SB 1000, which would create same-sex civil unions in Oregon, passed the state senate this morning. Now the question is: will its "insert 'and civil union' after all references to marriage in the state Constitution, and while you're at it, substitute 'spouse' or 'partner' for all references to 'husband' or 'wife'" form survive the House, much less ( Read more... )

30 years of research on marriage and the family convinces the author of "How Love Conquered Marriage" that the future of marriage is: it's optional. I especially like her conclusion that anything lawmakers can do to strengthen marriage will make life better for unmarried couples, and anything they can do to discourage people from living together ( Read more... )

So last year a few thousand same-sex couples got married in Portland, and a few months later Oregon passed a same-sex marriage ban, Measure 36, in response. Then last month the state Supreme Court decided to punt on the bigotry amendment's constitutionality or lack thereof and overturned all those marriages basically on the grounds that queers ( Read more... )

A glance at my calendar reveals that I am a big sucky slacker. Happy belated birthdays to Stacey (Sunday 8 August) and Beth (Monday 9 August).

Also, in a completely different kind of "aw, crap" news (this one, at least, isn't my fault), boo CA Supreme Court! Boo! L-E-T-S-G-O, L-E-T-S-G-O...

All I can say is I'm in a better mental state for ( Read more... )

Hey kids! If any of you reading this live in the United States and haven't yet emailed your Senators to tell them to oppose the Federal Marriage Amendment, it would make me really happy if you did so. Especially if you live in Indiana, Ohio, Louisiana, Alaska, Nebraska, Arkansas, North Dakota, or South Dakota. Tell your families and friends! I ( Read more... )

Okay, so everybody's beaten me to the punch posting about Matt and David's wedding (including the lucky grooms themselves) but I'm going to say "Hot damn!" and "Congratulations!" again, because it makes me happy. And now, speaking of the city of San Francisco doing things that make me happy, Professor Bernoff and his Tom got married yesterday! ( Read more... )

YAY!

(I tried to make my formatting exultant, but not so happy that it would screw up anybody's friends page; let me know if anything needs fixing.)

P.S. Suck it, Prop 22!

If y'all haven't read pants_of_doom's National Coming Out Week wish list, go do so now. It's good stuff. On a similar note, here's a link to the discussion that ensued when I posted grumbling about President Bush's announcement that federal government lawyers are working to legally define marriage as a union between a man and a woman (because apparently it's ( Read more... )

"WASHINGTON, July 30 - President Bush said today that federal government lawyers are working on legislation that would define marriage as a union between a man and woman."

So much for states' rights, let alone recognizing other countries' laws.... though really, people who really want to reap government benefits for their relationships should just ( Read more... )