Recently in Politics Category

Don’t tell me I don’t know how to multi-task! I was home for lunch on Monday and was trying to get the envelopes and labels generated and set up for the folding of Erie Gay News this Thursday. (And I got notice earlier today that the order has shipped, so it looks like we are on time. Yay!)

I had run out of a prescription, and we also changed insurance providers. So, while I am printing labels and envelopes and sticking the former onto the latter, I am juggling phone calls to the doctor’s office and the insurance provider, since it seems that the prescription isn’t covered by the new provider. Fortunately, there is an equivalent, so things are cool.

After work, I headed over to the Erie Mondays at Matthew’s at Matthew’s Trattoria. It was okay. I mostly chatted with religious study faculty from Mercyhurst.

After that, I went home to grab some dinner and let the dogs out. Then I popped over to Nelson’s tavern to the going away party for my friends Jo and Josh, who just got married and are relocating to Oregon after stopping off in to visit Florida. (Okay, not the most linear travel path, but sounds like fun.)

I also stopped in at Craze to confirm that we are on for the GLBT Legislation Advocacy meeting on February 18 at 7 PM. I then went home and finished some geek tasks.

Tonight was pretty much a “I think I need to be in a coma for a little bit”, although I did get some geek stuff taken care of.

Tomorrow is the State of the Union Address Watch Party at Matthew’s Trattoria and Thursday is folding at the Zone Dance Club.

Nate Silver rightly points out here that it is not clear where causation might lie. However, I think that anyone could find meaningful statistical data that supports the absurd claim that denying same-sex couples equality under law IN ANY WAY harms the marriages of opposite sex couples.

To put it more simply, the same folks making this claim are the very same folks who didn’t get Rosie O’Donnell, Ellen DeGeneres, Neal Patrick Harris and other folks before they came out. If you can’t reliably identify a population or a phenomenon, then it is exceedingly silly to claim that you will be affected by it.

Using gay couples as scapegoats doesn’t help heterosexual marriage. At the end of it all, any relationship is about the people involved in it, and not about some group of outsiders. Duh.

Divorce Rates Higher in States with Gay Marriage Bans

by Nate Silver @ 4:12 AM

Over the past decade or so, divorce has gradually become more uncommon in the United States. Since 2003, however, the decline in divorce rates has been largely confined to states which have not passed a state constitutional ban on gay marriage. These states saw their divorce rates decrease by an average of 8 percent between 2003 and 2008. States which had passed a same-sex marriage ban as of January 1, 2008, however, saw their divorce rates rise by about 1 percent over the same period.
The table below details the divorce rates for the 43 states that reported their divorce statistics to the CDC in both 2003 and 2008. It is calculated by taking the total number of divorces in the state that year, and dividing it by the number of married persons, as reported by the Census Bureau. The result is then multiplied by two, since each divorce involves two people. This is different than how the divorce rate is sometimes calculated, which may be as a share of the overall population rather than the number of married persons; I prefer my approach because it will not penalize a state for having a lot of marriages (and therefore more opportunities for divorce). However, there are also more complicated versions of the divorce rate calculation that account for the age of the married couples, and so forth; these are probably superior, but mine is intended to be a simple approach. The table also lists the percentage change in the divorce rate between 2003 and 2008, and the current status of gay marriage and domestic partnerships within each state.

(More at the link below)

FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: Divorce Rates Higher in States with Gay Marriage Bans

So, does this prove that God is a Democrat, given how the election turned out? God doesn't like Lieberman either? Or maybe God just wanted to give Tina Fey's career a boost. Who knows? It is more than a tad arrogant to claim that God was behind your candidacy, particularly when you didn't win.

McCain strategist: Palin thought candidacy was mapped by God

Yahoo! Buzz

Sarah Palin believed that Sen. John McCain chose her to be his running mate in the 2008 presidential race because of "God's plan," according to a top political strategist in the Arizona Republican's campaign.

In an interview with the CBS news magazine "60 Minutes," Steve Schmidt described Palin as "very calm -- nonplussed" after McCain met with her at his Arizona ranch just before putting her on the Republican ticket. McCain had planned to name Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) as his choice until word leaked, sparking what Schmidt called political blowback over selecting the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee.

McCain strategist: Palin thought candidacy was mapped by God - washingtonpost.com

I am quite curious as to how elections will go this coming year. I got an email that Rep Joe Sestak will be in Erie this Thursday for a meet and greet with the Erie County Democratic Party, so I will be checking that out, hopefully.

I also posted the event to the Erie Dems Facebook group.

For those who can’t make this, Ron DiNicola is having a reception just before the event at 5 PM at 4134 Commodore Drv.

Most cool! There are still some steps to go through, and hoping that Congress doesn’t interfere, but this is pretty happy news!

D.C. City Council votes in favor of marriage equality

From Family Equality Council: Today the District of Columbia (D.C.) City Council voted 11 to 2 in favor of marriage equality. Mayor Adrian Fenty has pledged to sign the bill as soon as it reaches his desk. It is past time that our nation’s capital shows full support to the nearly 4,000 LGBT couples. Through its inclusive domestic partnership law, D.C. has been a longtime leader in recognizing that ALL families deserve the security and protection afforded by the benefits of marriage. Recently, the District began recognizing marriages of same-sex couples performed in other jurisdictions. Today’s action brings the District one critical step forward toward recognizing marriages of same-sex couples performed in D.C.

D.C. City Council votes in favor of marriage equality

Oy. I am fairly much recovered, but the past few days have been rather booked. This past Thursday, I went to a World AIDS Day presentation at Community United Church that was put on by Community Health Net. My friends Jo and Mary put on a very good presentation. At one point, they were passing around photos or drawings of famous folks who are living with HIV or who had died of AIDS. I recognized most of them, but I wasn’t aware that Isaac Aasimov had died of AIDS.

Friday night, I went to the G2H2 social, which was okay, I talked with some friends. Afterwards, I went out to the Zone and flirted with a cute guy.

Saturday was a fundraiser event for Kathy Dahlkemper at a beautiful home of friends and then a holiday party later by a gay couple that live in the neighborhood.

On Sunday, Deb and I went to the holiday party by some folks affiliated with the Lake Erie Alliance for Democracy.

So, I am hoping for a quieter week. I have a board meeting for a Pagan group tomorrow, but I plan on taking things easy for a bit. (Of course, how well that works out is anyone’s guess.)

A very encouraging first step. Not sure where this will go, but hoping that equality carries the day!

N.J. Committee Passes Marriage Bill

Richard Perry/The New York Times

The crowd reacts as the vote was taken on a bill to legalize gay marriage. The bill passed, 7-6.

TRENTON — The battle over same-sex marriage in New Jersey headed toward a legislative showdown Monday night, when a bill that would allow such unions narrowly cleared a key legislative committee and was set for a vote by the full State Senate.

The 7-to-6 vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee — which came after years of efforts by gay rights advocates and a day of emotionally charged testimony by dozens of supporters and opponents of the bill — was the first time any legislative body in the state had ever approved a gay marriage bill. The approval brought cheers from hundreds of supporters who crammed the State House committee room.

But the measure faces an uphill fight when it is put up for a vote on Thursday before the full Senate, where even supporters concede that they do not yet have the 21 votes needed to pass it. If it does pass, it goes to the Assembly, where passage is considered more likely.

Speaking to jubilant supporters after the vote, Steven Goldstein, executive director of Garden State Equality, acknowledged that gay rights advocates had a lot of work to do in the next 72 hours, but said that momentum and history were on their side.

“The marriage-equality movement in America starts again right here,” Mr. Goldstein said, as the crowd erupted with, “Right here.”

Rest of the article is here.

Very cool news indeed! We can use some hopeful news right now. Let’s hope that this goes through. It really means a lot that civil marriage is equally provided to all couples. Kudos to everyone who helped make this happen.

Washington, D.C. Council Votes in Support of the Freedom to Marry

Look to New York and New Jersey to Continue the Momentum Toward Fairness

New York, December 1, 2009 — Statement by Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry and author of Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality and Gay People's Right to Marry, following the District of Columbia City Council’s 11-2 vote in support of the freedom to marry, the first of two required votes:

“Today, the District of Columbia’s City Council listened to their constituents and overwhelmingly voted in support of protecting families throughout the District, the first of two votes needed by the council to end the exclusion of gay couples from marriage.  A majority of voters, and families, from across New York and New Jersey now look to their representatives in the state legislature to do the right thing and vote in support of the freedom to marry.  As research has shown, by voting for the freedom to marry for gay couples, legislators in these states will continue to be re-elected just as every other state legislator who has voted in support of marriage equality and ran for re-election.”

View the report: Pro-Marriage Legislators Win Elections

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Washington, D.C. Council Votes in Support of the Freedom to Marry

VERY important, and we really need everyone to pitch in and help to pass this very important legislation. Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper has been generally supportive of GLBT issues, but she has not as yet signed on as a co-sponsor for HR 3017, the Employment Non Discrimination Act of 2009. You can call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

If your congress member is someone other than Kathy Dahlkemper, please call them their Washington DC to make sure that they are a co-sponsor of HR 3017. If you aren't sure who your congress member is, then just give your zip code when you call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

Please do this right now! We need everyone here! The number of calls that we make has a direct bearing on what happens.

(The above is a message that I sent to the Erie GLBT News and Events email list.)

The message was a response to a forwarded email from Lambda Legal:

The next few weeks may mark a critical milestone for LGBT rights: The House Education and Labor Committee is scheduled to consider the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in the next few weeks, and a vote in the full House could happen soon after!

We've been working closely with committee staff members for the past few weeks and will continue to do so to ensure the bill that goes to committee vote is the strongest possible. Introduced in June 2009 by Rep. Barney Frank, the bill, also known as H.R. 3017, would prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Rep. George Miller chairs the House Education and Labor Committee.

Congressmembers tell us that what influences them most are calls and emails from people back home.

Make a difference. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Give your zip code and ask to be connected to your Representative.

Say: My name is _____ and I’m a proud resident of (your city, state). I am calling in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 3017), to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from job discrimination. Please pass ENDA before the end of the year. I can be reached at _______ (give your phone number). Thank you.

Or, you can send the same message via email to your Representative.

Lambda Legal has long prioritized workplace fairness for the LGBT community. We currently represent Vandy Beth Glenn, a transgender woman who was fired from her job as a legislative editor by the Georgia General Assembly simply for being true to who she is. In September, she testified before Congress, urging members to enact ENDA so that others will not be fired or face discrimination in employment based on their gender identity and expression or sexual orientation.

Lambda Legal has set aside today to urge our supporters to contact their representatives in support of ENDA. Please call or email Congress today to let lawmakers know how important ENDA is to all of us who care about equality. Let's burn up the phone lines and tell them that the time to pass ENDA is now.

I am really hoping that they are able to get marriage equality in New Jersey within the short time frame that they have. It was so disheartening to lose Maine.

Below is an excerpt from the article I just posted at Erie Gay News.

Incidentally, I was due to have lunch with Thomas Waters and his partner, and I wanted to get this article posted as quickly as possible. The contact at Attorney.org had kindly provided us with the text ready to go. I waas able to paste in and then dash off to lunch. Cool beans!

Legalize Same-Sex Marriage in NJ

By: Attorney.org staff

Following Tuesday's narrow rejection of same-sex marriage in Maine, the latest front in the battle over gay rights has moved to New Jersey. The Democrat-controlled legislature in New Jersey, which currently recognizes same-sex couples in civil unions, is under pressure to pass a bill that would authorize gay marriage before Jon Corzine ends his term in mid-January. Corzine, who was unseated in Tuesday's election, said he would sign such a bill.
On the contrary, his successor, Republican Chris Christie, has taken a stand against same-sex marriages and has stated that he would veto it as governor.

Read the rest of this article here.

Legalize Same-Sex Marriage in NJ