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Loading ...Nations’s mayors support gay freedom to marry
06.15.2009 3:47pm EDT
(New York) The U.S. Conference of Mayors today passed a resolution in support of ending the exclusion of gay couples from marriage.
The resolution, titled “Equality and Civil Rights for Gay and Lesbian Americans,” included support for the freedom to marry along with endorsement of federal bills such as Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, the Uniting American Families Act, and the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act.“By passing this resolution, America’s mayors spoke for the families they know and serve in communities across the country, and said that excluding those families from the freedom to marry must stop,” said Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry and author of Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality and Gay People’s Right to Marry. “The mayors have their fingers on the pulse of the country, and their voices today said loud and clear that ending discrimination in marriage is the way to go.”
The resolution stated, “The U.S. Conference of Mayors supports marriage equality for same-sex couples, and the recognition and extension of full equal rights to such unions, including family and medical leave, tax equity, and insurance and retirement benefits, and opposes the enshrinement of discrimination in the federal or state constitutions.”
“The nation’s mayors are proud to take the lead in recognizing the importance of protecting all our citizens equally. It is now time for state legislatures and our federal government to enact the same protections for all our nation’s citizens,” said U.S. Conference of Mayors President Greg Nickels, Mayor of Seattle.
“The mayors’ leadership reaffirms that the freedom to marry should not be partisan or political, but rather is part of the security and respect all couples who’ve made a commitment to care for one another and who are dealing with life’s ups and downs should have, especially in these challenging economic times.” said Wolfson. “Now the New York State Senate should be the next to lead the nation on the path to equality by swiftly passing the freedom to marry bill into law.”
New York’s Assembly passed the marriage bill in May, and political leaders from across the state, including New York City’s Independent/Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg and U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, have called on the State Senate to follow suit in the next few weeks. New York Governor David Paterson is ready to sign the bill. New Jersey also has a governor pledged to sign the state’s pending freedom to marry bill once it reaches his desk.
Where is Obama, and why is he not leading on this issue. Another broken campaign promise to the LGBT community. So much for change you can believe in…NOT!
John,
Obama has made it painfully clear to most of us by now this type of leadership is not something he is going to spend time on.
The has become a job for mayors and for those governors who are gay-friendly.
Silence from Washington speaks volumes…how many times has this silence told us, don’t count on the White House or the Congress for the progay leadership we need. It’s not going to happen, from our national capital city, folks.
The grassroots and the local level is where this is going this push for progay change is going to have to come from.
To wait for Obama, etc is to waste your time.
I tried to keep a list of all the gutless cowards in the Democratic Party, but ran out of paper!
Happy Flag Day, I must confess that this is truly the first step in my first named blog, and being the owner as well I’m so happy, I could just shit. Joeleen has lots on my mind and I guess this is therapy, as well as a good dish, so I’ll try and get with it. By the way I’ll be switching between Joel-Joeleen as he-her seems fit.
One of my pet peeves are, Christians, and how they manipulate their translation of the, Bible, as they seem fit to give themselves the best light possible. This is totally normal as far as I can see, everyone does it, it just depends where you’re sitting to get the correct hue. One of their idiotic excuses they use for our coming out early, and we want special treatment, is just so wrong on so many levels it’s laughable. First of all, we would have come out much earlier in life if they, {straight, right wing Christians} didn’t have an arsenal of nasty, crude, rude, inflammatory, curse words, when all they could have used was faggot. Now that sure would make a twelve year old want to expose himself to the bantering in the school halls, wouldn’t it. I’m just sorry so many gay teens actually kill themselves before those words stop stinging. We absolutely do come out early, to ourselves. Now, lets see about all this, special treatment I’ve been hearing so much about, YEAH !!. I could go all the way back before the Bible was even written, {by priests and clergymen I might add, thats the only people that could read and write back then} However, the special treatment I’ll be talking about now is the special treatment you think we want in order to be able to have a same gender marriage. We don’t want special treatment, only the same, I repeat, just the same. How can you deny that and call it special. Have you forgotten the Bible’s stance on Women, you broke down and gave them equal rights, which is quite contrary to the Bible’s teachings. As a matter of fact you changed your wedding vows in the late sixties to read, “Husband and Wife”, instead of, Man and Wife”, as it was written and said for many, many century’s, you changed that, now that sounds like special treatment to me. Also, what about giving women equal pay for equal work, quite contrary to the Bibles teachings. and we will not get into the Bibles views on slavery. Enough said for now, I’m just learning this and don’t want to run up a novella on my first time at bat. Looking forward to some replies.
Joel,
I couldn’t agree with you more. As an ethnic minority, I would not want to live in California. It’s too easy to take away rights. What’s to stop someone from collecting enough signatures to reinstate slavery in California? The Bible has no problem with it.
I think the mayors are looking at the influx of money same-sex marriage might being in as opposed to equality.
AND, the only reason I have ever been giving for NOT allowing us to get married is religion. I don’t thing that i should have to live by their religious views. And what about eating meat on Fridays, or what the Bible says about being able to sell your virginal 14 year old daughter, or if your wife is not a virgin on your wedding night she should be stoned to death. Some thing just change with time and peoples views. It is time for the rights of two loving people to get married. I have been with my partner for 25 years and we married last year in CA. Now we are amoung the few the are left, dangling in the wind as to what or marriage really means in a state that doesn’t see us a really married.
That’s great to hear! We need more people speaking out on supporting marriage equality, and it’s great that this group is doing just that. Hopefully they stick to their word. *fingers crossed*
Can someone fill me in with exactly what’s going on in New Jersey? I keep hearing it’ll be one of the next states but I haven’t been able to find any news regarding any movements of its same-sex marriage bill.
“The mayors have their fingers on the pulse of the country, and their voices today said loud and clear that ending discrimination in marriage is the way to go.”
Since the mayors have their fingers on the pulse of the country…we will just have to wonder where the President’s fingers are these days.
Obama is way more socially conservative (eg anti real Gay Rights) than many, many Republicans. We have no chance at any support from him or his very homphobic Whitehouse clique.
Clinton would have been much much better… too bad she didnt want our support then.
wow, i have to agree with the question, where is obama? he sure wasn’t too proud to accept my vote and financial support when he was running for president. what does it take in this country to get the elected officials to remember what they said in their campaigns that they would do after being elected. i have read several comments on several web sites asking what his parents would have done had they been denied a marriage certificate during the ’60’s. we all have to keep working toward equality. the other thing is what ever happened to the separation of church and state. i think that any organization associated with a church that makes any political statements, puts out anit-anything advertisements, or anything political should loose their tax-exempt status. oh well, so much for my opinion. that and $6 will get you a coffee at starbuck’s… may the force be with us all !!
TAX THE CHURCHES!! FEED THEM TO THE LIONZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Christianity is a disease
PROPOSITION EIGHT – Let us rename and call it by its real message and meaning:
It’s not “Proposition Eight”, oh, no, it’s “PROPOSITION HATE !!”