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Monday, June 23
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Source: Salt Lake Tribune , Deseret News On the 39th anniversary of New York City's Stonewall Riots, which arguably launched the gay rights movement, their church is asking California Mormons to support a proposed constitutional amendment that would recognize only marriages between a man and a woman. The statement signed by from the top leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) urges California church members to "do all you can" to support a constitutional amendment to recognize only marriages between a man and a woman. "Marriage between a man and a woman...
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Friday, June 20
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Source: Kennebec Journal-Morning Sentinel , Portland Press Herald AUGUSTA -- An anti-gay activist in Maine has abandoned his efforts to put an wide-ranging referendum on the ballot that would have, if passed, invalidated most of the state's gay-rights laws and prevented any future safeguards for gays and lesbians. Michael Heath of the Christian Civic League said in an e-mail to supporters that his group lacks money and volunteers to pursue a referendum in November 2009. The league would have had to submit more than 55,000 signatures by next January to place its proposal on the statewide ballot...
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Wednesday, June 11
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Source: Just Out blog , Basic Rights Oregon OR anti-gay initiatives Portland's gay newspaper, Just Out , reports on its blog that an anti-gay group has abandoned its effort to collect signatures for three initiatives that would have asked voters to repeal Oregon's domestic partnership law and anti-discrimination laws. Stephen Marc Beaudoin reports for Just Out that David Crowe of Concerned Oregonians told supporters in a June 10 email that "too little time remains to collect the required signatures" for the petitions. One of laws Crowe hoped to overturn creates legal domestic...
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Wednesday, May 21
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Source: Oregonian , Court decision , Statesman Journal Oregon's second-highest court today upheld a 2004 ballot measure that limits marriage to heterosexual couples. The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled a week after the California Supreme Court struck down that state's ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutionally discriminatory. Like California, Oregon has a domestic partnership law that grants virtually all the rights of marriage to registered partners, but does not use the term "marriage." Today's narrow decision does not affect that law. The marriage equality advocates that...
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Saturday, May 17
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Source: San Diego Union Tribune , Associated Press via Boston Herald CA marriage case SACRAMENTO -- Gay and lesbian couples who get married in the next several months aren't likely to have their licenses invalidated if voters approve a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in November, according to legal experts. They said the proposed amendment, like most laws, will be interpreted to prevent same-sex marriages in the future, and not affect those that were legal when they took place. “Our assumption is that laws are prospective,” John Sims, a professor at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento...
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Tuesday, April 22
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Source: Associated Press via San Francisco Chronicle , Deb Price via AlterNet The sponsors of a proposed constitutional amendment to outlaw same-sex marriage in California claimed Monday to have gathered enough signatures to qualify the measure for the November ballot. A coalition of religious groups called Protect Marriage collected more than 1.1 million signatures in support of the amendment, said Brian Brown, executive director of the California office of the National Organization for Marriage. The initiative needs 694,354 signatures, or 8 percent of the votes cast in the last governor's...
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Thursday, April 17
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Source: Tampa Tribune , St. Petersburg Times , Palm Beach Post TAMPA -- The group backing a state constitutional amendment to limit marriage only to straight couples kicked off its publicity campaign Thursday with a group of Christian senior citizens. The Florida Coalition to Protect Marriage held several news conferences across the state heralding the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment, including one at Beulah Baptist Church in Tampa, the city's oldest black Baptist church. The coalition's former Florida4Marriage.org campaign is becoming Yes2Marriage.org, evoking its place as Amendment...
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Tuesday, April 15
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Source: Bangor Daily News , Portland Press-Herald BANGOR, Maine -- Groups that support equal rights have sent a 12-page letter to Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap outlining what they say is wrong with a proposed referendum question submitted last week by Michael Heath, executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine. The Maine Civil Liberties Union, Equality Maine and the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders claim that the current language in the league’s proposed question would "take away every basic right that gay and lesbian Mainers have." Those rights, according...
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Friday, April 11
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Source: Sacramento Bee , Associated Press via Press Enterprise SAN DIEGO Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vowed Friday to oppose a new initiative that would ban gay marriage, calling any such effort "a total waste of time." The Republican governor has twice vetoed bills to allow same sex marriage. But in front of about 170 people at the Log Cabin Republicans national convention in San Diego, he announced his opposition to a proposed constitutional amendment that would strengthen the state's ban. "Well, first of all, I think that it will never happen in California because I think that...
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Thursday, April 10
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Source: Bangor News , WMTV AUGUSTA, Maine - One of the state's most vocal opponents of gay rights has initiated a referendum aimed at banning same-sex marriages or civil unions and prohibiting same-sex couples from adopting children. The referendum also would eliminate sexual orientation as a protected class under the Maine Human Rights Act and would take away funding that supports civil rights teams affiliated with the state Attorney General’s Office. Michael Heath, executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, said that if the Secretary of State’s Office approves his petition...
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Thursday, March 27
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Source: St. Petersburg Times , Tallahassee Democrat Tallahassee, Fla. -- A proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay and lesbian marriage was compared Wednesday with amendments prohibiting pregnant pigs and creating high-speed rail. Patricia Ireland, former president of the National Organization for Women, told Tallahassee's Capital Tiger Bay Club that the amendment is yet another example of something that should not be in the Florida Constitution. "There are more important things that belong in our Constitution," Ireland said, noting that passage of the amendment would result...
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Tuesday, March 25
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Source: Salem Statesman-Journal by Todd Simmons Oregon voters may well face two issues this fall that many people probably think were resolved some time ago: the state's new anti-discrimination and domestic-partner laws. Although some are trying to characterize those potential ballot measures as solely "moral issues," both undoubtedly have economic implications that voters would be well advised to consider. First, a little background. During its 2007 session, the Oregon Legislature passed both pieces of legislation with relative ease and Gov. Ted Kulongoski quickly signed both into...
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Sunday, March 16
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Source: Just Out , Salem-News , McMinnville News-Register Gay rights activists are seething over remarks made by a legislator to a reporter for Just Out , Oregon's flagship gay newspaper, which posted them on its website. "If you walk around talking about what you do in the bedroom, you should be on the pervert channel," Senator Gary George told Just Out . George and State Representative Kim Thatcher, both of Newberg, have filed an initiative to reverse the recently enacted Oregon Equality Act -- an anti-discrimination law for sexual minorities -- and allow discrimination against...
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Monday, March 10
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Source: Ashland Daily Tidings Oregon partnerships We feel more sadness than outrage at the news that several Oregon Republican legislators have filed initiative measures to repeal basic civil liberties granted to gay and lesbian couples in this state. Sad because we know this means the state is in for yet another of the divisive and nasty campaigns that have torn us apart over the past decade and a half. Sad because we see no reason to overturn measures that harm no one while providing human dignities to tens of thousands of Oregonians. Sad because a Jackson County legislator, Sal Esquivel, is...
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Monday, March 03
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Source: PlanetOut , Oregonian , Willamette Week Oregon partnerships Two Oregon state senators have filed an initiative to repeal the state's new domestic partnership law. The supporters of the repeal have until July 3 to collect 83,000 signatures to put their petition on the November ballot, according to gay rights group Basic Rights Oregon. The initiative was filed Feb. 29 by Republican Sens. Fred Girod and Sal Esquivel. Two groups that attempted to force a referendum on the law in 2007 are under investigation by the state for violating campaign finance laws. The domestic partnership law,...
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Monday, February 04
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Source: Orlando Sentinel and Huffington Post TALLAHASSEE, Fla -- Florida residents will vote in November on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, state officials announced late Friday. The signature-petition drive launched three years ago by social-conservative groups managed to beat Friday's deadline to make the presidential-election ballot, the state Division of Elections said. The group pushing the ban collected more than 649,000 signatures -- well over the 611,000 required to place a citizens' initiative before voters statewide. "I'm just grateful to God first and...
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Friday, January 18
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Source: Orlando Sentinel A national gay-rights group came to Orlando on Tuesday to launch a statewide effort against a proposed ban on same-sex marriage. The Human Rights Campaign held the first of a series of training sessions for gay-rights volunteers at a Thornton Park eatery, despite word from the state that a proposed constitutional amendment backed by Orlando's Florida4Marriage was more than 20,000 signatures short of making the November ballot. "The last thing we should do in this moment is change our campaign in any way," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Washington-based...
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Saturday, January 12
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Source: Equality California press release and WorldNetDaily story Right-wing opponents of a law providing broad civil rights protections to California admitted yesterday that they had failed to collect the 433,000 signatures needed for a referendum to delay implementation of the law. But they said they would now turn their attention to a signature drive for an initiative which could invalidate the law once it takes effect. The new law, which went into effect on January 1st, reinforces existing prohibitions of discrimination in publicly funded schools and activities, including discrimination based...
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Sunday, January 06
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Source: St. Petersburg Times Our sensible "live and let live" Republican governor has done it again, governing from the middle rather than allowing himself to be dragged into the ideological extremes of his party. Gov. Charlie Crist is telling those who are intent on pushing a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage that he isn't interested in their cause. He has the serious business of the state to attend to. A mean-spirited constitutional amendment that essentially repeats what is in state law is about the last thing this state needs. A campaign to ban same-sex marriage...
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Sunday, January 06
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Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal For Beau McDaniels and many other gay and lesbian Floridians, the political battles about same-sex marriage are about people's rights. "It's not like we have a choice," said McDaniels, pastor of Hope Metropolitan Community Church in Daytona Beach. "We were born with it. It's in our DNA. Yet they (supporters of gay-marriage bans) want us to give up our right to love each other." But John Stemberger, leader of a drive to pass a state constitutional amendment next year barring same-sex marriages, said he and other supporters are not...
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Wednesday, January 02
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Source: The Australian GAY and de facto couples who separate are set to win the same property rights as married couples under the revival of a long-dormant plan for law reform. Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls said he had won commonwealth and state backing for the federal law to be changed to let separating gay and de facto couples access the Family Court to split up their assets. Mr Hulls said these groups were currently forced to use the state courts to solve disputes over assets, creating significant costs, complexity and delays. The changes would allow them to resolve disputes in the Family...
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Wednesday, December 26
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Source: GayWired.com Equality California and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network are seeking to intervene in a lawsuit filed by anti-gay organizations that would prevent enforcement of California statutes protecting students from discrimination, harassment and bullying in publicly-funded schools. EQCA and the GSA Network filed a motion to intervene in federal district court in San Diego to defend the California statutes that prohibit discrimination and harassment in publicly-funded schools, including the newly-enacted Student Civil Rights Act (SB 777). EQCA was the official sponsor of SB 777, and...
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Thursday, December 13
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Source: News-Press TALLAHASSEE -- Supporters of a Florida petition drive to ban gay marriage announced this morning that they have enough signatures to make the November ballot. “Today, the people of Florida have spoken and they will speak again in November of 2008,” said Orlando attorney John Stemberger, chairman of the People4Marriage.org Campaign. At a morning press conference, the group announced that they have garnered about 1,000 more certified signatures than the 611,009 required. "I can't tell you that they've crossed that threshold yet," said Sterling Ivey, a spokesman...
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Tuesday, December 04
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Source: Portland Mercury Blogtown The anti-gay activists behind a referendum effort—aimed at putting domestic partnerships to a vote— filed a federal lawsuit yesterday , demanding that signatures they claim are legitimate be reinstated, and the referendum petition certified for the ballot. Today, Basic Rights Oregon responded—and they didn’t mince words, calling the lawsuit “completely without merit”: Basic Rights Oregon Executive Director John Hummel said that a lawsuit filed by anti-gay activists in a gambit to revive a failed referendum on Oregon’s new domestic partnership law is “completely...
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Monday, December 03
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Source: Seattle Post Intelligencer by Dan Walters Current California law makes it illegal for schools to offer instruction or an activity that "reflects adversely upon persons" because of their race, sex, color, creed, handicap, national origin or ancestry. A new law scheduled to take effect in January would revise the protected list to disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation. It would also change the words "reflects adversely" to "promotes a discriminatory bias." Those are fighting words to warriors in California's never...
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Monday, November 12
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Source: San Diego Union-Tribune SACRAMENTO -- In the battle over gay rights, this fall was supposed to be a slow period, almost like a political time-out. Both sides were expected to spend the next few months preparing for a California Supreme Court decision on whether to overturn the state's ban on same-sex marriage. Instead, it's been anything but quiet. Gay rights advocates are spending millions of dollars on a television advertising campaign to promote same-sex marriage. Religious conservatives, meanwhile, have launched a referendum drive to overturn a new law that they say will promote...
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Saturday, November 03
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Source: SignOnSanDiego.com with additional material SACRAMENTO - A group of religious conservatives launched a referendum drive Friday morning to overturn legislation that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in school activities and instruction. The legislation, Senate Bill 777, was signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last month with little notice because the governor, at nearly the same time, vetoed the same-sex marriage bill. Called the Student Civil Rights Act, the legislation would become law January 1, 2008 if the referendum signature drive fails. The law is meant...
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Tuesday, October 09
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(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Anti-gay activists have fallen short in their attempt to force a referendum on Oregon's recently passed domestic partnership law. 60,531 raw signatures were submitted, but after checking the signatures for duplications and other...
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Saturday, October 06
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SALEM, Ore. (AP) — With few signatures to spare, gay rights opponents say it will take a miracle for their referendum effort to succeed in blocking two new gay rights laws from taking effect Jan. 1. "We are still full of hope. But it's going...
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Thursday, September 27
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SALEM -- Opponents of gay rights on Wednesday afternoon turned in what they said were enough signatures to put two pro-gay-rights laws on the November 2008 ballot. But gay-rights activists said they were surprised at how few signatures were submitted...
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