TOP6NEWS - Date 7.11.05

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1-NEWS: It's the 1 year anniversary of NJ dp law, push for ssm
2-NEWS: OR CU bill passes Senate
3-NEWS: SSM back in CA assembly this week
4-NEWS: Irish committee won't recommend ssm
5-NEWS: Spain and Canada are laboratories for ssm
6-NEWS: SSM, regions, religions and cultural differences
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1-NEWS: It's the 1 year anniversary of NJ dp law, push for ssm

Sunday, July 10, 2005
BY TOM HESTER Star-Ledger Staff
A year ago today, nearly 700 gay couples lined up at town halls across New Jersey to register as partners as the state's Domestic Partnership Act took effect.
Amid the celebrations that surrounded the sign-ups, the new law was hailed as groundbreaking. Then Gov. James E. McGreevey called it "the day New Jersey took a stand for fairness and dignity."
In the 12 months since, 3,211 couples have registered as domestic partners in New Jersey. But while gay-rights leaders say the Domestic Partnership Act gives same-sex couples long-sought official recognition, they claim the law falls short because it provides only a handful of benefits.
"New Jersey's domestic partnership law is one of the most heartbreaking disappointments in the history of gay rights," said Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality. "A year ago, we in the lesbian and gay community cried from happiness. Today, we cry because of the law's proven inadequacies."

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2-NEWS: OR CU bill passes Senate

The Oregonian, OR, July 9, 2005
State Senate approves civil unions bill

By MICHELLE COLE
SALEM -- After more than two hours of debate that included talk of God's will and the history of the civil rights movement, the Oregon Senate endorsed legislation on Friday to allow civil unions and to prohibit discrimination against gays and lesbians.
The historic 19-10 vote marks the first time an Oregon legislative chamber has taken up the question of civil unions for same-sex couples.
However, there's little chance of passage in the House, where Republican leaders said the bill won't reach the floor for a vote this session.
Despite that, Senate Democrats had the votes in their chamber and seized the symbolic and political opportunity to put civil unions and anti-discrimination protections up for public debate.

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3-NEWS: SSM back in CA assembly this week

July 10, 2005 Supporters hope state Senate will refuel gay marriage drive
By STEVE LAWRENCE
SACRAMENTO - Rebuffed by the Assembly, gay marriage advocates are hoping to revive their campaign this week by moving to the other side of the state Capitol.
After a bill legalizing same-sex marriages fell four votes short last month in the Assembly, supporters amended the defeated measure into a marine research bill that already had passed the Assembly and was awaiting a hearing in the state Senate.

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4-NEWS: Irish committee won't recommend ssm

By Alison O'Connor
A powerful Dáil committee is set to stop short of recommending gay marriage, but instead will advise changes in legislation for the recognition of same-sex unions.
The All Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution, which has been conducting a major review of family rights, is to report in September.
The committee's chairman, Cork South West TD Denis O'Donovan, said he believed that valid cases had been made for constitutional change on issues such as children's rights, but he did not see a referendum being held to change what traditionally constituted a family in Ireland.
This did not mean no change should occur, he said, but that issues such as recognition of cohabiting couples for tax purposes and same-sex relationships could be dealt with in legislation.

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5-NEWS: Spain and Canada are laboratories for ssm

July 10, 2005 Laboratories for same-sex marriage By Dan Moffett, Palm Beach Post Editorial Writer
The number of countries that allow gay marriage is about to double this month, a surprising development that doesn't quite qualify as a revolution but certainly warrants the interest of social scientists.
Spain legalized same-sex unions two weeks ago, and Canada is poised to do so soon. Belgium and the Netherlands already recognized them, but these are not nations that make decisions the world notices.
The new law in Spain was particularly unexpected because of the Roman Catholic Church's dominance there. The timing was unlikely enough. The recent election of Pope Benedict XVI, who rejects homosexuality itself and vehemently opposes even the discussion of same-sex unions, would have appeared to deter such a drastic change to Spanish culture. Yet, the governing Socialist party pushed the law through parliament and trumped the church — something that hasn't happened a lot in Spain the past eight or nine centuries. The Vatican still is steaming over the introduction of divorce laws two decades ago. Now this.

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6-NEWS: SSM, regions, religions and cultural differences

July 9, 2005
Gay Marriage and Regional Cultural Differences By modo
It's very difficult to read a discussion between those supporting and opposed to gay marriage.  Often it seems like people don't mean the same thing when they say 'marriage'--and the roots may lie in the 17th century.
I will attempt to build on the work of DH Fischer's Albion's Seed and Liberty and Freedom to try to understand why this issue has become a flashpoint.

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