A Victory For Marriage Equality In Pennsylvania
Yesterday we saw Oregon’s ban on same-sex marriage declared unconstitutional and on Tuesday Pennsylvania’s ban has bit the dust. This makes Pennsylvania the nineteenth state to see same-sex marriage legalized.
HRC President Chad Griffin released the following statement regarding the marriage equality victory in Pennsylvania: “Today a federal judge appointed by President George W. Bush became the latest to uphold the most sacred ideals of this nation and our Constitution – that justice and equality matter above all else. It seems that every passing day brings LGBT Americans a new victory in our unwavering march toward justice. And thanks to our friends at the ACLU of PA and ACLU National, the attorneys of Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller, and the proud plaintiffs who brought this case, the inescapable reality of full equality under the law is now one step closer.”
Judge Strikes Down Oregon’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban
Despite Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s refusal to defend her state’s gay marriage ban, the National Organization for Marriage asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to let them argue against same-sex marriage on behalf of the state. However, NOM’s efforts were not successful and Judge Michael McShane rejected their request. In his ruling today, Judge McShane wrote: “Expanding the embrace of civil marriage to gay and lesbian couples will not burden any legitimate state interest… The state’s marriage laws unjustifiably treat same-gender couples differently than opposite-gender couples. The laws assess a couple’s fitness for civil marriage based on their sexual orientation: opposite-gender couples pass; same-gender couples do not. No legitimate state purpose justifies the preclusion of gay and lesbian couples from civil marriage.”
In response to the positive news from Oregon, the Human Rights Campaign’s President, Chad Griffin, issued a statement saying: “Today’s ruling from Judge McShane affirms what a majority of Oregonians already knew: discrimination has no place in our society, much less the state constitution, Human Rights Campaign President, Chad Griffin, wrote in a statement released Monday, “The plaintiffs and their tremendous attorneys Lake James Perriguey, Lea Ann Easton, Perkins Coie LLP, the ACLU of Oregon and the ACLU, should be incredibly proud of their historic victory. Thanks to their willingness to fight and the decades of work done by groups like Basic Rights Oregon and countless others, America is now one giant step closer to full equality nationwide.”
Source: ABC News
HBO’s John Oliver Explores Nintendo’s New Gay World
People weren’t very happy when news began to spread that Nintendo’s new Sims-like video game, “Tomodachi Life,” would not allow for same-sex relationships. The situation attracted so much attention from gay and allied gamers that Nintendo eventually released a statement. “We apologize for disappointing many people by failing to include same-sex relationships in Tomodachi Life,” Nintendo wrote , “Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to change this game’s design, and such a significant development change can’t be accomplished with a post-ship patch.”
As you can imagine this was pretty low hanging fruit for HBO’s John Oliver, the host of Last Week Tonight. Check out the hilarious clip from his show on Sunday:
Source: CBS News, Huffington Post
Craig Ferguson’s Character In ‘How To Train Your Dragon 2″ Comes Out
Gobber, from the hit animated movie “How To Train Your Dragon, is out of the closet! The character is voiced by talk show host Craig Ferguson, and his coming out was a complete surprise – even to the show’s writer and director, Dean DeBlois. “It wasn’t that deliberate. It was an ad-lib that Craig Ferguson added,” DeBlois told FOX, “I’d written the line ‘This is why I never married.’ And then he had tagged that on to it. And we all started chuckling and said that’s right, Gobber’s coming out in this movie. I just love that about Craig. He’s always got just a little extra something for you. I think it’s nice. It’s progressive, it’s honest, and it feels good, so we wanted to keep it.” Kudos, Mr. Ferguson!
Gay Articles From Around The Web Worth Reading:
The Wire – “Corporate America Doesn’t Have Any Openly Gay CEOs. Or Does It?“
Forbes – “How Many Gay CEOs Should There be In The USA Anyway?“
Huffington Post – “Costa Rica’s Presidential Palace Displays Gay Pride Flag“
LA Times – “Mark Ruffalo Was Schooled By ‘Normal Heart’s’ Pioneering Gay Playwright“
