A new study by a Spanish gay rights group reports that about 10,000 gay marriages have taken place since Spain legalized gay marriage in 2007.
Spain has about 30 million people in 2008 over the age of 15. If 3 percent of the population is homosexual, that would be about 900,000 gay and lesbian adults. So 20,000 gay people have chosen to marry so far -- about 2 percent of gay adults. Why so few?
Gay marriage advocate (and--like Ted Olson, the lawyer opposing Prop 8--a Federalist Society member) and law professor Dale Carpenter recently said he was advising a Minnesota gay rights group on how they could lawfully exclude a street preacher from handing out literature against homosexuality at a large gay pride even in a public park that 200,000 folks will attend.
Prof. Carpenter argues that the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which had a right to exclude pro-gay rights groups from marching, is the relevant paradigm. A federal judge just said "no go guys." If the First Amendment means anything it means you can speak, preach, and hand out literature in a public park. Nobody is going to think that the gay rights groups authorized his speech. "As a festival attendee in a public forum, Johnson is entitled to speak and hand out literature, quintessential activities protected by the First Amendment, so long as he remains undisruptive," Judge Tunheim wrote in the 19 page ruling, according to the WSJ.
A win for the First Amendment. But look how many establishment and "conservative" gay rights figures now believe the First Amendment means: we get to restrict your rights to disagree?
The Supreme Court yesterday ruled that Hastings College of Law could require that all student groups be open to any student, regardless of that student's views. Theoretically Christian groups under this "all comers" policy would have to accept not only gay students, but atheists and Buddhists as members and officers of their groups, and vice versa. Gay rights groups would have to accept Prop 8 supporters as full voting members, too. But the Court left open the possibility that Hastings applied the policy in a discriminatory manner, against some groups but not others, as the facts of the case strongly suggest. Bottom line: Case continues. Most media will report this as a big win for Hastings. But see: http://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/230398/i-cls-v-martinez-i-my-first-quick-take/david-french
Salon asks David Boies to describe the arguments for marriage as the union of husband and wife. Boies is clueless.
These are the guys who keep lauding each other as brilliant?
In a few days, NOM will be launching our Summer for Marriage Tour 2010, taking the message for marriage directly to the American people and building support for marriage all across the eastern half of the United States.
Over 33 days, we’ll travel more than 6000 miles, holding rallies in 23 cities from Maine to Minnesota to Atlanta and Tampa before heading back to Washington, DC for the tour finale on August 15th.
Many of the states we’ll be visiting are key battlegrounds in this critical debate, as we work to organize grassroots support for marriage as the union of a husband and wife at both the state federal levels, building support for state marriage amendments and opposing the repeal of DOMA.
Please visit www.marriagetour2010.com for the latest tour information, including the bus schedule, a chance to register for email alerts from the tour, and video footage of each tour stop.
We need your help to make this summer’s tour a success! Please click here to make your online contribution today. $60 would cover a penny per mile! $115 would be $5 toward the costs of each rally. Whatever you can give will go far as we work together to organize support for marriage all across the nation!
Then tell your friends and come out to see us when we come to your hometown this summer!
What does it take to get the WaPo to call you a "rising star" in the GOP and instant "Veepstakes" material in 2012? Be a pro-gay marriage, pro-choice Republican, of course.
Like Charlie Baker, running for governor of Massachusetts on the GOP ticket. WaPo, swooning, is pretending Baker is following the Scott Brown formula. But Sen. Brown was pro-marriage amendment and far more openly prolife than his opponent. (He describes himself as pro-choice but opposes partial birth abortion and federal funding; He was endorsed by the Susan B. Anthony List as well as NOM.) Baker did manage to sum up the energy to pledge to veto the so-called "bathroom bill" which adds gender identity to Massachusetts discrimination law--similar language in Maine this year lead the Maine Human Rights Campaign to propose integrating bathrooms and locker rooms in public schools and universities.
Baker is running just seven points behind an unpopular state governor in latest polls. Will be interesting to see how this plays out in Massachusetts, but don't hold your breath for anyone named Baker on the ticket in 2012.
Charlie Baker, best of luck, but to paraphrase Ronald Reagan, Scott Brown is a friend of ours, and you are no Scott Brown.
This is just a marketing scheme. But if you want to know how Mars Chocolates chose Charlotte, NC as America's Manliest City, take a look here. My question: why is a chocolate company ranking manliness at all?
David Weigel has resigned after numerous emails surfaced disparaging conservatives. Weigel was hired as a conservative to cover the "conservative beat" for WaPo. A few weeks ago, he blogged that he has sympathy for everyone he covers except for those who oppose gay marriage, whom he called "bigots." Now it appears his sympathies for conservatives are more generally limited. Weigel Resigns: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0610/Weigel_resigns.html
Background: More Leaked Weigel Emails: http://www.politico.com/blogs/onmedia/
NOM's founding Chairman of the Board, Robby George, is a renaissance man. Here's a photo of Robby at the Becket Fund gala (which I attended) where he was honored with the Canterbury Medal for his contribution to the religious liberty of all faith communities.
We here at NOM certainly understand that SSM and related laws based on the assumption that Christian and other traditional faiths' views of marriage and sex are somehow akin to racism are serious threats to religion in America and the world. We are grateful to Robby and to all defenders of religious freedom!
Insemination Services? Who knew? Lovely photo of two women headlined "They Just Found Out They Were Expecting Finally"
Because nothing causes infertility like attempting to have a child with another woman?
