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Well funded groups with wholesome sounding names like "Cornerstone" are preparing to attack marriage, to overturn established law, to revoke civil rights, to rip families apart.
Happy, healthy families are the vital center of society.
We must do everything we can to protect the families in New Hampshire that are being targeted for dissolution.
Bishop Gene Robinson's decision to step down has already been noted here and here on BH, but given his further elaboration on NPR yesterday about the death threats he has had to live with, and the pride he expressed on radio of his marriage thanks to the civil right granted to him in New Hampshire, I think it's worth revisiting his testimony during that struggle:
The courage and leadership of New Hampshire Democrats, as well as a not insignificant group of reasonable, freedom-loving Republicans, made the right of marriage a reality in New Hampshire. Someday it will be commonplace throughout the United States. But we led the way. This is something to be proud of.
We need courage and leadership such as was shown on this issue now more than ever. To all who played a role, and who will play a role, thank you.
Cornerstone President Kevin Smith said a gay marriage repeal and the re-enactment of a parental notification law for minors who seek abortions are now the top social priorities. He said "a clear majority of the voters are with us. They never wanted gay marriage in the first place."
A clear majority!
"Most people in the electorate don't want to see (action) on social issues they don't support." [Andy Smith] said recent polling showed 41 percent of Republicans either supported or didn't care about gay marriage - and 47 percent of Republicans said the issue had no impact on their lives one way or another.
Someone... I dunno, maybe a reporter like John DiStaso or something, could fact check the one Smith's assertions against the other Smith's data.
Although, when Kevin Smith's group Cornerstone put a picture of Governor Lynch next to a line-up of sex offenders in mailboxes across New Hampshire and called it "Introducing Team Lynch," all DiStaso could be stirred to write was "tough stuff." So I'm not holding my breath.
To push his radical social agenda onto the rest of us, of course.
The Lee Atwater of New Hampshire politics declares his intentions:
"Number one: gay marriage, which will be pushing for its repeal; And number 2, is a parental notification law, and we think the majority of people like the parental notification law and never wanted that repealed, so maybe we can get that passed."
Do make sure to click the link and read the grafs above it too. House Speaker wannabe Bill O'Brien is all for this game plan as well.
Adding: Wannabe House Speaker Bill O'Brien heads up the House Republican Alliance. It's well worth your time getting acquainted with HRA's legislative to-do list.
This is pretty amazing. I think I'll just get out of the way and let the letter below do the talking. It was sent to the Hodes campaign (and reprinted here with the author's permission) after Paul called out the Union Leader for their absurd position on prohibiting same-sex wedding announcements:
Rep. Rhodes,
I must confess that I no longer live at the address I gave. I was born and raised in Claremont my entire adolescence, but left as soon as I got old enough for NYC. The reason I left was because I'm gay, and being in NH is incredibly rough when you're gay.
Recently I joined Dan Savage's It Gets Better Campaign, my video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... and in turn ended up being featured in the NY Times, which is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10...
If you have time I would be honored if you watched my video.
I'm contacting you today because of the Union Leader, my uncle's newspaper. Yes, Joe is my uncle, technically great uncle. I saw what he published today and was absolutely disgusted. He has the freedom of the press, he can do whatever he wants, but to sit there and try to feign niceties, "not anti-gay", repulses me on every level.
You can not sit there and preach that gay love is inherently inferior to straight love and wonder why kids are being bullied, literally, to death. Joe has helped dehumanize the gay population, and it's people like him and the vitriol they spew that made my rearing so incredibly difficult. Grade school bullies are enabled by their parent's opinions, and societies morality as a whole, when you silently attack the LGBT population at the ballot box you are a bully, a weak one.
I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you speaking out on this issue. Don't let him off the hook, keep pressing him for answers. What he's doing is so archaic it's hard to believe his piece was published in 2010.
If you need any help with LGBT issues I'm available, I've begun to speak at schools because it is an issue that means the world to me. There is nothing I care more about than equality for everyone, and fighting this kind of hate speech is such an important part of it.
Thank you Rep. Hodes, I wish there was more of you.
Mr. Calvin StowellNew
Calvin's moving "It Gets Better" video is below the fold.
Paul Hodes is not going to let the Union Leader's bizarre position in this state or his high-pressure senate race get in the way of standing up for what's right:
I read with deep disappointment that the Union Leader has decided it will not publish the wedding announcement for Greg Gould and Aurelio Tine. The couple is legally getting married this weekend in Portsmouth. Last year New Hampshire legalized same-sex marriage to ensure that everyone has equal opportunity.
It is reprehensible that the Union Leader would exclude legal marriage in New Hampshire from publication because of their right-wing agenda. Legitimate minds can disagree over policy but once the law is settled, the paper should put aside differences and allow all couples to have equal access to their publication.
Mr. Gould and Mr. Tine will become legally married this weekend and they should have the same opportunities as everyone in New Hampshire to have their marriage publicized and recognized. The Union Leader's disgraceful policy of exclusion harkens to a different time in this country when people were denied opportunity because of their race, religion and ethnic origin.
Standing ovation, Congressman! And Paul is absolutely correct: you can't claim to be a paper for the entire state of New Hampshire, while simultaneously wishing away the law of the land.
Sitting members of the NH House can introduce Legislative Service Requests or LSR's during the last half of September:. An LSR is a request to have a bill drafted. I see one of my old bills, the Sunday Closing bill (2011-H-0021-R) is coming back. I absolutely will support it and hopefully cosponsor it--- if I am in fact elected in November.
2011-H-0040-R, by Leo Pepino, is a marriage equality repeal bill. 2011-H-0003-R, by Mike Kappler is another one.
2011-H-0024-R, by Carol McGuire is probably a minimum wage repeal bill. I am not with her on that one.
On the left, Rich DiPentima has a bill (2011-H-0027-R) which has something to do with getting rid of bottled water at mass gatherings.
A new AP-GfK Poll finds that 52% of Americans support the rights of same-sex couples to marry. It's the second national poll to have found majority support for gay marriage in the last two months.
DiFruscia, a moderate, pro-gay marriage Republican who has served in the New Hampshire House for 10 years, was targeted by the right. "I had seven mailers against me," DiFruscia said.
One mailer pictured DiFruscia as a flasher at an elementary school and another made him look like he was presiding over a gay marriage.
If you think I am harping on this, you are right. If they would stoop so low on one of their own, just think of what they would do to "vermin" like you.
(Great writeup. Part put below the fold, and thanks. - promoted by Dean Barker)
This is a public thank you to everyone who made it down to Manchester today as we stood as silent witnesses for equality against the National Organization for Marriage's unwelcome stop in New Hampshire on its nationwide bus tour.
Well, at least they're persistent. NOM pours money into the state to keep trying to thwart New Hampshire's decisions, attack our representatives and our governor (the only governor in the nation to sign a marriage equality bill!) and ignore our strong tradition of protecting civil liberties. We were there in Manchester today to bear witness to New Hampshire's commitment to marriage equality as NOM attempted to spread its lies here.
I am honest to goodness completely surprised by this. From a caption from the Telegraph:
Social Issues: Supports abortion rights. Favors civil unions for gay and lesbian couples but not in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
Not exactly the kind of news I wanted to read on the day Argentina led the way, and NOM's protest was a dud.
On the one hand, I appreciate the honesty. On the other, I'm really just speechless. We spent a lot of time and effort on this site supporting the push to make marriage equality a reality in New Hampshire. I suppose the net result is that I am even happier today than I was yesterday that all the admins and contributing writers on this site chose to endorse Ann Kuster. Finally: if Swett wins the nomination, a truly Herculean effort will be required for the base to come together to overcome this position in the spirit of not electing Bass or Horn or Guida.
I suppose the next logical question is, will Swett work to reinstate the DOMA law that [] for?
UPDATE: This news was hiding in plain sight. Shame on me for not seeing it. WMUR:
Choose an Issue: Same-Sex Marriage
Ann McLane Kuster (D): I support marriage equality and believe the government should stay out of our personal lives.
Katrina Swett (D): It is important that the legal protections and benefits that the federal government offers be available to all families no matter where they live. I will work for the passage of federal civil unions legislation which will guarantee these rights for everyone.
UPDATE #2: Further statements from the candidates.
"I was a vocal supporter for passing marriage equality here in New Hampshire and I'll continue to support marriage equality in Washington. We should have less government interference in our personal lives, at both the state and federal levels."
As it often does, NH led the country by being the first in the nation to proactively enact marriage equality through the legislative process. In so doing, NH stood up for the proposition that all members of our community should be treated with respect and deserve an equal place at the table. I support federal civil union legislation that will extend the full range of federal benefits and legal protections to all families in our country, especially those who live in states that don't yet provide marriage equality.
We are back, just a bit late, to wrap up the discussion we began about the pair of rulings issued in Boston by Federal District Judge Joseph Tauro this week that declare the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional.
In the first half of the conversation, we examined the ruling in Commonwealth of Massachusetts v Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), today we examine the companion case, Gill v Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
I don't usually tell you the end of the story at the beginning, but this time I will: there are a lot of happy Plaintiffs this week, and the Federal Government, as Defendant (whom I will refer to as "the Feds" from time to time), is not so happy at the moment.
As with last time, there's a lot of ground to cover, and the sooner we get to it, the better.
US District Court Judge Joseph Tauro ruled today that the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional because it impedes the rights of the states to define marriage.
The state had argued the law denied benefits such as Medicaid to gay married couples in Massachusetts, where same-sex unions have been legal since 2004.
Tauro agreed, and said the act forces Massachusetts to discriminate against its own citizens.
The Stonewall Democrats national organization set up the Elect Equality program to select a small number of pro-equality candidates that they would focus their election fund-raising and support efforts on for the 2010 elections.
Today they announced who those candidates would be, and both Carol Shea Porter and Paul Hodes made the list.
Victoria Schwaegler, anonymous writer of Take Back Orford:
Look at all the states surrounding New Hampshire on the New York Times maps that allow first cousin marriage AND gay marriage.
Hmmmm, I wonder if Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts allow marriage to a cow yet. Moooooooo!
and (on HB415):
You ask, what crazy nutcase would introduce this legislation? Well, welcome Ed Butler! Ed Butler is a New Hampshire State Representative. Ed Butler introduced HB 415. Ed Butler is gay. Why are we not reporting on the fact that Ed is looking after his own self interest? What about the 1,315,000 residents of New Hampshire that are not gay? Who will represent us?
...Yep, Mrs. Deb Conklin (Reynolds) (D) will now be caught in the Men's Room and Mr. Matthew Houde (D) will be caught in the Women's Room. Just think, you could discuss the future of our state with your State Senator in the next stall over. Hmm, NOW that's progressive!
and:
So, with all of the press today about Carrie Prejean being openly against gay marriage, it shouldn't be too terribly tough for Governor Lynch to now VETO hb436 (legislation on Gay Marriage). As of Monday, Lynch had not yet received this bill on his desk. Some claim that Lynch is delaying the bills' arrival to his office because he needs more time to come to a decision. Either way, this issue has been hit hard by both sides. But I really have to admit, most recently, with all of the Miss California/Carrie Prejean hoopla, the conservatives have won this last battle. The weapon, most importantly was Carrie Prejean's speech today. Her RIGHT to freedom of speech has allowed those fearful of speaking out AGAINST gay marriage feel exonerated.
...As a side note, this past Sunday, I asked my openly 'gay' friend if he was interested in the term 'Marriage' for himself. His reply was 'Hell NO! We should all just keep the government out of the marriage business." Mind you, this amazing friend stood up for me as a groomsman at my wedding. Folks, we ALL have GAY friends, but I have finally realized something very important. Not everyone wants the same thing. Consider this for a moment, just because you are gay, doesn't mean you want the word 'marriage' forced upon you.
Victoria Schwaegler, no longer anonymous Republican candidate for State Representative, Grafton-6:
But Schwaegler yesterday said she couldn't really say how she would have voted on gay marriage.
"How could I answer that, because I have gay friends who stood up for me at my wedding," she said.
NB: Title changed, because sometimes commentary is unnecessary.
Over the past six months, my opponents have constantly reminded me of how crucial this race is. Whether it's a woman's right to choose or a family's right to affordable health care - they've shown us time and time again what we all stand to lose if Kelly Ayotte, Bill Binnie, or Ovide Lamontagne wins.
It was great to see Jeanne Shaheen, John Lynch, and Paul Hodes all mention marriage equality -- and the loud applause they earned by doing so. If there was ever a thought that passage of House Bill 436 would be detrimental to Democrats in November, 2010, I think we're seeing that fear dismissed day by day.
vs.
What I remember being asked about the issue of marriage equality on the phone during the highly detailed, 20+ minute Lynch message testing poll I endured last night:
Oh, well.
Adding: To be clear, none of this will make me any less enthusiastic about voting for Lynch in the fall. He can have a statue built for himself in honor of marriage equality, or he can run away from it. I only care that he signed the bill into law, when he didn't need to, politically speaking. And for that he has my full support.
