9th circuit rules domestic partnerships separate and not equal

From ThinkProgress:

The Executive Committee of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council has ruled that a federal law clerk in Oregon who was denied health benefits for her same-sex domestic partner was discriminated against and must be compensated....

The decision navigates the confusing conflict between how states and the federal government recognize same-sex relationships since the Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act (United States v. Windsor). Oregon does not offer marriage, but does recognize and provide benefits to same-sex domestic partners. The federal government now recognizes same-sex marriages performed in states where they are legal, but the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) does not recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships. The ruling indicates that this conflict creates fault on both ends: Oregon is discriminating by not providing Fonberg with marriage and the federal government is discriminating by limiting what they’ll recognize to relationships called “marriages”:

Kids react to gay marriage (Video Sunday)

Christians moving ahead on marriage, leaving their churches behind

An excellent article in the American Prospect on the Gay Awakening:

Schaeffer's trial.... has highlighted the growing divide among the faithful over homosexuality. It's a rift that extends across denominations. Except for the Episcopal Church, which recognized same-sex unions in 2009 and ordains openly gay and lesbian priests, the leadership of the country's major Christian denominations has presented a solid front against the spread of same-sex marriage across the country. Further down the totem pole, churches are moving on without their leadership. According to a forthcoming report from the National Congregations Study at Duke University, the number of congregations allowing openly gay and lesbian members has increased from 38 to 48 percent since 2006. Twenty-seven percent of churches gave gay and lesbian congregants leadership roles in the same timeframe—an 8 percent jump. 

"Things don't change that much in religion—there's a lot of stability," says Mark Chaves, a sociologist at Duke and one of the researchers behind the study. "This is one of the biggest jumps on a specific subject we've seen since we first started collecting data in 1998." Indeed, while public support for same-sex marriage shot up in the last ten years—in 2003,.... But those who study religious opinion say the trend line among the faithful began to shoot up between 2008 and 2009. "The sea change has hit among religious organizations," says Robert Jones, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), a think tank in Washington, D.C. "Overall, what we're seeing are the changes in American culture broadly reflected in attitudes of religious Americans as well."

... 

With the rift in the pews growing, the big question for religious institutions is whether the issue will lead to denominational splits as it did with slavery, which cleaved the Baptist Church and many other protestant denominations in two. A similar breakup occurred in the early 20th century over the doctrinal issue of Biblical inerrancy—the idea that the Bible contains the perfectly preserved word of God. Jones says that whether churches see similar schisms over same-sex marriage depends on how persistent the divide is. Given how quickly attitudes are changing, he thinks such a largescale schism is unlikely. "When you have big splits, the issue has to sit around for a while," he says. "But the issue is moving too quickly to produce settled coalitions that are facing off."

So, to those who continue to claim that faithful Christians and supporters of gay rights are mutually exclusive:   you are wrong.  LGBT Christians and their allies are finding their voices, and working to effect change.  It behooves us to highlight their support, because they are the biggest counter to the religious conservatives who claim that their faith makes them oppress us.

In Illinois today, a bill signing, and an exorcism

Today, the Governor of Illinois will sign marriage equality into law.

And the BIshop Thomas Paprocki of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield will hold an exorcism.

An exorcism, which often refers to a rite performed on an individual, is applicable in the case of same-sex marriage because the devil can appear “in various forms of opposition to and persecution of the church,” the diocese of Springfield said in statement.

You cannot make up this stuff.  The Bishop has not explained how a couple of gay gays getting married in Boystown is a "persecution of the church".

Still:  16.  And counting.

Image from Joe.My.God

REgnerus fallout

Do you remember the Regnerus study, in which a sociologist purported to show that children of gay parents do worse?  Problem is, his definition of "children with gay parents" REALLY was "children whose parents broke up and one MIGHT have been gay."  He didn't compare kids from stable straight families, to kids from stable gay families.  And as any scientist knows, you really have to control for all those variables if you want to draw a conclusion.

An investigation by the journal that published the data found that it was unjustifiable,  while the author was in a rather--shall we say, ethically shaky relationship with the far-right group that funded the study.  The peer review was anything but objective.  The primary scholarly group in this field has roundly criticized the study as not worth the paper it is printed on.  Since then, Regnerus has been on the "circuit" arguing that Teh Gayz make terrible parents.  (You can read our coverage here).

Trying to get at how an article with such dubious merits got published, a reporter has filed for documents from the University of Central Florida, where the editor is.  UCF is vigorously trying NOT to reveal the documents.  Hmmmm, wonder why?

More at The Regnerus Fallout site.

A straight man gains perspective (Video Sunday)

Is it Genetic? Testimony in HI (video Sunday)

The estimable Dean Hamer, who started his career as a yeast geneticist:

And Hawai'i makes 16

Marriage passed the Hawai'i house 30-19, now back to the Senate for a pro forma approval and then let the weddings begin! The people sing outside. NOte, however, that the opponents were vocal, outraged, and said some of the most vicious and vile things in their testimony, turning neighbor against neighbor. Can you imagine how it felt to be a gay person listening to that?

Hawai'i also has the distinction of having an openly gay lawmaker vote against marriage equality to "protect religious freedom". Wow. Talk about drinking the koolaid.

Testifying in Hawai'i

SB1, the Hawai'ian marriage equality bill, advanced out of the House judiciary committee on Tuesday after days of testimony by the public.  

Much of the testimony was prepared speeches by opponents, who somehow seemed to think that if they talked long enough, the bill would die. Reports David Badash,

Most of those opposed to equality identified themselves as “a registered voter” and “as a Christian” and claimed similar arguments: the bill is unconstitutional, it abridges their civil rights, children will be forced to learn about gay sex practices in school, what’s the rush?, let the people vote, homosexuality is a choice, this process is undemocratic, and homosexuality is against God.

Can you imagine what it must have been like to sit through that?  One alternative testifier, the film-maker Joe Wilson, made an important point in his awesome testimony:

During this special session, the people of Hawaii, and indeed the world, have been witness to the hell that gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, mahu, and other people deemed unacceptable by self-righteous bullies know all too well. 

You have seen us sit here while people speak about us in the most dehumanizing terms as though we were not present, as though such vile mischaracterizations as perverts, bug chasers, cross-dressers, and security threats do not affect or terrify us -- as though such heinous lies do not inflict wounds or tear our souls apart. 

Having seen this, perhaps you now have an idea of what it might be like to be a young gay or gender non-conforming person in one of our schools terrorized by playground bullies who act this way. ...

Perhaps now you have some notion what it might be like to be a person who lost a job or apartment or was denied any number of opportunities most people take for granted because one of these loving individuals could not find it within themselves to be accepting or to understand that their personal beliefs do not now, nor will they ever, trump our right to live our lives as freely and openly -- and equally under the law -- as they live theirs. 

...

If so, I hope you'll agree that it is time to overcome this intolerance, and to not just pass what should be a simple thing like marriage equality, but to end these harms that have been done in the name of religion, tradition, and state-sanctioned discrimination for far too long -- and to begin to make our communities whole again.

Joe Wilson is married to the geneticist Dean Hamer, and they have made a film called Out in the Silence about life for gay folk in small town rural America.

Voices of Faith: Bishop responds to equality in IL

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Voices of Faith

Here's how a local Episcopal Bishop, the Rt Rev Jeffrey Lee, responded to news of marriage equality in Illinois:

The scriptures tell us to testify to what we have seen, and in communities and congregations across our diocese, we have seen that extending legal protection and respect to same-sex couples has created stronger, happier households and contributed to the common good. Now in Illinois, the respect afforded by civil unions has been extended to the dignity of true equality. I rejoice that it is now easier for our gay and lesbian sisters and brothers to order their lives together, to care for one another and to raise children in a stable home. Justice has been done.

Because both church and state claim authority over the institution of marriage, this legal victory takes on theological dimensions. As I have written before, I believe that marriage is a sacred vocation. The union of two persons in heart, body and mind is a school of holiness, a way of ordering our lives so that we might learn to be more faithful servants of Christ. I also believe that the faithful, loving, and lifelong union of two persons--of the same sex or of opposite sexes--is capable of signifying the never failing love of God in Christ for the church and the world. Such unions can be sources and signs of grace, both for the couple and for the wider community. And I believe that we need all of the sources and signs of grace that we can get.

Here in the Diocese of Chicago, once marriage equality takes effect in June 2014, clergy will be permitted, but not required, to witness same-sex marriages in the State of Illinois and to officiate at the blessing of these holy unions using "I Will Bless You and You Will Be a Blessing," the liturgical rite approved by General Convention in 2012.

I am grateful to be a bishop in a state that offers all couples equality and in a church that provides all couples with a community of faith, love, support and accountability. I am grateful to be a bishop in a state that offers all couples equality and in a church that provides all couples with a community of faith, love, support and accountability.

Next time one of the "antis" tries to make our equality into a conflict with people of faith, remember this!

And then there were 15....

Wow, that happened quickly! From Lambda Legal

With a vote of 61-54, today the Illinois House of Representatives passed The Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, a historic vote that sends the bill first to the Senate for a concurring vote and then to Governor Pat Quinn who has pledged to sign it. ....

Governor Quinn has pledged to sign the bill, making Illinois the 15th state in the country and the third in the Midwest to grant same-sex couples the freedom to marry. Once signed, the law will go into effect June 1st, 2014.

The President on ENDA

From the Huffington Post, an OpEd by POTUS:

Here in the United States, we're united by a fundamental principle: we're all created equal and every single American deserves to be treated equally in the eyes of the law. We believe that no matter who you are, if you work hard and play by the rules, you deserve the chance to follow your dreams and pursue your happiness. That's America's promise. 

That's why, for instance, Americans can't be fired from their jobs just because of the color of their skin or for being Christian or Jewish or a woman or an individual with a disability. 

That kind of discrimination has no place in our nation. And yet, right now, in 2013, in many states a person can be fired simply for being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
As a result, millions of LGBT Americans go to work every day fearing that, without any warning, they could lose their jobs -- not because of anything they've done, but simply because of who they are. 

It's offensive. It's wrong. And it needs to stop, because in the United States of America, who you are and who you love should never be a fireable offense. 

That's why Congress needs to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, also known as ENDA, which would provide strong federal protections against discrimination, making it explicitly illegal to fire someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This bill has strong bipartisan support and the support of a vast majority of Americans. It ought to be the law of the land.

A New Jersey Love Story (video Sunday)