Results tagged “gaymarriage”

While elections locally weren't exactly a topic around town, they were nationally and the outcomes are still relevant to Los Angeles and California. One year after Prop 8, which banned gay marriage in California, Maine faced a similar fate. After the state's assembly and governor approved gay marriage earlier this year, the voter-initiated Question 1 was placed on the ballot asking "Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?" Question 1 passed with XX% of the vote.

Is New England the new California? New Hampshire became the sixth state, the fifth in New England, to legalize gay marriage today. After months of back and forth revisions, the legislature approved it this morning following by Governor John Lynch approval this afternoon when he signed it into law.

Hundreds of people marched over 14 miles from Selma to Fresno this morning kicking off the Meet in the Middle 4 Equality rally in downtown Fresno. Police were expecting 3,000 to 5,000 people to descend upon the city's city hall, but the number of people who have shown up is currently unknown. Notable names attending to speak include Charlize Theron, Eric McCormick from Will and Grace and T.R. Knight from Grey's Anatomy.

              

One of the first protests of many in the Los Angeles area today took place at the East Los Angeles Recorder Office on Cesar Chavez Avenue. Around 100 people, who would have preferred to be celebrating, were prepared with Repeal Prop 8 in 2010 signs. They chanted in front of news cameras while a few couples waited in line to get marriage proposals, an exercise in purposeful futility. After being denied, the couples refused to leave saying they would wait until gay marriage is legal in California. Eventually, they left shortly after 3 p.m.

A long awaited decision announced at 10 a.m. on Prop 8 and 18,000 already-married couples proved mostly a loss for the gay community. In a 6-1 vote, the California Supreme Court ruled that Prop 8 was indeed an amendment and therefore remains law, meaning gay marriage in the state is illegal. However, as expected by many, the 18,000 couples who married during the Rainbow Window last year will remain legally married (the full ruling is embedded below).

Oscar-winning singer-composer-pianist Randy Newman screens the John Ford film How Green Was My Valley tonight at 7:30 pm at the Skirball Center. There’s a Q&A with Newman before the film. Tickets are $10; $6 for members and $6 for full-time students.

As expected, the Miss California USA pageant held a press conference today to announce the fate of Carrie Prejean's crown after four-year-old semi-nude photos--a breach of contract--surfaced on the internet. But instead of a simple yes or no, they said that runner-up Tami Farrell would act as the de facto Miss California at appearances because "every time they reach out to [Prejean], they are confronted by an army of her handlers and haven’t been able to talk with her," reported the LA Times. Additionally, Donald Trump, who owns the Miss USA pageant and is the only one who can made the decision, will announce tomorrow. Prejean gained her celebrity status after opining against gay marriage, which probably led to the release of her semi-nude photos.

Just a quick update from this morning. After the Maine legislature approved gay marriage, Governor John Baldacci, who was thought to be undecided on the issue, signed the bill into law. "I have read many of the notes and letters sent to my office, and I have weighed my decision carefully," he said in a statement. "I did not come to this decision lightly or in haste." Meanwhile, the California Supreme Court this morning posted their notice for a ruling tomorrow, but it is not Prop 8, therefore, the wait continues.

Today the state of Maine Legislature gave their approval of gay marriage. Although there were enough votes to pass the measure, there were not enough to override the "undecided" Gov. John Baldacci, who has 10 days to take action on the bill, if he chooses to veto. However, if he signs it into law, Maine would join Massachusetts, Iowa, Connecticut and Vermont.

Last November, the Laguna Beach City Council voted to stand with other California cities in supporting the movement to sue the state over the passage of the controversial Prop 8, which outlaws same-sex marriage. Although "7,602 Laguna residents voted against Prop. 8, with 68 percent of the vote, and 3,544 residents, or 31 percent, voted in favor of the initiative," residents were upset with the Council's decisions, and supporters of the ban called for a gathering to be held last night at 5 "outside the City Council's regularly scheduled March 3 meeting," explains the OC Register.

California's Supreme Court will hear arguments on Thursday regarding the legality of our controversial Proposition 8, which was passed by a small margin in November's election. Many of the same lawyers who spoke in the court just one year ago regarding extending the right to legally marry to same-sex couples are expected to return this week to explain "why California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage should stand or fall," according to cbs2.com.

OC Pastor Rick Warren has been in the headlines recently thanks to his upcoming participation in the inauguration of Barack Obama as President. Warren's support of California's Proposition 8 has tarnished Obama's message of hope for many, and now Warren's past statements about same-sex marriage are receiving even more scrutiny. Today CBNNews.com published a series of quotes taken from two video messages Warren put online in October and December, respectively, for his parishioners at the Saddleback Church.

Evangelical pastor Rick Warren, who was recently chosen to lead the invocation at Barack Obama's Presidential inauguration, spoke publicly yesterday at the 8th Annual Convention of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Long Beach, about his stance on homosexuality and California's Prop 8.

Last week, Urban Outfitters had pulled "I Support Same-Sex Marriage" t-shirts off its shelves (both online and in California stores) further fueling the rumors that the trendy young adult clothier is anti-gay. After all Richard Hayne, the founder and CEO of Urban Outfitters, is a right-wing Republican known for supporting senators who oppose gay marriage. But in response to the rumors, an Urban Outfitters spokesman told New York Magazine on Wednesday that the shirts were actually pulled because they weren't selling well and that "the head merchant is open to finding other products that support gay marriage and carry the same message but will be more popular with our customers." The spokesman also pointed out that, hey, the CEO of parent company Urban Outfitters Inc., Glen Senk, is openly gay and has been in a 30-year relationship. So there. H'yeah. Earlier this year the company was in another t-shirt controversy, coming under fire for "supporting terrorism" by selling a "pro-violence" Palestinian T-shirt. They pulled those shirts, too.

LA Observed has shared a new New Yorker story on legendary music icon Prince, who has been living in Los Angeles for the past two years. Recently the Artist Formerly Known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince played Coachella, declaring as he left the stage: "Coachella will always be Prince's house." Lest he confuse himself or his fans, he actually now calls the "rarefied gated nouveau complex of Beverly Park" here in LA his home.

                 

Beneath the blazing sun and high temperatures, thousands gathered yesterday before Los Angeles City Hall to protest Proposition 8. The public demonstration was one of many throughout the state and even spanned to cities outside of California, including Portland, Chicago and New York City. Here in LA, the crowd marched from downtown to Chinatown to Los Angeles State Historic Park (the former Not a Cornfield site).

No, not Peter Griffin, although I have to give it up to him for spouting the phrase that has run through my head more and more in recent months, “If gays want to get married and be miserable like the rest of us, I say we should let them.” Actually, I was referring to me, this guy right here. This married, white, heterosexual father of one (so far) who, like 4.9 million other Californians, went to bed Tuesday feeling hopeful and woke up feeling sick. There have been a few protests since our residents decided to official label a large portion of the population as second class citizens, and the fight should continue, preferably at warp speed, Mr. Sulu. The main argument that the 5.4 million supporters of Prop 8 that I have read and heard first hand has been, “Well, why do they need to be married?”

Last night's protest, initially assembled by ANSWER LA, moved from Silver Lake to Hollywood and Highland by 10 p.m., closing down Hollywood Boulevard for some time, and continuing all the way to West Hollywood down Sunset Boulevard via Highland. An estimated 10,000 people took part in the protest, and although there was a definite police presence, no arrests have been reported.

Shame on you Californians.

On the day after what many people deem to be a historical election, and a once in a lifetime event, no one seems to be talking about it. At least in California. It seems a little ironic to most people (ok probably 99% of our readers/writers) that many newspapers are talking about how race and discrimination are no longer issues since we elected Barack Obama and yet Proposition 8 passed. It's actually a little shocking, seeing how progressive Californians are with most issues. What went wrong? Some polls (isn't it amazing how dead on the polls were this time?) even had proposition 8 failing at one point, but with all the propaganda and misinformation out there, people were bound to get tripped up.

Rick Jacobs, Chair of the Courage Campaign, accompanied by Reverend Eric Lee, President of the Southern Christian Leadership Council of California, held a press conference outside the Los Angeles Mormon Temple this week. They attempted to peacefully deliver a petition with nearly 17,000 names of Californians opposed to the Mormon Church's funding and tactics in support of Proposition 8. They simply asked that the LA Mormon Church pass on these petitions to Utah. This video literally captures the runaround that the church gave them, and in the end, they were denied an opportunity to talk to a representative of the church or to even deliver the signature-laden pieces of cardboard.

Finally. After a barrage of slanderous and fear-mongering commercials from the Yes on Prop 8 campaign, and somewhat tepid and underwhelming ads from the No on Prop 8 campaign, it is heartening to see positive and effective messaging put forth by these witty videos by Margaret Cho, Molly Ringwald, and friends, in the style of the Mac vs PC ads. The first video is posted above, the rest, below.

November is approaching, and both sides of the battle over gay marriage in California are revving up their donation drives. The coalition fighting against Prop. 8, the anti-gay marriage amendment, includes everyone from gay and lesbian activists such as GLAAD to municipal power providers PG & E to Brad Pitt. And the proponents of Prop 8 include, well, people of a more or less religious persuasion, with Baptists, the Knights of Columbus, and even Mormons stepping up to the anti-nuptual coffers in a big way, with the LDS Church perhaps being the strongest proponents of the Amendment at a grassroots level.

A new poll conducted by the Public Policy Insititute of California has come out showing three state proposition on the November ballot as losing or nearly even in outcome. Prop 8, which seeks to eliminate gay marriage in California, is losing, according to the poll. However, when it comes to favoring gay couples marrying, people are still evenly split. From the document's findings:

Thanks to California's recent legalization of same-sex marriages, one of the world's largest greeting card companies has now expanded their offerings to accommodate those who wish to give the happy couples a sexuality-specific paper token of esteem. Hallmark, based in Kansas City, Missouri, has introduced new cards for same-sex couples, although they do their best to avoid overtly stating that the cards are for two people getting married. Explains the Associated Press (via the Long Beach Press-Telegram): "The language inside the cards is neutral, with no mention of wedding or marriage, making them also suitable for a commitment ceremony. Hallmark says the move is a response to consumer demand, not any political pressure."

Reports out of Beverly Hills say that comedienne and talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres, 50, and her partner, actress Portia de Rossi, 35, were married last night. The Associated Press is calling this "perhaps the highest-profile gay marriage since California legalized the unions." US Magazine predicted that the nuptials would take place this weekend, and that the couple, who've been together for 4 years, were planning to hold "a small, intimate ceremony with only a few close friends and family" present.

                 

LAist Photographer Tom Andrews was there to capture it all, here's what he saw.

The Los Angeles Times conducted a survey of all 58 counties in California asking about policies relating to same-sex marriage. 35 stated that employees were not allowed to opt out of officiating over marriages for any reason; or, at least, no reservations were expressed by clerks in those counties.

Thanks to soaring gas prices and relentless airline woes, the hip thing to do this summer is to go on a "staycation."

Update (10:41 a.m.): The CA Supreme Court has ruled that gay and lesbian couples should have the freedom to marry. Read the entire opinion here.