12.31.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 3:20 pm by pikapp44
Tens of thousands of people in predominantly Roman Catholic Spain rallied Sunday in Madrid to defend the traditional family in a country where the government has legalized same-sex marriage and facilitated divorce.
The crowd roared when Pope Benedict XVI appeared on giant TV screens in a live hookup from St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, praising the crowd.
The pope, speaking during the traditional noon Sunday Angelus prayer, said the family is ”based on the unbreakable union of man and woman and represents the privileged environment where human life is welcomed and protected from the beginning to its natural end.”
”It is worthwhile to work for the family and marriage because it is worthwhile to work for the human being, the most precious being created by God,” the pope said, speaking in Spanish. He urged parents to bring up their children with respect for the moral values that give dignity to human life.
It was Benedict’s latest appeal for the traditional family, a central theme of his papacy. The Vatican has campaigned against proposals to legalize same-sex marriage and denounced Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s government for passing a law recognizing such unions.
The rally filled a central intersection, Plaza de Colon, and spilled over into neighboring streets. No crowd estimates were available.
The president of the Spanish Bishops Conference, Ricardo Blazquez, said the term ”traditional family” often is interpreted as an anachronism.
But, he said, the traditional family ”is rooted in human nature itself.”
”Its validity is a thing of yesterday, today, and tomorrow,” he said.
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12.28.07
Posted in Gay Rights at 8:48 pm by pikapp44
With Republicans deeply dissatisfied with their presidential candidates, they have turned to chicanery to try to steal the 2008 election. This time, they have recruited surrogates on the Religious Right to place a constitutional amendment banning gay unions on the ballot. Although they deny their intentions are politically motivated, it can hardly be a coincidence that the Republican Party of Florida was the largest contributor of the petition drive, funneling $300,000 of the $557,000 raised.
Such cynical manipulation worked wonders for the Republicans in 2004 - when they used this strategy to turn out right wing voters in droves. In total, there are now 27 states that have constitutional amendments prohibiting marriage equality. The anti-marriage train seemed unstoppable until it was derailed in Arizona, where voters narrowly rejected a ban by a 52-48 vote.
The key to this desert victory was that voters were persuaded that the proposed amendment would affect domestic partner benefits for unmarried heterosexual partners - particularly senior citizens. This message could resonate in Florida with its huge population of seniors. Indeed, informing this demographic of the consequences of passing this amendment appears to be the central strategy in defeating it.
“Because of how the laws are structured on Social Security, they’ve [senior citizens] set up their households together as opposed to getting married because they would be penalized in terms of eligibility,” Bentley Lipscomb, AARP’s 1999-2006 state director, told The Florida Times-Union. “The way that amendment is worded, it would affect those individuals even though they’re not homosexual.”
Unfortunately, John Stemberger, state chairman of the Florida4Marriage.org campaign has also studied the Arizona battle.
“They know from the 27 others states whose citizens passed marriage amendments, that if they debate homosexual marriage straight up, they will loose,” said Stemberger. “Shame on them for such desperate tactics in trying to scare Florida’s most vulnerable and precious citizens - our seniors.”
Stemberger is very good at distilling the argument and articulating his side of the debate. He is also a polished presence on television, making him a force to be reckoned with. The campaign countering the amendment, Florida Red and Blue, has raised approximately $2 million dollars. Nonetheless, if they don’t find a spokesperson to match the rhetorical skills of Stemberger, they will be defeated in November 2008 - no matter how much money they raise.
We will also see a huge amount of ex-gay propaganda - as the largest such group, Exodus International - is headquartered in Orlando. Exodus will rally the faithful on the crucial I-4 corridor, (Tampa, Orlando, Daytona Beach) which contains the swing voters that usually decide statewide elections. If Florida Red and Blue does not grapple with this reality early on, they will likely lose the ballot initiative. The indisputable fact is, people don’t vote favorably who think homosexuality can be changed through prayer or therapy.
This fight has huge consequences that will reverberate throughout the nation. If Florida can pull an Arizona, it will signal that marriage amendments are no longer a silver bullet for Republicans to win elections. Of course, the religious right is going to fight like mad, as they can’t afford a defeat in the Deep South. Florida is going to prove to be a financial and emotional drain for both sides in 2008.
The good news is that the proposal will need a 60 percent super majority to become a part of the state Constitution. Still, it will be a nasty battle with an uncertain outcome. Many people who winter in Miami Beach don’t realize how conservative parts of central and northern Florida truly are.
The key to winning this fight is enlisting the help of Republican Gov. Charlie Crist. He should be encouraged to follow the example of Ronald Reagan, who as governor of California in 1979 came out against a ballot initiative that would ban gay schoolteachers. With his support, the anti-gay initiative went down in flames.
So far, Crist has been unpredictable. In July, he said he would “probably vote for it”, yet, he instructed the Republican Party to stop funding the effort.
“There are things that give me greater concern like cutting property taxes and paying school teachers more,” said Crist.
Crist left wiggle room by saying “probably” and clearly offered his rationale for possibly opposing the measure. Florida Red and Blue has wisely formed a bipartisan coalition and the Republicans involved in this effort should strongly lobby Crist. If our side can place Crist in the shoes of Reagan - every Republican’s dream - it can likely win him over.
Florida is a must-win state that will not only help determine who is President, but the future of marriage battles in America. Expect another hot November in the Sunshine State.
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12.19.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 4:22 pm by pikapp44
Palm Beach County Commissioners have unanimously approved amendments to two county ordinances which will prohibit discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on gender identity or expression.
The new law, which covers public and private employers with fifteen or more employees, and most real estate transactions, goes into effect on January 1.
“No one should be fired, harassed, or denied promotion simply because they don’t fit the stereotypes for masculinity or femininity,” said Rand Hoch, president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council.
“In a matter of days, all Palm Beach County residents will be judged on the quality of their work and will given an equal chance to succeed,” said Hoch. “No longer will an employer be able to fire an employee solely because she is a woman with a masculine walk or he is a man with an effeminate voice.”
With almost 1.3 million people, Palm Beach County will become one of the nation’s largest jurisdictions to prohibit discrimination against transgender persons.
When the Palm Beach County ordinances take effect, close to 40% of the US population will live in jurisdictions where it is illegal to discriminate based on gender identity or expression.
Similar laws exist in more than 90 cities and counties across America.
Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity or expression.
In Florida, the cities of Gulfport, Key West, Lake Worth, Miami Beach and West Palm Beach, as well as Monroe County prohibit both public and private employers from discriminating based on gender identity or expression.
The cities of Largo, Oakland Park and Wilton Manors, as well as the Village of Tequesta protect their municipal employees from discrimination based on gender identity or expression.
The Gainesville City Commission is expected to adopt an ordinance early next year which will prohibit discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on gender identity or expression.
Civil rights activists are also working in both Broward and Pinellas Counties to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression.
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12.18.07
Posted in Gay Rights at 9:08 am by pikapp44
Welcome to Florida Red and Blue - the nonpartisan, independent campaign to protect all Floridians by defeating an intrusive amendment to the Florida Constitution that will take away important rights from all non-married Floridians.
In 2008, Florida voters will be asked to vote on an amendment that could take away the ability to visit loved ones in the hospital, eliminate insurance benefits for non-married couples, and require government to take an even larger role in all our lives.
Florida Government has more important things to do than take away rights and benefits from non-married Floridians. Please look around our website and join Florida Red and Blue so we can protect all our rights!
Join Florida Red & Blue today!
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Posted in Gay Rights at 9:07 am by pikapp44
A proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage is headed directly to the November ballot — setting the stage for a vigorous battle between gay rights advocates and opponents.
“We aren’t advocating anything new or radical here,” said John Stemberger, an Orlando attorney and chairman of Florida4Marriage.org, the group pushing the ban. “We’re just saying keep things as they are. We want the institution [of marriage] to be protected for centuries.”
Stemberger claims the group has collected more than the 611,009 petition signatures needed to place the amendment on the ballot.
Florida law already forbids gay marriage, but Stemberger says writing a ban into the state constitution is the only way to ensure a permanent prohibition.
People who oppose the measure, however, believe it is a covert political tool designed to bring ultra-conservatives to the polls in a presidential election year.
“That’s what they did in Ohio in 2004,” said U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston. “They put these [amendments] on the ballot in swing states so they can draw conservative voters to the polls. But if they want to use it as a tool for voter turnout, we can do the same.”
Wasserman Schultz called the proposed ban “completely unnecessary.”
“I would give it much better odds of succeeding if it were not already in Florida law,” she said. “The definition of marriage does not belong in Florida’s constitution.”
Constitutional amendments need 60 percent of the vote to pass. If approved, Florida would become the nation’s 28th state to pass such a ban.
The measure is expected to fail in South Florida but win large support in conservative pockets throughout the state, particularly areas north of Orlando, said Kevin Wagner, assistant professor of political science at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.
“It will depend to some degree on turnout and to what degree liberal voters come out,” Wagner said.
“For the big players, it’s a way to motivate the conservative evangelical voters to come out” and sway the presidential election.
Some gay rights activists and political watchers believe such a strategy is at the heart of the campaign.
“From the beginning, we thought that’s what they wanted to do,” said Heddy Peña, executive director of SAVE Dade. The prominent gay rights group, based in Miami-Dade County, has successfully fought to keep the county’s anti-discrimination provisions in place.
Barbara Collier, chairwoman of the Christian Coalition in Broward, laughed at the notion that the gay marriage ban is aimed at boosting the conservative vote during what promises to be a hotly contested presidential election.
“I don’t think that has anything to do with it, but it will certainly help,” said Collier.
Both sides are raising large amounts of money, mostly from within the state.
The campaign to add a ban to the Florida Constitution began in early 2005. Proponents have raised more than $500,000 so far, Stemberger said. The Florida Republican Party gave the group a total of $300,000 in 2005 and 2006.
Opponents formed Florida Red and Blue this summer to launch a statewide campaign to defeat it. The Miami-based bipartisan group has already raised $2 million and plans to raise more, spokesman Stephen Gaskill said. Most of the donations were from Florida but some came from national groups, including the Human Rights Campaign.
The message his group plans to bring will be the same statewide, despite Florida’s diverse political climate.
“We’re talking about keeping government out of where it doesn’t belong,” Gaskill said. “No matter where you live and where you are on the political spectrum, that is something that resonates.”
Critics say the ban could potentially hurt all unmarried couples, both gay and straight, by preventing them from sharing health care coverage, pension benefits and hospital visitation rights.
Paul Hyman, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center in Fort Lauderdale, hopes to squash the proposal by educating voters.
“It’s our belief that there is separation of church and state,” Hyman said. “We respect religious tradition, but don’t believe it has a role in government.”
Wilton Manors pastor S.F. Mahee, a lesbian, thinks the effort will fail.
“[This] is not a call for panic within the gay community,” she said. “My Florida will not pass legislation on hate.”
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12.17.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 7:53 pm by pikapp44
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says his government will look at introducing a bill to create a national domestic partner registry but has no intention of legalizing same-sex marriage or allowing civil unions.
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12.13.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 11:28 am by pikapp44
TALLAHASSEE - Sponsors of a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in Florida said Thursday that they now have enough signatures to get on the November 2008 ballot.
The proposal that defines marriage as “the legal union of only one man and one woman” was offered by a coalition called Florida4Marriage.org. It needed 611,009 signatures from registered voters to go on the ballot.
The amendment’s language was drafted by Matthew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, which advocates for religious civil liberties, and his wife, Anita. Liberty Counsel announced in a news release that the proposal had met the signature requirement.
That’s the last step to get on the ballot as the Florida Supreme Court already has ruled the proposal meets basic requirements of focusing only on one subject and offering voters a clear and accurate summary of what it would do.
The proposal will need a 60 percent majority at the polls to become part of the Florida Constitution
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12.12.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 12:42 pm by pikapp44
Israel’s High Court of Justice has granted adoption rights to a lesbian who lost a case in 1999 to adopt her partner’s biological child.
Ruti and Nicole Berner-Kadish have dual citizenship to Israel and the United States, according to the Jerusalem Post. They were living in California when Ruti gave birth to their son, Matan, by artificial insemination. Nicole was certified as Matan’s adoptive parent by the state in 1996. The following year, the family with their second child, Neveh, returned temporarily to Israel. When they went to the Interior Ministry to register Nicole as a parent, their request was refused. Representatives of the ministry told them Israeli law defined a couple as consisting of a man and a woman.
Current law recognizes foreign adoptions, marriages, and divorces as long as the certification is authentic, according to the article.
The couple, with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, petitioned the High Court in 1999, to have Nicole registered as Matan’s adoptive mother. The court ruled 2 to 1 that Nicole should be registered, but the state asked the court to hold a second hearing before an expanded panel of justices in hopes of reversing the ruling, the Post reports. The second hearing took place Sunday.
An attorney representing the government said that the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, was in the process of passing a law that would nullify the case, allowing Nicole to adopt the children. However, the Post reports, High Court president Dorit Beinisch said the state has the right to argue against such a law.
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12.11.07
Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 3:14 pm by pikapp44
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee’s 15-year-old comments that AIDS patients should have been isolated have so alarmed the mother of Ryan White, the teenager whose life-ending battle with AIDS in the 1980s engrossed the United States, that she has asked for a meeting.
”I would be very willing to meet with them,” the former Arkansas governor responded Tuesday while campaigning in Iowa. ”I would tell them we’ve come a long way in research, in treatment.”
The Republican front-runner in Iowa’s January 3 caucuses stood by his 1992 comments in a broadcast interview Sunday, infuriating Jeanne White-Ginder, the late teen’s mother and a board member of the AIDS Institute.
”It’s so alarming to me,” she said in a telephone interview Monday with the Associated Press.
”It’s very important to me that we don’t live in the darkness” when people thought HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, was transmitted through casual contact, such as by ”kissing, tears, sweat, and saliva,” White-Ginder said. ”We have to treat this disease like a disease, and like Ryan always said, not like a dirty word.”
White was 13 when he was diagnosed with AIDS in December 1984, having contracted HIV from the blood-clotting agent used to treat his hemophilia. He was barred from school the following year out of fear the disease was spread casually. He died in 1990 at age 18.
On Tuesday the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group, and the AIDS Institute sent a letter to Huckabee asking him to meet with White-Ginder — who declined in the interview to say what political party she belongs to — and calling his comments ”completely beyond comprehension.”
In response, Huckabee told reporters, ”I certainly never would want to say anything that would be hurtful to them or anyone else. I would have great regret and anxiety if I thought my comments were hurtful or in any way added to the already incredible pain that families have felt regardless of how they contracted AIDS.”
As a U.S. Senate candidate in 1992, Huckabee told the AP in a questionnaire that ”we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague” if the federal government was going to deal with the spread of the disease effectively. ”It is the first time in the history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plague have not been isolated from the general population, and in which this deadly disease for which there is no cure is being treated as a civil rights issue instead of the true health crisis it represents,” he said then.
In an interview on Fox News Sunday, Huckabee denied that those words were a call to quarantine the AIDS population, although he did not explain how else isolation would be achieved. ”I didn’t say we should quarantine,” he said. The idea was not to ”lock people up.”
Huckabee acknowledged the prevailing scientific view then and since, that HIV is not spread through casual contact, but said that was not certain.
”I still believe this today,” Huckabee said Sunday, that ”we were acting more out of political correctness” in responding to the AIDS crisis. ”I don’t run from it, I don’t recant it,” he said of his position in 1992. Yet he said he would state his view differently in retrospect.
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Posted in Advocate Articles, Gay Rights at 3:08 pm by pikapp44
Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, appearing on Meet the Press Sunday, explained that he doesn’t believe being gay is a sin, but he said that, heterosexual or homosexual, “it’s the various acts that people perform that are sinful.” Giuliani, who signed domestic-partner legislation into law in 1998 when he was mayor of New York, has been consistently angling toward more conservative positions on gay issues to appease socially conservative Republicans. He has said he would appoint “strict constructionist” judges in the vein of justices Samuel Alito and Antonin Scalia to the Supreme Court and has indicated he doesn’t support civil unions if they are the equivalent of marriage.
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