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Same-sex couples begin marrying
- Thread starter USFREEDOM911
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USFREEDOM911
MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN
Gay marriage law takes effect in Maine; couples tie the knot in the first hours of the new law
Michael Snell, left, and Steven Bridges speak to a reporter, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, outside City Hall before obtaining a marriage license under the state's new law in Portland, Maine. Bridges and Snell held a commitment ceremony six years ago but made marriage official under state law with a simple ceremony early Saturday as Maine's new law permitting same-sex marriage took effect at the stroke of midnight.
Arriving in a limo, Donna Galluzzo and Lisa Gorney had all the trappings of a traditional wedding: Rings, flowers, wedding vows, an entourage and a friend to officiate.
With tears in their eyes, they were among the first gay couples to exchange wedding vows early Saturday morning after Maine's same-sex marriage law went into effect at midnight.
"We're paving the way for people to go after us. I think it's just amazing. It's freeing. It's what's right," an emotionally drained Gorney said after their ceremony in front of City Hall.
After waiting years and seeing marriage rights nearly awarded and then retracted, gay couples in Maine's largest city didn't have to wait a moment longer than necessary to wed, with licenses issued at the stroke of midnight as the law went into effect.
Steven Bridges and Michael Snell were the first in line, and they received cheers from more than 200 people waiting outside after they wed in the clerk's office.
"It's historic. We've waited our entire lives for this," said Bridges, a retail manager, who's been in a relationship with the Snell, a massage therapist, for nine years. Bridges, 42, and Snell, 53, wore lavender and purple carnations on black T-shirts with the words "Love is love."
Voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington state approved gay marriage in November, making them the first states to do so by popular vote. Gay marriage already was legal in New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia, but those laws were either enacted by lawmakers or through court rulings.
In Maine, Gov. Paul LePage signed off on the certified election results on Nov. 29, so the new law was to go into effect 30 days from that date. The law already is in effect in Washington state; Maryland's takes effect on Tuesday, the first day of 2013.
Nobody knew exactly how many couples would be rushing to get their marriage licenses early Saturday in Maine. Falmouth joined Portland in opening at midnight. Other communities including Bangor, Brunswick and Augusta planned to hold special Saturday hours.
In Portland, the mood was festive with the crowd cheering and horns sounding at midnight as Bridges and Snell began filling out paperwork in the clerk's office in Portland City Hall. There were free carnation boutonnieres and cupcakes, and a jazz trio played.
Outside, the raucous group that gathered in front of the building cheered Bridges and Snell as if they were rock stars and broke into the Beatles' "All You Need is Love."
Fourteen couples received marriage licenses, and five of them married on the spot, a city spokeswoman said. Many of those who received their marriage license were middle-aged, and some said they never envisioned a day when gay couples could wed just like straight couples.
"I came out years ago and the only thing we wanted was to not get beaten up," said Steven Jones, 50, who married his partner, Jamous Lizotte, on his 35th birthday.
Not everyone was getting married right away.
Suzanne Blackburn and Joanie Kunian, of Portland, were among those in line to get their license at midnight, but they planned to have their marriage ceremony later. One of their grandchildren wanted them to get married on Valentine's Day.
"I don't think that we dared to dream too big until we had the governor's signature," Blackburn said. "That's why it's so important, because it feels real."
Bridges and Snell already considered themselves married because they'd held a commitment ceremony attended by friends and family six years ago. Nonetheless, they thought it was important to make it official under state law, as Snell's two daughters watched.
Katie and Carolyn Snell, the daughters, said the ceremony made formal what they knew all along to be true about the couple.
"It's just a piece of paper," said Katie Snell. "Their love has been there, their commitment has been there, all along. It's the last step to make it a true official marriage because everything else has been there from the start."
Michael Snell, left, and Steven Bridges speak to a reporter, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, outside City Hall before obtaining a marriage license under the state's new law in Portland, Maine. Bridges and Snell held a commitment ceremony six years ago but made marriage official under state law with a simple ceremony early Saturday as Maine's new law permitting same-sex marriage took effect at the stroke of midnight.
Arriving in a limo, Donna Galluzzo and Lisa Gorney had all the trappings of a traditional wedding: Rings, flowers, wedding vows, an entourage and a friend to officiate.
With tears in their eyes, they were among the first gay couples to exchange wedding vows early Saturday morning after Maine's same-sex marriage law went into effect at midnight.
"We're paving the way for people to go after us. I think it's just amazing. It's freeing. It's what's right," an emotionally drained Gorney said after their ceremony in front of City Hall.
After waiting years and seeing marriage rights nearly awarded and then retracted, gay couples in Maine's largest city didn't have to wait a moment longer than necessary to wed, with licenses issued at the stroke of midnight as the law went into effect.
Steven Bridges and Michael Snell were the first in line, and they received cheers from more than 200 people waiting outside after they wed in the clerk's office.
"It's historic. We've waited our entire lives for this," said Bridges, a retail manager, who's been in a relationship with the Snell, a massage therapist, for nine years. Bridges, 42, and Snell, 53, wore lavender and purple carnations on black T-shirts with the words "Love is love."
Voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington state approved gay marriage in November, making them the first states to do so by popular vote. Gay marriage already was legal in New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia, but those laws were either enacted by lawmakers or through court rulings.
In Maine, Gov. Paul LePage signed off on the certified election results on Nov. 29, so the new law was to go into effect 30 days from that date. The law already is in effect in Washington state; Maryland's takes effect on Tuesday, the first day of 2013.
Nobody knew exactly how many couples would be rushing to get their marriage licenses early Saturday in Maine. Falmouth joined Portland in opening at midnight. Other communities including Bangor, Brunswick and Augusta planned to hold special Saturday hours.
In Portland, the mood was festive with the crowd cheering and horns sounding at midnight as Bridges and Snell began filling out paperwork in the clerk's office in Portland City Hall. There were free carnation boutonnieres and cupcakes, and a jazz trio played.
Outside, the raucous group that gathered in front of the building cheered Bridges and Snell as if they were rock stars and broke into the Beatles' "All You Need is Love."
Fourteen couples received marriage licenses, and five of them married on the spot, a city spokeswoman said. Many of those who received their marriage license were middle-aged, and some said they never envisioned a day when gay couples could wed just like straight couples.
"I came out years ago and the only thing we wanted was to not get beaten up," said Steven Jones, 50, who married his partner, Jamous Lizotte, on his 35th birthday.
Not everyone was getting married right away.
Suzanne Blackburn and Joanie Kunian, of Portland, were among those in line to get their license at midnight, but they planned to have their marriage ceremony later. One of their grandchildren wanted them to get married on Valentine's Day.
"I don't think that we dared to dream too big until we had the governor's signature," Blackburn said. "That's why it's so important, because it feels real."
Bridges and Snell already considered themselves married because they'd held a commitment ceremony attended by friends and family six years ago. Nonetheless, they thought it was important to make it official under state law, as Snell's two daughters watched.
Katie and Carolyn Snell, the daughters, said the ceremony made formal what they knew all along to be true about the couple.
"It's just a piece of paper," said Katie Snell. "Their love has been there, their commitment has been there, all along. It's the last step to make it a true official marriage because everything else has been there from the start."
canceled.2021.1
#AMERICAISDEAD
Nah, you and your ilk will just find something else to bitch and whine about. You always do. Hell, if people thought be letting you wear a white dress and skip down an aisle would shut you the fuck up once and for all they would probably say go for it.
But, this has never been about marriage and you know it. Hell, not all gays even care about it. This is about redefining the traditional family unit in an effort to tear it down and replace it with the government. That is what this is about. Oh you will scoff and call it a conspiracy theory, but the facts back me up.
lol...next I guess you'll claim you're not a homophobe either, huh racist?
Please share with us your "facts".
canceled.2021.1
#AMERICAISDEAD
Are you saying that "gay marriage" is the last fight mo's want to fight? Declare here that marriage is your last battle.
Is everyone who opposes gay marriage a homophobe in your book?
Plus it is a complete misrepresentation. I am not afraid of you mo's. I think your behavior is abhorrent. But, then I think lots of behavior is abhorrent like pedophelia.
USFREEDOM911
MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN
In this thread alone; we have the State's of Washington, Maine, and now Maryland allowing and recognizing Homosexual marriages.
Same-sex marriage ceremonies begin early New Year's Day in Maryland
Darcia Anthony, left, and her partner, Danielle Williams, chat before participating in a marriage ceremony at City Hall in Baltimore, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. Same-sex couples in Maryland are now legally permitted to marry under a new law that went into effect after midnight on Tuesday. Maryland is the first state south of the Mason-Dixon Line to approve same-sex marriage.
Same-sex couples in Maryland were greeted with cheers and noisemakers held over from New Year's Eve parties, as gay marriage became legal in the first state south of the Mason-Dixon Line on New Year's Day.
James Scales, 68, was married to William Tasker, 60, on Tuesday shortly after midnight by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake inside City Hall.
"It's just so hard to believe it's happening," Scales said shortly before marrying his partner of 35 years.
Six other same-sex couples also were being married at City Hall. Ceremonies were taking place in other parts of the state as well.
The ceremonies follow a legislative fight that pitted Gov. Martin O'Malley against leaders of his Catholic faith. Voters in the state, founded by Catholics in the 17th century, sealed the change by approving a November ballot question.
"There is no human institution more sacred than that of the one that you are about to form," Rawlings-Blake said during the brief ceremony. "True marriage, true marriage, is the dearest of all earthly relationships."
Brigitte Ronnett, who also was married, said she hopes one day to see full federal recognition of same-sex marriage. Maryland, Maine and Washington state were the first states to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote, in November, a development Ronnett said was significant.
"I think it's a great sign when you see that popular opinion is now in favor of this," said Ronnett, 51, who married Lisa Walther, 51, at City Hall.
Same-sex couples in Maryland have been able to get marriage licenses since Dec. 6, but they did not take effect until Tuesday.
In 2011, same-sex marriage legislation passed in the state Senate but stalled in the House of Delegates. O'Malley hadn't made the issue a key part of his 2011 legislative agenda, but indicated that summer that he was considering backing a measure similar to New York's law, which includes exemptions for religious organizations.
Shortly after, Archbishop Edwin O'Brien of Baltimore wrote to O'Malley that same-sex marriage went against the governor's faith.
"As advocates for the truths we are compelled to uphold, we speak with equal intensity and urgency in opposition to your promoting a goal that so deeply conflicts with your faith, not to mention the best interests of our society," wrote O'Brien, who served as archbishop of the nation's first diocese from October 2007 to August 2011.
The governor was not persuaded. He held a news conference in July 2011 to announce that he would make same-sex marriage a priority in the 2012 legislative session. He wrote back to the archbishop that "when shortcomings in our laws bring about a result that is unjust, I have a public obligation to try to change that injustice."
The measure, with exemptions for religious organizations that choose not to marry gay couples, passed the House of Delegates in February in a close vote. O'Malley signed it in March. Opponents then gathered enough signatures to put the bill to a statewide vote, and it passed with 52 percent in favor.
In total, nine states and the District of Columbia have approved same-sex marriage. The other states are Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont.
http://ww2.cox.com/myconnection/today/news/national/article.cox?articleId=DA3H86G80&moduleType=apNews
Same-sex marriage ceremonies begin early New Year's Day in Maryland
Darcia Anthony, left, and her partner, Danielle Williams, chat before participating in a marriage ceremony at City Hall in Baltimore, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. Same-sex couples in Maryland are now legally permitted to marry under a new law that went into effect after midnight on Tuesday. Maryland is the first state south of the Mason-Dixon Line to approve same-sex marriage.
Same-sex couples in Maryland were greeted with cheers and noisemakers held over from New Year's Eve parties, as gay marriage became legal in the first state south of the Mason-Dixon Line on New Year's Day.
James Scales, 68, was married to William Tasker, 60, on Tuesday shortly after midnight by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake inside City Hall.
"It's just so hard to believe it's happening," Scales said shortly before marrying his partner of 35 years.
Six other same-sex couples also were being married at City Hall. Ceremonies were taking place in other parts of the state as well.
The ceremonies follow a legislative fight that pitted Gov. Martin O'Malley against leaders of his Catholic faith. Voters in the state, founded by Catholics in the 17th century, sealed the change by approving a November ballot question.
"There is no human institution more sacred than that of the one that you are about to form," Rawlings-Blake said during the brief ceremony. "True marriage, true marriage, is the dearest of all earthly relationships."
Brigitte Ronnett, who also was married, said she hopes one day to see full federal recognition of same-sex marriage. Maryland, Maine and Washington state were the first states to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote, in November, a development Ronnett said was significant.
"I think it's a great sign when you see that popular opinion is now in favor of this," said Ronnett, 51, who married Lisa Walther, 51, at City Hall.
Same-sex couples in Maryland have been able to get marriage licenses since Dec. 6, but they did not take effect until Tuesday.
In 2011, same-sex marriage legislation passed in the state Senate but stalled in the House of Delegates. O'Malley hadn't made the issue a key part of his 2011 legislative agenda, but indicated that summer that he was considering backing a measure similar to New York's law, which includes exemptions for religious organizations.
Shortly after, Archbishop Edwin O'Brien of Baltimore wrote to O'Malley that same-sex marriage went against the governor's faith.
"As advocates for the truths we are compelled to uphold, we speak with equal intensity and urgency in opposition to your promoting a goal that so deeply conflicts with your faith, not to mention the best interests of our society," wrote O'Brien, who served as archbishop of the nation's first diocese from October 2007 to August 2011.
The governor was not persuaded. He held a news conference in July 2011 to announce that he would make same-sex marriage a priority in the 2012 legislative session. He wrote back to the archbishop that "when shortcomings in our laws bring about a result that is unjust, I have a public obligation to try to change that injustice."
The measure, with exemptions for religious organizations that choose not to marry gay couples, passed the House of Delegates in February in a close vote. O'Malley signed it in March. Opponents then gathered enough signatures to put the bill to a statewide vote, and it passed with 52 percent in favor.
In total, nine states and the District of Columbia have approved same-sex marriage. The other states are Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont.
http://ww2.cox.com/myconnection/today/news/national/article.cox?articleId=DA3H86G80&moduleType=apNews
lol, the evil gays in secret under ground lairs:
Mr. Gay: "how can we destroy family values? I fucking hate the nuclear family!"
EvilGay: "... well, we could get all other gays to start MARRYING EACH OTHER!"
Mr Gay: "b-b-b-ut, why would I want to be fucking married! I hate marriage, all gay people hate marriage!
EvilGay: "yes, of course, everyone knows that, but we are still 20 years away from being able to extract gayness from our sweat to poison the water supply and infect people with the homogene! And there are only so many abercrombie stores... face it . . marriage is the quickest way to finally put an end to the control the breeders have!"
Mr. Gay: "But is it really worth it? Why would I want to be seen the same way as anyone else? Perhaps it would be better to come up with a way to show that we have some of the same rights, but are still sort of lesser than those that are 'normal'... maybe that will destroy familes"
EvilGay: "NO! NOT GOOD ENOUGH! There will be no compromise... don't you see? once gays get married, all bets are off... why, pretty soon people will marry their dogs, and cats and horses! People will marry inanimate objects like their car. Fathers will marry daughters, sons will marry their backyard tree, everything will fall apart, we will FINALLY DESTROY traditional values, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."
Mr. Gay: "So be it, COMMENCE ~*PROJECT FABULOUS*~... MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
EVIL: "AHAHAHAHA MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Mr. Gay: "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"
Minister of Truth
Practically Perfect
Either way, it's pretty fucking gay...
canceled.2021.1
#AMERICAISDEAD
Ahhh, one of Saul Alinksy's most potent rules. Ridicule.
It would be cute of the entire premise wasn't wholly inaccurate and lacking of historical context. But, then maybe you are too busy building your totalitarian regime with thread ban features you don't have tme for much else.
I need only refer you to Karl Marx who stated quite clearly that to bring about communism you need to destroy faith in God and the family.
There has been a long concerted effort to do just that for years. The gays are just a vehicle to change the definition of marriage to destroy the nuclear family.
It is mind boggling that this is so hard for you to understand. It isnt about rights or equality.
If it were why only how did The Gays realize they wanted to get married. The so called gobblement benefits they say they desire were never the reason behind state sanctioning marriage. It was always and should always be about RAISING children.
It was cute snark, and I am sure you gave Howey a rise, but it was completely off the mark and unrelated to anything I posted.
The response is as ridiculous as Grind's parody. Those that imagine that all advocates for civil rights, critics of social conservatism or just those seeking change are engaged in some struggle for Marxism are certainly phobic.
Personally, I find the most objectionable feature of the conservative attitude is its propensity to reject well substantiated new knowledge because it dislikes the consequences which seems to follow from it - or, to put it bluntly, its obscurantism.
Why I am not a Conservative by FA Hayek
Personally, I find the most objectionable feature of the conservative attitude is its propensity to reject well substantiated new knowledge because it dislikes the consequences which seems to follow from it - or, to put it bluntly, its obscurantism.
Why I am not a Conservative by FA Hayek
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DamnYankee
Loyal to the end
That's not the conservative position.
try it, you may like it...
personally, it is not for me or my wife, but we do not care what forms of marriage others choose, that is their business, not the governments or other peoples
as long as they do not include minors in their marriages except as adoptees or children of the marriage
Canceled.2014.1
New member
There are plenty of conservatives who have no problem with gay marriage. General Colin Powell comes to mind.
Plenty of conservatives are content with worrying about fiscal matters and staying out of the social conservative's realm.
Canceled.2014.1
New member
Your ridicule of the "working stiff" is as elitist and as obnoxious as the anti-gay crowd. The idea that success is measured in dollars is one of the problems in our world.
Thanks I am elite
Canceled.2014.1
New member
No, you see yourself as "elite" but you really aren't. Thats why I called you "elitist".
This idea that everyone who isn't making an income in the upper 6 figures is a failure is laughable. What is it you actually produce?
And your ideas are just as hateful as the neocons. They are simply willing to admit it.
