Navy Chaplains Will Be Able To Officiate Same-Sex Marriages

Teabaggers will find something wrong with this.

Once the military’s ban on gays serving openly is lifted, Navy chaplains will be permitted to officiate at same-sex marriage and civil union ceremonies on base, according to an April 13 memorandum from the Navy’s head chaplain.

“Consistent with the tenets of his or her religious organization, a chaplain may officiate a same-sex, civil marriage: if it is conducted in accordance with a state that permits same-sex marriage or union; and if that chaplain is, according to the applicable state and local laws, otherwise fully certified to officiate that state’s marriages,” the memo signed by Chief of Chaplains Rear Adm. Mark Tidd states. The memorandum, designed to update chaplains’ training guidance for the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy banning openly gay members from serving, was posted by the conservative website Media Research Center.

In addition, the memo states that “if the base is located in a state where same-sex marriage is legal, then base facilities may normally be used to celebrate the marriage. This is true for purely religious services (e.g., a chaplain blessing a union) or a traditional wedding (e.g., a chaplain both blessing and conducting the ceremony).”

It should be noted that no chaplain would be required to administer marriage vows.

Marie Osmond Likes To Reuse Her Men

The world needs some lighter news.

No less crazy perhaps, but lighter.

With that I offer the dysfunctional family (or is that being redundant) of Marie Osmond.  At least with Marie Osmond, and her situation, we do not have the problem of her not understanding the need for gay marriage.  She has a lesbian daughter, and has stated she is for civil rights for everyone.  After this story she better be……..

Marie Osmond just married her first husband—again.

Osmond, who married Stephen Craig 30 years ago—and then divorced him three years later—re-tied the knot with him in Las Vegas today.

Osmond and Craig have one son, Stephen, now 28, from their original union. After their divorce, Osmond went on to have seven children with her second husband, Brian Blosil, whom she divorced in 2007.

The concept of re-marrying an ex-spouse is a perplexing blend of hope and stupidity. Is this a case of the ultimate triumph of a relationship’s progress—that after a split, a couple can once again fall for their ex’s good qualities, rekindle the spark that drew them together, and yet have successfully worked through the problems that, previously, drove them to divorce court?

Or is this the ultimate duh! and the same problematic dynamic that forced a couple to split the first time around is sure to still be in play to wedge them apart once more? Is remarrying one’s ex the triumph of hope and maturity—or the inability to learn a lesson the first time?

In the celebrity world, at least, it seems to be the latter. Remarrying an ex tends to lead to the same event the first marriage led to: divorce. Second time is not the charm.

CNN Poll Finds Gay Marriage Has Majority Support

Keep in mind however as you read this latest poll result about gay marriage gaining national support that the House of Representatives, led by Republicans, has agreed to pay a law firm up to $520 per hour to defend the Defense of Marriage Act banning federal recognition of same-sex marriage, according to a contract posted by Politico. 

The Defense of Marriage Act, the 15-year-old federal law that defines marriage as being between one man and one woman, is currently facing a legal challenge in New York. Traditionally the federal government defends challenges to federal law, but not in this case – after defending it for two years, the Obama administration announced in February it would no longer defend the law because it believes it is unconstitutional.

I have asked on my blog which taxpayer wants to pay the legal fee for the House of Representatives to act in a homophobic fashion.

It is time to wake up and smell the coffee.  Anti-gay bigotry should no longer be in vogue politically, and there is more and more evidence that the public agrees.

Now to the poll…

”Do you think marriages between gay and lesbian couples should or should not be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages?”

Should be recognized as valid: 51%

Should not be recognized as valid: 47%

No opion: 2%

Results of a survey conducted for CNN. The poll was done by phone of 824 adults from April 9-10, 2011. (CNN)

The respondents split along age, gender, income, education and political lines — women, Americans under 50, Democrats, college educated, and those making over $50K per year all supporting gay marriage. Men, older Americans, less educated and lower income earners remained mostly opposed. “White and non-white” responses were nearly the same

Delaware Moves Towards Civil Unions, Should Be Moving Towards Marriage Rights For Gay Couples

Some might say of the actions this week in Delaware…one step at a time.  But as CP has stated before civil unions are not an acceptable compromise.  Nothing short of full marriage rights for gay Americans will be tolerated. 

As I penned in April 2007….

…I have likened civil unions to children sitting at a separate table during the holidays.  No matter how you slice it there is a difference between the two and no one really can argue the point successfully.  The same is true with gay civil unions versus the right of marriage for straight men and women.  There is only one way to get all the rights, benefits, and social recognition in a relationship and that is through the bonds of marriage. 

In February 2007 I wrote this…

I reject anything for gay Americans that fall short of the full and complete rights afforded all citizens. While I understand the argument of moving one step at a time with this idea to allow some parts of society to adapt to reality, I do not want to hear people talk, as I did today, of civil unions as a major victory. It is not. To even imply that there is something just about withholding the right to marry for gay couples is no better than saying blacks should sit in the back of the bus, or cannot enter into marriage with a white person. The complete and utter stupidity of such thinking cannot, and must not, go unchecked.

So the fight continues.

The First State became the eighth state to approve a bill that would grant same-sex couple the same rights as heterosexual married couples—and with that, seemingly out of nowhere, the Delaware Civil Union Bill has put the tiny state on the map as a force in the fight for gay rights.

The News Journal broke the news that the measure, sponsored by State Senator David Sokola of Newark, was approved on Thursday, April 7. Out of the 21 votes, 13 were for and 6 were against; 2 Senators abstained.

Although a triumph for civil rights, the state senate approval is just the first step on a road that no doubt will be met with opposite across the tiny, politically divided state. Before it goes into effect, the Delaware Civil Union measure must be approved by the majority Democrat state House of Representatives, then signed into law by Governor Jack Markell. On March 24, Governor Markell announced his support for the bill, in a stirring speech, saying that “in good conscience,” the state could not tell certain committed couples that they weren’t entitled to the same rights as others.

Barbara Bush, Daughter Of President George Bush, Now Supports Gay Marriage

It was sad that President Bush used gay marriage as a wedge issue during his terms in the White House to court conservatives. That not all in his own household feels the same about gay marriage now is a good thing. 

Sadly however, no Bush spoke up when it mattered back at the time damage was being done to Americans all over the nation.

Silence then was wrong.  Stepping up now, while it feels good I suspect for Barbara Bush to do so, is late.  While it is true that modern moral values are beginning to overshadow those of their antiquated elders it would have been nice to have seen Barbara Bush speak out when her dad was President.

She should have known that in politics timing is everything! 

Civil Unions To Be Voted On In Illinois Today, Catholics Nervous

One more step into the future.

Civil unions would provide legal recognition of gay couples and give them some of the same benefits automatically available to married couples — the right to visit a sick partner in the hospital and make decisions about their medical care, for instance. Backers consider it a matter of fundamental fairness, but critics argue it would amount to gay marriage under another name.

Supporters say they’re close to having the 60 votes needed to pass the measure, SB1716, in the House. If it passes there, backers think the Senate quickly would follow suit and Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn would sign it into law.

“I do think this is the time for Illinois to do this,” Quinn said Monday. “This is a good way to show employers — big businesses all across the country — that Illinois treats everyone with tolerance.”

Opponents are fighting to make sure the legislation fails.

One of those opposition groups are the Catholics.

We all know how interested they have been with ensuring civil rights for gay people. I say this as today comes word that Catholics are eager to help make sure there is no bigotry, and that all is fair for gay people.

Rrrr…..i.i………gggggg……..hhhhh………ttttttt.

The Catholic Conference of Illinois is apparently so concerned that the civil unions bill could pass the House today that it has issued a statement offering to compromise…

The statement reiterated that the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that homosexuals “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity.”

“Accordingly, we stand ready to work with the legislature and other agencies of state government to prevent unjust discrimination and to provide benefits to people judged by the civic authority as deserving — as long as such provision does not include the attempted redefinition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman for the sake of family,” the statement said.