Series: Gay Marriage

In the Maine same-sex-marriage campaign 87-year-old Philip Spooner, a World War II veteran spoke in favor of same sex marriage at public hearing at the Augusta Civic Center last spring. Spooner says he is a life-long Republican who believes gay and lesbians should have equal rights. He says it’s what he fought for in WWII, and says he didn’t raise four sons for three of them to have equal rights, and the gay son to be treated differently.

Although defeated because of eight regressive Democrats in the New York State Senate, straight Senator Diane Savino gives one of the finest floor speeches I’ve ever heard, and does an outstanding job of making the case for the importance of equality for all. This is a must watch.

This is a great Pride Month story. These two Washington, DC residents have lived together for 64 years (they have known each other longer than that). Now, thanks to marriage equality in Washington, they were able to get married last Saturday. As the Rev. John DeTaeye said, “By your actions today you remind us that God is love, and love is for everyone.”

Last Fall, during the unfortunately successful campaign to repeal Marriage Equality in Maine, 86 year old WWII Veteran Phillip Spooner stood before a packed hall and delivered a stirring call for equality to a Senate Committee. When asked by a woman at his polling place if he supported equal rights for gay and lesbian people. He tells how surprised he was to even be asked, and said his response was, “What do you think I fought for at Omaha Beach?” His statement was subsequently set to music by Melissa Dunphy, and was selected as the winning work for the 2010 Simon Carrington Chamber Singers Composition Competition.

Congratulations to Illinois for passing a civil unions bill yesterday in their legislature. The Governor has indicated an intention to sign the bill. And once in a while a person steps up, speaks truth to power, and says what needs to be said. Illinois State Senator Ricky Hendon stood on the floor of the Senate and said, “It’s just fairness y’all, that’s all.” He speaks of his Baptist background, and calls out the hypocracy that’s been so much part of the arguments. Would that more politicians spoke like this.

The Senate today held hearings on the Defense of Marriage Act. There were a lot of poignant moments, but Senator Al Franken may have pulled off one of the best exchanges of the day. Franken is a smart guy, and these idiots from the hate organizations need to not sell him short. They may get away with making shit up with other Senators, but not much gets by Sen. Franken.

ABC News did one of their “What Would You Do” segments in a Texas diner. They had a lesbian couple with children (actors), and a gay couple with children go in, and a person playing a waitress who began to criticize the couples openly. I must admit, I was heartened by what transpired, and reminded of how important it is to speak out in face of bigotry and inequality. The Texan’s fared better than New Yorker’s. But leave it to NOM to go hating on the people who stand up to bigotry.

I admit to being a little late on this one, but head of SPLC designated hate group Family Research Council, Tony Perkins, is just all atwitter about marriage equality passing in New York State. Get this, he’s deeply concerned the law doesn’t “protect” deeply religious “divorce lawyers.” If, as Perkins and the other haters claim, they are just in this to “protect marriage,” why would there be any such thing as a “deeply religious divorce lawyer.” Wouldn’t their deeply held beliefs prohibit them enabling any divorce?

Today’s featured guest is Ruth Sheldon, but before we get to Ruth’s story, don’t you just love the intense music NOM uses at the beginning of their videos? Ruth was the Town Clerk for Granby for nearly 16 years. She wants us to be sure we know that she loved the job, but was forced to give it up because of those icky gay people expecting to be treated fairly. She wrote in her resignation letter that “New York State passed the same-sex marriage law, a law which violates my conscience and my faith.”

So this GOP State Senator James Forrester who is supposedly a medical doctor (fortunately the sick in his town he’s retired). The batshittery is beyond belief and goes on and on as this blow hard is caught in lie after lie as he tries to conceal the animous on which the anti-gay hate bill was based. He was the primary sponsor. I warn you, the blatant idocy could make you want to puncture your ear drums.

It appears that folks at the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), Maggie Gallagher’s personal hate group, is collecting stories of town/county clerks from around New York State who feel put-upon for having to follow the state’s law that all couples are equal under the State’s Marriage laws. As they collect their videos of the horrible (horrible I say) persecution caused these people being expected to do their civil duties under state law as Agents of The State, we’ll look at them under the light of a Constitutional Republic which is ruled by law, not religion.