Marriage Equality RI

• We’ve moved!

  Marriage Equality Rhode Island has a fresh new look, and a brand new website packed with information, including a new integrated blog. We will no longer be updating or maintaining this WordPress as of May 1, 2009, and the ability to comment on old posts have been closed for that reason. [...]
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  Posted: April 30, 2009, 4:20pm EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Read a Book and Let’s Talk

  Number of comments: 1
  Bell Street Chapel and Marriage Equality Rhode Island will host a two week-discussion group based on the book: What is Marriage for?: the Strange Social History of Our Most Intimate Institution, by E.J. Graff. This program will allow participants to share ideas about evolving notions of marriage. The group will [...]
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  Posted: April 24, 2009, 9:06am EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Bike Tour for Marriage Equality in Westerly April 28

  JOIN RICK TO SUPPORT MARRIAGE EQUALITY Tuesday, April 28, at the Westerly Town Hall, noon to 1p.m. Rick Harris will be biking through Rhode Island in support of Marriage Equality. He will speak with people about marriage equality as a civil right and collect signatures on the Traveling Proclamation for Civil Marriage. Can [...]
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  Posted: April 23, 2009, 3:18pm EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Town Hall Tuesdays in Newport and Providence

  Number of comments: 1
  MERI Town Hall Tuesday Tuesday, April 28th 6:30-8:30pm Newport Public Library, 300 Spring Street, Newport, in the Program Room Tuesday, May 5th 6:30-8:30pm Bell Street Chapel, 5 Bell Street, Providence Join Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI) in looking forward to the future of marriage equality in the Ocean State. MERI is hosting Town Hall Tuesday events in [...]
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  Posted: April 23, 2009, 1:09pm EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• NY Governor Unveils Same-Sex Marriage Bill

  (via NY Times) Gov. David A. Paterson on Thursday announced he would introduce a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, drawing on the soaring oratory of the civil rights movement to call on the Legislature to add New York to the four states that have already authorized such unions. Comparing the status of [...]
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  Posted: April 16, 2009, 10:59am EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Activist’s ride for gay pride stops in Newport

  Rick Harris took a vacation day Tuesday and spent most of it on his 4-year-old Marin bike riding to Newport. But it wasn’t just a pleasure trip. Harris, executive director of the state chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, plans on taking off every Tuesday in April to ride [...]
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  Posted: April 16, 2009, 10:54am EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Comic Duck Bowl Tournament - This Saturday!

  Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI) and the Renaissance City Softball League (RCSL) will host Cosmic Duck Cup Bowling on Saturday, April 18 from 9:30-midnight at Town Hall Lanes in Johnston, RI. According to Jonathan Ricci, RCSL Commissioner, “This year the League is making an extra effort to reach out to partners [...]
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  Posted: April 13, 2009, 4:51pm EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Townhall Tuesday - Starting Next Week

  Number of comments: 1
  Join Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI) in looking forward to the future of marriage equality in the Ocean State. MERI is hosting five “Town Hall Tuesday” events across the state throughout April and May to share our plan to achieve marriage equality in Rhode Island. Join us to learn about [...]
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  Posted: April 09, 2009, 9:51pm EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Tonight’s Divorce Bill Hearing Cancelled

  Number of comments: 2
  The Family Court Access Bill (aka Divorce Bill) hearing has been canceled for tonight. We will let you know once a new hearing is scheduled. The Family Court Access Bill (H5926), sponsored Rep. Fox, Ferri, Ajello, and Williamson, would allow couples to divorce in RI, whether or not they would have [...]
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  Posted: April 08, 2009, 7:38am EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Iowa Gov. Culver’s Statement on Supreme Court Decision

  Bravo Gov. Culver! GOVERNOR CULVER ISSUES STATEMENT ON SUPREME COURT’S DECISION DES MOINES – Governor Chet Culver today issued the following statement after reviewing the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision in Varnum v. Brien: “I have carefully reviewed the Iowa Supreme Court’s unanimous decision on civil marriage and discussed it with the Attorney General. “Let [...]
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  Posted: April 07, 2009, 6:13pm EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• D.C. Council Votes to Accept Other States’ Gay Marriages

  Washington Post The D.C. Council has voted to recognize gay marriages performed in other states on the same day that Vermont became the fourth state to legalize same-sex unions. Domestic partnerships already are legal in the nation’s capital, and gay couples married in other states are recognized as domestic partners when they [...]
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  Posted: April 07, 2009, 1:23pm EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Marriage Equality in VT!! Gov. Veto Overridden!

  Number of comments: 1
  The Vermont Senate voted by a 23-5 margin to override Governor Douglas’ veto. The Vermont House voted by a 100-49 margin to override Governor Douglas’ veto. The veto has been overridden!!! Congratulations Vermont!!! [...]
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  Posted: April 07, 2009, 11:04am EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• VT Senate Votes to Override Gov. Veto

  The Senate took about 10 minutes to override Gov. Douglas’ veto. The vote was 23-5. The Senate then voted to suspend its rules and message the bill over to the House. House vote in process… [...]
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  Posted: April 07, 2009, 10:56am EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• VT Gov. Vetos & Veto Override Vote Happening this Morning

  Listen to the Veto Override Session on VT Public Radio from the Burlington Free Press: MONTPELIER — Gov. Jim Douglas vetoed same-sex marriage legislation Monday evening, sending the bill back to the Legislature today, where the votes to override the veto could teeter either way. Douglas delivered the veto message swiftly, as promised. [...]
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  Posted: April 07, 2009, 10:27am EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• This Week’s Statehouse Hearings

  Tuesday Night, April 7th Senate Judiciary, Room 313, at the rise Funeral Planning Bill (S0195) Sponsored by Sen. Perry, Jabour, Miller, C Levesque, and Pichardo The bill adds “domestic partner” for the purpose of granting authority to domestic partners of deceased for funeral arrangements. Reciprocal Beneficiary Agreements Bill (S135) Sponsored by Sen. Blais The bill to [...]
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  Posted: April 06, 2009, 5:08pm EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Join Rick in Your Town to Support Marriage Equality

  For the past three summers, Rick Harris, Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers - Rhode Island Chapter (NASW - RI), has been bicycling around New England on behalf of Marriage Equality. He has traveled over 2400 miles, has collected 1445 signatures on a Traveling Proclamation for Civil [...]
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  Posted: April 06, 2009, 3:31am EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Sweden Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage

  (Advocate.com) Sweden became the seventh country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide after a six-hour debate on Wednesday among parliament members. All but one of the seven parties in the parliament, ruled by a center-right coalition, backed the legislation, which garnered a 261 to 22 vote, and 16 abstentions, [...]
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  Posted: April 04, 2009, 7:44pm EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Hate-Crimes Bill Introduced in the House

  (by Kerry Eleveld | Advocate.com) Legislation extending hate-crimes protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and disabled Americans was introduced in the House Thursday night. The bipartisan bill sponsored by Rep. John Conyers, a Democrat from Michigan, and Rep. Mark Kirk, a Republican from Illinois, was approved by both chambers of [...]
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  Posted: April 04, 2009, 7:41pm EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Shirley Tan Deportation Delayed

  from the The San Francisco Examiner The deportation of Shirley Tan, an immigrant from the Phillipines living in Pacifica, has been delayed, according to The Advocate. Tan was scheduled for deportation tomorrow, which would have separated her from her partner of 23 years and their twin boys. However, Senators Barbara Boxer, [...]
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  Posted: April 04, 2009, 7:16pm EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Iowa Ruling Unanimous

  Number of comments: 1
  What a great victory for marriage equality in Iowa! Highlights of the decision • Court upheld lower court ruling that limiting marriage to one man and one woman violated the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution • Court ordered that the language in the law limiting marriage to one man and one [...]
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  Posted: April 03, 2009, 10:16am EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Iowa Supreme Court Supreme Court Rules For Marriage Equality!!!

  Number of comments: 1
  More details as they become available [...]
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  Posted: April 03, 2009, 9:43am EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Terminology Matters in the Struggle for Marriage Equality

  Interesting article in today’s USA Today about the terminology around the struggle for marriage equality. Terms hint at stances in gay marriage debate MONTPELIER, Vt. — Is it gay marriage or same-sex marriage? Genderless marriage or marriage equality? In the ongoing push to let gays and lesbians marry, the choice of terms provides [...]
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  Posted: April 03, 2009, 9:01am EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Vermont House Passes Marriage Equality Bill

  Marriage passed in the Vermont House 95-52. It’s 4 votes shy of the votes required to override Gov. Douglas’ threatened veto. Those on the ground are reporting that some “no”-voting House Democrats have indicated that they would vote to override a veto. The Vermont Senate passed with a veto proof [...]
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  Posted: April 03, 2009, 7:20am EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Iowa Supreme Court Ruling Expected this Morning

  A long awaited Iowa Supreme Court case ruling on same-sex marriage will be released this morning, likely at 8:30 a.m. The case, Varnum vs. Brien, involves six same-sex Iowa couples who sued Polk County Recorder Timothy Brien in 2005, after his office denied them marriage licenses. Polk County District Judge Robert [...]
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  Posted: April 03, 2009, 7:13am EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Love Makes a Family Celebrates Success; Plans to Close at End of Year

  Executive Director Anne Stanback to Resign in July Hartford– Standing with a dozen other Connecticut lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) and allied leaders at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Executive Director Anne Stanback announced today that, with marriage equality secure and other LGBT issues now in the forefront, Love [...]
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  Posted: April 01, 2009, 2:00pm EDT
  by susanmacneil

• S.115 Clears Next Hurdle in Vermont

  SEND THIS TO ALL YOUR VERMONT FRIENDS!! Vermont Freedom to Marry We’re one step closer! We need YOU to help us press on. Fairness and equality are within our reach. We MUST do the hard work to keep reaching out to our elected leaders to get the job done. We can’t expect [...]
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  Posted: April 01, 2009, 12:23pm EDT
  by susanmacneil

• Retired Military Officers: Keep DADT

  (365 Gay.com, by AP, 4/1/09) (New York City) More than 1,000 retired military officers, including several who were top commanders, are urging President Barack Obama and Congress to maintain the law that bars gays from serving openly in the armed forces. Obama is consulting with the Pentagon on the issue and [...]
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  Posted: April 01, 2009, 11:00am EDT
  by susanmacneil

• The real costs of Florida’s adoption ban: state loses money, children denied permanent homes with loving parents

  (HRC Backstory, Chris Johnson, 3/31/09) By Ellen Kahn, director of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Family Project: Ever since Anita Bryant cast her spell of fear and hate over Floridians in the mid-70’s, loving, qualified “homosexuals” in that state have been banned from adopting children. This, supposedly, was done in the best [...]
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  Posted: April 01, 2009, 10:55am EDT
  by susanmacneil

• Chicago 2016 presents plans to involve Chicago’s LGBT communities

  (change.org) Chicago, IL — Representatives of Chicago 2016, the non-profit organization working to bring the 2016 Summer Olympics to Chicago, held a meeting at Circuit Night Club and presented information about Chicago’s Olympic bid and plans to involve Chicago’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. “It was the success of the Gay [...]
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  Posted: April 01, 2009, 10:48am EDT
  by susanmacneil

• NOM’s new radio ad

  Enclosure: [download]

  Number of comments: 1
  The folks at National Organization for Marriage are at it again, with a new radio ad targeting our allies in Vermont, New Hampshire Maine and New Jersey. But talk about empty rhetoric! Have a listen: Red herring #1 (debunked): Regardless of whether same-sex marriage is legal, teachers will continue to provide [...]
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  Posted: March 31, 2009, 5:45pm EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Gay Marriage No… Divorce Yes in New York

  (365 Gay.com, by 365gay Newscenter Staff, 3/31/09) (Binghamton, New York) Gays and lesbians may not be able to get married in New York - but they can get divorced. In what is believed to be the first ruling on the issue of gay divorce in the state, a judge in Binghamton, New [...]
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  Posted: March 31, 2009, 4:06pm EDT
  by susanmacneil

• Lesbian Mom Ordered Deported

  (365gay.com Newscenter Staff, 3/31/09) (San Mateo, California) A Northern California family is expected to be torn apart on Friday when Shirley Tan is scheduled to be deported back to the Philippines, leaving behind her life partner and their 12 year old twin sons. Tan and Jaylynn “Jay” Mercado were married in San [...]
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  Posted: March 31, 2009, 3:32pm EDT
  by susanmacneil

• Connecticut Same-Sex Bill Updates Law

  (newsday.com) STEPHANIE REITZ, AP, 3/30/09 HARTFORD, Conn. - A bill updating Connecticut law to conform with a court ruling allowing gay marriages is heading to the state Senate. The legislature’s Judiciary Committee voted 30-10 Monday to endorse the measure, which was spurred by last year’s state Supreme Court decision giving same-sex [...]
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  Posted: March 31, 2009, 3:26pm EDT
  by susanmacneil

• West Virginia House says no to attempt to force vote on anti-LGBT marriage amendment

  (HRC Backstory - Chris Johnson, 3/13/09) West Virginia delegates yesterday rejected attempts by a conservative evangelical group to force lawmakers to vote on sending an anti-LGBT amendment that would have defined marriage as between one man and one woman to the state’s voters: On Monday, Republicans in the House of Delegates tried [...]
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  Posted: March 31, 2009, 3:17pm EDT
  by susanmacneil

• The Significance of the Gay Icon

  (change.org - Michael Jones, 3/31/09) We love us some art here on this blog, so we’re thrilled to see that the National Portrait Gallery in London will be hosting an exhibit from July-October ‘09 featuring photographs of the best of the best when it comes to LGBT icons. Altogether, 60 photographs will [...]
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  Posted: March 31, 2009, 3:09pm EDT
  by susanmacneil

• Howard Dean: Grant Marriage Rights to All

  (change.org - Michael A. Jones, 3/31/09) Oh, if only he would have said this while Chair of the Democratic Party. Still, Howard Dean has just joined Chuck Schumer as the two most influential Democrats who now support marriage equality (IMHO). Here’s the scoop from the Burlington Free Press: A boisterous crowd [...]
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  Posted: March 31, 2009, 3:04pm EDT
  by susanmacneil

• MERI Participates in URI GLBTIQQ Panel Thursday, April 2

  As part of the 15th Annual University of Rhode Island Symposium on GLBTIQQ Issues this Thursday, April 2, MERI will participate in a marriage equality panel in the Hardge Forum at the Multicultural Center at the Kingston campus. The panel will begin at 7:30p, followed by the documentary film, Saving [...]
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  Posted: March 31, 2009, 3:00pm EDT
  by susanmacneil

• Bell Street Chapel and Marriage Equality Rhode Island Hosting Discussion Group to Focus on Same Sex Marriage

  Number of comments: 1
  Bell Street Chapel will host a two week-discussion group based on the book, “What is Marriage For? the Strange Social History of our Most Intimate Institution” by E.J. Graff. In this book, Graff describes marriage as “a kind of Jerusalem, an archaeological site on which the present is constantly building [...]
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  Posted: March 30, 2009, 2:46pm EDT
  by susanmacneil

• Education Secretary Pledges to Make Schools Safe for All

  (Family Equality Council, 3/27/09) Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently met with members of GLSEN about safe schools issues nationwide. The meeting, the first ever between a secretary of education and LGBT advocates, was a big step forward. Secretary Duncan pledged to make all schools safe for students regardless of their sexual [...]
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  Posted: March 30, 2009, 10:51am EDT
  by susanmacneil

• Same-Sex Marriage Effort Strong in New England

  Number of comments: 1
  (365 Gay.com, The Associated Press, 3/27/09) (Montpelier, Vt.) Vermont was the first state to outlaw slavery. Neighboring New Hampshire declared its independence from England before any other colony. Maine led the way with Prohibition. These days, Yankee activism has another cause - gay rights. Two states in New England already allow same-sex marriage, [...]
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  Posted: March 30, 2009, 10:38am EDT
  by susanmacneil

• Japan Offers Marriage to its Gay Citizens, if Performed Elsewhere

  Japan says it will begin issuing a certificate to same-sex couples who are nationals which recognizes their marriage, as long as the marriage is not performed in Japan but in another country, the Japan Times reports: Ministry clears path to same-sex marriage The Justice Ministry plans to clear the path for Japanese [...]
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  Posted: March 30, 2009, 10:31am EDT
  by susanmacneil

• Newsweek Series Receives GLAAD Media Award

  (Bilerico Project, filed by: Michael Crawford, 3/29/09) Last December, Michael Crawford was featured in a series looking at the LGBT after the passage of Prop 8 on Newsweek.com. The series, which includes this video, called “Is Gay the New Black?” received a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Digital Journalism. h/t Bilerico Project [...]
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  Posted: March 30, 2009, 10:26am EDT
  by susanmacneil

• Separation Anxiety: Washington Post Favors Uniting American Families Act

  (Washington Post, 3/16/09) THE UNITING AMERICAN FAMILIES ACT, HR1024 would allow gay and lesbian Americans and permanent residents to sponsor their foreign-born partners for legal residency in the United States. The bill, introduced last month in the Senate by Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and in the House by Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), would [...]
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  Posted: March 30, 2009, 10:19am EDT
  by susanmacneil

• NH House Approves Marriage Equality

  via Boston.com The House has voted to make New Hampshire the third state allowing gays to marry two years after they granted them the right to enter into civil unions. The House voted 186-179 to send the bill to the Senate. The first attempt to pass the bill fell one vote short, [...]
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  Posted: March 27, 2009, 12:38pm EDT
  by tiffany

• Vermont Gov. Vows to Veto Marriage Bill

  Number of comments: 1
  Vermont Governor Jim Douglas announced yesterday that he intends to veto the marriage bill, recently passed by a wide margin in the Senate, once it reaches his desk. The Governor stated the following as his reasoning: “I believe our civil union law serves Vermont well …” Douglas told a gathering of [...]
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  Posted: March 26, 2009, 10:09am EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Kentucky Adoptation Ban Bill Dead

  A controversial bill in the Kentucky Senate that would have banned unmarried couples from becoming foster or adoptive parents is dead for this session. The bill’s sponsor acknowledged Tuesday that the bill would not be moving in further. These bills, like the law that passed in Arkansas, are harmful to [...]
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  Posted: March 26, 2009, 9:04am EDT
  by tiffany

• Vermont Senate Votes to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

  Number of comments: 1
  The Vermont State Senate has voted with an overwhelming margin to support marriage equality and pass S.115. 26 Senators out of 30 cast their vote in support of marriage equality. Now off to the house… Go Vermont!!! WCAX-TV [...]
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  Posted: March 24, 2009, 8:25am EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Vermont Marriage Bill Senate Vote Expected Today

  Number of comments: 1
  Vermonters in the field are reporting that the marriage bill will go to the Senate today where it is expected to pass. From there the bill will head to the house, where it has a good chance to pass. Hoping for a happy Monday for Vermont! We will keep the [...]
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  Posted: March 23, 2009, 7:14am EDT
  by marriageequalityri

• Campus Christian law group loses appeal to exclude gays, non-Christians

  (Pam’s House Blend, Pam Spaulding 3/19/09) Too bad, so sad for the Alliance Defense Fund. There’s a reason anti-discrimination laws exist, and the Hastings Christian Fellowship at the UC Hastings College of the Law, doesn’t seem to understand this. The U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that the law school was [...]
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  Posted: March 19, 2009, 1:53pm EDT
  by susanmacneil

• 1,000 Crowd Same-Sex Marriage Hearing in Vermont

  (Via Towleroad.com) A three-hour hearing on same-sex marriage packed approximately 1,000 people into the Vermont State House in Montpelier, Vermont last night. Overflow crowds were relegated to separate rooms, the Burlington Free Press reports: “The House and Senate Judiciary committees…heard from about 70 Vermonters, although about 200 signed up to speak. [...]
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  Posted: March 19, 2009, 1:46pm EDT
  by susanmacneil