Marriage Laws

Here's a look at attitudes and laws about gay marriage locally and around the country: State Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Delaware/Montgomery, and state Rep. Babette Josephs, D-Center City, proposed same-sex marriage bills in 2009, but both stalled in committee. Ultraconservative state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler County, proposed an amendment to the state Constitution last year to officially ban same-sex marriage, but that stalled as well. A recent Muhlenberg College/Morning Call poll showed that 52 percent of Pennsylvanians feel that gay marriage should be legal, while 37 percent believed it should not and 9 percent said they were unsure.

Ever the radical, at 77 Gloria Steinem posits a pretty good view of what it means to grow old: still writing, speaking and traveling, hanging around with all her ex-lovers. Really? Ex-lovers? "The thing about aging," she said in a phone interview last week from her home in Manhattan, "is all your old lovers, pretty much if they were really friends, become your family. It's great. You have those terrible feelings of possessiveness and uncertainty go out the window. You have what you shared.

A Bucks County Court judge indicated yesterday that he was likely to rule against 12 state representatives suing a New Hope gay couple who want to marry. Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg told a hearing that he had "serious doubts as to whether plaintiffs' action will survive. " At the end of the 50-minute hearing, Goldberg said that though his "instinct" had been to announce his decision from the bench, "a ruling will be issued shortly. " On March 15, Robert Seneca and Stephen Stahl were denied a marriage license application by the Bucks County Register of Wills.

It seems fitting that my last regular column here concerns a cultural issue, as this newspaper's editorial page and I often disagree on such issues. Political consultants warn candidates to stay away from these issues because they are so personal and emotionally charged. The abortion debate is one on which I chose to ignore their advice. The reason: I simply could not square voting to permit the killing of an innocent baby in the womb with the Constitution I swore to defend, the God I try to obey, or the people I pledged to serve.

Supporters of a ban on same-sex marriages in Maine have collected enough signatures to force a vote on the issue, the secretary of state's office ruled yesterday. The ruling means Maine voters will consider the proposal during the Nov. 4, 1997, election unless it is enacted into law earlier by the legislature and Gov. Angus King. Polls have indicated it would pass. The measure proposed by Concerned Maine Families would bar Maine from officially recognizing marriages between two people of the same sex even if the marriage is recognized in another state.

DeGeneres and her sweetie say marriage is grand It's Nice News Saturday here at SideShow - or at least that's how we'll start. Snarks later. First, raise the roof and give it up for a marriage that brings the principals to tears. Of joy. To whom else could we be referring but Ellen DeGeneres and her Aussie, Portia de Rossi? Big D and little d - who wed Aug. 16, right after California figured out its marriage laws - d-scussed their marriage with Ladies' Home Journal; Ellen's on the March cover.

All in the same week, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the U.S. Catholic bishops, the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, and the Presbyterian Church USA drove themselves nuts over homosexuality. In Massachusetts, despite ample evidence that two years of same-sex marriage has not destroyed straight life in the commonwealth, Romney helped plan a weekend rally for a statewide referendum to ban it. In Washington, the bishops passed a bizarre set of guidelines called, "Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination.

President Bush joined the growing debate over gay marriages yesterday, saying that he was not sure if a constitutional ban on gay unions was "necessary yet" but adding that "marriage is between a man and woman. " He offered his view a week after the Supreme Court struck down state laws against sodomy. The ruling called into question a host of other laws that gay-rights advocates consider discriminatory, including prohibitions against same-sex marriages. The issue, the latest battle in the long-running fight over gay rights, seems likely to spill into the 2004 presidential election.

In a cogent, eloquent ruling, the highest court in Vermont has declared that committed same-sex couples should be eligible for the same legal benefits and obligations as husbands and wives. The ruling puts its focus on the right place: the rights of gays under a state constitution that stresses equal treatment. It rejects frenzied warnings that upholding gay rights imperils the institution of marriage. The court ruled on the cases of three same-sex couples - two with children - who sought marriage licenses after living together for years.

The New Jersey Senate should approve a bill to authorize gay marriage, and advance the cause of equality for so many of the state's citizens. The pending vote tomorrow in the Senate is in doubt, and the Assembly has not indicated whether it will take up the question. But gay and lesbian citizens deserve that the issue be settled in their favor. The state's experiment with civil unions was supposed to provide gay couples the same legal rights as heterosexual married couples.

Here's a look at attitudes and laws about gay marriage locally and around the country: State Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Delaware/Montgomery, and state Rep. Babette Josephs, D-Center City, proposed same-sex marriage bills in 2009, but both stalled in committee. Ultraconservative state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler County, proposed an amendment to the state Constitution last year to officially ban same-sex marriage, but that stalled as well. A recent Muhlenberg College/Morning Call poll showed that 52 percent of Pennsylvanians feel that gay marriage should be legal, while 37 percent believed it should not and 9 percent said they were unsure.

WASHINGTON - Cheers rang out in the marble hallway of the Maryland State House as Gov. Martin O'Malley signed a law Thursday legalizing same-sex marriage and handed the pens to gay members of the General Assembly who were gathered behind him. "For a free and diverse people, for a people of many faiths, for a people committed to the principle of religious freedom, the way forward is always found for the greater respect of the equal rights of all,...

Ever the radical, at 77 Gloria Steinem posits a pretty good view of what it means to grow old: still writing, speaking and traveling, hanging around with all her ex-lovers. Really? Ex-lovers? "The thing about aging," she said in a phone interview last week from her home in Manhattan, "is all your old lovers, pretty much if they were really friends, become your family. It's great. You have those terrible feelings of possessiveness and uncertainty go out the window. You have what you shared.

MAYBE President Obama should rename the DOJ. Instead of the Department of Justice, just call it the Department of Just-This. As in his attorneys will defend this law in court. And this one. And maybe this one. But not that one, because they don't agree with it. In fact, if they don't like a law, even though it's presumptively constitutional and the Congress hasn't made any move to amend or suspend it, they can declare it non grata at the White House. That's exactly what happened last week when Eric Holder wrote a letter to House Speaker John Boehner informing him that the executive branch was no longer going to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court.

Where the money goes: The military The United States could join the rail revolution, if we had the money. As your series points out, other nations around the world are pouring the needed start-up funds into this most sensible public project ("Fast track: Is America ready for high-speed rail?" last Sunday). Why don't we have the money? An honest look at U.S. spending shows that far too much of our IRS tax money goes to the military. Deficit hawks are squawking that we have to cut Social Security and Medicare to solve our deficit problem, but those programs have dedicated revenue streams that can be tweaked to bring in more revenue.

It seems fitting that my last regular column here concerns a cultural issue, as this newspaper's editorial page and I often disagree on such issues. Political consultants warn candidates to stay away from these issues because they are so personal and emotionally charged. The abortion debate is one on which I chose to ignore their advice. The reason: I simply could not square voting to permit the killing of an innocent baby in the womb with the Constitution I swore to defend, the God I try to obey, or the people I pledged to serve.

The New Jersey Senate should approve a bill to authorize gay marriage, and advance the cause of equality for so many of the state's citizens. The pending vote tomorrow in the Senate is in doubt, and the Assembly has not indicated whether it will take up the question. But gay and lesbian citizens deserve that the issue be settled in their favor. The state's experiment with civil unions was supposed to provide gay couples the same legal rights as heterosexual married couples.

A bill to allow same-sex marriages in New Jersey appears headed to the state Senate for a vote Thursday after being released by a committee late yesterday. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the legislation by a vote of 7-6 after nearly eight hours of debate and testimony that was at times emotional and eloquent. The approved bill included an amendment intended to clarify that religious organizations would never be forced to sanction or participate in a marriage they disagreed with.

DeGeneres and her sweetie say marriage is grand It's Nice News Saturday here at SideShow - or at least that's how we'll start. Snarks later. First, raise the roof and give it up for a marriage that brings the principals to tears. Of joy. To whom else could we be referring but Ellen DeGeneres and her Aussie, Portia de Rossi? Big D and little d - who wed Aug. 16, right after California figured out its marriage laws - d-scussed their marriage with Ladies' Home Journal; Ellen's on the March cover.

All in the same week, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the U.S. Catholic bishops, the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, and the Presbyterian Church USA drove themselves nuts over homosexuality. In Massachusetts, despite ample evidence that two years of same-sex marriage has not destroyed straight life in the commonwealth, Romney helped plan a weekend rally for a statewide referendum to ban it. In Washington, the bishops passed a bizarre set of guidelines called, "Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination.