Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.) said a push in the North Carolina state legislature to add a [marriage] amendment to the state constitution has prompted him to co-sponsor federal legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
In response, Miller’s proposed repeal of DOMA would force states to recognize same-sex marriages that occurred in other states. So, for instance, if a same-sex couple were legally married in New York, the rights and benefits of that marriage would become available in a state such as North Carolina. While the legislation has little chance of succeeding in a Republican-controlled House, Miller hopes the move will shore up support against the North Carolina state amendment.
Miller becomes the second North Carolina Democrat to sponsor the DOMA repeal bill, joining Rep. David Price.
NC Congressman Brad Miller Doubles Down on Pro-SSM Activism
John Fund on John Batchelor Show: Gay Marriage Hurting Weprin in NY-9
At 2:28 in this recording from election night (last Tuesday) John Fund of the American Spectator tells nationally-syndicated radio host John Batchelor and Larry Kudlow that David Weprin's vote for same-sex marriage is hurting him among Orthodox Jewish and Catholic voters.
We all know how the election turned out (with Weprin being defeated), but listen-in to hear what it was like in the thick of it:
8 the Play Tonight
The premier tickets were $500 a piece, but google and you will find this:
Judge Walker's Broken Promises (Continued)
We personally don't have a dog in this fight, but given the Supreme Court personally intervening to prevent Judge Walker from videotaping the trial--and he then did so promising the litigants that it would be only for his personal use--this is not justice for the litigants. Par for Judge Walker's court.
A federal judge has ordered the unsealing of a video of the court trial that resulted in California's ban on gay marriage being ruled unconstitutional.
"No compelling reasons exist for continued sealing of the digital recording of the trial, U.S. District Court Judge James Ware said in a decision issued Monday. He stayed his decision, which is posted here, until September 30 to allow for any appeal. -- Politico
Election Watch 2012: A Christian Right Revival in 2012?
Demastus represents a growing movement of evangelical pastors who are jumping into the electoral fray as never before, preaching political engagement from the pulpit as they mobilize for the 2012 election.
This new activism has substantial muscle behind it: a cadre of experienced Christian organizers and some of the conservative movement’s most generous donors, who are setting up technologically sophisticated operations to reach pastors and their congregations in battleground states.
The passion for politics stems from a collision of historic forces, including heightened local organizing around issues of abortion and gay marriage and a view of the country’s debt as a moral crisis that violates biblical instruction. Another major factor: both Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Bachmann, leading contenders for the GOP nomination, are openly appealing to evangelical Christian voters as they blast President Barack Obama’s leadership.
Both Republican and Democratic strategists say that pastors have already helped unleash an army of voters to shape the GOP primary contests in Iowa and South Carolina, two states with large numbers of conservative Christians. They are making plans to do the same in states that are even more important to next year’s general election. Those include Ohio, Florida, Iowa, Virginia and Colorado, where evangelical voters make up about a quarter of the electorate and their participation could greatly aid Republicans.
“The Christian activist right is the largest, best organized and, I believe, the most powerful force in American politics today,” said Rob Stein, a Democratic strategist who recently provided briefings on the constituency to wealthy donors on the left. “No other political group comes even close.”
Pro-SSM New Hampshire Gov. Lynch Won't Run Again
Politicians come and go but good people will always be standing up for marriage:
Democratic Gov. John Lynch says he will not seek a fifth consecutive two-year term as New Hampshire's chief executive.
Lynch made the announcement Thursday, months ahead of the state's June filing period, putting at rest speculation about his intentions and opening up the field.
..Republicans have been attempting to portray him as anti-job and out of step with New Hampshire voters.
They point to his veto of legislation that barred unions from collecting a share of administrative and negotiating costs from non-union members. The GOP-controlled Legislature also overrode his veto of abortion limits on minors. -- AP
As we mentioned recently, efforts are underway to repeal New Hampshire's same-sex marriage legislation.
President Obama's Tenth Amendment Conundrum in NC
The White House weighs-in on the news that North Carolinians are voting to define marriage in their state constitution next May:
Shin Inouye, a White House spokesperson, issued the following statement in response to the Washington Blade’s inquiry as to whether President Obama opposes the North Carolina amendment banning same-sex marriage, which will come before state voters in May 2012:
“The President has long believed that gay and lesbian couples deserve the same rights and legal protections as straight couples,” Inouye said. “That’s why he has called for repeal of the so-called ‘Defense of Marriage Act’ and determined that his Administration would no longer defend the constitutionality of DOMA in the courts. He has also said that the states should determine for themselves how best to uphold the rights of their own citizens.
Inouye continued, “While the President does not weigh in on every single action taken by legislative bodies in our country, the record is clear that the President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same sex couples. The President believes strongly in stopping laws designed to take rights away.” -- Washington Blade
Maggie on Gov. O'Malley's Anti-Poverty Push: What About Marriage?
Democratic Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley is working to improve his state’s numbers on poverty, education, crime and employment, but he says Maryland can’t effectively reduce out-of-wedlock births or divorces.
“It makes little sense to claim you care about educational failure, violence and poverty, and then say you don’t care about people getting and staying married,” countered Maggie Gallagher, founder of the National Organization for Marriage. Lack of support for traditional marriage, she said, “is the source of a huge part of these problems in Maryland.”
... “It is sad the the only thing the governor wants to do for marriage is redefine it by cutting it off from its roots” in child-rearing, said Gallagher.
It’s difficult to understand why the governor won’t aid child-rearing marriage, she said, when he’s already using government to tell “people what to do and think on many programs.”
Iowa Senate Up for Grabs in Nov. 8th Special Election
Gov. Terry Branstad’s appointment of a Democratic senator to the Iowa Utilities Board will give Iowa Republicans a shot to knock Democrats from their one-seat majority in the Senate before the next legislative session begins in January
The seat being vacated by Sen. Swati Dandekar of Marion is in a district that has more Republican registered voters than Democrats.
If Republicans win a special election set for November to fill the seat, the 50-member Senate will be evenly split between the two parties.
That would give the GOP a far better chance to push ahead on a handful of issues that have previously been blocked in the Senate...
Including, of course, allowing the people to vote on marriage, like North Carolina and Minnesota are doing.
Brian Brown in NYTimes: Other Pro-SSM Legislators Are Going to Be Taught the Same Lesson as Weprin
The New York Times on NY-9 as prologue to future efforts to defeat pro-SSM legislators:
Opponents of same-sex marriage say they plan to use Mr. Weprin’s defeat as a springboard as they seek in next year’s legislative elections to defeat lawmakers who voted to allow gay men and lesbians to wed.
Although representatives of the candidates denied the issue had a large impact, Mr. [Brian] Brown [President of NOM] said in an interview on Friday that Mr. Weprin’s defeat was evidence that gay rights advocates were mistaken when they assured lawmakers who voted for same-sex marriage that they would not be hurt by their votes in future campaigns. “I don’t think a serious person can say that anymore,” Mr. Brown said. “I think David Weprin knows that he was sold a false bill of goods, and these other legislators are going to learn the same thing.”
Breaking News: New Hampshire Welcomes New Bishop
Via the AP:
New Hampshire's 300,000 Roman Catholics have a new leader.
The Vatican on Monday named the Rev. Peter Anthony Libasci (luh-BASH'-ee) to succeed Bishop John McCormack as bishop of the Diocese of Manchester.
The 59-year-old Libasci is New York City native ordained in 1978 who most recently served as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Center in New York.
He is scheduled to be introduced at a news conference at St. Joseph Cathedral in Manchester on Monday and will be officially installed on Dec. 8.
Orthodox Union Leader: Weprin Lost NY-9 Because of SSM, Not Other Issues
Howie Beigelman, the director of state affairs at the Orthodox Union, points out in the New York Daily News that other candidates who did not vote to redefine marriage continue to receive Orthodox support:
Weprin lost Orthodox support not because he was a Democrat, but because Orthodox Jews were angry at him for his yes vote on same sex marriage - and, even worse, for a painfully contorted explanation of the vote that disparaged Orthodox rabbis.
In other words, [Orthodox Jews] voted policy and principle, not party. When the candidates - in Simanowitz and Goldfeder - had the right policies, they won Orthodox votes.
Orthodox Jews aren't lockstep with any one party. They are the most coveted electoral prize of all: engaged, interested and informed independent voters who care about issues. To earn their votes, both parties ought move the policy issues their voters care about. That's the enduring lesson of NY-9.
Alan Keyes Notices: Gay Marriage Lost in NY-9
Beginning his column for WorldNetDaily:
I read an interesting article this week in which Ben Smith concludes that the issue of Democratic state legislator David Weprin's vote in favor of same-sex marriage was a factor in his defeat in New York's heavily Democratic 9th Congressional District...
Peggy Noonan in WSJ: Gay Marriage Played a Part in NY-9
In her most recent weekly column for the Wall Street Journal:
To the New York race. As this is written, with 92% of precincts counted, Republican Bob Turner leads Democrat David Weprin 53% to 47%. That doesn't look big but is. In 2008, Mr. Weiner won the district with 93%. In 2010, a bad year for Democrats, he beat Mr. Turner with 61%. In 2008 Barack Obama carried the district 55% to 44%. This week a Sienna College poll said voters there now had an unfavorable opinion of the president by 54% to 43%. It's a perfect reversal.
Orthodox Jews and Israel, gay marriage, the economy—all these things played a part...
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