Karmic Kristmas for the Mormons

Remember how the Morman church in Utah drafted and spent millions and millions to make sure gay couples couldn't be legally wedded in California? And then how that case went all the way to the Supreme Court, who ruled for equality? Well, if they hadn't pushed their religious oppression on the religious and civic freedoms of Californians, there wouldn't be the federal ruling to come back and bite them in the ass, and lead a federal judge to rule Utah's ban on marriage equality unconstitutional. And the incompetence of the Utah state attorneys resulted in no stay of the ruling. And the further imcompentence of the state request a stay from the circuit without addressing any of the four points required, resulted in the circuit court denying the motion for an emergency stay.

Or in other words, Wonkette has the Tweet of the Day:

Mormons can be morons, and karma can be a bitch.

Via JoeMyGod

petition proposal

My dear friend José, who really is just a bundle of love, has been in love with his boyfriend since college. And they've been together since.

DOMA is dead. Prop 8 is the dust it should have always been.

Wedding bells are ringing.

What's a boy in love to do? Well, this boy works for Change.org.

So he started a petition.

The petition to Brian, which you can sign, reads simply:

To: Brian Key,

Marry José Juan Capó.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

You have got to love love.

Update from José:

Update 2: The story has been picked up by Huffington Post: Weddings. Cool.

Update 3:  And JoeMyGod.

Make the pledge

Liberty and Justice for ALL!

Via JoeMyGod, this political cartoon by Nate Beeler may be the most popular of the year.

Equality is trending

I have to raise a glass and celebrate Four Square. When I checked into a place the Friday night of SF Pride weekend, this is the screen that popped up:

That's pretty awesome.

Day of Decision

The rallies/celebrations in the Castro the evening of the court rulings were pretty amazing. I am sort of done with speeches, and still have a pretty narrow margin for "too many people," but Wednesday night was a celebration of community, inclusion, success, love, friendship, and family.






Months ago I had gotten tickets to a Young ACT play to bring some friends together, and instead we canceled theater night and enjoyed some early evening sunshine and hugs on Castro Street (after settling down from the Muni rage) and then celebrated with a lovely dinner beyond the periphery of the masses at Mama's Ji's. Turns out the dim sum is really just for the day and it's larger entrées at night. Seasoned with chilies containing molten lava, Dear GOD that stuff's hot. Kevin turned an alarming shade of red as rivulets of sweat ran down his face. After dinner, we celebrated in the streets with the other celebratory San Franciscans.






The Day of Decision celebrations were what Pink Saturday used to be: community-based, a celebration, good behavior, and happy smiles on old friends embracing each other. As if a wedding were a block party and everyone was the bride. I miss that about Pink Saturday.

And the open containers.

Special note: Many thanks to the SFPD, whose officers were exceptionally polite and efficient, kept everyone safe, and did not insert or forcibly alter reasonable celebration. As long as it was wrapped in paper and the imbibers were well-behaved, open containers were ignored. (I think the middle-aged nature of the crowd may have had something to do with the relatively responsible behavior of the mass. Typically, a crowd celebrating marriage quality and federal legal recognitions isn't made up of tweakers and young trouble-makers.)

The police force, which was large, felt like part of the celebration while keeping it under control. Very father of the bride. They too are San Franciscans, and this was a victory for all of us.

Happy Pride indeed!

pride and prejudice

How far we've come, and how far we still need to go!  This post from a childhood friend completely cracked me up!

I loved this story so much I went around and told it to my coworkers.

None of them guessed that the doctor might be his mother.

I work in a medical center.

All of my coworkers are women.

There is much work to be done here too!

Prop. 8 Unconstitutional: The News Highlight Reel

From The Awesomes over at AFER:

show your love

Google/YouTube has changed the world.  They know it.  And they share it.

And I will cry every time.

can't get enough

The City is just electric this weekend.  The excitement in the air is crackling!

Another view of Civic Center, including the SF Opera House:

sunny days,

chasing the clouds away.

City of Love

I love SF!

I am SF.  SF is We.  Love!

we are family

The community celebration in the Castro was a beautiful love-fest.  I need to upload my pics.

However I don't think any of mine are as pretty as Brain Maier's:

there outta be a law or something

Gay Bachelor

When the inevitable The Gay Bachelor reality show comes to television.

"Will you take this Rose?"

shine

"When I checked Facebook this morning."

via Roy McKenzie

worst person in the world

"Justice Scalia" is an oxymoron.

Seriously.

closer to free!

I've always thought of this as a Pride song. Today more than ever.

http://youtu.be/WGho9tOIcbQ

Everybody wants to live like they want to live!
Everybody wants to love like that want to love!
Everybody wants to be closer to free!

Pride Day

The gays should get today off.

As we can get married now, I thought I should call in "Single, but looking."

Fuck Yeah

While the court ruled as narrowly as it possibly could, and the dissensions are a bit nasty, Prop 8 is dead (solely on standing, with no comment to its merits or lack thereof) and good goddamn riddance to the ironically named Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). America is closer to its cause of freedom today.

Let it ring loud, so that all may hear.

Day of Decision

Six and a half hours until the decision comes down.

We've waited so long, for so much. And it's a shame in this country that "so much" is just to "be even." And that so-called patriots and defenders of religions freedom dedicated a decade and almost a billion dollars to force human suffering on their fellow citizens in the name of piety and prejudice.

All month, the conservative court has been flexing their shameful pressure on history to arc towards injustice and the erosion of the civil liberties our leaders tell us our soldiers have died for.

I expect the court to rule in favor of as little liberty as possible: staking no stand on Proposition 8 other than to say that the proponents had no standing to defend it in the first place, leaving the lower courts ruling of unconstitutional as the final word in this narrow case.

And Sections of DOMA will fall, because they have to.

But even justice delayed but not entirely denied will be a victory.

And California, the twelfth largest economy in the world, will let freedom ring. And the Union must listen to the bells.

And I hope, someday, chime in as well.