www.lambdalegal.org

It is an unforgettable day for same-sex couples and advocates of equality across the nation! The California Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the state may no longer exclude same-sex couples from civil marriage in that state.

Lambda Legal, lead counsel NCLR and the ACLU have been fighting thiscase on behalf of 14 same-sex couples, Equality California and OurFamily Coalition for the past four years and today we have made history!

In its powerful decision, the court said, "In light of thefundamental nature of the substantive rights embodied in the right tomarry -- and their central importance to an individual's opportunity tolive a happy, meaningful and satisfying life as a full member ofsociety -- the California Constitution properly must be interpreted toguarantee this basic civil right to all couples, without regard totheir sexual orientation."

California is now the second state in the country where same-sex couples have the freedom to marry. Visit Lambda Legal's Relationships Resources Page for more information.

Now we must all do what we can to make sure that discrimination isnot written into the state constitution in California through a ballotinitiative. Visit the Equality for All website to see how you can help.

"We have waited more than 50 years for the opportunity to marry,"said Phyllis Lyon, 80. She and her partner Del Martin, 84, wereplaintiffs in the case. They have been together 55 years and were thefirst couple married in San Francisco on February 12, 2004. "We arethrilled that this day has finally come."

The New York Times
Photo from The NY Times

California Court Affirms Right to Gay Marriage

Same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The court's 4-to-3 decision striking down state laws that had limited marriages to unions between a man and a woman makes California only the second state, after Massachusetts, to allow same-sex marriages. The decision, which becomes effective in 30 days, is certain to be an issue in the presidential campaign.

"In view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship," Chief Justice Ronald M. George wrote of marriage for the majority, "the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples."

California already has a strong domestic partnership law that gives gay and lesbian couples nearly all of the benefits and burdens of heterosexual marriage. The majority said that is not enough.

Given the historic, cultural, symbolic and constitutional significance of the concept of marriage, Chief Justice George wrote, the state cannot limit marriage to opposite-sex couples. The court left open the possibility that another terms could denote state-sanctioned unions so long as that term was used across the board.

The state's ban on same-sex marriage was based on a law enacted by the Legislature in 1977 and a statewide initiative approved by the voters in 2000, both defining marriage as limited to unions between a man and a woman. The question before the court was whether those laws violate provisions of the state Constitution protecting equality and fundamental rights.

Conservative groups have proposed a new initiative, this one to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage. If it is allowed onto the ballot in November and approved by the voters, Thursday's decision would be overridden. The groups have gathered more than a million signatures on initiative petitions and submitted them to the state.

Justice Marvin R. Baxter, dissenting, said the majority had should have deferred to the state Legislature, which has in recent years increased legal protections for same-sex couples.

"But a bare majority of this court," Justice Baxter wrote, "not satisfied with the pace of democratic change, now abruptly forestalls that process and substitutes, by judicial fiat, its own social policy views for those expressed by the people themselves."

The California Legislature has twice passed bills allowing same-sex marriages, but they were vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who said they would overturn the 2000 referendum.

Mr. Schwarzenegger opposes the current ballot initiative seeking a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. He said Thursday that he respected the court's decision and would not support overturning it.

In 2004, Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco directed the county clerk to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. Before the California Supreme Court halted the practice, more than 4,000 same-sex couples received marriage licenses in San Francisco.

Blamed Gays In Part For Mortgage Crisis HUD Head Steps Down Amid Criminal Probe
by The Associated Press

Posted: April 1, 2008 - 11:00 am ET

(Washington) HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, his tenure tarnished by allegations of political favoritism and a criminal investigation, announced his resignation amid the wreckage of the national housing crisis.

He leaves behind a trail of unanswered questions about whether he tilted the Department of Housing and Urban Development toward Republican contractors and cronies.

The move comes at a shaky time for the economy, with soaring mortgage foreclosures imperiling the nation's credit markets.

In announcing that his last day at HUD will be April 18, Jackson said only, "There comes a time when one must attend more diligently to personal and family matters."

Some Congressional Democrats had pushed for him to leave.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said that while Jackson's resignation is "appropriate, it does nothing to address the Bush administration's wait-and-don't-see posture to our nation's housing crisis."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said HUD will be called on to work with Congress on assisting refinancing for borrowers faced with imminent foreclosure.

The ethical allegations against Jackson "meant that the Bush administration's ineffective housing policies were being burdened by an even more ineffective HUD Secretary," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said after Jackson's announcement.

President Bush called Jackson "a strong leader and a good man." Ties between the two men go back to the 1980s when they lived in the same Dallas neighborhood. It was Jackson's personal ties to Bush that brought him to Washington, where he displayed a forceful personal style at HUD for seven years, first as the agency's No. 2 official and since 2004 in the top slot.

Despite a strong commitment to housing for those in need, Jackson was capable of ill-advised public comments.

Last year, after the subprime mortgage crisis erupted, many policymakers underlined the disproportionate impact of the high-risk, high-cost mortgages on minorities and the elderly, who often are targets of predatory lending practices that lure people into loans they are incapable of repaying.

Asked about the problems with subprime mortgages last June, Jackson insisted that many such borrowers were not unsophisticated, low-income people but what he called "Yuppies, Buppies and Guppies" - well-educated, young, black and gay upwardly mobile achievers - with expensive cars who bought $400,000 homes with little or no money down.

In announcing his departure, Jackson said that in his time at HUD, "We have helped families keep their homes. We have transformed public housing. We have reduced chronic homelessness. And we have preserved affordable housing and increased minority homeownership."

Bush has been cool to the idea of a big federal housing rescue. "The temptation of Washington is to say that anything short of a massive government intervention in the housing market amounts to inaction," the president said recently. "I strongly disagree with that sentiment."

On Monday on his way out of the country for a trip built around a NATO summit, Bush said he wants Congress to modernize HUD's Federal Housing Administration, allowing more struggling homeowners to refinance their mortgages.

In October, the National Journal first reported on the criminal investigation of Jackson. The FBI has been examining the ties between Jackson and a friend who was paid $392,000 by Jackson's department as a construction manager in New Orleans. Jackson's friend got the job after Jackson asked a staff member to pass along his name to the Housing Authority of New Orleans.

In another instance of alleged favoritism that came to light in February, the Philadelphia housing authority alleges that Jackson retaliated against the agency because it refused to award a vacant lot worth $2 million to soul-music producer-turned-community developer Kenny Gamble for redevelopment of a public housing complex.

U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond ruled Monday in Philadelpia that HUD acted legally and did not retaliate against the housing authority.

Jackson's problems began in 2006, when he told a group of commercial real estate executives that he had revoked a contract because the applicant who thanked him said he did not like President Bush. Jackson later told investigators "I lied" when he made the remark about taking back the contract.

The probe of Jackson's comment by the HUD inspector general ended with no action taken against him, but the investigators brought to light friction between the HUD secretary and some contractors who have long done business with the agency, a number of them donors to Democrats. On Monday, the IG's office said it had seen Jackson's latest remarks and "there is nothing more that we can add."

In the IG probe, some of Jackson's own aides contradicted his account of one incident in which investigators found the HUD secretary had blocked a contract for several months to one heavily Democratic donor. Jackson blamed his aides for the delay in the award.

Jackson was the first black leader of the housing authority in Dallas, where his integration efforts caused clashes with some local homeowners in predominantly white neighborhoods.

©365Gay.com 2008

Joplin Gay & Lesbian Center is proud to announce "My Lawful Wedded Spouse - Redux" as part of Freedom to Marry Week 2008. The Valentine's Day dance will take place at the new Groove Lounge on 7th Street in Joplin, MO, on Thursday, February 14th. The 21 and over event is a DJ dance from 7pm - 1am with a $5 cover as a donation to the Center.

Dan's Tuxedo and B's Bridal will offer tuxedo rentals for $25 for this event only. Call 417-623-3808 or stop by at 1115 Illinois Ave, Suite 3, in Joplin.

Joplin Gay & Lesbian Center also announces a screening of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" on Monday, February 11th, 2008 at the Joplin Public Library starting at 6:30pm. This is the HBO-recorded version of the smash Broadway and national touring hit. This event is free and open to the public.

For info on the Center, see www.myspace.com/gaylesbiancenter or Lee McDaniel, President & Founder, at 417/622-7821 or gaylesbiancenter@gmail.com. For info on Freedom to Marry Week, see www.freedomtomarry.org

=============== Photo from HBO.com ===========

The Vagina Monologues

Documentary segments produced by Meema Spadola

Buy a copy at the HBO Store

Eve Ensler's award-winning performance of THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES premiered on HBO on Valentine's Day 2002. This production, now available on DVD and VHS, features new interviews with a diverse group of women.

Joplin Gay & Lesbian Center and Murphy's Irish Pub are pleased to announce Wedding Reception Karaoke as part of Freedom to Marry Week 2008. The event will take place on Wednesday, February 13th from 9pm - 1am at Murphy's Irish Pub at 22nd and Main in Joplin, MO. No cover charge. Muphy's will have drink and shot specials throughout the night. Donations may be made to the Center.

For more info, see www.myspace.com/gaylesbiancenter, email gaylesbiancenter@gmail, or call Lee McDaniel at 417-622-7821.