Gay marriage news grabbed headlines
once again this week. In California, as
gay marriage advocates lost their bid to keep Proposition 8 – the
constitutional amendment that seeks to override the Supreme Court's
decision legalizing gay marriage in the state – off the November ballot, a strange thing
happened: Californians decided they liked the idea of gay people
marrying. According to The Field Poll, there appears to be little support (42%) for the banning of gay marriage within the state.
In Massachusetts, the gay marriage news
was equally good. With California becoming the only destination in
the nation offering gay marriages to out-of-state couples – the Las
Vegas of gay marriage, lawmakers decided that might be good business
to be in. On Wednesday, the Senate voted to rescind a 1912 law that kept non-resident gay couples from marrying in the state. Governor
Patrick Deval, whose daughter is a lesbian, has promised to sign the
bill.
This, of course, opens new options for
the East coast. With New York and Rhode Island accepting valid gay
marriages performed elsewhere, Massachusetts could soon see a second
gay marriage boom.
But it is the reduction of options by
the Pope that disturbs some Australians.
Pope Benedict is in Australia for World
Youth Day, a weeklong Catholic festival aimed at young people. He is
expected to give mass to the pilgrims on Sunday. But his presence at the festival has drawn sharp criticism from protesters who have named him “chief homophobe.”
The NoToPope Coalition is made-up of
atheist and gay groups critical of the Pope's anti-gay rhetoric.
“The Pope's relentless anti-gay doctrinal approach has seen him
declare gay men and lesbians as moral threats to society. He
campaigns to repeal same-sex marriage in countries who have adopted
it and has banned gay priests,” said NoToPope Coalition
spokesperson Kristian Bolwell in a statement.
The demonstrators gave speeches at a
rally held at Taylor Square Saturday. Wearing tshirts that read
“Bless me father for I am homo” they handed out condoms to the
pilgrims.
Earlier in the week, the coalition was
facing a serious threat to their plan to distribute 6000 condoms as a
new ordinance banned anyone from “annoying” the pilgrims.
However, a federal court agreed with the protesters right to free speech, striking down the ban.
Meanwhile, back in the United States,
prominent leaders were stirring-up their own anti-gay sentiments.
Republican
presidential hopeful John McCain came under fire from gay groups and progressives when he said that he did not believe gays should be
allowed to adopt children. “I
think that we've proven that both parents are important in the
success of a family. So, no, I don't believe in gay adoption,”
McCain told the New York Times.
Progressive blogs on the Internet
balked at the high cost of eliminating good homes, while gay groups
came closer to calling it what it was. “...Senator McCain would deny
loving homes to children who desperately need them simply because of
an outdated prejudice about what a family may look like,” said Jody
M. Huckaby, executive director of Parents, Families and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) – a pro-gay group – in a prepared
statement.
On Wednesday, Pat Robertson, conservative host of The 700 Club, smeared openly gay Massachusetts Representative
Barney Frank (Democrat) when he claimed Frank had run a prostitution
ring from his home in the early 90s. The truth is, as
Media Matters points out, Frank had been cleared of the
accusation in 1990 by the House ethics committee.
Here's a picture of Pat that hangs in the company cafeteria.
And
in a fascinating new documentary that looks at the origin of
homosexuality, handsome, openly gay British actor John Barrowman
submits his own sexuality to testing to find answers. Is it genetics? The Making of Me is set to air
in Britain on BBC1 on July 24th.
The Gay Slant pops-in most Saturdays at
On Top Magazine. Walter Weeks is a writer for On Top and can be
reached at ww@ontopmag.com.