Hawaii Says Aloha to Marriage Equality

Marriage equality is coming soon to Hawaii, as the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports:

The state Senate, as expected, overwhelmingly approved a marriage equity bill today, sending the measure to Gov. Neil Abercrombie who has vowed to sign it and make Hawaii the 15th state to legalize same-sex marriage.

An invitation-only bill-signing ceremony is set for 10 a.m. tomorrow at the Hawaii Convention Center's Liliu Theater. The event will be streamed live at http://governor.hawaii.com.

Today's 19-4 vote, while historic, was a somewhat anti-climatic end to the legislative special session that began Oct. 28 and included more than 55 hours of public testimony, followed by two day-long sessions in the House where lawmakers approved the bill late Friday night in a 30-19 vote.

"I look forward to signing this significant piece of legislation, which provides marriage equity and fully recognizes and protects religious freedoms," Abercrombie said in a statement after the Senate vote.

The law will take effect on December 2.

Update, 11/13:  Gov. Abercrombie signed the bill into law at a ceremony in Honolulu this morning, making Hawaii the 15th state to embrace marriage equality, closing a circle that began with three Hawaiian same-sex couples in 1990.

Climate Change = Extreme Weather? NASA Says No

Is the frequency of extreme weather events a sign that global warming is gaining pace and exceeding predictions?

Bill Patzert, a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, says the evidence that extreme weather events have been more frequent in recent years is definitely to the contrary:




So now you know. Climate and weather - even extreme weather - are two different things.  Besides, as everybody knows - its teh gayz who are causing all them nasty hurricanes and such!

Muwahahaha!

Marriage News Watch, 11/11/13

Matt Baume of the American Foundation for Equal Rights reports:




Meanwhile, the Hawaiian House passed its marriage equality bill on Friday, which goes now to the Senate on Tuesday; the Senate already passed an earlier version by a wide margin, and Governor Neil Abercrombie is eager to sign the bill into law.

Despite the fuzzy video, a must-watch today is this wonderful speech by 24-year-old state representative Kaniela Ing (D-South Maui), who though straight is a solid ally and, among other things, said:

Some testifiers have spoken about this bill ushering in an onslaught of 'gay lifestyle'. And they challenged your committee members: 'Mr. Speaker - would you wish homosexulaity upon your own kids?'

So I really thought about this. If the gay lifestyle they speak of pertains to the highly successful physicians, attorneys, economists, a world-renowned microbiologist and psychologist that we've seen testify - if this gay lifestyle pertains to the inspiringly commited couples who have been together for decades but are still viewed as strangers in the eyes of their government, if this gay lifestyle that they're referring to pertains to these brave people boldly standing in the face of hate to fight for equal rights for all - if that's what the gay agenda will bring - if that's how my gay children will be..then hey, sign me up. I'll take three.

Sunday Drive: Elgar, Chanson de Matin

Recommended by my truckbuddy Tim, who has such good taste in music:

Blitzkrieg on Shooters Hill, London

Happened to run across this 2008 British program, which really brings London's darkest days to life through archaeology of the not-so-distant past. It's what Winston Churchill was talking about when he declared, just after the debacle of Dunkirk:

We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender . . . .

Waitin' for the Weekend

Hadrian's Wall

I might have posted this one time before, a long ways back, but it's still pretty cool stuff for a lot of reasons, especially the recovered Vindolanda tablets. If you remember a bit of your high-school Latin, you can pull those up online and give them a read.  Mine is rusty as hell, but still the hair on the back of my neck stood up when I realized I could read a sentence that a Roman citizen scratched on a little piece of wood nearly two thousand years ago.

The Roman handwriting is hell on wheels, though.

Illinois Passes Marriage Equality Bill

A marriage equality bill was passed today by 61-54 in the Illinois, followed shortly thereafter by a 32-21 vote in the Senate. The bill is now on its way to the desk of Governor Pat Quinn, who has promised to sign it. Same-sex weddings will begin in the Land of Lincoln on June 1 of next year, making Illinois the 15th state of the Union to embrace marriage equality.

President Obama, who served for nearly eight years in the Illinois Senate, issued a statement:

Tonight, I applaud the men and women of the Illinois General Assembly, a body in which I was proud to serve, for voting to legalize marriage equality in my home state.

As President, I have always believed that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally under the law. Over time, I also came to believe that same-sex couples should be able to get married like anyone else. So tonight, Michelle and I are overjoyed for all the committed couples in Illinois whose love will now be as legal as ours – and for their friends and family who have long wanted nothing more than to see their loved ones treated fairly and equally under the law.

I also commend the members of the General Assembly for approaching this issue in a fair and open way, and for recognizing the importance of our commitment to religious freedom by engaging the religious community in this conversation. Throughout this debate, they’ve made it clear that this is about civil marriages and civil laws, and made sure that churches and other institutions of faith are still free to make their own decisions that conform to their own teachings.

As I said in my Inaugural Address last January, our journey as a nation is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law, for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. And tonight, I’m so proud that the men and women elected to serve the people of the great state of Illinois have chosen to take us one step further on that journey to perfect our union.

Meanwhile in Hawaii, debate on a same-sex marriage bill continues in the House of Representatives, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 44-7. The Hawaiian Senate passed the bill by 20-4 on October 30. The House proceedings have been held up this week by the Speaker's decision to allow more than 5,000 members of the public to speak for two minutes each in what has been called a "citizens' filibuster," consisting of mostly Bible-thumping conservatives. 

However, some marriage-equality supporters have also testified, and the scientific testimony on the genetic basis of sexual orientation provided by geneticist Dean Hamer is well worth listening to:




Update, 11/8: Governor Quinn has announced he will sign the Illinois same-sex marriage bill on November 20 in Chicago.

Marriage News Watch, 11/4/13

Matt Baume of the American Foundation for Equal Rights reports:

Sunday Drive: Our House

These guys are still going strong, can you believe? Recorded just last month at the Royal Albert Hall in London.




I never did know how this lovely song came to be, but thanks to my truckbuddy Tim, now I do: a sweet, sad story.

Waitin' for the Weekend

This week, a blast from the past.  Some of these guys were probably just brothers, or friends, or schoolmates or workmates - but still, it makes you think about the closeted lovers of all ages past, and "the love that dared not speak its name."