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Loading ...Pennsylvania Senators introduce Marriage Equality Bill
07.10.2009 8:45am EDT
(Harrisburg) Pennsylvania Senator Jim Ferlo has joined in supporting SB 935, the first bill in Pennsylvania to allow gay marriage. The bill, created by Senator Daylin Leach, now has three Pennsylvania senators backing it.
Sen. Leach held a press conference Wednesday where he announced the Marriage Equality Bill. Keystone Progress, a “a multi-issue progressive advocacy organization that combines cutting edge online organizing and communications with rapid and hard-hitting earned media strategies” according to their website, has been covering the progress of Sen. Leach’s bill.Sen. Leach debated Pastor Bill Devlin on Philadelphia local station Fox 29 before his news conference. Sen. Leach expressed his desire to extend marriage rights to gay and lesbians living in Pennsylvania. Pastor Devlin argued that the bill is a “train wreck” that would deny rights for children, such as having a mother and a father.
Though I have already written to my senator to encourage her to be a cosponsor, as well as to Lynch to congratulate him, the bill has no realistic chance of passage during this term. It is meant to counter an anti-marriage equality constitutional amendment, as well as to give other legislators a fallback position to help push through House Bill 300 which would expand the Human Relations Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.
People can vote down the two outlying positions while still expanding the anti-discrimination bill, all while appearing to be centrist to the Pennsylvania hillbillies.
Pennsylvania is Pittsburgh and Philadelphia separated by Alabama. (Apologies to Alabama: I had a very good dinner at a brasserie in Fort Payne once.)
One of the reasons this bill was introduced was to counter Republican state Sen. John Eichelberger’s attempt to get an anti-gay constitutional amndement off the ground. Third Reichelberger’s the GodNazi nutjob who recently said on NPR that gays should stop complaining becuase “we allow them to exist.”
My guess is the bill has little chance of getting much further up the food chain, but getting it announced alone in Pennsyltucky is a major step ahead.
Pastor Devlin IS a train on the express track to extinction. He and the likes of him are all on the same train.
With a republican controlled Senate, the bill has little chance of passing, but even by gaining some support the Constitutional Amendment introduced by Sen John (we allow gays to exist in PA)Eichelberger can be stopped.
It would be nice if Pennsylvania, joined her New England neighbors in recognizing that ALL residents should be treated equally. Hopefully the bill will pass….but we will have to wait and see….and watch the situation closely.
“…deny rights for children, such as having a mother and a father”
Doesn’t even have anything to do with same-sex marriage.
How come they never get mad at their “GOD” if he/she controls all that happens then be mad at them for causing some kids in the world to not have a mother and father…
I live some place where a very big natural disaster happened and I remember everyone saying “O thank God” we are still alive, etc…
Well, why didn’t they curse God for sending the damn disaster and killing the thousands that died in the first place?
So, that being said, IF it is GOD”S WILL as they like to say things are, then why can’t they think that maybe it is “God’s Will” that LGBT have marriage equality!
I am feeling that it is “God’s Will” that Marriage Equality happen and is going to, so they should quit fighting God or maybe she’ll put another Storm on their asses!
Pastor DEVLIN, I didn’t know that “marriage” was a requirement to have childrem, nor did I know that “having children” was the only reason to marry? What happenes to all of those infertal couples or all of the single parents? “Traditional marriage” is so “sacred” that 60% end in divorce…the only train wreck I can see in this entire dialog is the lack of logic from the good pastor……now go sell your daughter into slavery, and have a good seafood meal from the profits, or maybe buy yourself a nice article of clothing made from multiple types of fibers, etc….traditions can and should be changed.
PA has 50 state senators… not a great sign that only 3 of them are supporting this.
Marriage is not related to children’s rights.
Pastor, go in your church and lock the door. Let the adults do their thing and you can play with your book all you want, k poopsie?
This Rev. has it all wrong, children should have clergy that don’t abuse them, that should be his main priority!
He should know as well, love doesn’t come in a color or a form, male or female, real love is unconditional.
NOT NOT NOT Gay Marriage….365 Come on! this is 2009!
Please use Marriage Equality.
In fact, our whole movement needs to become the PRO-Marriage (for all) PRO-Familiy (all kinds) Movment. …and leave them in the Dust with their NatlOrgan of (Limited) Marriage,…
or Natl Organ of Marriage (Discrimination)
or Focus on (Only our kind of ) Family.
They are the limiters, discriminators, bigots. Take it to them.
Putting aside the obnoxiousness of thinking children have a right to a mother and father specifically, why do we even think children have a right to parents?
Children have never had a recognized right to parents. If they did, we would not have any orphanages
look who is calling the kettle black pastor devil is a “train wreck”
If children have a “right” to a mother and a father then why do states allow parents to become divorced? Why does the state allow fathers or mothers to die ever? Why is it that people seem to think that gay people getting married is going to deny children parents? First of all, gay people can’t have children without extra help. Second of all, children raised by gay parents have two parents. Whether or not it’s a “traditional” mother and father doesn’t matter according to all of the leading international psychologists who call the notion that “a child can only become well-adjusted by having a mother and a father” stupid and false.