visit the "Political Corrections" space of my friend Scott's new site http://www.thatissogay.net for more information.

Elect Deval Patrick as MA Governor!!!
A man who can help defeat this attack and prevent future attacks on equality!!!

I encourage EVERYONE to go to his site and sign up for email updates on how to support his campaign 
MORE News Articles of Interest

Previous updates: 

 
Canada's Government Toppled 
(Ottawa) Canada's three opposition parties toppled the 17 month old government of Prime Minister Paul Martin Monday night, throwing the country into a January election.  
FULL STORY
 

Canadian Tory Leader: I'll Repeal Gay Marriage 
Ottawa: Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper wasted no time Tuesday in laying out his platform for this winter's snap election making repeal of same-sex marriage legislation a key plank.
FULL STORY
 

New Hampshire Voters Support Gay Marriage Repression
Concord, New Hampshire: A new poll shows that a majority of New Hampshire voters support a legislature appointed commission that recommends denying legal status to same- sex couples.
FULL STORY 
 

Same-Sex Marriage Debate Ramps Up With Public Hearing
Fearing traditional marriage is under assault, Wisconsin lawmakers and conservative groups are fighting for an amendment to define it as a union between one man and one woman.
FULL STORY
 

Court Told To Dismiss Conn. Gay Marriage Case
(Hartford, Connecticut) A conservative law firm with ties to the evangelical movement is asking a Connecticut court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage.
FULL STORY 
 

Illinois Anti-Gay Amendment Fizzles
(Chicago, Illinois) A conservative Illinois group trying to collect enough signatures to have a gay marriage ban put to voters is finding little interest in the issue.
FULL STORY

 
Gay Marriage Foe Quits House In Disgrace
(Washington) Randy "Duke" Cunningham, one of the sponsors of the Federal Marriage Amendment, resigned from Congress on Monday after pleading guilty to taking more than $2.4 million in bribes.
FULL STORY


Pope Slams Gays, Condoms In AIDS Day Message
(Vatican City) Pope Benedict XVI used his AIDS Day message to remind Catholics that the Church opposes the use of condoms and to suggest that gays are responsible, at least in part, for the growing AIDS crisis.
FULL STORY
 

George Michael Follows Elton To Altar 
(London) With less than a week to go before civil unions become legal in the United Kingdom, singer George Michael has announced he will tie the knot with longtime partner Kenny Goss. 
FULL STORY


O'Malley reaches out to gays, effort 'rings hollow' to some  
Archbishop Sean Patrick O'Malley has issued a statement on homosexuality. His 800 word letter, dated Nov. 25, comes at the same time the Vatican speaks out against ordaining gay men to the priesthood. Its release also comes as the deadline for signature gathering in a citizens-initiated ballot measure to enact a constitutional ban on gay marriage draws near.
FULL STORY


Gays & Anti-War Protestors Demonstrate As Bush Honors Marriage Ban Sponsor
(Denver, Colorado) About 300 people blew whistles, pounded on pots and pans and chanted “Impeach Bush” in a noisy but largely peaceful protest before President Bush arrived today for a fund-raiser.
FULL STORY

11/17/2005: As Our biggest MA Democrat Opponent Steps Down, The Republican Party Steps Up Attack..

11/10/2005: Mixed Elections Results are encouraging

11/3/2005: Mass. Moves To Halt Fraud In Anti-Gay Measure!

10/19/2005: Supporters, foes of gay marriage in MA trade dirty tricks charges!

10/14/2005: Petition gatherers & clergy gather 25,000 signatures in just one weekend!!

10/7/2005: Petition gatherers & clergy gather 25,000 signatures in just one weekend!!

9/29/2005: Bishops of MA push their congregations to sign the Citizen's Petition to roll-back civil rights!

9/23/2005: MA BIGOTED PETITION BEGINS!

9/15/2005: WE WON!  MA Marriage Amendment DEFEATED!

9/8/2005: A Week of hope then DEVASTATION

9/1/2005: Mass GOP Gov. Romney Pressures Dem. AG To Certify Anti-Gay Petition Driven

8/25/2005: JERRY'S 1st YEAR ANNIVERSARY & MA plans second vote on marriage ban

8/19/2005: MA State Rep Changes vote on Marriage Amendment to "NO"

8/11/2005: U.S. poll: 
Support grows for gay marriage

8/4/2005: HELP! Equality Is Under Major Attack!

7/28/2005: TIME TO START GETTING ACTIVE AGAIN!

7/21/2005: CANADA MAKES IT OFFICIAL!

7/14/2005: CA STATE SENATE REVIVES MARRIAGE BILL!

7/7/2005: Oregon Senate Passes Civil Union Bill!

6/30/2005: Spain and Canada both Legalize same-sex marriage!

6/23/2005: California gay marriage bill may return soon

6/16/2005: Romney to Back a New More Extreme Plan to Ban Gay Marriage

6/9/2005: Civil Unions Bill Heads to Senate

6/2/2005: California Bill to Legalize Gay Marriage Dies

5/26/2005: SJC Justice Marshal defends courts

5/19/2005: 1 FULL YEAR OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE & NO APOCALYPSE!

View The Full Timeline/Newsletter History HERE

 

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