The Marriage Law Project at The Catholic University of America

TOP6NEWS - Date 12.20.04

1-NEWS: In California, ssm marriage back at starting gate
2-NEWS: Heterosexuals Caught in ssm Issue

3-NEWS: Oklahoma gays emerge from election dismayed but determined

4-NEWS: Pope: SSM 'Destroys The Fabric Of Society'

5-OP-ED: Judicial activism? Perish the thought

6-OP-ED: The new anti-gay McCarthyism

________________________________________________________

1-NEWS: In California, ssm marriage back at starting gate

After a coast-to-coast airing from family rooms to polling places, the debate over same-sex marriage returns to San Francisco, the site of an exuberant but short-lived gay wedding march. Oral arguments begin Wednesday in a pair of lawsuits seeking to have California's one-man, one-woman marriage law declared unconstitutional. The move would put the state on par with Massachusetts, the only state where gays and lesbians can legally wed.
The trial is the first stop in what is expected to be a yearlong odyssey that may end in the state's highest court.

Full Article

________________________________________________________

2-NEWS: Heterosexuals Caught in ssm Issue
The Social Security Administration is rejecting marriage documents issued for heterosexual couples in four communities that performed weddings for gay couples earlier this year. The agency is rejecting all marriage certificates issued in New Paltz, N.Y., after Feb. 27, when the town's mayor began marrying gay couples, according to town officials.

Full Article

________________________________________________________

3-NEWS: Oklahoma gays emerge from election dismayed but determined

Far from the coastal strongholds of the same-sex marriage movement, gays in the red states of the Bible Belt are struggling to maintain confidence and optimism in the aftermath of an election that many viewed as a stinging personal rebuff.
In Oklahoma, the 76 percent support for a constitutional ban on gay marriage has prompted some gays to leave the state or consider leaving. The staff of Tulsa's community center for gays and lesbians say calls to the center's help line, some of them suicidal, have tripled since the election.

Full Article

________________________________________________________

4-NEWS: Pope: SSM 'Destroys The Fabric Of Society'
(Vatican City) Pope John Paul launched a new assault on same-sex marriage on Saturday accusing gays of an "aggressive attempt to legally undermine the family."
In his strongest words on the subject yet the 84-year old pontiff's pre-Christmas message called on Catholics around the world to step up their opposition to gay marriage.
Full Article

________________________________________________________

5-OP-ED: Judicial activism? Perish the thought
Oh, Canada. Many blue-state Americanos have considered moving there since President Bush's re-election, and the Canadian Supreme Court's recent gay marriage decision suggests why some blue-state die-hards might find it so inviting. The ruling also points up why our presidential election mattered when it comes to judicial philosophies: judicial restraint vs. judicial activism.

Full Article

________________________________________________________

6-OP-ED: The new anti-gay McCarthyism
By KEVIN NAFF
AMERICA HAS ENTERED a new era of McCarthyism. The modern day Red Scare began with drumming out those deemed disloyal to President Bush or anyone viewed as less-than-supportive of his so-called "war on terror."
The Bush scare tactics that were deployed to push us into war are now used to bully Americans into following the GOP's backward-looking views on domestic cultural issues, including gay rights.

Full Article