Same-Sex Marriage Update

[PearlsNLace]

TinkerBelly, I have purchased a Yule/christmas tree from the KofC in the past.

Thank you for this post. I found a link, and shared it on my facebook!

[MsTinkerbelly]

Not a marriage rights victory, but still one for equality!

Another court victory: Florida gay adoption ban ruled unconstitutional
By Eden James

As our friends at the ACLU and Equality Florida (as well as Alan E. in the comments) alerted us this morning, we have some more excellent news coming out of the courts on LGBT rights — this time from a state court in Florida:

MIAMI — Florida’s strict ban on adoption by gay people is unconstitutional because no other group, even people with criminal backgrounds, are singled out for a flat prohibition by state law, an appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The ruling by the 3rd District Court of Appeal upholds a 2008 decision by a Miami-Dade County judge who found “no rational basis” for the ban when she approved the adoption of two young brothers by Martin Gill and his male partner. The prohibition was first enacted in 1977 and is the only law of its kind in the nation, according to court records.

In a 28-page opinion, a three-judge panel of the court noted that gay people are permitted to become foster parents or legal guardians in Florida, yet are the only group not allowed to adopt.

“It is difficult to see any rational basis in utilizing homosexual persons as foster parents or guardians on a temporary or permanent basis, while imposing a blanket prohibition on those same persons,” wrote Judge Gerald Cope for the panel. “All other persons are eligible to be considered case-by-case to be adoptive parents.”

The decision is likely to be appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, which could then determine the ultimate fate of the law. “We note that our ruling is unlikely to be the last word,” the appeals panel said

[Jess]

http://fundraising.meny.us/fundprogram.aspx?programid=5

[Jess]

http://advocate.com/News/Daily_News/...pending_in_NY/

[MsTinkerbelly]

The cost of marriage discrimination? A $3,500 pay cut!
The comments lately are abuzz with people talking about the tax penalty on their same-sex partner’s health insurance. A few months back I calculated the exact impact for my partner and me — and I work at a company with full domestic partner benefits. This is what I wrote about it. You’ll also find links to help you calculate your own penalty, too.

by Rob Tisinai

I investigated how much it would cost to add a domestic partner to my heath plan. If I were a straight man adding a wife, I could find the answer right in my employee handbook: $729.04 a year. And of course I wouldn’t have to pay taxes on that money, which eases the pain.

But a domestic partnership is more complex, because the law says I do have to pay federal income tax on it — and by “it” I don’t just mean my own contribution. The feds tax me on my employer’s contribution, too: $5876.52 a year. This appears on my W-2 as “imputed income.”

Add it up, and being gay means my taxable income would be $6605.56 greater than if I were straight. So, at my marginal tax rate, my federal taxes would be higher by $1849.56.

But there’s more. That’s $1849.56 in take-home pay. What kind of salary cut does that represent? Don’t forget, take-home pay is only a fraction of your actual salary. My employers sent me to this site for calculating that sort of thing. It turns out a take-home hit like that is equivalent to a $3500 salary cut.

That’s right. Adding a spouse to my health plan is like getting $3500 pay cut, compared to what would happen if I were straight.

And this is at a company with full domestic partner benefits.

[Cyclopea]

Unnamed donor paid for Catholic DVD against same-sex marriage
by Elizabeth Dunbar, Minnesota Public Radio,
Madeleine Baran, Minnesota Public Radio
September 22, 2010

St. Paul, Minn. — An anonymous donor paid for the Catholic Church in Minnesota to produce and distribute a DVD opposing same-sex marriage, Archbishop John Nienstedt said Wednesday.

In a video message being mailed this week to more than 400,000 Catholics throughout the state, church leaders called for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage to be put before Minnesota voters.

Nienstedt, who serves as the Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, expressed this view in remarks included in the version of the DVD being mailed to metro-area church members.

Nienstedt told Minnesota Public Radio News that it's the first time the diocese has used a mass DVD mailing to inform church members of specific church teachings or beliefs.

He said the video, distributed about six weeks before the gubernatorial election, was not a "political statement" or an endorsement of any candidate. He said he does not know how much it cost to produce or distribute the DVD, and said that private donor who funded the effort "asked to remain anonymous."

In the video, Nienstedt says that allowing same-sex couples to marry would change the meaning of marriage for all Minnesotans.

"At best, so called same-sex marriage is an untested social experiment," he said in the video. "And at worst, it poses a dangerous risk with potentially far-reaching consequences. An exercise of caution should be in order."

Nienstedt told MPR's Tom Crann his remarks are consistent with church teachings on marriage, and are not meant to discriminate against gays and lesbians. He said God intended that marriage be reserved for opposite-sex couples.

"There's no discrimination when there isn't a basic right to something," he said.

Nienstedt begins the video by telling viewers that some legislators want to change state law to allow same-sex couples to marry. Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, introduced legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in 2009, and last spring a hearing was held on a similar bill in the House. No votes have been taken on either bill.

Thirty-one states have constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage, but Minnesota currently only has a state law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman. A lawsuit challenging that law was filed earlier this year, though it will likely take years before it makes it through the courts.

While arguing that same-sex marriage goes against the teachings of the Catholic Church, Nienstedt said Minnesotans should be able to vote on the issue.

Nienstedt said the video, distributed about six weeks before the gubernatorial election, was not a "political statement" or an endorsement of any candidate.
"I hope we can all agree on this: If we are to change our societal understanding of marriage, it should be the people themselves, and not politicians or judges, who should make this decision," he said in the video.

Gay rights groups have opposed putting the same-sex marriage issue before voters, opting instead to step up efforts to educate Minnesotans and persuade people to see the issue as a question of equal rights.

Michael Bayly, executive coordinator of the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities in Minneapolis, said part of the government's role is to protect the rights of minorities, and holding a vote on people's rights would be wrong.

"If we just allowed people to vote on all sorts of things in the past, we may not be the society we are today in terms of our tolerance, our acceptance and our laws for all types of people," he said.

OutFront Minnesota, a key organization in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, has focused its efforts at the Capitol, where gay rights advocates think it could be possible to change Minnesota's law.

Putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot requires approval of the state House and Senate, but not the governor. But for state law to be changed to allow same-sex marriage, the Legislature and governor would both have to approve a bill.

The gubernatorial candidates are split on the issue. Democrat Mark Dayton and Independence Party candidate Tom Horner support same-sex marriage, while Republican Tom Emmer opposes it.

On Wednesday, the National Organization for Marriage launched a new TV ad in Minnesota criticizing Dayton and Horner, while praising Emmer's stance on the issue of allowing people to vote on whether marriage should be defined as between one man and one woman.

Bayly said the campaign by Minnesota's Catholic bishops appears to be a "last-ditch effort" to influence the election.

"They're trying to force their particular understanding of marriage in the civil arena," Bayly said, adding that his group has sent out e-mails to members encouraging those who receive the DVD to send it back to the archdiocese.

Video includes message from national group

The video being distributed to Minnesota Catholics includes a statement from one of the state's six local bishops, followed by a video produced by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic organization active in the U.S. and many other countries.

That video includes images of a Catholic wedding, contrasting it with images of same-sex couples marrying in states where it's legal.

"What will happen to marriage, to children, and to Catholics and our institutions if judges and politicians are allowed to redefine marriage?" the video's narrator asks.

The video includes a Princeton University professor, an expert on jurisprudence, expressing his view that children raised by a mother and a father fare better than children raised by two mothers or two fathers.

The director of a Catholic marriage organization also is seen arguing that any laws legalizing same-sex marriage go against moral values and should be resisted -- just as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called on citizens to resist unjust laws during the civil rights movement.

Christopher Leifeld, executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, said all six Roman Catholic bishops of Minnesota have endorsed the outreach effort, which includes distributing the DVDs to parishioners.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://ReturnTheDVD.org/

We are a group of Catholics who are concerned about the priorities of the leaders in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Their action, distributing 400,000 DVDs on the single subject of same-sex marriage shortly before the upcoming election, reflects misguided priorities and strays from the essential teachings of Christ.

Our call to action is to create some good out of this unfortunate situation.

Our Plan

We are collecting as many DVDs as possible and will return them to Archbishop John Nienstedt with a letter asking him to make the needs of the poor and love of neighbor his highest priority.

We will personally make a financial donation for every DVD we collect to St. Stephens Human Services and Episcopal Community Services-non-profits working to help fight poverty and end homelessness in Minnesota.

We are not affiliated with either organization but have chosen them because:
They provide much needed services to the poor and homeless in Minnesota.
Services are provided to all regardless of race, creed, or sexual orientation.
For more information about the organizations we are supporting, visit their websites:

St. Stephens Human Services

Episcopal Community Services
Questions We Are Asking

How could the over $1 million spent to distribute these DVDs have benefited the poor?

Why did the Minnesota Bishops choose same-sex marriage as the central issue to educate Catholics about now? Shouldn't we spend at least as much (or more) time and energy educating Catholics about the plight of the poor in our area?
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DVD to Art
ReturnTheDVD.org is joining forces with the DVD to Art project. Local artist Lucinda Naylor is collecting the DVDs to create a work of art. Lucinda says "The Catholic Church is full of wonderful, loving people. The DVD to ART project is about highlighting those folks who say, “Yes, let’s come together and welcome everyone.”

We will still be returning DVDs to the Archbishop, but we also plan to share DVDs with the DVD to Art project. When you send us your DVD please let us know if you would prefer us to send it to the DVD to Art project.
http://www.dvdtoart.blogspot.com/

[Cyclopea]

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) pretends to be tolerant – but this new site proves it's a hateful group led by anti-gay extremists.

http://nomexposed.org/

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by MsTinkerbelly

The cost of marriage discrimination? A $3,500 pay cut!
The comments lately are abuzz with people talking about the tax penalty on their same-sex partner’s health insurance. A few months back I calculated the exact impact for my partner and me — and I work at a company with full domestic partner benefits. This is what I wrote about it. You’ll also find links to help you calculate your own penalty, too.

by Rob Tisinai

I investigated how much it would cost to add a domestic partner to my heath plan. If I were a straight man adding a wife, I could find the answer right in my employee handbook: $729.04 a year. And of course I wouldn’t have to pay taxes on that money, which eases the pain.

But a domestic partnership is more complex, because the law says I do have to pay federal income tax on it — and by “it” I don’t just mean my own contribution. The feds tax me on my employer’s contribution, too: $5876.52 a year. This appears on my W-2 as “imputed income.”

Add it up, and being gay means my taxable income would be $6605.56 greater than if I were straight. So, at my marginal tax rate, my federal taxes would be higher by $1849.56.

But there’s more. That’s $1849.56 in take-home pay. What kind of salary cut does that represent? Don’t forget, take-home pay is only a fraction of your actual salary. My employers sent me to this site for calculating that sort of thing. It turns out a take-home hit like that is equivalent to a $3500 salary cut.

That’s right. Adding a spouse to my health plan is like getting $3500 pay cut, compared to what would happen if I were straight.

And this is at a company with full domestic partner benefits.

Looks like "taxation without representation", to me!

[Cyclopea]

Activists In Paraguay Optimistic About Upcoming Gay Marriage Debate
From On Top Magazine:

BY CARLOS SANTOSCOY
PUBLISHED: OCTOBER 05, 2010
Supporters of gay marriage in Paraguay say they have a good chance of having the legislation approved.

The debate on whether to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry in the Roman Catholic stronghold kicked off Saturday with two large demonstrations.

Opponents of marriage equality protested at town squares throughout the nation, while advocates gathered in front of the Pantheon of Heroes, Asuncion's memorial to the country's fallen soldiers, to urge Paraguayans to support gay marriage.

The gay rights group SOMOSGAY (we are gay) will present the gay marriage bill to legislators this month. Opposition, however, began mobilizing just days after neighboring Argentina approved a similar law in July.

“We are going to put out an intense educational campaign on Christian values, to avoid the law of marriage between people of the same sex that was approved in Argentina from coming to Paraguay,” Bishop Adalberto Martinez of San Pedo told La Nation.

The church is backing the campaign Queremos Papa y Mama (We want a mother and a father), which sponsored Saturday's anti-gay marriage Festival Por La Vida Y La Familia (Festival For Life & Family).

SOMOSGAY President Simon Cazal said that while his group will present the gay marriage bill this month, lawmakers aren't expected to take up the bill until early next year. “There is a possibility that it'll be approved,” Cazal told On Top Magazine in an email.
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