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National News |
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| National News | |
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by Rex Wockner -
SGN Contributing Writer Gay couples begin marrying in Iowa Nearly 400 same-sex couples got marriage licenses across Iowa April 27 when a state Supreme Court ruling legalizing Gay marriage took effect, and dozens married after receiving waivers of the three-day waiting period between obtaining a license and tying the knot. The Des Moines Register said Gay couples bought licenses in at least 47 of the state's 99 counties. Couples also arrived from Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin to get hitched. Opponents hope to amend the state constitution to re-ban same-sex marriage, but the process for doing that could not be completed until 2012 at the earliest. Same-sex marriage also is legal in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and becomes legal in Vermont in September. It was legal in California for five months in 2008, until voters amended the state constitution to put a stop to it. Gay-rights lawyers sued over the amendment, and the California Supreme Court must issue a decision by June 3. Gay couples also can marry in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain and Sweden. N.H. Legislature passes same-sex marriage bill New Hampshire's House and Senate have passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage but the House has to vote on it again because the Senate amended it. The April 29 vote in the Senate was 13-11. The March vote in the House was 186-179. The Senate amendments prohibit polygamy and incestuous marriage, allow clergy to refuse to marry Gay couples, and leave the words "bride" and "groom" on marriage licenses while adding the word "spouse" as an option. "Just one month ago, there were only two states where same-sex couples could marry. Now, with this vote in New Hampshire, we are on the verge of having five states that recognize marriage equality for same-sex couples," noted Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign. "It's been quite a month." Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat, hasn't taken a position on the bill, though he has said in the past (but not lately) that he opposes same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage is legal in Connecticut, Iowa and Massachusetts, and becomes legal in Vermont in September. It was legal in California for five months in 2008, until voters amended the state constitution to put a stop to it. Gay-rights lawyers sued over the amendment, and the California Supreme Court must issue a decision by June 3. Gay couples also can marry in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain and Sweden. U.S. House passes Gay-inclusive hate-crimes bill The U.S. House of Representatives passed a Gay- and Trans-inclusive hate-crimes bill April 29 by a vote of 249-175. The measure moves to the Senate. The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the Senate version of which is named after Matthew Shepard, gives the Justice Department the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violence where the perpetrator selected the victim because of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. The department can assist state and local jurisdictions or take the lead if necessary. The act also makes grants available to state and local jurisdictions to combat violent crime committed by juveniles, train law enforcement officers, and assist in investigating and prosecuting bias-motivated crime. A similar bill died in Congress in 2007 after George W. Bush threatened to veto it. There is no longer any concern of a presidential veto. Miss California story keeps on truckin' The tale of Carrie Prejean, the Miss USA contestant from California who took second place at the pageant after telling the judges that Gay couples shouldn't be allowed to marry, continues to unfold. Among the latest twists, one of the directors of the Miss California USA pageant, Keith Lewis, said Prejean needs to get back to doing her job as Miss California. "Given the fact that Carrie Prejean's first act upon returning to California was to headline five services at a church that promotes homosexuality as both unnatural and abnormal, we stand by our concern for her individual image and look forward to a time in the near future when she can put down her personal agenda and assume the responsibilities associated with being Miss California USA, including promoting our official platform, 'The Beauty of California,' which sole purpose [sic] is to embrace diversity," Lewis said. That seems unlikely. On April 30, Prejean starred in a new TV ad for the anti-Gay National Organization for Marriage - a follow-up to the group's widely disparaged "Gathering Storm" spot. The new ad also features video snippets of Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese and pageant judge and Gay blogger Perez Hilton (calling Prejean "a dumb bitch" on his blog). Hilton promptly filed a Digital Millennium Copyright Act violation notice and got the ad deleted from YouTube, though NOM's use of his video-blog material probably falls within the parameters of "fair use" law. NOM itself had filed numerous identical DMCA notices after the audition tapes for "Gathering Storm" were leaked to, and posted on YouTube by, HRC. Following Prejean's appearance in the ad, the Miss California USA pageant released a statement saying that "in the entire history of Miss USA, no reigning title holder has so readily committed her face and voice to a more divisive or polarizing issue." And Hilton posted a video blog saying Prejean should hand over her tiara. "Now that she is officially becoming a crusader for traditional marriage, I think it's time for her to put down her Miss California crown, give up that title, and give up her position as Miss USA first runner-up," he said. "It's time for her to put on the sash of traditional marriage and really just work on that, if that's where her passion is." Over at MSNBC, meanwhile, we learned that California pageant officials paid for Prejean to have breast implants weeks before the Miss USA competition. That tidbit came from Shanna Moakler, executive director of Miss California USA. "It was an option and she wanted it. And we supported that decision," Moakler said. Moakler also said Prejean had been avoiding Miss California USA officials and "keeps referring us to her mother and her PR person." Finally, Prejean inflamed the Gay blogosphere April 26 when she told this news column that being Gay isn't innate. "No, I don't think so," she said in an interview at the Rock Church in San Diego. "I think it's a behavior that develops over time." Asked why someone would "choose" to be Gay given that Gay people experience discrimination, Prejean said, "I'm not sure what the motivation would be." At that point, Rock Church officials ended the 5 1/2-minute interview, noting that another reporter was waiting to talk to her. (Interview and audio available at tinyurl.com/rex-carrie.) Earlier in the interview, Prejean said her comments at the pageant - "Marriage should be between a man and a woman" - wouldn't have become such a big deal if Hilton hadn't later called her "a dumb bitch." "Perez Hilton had, obviously, a hidden agenda, because of the reaction immediately after the pageant," she said. "He didn't agree with what I said, therefore he wanted to go out there and bash me and say things that were very hurtful. So, I think that this wouldn't be happening right now had he not have done that. So, it would have just been me saying my own opinions ... and I think it would have been over with. But the fact that he went out there and attacked me, you know, verbally, that's why this is all happening right now." Prejean said that if she could do it all over again, she wouldn't say anything different, and she pointed out that President Barack Obama agrees with her position on marriage. "I have a lot of friends that are Gay," she said. "This is not a verbal attack on Gay people. It's just a matter of opinion, and the way that I was raised, the way that I was brought up, that was not an option. I knew I was going to marry a man growing up. And so, for me, it's a biblical thing, it's something that I was raised believing, um, that a marriage, you know, is between a man and a woman. Barack Obama even supports that. The majority of the people in our nation support that. The secretary of state supports that. So, I don't see anything wrong with it." She added that she likes Obama. She asked this reporter, "Because Barack Obama doesn't agree with you, does that make him a bad president?" The reporter replied, "No, I kind of like Barack Obama as a president, actually." "I do, too," Prejean said. With assistance from Bill Kelley |
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