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In a narrow 33 to 29 vote late last night, New York’s Republican controlled Legislature legalized gay marriage — proving that love belongs to NO political party or even ideology.
As a bi-sexual woman living in New Jersey, I rejoice in this brave vote approving the legislation, which was quickly signed into law by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo shortly before midnight.
The legislation was enacted almost 42 years to the day that the modern-day LGBT rights movement was born amid violent encounters between police and gay activists at New York City’s iconic Stonewall Inn, referred to as “The Stonewall.”
It takes effect in 30 days, and same-sex couples are already lining up to become the first to be married.
This landmark law makes New York the sixth and largest state in the country to legalize same-sex marriage. Sadly, it will no doubt be challenged in the courts, but let’s tackle that another day. For now, I want to let this glorious ruling seep into my very being.
As might be imagined, the news sparked massive celebrations in the streets of New York City, where members of the LGBT community from throughout the country had ironically been brought together for the city’s annual Gay Pride Weekend. [Note: The above photo was taken outside The Stonewall when the news broke.]
A note of clarification: I refer to the new statute as legalizing “same-sex” marriage, which is the wording of the actual law, rather than "gay marriage." As a bi-sexual, I am not gay but am living with my same-sex life partner.
It was deeply and profoundly emotional for me when I woke up to the incredible news. I know that it is the right vote, the human vote.
I was married to a man, and we divorced. When I met my same-sex partner, the love I felt, and still feel, for her is as genuine and sacred as the love I felt for my former husband. Rejection and hatred of me and my same-sex union, and millions of others nationwide, is a wound that is impossible to describe and will take a very long time to heal. This statute goes a long way in making that happen.
I did not choose to be bi-sexual, I simply am bi-sexual. It is not a lifestyle anymore than being heterosexual is a lifestyle. I am the exact same woman who was allowed to love and marry a man, but denied that same legal option to acknowledge my female partner.
I am also a spiritual person. I feel the guidance and daily presence of the Divine. I am not an aberration, but a soul who was created bi-sexual by that same loving and all-knowing Cosmic Other. Thus, I am as blessed as each and every person — every living being — on Mother Earth.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the vote, "a historic triumph for equality and freedom,” and I could not agree more.
Thank you, New York, for acknowledging me and thousands of others. Even though I live one state over, your action gives me hope, and makes my heart dance with indescribable joy!
I also fervently hope that this momentous step will be the action that prompts other undecided states to join this inevitable civil rights movement. In fact, a recent poll by a respected agency finds that 53 percent of Americans now support same-sex marriage. It is the time for all same-sex couples to be able to choose to sanctify their relationships legally no matter where they live.
— The Curator
Portugal's parliament passed a bill yesterday allowing gay marriage in the mostly Roman Catholic country.
The Socialist government's bill won the support of all left-of-centre parties. Right-of-centre parties opposed the change and argued that it should be put to a national referendum.
The proposed law will go to the Portuguese president, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, who will decide whether to ratify or veto it, but a veto can be overturned by parliament. Its approval would make Portugal the sixth European country to allow same-sex marriages.
The prime minister, Jóse Sócrates, said the measure was part of his effort to modernise Portugal. Two years ago his government lifted a ban on abortion.
Meanwhile in the U.S. yesterday, a similar measure was voted down in New Jersey. The state Senate rejected a bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage, dealing a formidable if unsurprising setback to gay-rights advocates nationwide.
After an hour and 40 minutes of heartfelt speeches, just 14 senators voted in favor of the bill, with 20 opposed. Twenty-one votes were needed for passage.
The U.S. national debate over same-sex marriage will take center stage in a California courtroom next week at a closely watched federal trial that could ultimately become the landmark case that determines whether gay Americans have a right to marry.
The case will decide a challenge to California's gay marriage ban that was approved by voters in 2008, and the ruling will likely be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. How the high court rules in the case could set the precedent for whether gay marriage becomes legal nationwide.
"This could be our Brown vs. Board of Education," said former Clinton White House adviser Richard Socarides, referring to the 1954 Supreme Court decision that outlawed racial segregation in schools and other public facilities. "Certainly the plaintiffs will tell you they are hoping for a broad ruling that says that any law that treats someone differently because of sexual orientation violates the U.S. Constitution."
The case marks the first federal trial to examine if the U.S. Constitution permits bans on gay marriages.
In Portugal yesterday, the Socialist government's bill won the support of all left-of-centre parties. Right-of-center parties opposed the change and sought a national referendum on the issue, but their proposal was rejected.
Voting figures were not immediately available but the President of Parliament Jaime Gama announced that the government's bill had passed, as was widely expected.
The proposed law goes to Portugal's conservative President Silva who can ratify or veto. The veto can be overturned by the parliament.
If there is no presidential veto, the first gay marriage ceremonies could take place in April - a month before Pope Benedict XVI is due on an official visit to Portugal.
Its approval would make Portugal the sixth European country to allow same-sex marriages. Gay marriage is currently permitted in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Norway.
"This law rights a wrong," Prime Minister Jose Socrates said in a speech to lawmakers, adding that it "simply ends pointless suffering."
The bill removes a reference in the current law to marriage being between two people of different sexes.
"It's a slight change to the law, it's true. But it is a very important and symbolic step towards fully ensuring respect for values that are essential in any democratic, open and tolerant society: the values of freedom, equality and non-discrimination," Socrates said.
He said a referendum was not necessary because the gay marriage proposal was included in the Socialist Party's manifesto in last September's general election, when it was returned to power.
Socrates said the measure is part of his effort to modernize Portugal. Two years ago his government lifted Portugal's ban on abortion.
Like neighboring Spain, which introduced same-sex marriages four years ago, Portugal is an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country and previous efforts to introduce gay marriage ran into strong resistance from religious groups and conservative lawmakers.
Homosexuality was a crime in Portugal until 1982. In 2001, a law allowed "civil unions" between same-sex couples which granted them certain legal, tax and property rights. However, it did not allow couples to take their partner's name, inherit their possessions nor their state pension, which is permitted in marriages.
A proposal from the Left Bloc and Green Party allowing gay couples to adopt children was voted down Friday. Gay campaigners said they would continue to fight for gay couples' parental rights.
— The Curator
An Argentine judge paved the way for gay marriage when she granted a homosexual couple permission to marry in a first for Latin America, the world's biggest Catholic region.
Buenos Aires, known for its active if low-key gay movement, became the region's first city to approve civil unions for gay couples in 2002. It was followed by Villa Carlos Paz in the north and the southern province of Rio Negro.
Those civil unions grant gay couples some, but not all, the rights enjoyed by heterosexual married couples.
The court ruled that two articles in the city's civil code that say only people of different sexes can get married are illegal. The court decision applies only to Buenos Aires. Same-sex unions in most of the rest of Argentina remain illegal.
Friday's ruling by Judge Gabriela Seijas ordered the civil registry to make official the marriage of Alejandro Freyre, 39, and Jose Maria Di Bello, 41, who had been denied their request because they were both men. The couple had filed a discrimination complaint in April.
"The law should treat each person with equal respect in relation to each person's singularities without the need to understand or regulate them," the judge said in her ruling.
The city code prevents people from "enjoying the rights that couples who enter into matrimony are entitled to," she said. Those rights include inheritances, pensions and the ability to make decisions for the other person when he or she is incapacitated.
It could increase pressure for lawmakers to take up a stalled gay marriage bill in Congress.
"We are very happy, moved, but we also feel the heavy weight of responsibility because it's not just about us, it's encouraging legal equality in Argentina and the rest of Latin America," Di Bello told reporters.
In the rest of Latin America, Mexico City, the Mexican state of Coahuila and the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul also allow civil unions for same-sex couples.
Uruguay became the first country in the region in late 2007 to legalize civil unions for gays. In January 2009, the Colombian Constitutional Court recognized a series of rights for homosexual couples, including social welfare rights.
But no Latin American country authorizes marriage between gays.
"The law must treat everyone with the same respect according to their particular situation" and declared unconstitutional two articles of the civil code, including one stating that marriage is only between a man and a woman, Seijas ruled.
"All you have to do is change the words 'man' and 'woman' with the word 'party,'" said Di Bello, who along with his partner is HIV-positive.
The Catholic church is especially powerful in Argentina, a country whose population is 91 percent Catholic.
Bishop Baldemoro Martini charged that, "same-sex unions do not contribute to the public good; they put it especially at risk."
The landmark decision could still be struck down if there is an appeal.
But Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri, a conservative, said the government would make no such move, pledging that his government will NOT appeal the court decision.
Macri called the ruling a "very important step," adding that "we have to live together and accept reality...The world is headed in that direction."
His decision was not easy, Macri said. Many people had urged him to appeal.
"I had an important internal debate, weighing my upbringing with my search for the best customs and best liberties for society," he said in a videotaped message on his Facebook page.
"What we have to learn is to live in liberty without violating the rights of others," he said.
Macri likened the current debate over same-sex marriage to a similar discourse years ago.
"It's the same as happened with divorce several decades ago – a very intense debate. And today it is something very natural," the mayor said.
Judge Seijas issued the ruling Wednesday but it did not become public knowledge until Thursday, when it was posted on the court's Web site.
Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay are also addressing the issue of same-sex civil unions.
Several homosexual groups hailed the judge's ruling.
"I am very happy and I join the feeling of Argentine gays, who were repressed for many years," said Marcelo Cerqueira, president of Gay de Bahia, one of the most active gay rights groups in Latin American giant Brazil.
"For us in Brazil, we have no expectations, neither in court, nor in the medium or long term."
The decision by Seijas "is incredibly courageous, we didn't expect it," acknowledged Di Bello, who fell into his partner's arms when he learned of the verdict.
I find it so very impressive that in a region that is so ultra religious and quite conservative, doing the right thing has won out over politics! I’m literally still in shock, and also ashamed that our country lags so far behind on this issue. This courageous ruling and the equally courageous decision NOT to appeal should stand as a shining example to all states and countries worldwide grappling with this issue. It seems so obvious to me that equal rights and protections MUST apply to all, not just to those who are part of the status quo. Have we forgotten that our beloved Constitution and Bill of Rights were drafted to protect the minority from oppression by the majority? It is time to act as true American patriots and allow gays the same basic human rights as everyone else in the US enjoys. In point of fact, ONLY gays are still discriminated against in this manner. No other group, creed, or race continues to endure such overt prejudice, stereotyping and government-sanctioned denial of their basic human rights and protections. Mayor Macri said it best, "What we have to learn is to live in liberty without violating the rights of others." Isn't it sad that the birthplace of democracy has to be taught what freedom actually means?
— The Curator
Dethroned Miss California USA had demanded more than $1 million during settlement negotiations – until an attorney for the pageant reportedly played a triple-XXX home video starring the silicon enhanced woman who had made anti-gay marriage comments during the pageant.
As a result, Carrie Prejean reportedly dropped her religious discrimination lawsuit against the pageant, but it took several seconds of viewing the hardcore sex tape before she did so.
The website TMZ reports that Prejean's first statement after pageant lawyers clicked "play" was: “That's disgusting!"
At first, she denied that it was her masturbating for the camera – until it zoomed in on her face. Then her self-righteous act was useless. TMZ's source said it took less than 15 seconds for her to back off her demand that the pageant pay her more than a million dollars for dethroning her.
A publicist for Prejean declined to comment on the report.
Prejean had claimed they took away her crown because of religious discrimination over her anti-gay stance. The pageant had said she breached her contract by failing to fulfill her duties. Naughty photos of her that had been leaked weren't enough to give her the boot, but her sex tape did it.
The video the lawyer showed Prejean is extremely graphic and has never been released publicly. “We know that, because TMZ obtained the video months ago but decided not to post it because it was so racy. Let's just say, Carrie has a promising solo career,” TMZ said.
By dropping her settlement demand, Prejean essentially walks away with nothing. As we first reported, the Pageant is paying around $100,000 to her lawyers and publicist – a fraction of her bills. She pockets nothing in the settlement.
Earlier this week, after the beauty queen and the pageant dropped their lawsuits against each other and agreed to settle their differences, Prejean had made the outrageous demand during settlement negotiations. She had sued the organization in August for libel, slander and religious discrimination, accusing pageant organizers of telling her to stop mentioning God even before her controversial remarks against gay marriage, or as she called it during the Miss USA pageant, sparking a firestorm of criticism, "opposite marriage."
In response, pageant officials filed a countersuit asking to be paid back the $5,200 they shelled out for her breast implants prior to the Miss USA competition. As a result of the decision to drop the countersuits, the pageant isn't getting that money back.
It's the latest slide in a long downward spiral Prejean's endured since the 2009 Miss USA pageant in April. In June, she was fired from Miss California USA by Donald Trump, who co-owns the Miss USA organization, and had initially saved Prejean from losing her crown when criticism about her "opposite marriage" comment first erupted.
"This was a decision based solely on contract violations including Ms. Prejean's unwillingness to make appearances on behalf of the Miss California USA organization," executive director Keith Lewis said in a statement sent to ABCNews.com in June. "After our press conference in New York we had hoped we would be able to forge a better working relationship. However, since that time it has become abundantly clear that Carrie is unwilling to fulfill her obligations under our contract and work together."
"I told Carrie she needed to get back to work and honor her contract with the Miss California USA Organization and I gave her the opportunity to do so," Trump said in the statement. "Unfortunately it just doesn't look like it is going to happen and I offered Keith my full support in making this decision. Carrie is a beautiful young woman and I wish her well as she pursues her other interests."
Timeline of the Implosion of a 'Career'
Since the question-and-answer session from that pageant that thrust her into the spotlight, Prejean's story has evolved so fast that it's hard to keep track of all the details. This should help clear things up. Below, a timeline of the controversy surrounding Prejean, from the Miss USA 2009 pageant to June.
April 19: Pageant judge, and celebrity entertainment blogger, Perez Hilton asks Prejean, "Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit, why or why not?" Prejean replies, "I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what? I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised."
April 19: Following the pageant, Hilton posted a video on his blog condemning Prejean's answer and calling her a "dumb bitch." He later apologized in the blog, offering to take Prejean out for coffee and a "talk."
April 20: Hilton tells ABCNews.com, "I was floored. I haven't said this before, but to her credit, I applaud her for her honesty. However, she is not a politician, she's a hopeful Miss USA. Miss USA should represent everyone. Her answer alienated millions of gay and lesbian Americans, their families and their supporters."
April 20: Prejean defends her comments via multiple media outlets and tells "Access Hollywood" that her sister is a gay activist. "My sister is a second lieutenant in the Air Force and she is a gay rights activist," Prejean says, adding that her sister is not gay. "She supports gay people, she supports gay marriage. My beliefs have nothing to do with my sister or my mom, or whatever."
April 26: Prejean visits churches, including San Diego's The Rock Church, which was active in the campaign to pass a constitutional ban on gay marriages in California last year, to tell her side of the pageant story. She tells The Rock Church's congregation that pageant officials asked her to apologize to the gay community.
April 27: In response to Prejean's comments, Lewis issues a statement saying, "Given the fact that Carrie Prejean's first act upon returning to California was to headline five services at a church that promotes homosexuality as both unnatural and abnormal, we stand by our concern for her individual image and look forward to a time in the near future when she can put down her personal agenda and assume the responsibilities associated with being Miss California USA."
April 29: Prejean's sister Christina tells ABCNews.com she was surprised the beauty queen called her a gay activist. "I have never even given myself that title. I was kind of surprised that she mentioned it, but I think she wanted to get the point across that our family is tolerant," Christina Prejean says, adding that she only recently got involved in gay rights activism.
April 29: Shanna Moakler, former co-executive director of the Miss California Miss USA pageant, confirms reports that the Miss California organization paid for Prejean to get breast implants weeks before the Miss USA pageant.
April 30: Prejean tells NBC's "Today" show that she's going to Washington to work with the National Organization for Marriage, saying the union between a man and a woman is "something that is very dear to my heart."
May 1: The National Organization for Marriage issues a statement saying that although she appears in an ad on the organization's Web site, Prejean "does not work for the National Organization for Marriage. She is a spokesperson for her own views."
May 4: A topless photograph of Prejean in pink underwear appears on TheDirty.com. TMZ.com claims it also received topless photographs of Prejean but didn't publish them because the beauty queen's representatives said she was 17 years old when the photos were taken.
May 5: Prejean says TheDirty.com and others are trying to belittle her religion, telling The Associated Press the semi-nude photos were released "surreptitiously to a tabloid Web site that openly mocks me for my Christian faith. ... I am a Christian, and I am a model. Models pose for pictures, including lingerie and swimwear photos."
May 6: Representatives for the Miss California USA organization confirm they're investigating whether Prejean violated the 12-page contract all contestants are required to sign before the November state contest. The document prohibits whoever holds the title of Miss California from making personal appearances, granting interviews or making commercials without permission from pageant officials and gives the pageant's directors the right to revoke her crown for breaching any of the document's provisions.
May 6: On "The View," Trump says Prejean's answer to the question of gay marriage posed during the Miss USA pageant was not so far off base. "That's the belief of 70 percent of the people, so it wasn't a horrible answer," he says. "That was her belief and she's taken hard hits. She's more famous because of it. No one is talking about the young woman who won. Nobody knows who she is."
May 11: Prejean's mother, Francine Prejean, tells MomLogic.com, "My daughter is a bright, beautiful, strong woman. ... She was raised in a Christian home. Marriage is between a man and a woman. Now she's being persecuted for speaking her opinion."
May 11: Miss California USA co-directors Lewis and Moakler unveil a new PSA promoting the organization and appoint the pageant's first runner-up, Tami Farrell, the organization's ambassador, effectively negating Prejean's role as the face of the pageant. Lewis asserts he wants to move on from Prejean, "get back to the business of beauty," and have Trump make the call on Prejean's fate.
May 12: Prejean tells Christian radio host Dr. James Dobson that Satan tried to tempt her with a question about gay marriage at the Miss USA pageant.
May 12: Donald Trump announces Prejean will keep her crown.
May 12: More photos of Prejean semi-nude emerge on TMZ.com, as TheDirty.com posts new pictures of her and Olympic champion Michael Phelps. The two are rumored to be dating.
May 13: Moakler resigns following Trump's press conference. "I cannot with a clear conscience move forward supporting and promoting the Miss Universe Organization when I no longer believe in it or the contracts I signed committing myself as a youth," Moakler says in a statement issued by her publicist. "I want to be a role model for young women with high hopes of pageantry, but now feel it more important to be a role model for my children."
June 10: Prejean is relieved of her duties as Miss California USA.
Peddlers behind the salacious video may have had trouble finding any takers to buy the porn. The tape actually began making the rounds several months ago and was offered as an exclusive to various websites for the bargain-basement price of $10,000.
But even blogger Nik Richie of the porn-purveying TheDirty.com didn't want anything to do with it.
"It was very graphic," Richie tells E! News, "and our lawyers wouldn't let us put it on the site."
No other site picked up the raunchfest, apparently shot by an ex-boyfriend and which Richie describes as far more explicit than the topless photos of Prejean that surfaced earlier.
Which explains why the tape's re-emergence this week reportedly took Prejean by surprise.
Citing the settlement's confidentiality agreement, pageant spokesman Roger Neal declined to comment on whether officials used the sex tape as leverage, except to say "the lawsuits have been dropped, we wish Carrie the best, and Carrie wishes us the best."
Prejean's attorney, Charles LiMandri, echoed those sentiments.
"Since it was a confidential settlement, he will not be able to discuss it," his assistant said.
While LiMandri would not comment on the tape—or whether Prejean would sue to block its release—he told RadarOnline that if the Miss California camp did use the sex tape to procure a settlement, he was ready to nullify the deal.
"In my 26 years of practice I have never dealt with a situation like this," the legal eagle said. "It seems as if someone has acted in an unethical and unlawful manner by even raising this issue. We are weighing our options and if this is a breach of contract we are considering suing for punitive damages."
(Can you say, "hypocrisy"?!
--- The Curator)
