Jerry's updates on the fight for Equal Rights

Jerry's email update on the fight for Equal Rights (June 17, 2004)

CIVIL MARRIAGE FIGHT IS HEATING UP AGAIN!
Our opposition has returned in FULL FORCE to take away the right of civil marriage to same gender couples..

PLEASE REVISIT MY HRC PAGE as there are now 4 new additional actions that you can each take on a federal level that help me reach my goal of 100 actions. I'm not even 1/2 way yet!

Notable items this week:

Gay marriage opponents gear up for fall.

BOSTON -- For a month now, hundreds of gay couples have gotten married in Massachusetts with remarkably little fanfare or protest. But the honeymoon is about to end. Gay-marriage opponents are targeting the Legislature this fall, when all 200 seats are up for election. They want to see passage of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

"The people who are in favor of marriage, the traditional definition of it, we still haven't given up," said Michael Carl, president of a political action committee to support candidates who oppose gay marriage and civil unions.

Read the FULL STORY

Church gives pre-election scorecard
Gay marriage votes identified in mailings.

BOSTON - As legislative elections loom, the Massachusetts Catholic Conference is sending letters to all 710 parishes in the state urging Catholics to ''share their profound disappointment" with lawmakers who did not vote to ban gay marriage earlier this year.

The mailings, issued by the lobbyist for the state's Catholic bishops, also prodded Catholics to offer their ''highest praise" for lawmakers who opposed gay marriage during this spring's Constitutional Convention, saying they acted ''so courageously in favor of traditional marriage."

Read the FULL STORY

Two lawsuits to challenge 1913 law...
GLAD calls law discriminatory.

Two legal challenges to a 1913 Massachusetts law barring out-of-state couples from gay marriage will be launched this week by a dozen cities and towns and by several couples from outside the Commonwealth, according to an attorney involved in the suits.

Gay and lesbian couples from other states will challenge the law in Suffolk Superior Court tomorrow, the lawyer said. They will be represented by lawyers from Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, who brought the Goodridge suit that led the Supreme Judicial Court to legalize marriage for same-sex couples in Massachusetts. Full Story

MA Marriage License Count by town
(May 17-21.)

Approximately 2,500 marriage license applications were filed by same-sex couples in Massachusetts during the first week of legal marriage for gay couples, May 17-21, according to a Boston Globe survey of city and town clerks.

License Count by MA Town

South Shore Pride this Sunday.

Dear Jerry,

Please Read, Take Action and Forward. Last weekend, over 100,000 proud celebrants took part in Boston Pride. This weekend, it's Pride time for folks on the South Shore. Please come out to Plymouth, show your support publicly for equal marriage rights, and help organize for political action on the South Shore.

Schedule of events:

12:00 Noon
Interfaith Service
“Family Values – Celebrating All Our Families”
First Parish Unitarian Church
19 Town Square
Plymouth

2:00 PM
Pride Parade
Nelson Street Playground (start & finish)
on the corner of Nelson and Water Streets
Plymouth

3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Picnic and entertainment after the parade at the Nelson Street Playground
limited concessions are available

Thank you,
Your MassEquality.org Update Team

TAKE ACTION HERE

Please sign my HRC Federal petition and forward to friends, if you haven't already.
There are new actions you can take to help me make my goal.
I only have 41 out 100 so far.

Contribute to the campaign of Paul Meoni
He is challenging the My local representative who has consistently voted against my civil rights.

Contribute to the campaign of Representative David Linsky.
He is under republican and religious attack because of his decision to stand up for us.

Submit an editorial to your local paper every 35 days. It is important to publicly show support for gay marriage!
Helpful suggestions

Previous updates from Jerry:

6/9/2004

5/27/2004

5/20/2004

5/13/2004

5/7/2004

4/30/2004

4/22/2004

4/13/2004

4/8/2004

4/1/2004

View The Full Timeline/Newsletter History HERE

News Articles of Interest

Upcoming Events

About 2,500 gay couples sought licenses in 1st week
Nearly 2,500 gay and lesbian couples applied for marriage licenses in the first week that Massachusetts extended the right to same-sex couples, according to a Boston Globe survey of city and town clerks..
Full Story

A to Z list of gay marriage applicant occupations
By Bill Dedman, Globe Correspondent | June 15, 2004
From boat builders and CEOs to judges and state troopers, the gays and lesbians married in Massachusetts work in all corners of the economy. Here are some of the occupations listed by the gay and lesbian couples applying for marriage licenses during the first week of same-sex marriage, according to the Globe's survey of city and town clerks.

The list extends from A to Z -- well, nearly. Could there be a xylophonist and a zookeeper somewhere in the Commonwealth with wedding plans?.
Full Story

NY Court Says Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional
Mark Egan, Reuters, June 10, 2004
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York state court on Thursday ruled in favor of same-sex marriage because denying gays the right to wed goes against equal protection measures in the state's constitution.

In the state's first such ruling, the Justice Court in New Paltz threw out charges that the town's mayor, Jason West, violated the law by marrying dozens of gay couples in February without licenses.
Full Story


Missouri sets August vote for gay marriage measure
By Associated Press | June 4, 2004
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- In a victory for Democrats, Missourians will vote in August, not November, on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

Under pressure from Missouri's Supreme Court, Secretary of State Matt Blunt, a Republican, agreed yesterday to put the measure on the ballot this summer.
Full Story

Canadian Anglicans affirm sanctity of gay couples
Delay decision on rites until '07
ST. CATHARINES, Ontario -- The Anglican Church of Canada affirmed the ''integrity and sanctity" of same-sex relationships yesterday, a move that stops short of authorizing blessing ceremonies for gay couples but still may provoke rancor in the global Anglican Communion..
Full Story

French lawmaker presides over gay marriage
PARIS -- France's interior minister Tuesday suspended a leading Green party lawmaker from his job as mayor of a southwestern town for one month for conducting a gay wedding in defiance of authorities.
Full Story

Friday, June 18th
Considering the Many Facets of Gay Marriage: A Community Forum
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
presented by The Brookline Center
featuring attorney Donna Turley, tax expert John Schachter, family therapist Sara Orozco, and psychologist David Griffiths
The Brookline Center
43 Garrison Road
Brookline
please register by June 15th with e-mail to LauraKanter@BrooklineCenter.org
$10 donation appreciated

Saturday, June 19th
Summer Solstice Celebration!
Benefit for MassEquality and the Boston Buddhist Peace Fellowship
An alcohol-free, smoke-free, take your shoes off and dance the night away fundraiser, with food, socializing and artwork
7:00 PM
The Arlington Center
396 Massachusetts Avenue
Arlington
suggested donation $10
for more information, e-mail info@bpfboston.org
view flyer

If you are having a marriage-related event you'd like us to consider for our calendar, please send details to Calendar@MassEquality.org