Senate Passes the Respect for Marriage Act

More good news:  Last night, the Senate passed the amended Respect for Marriage Act by a vote of 61-36, with all Democrats and 12 Republicans voting in favor of the bill.  (Three senators were absent.)  Now the bill must be approved again by the House before it is sent to President Biden for signing into law.

 

It is important to note that the bill does not require any state to perform same-sex marriages, although at the moment all do. But if they should change their minds - particularly, if the Supreme Court were to overturn its 2015 ruling in Obergefell - all states would still have to recognize marriages legally performed in another state or foreign country.  

The bill as passed by the Senate also explicitly protects interracial marriages; does not require recognition of polygamous marriages; repeals the Defense of Marriage Act (1996); and provides exemptions for churches and other religiously affiliated organizations. 

See the text of the Senate version below the jump.

Queer Hutterite (2016)

The coming-out story of a young man who grew up in a Hutterite colony in Canada.  Which is essentially the same story all of us had to go through:  the conflict between the truths you were taught, and the truth you know within.

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Sunday Drive: Once in Royal David's City

The First Sunday of Advent

. . . they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,

and their spears into pruning-hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war any more.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

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A Day of Thanksgiving (1951)

Last year's Thanksgiving table at our house,
which I never got around to posting here.

A week ago, M.P. had a sudden whim at dinner and proposed that we should each name three things we are thankful for each night until Thanksgiving.  This is an excellent idea, and I recommend it to my truckbuddies.  It need not be a religious exercise, just a thoughtful moment of honesty and humility:  an attitude of gratitude is a healthy thing to cultivate.

The same thought is contained in this educational film from 1951 - the sort of thing that smug, self-satisfied sophisticated types roll their eyes and snicker at.  But there is a deep truth here that we ignore at our peril.

Having survived three miserable days without electricity or heat - off and on - in last year's Deep Freeze, my heart really goes out to all those poor people now suffering from lack of the most basic necessities in Ukraine on a scale never seen in America; and winter is only beginning there.

Don't think it can't happen here or can't possibly happen to you; sudden calamity or just simple misfortune can happen to anyone at any time.  Count your blessings while you have them. 

 

All good wishes to my truckbuddies for a safe, warm, and happy Thanksgiving.

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An American Hero

CNN interviews the Army vet who stopped the Colorado Springs killer last Saturday night:

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Horror in Colorado Springs

Another gay club shot up:  5 dead, 25 or more injured.  Nauseating.

 

The 22-year-old shooter is said to be the grandson of a MAGA state representative in California.

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Sunday Drive: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

A beautiful presentation of the beloved harvest hymn:

 

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Waitin' for the Weekend

The magnificent Steve Kelso.

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Help Request

WTF?

The last few days, Blogger (long since bought up by Google) has been doing weird things behind the scenes that are working my nerves big time.  Unfortunately, there is no official Help Desk to go to, but I am working with a volunteer helper to try to get to the bottom of this.

I'd like to ask my readers, especially my longtime truckbuddies who are familiar with the Blue Truck, to please let me know if they see any strange posts here, or if the BT does not display normally.

Thanks.

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Mormon Church Comes Out for Gay Marriage

 

Huh, that's a shocker.  (Remember the Prop 8 fight?)  Read all about it in the Salt Lake Tribune.

And for your information, the Respect for Marriage Act was first introduced in Congress in 2009. and has been reintroduced several times.  But this year, the bill was finally passed in the House last July by a vote of 267-157, with the support of 47 Republicans.  

Now it's up to the Senate, if 10 Republicans will vote for the bill, and Democratic leaders think the votes are in the bag. So we should have more reason to celebrate soon; in fact, the Senate is holding a preliminary vote today.  So stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed.

Update, 7 p.m.:  The preliminary vote passed 62-37, with 12 Republican senators voting in favor of it.  A final vote on the bill is expected on Friday, after which the Senate version will be sent to the House for approval.

 

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