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| National News | |
| MAINE LEGALIZES SAME-SEX
MARRIAGE; N.H. MARRIAGE
BILL ON GOVERNOR'S DESK Maine Gov. John Baldacci signed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage May 6. The measure passed 89-57 in the House of Representatives and 21-13 in the Senate. The law will take effect 90 days after the current legislative session ends in June. Anti-Gay activists could disrupt the process if they collect 55,000 signatures during the same time frame to force a voter referendum on the law. That would stop the law from coming into force until voters had their say in the November 2009 or June 2010 election. In his signing statement, Baldacci said: "In the past, I opposed Gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions. I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage. Article I in the Maine Constitution states that 'no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor be denied the equal protection of the laws, nor be denied the enjoyment of that person's civil rights or be discriminated against.'" Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese commented: "The march towards marriage equality for all loving, committed couples continues across this country. It's becoming increasingly clear that legislators across the nation understand that it's simply the right thing to do." Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said: "It's an exciting moment, and one that affirms the national momentum building for marriage equality. ... People nationwide recognize that the fundamental protection specifically provided through the institution of marriage is what is necessary to achieve genuine fairness." Also on May 6, New Hampshire's Legislature completed passage of a bill legalizing same-sex marriage and sent it to Gov. John Lynch. Lynch, a Democrat, told reporters: "I have a responsibility as governor to do what I think is best for the people of New Hampshire. I will continue to talk with the Legislature and with the people of New Hampshire about that bill. ... We have been flooded with calls. People can't even get through. The phone lines are basically jammed. [But] I'm not going to be guided by the numbers of calls that come into the office. That will not have an impact on my decision." Same-sex marriage also is legal in Connecticut, Iowa and Massachusetts, becomes legal in Vermont in September, and was legal for five months last year in California until voters amended the constitution to put a stop to it. A ruling in a lawsuit over the constitutionality of the amendment will be issued by the California Supreme Court by June 3. Gay couples also can marry in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain and Sweden. M*A*S*H ACTOR COMES OUT Actor David Ogden Stiers, who played Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III in the '70s TV series M*A*S*H, came out of the closet back in March with the website Gossip-Boy.com but other media failed to notice until now. Stiers, 66, said his main motivation for breaking down the door was his desire to find a partner. "There have been questions over the years and I now feel a tad more comfortable in discussing my personal life," he said. "[M]any of my fears were in modern times self-invented. ... I just continued using them as an excuse long after the call for conservative private lives passed." "I wish to spend my life's twilight being just who I am," he said. "I could claim noble reasons as coming out in order to move Gay rights forward, but I must admit it is for far more selfish reasons. Now is the time I wish to find someone and I do not desire to force any potential partner to live a life of extreme discretion with me." And what kind of boyfriend is he looking for? "Someone both mature and youthful. Who has a good sense of who they are and where they are heading. They need to appreciate the finer things in life, as over the years I've developed certain tastes. The more lusty side of me seeks a man with developed arms, as that has always appealed to me." LESBIAN MISSOURI SENATOR MARRIES IN IOWA Openly Lesbian Missouri state Sen. Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City, and her partner, Shonda Garrison, got married in Iowa City, Iowa, May 1 along with 16 other Missouri Gay couples who took a bus from St. Louis. "I thought about it long and hard before making the decision to go ahead," Justus told The Kansas City Star. "You never can tell what political fallout there will be." Same-sex marriage became legal in Iowa on April 27 following a state Supreme Court ruling that denying Gay couples access to the institution was unconstitutional. Same-sex marriage also is legal in Connecticut and Massachusetts, becomes legal in Maine and Vermont in September, and was legal for five months last year in California until voters amended the constitution to put a stop to it. A ruling in a lawsuit over the constitutionality of the amendment will be issued by the California Supreme Court by June 3. The New Hampshire Legislature also has passed a same-sex marriage bill. Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat, is mulling whether to sign it. Gay couples also can marry in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain and Sweden. D.C. COUNCIL RECOGNIZES GAY MARRIAGES FROM ELSEWHERE The city council of Washington, D.C., voted 12-1 May 5 to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states and nations that allow them. Councilmember Marion Barry, the city's former mayor, cast the only vote against the bill, claiming it reflected the views of his black constituents. "All hell is going to break loose," Barry told reporters. "We may have a civil war. The black community is just adamant against this. What you've got to understand is 98 percent of my constituents are black and we don't have but a handful of openly Gay residents. Secondly, at least 70 percent of those who express themselves to me about this are opposed to anything dealing with this issue. The ministers think it is a sin and I have to be sensitive to that." Mayor Adrian Fenty signed the legislation, which sent it to the U.S. Congress where laws passed by the D.C. Council can be overridden, though that is considered an unlikely outcome in this instance. New York state also recognizes same-sex marriages that take place in U.S. states and foreign countries that permit them. With assistance from Bill Kelley |
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