Maryland's Governor Introduces Same-Sex Marriage bill

With Washington State poised to enact same sex marriage, Maryland's Governor Martin O'Malley (pictured at left) introduced legislation Monday night to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland. The bill reportedly contains more broad protections for groups that would not want to perform or honor same-sex marriages in an effort to blunt objections against last year's unsuccessful bill. Nonetheless, Christianists and the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy - and, of course, the haters at NOM- must have their panties in a major wad. Despite the rhetoric of the far right, the sole reason these groups oppose marriage equality is because they seek to inflict their often sick religious beliefs on all of society and punish gays for not knuckling under and living their lives per Christianist dictates. Here are highlights from the Baltimore Sun on the legislative effort:

Gov. Martin O'Malley introduced legislation Monday night to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland, presenting a bill to the General Assembly that aides said would offer broad protections for groups that would not want to perform or honor same-sex marriages. The governor, his staff and advocates worked throughout the day to hammer out language detailing religious protections. They distributed the new legislative language moments before the 8 p.m. session began.

The language provided Monday night made a few key changes, according to Raquel Guillory, a spokeswoman for O'Malley. She said the bill extended legal protections to leaders of religious groups, while last year's bill shielded only institutions.

The bill also makes clear that religious leaders, not the state, control theological doctrine, Guillory said. And it further limits any punitive actions — like denying government funds — that the state could take against religious organizations for failing to perform same-sex marriages

The coalition supporting same-sex marriage captured headlines in the fall by releasing a steady stream of web videos featuring boldface names including Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, Oscar winner Mo'Nique and former NAACP chairman Julian Bond.

Opponents planned a day of prayer that a same-sex marriage bill will fail. They said there would be Sunday sermons focused on traditional marriage and a rally in Annapolis. They united forces under the banner the Maryland Marriage Alliance.

Supporters promised daily phone banks to drum up support for a same-sex marriage bill, and they pledged to bus their troops to Annapolis the day before Valentine's Day. Their coalition is called Marylanders for Marriage Equality.

The contrast between Virginia where bills have been introduced by Republicans to expressly permit anti-gay discrimination and Washington State and Maryland is striking. Virginia under the GOP continues it race back to the 19th century. Meanwhile, young college educated residents continue their exodus from Hampton Roads for more progressive areas. It's very depressing.

More Monday Male Beauty

Cartoon of the Day - Gingrich and Why History is Important

I agree with the sentiment of this cartoon. It emphasizes why the knowledge of accurate history - and not just about what happened centuries ago - is critical. If the GOP did not celebrate ignorance and if the GOP base were capable of recalling what really happened, it would be impossible for Newt Gingrich to be where he is in the GOP primary battle to date.

Did the "Republican Establishment" Unwittingly Commit Suicide?

I often lament the death of the Republican Party in which I was in many ways raised. For most of my life, my entire extended family voted Republican and in doing so believed that they supported a party that placed value of intelligence, reason, and some modicum of civility. Those days are gone for certain and in large part as I have noted before because of the short sightedness of a party leadership that placed short term gain over a long term plan. Truth be told, the Christian Right and later the Tea Party should never have been allowed to hijack the GOP. Yet many of the so-called "establishment" closed their eyes and held their noses and allowed the inmates to escape and take over the asylum. One need look no farther than John McCain and his delusional decision to tap the utterly unqualified Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008. Now, lunatics like Palin sadly are the true face of the GOP. Andrew Sullivan has a good analysis in a post today. Here are some highlights:

Let us now play the tiniest violin for what is called the "Republican Establishment". I'm not sure what this phrase means or represents any more . . . But the concept of a responsible, sane, pragmatic party leadership able to corral or coax or manage a party's base is, it seems to me, a preposterous fiction on its face, as we are seeing.

The Republican Establishment is Rush Limbaugh, Roger Ailes, Karl Rove, and their mainfold products, from Hannity to Levin. They rule on the talk radio airwaves and on the GOP's own "news" channel, Fox.

In this universe, there is only black and white. There is only them and us. Anyone who diverges an iota from this schematic is speaking without a microphone in front of a revving airplane engine.

Listen to Gingrich's victory speech. . . . . there is the imputation to the other side of malign motives, secret agendas and foreignness that has been Gingrich's hallmark since the very beginning, when he assaulted the traditions of the Congress until that institution eventually had to repel him.

Listen to Limbaugh, the GOP's chief spokesman. How does a Romney channel that level of viciousness and rage? Listen to Hannity. How does a smooth manager reach a base that wants the same Manichean approach to foreign policy, in which there is only one ally (Israel) and enemies everywhere else (Europe, China, the Arab world, Russia)?

This is the current GOP. It purges dissidents, it vaunts total loyalty, it polices discourse for any deviation. If you really have a cogent argument, you find yourself fired - like Bruce Bartlett or David Frum - or subject to blacklists, like me and Fox.

This now is the party of Palin and Gingrich, animated primarily by hatred of elites, angry at the new shape and color of America, befuddled by a suddenly more complicated world, and dedicated primarily to emotion rather than reason.

This is Gingrich's party; and Ailes'; and Rove's. They made it; and it is only fitting it now be put on the table, for full inspection. Better sooner than later.

Only through suffering crushing defeats can the Republican Party perhaps save itself - after the lunacy and open embracing of hated, bigotry and ignorance of the Christianists and Tea Party is driven away or leaves on its own after defeat. Until that happens, I can never consider being a Republican again.

Will the GOP's Anti-Immigrant Mantra Re-elect Obama?

Not to beat a dead horse, but once again those who crunch numbers are theorizing that if the GOP's anti-immigrant positions and Hispanic bashing drive enough of the Hispanic vote to Obama in November, the GOP will help insure that Obama is re-elected. There would certainly be more than a little irony if the vitriol of white supremacists and Christianists push their political whores in the GOP to continue to take positions that seal the deal for Obama's re-election. A piece in the New Republic looks at the argument that Hispanics may be Obama's saviors come November. Here are some highlights:

Hispanics, who were responsible for most of U.S. population growth in the last decade, have been a more important part of the electorate each election. Now the largest minority group in the United States, they are poised to play a potentially decisive role in this year’s contest between President Obama and his GOP opponent. This has been cause for concern by some Democrats, who worry that Obama’s record on immigration may depress his turnout and support within the Hispanic community; the data suggest, however, that they are worrying more than they should.

[E]stimates suggest that Obama needs to get at least 75 percent of the minority vote in 2012 to have a secure basis for re-election, given likely drop-off in his white support. African-Americans are the biggest component of the minority vote and seem likely to give Obama the same overwhelming support they did in 2008.

While Hispanics may not be completely delighted with Obama’s performance, though, they find him strongly preferable to his prospective GOP opponents. Recent data suggest that, despite all these factors, Hispanic support for Obama in 2012 may well replicate—or even exceed—the wide margin he received from these voters in 2008 (67-31). In a major survey by the Pew Hispanic Center—the gold standard for polling on Hispanics—Obama defeats Romney by 45 points (68-23), a margin 9 points greater than in 2008 (his margin is a little larger against other Republicans). The survey also finds the Democrats’ party identification advantage among Hispanics at 47 points (67-20), the greatest margin the Pew Hispanic Center has ever measured.

It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the current anti-immigrant tilt of the Republican Party, especially as displayed in the primaries, has decisively turned off Hispanic voters and thrown them into the arms of the Democrats. And the likely nominee, Mitt Romney, who is typically viewed as a moderate compared to the others vying for the GOP nomination, will have difficulty reversing this judgment. On immigration issues, Romney has been aggressively conservative in an effort to outflank his more ideological opponents. He’s promised to veto the DREAM Act if it comes to his desk as president, opposes in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants, and rejects any path to citizenship for the undocumented.

If Hispanic support for the President winds up as strong as it now appears and their turnout holds up—giving Obama at least 75 percent of what should be around 28 percent of the entire vote—the benefits to the Obama campaign would be huge. Crucially, it would give him considerable leeway to lose white support but still win the popular vote.

[H]ow important are Hispanics to Democrats’ efforts to carry swing states? There is one area in particular where Obama’s advantage with Hispanics will be especially advantageous: the new swing states of the Southwest—Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico. In these three states, Hispanics dominate the minority vote, which averages 36 percent of voters.

In that way, it could turn out that Republicans have sacrificed more than they anticipated by ratcheting up the anti-immigrant rhetoric during the primary season; they may have sacrificed the election.

One can only hope that this analysis proves accurate. The thought of a GOP demagogue or flip-flopping ping pong ball as president hits me as less than thrilling.

Washington State Now Has Enough Votes to Enact Gay Marriage

Since this morning's post went up, Democratic Senator Mary Margaret Haugen (pictured at left) has released a statement that she will support passage of the Washington Senate version of the gay marriage bill. Should Haugen and others who have announced their support of passage of the bills, same sex marriage is all but assured since Governor Christine Gregoire supports the bills. While the haters NOM has pledge $250,000 to attack legislators that support the measure, such attempts at intimidation appear to be failing. KIRO-TV has details:

Haugen's announcement came has hundreds of people filled the capitol to advocate for and against gay marriage. State senators began considering the bill during a morning committee hearing.

In a statement, Haugen said, "I know this announcement makes me the so-called 25th vote, the vote that ensures passage. That's neither here nor there. If I were the first or the seventh or the 28th vote, my position would not be any different. I happen to be the 25th because I insisted on taking this much time to hear from my constituents and to sort it out for myself, to reconcile my religious beliefs with my beliefs as an American, as a legislator, and as a wife and mother who cannot deny to others the joys and benefits I enjoy."

Washington would become the seventh state to legalize same-sex marriages, following New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. Washington state has had a domestic partnership law since 2007, and a "everything but marriage" law since 2009.

Haugen said she took her time making up her mind to "to reconcile my religious beliefs with my beliefs as an American, as a legislator, and as a wife and mother who cannot deny to others the joys and benefits I enjoy. This is the right vote and it is the vote I will cast when this measure comes to the floor."

Opponents argued that the measure goes against traditional marriage and the Bible.

"You are saying as a committee and a Legislature that you know better than God," said Ken Hutcherson, pastor of Antioch Bible Church.

The National Organization for Marriage issued a statement Monday morning pledging a referendum campaign to fight any gay marriage law at the ballot.

My question again is: When is NOM going to be forced to disclose its funding sources? That information needs to come out NOW so that voters and citizens will really know who is behind the anti-gay hate campaign. As noted many times before, I would not be surprised to see the Catholic Church (and/or the Knights of Columbus) and Mormon Church's as big money contributors. Should that prove to be the case, then then next question is: When will they lose their tax exempt status?

Chris Chritie Nominates New Jersey's First Openly Gay Supreme Court Justice

OMG!! I cannot wait to hear the venting and gnashing of teeth from the Christianists over GOP Governor Chris Christie's appointment of the first openly gay justice to the New Jersey Supreme Court. The flying spittle will make foul weather gear a necessity! And to make matters worse - oh, the absolute horror - Christie's appointee, Bruce A. Harris, is African American. In addition, Christie filled another vacancy on the Court with an appointee of Asian descent. The folks at Family Research Council and the American Family Association - especially Bryan Fischer - must be convulsing on the floor. Needless to say, I love it! Here's a video clip from the Star-Ledger:

The Star-Ledger has these additional highlights:

Gov. Chris Christie today nominated an openly gay African-American Republican mayor and a Korean-American assistant attorney general to the state’s highest court.

Two nominees are Phil Kwon, 44, who worked under Christie when he was U.S. attorney for New Jersey, and Bruce Harris, 61, who was elected mayor of Chatham Borough in November. Kwon, of Bergen County, would be the first Asian-American to sit on the state Supreme Court, and Harris would be the first openly gay justice.

"I am honored to nominate these two gentlemen," Christie said at a Statehouse news conference. "I trust the Senate will take into account their extraordinary backgrounds and experience and will give them swift hearings.”

The nominees would replace former Justice John Wallace Jr., whom Christie declined to reappoint in 2010, and Justice Virginia Long, who faces mandatory retirement on March 1.

Christie has emphasized that he wants to remake the Supreme Court, which he blames for tying his hands on such issues as financing poor school districts and affordable housing.

Harris graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College, and with honors from Boston University Graduate School of Management. He earned a law degree from Yale. In addition to serving as mayor of Chatham, he most recently worked at the law firm of Greenberg Traurig and previously at Riker, Danzi, Scherer, Hyland and Perretti.

Steve Goldstein, the chief executive of Garden State Equality, a gay rights organization, said he was stunned when Christie called to tell him about the imminent nomination of Harris, 60, a graduate of Yale Law School. "As I told the governor right then and there, you could have picked me up off the floor," Goldstein said .

State Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, . . . said he was pleased by the diversity of the governor’s appointments, but had yet to examine their professional careers to determine their qualifications for the bench.

Scutari may be pleased with the nominees' diversity, but it's a safe bet that the Christianist/Tea Party crowd will be anything but pleased. Kudos to Governor Christie.

Monday Morning Male Beauty

Washington State Lawmakers to Consider Marriage Bills Today

While Virginia Republicans are seeking to drag their state back to an ugly past, across the country the Washington State legislature is expected to begin considering same sex marriage legislation. In contrast to theocracy loving Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire is backing marriage equality in her state. While the votes for passage appear to be there in the House, it's a tail biter in the Washington Senate. Not surprisingly, the hate merchants at the National Organization for Marriage are threatening retribution on legislators who vote for marriage equality. Once again I want to to know when NOM is going to be forced to reveal who is bankrolling its fear and hate based propaganda. Is it the Catholic Church? The Mormon Church? Or some combination? Citizens have the right to know who is behind the nasty agenda. Here are highlights from The Advocate on the Washington State situation:

Large crowds are expected Monday [i.e., today] in Olympia as lawmakers begin considering whether to make Washington the seventh state in the nation where marriage equality is legal.

Passage of the legislation, which has the support of Gov. Chris Gregoire, is by no means certain. Though the house bill has enough votes, an identical senate measure is currently one vote shy of support, with five lawmakers still undecided (The Stranger profiles the remaining undecideds and lists all relevant office contact information as well).

Per its usual playbook, the National Organization for Marriage is threatening to support the ousting of any Republican senator who votes in favor of the bill. On Wednesday, NOM president Brian Brown said in a statement that the group would spend $250,000 to fund primary challenges against pro-equality GOP legislators.

“If the legislature forces through same-sex marriage, they need to know that marriage will be on the ballot in November and the people of Washington will hold them accountable," Brown said.

A coalition of marriage equality supporters includes heavy-hitting corporations headquartered in the state such as Nike and Microsoft. "To be successful, it’s critical that we have a workforce that is as diverse as our customers," Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith wrote Thursday. "Inclusiveness is therefore a fundamental part of our values."

The Seattle Times reports that anti-gay marriage forces are planning a noontime rally Monday at the state capitol.

A couple of the hold outs in the Washington Senate are Democrats who have no business siding with the side of reactionary hate merchants. I hope they receive merciless pressure to support equality.

Virginia Republicans Introduce Slew of Reactionary Bills

We all expected that the Republican Party was going to confirm to the world that it is a reactionary force that wants to take the Commonwealth of Virginia backward in time. Indeed, if they could get away with it, one would almost expect Virginia Republicans to introduce bills to bring back segregation or, better yet in their minds, slavery. As the Washington Post is reporting the Virginia Republicans have introduces several score of backward thinking, discrimination loving bills into the current session of the Virginia General Assembly. As is always the case in Virginia, gays among the targets of the GOP backed bills. Here are highlights from the Post story:

Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell warned his Republican brethren to take it slow this month as they took control of the state Senate. “Don’t be arrogant, don’t overreach, don’t fight,” he told them. If the flurry of legislation they’ve introduced is any indication, Virginia’s most conservative Republicans aren’t holding back.

They are pushing legislation to: wipe out corporate income taxes; mandate drug testing of welfare recipients; crack down on illegal immigrants; beef up gun rights, property rights, parental rights and fetal rights; roll back gay rights; and free the commonwealth from federal laws it doesn’t like.

Many of those bills have come and gone before, sailing through the Republican-dominated House but dying in the Senate, where Democrats ruled for the past four years and moderate Republicans held sway before that. With the GOP now in control of the evenly split Senate, there’s hope among conservatives — and dread among liberals — that some of those measures will become law.

Democrats are still in a position to block them in certain areas — the budget, tax bills, constitutional amendments and judicial appointments — because Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) lacks the authority to break tie votes on those matters. And on social issues such as guns and abortion, moderate Republicans could very well stand in their way.

McDonnell, who prides himself on working well with Republicans and Democrats alike, had hard-nosed political reasons for discouraging a pedal-to-the-metal, hard-right agenda. If conservatives go too far too quickly for voters in this swing state, there could be a backlash in this year’s U.S. Senate and presidential races in November, political observers say. It also could hurt McDonnell’s chances to wind up as somebody’s No. 2 on the Republican presidential ticket.

One is the “personhood” bill, which seeks to define life as beginning at conception. Abortion-rights supporters warn that it could effectively outlaw the procedure as well as some forms of birth control, such as intrauterine devices. Another bill would require that any woman seeking an abortion be offered an ultrasound image of the fetus beforehand.

The conservative caucus also is pushing legislation that would: allow faith-based adoption agencies to refuse to place children with gay couples; lift a state requirement that schoolgirls get immunized against a sexually transmitted disease; and lift a one-gun-a month limit on handgun purchases.

Democrats aren’t feeling secure, . . . . “We cannot become another Alabama or another Arizona. We represent something better,” said Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington), a member of the Virginia Progressive Caucus, referring to a bill that would empower state police to enforce immigration law.

Virginia is already an exceedingly backward state by many measures. If the Virginia Republicans have there way Virginia could be challenging Alabama and Mississippi for the designation as the nation's most backward state.