From sea to shining sea.

Supreme Court 'thunderbolt' clears way for same-sex marriage nationwide

They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.

-- Justice Anthony Kennedy, in the majority opinion of the Supreme Court of the United State of America

It takes no compromise to give people their rights…It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression.

-- Harvey Milk

The words to this song have always meant a lot to me, but they are so poignant today. My country has been through so much in the last two weeks; a lot of soul-searching. We have so many things we still need to work on, but today I am so proud of what we have achieved.

Oregon. Pennsylvania.

We are a better people than what [anti-gay marriage] laws represent, and it is time to discard them into the ash heap of history.

~ The Honorable John E. Jones, on his ruling to overturn Pennsyvlania's ban on gay marriage

"When did this all become obvious? When, one might ask instead, did it stop being impossibly hard?"

Getting to Fifty on Marriage Equality

Is Gay Marriage Unstoppable?

Yeah Arkansas!

Arkansas issues same-sex marriage licenses

Also, I went to Northern Ireland in April.

And I fell madly, hopelessly, forever in love.

Ya Beauty!

Scotland Legalizes Gay Marriage

16 states!

Illinois Signs Gay Marriage Into Law

Yes!

Gays Wed in New Jersey

As couples across New Jersey began marrying on Monday after the stroke of midnight, Gov. Chris Christie abandoned his long fight against same-sex marriage, concluding that signals from the court and the march of history were against him. His decision not to appeal a judge’s ruling that allowed the weddings removed the last hurdle to legalized same-sex marriage in New Jersey, making it the 14th state, along with the District of Columbia, to allow gay couples to wed.

Ughs for Chris Christie, but at least he knows when to quit. You go, New Jersey!

(UPDATE 9/16/2013: The transcript of The Guardian's original interview regarding Cumberbatch's views on Manning, et al has been placed on their site, and though his misguided quotes are still there, this does serve to soften via muddling his position a bit.

What to take away? The internets: never what they seem -- even this -- and designed for hits, full stop. Actors' -- even the smartish ones -- opinions: still generally not a great foundation to base your own views on, and who knows what they're actually thinking, though good on Cumberbatch for recognizing his power and reach, and/or simple need to preserve his reputation in attempting to clarify that he isn't a daft monster. Cumberbatch does truly own the internets, and damn, I wonder how much his publicist makes.

If you're still wondering about why anyone would care about what someone like Benedict Cumberbatch thinks is at all important: The Banality of Systemic Evil)

Okay, okay.

Giving 26 interviews a day, being thrust into the spotlight because of a starring role in something that tackles extremely complex issues, and being just a plain old human with human vanity and human verbal diarrhea are probably factors. But still, I hate when this happens.

Benedict Cumberbatch: Chelsea Manning Got What She Deserved

Ugh, so disappointing.

But [her] superiors might have been right to say to [her], it’s not your position to be worried about it within the hierarchy of the military organisation, which is why [she] had to be sentenced. [She] took an oath, and [she] broke that oath.

Lesson numero uno, actors: don't open your pie holes when it comes to politics unless you're extremely well-versed in your comprehension of the issue, and your name is Matt Damon.

If they are saving lives, how can we say that’s less important than civil liberties?

Ummmm, maybe I should just stop reading about your opinions and just enjoy the shiny shiny? Oh god, can't. stop. reading.

Isn’t it hypocritical to say, we should know everything about you as a government, but the government can’t know anything about us?

For the reals? Mayday, mayday, hurtling uncontrollably toward becoming un-Batched. Sad panda.

And now a word from our author:

What is heartbreaking about this set of sentences? Aside from the abandonment of the notion that individuals are obligated to the best of their ability to discover and struggle for what is right—especially as they grow up—it’s the contradiction involved in simultaneous claims to sympathy for one’s fellow humans and unthinking deference to authority. With this statement, Cumberbatch leaves us to wonder whether he understands that governments are run by groups of individuals who often use state power for their own underhanded purposes[...]America’s founders accepted a measure of mass insecurity to preserve the personal liberty they knew was essential to democracy and human dignity and happiness. Cumberbatch is not an American, but one could think that the last two-and-a-half centuries of Western fealty to this idea might have made an impression on him.

Thank you for writing what I've been thinking, Alexander Reed Kelly.

It may be premature, but...

WOOT NEW MEXICO!!!!!!

New Mexico's Largest County to Begin Issuing Same Sex Marriage Licenses

New Mexico has the distinction of being the only state in the union that neither prohibits or allows gay marriage by law.

[Judge] Molot found nothing in current state law that bans same-sex marriages in the state. Instead, Malot cited the state's equal protection and anti-discrimination laws as an indication to the contrary, that New Mexico law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Of course, the poop-lining of this story is that the NM regressives are coming out full force.

I'm only sad for them that being on the wrong side of history will be their legacy.

Witnesses to History, 50 Years Later

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

~ Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963

Victories!

Yes!

Minnesota and Rhode Island Hold First Same Sex Marriages

Gay marriages are now legal in over a quarter of the United States!  With new challenges to hateful legislation in Virginia, we're coming for Dixie too. The barriers are coming down, and fast. 

Hope

We [don't] get rid of a military regime [and] replace it with a fascist theocracy.



A Young Boy Explains Why Egyptians Threw Out the Muslim Brotherhood

YES! YES! YES!

California Proposition 8 Appeal Denied, DOMA Struck Down

The court found that the sponsors of California's Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage, had no standing to appeal lower-court decisions that held the initiative unconstitutional - a ruling that is likely to allow gays and lesbians to marry in the state within weeks.

Separately, the court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, ruling that married same-sex couples are entitled to the same federal benefits as opposite-sex couples.

Though striking down DOMA has far broader, more exciting implications for the US of A than simply striking down Prop H8, as a California native, it's great to know people I love will have immediate benefits from this, and it's amazing to be part of this historic victory today.

One of many gay couples getting marriage licenses at midnight in the great state of Washington. Adorables.

I love that these guys look like biker dudes from my redneck hometown, or guys with which my Dad would've gone fishing and hunting. Visibility is key to attitudes changing. These guys made my day.

FOUR MORE YEARS!

...despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for America’s future.  We want our kids to grow up in a country where they have access to the best schools and the best teachers — a country that lives up to its legacy as the global leader in technology and discovery and innovation, with all the good jobs and new businesses that follow.
 
We want our children to live in an America that isn’t burdened by debt; that isn’t weakened by inequality; that isn’t threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet.
 
We want to pass on a country that’s safe and respected and admired around the world; a nation that is defended by the strongest military on Earth and the best troops this world has ever known — but also a country that moves with confidence beyond this time of war to shape a peace that is built on the promise of freedom and dignity for every human being.

We believe in a generous America; in a compassionate America; in a tolerant America, open to the dreams of an immigrant’s daughter who studies in our schools and pledges to our flag. To the young boy on the South Side of Chicago who sees a life beyond the nearest street corner. To the furniture worker’s child in North Carolina who wants to become a doctor or a scientist, an engineer or entrepreneur, a diplomat or even a President. That’s the future we hope for. That’s the vision we share.  That’s where we need to go. Forward. That's where we need to go.   

And thank you, Maine and Maryland.

I get tired of meme-y pics plastered all over teh facebooks, but every now and then one comes along...

Yeeeeeeaaaaahhhhhhhhh!












Washington Governor Signs Gay Marriage Bill Into Law

Finally, true Liberty and Justice for New York.














After NY Senate Vote, Governor Cuomo Signs Gay Marriage Bill

Bravo. Still waiting, California.

DELAWARE!



















Liberty, indeed. Good job!

I know it seems like I'm always posting about wife-beaters and sexual predators when it comes to privacy and civil rights, so let me say again, for real, it's not because of sympathy.

As a society, we knee-jerk when it comes to anything about these two button-pushing populations. We will sacrifice anything -- with nary a glance at how it may pan out in the long run -- ostensibly to protect ourselves, and that's what I find troubling.

So it was with interest that I have been following the match.com plan to check their user lists against sex offender registries, in the wake of a lawsuit against the company by a woman who says she was assaulted by a "match." All kinds of wrong, and the stellar Electronic Frontier Foundation (love them so much) says it best:

Sexual Predators, Please Check Here: Match.com’s Deeply Flawed Plan to Screen for Sex Offenders

I've heard people say, "if you don't like the policies, just don't use match (or FB, or insert-social-media-site-here)" but whether these policies are misguided, panic-induced, or actually well thought out ways for companies and the guvmint to work their way into your life, they have implications far beyond simply stringing up those we find distasteful "for the children" blah blah blah, and far beyond sites you just decide not to use.

Mahalo Hawaii!




















Hawaii's Governor Signs Civil Unions Into Law

But brahs, what's up with your flag?