California rejects Gay marriage ban.

[Rickster]

Good news!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24649689

[Dee]

"Our state now recognizes that an individual's capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual orientation," the court wrote.

[Seth]

Someone Like You was our first dance at our commitment ceremony back in 95. Now we can dance to it again in 08 without being rebels! AS I WAS WALKING the dogs, I realized I meant NO ONE ELSE LIKE YOU.

A sign of working too hard and too long!

[hoops]

woooooo hooooo! now New York! i dream i can dream
peace
hoops

[Dar]

Rick my long lost brother! thanks for posting that! I missed your posting when I came on to post mine. I thought it funny that nobody else had beat me to the news, I just wasn't looking in the right place.

Hope you and yours are doing well!

[saxman]

This about time . My Daughter and her partner moved to Washington thursday morning after the news came out. She got about 50 phones calls that day from all her friends to come back to Calif for a wedding . maybe next time they come home for a visit they will wed . Cant wait to walk her down the isle

[hoops]

saxman, that will be a great day indeed
peace
hoops

[Dee]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — George Takei said he will wed his longtime partner and business manager, Brad Altman, now that the California Supreme Court has legalized same-sex marriage.

Takei, the original Mr. Sulu on "Star Trek," said on his Web site that he and Altman have shared their lives for more than 21 years and are "overjoyed" to be able to legally marry.

"No more 'separate but equal.' No more second-class citizenship," wrote Takei, 71. "Brad and I are going to be married as full citizens of our state."

Takei, who also had a recurring role on NBC's "Heroes" last year, said he and Altman are planning the details of their wedding.

(Source (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h1JXao0Kf_aQjZ9tSNW2dKy4d5JwD90PCO9O0))

[hoops]

I read that yesterday ...how cool!
peace
hoops

[Mary6906]

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/californias-gay-marriage-to-begin-june/20080528163009990001?icid=100214839x1202900612x120 0114699

[David_Gardiner]

The comments on the page Mary has linked are an eye-opener. What a lot of sad, frightened and unhappy people. It would seem that gay marriage, like inter-racial marriage, is the end of civilization as we know it. Isn't it scary that such a big section of American society is finding it so hard to drag itself out of the Middle Ages? Still, must look on the bright side. Well done to the people who won this right for the gay community.

[Dee]

I see any and all progress on Gay Marriage as an achievement. It took a long time for it to become legal across the country here in Canada so these growing pains are totally normal. The objectors aren’t even worth my attention anymore. That’s just old and tired now.

The achievements are the only thing I care about.

[Mary6906]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5grygnggpvdxoXHz6K6u0f9CUtsPQD90V407O0

I can't for the life of me see why, in this day and age, some people find gay marriage so threatening.... come on, wake up people.

[Dar]

There was an article in the Chronicle yesterday that surveys here in CA are showing that the majority of voters are now IN FAVOR of Gay Marriage!!
Now the margin is slim like 52-48, but just a few years ago it was 27-73, so we've indeed come a long way. Surveys like that make me hopeful that the stupid bill that the idiots are trying to put on will be stopped once and for all.

We got a call from two of our dearest friends yesterday, they've been together for THIRTY YEARS and they want us to be the sole witnesses to their marriage. They met 30 years ago on June 25 (gay pride day that year) and have been together ever since.

How's THAT for a threat to straight marriage?

[Mary6906]

We got a call from two of our dearest friends yesterday, they've been together for THIRTY YEARS and they want us to be the sole witnesses to their marriage. They met 30 years ago on June 25 (gay pride day that year) and have been together ever since.

How's THAT for a threat to straight marriage?

That's great.... those are the kinds of stories that make my heart melt.
I admire any couple who can stand the test of time, more power to them.
I hope you will be able to go.

[Dar]

Oh Mary, no worries, we wouldn't miss it for the world.

[hoops]

well dang i consider that a stp forward for New York to honor out of state gay marriages. now lt's take another step forward NY.
peace
hoops

[Bat]

Isn't it in the Constitution that states have to honor other state's laws as they apply to citizens...i.e., people married in one state are recognized as married by all states?

[DaveM]

I believe so, Bat....can't recall which amendment. To my understanding that's why certain states have been working so desperately to enact "Defense Of Marriage" acts (don't you just love that name?).

[Elliott]

I'm working on a Federal Judge tomorrow morning.... I'll ask her and let you know. Very interesting question. She's a great lady, and I would not be surprised to see her becoming a Supreme Court Justice within the next twenty years....

[DaveM]

The truly amusing thing about the "traditional values" people is that they want to take a group of human beings who they have (never mind the facts) defined as promiscuous, child-molesting degenerates and go to great pains to deny them....legally-protected monogamy. It renders the absurdity of their thinking so much more apparent.

They don't even seem to have time for hetero couples "living in sin" any more.

I happen to be a heterosexual male who is effectively prevented from marrying by Federal law. I receive SSI disability benefits (a whopping $637 a month). Should I marry someone who has any income at all--even SSI or welfare--my check will be reduced by the amount of her income. And if she makes more than I do (not a difficult task), the government will cut me off completely.

For that matter I am barred from trying to improve my lot--at least "on the record". In 1996, I published my second book. It earned $134 in royalties during the first year. And after the publisher filed a 1099 for that income, Social Security took every penny of it back. Or rather, reduced my checks for two months on the grounds that I had received an "overpayment".

Would love to know how the "traditional values" people feel about that. After all, it was a group of their beloved Republicans who enacted the current regulations during the latter days of the Reagan Administration.

Never mind of course that I'm quite contented to be single....though I may someday marry my friend on death row as a gesture. She, after all, is not allowed to work at a paying job or to have any assets. In event, she's the only sort of person I COULD marry without suffering a rather severe penalty as a result.

[hoops]

Davem, the rules have changed a bit. they want to get us disabled folks out of our homes, so they are allowing us to earn $800 a month without a deduction in our ssd. the marrying part is still the the same tho...i guess they don't want us getting married. at least i think it is cause every time i get re evaluated they ask me if i live with anyone and if they contribute to my income in any way. anyway, i'm off point here i think.
peace
hoops

[DaveM]

Hoops--SSD and SSI are a bit different. SSI is for people who hadn't fully paid up their Social Security before they got sick. Even the brochures for it refer to it as "welfare".

As I understand it, the people who run the SSI part of Social Security know perfectly well that no one can live on $637 a month, so they don't look too closely if you have extra income and don't leave a paper trail.

As long as you don't keep money in the bank, you're fairly safe. Drive an older car, make up a lease that indicates you rent from someone even if you own your home, and chances are that no one will ask any questions. If they do, tell them it was given to you by your family--they won't inquire further.

It is possible to hide a certain amount of money in a trust fund which can be used only for a limited number of things (you're not allowed to pay utility bills or buy groceries with it, for example). Doing so is fairly simple, legally, though most lawyers don't know how to do it. Mind, I imagine SSI doesn't advertise that anything can be hidden from it. When I received a settlement from a class action lawsuit several years ago, I had to travel 200 miles to find an attorney who could file the necessary papers!

However, that's taken some of the stress out of my life for the time being. I know where my next car is coming from, and the next time my housemate puts me in jail I'll be able to hire a competent attorney. Ditto if SSI decides to take me off its rolls.

[hoops]

forgive me davem, i misread, you are correct SSI is a totally different animal...so different that i can't get it even if i didn't work. Still when i find Ms. right...i'm marrying her legal or not and they can go scratch their noses
peace
hoops

[DaveM]

I'll be happy to marry you, Hoops. That is, to perform the ceremony.

[hoops]

thank you Davem, I'm honored, truly. and when i meet her and plans are made i will definitely remember your generous offer.
peace
hoops

[Dee]

"Star Trek" actor Takei marries boyfriend in L.A. (http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/entertainment_takei_col) http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k267/deemark/Emoticons/biggrin.jpg

2 hours, 18 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former "Star Trek" crew member George Takei married his longtime boyfriend on Sunday in a Los Angeles ceremony that paid homage to the actor's Japanese heritage.

Takei, 71, tied the knot with his business manager, Brad Altman, 54, as some of his "Star Trek" castmates looked on, including best man Walter Koenig ("Chekhov") and matron of honor Nichelle Nichols ("Uhura"). Takei played Mr. Sulu in the 1960s sci-fi series and in subsequent movies.

Nearly 200 people attended the Buddhist ceremony at the Japanese American National Museum in downtown Los Angeles. The couple wore matching tuxedos -- white jackets and shirts, with black trousers and bow ties.

The event came three months after California followed Massachusetts' lead and allowed same-sex weddings. Last month, comedian Ellen DeGeneres married Australian actress Portia de Rossi in Beverly Hills.

Takei, who was interned along with his family and 120,000 other Japanese-Americans during World War Two, is a longtime human rights activist. After the California Supreme Court struck down a ban on same-sex marriage in May, Takei and Altman were among the first gay couples to get a marriage license. They have been together more than 21 years.

[Mary6906]

..... Former "Star Trek" crew member George Takei married his longtime boyfriend on Sunday in a Los Angeles ceremony that paid homage to the actor's Japanese heritage.

Takei, 71, tied the knot with his business manager, Brad Altman, 54, as some of his "Star Trek" castmates looked on, including best man Walter Koenig ("Chekhov") and matron of honor Nichelle Nichols ("Uhura"). Takei played Mr. Sulu in the 1960s sci-fi series and in subsequent movies.

Congratulations... LIVE LONG AND PROSPER, "Mr. Sulu".

[hoops]

may they have a long happy life together
peace
hoops