Springfield Now an Option for Many Betrothed Gays

The Massachusetts House voted today to repeal the 1913 law which prevented same-sex couples residing in other states from marrying there. The Senate had previously voted to repeal the measure. Governor Deval Patrick has said that he will sign the bill repealing the law. When that happens, the state will join California in allowing non-residents to marry someone of the same sex. A major reason behind the repeal is that the state is expected to reap huge economic benefits from the action as couples converge on the state to wed. That's right, the bad economy turned out to be good for gays. It's too bad that it couldn't be done just because it's the right thing to do, but I think most of us will gladly take this victory regardless.

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Heads Massachusetts, Tails California?

The Massachusetts Senate has voted to repeal a law enacted in 1913 that has prohibited the marriage of same-sex couples from other states. The House is expected to vote on a repeal of the law later this week. The law prohibits marriages that would be illegal in the couple's home state. It was applied to same-sex marriage because it wasn't legal anywhere else in the nation. The legalization of same-sex marriage in California with no residency requirement seems to have spurred the state to action. It didn't hurt that repealing the law is expected to bring millions to the state as couples rush there to wed. We're lucky to be living at such a progressive time, but my hope is that gay people will be luckier years from now when their unions are accepted without question.

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A Little Follow-up

Due to events that will become clear if you keep reading, I have neither the time nor the energy for a substantial entry this week, so I'm following up on a few things about which I've already written. If you're interested in some updated tidbits legal, pop, and personal, click on through.


Legal same-sex marriages began taking place in California this week. This is a momentous occasion, not only because an oppressed people has won a major victory, but also because it's going to propose some very interesting legal questions which will have to be addressed around the nation. Massachusetts required their same-sex marriages to be between residents. California has no such requirement, so same-sex couples are coming to California from across the nation to wed. When many of these couples return to their homes, they are going to find that their state won't recognize this union. Interestingly, New Yorkers won't have this problem as their state will recognize same-sex marriages from other states and other countries making three states where same-sex unions will be recognized even if they can only wed in two. I expect a lot of legal challenges in other states, however. Although the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U. S. Constitution generally requires states to recognize public acts and records of other states, in which marriage is included, courts have traditionally placed a limitation on that declaring that states aren't required to recognize marriages of couples that wed in another state to circumvent the laws of their home state. Having said that, however, the issue is still far from settled. And congratulations once more to all the newlyweds!

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The Daytime Emmy Awards were held Friday night, and as I somewhat expected, Van Hansis of As the World Turns did not win in the Younger Actor category. Instead, the award went to Guiding Light's Tom Pelphry, who has apparently never met a piece of scenery that he didn't want to devour. (Hey, I call 'em like I see 'em.) Further proof that the awards have nothing to do with quality arose when Van's co-star Jennifer Landon won in the Younger Actress category partially for her portrayal of Cleo. Now, I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with Landon as an actress overall and maybe she has put in some fine performances in the past, but winning for THAT? Please. On the plus side, veteran Jeanne Cooper of The Young and the Restless picked up her first Emmy. Cooper was actually involved in an aborted lesbian storyline about thirty years ago, so at least someone who is a decent actor and has been somewhat involved in a gay storyline got an award.

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Finally, on a personal note, my mother is once again in the hospital. She called very early this morning saying that she couldn't breathe again. Once again, I took her to the emergency room. This time there doesn't seem to be any pneumonia as there was the last visit, although the doctor said it could have been bronchial spasms related to the last time. The prevailing theory among family and friends is that it was brought on by stress and anxiety from finding out that her sister may only have days or weeks to live instead of the months that the doctors had originally predicted. We're all bracing ourselves for the inevitable blow now.

Recommended Song Download: Give It 2 Me - Madonna
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California, Sweet!

It's funny how things work out. Just last week, when writing about the commitment ceremony on Brothers & Sisters, I mentioned how same-sex marriage wasn't recognized in the state of California. Well, here we are one week later, and the situation is totally different. In case you've been under a rock for the past few days and didn't know, the California Supreme Court overturned the ban on gay marriage in the state. In as little as a month, gay couples could be able to finally tie the knot in a legally recognized marriage ceremony. Ellen Degeneres made an announcement on the episode of her show that broadcast the day after the ruling that she and Portia de Rossi were engaged to be married. I'm sure that they are far from the only couple to get engaged, and I'm sure that gays across the state celebrated with the joy that can only come with being recognized as human beings with rights equal to others. It didn't take the bigots long, however, to try to rain on the parade, as they have pledged to get a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage up for a vote later in the year.

I just don't understand why these people can't leave other people alone to live their lives. It's not like they have a single valid argument against gay marriage, because they don't. It's also not like they will be affected at all by two guys getting married, because they won't. A huge part of the "argument" against gay marriage is religion-based. Last time I checked, we had a First Amendment in the U. S. Constitution that guarantees freedom of religion and allows everyone to believe how they want to believe. Trying to force their religious beliefs upon the rest of their countrymen by getting the government to endorse those beliefs is just downright un-American. They also can't seem to get it through their heads that religious marriage and legal marriage are two different things. Even now churches don't recognize certain marriages that are legally valid. No one is keeping them from doing so, and no one is talking about keeping them from doing so. Churches can recognize or not recognize any marriage that they want to, but they should not be able to influence what marriages the government can recognize per our constitution. Frankly, it's just disgusting what many of these people have made of their religion that is supposed to be all about love. As Hurley's mom said on this week's Lost, "Jesus Christ is not a weapon."

And how exactly is two people of the same-sex getting married supposed to "weaken" marriage? I'm sorry, but straight people have done a damn good job weakening marriage all on their own, thank you very much. It seems to me that bringing people into the institution that would actually value it and not take it for granted because it's something that they've never had and something that they had to fight for could only strengthen it. Marriage is actually something precious to those for whom it's never before been an option. It's not just a chance to have a big party like it seems to be for many straight people, who often turn around and get a divorce and/or marry as many times as they possibly can before they die, thereby weakening and devaluing marriage. For the newcomers to the institution, it's a chance to be first-class citizens for the first time and enjoy the privileges, rights, and responsibilities that come along with that. These people won't be looking for the easy way to get out because they had to pass through the hard way just to get in. I don't see how that could weaken marriage at all.

The rights of a minority should NEVER be put up for a popular vote. The terms involved such as "minority" and "popular" should be clue enough why that is. There is a reason that pretty much every major advance in civil rights in the past century has come about because of a court decision and not a vote. We have a dirty little secret in this country, and it's that the majority usually likes keeping the minority down. I don't know why this is. Maybe it makes people feel special knowing that they have something that others don't. Regardless, this is unacceptable in a nation that purports to hold freedom and equality in such high esteem. It's also unconscionable.

Frankly, the whole protest seems a bit silly from my viewpoint. For a while now, I have considered gay marriage to be an inevitability. It is going to happen. I have every confidence that it will be recognized federally at some point and couples will be able to marry anywhere in the country. That scenario may be years down the road, but I know it's there. The opponents of gay marriage are fighting progress, and if there is one thing that history has shown us, it's that progress usually wins.

A shocking retirement, a shocking F-bomb, and a not so shocking outburst after the jump!

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TIDBITS

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JUSTINE HENIN RETIRES

I don't recall if I've mentioned it here, but I am a HUGE tennis fan. I was shocked this week when I read that Justine Henin, the #1 ranked woman in the world, announced her retirement. She is the first woman to ever retire while ranked at the top. The Belgian alienated many fans during the course of her career because of some questionable behavior which appeared to be bad sportsmanship, but watching her play was always a treat regardless. The women's tour is losing a real bright spot as Henin was one of the very few players left with an actual game. Too many players now try to blow their opponents off the court with sheer power. Henin, being one of the smaller women on tour, couldn't do that, although she could still pack a wallop despite having such a small frame. She had to run a lot and move the ball around a lot and create opportunities by working the court, the ball, and her opponent. Perhaps it was the effort that went into her game that caused her to burn out so early (she's only 25), but whatever the case, there is no denying that she was a champion. She won seven Grand Slam tournaments (4 French Opens, 2 U. S. Opens, 1 Australian Open), with Wimbledon being the only major title she failed to win, although she was runner-up twice. Only Serena Williams has more Slam singles titles among active players with eight, and they are tied for the most Slam singles titles this decade with seven each. I'm really going to miss her every time I have to watch two girls trying to knock the cover off the ball.

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YOUTUBE FUN TIME!

Just because it makes me laugh every time, here is news anchor Sue Simmons dropping the F-bomb on television: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ETnp8Tq3CFw.

Just because it provides more evidence that he's a sociopath, here's Bill O'Reilly losing it a few decades ago: http://youtube.com/watch?v=2tJjNVVwRCY.

Recommended song download: Unchained Melody - Cyndi Lauper

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