The Happy Couple.
Posted on 11/29/2005 2:25:15 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Richard Taylor and Ray Valey met and fell in love in 1956.
"For 49 years, we have yearned for a marriage recognized in America," Taylor said at a news conference this morning, before testifying at a public hearing against a proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
The hot-button issue drew 300 people to testify at the State Capitol, with the overflow crowd filling two rooms.
Despite the longevity of their relationship, Taylor said he has never been able to put Valey on his medical or dental insurance. Valey would also not be eligible for Taylor's Social Security benefits should Taylor precede him in death.
"In thousands of ways our dignity is attacked," said Taylor, who lives with Valey in Milwaukee.
Valey, Taylor noted, is a World War II veteran who fought in the battle of Okinawa.
"He needs no lecture on patriotism or values - family or otherwise."
State Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, and Rep. Mark Gundrum, R-Waterford, the lead sponsors of the constitutional amendment, testified at the hearing that their proposed ban is necessary because judges in other states have overstepped their boundaries.
"In November 2003 the Massachusetts Supreme Court ordered the Massachusetts legislature to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples," Fitzgerald said.
Wisconsin's proposed amendment, Fitzgerald said, "preserves marriage as it has been defined in state statutes."
"It protects our laws from activist judges and overzealous county clerks," he added.
State law defines marriage as a union between a husband and wife.
The constitutional amendment declares that the state could only recognize marriage between a man and a woman. It also would prohibit the state from recognizing any legal status that is "substantially similar" to that of marriage.
If Wisconsin voters reject the proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, Wisconsin would be the first state to turn back such a measure.
The state Assembly last week introduced a joint resolution calling for the same-sex marriage ban, which opponents and legal experts say would also bar civil unions and threaten domestic partnership benefits, which are widely accepted in Wisconsin by units of government and private employers.
Fitzgerald said the constitutional amendment would not forbid such unions or benefits, though he fully expects both would be challenged in court if the amendment is approved by voters.
The measure passed the Legislature in 2004, but it needs to be approved a second time before it can be put to voters in a statewide election.
Republican leaders have said the ban will be on the November 2006 ballot, along with candidates for governor and attorney general.
Julaine Appling, executive director of the Family Research Institute of Wisconsin, which supports the constitutional amendment, said Monday that she planned to present legislators today with a petition signed by about 56,000 people in support of the same-sex marriage ban.
"We think that is pretty good, considering that it's not a binding petition," she said. "It's a soft petition. It's trying to encourage citizens to let their legislators know in a gracious, kind way that we want to vote on this issue. That is the legislators' job at this point - to get this to the people for their vote."
Joshua Frecker, a spokesman for Action Wisconsin, which opposes the ban, says the group has identified 75,000 voters statewide who oppose the amendment. Action Wisconsin has developed its list of supporters through phone banks, a petition drive and a postcard campaign.
Christians for Equality, a group that opposes the ban, planned to hold an interfaith gathering in the Capitol Rotunda this afternoon.
"We're trying to reclaim the notion that Christians do stand for being inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people," said John Quinlan, a member of the group's steering committee. "There are sizeable numbers of Christians who oppose this."
The Happy Couple.
Good grief, is the one on the left trying to marry his father?
That line about "if he precedes me in death" has got me confused. It looks like that one guy's already dead.
-Richard Taylor and Ray Valey met and fell in love in 1956-
IRRELEVENT!
There's no dignity in ramming your reproductive organs up another man's rectum.
later pingout.
They're both probably in their 70s or early 80s, but the one the right does look older. It may be in part because he's skinnier, so his wrinkles, veins, and bones show more. Chubby old people often hide their age better then skinny old people. In any case, it doesn't make any difference whether they're 80 or 20, they still want to overhaul the foundations of Western society.
You know, I can't get my on my best friends dental insurance, nor can I get my sister's Social Security benefits. These option are available to immediate family members and are for the benefit of children. Why is the world would I expect to get benefits from somebody on the basis that I have sex with them? It would be beneath my dignity to demand such a thing.
Aging rump wranglers.
Seems more like an "Attack on Degeneracy or perhaps Attack on the sodomites."
I'm sure the NY Times will get right on that statement to make sure that this gay is not lying about his military service.
"He needs no lecture on patriotism or values - family or otherwise."
Let's start with the idea that a family includes a mother who can breast feed a child.
They look like cardboard cutouts.....
"In thousands of ways our dignity is attacked," said Taylor
Tough luck. Lots of people disapprove of what lots of other people are doing, and we all just live with it without all this boohoohooing. And, BTW, heterosexual couples who live together without benefit of marriage also can't put each other on their health insurance, etc., and don't sit around whining about it.
That "inclusiveness" bull$#*@ is just another excuse for saying "You gotta let me do what I want even if it's illegal or perverted". Just like "Diversity"--guarantees jobs for the incompetent.
Northern WI (far away from Madison)
"Northern WI (far away from Madison)"
I'll be joining you within ten years, my FRiend! Got any land to sell? ;)
Want to be on our Wisconsin Conservative Politics Ping List, just for giggles? You can laugh at the liberals in Madison with us each day. It's not for the faint-hearted, though. :)
So, which one is the one.... who does.... gets to be the.... oh, skip it!
Then dump the turd burglar and find a nice woman to marry!
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