Today is the first day of our 2012 spring and the weather has turned lovely, even though it snowed again overnight. Recently, we have had a slate of 70 degree days, followed by two or three of snow and blustery winds, followed by more warm days. Odd stuff this year.

I returned from my latest trip to Brazil (and third this year) on Friday and my honey and I celebrated our 24th anniversary on Saturday with a quiet day of just spending time together. We have now officially been a couple for half of his lifespan (and just less than half of mine). It is hard to imagine how time has gone by so fast and it seems to speed up even more year after year.

I look forward to many more years together and am very happy with the decisions in my life that have lead to this moment with this person.

A rather elegant defense of “gay marriage” (when did it stop just being “marriage”?) by a “Heterosexual, Married, North Carolinian Father Of Three”, whose state is marshaling voters to define marriage as between a man and a woman can be found at this LINK.

One erudite quote:

LGBT people are citizens. I have friends (some of whom were married in other states years ago) who love each other as dearly as I love my own wife (and who have been committed to each other for just as long). It pains me to know that there are people who reject the validity of these relationships, and who wish to deny these couples the same benefits that other married couples are afforded. These committed, same-sex couples are North Carolinians. They contribute to the economy, they pay taxes, and they certainly do not deserve to be treated as second-class citizens by anyone. Just as it is hard to believe that we once denied marriage rights to interracial couples, or voting rights to women and African-Americans, we will look back upon this time with the same disbelief and shame.

The Salt Lake Tribune published an interesting article by Peggy Fletcher Stack that compares LDS founder (and polygamist) Joseph Smith with FLDS leader (and polygamist) Warren Jeffs and questions why the LDS population generally reveres the one and is horrified by the other.

So what are the differences between the two that make one a religious “genius,” as literary critic Harold Bloom described Smith, and the other a sexual predator and felon?

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A married LDS couple with whom we work invited us to the wedding reception of their son the other night.

Now, I want to note here that I am not a big fan of being asked to celebrate (e.g. contribute financially or gift wise or in most cases, even attend) something in which I can not legally partake. Also note that we had never actually met the couple, but I acquiesced to attending because I like and respect the parents.

Like any social being, I can show up and smile and make witticisms and be my normal charming self, but I personally begin to bristle when asked to swallow my pride and ignore the fact that my 23-year relationship would not only be unacknowledged by this particular group, it is essentially considered immoral, if not illegal by many of them.

We arrived at the evening gathering to the sight of what appeared to be an entire LDS ward plopped into the backyard: Small children, babies, older people, young couples, singles. A multi-million-dollar building overhead and industrial carpeting underfoot and we could have been in any LDS chapel in the world (except for the exceedingly “white and delightsome”-ness of the prevalent skin tones).

My honey always makes me do the writing whenever faced with a joint task, so I signed the guestbook, “At least yours is legal. Best wishes….”

I felt much better.

Our brothers and sisters in New York were able to legally marry today.

LINK

From The New York Daily News:

Gay marriage now just one vote shy of becoming law in New York despite Archbishop Dolan’s objections

BY KENNETH LOVETT
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF

ALBANY – Gay marriage moved just one vote shy Tuesday of becoming law in New York as the state’s top Catholic raised holy hell trying to stop it.

Sen. Roy McDonald (R-Saratoga) – in a dramatic reversal from his earlier opposition – became the second GOPer in as many days to give his blessing to same-sex nuptials, bringing Senate support to 31 votes.
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In response to an online treatise on gay Mormons and how the church deals (or not) with them, a friend responded with the following (JNR — let me know if its okay to post this; I only steal from the best):

The part of Mormon cosmology that claims an exalted destiny involves at least one heterosexual marriage is pretty hard to get around

I agree. And you’re right that it would be a disservice to not address that fact, so I’ll just say this (again this is just my personal belief):

Mormon belief/doctrine/dogma/cosmology is pretty messy and has changed an awful lot since 1830. We’ve changed our position on things like polygamy, blacks and the priesthood, the doctrine of tithing and the organization of church leadership. We’ve changed our policies on what members can/can’t eat and drink (no coffee/tea/alcohol, but it used to be okay to drink beer though not anymore). We no longer observe the doctrine of gathering, and we’ve even changed the content of our most sacred ceremonies several times and so dramatically that people who had been alive 50 years ago wouldn’t recognize our current iterations. We barely even recognize the doctrine of common consent, even though it was pretty obvious that it was a big part of the early church.
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It’s getting tougher to justify the stance of the United States regarding basic human rights.

Brazil’s Supreme Court approves civil unions for gay couples

by Jessica Geen | Pink News

Brazil’s Supreme Court has voted overwhelmingly to give gay couples the right to civil unions.

The panel backed the measure 10-0, with one abstention.

The ruling does not grant gay couples the right to marry, but it will allow “stable” couples the right to benefits enjoyed by straight married people, relating to benefits, inheritance and tax.

They will be able to register their relationships with solicitors or public bodies. Religious and public ceremonies will not be allowed.
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Anti-gay marriage bill defeated in Senate

(Laramie Daily Boomerang)

A bill that would have banned recognition of same-sex marriages performed out of state was defeated Wednesday in the Wyoming Senate.

The Senate voted 16-14 to reject concurrence on House Bill 74, thereby ending weeks of passionate debate that took place in both houses of the Wyoming Legislature.

Laramie Sens. Phil Nicholas and Chris Rothfuss voted against the bill.

The Senate vote followed action in the state House of Representatives, where HB 74 passed on a 31-28 vote. Laramie Reps. Kermit Brown, Matt Greene, Glenn Moniz and Cathy Connolly voted against the bill.

HB 74 states marriage contracts from out-of-state are valid in Wyoming so long as they involve one man and one woman.

While current state law says marriage only exists between one man and one woman in Wyoming, it does allow for the recognition of same-sex marriages and civil unions performed out of state.

HB 74 was amended numerous times after it was introduced last month. The Senate removed much of the language referring to civil unions and also allowed couples in civil unions to have access to the courts to resolve disputes. The subsection was later removed in a joint committee.

Today, debate in the Senate was short, and it only centered on whether or not HB 74 violated the joint conference committee rules, which the senate president said it did not.

In the House, however, opponents of the bill took to the floor and argued passionately against HB 74.

Rep. Pete Illoway, R-Cheyenne, asked his colleagues to not concur on HB 74.

He cited Article 1, Section 2 of the Wyoming Constitution, which says, “In their inherent right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, all members of the human race are equal.”

“People are equal, whether you agree with their lifestyle or not,” he said.

Illoway said gays and lesbians are parents, siblings, business owners, civic volunteers, health care and social workers, teachers, board members, clergy and Wyoming residents who support the state with their tax dollars.

“They do lots of things,” he said, “so why are we doing what we’re doing?”
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Ok, so I feel a lot better about my natal state.

Wyo. Senate defeats same-sex marriage bill

(AP) MARCH 03, 2011

A bill that would have barred recognition of same-sex marriages in Wyoming died Wednesday in the state Senate.

The Senate voted 16-14 against the bill, which had been the subject of a series of difficult conference committee meetings over the past week.

The conference committee had voted ultimately to strip off a Senate amendment that would have specified that same-sex couples who enter civil unions in other states would still have access to Wyoming courts to settle disagreements such as child custody issues that might arise in their relationships.

The Senate didn’t discuss the bill before voting it down. The vote came after the Senate Rules Committee dispensed with two technical challenges to the conference committee report in closed hearings.
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