Saying he would defend the California Supreme Court's May 15 ruling, California Attorney General Jerry Brown urged the court to reject petitions by anti-gay groups who seek to delay the ruling until after the November elections:

"'This historic litigation is now concluded,' wrote Senior Assistant Atty. Gen. Christopher E. Krueger in a brief filed with the high court. 'It is time for these proceedings to end.' In the brief, Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown said he plans to enforce the court's May 15 ruling 'with no less vigor' than he previously sought to defend state laws that limited marriage to opposite-sex couples. California's change of heart came as 10 other states, including Florida and Utah, filed a brief in support of a request by gay marriage opponents to delay the effective date of the court ruling. The offices of attorneys general of Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah protested that their states, which restrict marriage to unions of a man and a woman, would be inundated by litigation seeking to have them recognize same-sex nuptials in California."

The L.A. Times notes that "the mere filing of the petition could delay same-sex marriages until mid-July, or, at the latest, mid-August, court officials said.

via Towleroad and via LA Times

Labels: california, marriage, supreme court

A Seattle lesbian couple says a peck on the lips nearly got the two of them tossed out of a Mariners game... Sirbrina Guerrero says she only gave her date a peck, but a mother sitting with her son complained to security and, as a result, they were told to stop or leave.

"And he (the security guard) goes 'there's a lady whose son says he saw you guys making out, and I did, too. And you have to stop.' And I said 'well, we weren't making out, but we were kissing and I'm not going to stop,'" said Guerrero... "(The security guard said) the mom doesn't want to explain to the kids why two girls are kissing. So I said 'well, I'm not going to stop, so you'll have to kick me out. So he said 'so I suggest you leave then,'" she said.

But Guerrero and her friends don't buy it. After Guerrero was flagged at the game, they took pictures of other couples who kissed but were not reprimanded. Those couples, they said, were heterosexual.

via KOMO Head over here to see a video of the story.

Labels: discrimination, seattle, washington

Gov. David Paterson has directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada.

In a directive issued on May 14, the governor's legal counsel, David Nocenti, instructed the agencies that gay couples married elsewhere "should be afforded the same recognition as any other legally performed union."

The revisions are most likely to involve as many as 1,300 statutes and regulations in New York governing everything from joint filing of income tax returns to transferring fishing licenses between spouses.

In a videotaped message given to gay community leaders at a dinner on May 17, Mr. Paterson described the move as "a strong step toward marriage equality." And people on both sides of the issue said it moved the state closer to fully legalizing same-sex unions in this state.

via NYT

Labels: marriage, new york

Labels: 2008 Presidential Election, barack obama

Labels: 2008 Presidential Election, ellen degeneres, marriage, mccain

Yeah, I said gayor of Portland. Portlandians overwhelmingly gave the thumbs up tonight to Sam Adams to be our next mayor.

Congrats Sam on a job well done! You made history tonight by becoming the first openly gay mayor of a top 40 city.

Labels: oregon, portland, sam adams

Labels: 2008 Presidential Election, barack obama, portland

Beyond words. He has inspired a nation and he can and will change the face of this country for the better.

Barack was just here in Portland and spoke to a crowd of tens of thousands 75,000 at Waterfront Park. ABC news called it the largest political rally in the history of this cycle. Here's a picture (thanks to the Portland Mercury):



Here's a little video that continues to resonate with me. It's from the New Hampshire primary.

Labels: 2008 Presidential Election, barack obama, oregon, portland

Wow. Video below from NRA convention. It's at about a minute in.

Labels: dick of the week

We're with Kate Brown!

Kate Brown has been a tireless advocate for civil rights in Oregon - but aside from this fact, we are voting for Kate Brown for Oregon Secretary of State because her nearly two decades of experience and major accomplishments in the state. As the first female Senate Majority leader, we know Kate to be extremely fair, yet tough when she needs to be. Kate is by far the most qualified candidate for the job and we are proud to stand up with thousands of other Oregonians in voting for her.

Gay Rights Watch encourages all Oregonians to vote for Kate Brown for Secretary of State - and we're definitely not alone. Just take a look at her roster of endorsements. This is just the short list, view the full list here.

Oregon Education Association
SEIU Locals 503 and 49
Oregon League of Conservation Voters
Basic Rights Oregon
NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon PAC
Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council
Working Families Party
EMILY's List
Victory Fund
Twenty-First Century Democrats
Working Families Party
Carpenters Local 1065
Oregon Small Business for Responsible Leadership

Newspaper Endorsements:
The Oregonian
The Statesman Journal
The East Oregonian
The Medford Mail Tribune
Just Out
Portland Mercury
El Hispanic News
The Skanner

Visit www.katebrownfororegon.com to learn more about her and why she is the most qualified and most respected candidate for Oregon Secretary of State.

Labels: 2008 elections, oregon

On today's Ellen (taped yesterday) she talks about the CA Supreme Court decision and swiftly announces that she is going to marry her long-time partner Portia de Rossi.

via TMZ:

A spy in the audience of this afternoon's taping of the "Ellen DeGeneres Show" tells us that after Ellen mentioned today's California Supreme Court ruling striking down the state's ban on gay marriage, she surprised everyone and announced that she was going to tie the knot with longtime girlfriend, actress Portia de Rossi.

Portia was in the crowd and after she made the announcement, the studio audience went wild, giving the two a huge standing O.

CONGRATS ELLEN!

Labels: california, ellen degeneres, marriage

As a Californian for the first 18 years of my life I could not be more proud. Yesterday morning when the decision came out from the California Supreme Court, my mom and dad who still live there called me to say how happy they were about this landmark decision. It was pretty cute.

There are so many questions though surrounding the longevity of this decision considering there is a big possibility that anti-gay groups will have the signatures validated for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

Here are a couple of tidbits I found out after researching the issue and how this court decision will play out.

Ruling goes into effect in 30 days, Governor Schwarzenegger who supports this court decision and opposes any constitutional ban, could take action and make the ruling effective sooner than that 30 day window.

Anti-gay groups could try to get a stay on this ruling until November, although I cannot see the court granting this motion seeing how bold their language in this ruling was.

If a constitutional amendment was to pass in November, it sounds as if the court could invalidate that as they have already ruled, that based on equal protection, same-sex couples have the fundamental right to marry.

In the decision it is mentioned that if there was an initiative passed by the electorate, that said marriage could only for for those couples of the opposite sex, that it would fly in the face of what the CA supreme court is now a constitutional right that is open to everyone. Therefore the constitutional ban, if passed could be invalidated and found unconstitutional.

A poll by Survey USA has found that 46% or Californian's agree with the decision, 46% oppose it.

The above number is a huge jump down from the 62% of Californian's who voted for Prop 22 in 2000 that made a statutory change in California law defining marriage between a man and a woman.

Labels: california, marriage, supreme court

The California Supreme Court has overturned a ban on gay marriage, paving the way for California to become the second state where gay and lesbian residents can marry.

The justices released the 4-3 decision Thursday, saying that domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage in an opinion written by Chief Justice Ron George.

The cases were brought by the city of San Francisco, two dozen gay and lesbian couples, Equality California and another gay rights group in March 2004 after the court halted San Francisco's monthlong same-sex wedding march that took place at Mayor Gavin Newsom's direction.

Because this is a state issue, the decision cannot be appealed to a higher level of court. This is the end of this saga. Come November though there is a good chance that a constitutional amendment will be on the ballot. The question then is whether or not this ruling will have an effect on that if it was to be appeal after November should the voters approve discrimination in the California Constitution.

The ruling can be read here.

Labels: california, marriage, supreme court

The question they will answer:
Does California's statutory ban on marriage between two persons of the same sex violate the California Constitution by denying equal protection of the laws on the basis of sexual orientation or sex, by infringing on the fundamental right to marry, or by denying the right to privacy and freedom of expression?

Labels: california, marriage, supreme court

Tomorrow at 10am, the California Supreme Court will make their ruling on whether California's marriage ban will be upheld or not.

Stay tuned.

Labels: california, marriage, supreme court

Obama picked up an endorsement from California superdelegate Crystal Strait, a Young Democrats of America board member and a former California Young Democrats president.

"It's probably the hardest decision I've made in my life," Strait told CNN.

"I respect both candidates so much. But listening to how young people voted and caucused around the country, I know this was the right decision."

[...]

Clinton has a 43-percentage-point advantage over Obama, 66 percent to 23 percent, according to a survey from the American Research Group released Friday.

[via CNN]

May 20th is Oregon's primary where Barack is expected to win.

Labels: 2008 Presidential Election, barack obama, hilary clinton

Some great stories surrounding the race for president.

Young evangelical voters ditching the GOP and voting for Obama? [Seattle Times]

Saturday Night Live gives Clinton a not so subtle hint [video here]

GOP Convention organizer, Doug Goodyear, resigns after his PR firm accepted $350,000 to represent the Burmese junta in 2002. [source]

Regional campaign manager for McCain, Doug Davenport, also steps down due to ties to the DCI Group. Doug had run DCI's lobbying practice before signing on with McCain last month to run Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Kentucky and West Virginia for McCain. [source]

Obama came to Oregon again. This time he was in Corvallis, Eugene, Portland and Bend. He visited both Oregon State and U of O. Pictures here.


In "You've got to be fucking kidding me" news:

Disgraced Republican U.S. Rep Vito Fossella may be seeking re-election despite his recent drunk-driving arrest last week led to talk of an extramarital affair, and then finally Thursday, an admission of a child from that affair. This is the same self-proclaimed "family values" man who voted multiple times for the so-called "Defense of Marriage" amendment. Way to protect marriage Vito![via NY1]

Labels: another disgraced Republican, barack obama, mccain, scandal

As Oregonians are voting right this very second - and each day following until May 20th (we all vote by mail), I feel this wave of change and damn it feels good. With a solid victory in North Carolina and what I consider a victory in Indiana - Obama-rama is taking hold.

On a side note, Oregonians should know that Obama will be in here Oregon May 9th and 10th. That is this Friday and Saturday! More details to come on location, etc.

I leave you with this.

Labels: 2008 elections, 2008 Presidential Election, barack obama

It's no surprise that we are crazy about the idea of having Sam Adams as Portland's mayor. His unique vision, his tackling of the big/controversial issues and his steadfast drive to create a more livable Portland - or as his campaign would say 'Let's Move Portland Forward'. That sums it up.

It's also hard to overlook the fact that Portland would make history, aside from his groundbreaking, progressive policy. Portland would be the first Top 40 city in history to have a gay mayor.

We'll be voting for Sam. We hope you join us. His latest commercial is below, although I would highly recommend also watching an earlier video we posted a while back. We've posted that one below as well.

Labels: oregon, portland, sam adams

On April 29, the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted plaintiffs' motion for expedited review in Lemons v. Bradbury, the lawsuit filed by out-of-state groups seeking to revive last year's failed referendum against Oregon's domestic partnership law by forcing elections officials to change the way they treat signatures on voter petitions. The original review schedule set by the Court likely would have resulted in a decision sometime next year, but Friday's order means the case could be decided as early as July.

Basic Rights Oregon has more information including updated Lemons v Bradbury timeline, court docs etc. That's here.

Related posts from Gay Rights Watch:

BREAKING: Basic Rights Oregon Files Motion to Intervene

Judge Mosman Grants BRO's Motion to Intervene in Lemons v Bradbury

Right Now In Oregon Federal Court Your Future is Being Decided

I'm Sorry. This is Bullshit, I Need to Vent.

OREGON WINS: DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS GO INTO EFFECT

Labels: anti gay, appeal, basic rights oregon, domestic partnership, federal court, lemons v bradbury, oregon

A monument honoring the homosexual men and women who were persecuted due to their sexual orientation and perished during the Holocaust is to be established in Meir Garden in Tel Aviv, according to Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai

A quarter of a million homosexuals were persecuted during the Holocaust, and tens of thousands were murdered because the Nazi Party believed their sexual preference to be deviant. In the concentration camps in which they were imprisoned, gay men were forced to wear a pink triangle while lesbian women wore a black patch.

via Ynet

Labels: holocaust, israel