Massachusetts court ruled today:

Yahoo AP Article

Excerpt for people too lazy to read the article, here's the majority opinion:

Whether and whom to marry, how to express sexual intimacy, and whether and how to establish a family — these are among the most basic of every individual's liberty and due process rights," the majority opinion said. "And central to personal freedom and security is the assurance that the laws will apply equally to persons in similar situations."

"Barred access to the protections, benefits and obligations of civil marriage, a person who enters into an intimate, exclusive union with another of the same sex is arbitrarily deprived of membership in one of our community's most rewarding and cherished institutions."

Pardon me while I cheer a while.

Damn you, Missy, you beat me to it...

It is in Massachusetts, at least.

Sweetness. I wish the same damn thing would happen here in Florida. As I've said before, all that a marriage is is a union between two people before God, regardless of sexual preference. Snoogins.

*does the happiest dance of joy EVER*
man, i dont wanna move to massachusettes.
*pouts*

technically, i can get married in my church... just not according to my government... that's what i don't understand... and i live in the bible belt!

that's cause you Quakers are awesome
It is really just a step forward. It will probably turn out like Vermont where you can have a civil union.. either way it is a step toward equality.. and really that is all that matters.. sad part is that this will truly bring a backlash against the homosexuals/lesbian/bi population.. much like with desegregation. The people who are against it are going to push harder for a US Constitutional amendment against same sex marriage.

hey everyone! guess who lives in massachusetts!

yep. i heard bout thisearlir today (or was it yesterday?). oh well, someitme recently. it was happy and i stood p in the middle of history class and took 10 minutes out of it to hug everyone (stopping extra long at the homophobic jocks). i LOVE making statements, im such an attention whore . anyways...im already plannign on spending the rest of my life with krys...so i guess this isnt of much use to me personally anymore...but good on the state! same sex marriage kicks a$$!

That's why now more than ever, we need free-thinkers that have the courage to stand up for their beliefs, also known as Renegades. Jesus was (and still is) a Renegade. MLKJ was a Renegade. Ghandi was a Renegade. Thomas Paine was a Renegade. Jefferson Davis was a Renegade. Henry D. Thoreau was a Renegade. Ben Franklin was a Renegade. Malcome X was a Renegade I'm a Renegade and so are a load of people on this forum, many of whom don't even realize it. MLKJ and Malcome X led those who believed in equality through the Civil Rights movement just as Renegades today lead us through homophobic, paranoid, oppressive governmental policies and regulatons. I'm willing to stand up for the rights of homosexuals, just as I would be willing to stand up for blacks in the '60s and women in the '70s.

BTW- I too live in the Bible Belt where there's plenty of homophobia to go around and I too cannot understand what the government has to do with matrimony. And yes, Quakers do rule, but so do we Methodists.

Yay indeed. For the dumb limeys on the site (me included), is Mass. a fairly liberal state?

I can see it taking some time before Texas passes a similar law....

From what I know of Massachusetts, it is fairly liberal, yeah.

I just hope the federal government doesn't do something similar to what they did to Oregon with the assisted suicide law we passed.

It's legal in Oregon...but the federal govt. said no no...so doctors lose their license to practice if they get caught doing it here. I think it was back in uhm...96?...that we passed that law, and we still haven't been able to actually do it.

So..hopefully something similar to that doesn't happen.

But YAY for Massachusetts for passing this!

So, I guess if I were to get hitched to a guy in Massachusets, then I moved to Texas, I'd no longer be considered married?

Crazy beans, this country is.

ill say i think mass. is pretty liberal. but we do have a considerable population of conservatives (most radio tlak shows here that are successful (i.e.:rush limbaugh, the no spin guy (whats his name), though there are two or so sucessful liberal ones, the conservatives seem to dominate there).

actually i dont know what im talking about. i saw the liberal part of massachusetts cos i went to GA as my most interactive experience here in mass. (for those of you who dont know, GA is general Assembly...its a gathering of UUs from all over the world to go to this convention. its really a life changing, or at least really impacting, experience and i wish everyone could get the opportunity to learn at them. BTW, the next one is in long beach, california, so i cant go )

yeah..that is the thing about US law.. the federal law takes precedence over the state law.. much like the Medical Marijuana law in Cali. It is legal for a doctor to prescribe weed in Cali.. but due to federal law it is illegal and you can be arrested for growing and selling medical marijuana. So you have this huge MM movement in Cali.. that is basically just trying to help people, who are going to jail under federal law... while their own state will not touch them for it.. its messed up. Same thing could happen with same sex marriage.. if the federal government bans it... then federal law will supercedes state law.

actually, that's not true. one of the great quirks of our country is that you can't ban a state of BEING. which is why, if a gay couple wants to get married, they go to vermont or canada for a vacation and come back married and there's nothing the US government can do about it. so if you got married to a guy in boston, they HAVE to recognise it in texas.

and congrats for the mass. courts to finally stand up for the ACTUAL law of this country and strike down an unconstitutional law.

and, of course, our president doesn't realise that any federal law banning same-sex marriges is unconstitutional. i suspect any such law passed will be struck down within a few years. still though, that'd be a serious setback for homosexual rights. bah, it'll never get passed as it is.

The following post is half humerous, half serious. Do not read if you are allergic to goofy or smart-assed humor.

Gerb, I now give you the title of Renegade from Hell for your bitchin' post.

And the following people are now dubbed "Renegade" by Righteous:

Missy
Acid
Ravein
Karis
Jon
Candice
And every other free-thinker who ever stands up for his/her beliefs or suffers for righteousness' (no, not Ri's) sake.

Yeah, I heard it on NPR on my way home!!! I started crying!!!

Bad news though - the federal government won't recognize gay couples on federal tax returns. Bastards.

But yeah. If there's a protest (if the government puts a stop to the gay rights bit) I'm going. And people from my church are going. I'm growing up. XD

It's really odd - I never realized there were other UUs here. I've been one since I was a wee li'l tyke and it's probably why I'm so... unique. My mom's family's been UU since forever. And yeah... I saw my minister in viginia marry her partner. It was the happiest wedding I've ever been to.

<3 everyone

My GODS this makes me happy!!! I'm gonna wear something really flaming tomorrow (like my Gay By Nature pin) and stuff... <33333 YAY!!!

YAY! yeah, ive been UU forever too. my dad is opposed to it, but the one thing he wont counter me on is freedom of religion...HA! I WIN!

the UU community seems so small...that is until you go to a GA. so many UUs in oneplace! yet its so diverse! there are strait/gay/bi/transgedner UUs, there are wiccan/pagan/christian/buddhist and any other religion you can think of UUs.

i would wear all that sh*t, the gay/bi pride sh*t...but im in enough trouble as is. i should go shoepin hunting, cos i need to decorate my shoes more.

Yaaay!! *flies in air, doing a twirl, sprinkling faerie dust on everyone* Ah-ahh-choo! Faerie dust tickled my nose.

I think allowing same sex marriages should have happened a long time ago...like when you no longer had to be a church member to vote. (...cuz I'm pretty sure you had to be...*thinks to self* Origional qualifications to vote in the US: White...male...owned land...over 21...church-goer to a specific religion, Christian, I think?...yeah I think so). I'm not having a same sex marraige, (as of now, anyway) but when I found out it was illegal, boy was I mad! Racism/sexism/homophobia...all that stuff...bad, bad, bad! So is that 49 states left, or do any others allow it? (I'm not up-to-date on all 50 states )

isnt that f-ing cool? anyways... http://www.hrc.org/millionformarriage/index.asp#petition << sign this petition to legalize gay marriage.. it's REALLY quick and easy, i promise. do it if you wuff me.

i bet that link is already on here somewhere, but i didnt look very hard, cuz i'm lazy, so, here it is again.

There is a link to the above thread, in "what really pisses me off" by DP. i actually posted the Times papers report and a link to the site that ran the petition .......should have looked at all the new thread first

*is a renegade*
YAY!

taxes schmaxes... we've been working around that within specific companies for years... there are lots of organizations that will cover domestic partners... i just want to be able to get married if i want... i think that fits nicely within the concepts of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...

on the mass. ruling:
President Bush immediately denounced the decision and vowed to pursue legislation to protect the traditional definition of marriage.

''Marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman,'' Bush said in London. ''Today's decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court violates this important principle. I will work with congressional leaders and others to do what is legally necessary to defend the sanctity of marriage.''



yup yup... i forgot to put that in my equation... i'm also part methodist... and proud. word up righteous!

*cant believe she is dating a Quaker/Methodist/Buddist/Pagan chick*
hahahahahaha


really though.. this is what I was talking about in regards to backlash... Bushie is just enough of a arsehat to actually sign a protection of marriage act. I think that yeah this is a great step toward equality.. but I think it came at a bad time in US society.
G. Bush is looking for something to help the public opinion of him. He needs to be a hero to the republican party.. the war in Iraq and the failing economy is turning some of the republican voters against him... by defending "the sanctity of marriage'' he makes himself a hero to conservative republicans... he takes a swing at gay rights organizations.. and gives himself a better chance at re-election. I am afraid in the end this may do more damage than good.

scarily i think you're right.
as much as i want to believe there is no way that it could actually get passed, look at the patriot act, and now the energy bill, the 87 billion dollars, the F-ing war itself and so on and so forth...

he could ruin everything. well, him and the pope.

i see alot of protesting in my future, cause i just don't think the petition will do as much good as could be hoped. I signed it like 3 months ago...

Any legislation banning homosexuals from getting married or hindering their consented activities in any way is unconstitutional, immoral, unethical and just plain wrong. Emperor Shrub has these brilliant ideas thinking that he's doing a favor "for the American people." See, (cue patriotic music) we are living in times of change. No longer may we be apolitical or apathetic. It's essential not just in our country, but in our entire world to hold dear the things that make life worth living: Freedom, peace, prosperity, liberty. We have to make a stand for our beliefs now more than ever. Our fight for freedom will not be fought overseas or in some country no one can pronounce, but in our streets, our cities and our homes. Our weapons won't be guns or explosives, but words and deeds. I pledge that I cannot, shall not and will not back down from any authority that oppresses me or tells me I'm wrong for believing the way I do or hates me for loving those it condemns. I may only be one man, but so was every revolutionary who made this world what it is today. As it is said, blessed are we who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. We who are tormented and abused will be looked upon by future generations as heroes. We are the incarnation of freedom in this world. We are the Renegades.