Same-sex marriage coming to Utah

[Uncle Ted]

And states near Utah...

New Mexico legalizes same-sex marriage

New Mexico became the latest state to legalize gay marriage Thursday as its highest court declared it is unconstitutional to deny marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.


Justice Edward L. Chavez said in a ruling that none of New Mexico's marriage statutes specifically prohibits same-sex marriages, but the state's laws as a whole have prevented gay and lesbian couples from marrying.


Same-sex couples have been subjected to a history of discrimination and violence, the justices said. Barring them from getting married violates the equal protection clause of the state constitution.
[...]

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...-marriage.html

[Moliere]

Knock on wood.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Incredible.

I don't know about you guys, but my marriage is still great. Knock on wood.

It's always been a pretty foolish argument that marriage would be diminished by allowing gays to marry. The general argument that marriage stabilizes and benefits society (something I wholeheartedly believe) should apply equally to gay marriage. While I think some people just don't like gay people or view them as a threat, I think there's another group that fears gay marriage could be thrust on religious institutions -- e.g. that the government will use various powers to force churches to perform gay marriages.

I don't really think this will come to pass and be attempted, but then again it might be a mistake to underestimate the ambition of the liberal mindset. I think the line of cases right now involving contraception coverage and the Catholic Church will be enormously influential if that issue is ever presented. Generally speaking, criminal laws and laws proscribing specific activities are equally applicable to everyone. You can't traffic in drugs and then claim it's your religious right to do so. But telling a church that you must affirmatively do something (e.g. you must perform gay marriages) is something entirely different, and it's similar to the Obama Administration telling these Catholic owned entities that they must provide contraception coverage to their employees.

FTR, I don't really care if the LDS Church ever ends up performing gay marriages or not. We're pretty far away from that I think. But I do care deeply about the LDS Church's right to not perform gay marriage and not have the state or federal government try to heavily influence that decision.

[Jeff Lebowski]

[Portland Ute]

Jim Dabakis and his partner have a certificate and are waiting on Mayor Ralph Becker to arrive to marry them.

EVERYONE IS GETTING IN ON THE ACTION!

The floodgates have opened. Now everyone is turning gay and getting married!

[SCcoug]

Trying to decide if I should pull over my car and weep so I can go all hipster on people when the church extends full temple blessings to gays some day.

[old_gregg]

Jim Dabakis and his partner have a certificate and are waiting on Mayor Ralph Becker to arrive to marry them.

EVERYONE IS GETTING IN ON THE ACTION!

The floodgates have opened. Now everyone is turning gay and getting married!

OH GOD I ONLY HAVE SEVEN MONTHS' WORTH OF WHEAT AND 6,500 ROUNDS OF .45

[TripletDaddy]

Time for an emergency FHE tonight

[old_gregg]

a number of facebook friends are currently at the clerk's office waiting to get married. if these don't get overturned or whatever, this is going to be remembered as a monumental day.

[ERCougar]

Time for an emergency FHE tonight

Wow...I thought this was a joke.

[SCcoug]

Wow...I thought this was a joke.

If you have to encourage heterosexuality it probably isn't for them.

[TripletDaddy]

Wow...I thought this was a joke.

when someone first posted it on the board awhile back, my immediate reaction was that it was some sort of white elephant gag gift. turns out it is an actual book.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Robert Shelby, the federal judge on this matter, was just confirmed last year by the Senate. The common practice at the District level is for a Senator of the state to recommend someone to the president. Orin Hatch recommended Shelby to the Obama Administration.

http://www.hatch.senate.gov/public/i...2-d7acab850bc3

I'm not sure if the administration cared very much about who occupied the vacancy at the Utah Federal District level. I knew the daughter of Clinton appointee in Utah and she and her father were not politically liberal by any stretch of the imagination. Like Shelby, Hatch had recommended him.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Time for an emergency FHE tonight

I went to Amazon to order a few for my ambivalent progeny, and was entertained by some of the reviews, including this five-star tribute from a Cristy Christianson:

This book is a true blessing from heaven!!! When our 8 year old son wanted to buy a pink shirt, we were beside ourselves with grief. After putting Dr. Abbott and Dr. Byrd's methods to use, our adolescent son is now a pillar of the straight community. At 16 he's already impregnated 4 girls because we were able to teach him all the right tools to properly engage in successful heterosexual intercourse. If that's not enough, just last week he got in trouble at school for punching a homosexual boy for walking too close to him. We couldn't be more proud of his success at life, and it's all thanks to this book!

[Bo Diddley]

It's always been a pretty foolish argument that marriage would be diminished by allowing gays to marry. The general argument that marriage stabilizes and benefits society (something I wholeheartedly believe) should apply equally to gay marriage. While I think some people just don't like gay people or view them as a threat, I think there's another group that fears gay marriage could be thrust on religious institutions -- e.g. that the government will use various powers to force churches to perform gay marriages.

I don't really think this will come to pass and be attempted, but then again it might be a mistake to underestimate the ambition of the liberal mindset. I think the line of cases right now involving contraception coverage and the Catholic Church will be enormously influential if that issue is ever presented. Generally speaking, criminal laws and laws proscribing specific activities are equally applicable to everyone. You can't traffic in drugs and then claim it's your religious right to do so. But telling a church that you must affirmatively do something (e.g. you must perform gay marriages) is something entirely different, and it's similar to the Obama Administration telling these Catholic owned entities that they must provide contraception coverage to their employees.

FTR, I don't really care if the LDS Church ever ends up performing gay marriages or not. We're pretty far away from that I think. But I do care deeply about the LDS Church's right to not perform gay marriage and not have the state or federal government try to heavily influence that decision.

Not that I think it'll ever come to that, the Church would get out of the marriage business if that happened. And like in other countries, you'd go get married civilly first, and sealed in the Temple after.