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ALBANY, N.Y. - The top courts in two states dealt setbacks to the gay marriage movement Thursday, with New York's highest court ruling same-sex unions are not allowed under state law and the Georgia Supreme Court reinstating a voter-approved ban on gay marriage. In New York, the Court of Appeals said in a 4-2 decision that the state's marriage law is constitutional and clearly limits marriage to a union between a man and a woman. Any change in the law would have to come from the state Legislature, Judge Robert Smith said. "We do not predict what people will think...

Details to come.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York State Court of Appeals refused to recognize same-sex marriage in a ruling issued on Thursday, saying the issue was a question for the Legislature to decide. The New York case involved 48 gay and lesbian couples who filed four separate cases seeking to overturn as unconstitutional a 97-year-old state law that defines marriage as between a man and woman. The couples claimed the law violated their constitutional rights because it defended sex discrimination. The cases were heard together by the court in Albany. "We hold that the New York Constitution does not compel...

The New York Court of Appeals ruled this morning that the state Constitution does not guarantee a right to marriage for same-sex couples, and that state lawmakers, not the courts, are better suited to consider the issue. In a 4-2 decision that has been eagerly awaited by both sides in the gay marriage debate, the court, the highest in the state's judiciary system, concluded that the legislature could have "a rational basis" for limiting marriage to heterosexual couples, in large part because of their ability to bear children. The court did not rule that the state should not or could...

Inaction aborts gay-marriage bill Lawmakers fail to agree on amendment For now, Pennsylvania will not join 20 states that have put gay marriage bans into their state constitutions. The Legislature left Harrisburg early Sunday without coming to an agreement on the wording of a proposed amendment to restrict the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Social conservatives pushed for the amendment out of fear a court might rule the state's 10-year-old marriage-protection law unconstitutional, as has occurred in other states. Such a ruling could clear the way for gay and lesbian unions. Lawmakers' failure...

PHOENIX -- Foes of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage are accumulating a larger warchest than proponents. New financial disclosure forms show that Arizona Together, the group organized to fight the initiative, has collected more than $523,000 so far. Even with expenses to set up two statewide offices, hire consultants and rent, it still had $244,187 on hand at the end of May, the most recent figures available. By contrast, donations to Protect Marriage Arizona as of that same May 31 date tallied $377,155. But with expenses to gather signatures using paid circulators and other consultant fees, the group...

Approaching the verdant valley with its cornfields, tiny meandering creek, and the old farmhouse brought back so many memories; in fact this valley is filled with memories of the long-gone laughter of children playing and of a family working together. The hills echo with the shouts of Frank Smith and the boys as they called across the hills to tell Mom they were on the way home for lunch in a time gone by. It holds memories for me too; 40-some years ago I came down the same road to meet my husband’s parents for the first time. The final...

Rhode Island gay couple asks Massachusetts court to let them marry [JURIST] A same-sex couple argued in court in Boston Monday that a 1913 Massachusetts law [text] should not prevent them from marrying in the state because statutes in their home state of Rhode Island do not explicitly ban gay marriage. Mary Norton and Mary Becker [GLAD profiles], represented by an attorney with the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) [advocacy website], said the law prohibiting same-sex couples from pursuing a marriage in Massachusetts does not apply to Rhode Island residents [GLAD legal brief, PDF] because there is no...

Constitutional Convention? Supporters of a constitutional amendment to keep the courts from legalizing homosexual marriage, stunned by poor support in the recent Senate vote, are beginning a campaign for a constitutional convention. The provision of the Constitution's Article V requiring such a convention if called by two-thirds of the state legislatures has never been used. Fear of throwing the Constitution open to general amendment has overridden support for specific issues. However, key advocates of barring gay marriages believe the constitutional convention strategy will keep the issue alive. A recent memo circulated within the anti-gay marriage coalition lists Princeton Professor Robby...

Pro: Amendment needed to prevent courts from nullifying will of 45 states The writer is addressing the question, "Should Congress continue to pursue a constitutional amendment defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman?" WASHINGTON - The United States needs to nail down the definition of marriage and its singular role in our culture. The most recent attempt, the Marriage Protection Amendment, was poorly worded and it went down to defeat in the Senate, but a new amendment should already be on the drawing board. A constitutional amendment is required because one state legislator or a few judges...

Senate passes marriage amendment HARRISBURG — The Senate and House are divided on language to ban gay marriage in the state Constitution, and the long-term political ramifications of their efforts could be huge. If the chambers agree on a plan soon, it could sway the election for the next U.S. president, analysts and critics say. The Senate approved the latest version of a proposed constitutional amendment yesterday by a vote of 38-12, with Lebanon County Sen. David J. Brightbill voting for it. It kicks back to the House, which approved a different version two weeks ago. The chambers disagree on...

BYU fires teacher over op-ed stance Same-sex marriage: His idea that church leaders are misguided didn't sit well PROVO - As an American citizen, Jeffrey Nielsen felt compelled to publicly question the LDS Church's opposition to same-sex marriage. As a Brigham Young University instructor, he now is paying the price. The LDS-owned school will not rehire Nielsen after spring term because of his remarks in an op-ed piece earlier this month. "I believe opposing gay marriage and seeking a constitutional amendment against it is immoral," the part-time philosophy teacher and practicing Latter-day Saint wrote in the June 4 Salt Lake...

Pennsylvania Senate Committee Approves Weakened Same-Sex Marriage Bill (CNSNews.com) - Pennsylvania's Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved a ban on same-sex marriage, but conservatives say they weakened the bill by changing the language to allow civil unions between homosexuals. "If the Senate is not willing to deal with the issue of marriage in its entirety - same-sex marriage and civil unions - then they send the clear message to their constituents that they are not willing to take the tough stand necessary to protect one man one woman marriage," said American Family Association of Pennsylvania President Diane Gramley. According to...

Northern Virginians concerned by efforts to redefine marriage as something other than 'one man, one woman' are encouraged to get involved with a coalition of organizations involved in defense of the proposed Marriage Amendment to the Virginia Constitution. Please visit us at www.nova4marriage.org

Thanks EJ Dionne, for explaining to me that I’ve been used again. The entire week surrounding the vote on the Marriage Amendment, social conservatives were treated to liberal commentary like yours claiming that Republicans were cynically distracting the country from more important issues, like Social Security and repealing the estate tax. According to you and your liberal colleagues, I shouldn’t care about social conservative issues, like gay marriage or abortion. I should really care about George Bush selling me out for issues like “privatizing Social Security and cutting taxes on rich people.” I’m sorry to have to tell you this,...

Sen. Ted Kennedy, the notoriously outspoken solon from the Bay State, is never shy about passing judgment on anyone who deigns to view an issue opposite that of his perspective. He takes delight in impugning the integrity of those across the ideological aisle. (See Bork, Robert: Senate floor speech on Bork nomination to Supreme Court, 1987.) Well, he's done it again, in reference to the proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. In an op-ed published in his hometown newspaper, Kennedy referred to the ban as "bigotry, pure and simple." His hyperbole went as far as to claim that an amendment...

State files brief in gay marriage appeal ATLANTA - The ballot measure approved by voters banning same sex marriage in Georgia does not violate the state's constitution, state lawyers argued in a brief filed with the Georgia Supreme Court. In May, Superior Court Judge Constance Russell, of Fulton County, tossed out the constitutional amendment, which 76 percent of voters had approved in 2004. She did not rule on issues related to gay marriage, but held instead that the measure violated the single-subject rule mandated by the state Constitution by asking voters to consider both same-sex marriage and civil unions. The...

I would like to offer a thought: the only reason that we are in this situation with gay marriage is that we have a perverted legal class. Please follow me: it is reasonable for the Court to examine Acts of Congress or of the President to see if these fall within the range of their enumerated powers. It is also reasonable to assume that, legislators being mere mortals after all, that any law may have implied penumbras if said law is to function according to original intent, or even function at all. Further, it is reasonable at assert when laws...

Courts allowing gay marriage may help opponents' cause After being rebuffed in the U.S. Senate, some opponents of gay marriage think losing a court case might help their case to ban same-sex unions across the country. High courts in New Jersey, New York and Washington state are deliberating cases in which gay and lesbian couples argue their state constitutions give them the right to marry. Similar lawsuits are working their way through the court systems in California, Connecticut, Iowa and Maryland. "If any of those courts mandate genderless marriage, you're going to have folks on the other side saying, 'This...

Same-sex marriage ultimate social engineering "DEARLY beloved, we are gathered together in the sight of God and before these witnesses to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony." So begins most "traditional" marriage ceremonies in Western culture for as long as anyone can remember. Now we are told such exclusivity of preserving marriage for men and women "discriminates" against people of the same sex who wish to "marry" each other. Some forms of discrimination are good, because they send a signal and provide an example that certain behavior is to be preferred over other behaviors for the betterment...

By Maurine Jensen ProctorHearing the Senate debate that ended in knocking the Marriage Protection Amendment down this round has been a little like watching a magician who tries to keep your eyes focused on his right hand, while he hides the card in his left. The opponents had a script repeated with few variations, whose lines were designed to skirt the substance of the issue, and chill debate.  Yet, redefining marriage is a serious business, whose implications nobody can entirely predict.  Surely this warrants thoughtful debate.Americans deserve better than the scripted rebuffs they received from those who opposed the...

On Wednesday the Senate fell 18 votes short of the two-thirds majority that would have been required to pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The mainstream media joined Sen. Edward Kennedy in calling the entire debate a distraction from the nation's business and a wedge with which to divide Americans. Since the main business of Congress is to devise ever more ingenious ways (earmarked and non-earmarked) to waste taxpayers' money, any distraction from the main business is welcome. As for dividing Americans, who came up with the idea of radically altering the most ancient of all social institutions in...

New York County First to Order Recognition of Gay “Marriages” WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., June 9, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Westchester County in New York State now recognizes gay marriages, after county executive Andrew Spano issued an order Wednesday, making the county the first in the state to do so. New York City and several other municipalities already extend recognition to homosexual marriages. Homosexual couples will receive the same county privileges as heterosexual couples, including the right to purchase family passes to county parks and the right to emergency family housing, reported the AP yesterday. “I don’t see why people, just because...

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered together in the sight of God and before these witnesses to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony." So begins most "traditional" marriage ceremonies in Western culture for as long as anyone can remember. Now we are told such exclusivity of preserving marriage for men and women "discriminates" against people of the same sex who wish to "marry" each other. Some forms of discrimination are good, because they send a signal and provide an example that certain behavior is to be preferred over other behaviors for the betterment of society. That a president...

The Marriage Amendment and Chafee in Rhode Island Yesterday the Senate defeated by a vote of 49-48 a motion for cloture on the Marriage Amendment that would define marriage as only between a man and a woman. That motion for cloture needed 60 votes to pass, following which the Amendment would have gone on to a debate and vote in the Senate again, where it would then need a vote count of 67 in the affirmative to send it on to the states for ratification. All of the Left and the media, and many on the right, decry the vote...

Spencer Supports Constitutional Amendment Against Gay Marriage Where Do You Stand, K. T? YONKERS -- The U.S. Senate is deliberating on a Constitutional Amendment against Gay marriage. John Spencer the Republican and Conservative Party endorsed candidate for Senate facing Senator Clinton made the following statement.  “I support Constitutional protection of marriage as between a man and a woman. It's sad we need to define such elementary facts in our Constitution. But we saw how left wing Activist judges in Massachusetts wrote gay marriage into the fabric of society in that state with one court decision. In a month, after only...

Alabamans to vote on marriage amendment MONTGOMERY, Ala. (BP)--Alabama citizens, going to the polls today, may make the state the 20th in the nation to pass a constitutional amendment protecting the natural definition of marriage. The ballot issue, known as Amendment 1, would prevent Alabama state courts from redefining marriage. Since 2003, judges in five states have ruled for "gay marriage," and none of the states had marriage amendments. Alabama's amendment states, in part, that marriage is "inherently a unique relationship between a man and a woman." It also prohibits marriage licenses being given to "parties of the same sex."...

Note: Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney sent the following letter to United States senators on Friday in anticipation of this week's Senate vote on a Federal Marriage Amendment.)Dear Senator,Next week, you will vote on a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution protecting the institution of marriage. As Governor of the state most directly affected by this amendment, I hope my perspectives will encourage you to vote "yes."Americans are tolerant, generous, and kind people. We all oppose bigotry and disparagement, and we all wish to avoid hurtful disregard of the feelings of others. But the debate over same-sex marriage is not...

Jun 5, 2006 By Michael Foust Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP)--Eight Senators spoke on the floor during debate on the Marriage Protection Amendment June 5. Three supported the amendment, five opposed it. Following is a sampling of what senators said, in order of when they spoke: -- Harry Reid, D.-Nev., opposes the amendment. Reid said the Senate is spending "valuable" time on an amendment that "has no hope" of passing. "I believe marriage should be between a man and a woman," he said. "But I also believe in our federal system of government, described to me in college as a central...

An ABC News poll finds that most Americans oppose gay marriage but markedly fewer — especially those outside George W. Bush's core supporters — would amend the U.S. Constitution to ban it. Opponents, however, are far more likely to call it a make-or-break issue in their vote for Congress — a finding that explains Bush's renewed push for a gay marriage ban. Among all Americans, 58 percent say gay marriage should be illegal, but fewer, 42 percent, say it rises to the level of amending the U.S. Constitution. Among conservative Republicans and evangelical white Protestants, though, opposition to gay marriage...

Here are the dominant liberal reactions to President Bush and the Republicans' call for a vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would amend the Constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman: 1. Virtually every news report about President George W. Bush's support for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman describes it as "pandering" to the "far Right," the "radical Right" or, less pejoratively, "social conservatives" of the Republican Party. 2. Democrats regularly describe the amendment as enshrining "discrimination in the Constitution." In the words of...

Governor Mitt Romney has sent this letter to every member of the Senate encouraging them to Vote "Yes" on this landmark peice of legislation--the Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA). A few excerpts are below: "Americans are tolerant, generous, and kind people. We all oppose bigotry and disparagement, and we all wish to avoid hurtful disregard of the feelings of others. But the debate over same-sex marriage is not a debate over tolerance. It is a debate about the purpose of the institution of marriage. Attaching the word marriage to the association of same-sex individuals mistakenly presumes that marriage is principally a...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush and congressional Republicans are aiming the political spotlight this week on efforts to ban gay marriage, with events at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue - all for a constitutional amendment with scant chance of passage but wide appeal among social conservatives. "Ages of experience have taught us that the commitment of a husband and wife to love and to serve one another promotes the welfare of children and the stability of society," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "Government, by recognizing and protecting marriage, serves the interests of all." The president was to make...

President Bush speaks about the marriage amendment,t hen the Senate takes up the debate. Follow along,and post your comments...Frist and Reid - opening comments..should be fascinating..

What's the best way to describe how the once-formidable Republican Party is struggling? Is the GOP Jake LaMotta, stubbornly rushing into punches (the Iraq war) and getting pounded into a final pathetic retirement (K Street consulting firms)? Is it Doug Flutie, abandoning a tattered playbook (Rovism) and throwing a final Hail Mary pass (war with Iran) to triumph over Miami (Nancy Pelosi)? Neither of these really evokes the ploy President Bush Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) are trying out today and tomorrow. For the first time since 2004, Frist and the Republican majority will bring the Federal Marriage Amendment...

Now that George Bush and his co-president Vicente Fox of Mexico have their America-destroying “immigration” plan working its way through a “deballed” Senate, Bush is trying to throw his base dogs a bone with a homosexual “marriage” ban amendment to the Constitution. Bush has the wherewithal to fight to change the freakin’ Constitution, yet when it comes to stopping illegal aliens from crossing the border, he has no fight in him to execute laws already on the books? OK. Politicians are so transparent. The midterm elections are quickly approaching (can you believe 2006 is half over?), and Bush is trying...

It’s no wonder that the American people are frustrated with the Republican Congress. Americans deserve progress, but instead are bombarded with politics driven by fear and division. They deserve action on the challenges we face as a nation - an endless and costly war in Iraq, skyrocketing gas prices and soaring health-care costs. Rather than dealing with real priorities, the Republican leadership is focused on writing discrimination into the Constitution. Just like the circus surrounding the Senate’s effort to intrude into the Terry Schiavo case, today the Senate will begin debate on the Federal Marriage Amendment - a wholly inappropriate...

The battle waged to protect the institution of marriage has arrived. For the past three weeks I have reminded my listeners, as well as my readers of this fact on a daily basis. Yesterday across much the nation and in some 8000 churches in the greater New York Metro pastors who would have ordinarily remained silent on an issue with political implication spoke decisively to their congregations on the need for action. Over the last three weeks leading up to today's legislative action on the matter the out of the mainstream, extreme opposition forces, lined up in unity to oppose...

PDF document, can't cut and paste

To: National Desk Contact: Damien LaVera of the Democratic National Committee, 202-863-8148 WASHINGTON, June 3 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today gave the keynote address to the National Stonewall Democrats conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The following are excerpts of Dean's remarks as prepared for delivery. "I want to start today by thanking you for standing with me. Not just through the recent controversy over my CBN interview, but for standing with me as we have fought side by side for equal rights under the law for all Americans. That fight continues, and the Democrat Party is...

Republicans plan controversial votes on gay marriage, flag burning By James Kuhnhenn Knight Ridder Newspapers WASHINGTON - When President Bush beat John Kerry in 2004, Republicans said a ballot initiative in Ohio to ban gay marriage sealed the election, drawing legions of conservatives to the polls. Bush and Republican senators now will seek another dose of conservative magic to embolden their party's base. Call it nostalgia - or election-year jitters. In Saturday's radio address, Bush will urge support for a national ban on gay marriage. A meeting Monday at the White House with opponents of gay marriage will follow, then...

Same-Sex Marriage: Hijacking the Civil Rights Legacy The indiscriminate promotion of various social groups' desires and preferences as "rights" has drained the moral authority from the civil rights industry. THE MOVEMENT TO REDEFINE MARRIAGE to include same-sex unions has packaged its demands in the rhetoric and images of the civil rights movement. This strategy, though cynical, has enormous strategic utility. For what reasonable, fair-minded American could object to a movement that conjures up images of Martin Luther King Jr. and his fellows campaigners for racial justice facing down dogs and fire hoses? Who is prepared to risk being labeled a...

The DUmmies need help FReeping a poll - so I think we should help http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/front/It's pretty early on a Sunday Morning - but there are only 13 votes cast - so any early-worm voters will have a big influence.Help prevent Voter Fraud. FReep a Poll

No Excuses Top three bad reasons for opposing a federal marriage amendment. The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) comes up for a vote very soon. Those who favor homosexual “marriage” or polygamy have obvious reasons for opposing the amendment. But some of those who claim to believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman also oppose the amendment, albeit for different reasons. Here are some of the most popular bad excuses for voting against the FMA: 1. Marriage should be left to the states. The FMA does leave marriage to the states. If a legislature wants to...

When he saw the news story, Anthony Picarello did a double-take. On Monday, May 22, more than 30 religious leaders from 10 states traveled to Washington, D.C., to voice their concerns over same-sex marriage and religious freedom. Mr. Picarello, president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, read an online account of a press conference held in conjunction with the trip. "To consciously legislate against religious traditions . . . is really an affront to my faith," Craig Axler, leader of Reform Congregation Beth Or in Maple Glen, Pa., told reporters. But Mr. Axler and his group, "Clergy for Fairness,"...

With just five months to go before the midterm elections, President Bush, whose once-faithful base has abandoned him in droves, is turning to the same conservative hot-button issues that won him re-election in 2004 -- homosexual "marriage" and judicial nominees. The president, now fully aware that his plummeting approval ratings could cost the Republicans control of one or both congressional chambers in November, will use his radio address today and a speech Monday to push a constitutional amendment banning same-sex "marriage," just as the Senate prepares to vote on the issue. The crux of his argument is simple: A majority...

Knights Urged to E-Mail Senators in Support of Marriage Amendment The Knights of Columbus, in cooperation with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, sponsored a post card campaign for citizens to urge their U.S. senators to support Senate Joint Resolution 1, known as the Marriage Protection Amendment, which proposes an amendment to the U.S. Constitution which would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Because the vote is only days away, there is no longer enough time to mail post cards. Contact your senators by e-mail by clicking here. You may use the text of the...

  For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryJune 3, 2006 President's Radio Address       Audio      THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Next week, the United States Senate will begin debate on a constitutional amendment that defines marriage in the United States as the union of a man and woman. On Monday, I will meet with a coalition of community leaders, constitutional scholars, family and civic organizations, and religious leaders. They're Republicans, Democrats, and independents who've come together to support this amendment. Today, I want to explain why I support the Marriage Protection Amendment, and why I'm urging Congress to pass it...

President Bush on Saturday backed a resolution to amend the Constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman even though the idea has little chance of being passed in the Senate. "Ages of experience have taught us that the commitment of a husband and a wife to love and to serve one another promotes the welfare of children and the stability of society," Bush said in his Saturday radio address. "Marriage cannot be cut off from its cultural, religious and natural roots without weakening this good influence on society." Democrats say Senate floor time is...

Gov. Tim Pawlenty collected the Republican Party's endorsement for a second term on Friday, telling party members that a Democratic governor would be their "worst nightmare." "Now I know I may not be in some of your wildest dreams but I can tell you what your worst nightmare is," Pawlenty told delegates at his party's state convention. "It's one of the big spendin', tax raisin', abortion promotin', gay marriage embracin', more-welfare-without-accountability lovin', school-reform resistin', illegal-immigration supportin' Democrats for governor who think Hillary Clinton should be president of the United States." The double-barreled attack was unusually sharp for Pawlenty, who has...