Greensboro PFLAG newsletter, March 2004

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GREENSBORO, N.C.
Vol 11   No. 3
Gay Marriage debate rages
The issue of gay marriage has become the focus of
intense debate across the country. In San Francisco,
thousands of same-sex couples have been married at City
Hall. In Washington, President Bush has endorsed a
constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage.
Massachusetts is on the brink of becoming the first state in
which same-sex marriage is legal. And in more than a dozen
states, legislatures are considering new laws or constitutional
amendments to prevent gay marriage.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom started
issuing marriage licenses and performing marriage
ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples at City Hall on
February 12. Since then more than 3,000 couples - coming
from all over the country - have been married in San
Francisco. So far several judges have refused to bring a halt
to the ceremonies, despite the pleas of outraged right-wing
groups.
Other cities are also performing marriages for
same-sex couples. In Portland Oregon, county officials
started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on
March 3. A second New York State mayor said that he will
start marrying gay couples and plans to seek a license
himself to marry his same-sex partner. Nyack mayor John
Shields will join the New Paltz mayor, Jason West, in
issuing the licenses. West vowed to go ahead with up to two
dozen same-sex weddings this weekend, despite having been
charged with 19 criminal counts and possibly facing jail time
for marrying same-sex couples.
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In Massachusetts, the state's highest court ruled in
November that laws against same-sex marriage violate the
state's constitution. Legislators hoped to bypass the ruling
by offering "civil unions" instead of marriage for same-sex
couples. But the Supreme Judicial Court ruled in February
that separate is not equal and that nothing short of full
marriage rights would satisfy the requirements of the state
constitution.
Greensboro PFLAG
March meeting
March 16, 7:30 p.m.
Friendship Friends Meeting House
1103 New Garden Road
March, 2004
Welcome to PFLAG. We offer a safe,
confidential space in which to explore our feelings and
understandings about the gay experience, especially
"coming out" and what this means to families and other
loved ones. Listen and share as much or as little as you
feel comfortable with, knowing that others can
understand. Welcome especially to our returning
members whose love is so healing.
That caused the legislature to try to come up with a
constitutional amendment to make marriage only available
for one man one woman. So far the legislature has
deadlocked unable to agree on an amendment. They will
try again on March 11, but even if they agree on an
amendment, the earliest a public vote could take place is
2006 - leaving a two-year window in which gay marriage
would be legal. The November ruling gave the state a 6
month time limit to approve gay marriage - so it should be
legal beginning in May.
* * *
President Bush, reacting to the news from San
Francisco and Massachusetts, endorsed an amendment to the
U.S. constitution forbidding same-sex marriage. He claims
that permitting gays to marry somehow undermines the
sanctity of marriage. LGBT organizations strongly
criticized the president noting that this would be the first
amendment to impose discrimination against a group of
citizens. Even the Log Cabin Republicans strongly
denounced the president's call for an amendment.
A sub-committee of the Senate Judiciary
Committee began hearings on a possible amendment on
March 3. Saying same-sex marriages are likely to spread
across America like a "wildfire," Senate majority leader Bill
Frist exhorted Congress Wednesday to embrace a
constitutional amendment banning them. "We simply will
not let activist judges redefine that definition of marriage,"
the Tennessee Republican told the Senate Judiciary
Constitution subcommittee. "We will not let activist judges
redefine—I would say radically redefine—what marriage is,
and that is a union between a man and a woman."
Nevertheless it appears that it will be difficult for
an amendment to pass Congress - it needs two-thirds of both
houses to be approved (and then still needs approval by 38
state legislatures). Even many conservative Republicans
oppose tinkering with die constitution.