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Bilderberg group reveals exclusive guest list; includes Sask. Premier Brad Wall

Posted on June 5, 2013

The Premier of Saskatchewan and the heads of TD Bank, Indigo Books and Loblaws are among half a dozen Canadians who will attend this years exclusive Bilderberg conference.

The invitation-only gathering has released a list of expected participants.

Six are identified as Canadians:

Another person listed as an American, economist Marie-Jose Kravis, is from Montreal.

They will mingle with the likes of International Monetary Fund boss Christine Lagarde, British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, Google chairman Eric Schmidt, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, retired U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger or retired American general David Petraeus, a former CIA director.

This years gathering of 140 participants is scheduled to begin Thursday at a five-star hotel in Hertfordshire, England, The Grove in Watford.

The private annual conference of leaders and experts started in 1954.

Mr. Clark and Ms. Reisman are current members of the Bilderbergs steering committee, which drafts the conference’s program and selects participants.

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Minnesota House passes gay marriage; bill heads to Senate Monday

Posted on May 10, 2013

Minnesota took a big step toward becoming the 12th state in the nation to legalize gay marriage.

The state House approved a bill allowing same-sex marriages by a 75-59 vote Thursday, May 9, after three hours of strikingly civil debate and personal, sometimes emotional speeches.

When the historic vote was announced, a roar from supporters bounced off the Capitol walls.

“It’s not time to uncork the champagne yet, but it’s chilling,” Rep. Steve Simon, DFL-Hopkins, later told supporters at a rally in the Capitol Rotunda.

The bill faces one more test: Monday in the state Senate where supporters say they have the votes to pass it.

If approved, Gov. Mark Dayton could put his expected signature on it as soon as Tuesday, and gay marriages could begin Aug. 1.

The emotional debate in the House was highlighted by the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Karen Clark, a Minneapolis DFLer who is gay. She recognized her partner, who had come to the Capitol for the vote, and made a plea to her fellow representatives to support the legislation.

“Same-sex couples pay our taxes. We vote. We serve in the military. We take care of our kids and our elders, and we run businesses in Minnesota,” Clark said before the vote.

“Same-sex couples should be treated fairly under the law, including the freedom to marry the person we love.”

Minnesota for Marriage, the main group opposing gay marriage, issued a statement afterward urging the Senate to block the bill.

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Minnesota appears poised to legalize gay marriage

Posted on May 8, 2013

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Minnesota appears poised to legalize gay marriage, as the Democratic speaker of the state House said Tuesday that a gay marriage bill endorsed by the governor and likely to pass in the state Senate also now has enough backing in his chamber.

The House will vote on the measure Thursday, and if it passes, the Democratic-led Senate could vote on it as soon as Saturday.

House Speaker Paul Thissen, of Minneapolis, said that the 73-member Democratic majority he leads will produce at least the 68 votes needed to pass the bill. Senate leaders are also confident of passage, and Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton has promised to sign the bill, which would allow gay couples to marry as of Aug. 1.

“I think it’s in line with the tradition we’ve had in Minnesota about respecting people, making sure everybody is included in our community and the fullness of participation in that,” Thissen said.

If the bill passes, it would mark a stunning about-face on the issue in Minnesota, where only six months ago voters were asked whether they wanted to enshrine the current gay marriage ban in the state constitution. They didn’t.

No House Republicans have committed to vote for the bill. Thissen said while their votes are not needed, they would be appreciated. “It’s not a partisan issue. You’ve seen many prominent Republicans speak out on this issue,” Thissen said. One Senate Republican, Branden Petersen of Andover, publicly supports the bill.

Fifth-term Rep. Pat Garofalo, a Republican from Farmington, told The Associated Press he decided Monday night he would oppose the bill, saying he had concerns about the adequacy of religious protections. He said he preferred an alternate civil union proposal that would extend gay couples more legal rights, but wouldn’t allow them to marry.

“We would be much better off unifying the state behind civil unions,” Garofalo said. Another Republican, Rep. Tim Kelly planned to push an amendment Thursday to swap gay marriage for civil unions.

Unable to count on any Republican support, House Democrats have had to rely on support from several party members from rural, more socially conservative areas where voters strongly backed last fall’s failed proposed gay marriage ban. But in recent days, a number of those members have come out in support of the bill.

“My brother is gay,” said Rep. Shannon Savick, DFL-Albert Lea, who said she’d vote for the bill. “I watched my brother being discriminated against when we were younger. I just don’t see why he shouldn’t be able to marry the person he loves. I did.”

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Rhode Island lawmakers pass gay marriage bill; governor to sign it

Posted on May 2, 2013

By Edith Honan

(Reuters) – Rhode Island lawmakers gave final approval to a bill to legalize gay marriage on Thursday, making it the 10th U.S. state to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples and the last of the six New England states to do so.

Governor Lincoln Chafee, an independent, signed the bill into law almost immediately after the vote on Thursday. The new law will take effect on August 1.

“We would not be where we are today without the Rhode Islanders who for decades have fought for tolerance and freedom over discrimination and division,” Chafee said. “I am proud to say that now, at long last, you are free to marry the person you love.”

Last week, the Democratic-led state Senate approved the measure with the support of the entire Republican caucus. The state House had approved a similar bill in January and on Thursday approved the Senate’s amended bill.

The vote marks the latest in a string of victories for gay marriage advocates. Last November, voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington state approved same-sex marriage, while in Minnesota, voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Before that point, advocates of same-sex marriage had never been successful at the ballot box, and voters in more than two dozen states had approved constitutional amendments defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Lawmakers in Illinois, Delaware and Minnesota have joined Rhode Island in taking up same-sex marriage legislation this year. In Delaware, the bill has passed the state’s lower house and is scheduled for a vote in the upper house on May 7.

New Jersey Democrats, meanwhile, have until next January to attempt to override Governor Chris Christie’s veto of a same-sex marriage bill in that state.

The other six states that have legalized same-sex marriage are Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Iowa.

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Rhode Island 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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Rhode Island lawmakers pass gay marriage bill; governor signs it

Posted on May 2, 2013

By Edith Honan

(Reuters) – Rhode Island lawmakers gave final approval to a bill to legalize gay marriage on Thursday, making it the 10th U.S. state to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples and the last of the six New England states to do so.

Governor Lincoln Chafee, an independent, signed the bill into law almost immediately after the vote on Thursday. The new law will take effect on August 1.

“We would not be where we are today without the Rhode Islanders who for decades have fought for tolerance and freedom over discrimination and division,” Chafee said. “I am proud to say that now, at long last, you are free to marry the person you love.”

The governor later joined the state’s main gay rights organization, Rhode Islanders United for Marriage, at a victory party in the state capital Providence.

Last week, the Democratic-led state Senate approved the measure with the support of the entire Republican caucus. The state House had approved a similar bill in January and on Thursday approved the Senate’s amended bill.

Despite the victory, some in the state continued to voice strong opposition.

In an open letter, Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence said he was “profoundly disappointed” by the vote and encouraged Catholics to “examine their consciences very carefully before deciding whether or not to endorse same-sex relationships or attend same-sex ceremonies.”

The vote marks the latest in a string of victories for gay marriage advocates. Last November, voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington state approved same-sex marriage, while in Minnesota, voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Before that point, advocates of same-sex marriage had never been successful at the ballot box, and voters in more than two dozen states had approved constitutional amendments defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

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Parties planned ahead of gay marriage bill vote tonight

Posted on April 17, 2013

Source: photos.com

More than 1000 Australian same-sex couples say they will fly to New Zealand to get hitched if a bill to legalise gay marriage passes through Parliament.

Politicians are expected to back gay marriage in a vote tonight, making New Zealand the 13th country to do so.

*onenews.co.nz will be live streaming and live updating the reading and vote of the bill tonight. Gay marriage advocate Rodney Croome says a survey by his organisation, Australian Marriage Equality, has found more than 1000 couples plan to travel to New Zealand to tie the knot.

The Kiwis would now get a slice of the estimated $700 million spent by Australian same-sex couples on their weddings, he said.

Most Australian same-sex partners would prefer to marry the person they love in the country they love, Croome said.

“But now that marriage equality is only three hours away there will be a flood of couples flying to New Zealand to tie the knot and spend their money,” he said in a statement.

New Zealand was set to reap a massive economic dividend from the wedding spend of those Australian same-sex couples who were tired of their country’s failure to act.

Last year, an attempt to legalise gay marriage failed in the Australian parliament, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard opposed to the move, and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott refusing coalition MPs a conscience vote.

Crowds expected at Parliament

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Aussies plan NZ weddings if gay marriage bill passes

Posted on April 17, 2013

Source: photos.com

More than 1000 Australian same-sex couples say they will fly to New Zealand to get hitched if a bill to legalise gay marriage passes through Parliament.

Politicians are expected to back gay marriage in a vote tonight, making New Zealand the 13th country to do so.

*onenews.co.nz will be live streaming and live updating the reading and vote of the bill tonight. Gay marriage advocate Rodney Croome says a survey by his organisation, Australian Marriage Equality, has found more than 1000 couples plan to travel to New Zealand to tie the knot.

The Kiwis would now get a slice of the estimated $700 million spent by Australian same-sex couples on their weddings, he said.

Most Australian same-sex partners would prefer to marry the person they love in the country they love, Croome said.

“But now that marriage equality is only three hours away there will be a flood of couples flying to New Zealand to tie the knot and spend their money,” he said in a statement.

New Zealand was set to reap a massive economic dividend from the wedding spend of those Australian same-sex couples who were tired of their country’s failure to act.

Last year, an attempt to legalise gay marriage failed in the Australian parliament, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard opposed to the move, and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott refusing coalition MPs a conscience vote.

Crowds expected at Parliament

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Changed minds & demographics in gay marriage shift

Posted on March 22, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) The nation’s views on gay marriage are more favorable in large part because of a shift in attitudes among those who know someone who is gay or became more accepting as they got older of gays and lesbians, according to a national survey.

The Pew Research Center poll also finds that a large group of younger adults who tend to be more open to gay rights is driving the numbers upward. The issue has grabbed the national spotlight recently with the public embrace of same-sex marriage by Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio.

“We’ve certainly seen the trend over the last ten years,” Michael Dimock, director of the center, said Wednesday. “But we’re now really in a position to talk about the combination of generational change and personal change that have sort of brought the country to where it is today.”

Overall, the poll finds 49 percent of Americans favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally, and 44 percent opposed to the idea. That’s more people now favoring gay marriage than opposing it. A decade ago 58 percent opposed it and a third supported it.

The 49 percent who now support same-sex marriage includes 14 percent who said they have changed their minds.

When asked why, almost one-third say it’s because they know someone who is gay a family member, friend or acquaintance. A quarter said their personal views have changed as they thought more about the issue or just because they’ve grown older and more accepting.

One of those polled said: “My best friend from high school is a gay man, and he deserves the same rights,” adding that his friend and a partner “are in a committed relationship.”

Another person attributed the shift in attitude to “old fashioned ignorance,” and said “I grew up a little bit.”

Just 2 percent overall said their views have shifted against gay marriage.

Another major factor in the long-term shift in the public’s view: the so-called millennial generation of young adults born since 1980_today’s 18- to 32-year-olds who entered adulthood in the new millennium. The survey finds 70 percent of millennials favor same-sex marriage.

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In Bible Belt, rift emerges in pro- gay marriage movement

Posted on March 13, 2013

By Edith Honan

LOUISVILLE, Ky (Reuters) – In Kentucky, a Bible Belt state where voters have passed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, the movement to promote gay rights has two factions.

One seeks to overturn discrimination through a legislative path, admitting it faces long odds. The other wants to break down barriers to gay marriage with demonstrations and civil disobedience.

Chris Hartman, head of Kentucky’s Fairness Campaign, spends his time lobbying for a nondiscrimination law that would protect gays and lesbians from losing their jobs or being denied housing because of their sexual orientation.

He concedes that the law, which has been proposed every year for a decade and has never been brought to a vote, has little chance of passing any time soon.

Then there is Rev. Maurice Blanchard, who says he is less patient. He is calling for an historic gay rights march on the state capitol on March 26, the day the Supreme Court begins hearing two gay-marriage cases: one on a marriage ban in California and another on a federal law that restricts the definition of marriage to the union of a man and a woman.

The issue has put the two men, both openly gay and in their early 30s, at loggerheads. Hartman says gay marriage is a non-starter for state lawmakers and talk of it will only set back negotiations for more moderate proposals, like a non-discrimination law.

“Marriage is on the forefront of many people’s minds, and it’s tough to go to the folks who are excited about relationship recognition and be the person to say, ‘But that’s not where our leaders are,’” said Hartman. “It’s not that it’s ambitious; it’s unrealistic.”

Blanchard, who was arrested with his partner in January when they refused to leave the Jefferson County clerk’s office after being denied a marriage license, likens his fight to the struggle for black civil rights and says there is no proper time to demand equality.

“I want the (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) person who sees this event to feel affirmed: Faith is not against me and in fact it is the basis for calling for your rights,” Blanchard said.

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