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Gay marriage: Minnesotans' personal accounts

Posted on May 13, 2013

On Monday, political signs addressing the same-sex marriage debate could be seen everywhere on the steps to the state Capitol.

The mass-produced variety expressed either “I Support the Freedom to Marry” or “Vote No — Don’t Erase Moms and Dads.”

Homemade signs were less common.

One read: “We love you, but please don’t impose your same-sex beliefs on us.”

Another suggested: “Three words that will save the economy: Gay bridal registry.”

For every sign, there were dozens of people debating whether Minnesota should become the 12th state in the country to legalize gay marriage.

Here’s what four people at the Capitol had to say on Monday, May 13, just hours before a historic Senate debate.

NICK SKY

Nick Sky doesn’t hate gay people.

But Sky, 28, of Plymouth was one of the few on the Capitol steps around 8:30 a.m. Monday holding a sign in opposition to the drive for same-sex marriage in Minnesota.

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Quinn calls on House to send him gay marriage bill

Posted on May 10, 2013

Gov. Pat Quinn called on the Illinois House to send him legislation to legalize gay marriage, saying lawmakers had plenty of time to make up their mind on the issue.

The state Senate passed the measure on Valentine’s Day, and the governor has said he’s ready to sign it.

It’s time to vote, Quinn said Thursday. Illinois passing marriage equality into law, I think, sends a great signal to the people of our state and the people of America. So it’s important to Illinois (that) the House of Representatives get going.

The Democratic governors comments come a day after Delaware Gov. Jack Markell signed a gay marriage bill into law and the same day the Minnesota House endorsed a same-sex marriage bill.

Quinn contends the support is there to pass the measure, though sponsoring Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, would not say when he expects to call the legislation for a vote. Harris noted the lawmakers were focused on pension reform, but said momentum continues to build in favor of same-sex marriage.

In the last couple months we have seen the voters of three different states vote for marriage equality at the ballot bot and in the last week we saw two other states, and probably a third today, where the legislature said that treating people equally is the right American thing to do, Harris said. Now the eyes of the country are on Illinois to see if we are going to do the right thing.

Supporters have said they are closing in on the 60 House votes required to send the bill to Quinn. But backers also are not expected to call the bill until theyre sure they have enough votes lined up to pass it. The thinking is that gay marriage supporters dont want to ask allies to take what for some is a tough vote politically if the measure is going to fail because that would make it more difficult to muster support a second time.

Opponents say marriage should continue to be defined as between a man and a woman. Cardinal Francis George and other religious leaders are mustering opposition to the bill and blocked it from passing in the lame-duck session that ended in early January.

The pro-gay marriage side has a well-funded push to sway lawmakers and the public into their camp.

Harris said he hopes his colleagues were paying attention to the action in other states, saying that none of the horrible scenarios that opponents envision have come true.

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RI becomes 10th state to legalize gay marriage

Posted on May 2, 2013

Charles Krupa / AP

Rhode Island House Speaker Gordon Fox, right, embraces his partner, Marcus LaFond, after a vote to pass a gay marriage bill at the State House in Providence, R.I., Thursday, May 2, 2013.

By Andrew Rafferty, Staff Writer, NBC News

Rhode Island became the final state in New England and the 10th in the country to legalize gay marriage after independent Gov.Lincoln Chafee on Thursday signed a bill that will allow same-sex marriage.

“I know that you have been waiting for this day to come,” Chafee said to the state’s gay and lesbian community at a bill-signing ceremony in front of hundreds. “I know you have loved ones that dreamed this would happen but did not live to see it. But I am proud to say that now at long last, you are free to marry the person you love.”

In a New York Times op-ed Wednesday, Chafee outlined his support for gay marriage not only on moral grounds, but also economic.

“The talented workers who are driving the new economy young, educated and forward-looking want to live in a place that reflects their values. They want diversity, not simply out of a sense of justice, but because diversity makes life more fun,” he wrote. “Why would any state turn away the people who are most likely to create the economies of the 21st century?”

As a Republican U.S. senator in 2004, Chafee voiced his support for gay marriage when most members of his party werestaunchlyopposed to it. He was ousted from his Senate seat in 2006 but won the governor’s race in the Ocean State in 2010 as an independent.

Chafee is now calling on fellow governors to push for similar legislation to what passed in Rhode Island on Thursday, and calling for the Supreme Court to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act. Though public opinion continues to turn in favor of same-sex marriage, legalizing it is still a heavy lift for many states.

Even in Rhode Island, which sits in the country’s friendliest territory for gay-marriage supporters, opposition from the state’s heavy Catholic population put the prospects of passage in jeopardy for years.The legislation has been introduced in the House every session since 1997.

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First ever Palestinian marathon: Running to change West Bank's image

Posted on April 22, 2013

Ammar Awad / Reuters

Racers reach the finish line of the first Palestinian marathon in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Sunday.

By Paul Goldman, Producer, NBC News

BETHLEHEM, West Bank Jesus’ traditional birthplace has long been linked to tensions between Israel and the Palestinians. On Sunday, around 650 athletes took a step towards transforming Bethlehem’s modern image by running in the first official Palestinian marathon.

Its a strange site to see people run in the West Bank, said runner Dina Khuri, 21, from Beit Sahour. Usually when people run here it has to do with violence, but this time its for fun.”

Courtesy Dina Khouri

Dina Khouri, left, took part in an historic marathon in the West Bank on Sunday.

Security was tight in the wake of the Boston attacks that killed three and injured more than 170 on Monday. Before the event, organizers said they were “deeply saddened by the news from Boston.”

For George Zeidan from Jerusalem, the marathon was not only about fitness.

“Sports (are) my inspiration and my way of identifying myself,” he wrote in a blog posted on the marathon website before the race. “I am running for the freedom of Palestine and my people. I am running to inform everybody that we Palestinians are just like everyone else, we run, dance, sing, play, jump, and have fun, not only that but we are also good at it.”

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1st Palestinian marathon: Running to change West Bank's image

Posted on April 22, 2013

Ammar Awad / Reuters

Racers reach the finish line of the first Palestinian marathon in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Sunday.

By Paul Goldman, Producer, NBC News

BETHLEHEM, West Bank Jesus’ traditional birthplace has long been linked to tensions between Israel and the Palestinians. On Sunday, around 650 athletes took a step towards transforming Bethlehem’s modern image by running in the first official Palestinian marathon.

Its a strange site to see people run in the West Bank, said runner Dina Khuri, 21, from Beit Sahour. Usually when people run here it has to do with violence, but this time its for fun.”

Courtesy Dina Khouri

Dina Khouri, left, took part in an historic marathon in the West Bank on Sunday.

Security was tight in the wake of the Boston attacks that killed three and injured more than 170 on Monday. Before the event, organizers said they were “deeply saddened by the news from Boston.”

For George Zeidan from Jerusalem, the marathon was not only about fitness.

“Sports (are) my inspiration and my way of identifying myself,” he wrote in a blog posted on the marathon website before the race. “I am running for the freedom of Palestine and my people. I am running to inform everybody that we Palestinians are just like everyone else, we run, dance, sing, play, jump, and have fun, not only that but we are also good at it.”

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Gay marriage debate overlooks Creator's interpretation of marriage: Letters to the editor

Posted on April 10, 2013

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The national debate over gay marriage continues, a fire stoked by recent U.S. Supreme Court cases and a Facebook post from a former local lawmaker.

Reader David Jay Walsh of Grand Rapids believes people are overlooking the reason for marriage, as defined by the creator. Here is his letter to the editor:

It deeply disturbs me that our nation whose moral foundation is firmly anchored in the Judeo/Christian scriptures, and where the Ten Commandments are carved in stone above the Supreme Court building, overlooks the Creator’s interpretation of marriage!

In the book of Genesis the Creator specifically said that all seed bearing plants, animals, birds, and fish.would reproduce ‘after their kind.’ He then created a male and female, two genders, not three, for the procreation of the human race. This eliminates the concept for gay marriages.

The Creator, who soundly condemns sodomy, cannot and will not convey His blessing on such relationships and neither should our national leaders! They should not pander to those who want to change the biblical meaning of marriage.

Saint Paul in the first chapter of the book of Romans clearly explains the reasons why people veer away from God’s plan for marriage. Our leaders must not change God’s plan for marriage by cow-towing to a noisy minority who wish to do so!

DAVID JAY WALSH Grand Rapids

Second Amendment is to protect us from government

Whats so important about the Second Amendment? Is it about hunting, about 30-round magazines, about gun ownership, or about personal protection? Yes, all of these things, plus the most important one, but first quotes from a few Founding Fathers: if ever a time should come when vain inspiring men shall possess the highest seat in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin Samuel Adams.

What country can preserve its liberty if its rulers are not warned from time-to-time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. Thomas Jefferson.

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Gay marriage debate overlooks Creator's interpretation of marriage: Letters to the editor

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Gay marriage opponents criticized for making comparison to Nazi propaganda

Posted on March 30, 2013

A group that opposes legalizing gay marriage in Minnesota is being criticized for materials it sent to pastors urging them to take a stance against same-sex marriage in their Sunday sermons, including information that compares the tactics of gay rights activists to Nazi propaganda.

“This is the second time in less than six months that spokespeople for Minnesota for Marriage have compared our respectful conversation and the loving and committed relationships of same-sex couples to Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. Sending this appalling comparison out during Passover and as we approach Easter makes it even more hurtful to people of faith,” said Richard Carlbom, campaign manager for Minnesotans United for All Families.

Minnesota for Marriage, which opposes legalizing same-sex marriage, called the issue a “smoke screen” by the other side and an example of the kind of attack on religious freedom that can be expected if same-sex marriage is legalized in the state.

“This is simply a desperate attempt to distract Minnesotans in order to convince them that children don’t really need a mother and a father,” said Autumn Leva, a spokeswoman for Minnesota for Marriage. “This distraction just exposes the fact that they have been saying the people of Minnesota have given them a mandate to legalize gay marriage, when all the polls show that they didn’t.”

The group is promoting a “Stand For Marriage Sunday” on April 7. Materials were posted on the group’s website Wednesday,

One section in a document entitled “Sermon Starters” refers to “old ‘gay gene’ studies” cited by homosexuals who say, “We were born this way; it is in our genes; God made us gay.”

“They essentially practice Joseph Goebel’s Nazi philosophy of propaganda, which is basically this: Tell a lie long enough and loud enough and eventually most mindless Americans will believe it,” the document states, misspelling the Nazi figure’s last name.

Minnesota for Marriage faced criticism in the fall when its church outreach director, the Rev. Brad Brandon, compared opponents’ tactics on the gay marriage amendment fight to those used by Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany. Brandon and other Minnesota for Marriage leaders quickly apologized for the “inapt” analogy at the time.

Megan Boldt can be reached at 651-228-5495. Follow her at twitter.com/meganboldt.

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Gay Marriage Didn’t Swing 2004 Election: Dowd

Posted on March 27, 2013

On this day when a momentous series of cases related to gay marriage are being heard before the Supreme Court, I thought it time to reflect on a broader topic of leadership and motivation.

So often in life we let fear, old stories or myths prevent us from living from our heart and pursue what we love, cause us to be less tolerant, or keep us from leading in a strong compassionate way. Many times fear causing us to fight (against bullies) or flee (when imminent danger is around) is a good and valid response. But when fear and old stories cause us to freeze or to not lead in a heartfelt way, we know we are probably about to make a bad decision.

The bullies in our lives (and politics) will often repeat old stories about ourselves, themselves, or society in general in order to keep us from doing what our heart knows deep down is just and right. This happens many times in our relationships, in our jobs, or just in the interaction with friends and the people we care about. It causes our elected officials to freeze and not lead where the country deep down really desires to go. Leaders usually never lead, they usually follow where the country is already going. This happened in a profound way on the issue of gay marriage.

The strength of the anti gay marriage message as a successful wedge issue in politics a while back proved ineffective. I have written and talked about this before, but it bears repeating on this important day in our country’s history and for the world when nine folks in robes listened to arguments on both sides of the gay marriage issue. In 2004, voters were already ahead of our leaders, and the amendments on the ballots concerning the legality gay marriage had no effect on turnout.

Follow ABC’s Live Updates Here: Gay Marriage at the Supreme Court

Speaking from experience as the chief strategist in 2004 for President Bush, I saw in close detail how little gay marriage could influence turnout of conservatives or evangelicals. In 2003 and 2004, we did a series of public opinion tests on different messages related to the micro targeting project that would cause voter groups to turn out more in President Bush’s favor. We tested social issues as well as messages related to the economy, national security, taxes and the size of the federal government. Not a single social issue (which included gay marriage) fell on the effectiveness scale in the top eight messages.

Further, in analyzing the election returns in the aftermath of the 2004 presidential race an interesting set of data was revealed. In states that had gay marriage amendments on the ballot including key target states, there was no statistical difference in turnout of conservatives from states that did not have these amendments on the ballot. Gay marriage had no effect on turnout even among the most conservative potential voters in both the data before Election Day and the returns on Election Day.

The 2004 election already was showing voters were ahead of our leaders and especially ahead of consultants who grew up using wedge issues in the 1980s. They were repeating an old story that was no longer true. And this old story even scared Democratic politicians like Bill and Hillary Clinton as well as President Obama, all of who were against gay marriage as recently as the 2008 election. They bought into this old story and myth and were afraid to lead from a place of love and compassion, and reacted with fear. Not fear of reality, but fear of a myth.

INFOGRAPHIC: How Support For Gay Marriage Has Grown

This same type of fear also caused many leaders (and the media) not to stand up in the face of a disastrous war in Iraq. In that case they were afraid of being called weak or unpatriotic on defense, and because of that fear thousands of life’s were lost and more than a trillion dollars spent because many of us didn’t have the courage at the time to stand up and say no. Many Republicans use this fear to scare leaders from opposing a failed policy on war and military defense.

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Obama prepares for West Bank visit

Posted on March 22, 2013

President Barack Obama waves to the crowed at the end of his speech to Israeli students at the International Convention Center today. Photograph: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images

MARK WEISS in Jerusalem

US President Barack Obama has made an impassioned plea to the Israel i public to pressure their leaders to make peace and ensure the future of Israel as a democratic and Jewish state.

Addressing 600 enthusiastic university students in Jerusalem today he stressed that peace is possible, despite all the difficulties, but Israels occupation of the West Bank must end if there is to be lasting peace and security for the Jewish state.

Speaking as a politician, I can promise you this: political leaders will not take risks if the people do not demand that they do. You must create the change that you want to see.

He was continuously interrupted with applause from the dovish audience, chosen in advance by the US embassy. One student was evicted after he heckled the president, shouting free Palestine.

Mr Obama repeated comments he made the previous day that the US will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear bomb, but most of his speech was devoted to the need to make an historic compromise with the Palestinians.

Just as Israelis built a state in their homeland, Palestinians have a right to be a free people in their own land.

He described the current Palestinian leadership as true partners for peace, and he made it clear the US will stand by Israel if it takes the risks required for peace.

Make no mistake: those who adhere to the ideology of rejecting Israels right to exist might as well reject the earth beneath them and the sky above, because Israel is not going anywhere. Today, I want to tell you particularly the young people that so long as there is a Un ited States of America, you are not alone.

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Obama visits West Bank as rockets strike Israel

Posted on March 22, 2013

RAMALLAH, West Bank ?? President Obama told Palestinians they “deserve an end to occupation” and an “independent state of their own” during a visit Thursday to a territory that Palestinians want as a nation.

Later, back in Israel, Obama said the Jewish state is at a crossroads and must help create an independent Palestinian state for the secure future of Israel. He said Israelis could not expect to remain safe without peace because “extremists” thrive on conflict.

“It is not fair that a Palestinian child cannot grow up in a state of their own,” he told hundreds of Israeli students in a speech in Jerusalem. “Palestinians have a right to be free people in their own land.”

Following a two-hour visit with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, Obama’s asserted that the borders for a Palestinian the state can only be settled through negotiations with Israel and that protect the national security of the Jewish state. He proposed no initiatives of his own to resolve the matter.

His visit was greeted by small protests in the West Bank and rockets fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza into Israel. The rockets landed in a town in southern Israel but did not cause any injuries.

Hoping to move the Middle East peace process forward, Obama flew by helicopter Thursday the short distance from Jerusalem to Ramallah, the seat of Palestinian government. Obama was met by Abbas, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Saeb Erekat, the Palestinians’ longtime peace negotiator.

It was the first time Obama had been to the West Bank as president, a territory conferred limited state status by the United Nations last November.

In a news conference held with Obama, Abbas said that peace was “possible” and “necessary,” but he also said that it would not be achieved through wars and settlements — or through violence. He said that the people of Palestine aspire to their rights.

Obama said that “the only way to achieve that was through direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians themselves.” He said that it was important not to give up on the search for peace.

Palestinian protesters complained that Obama has done little to pressure Israel to cave on the issues that have led to a stalemate, such as where to draw the borders for the new state and which Jewish communities in the West Bank, known as settlements, should be made part of Israel proper.

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