Mock

You'd be welcomed, crash, that's for sure. Big group and pretty casual.

You would be a little heavier at the end of the day, though. I've gained only a couple of pounds by staying here in the city this Christmas holiday. I usually gain 6 or 7 when I'm in Southern California for several days and doing at least a couple of family holiday get-togethers.

My niece's paternal grandma makes enough tamales for a few weeks and freezes them; grandma got her one of those little hot/cold pack carriers that'll fit in her backpack and is sending some tamales home with her next weekend. Hope to lose a couple of pounds before they arrive because they're pretty irresistible, but it's gonna be hard to be good in Arizona for the quick New Year's visit. My older sister is an amazing cook (I think there's a sweet potato pie in my near future).

BOY SCOUTS GAY FREEDOM - EFFECTIVE JAN 1^ST 2014

This isn't specifically a gay "marriage" issue, but some gay Boy Scouts will wanna get married one day, so it fits okay in this existing thread.

This is a huge win for gay rights activists.

Snip:
The Boy Scouts of America will accept openly gay youths starting on New Year's Day, a historic change that has prompted the BSA to ponder a host of potential complications — ranging from policies on tentmates and showers to whether Scouts can march in gay pride parades.

"My hope is there will be the same effect this Jan. 1 as the Y2K scare," said Brad Haddock, a BSA national executive board member who chairs the policy implementation committee. "It's business as usual, nothing happens and we move forward."

Some churches are dropping their sponsorship of Scout units because of the new policy and some families are switching to a new conservative alternative called Trail Life USA. But massive defections haven't materialized and most major sponsors, including the Roman Catholic and Mormon churches, are maintaining ties.

"There hasn't been a whole lot of fallout," said Haddock, a lawyer from Wichita, Kan. "If a church said they wouldn't work with us, we'd have a church right down the street say, 'We'll take the troop.'"

The new policy was approved in May, with support from 60 percent of the 1,400 voting members of the BSA's National Council. The vote followed bitter nationwide debate, and was accompanied by an announcement that the BSA would continue to exclude openly gay adults from leadership positions.

...former Defense Secretary Robert Gates is scheduled to take over in the spring as the BSA's next president. As leader of the Pentagon, Gates helped change the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy banning openly gay soldiers, and gay-rights groups hope he will try to end the BSA's ban on gay adult leaders.

Full article with more about new policies, religious group reactions, etc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/28...13076.html

Why can't openly gay adults be troop leaders?

If my daughter joined the Girl Guides and her group leader happened to be a lesbian I honestly wouldn't give a shit.

(12-29-2013, 01:53 PM)Cynical Ninja Wrote: [ -> ]Why can't openly gay adults be troop leaders?

If my daughter joined the Girl Guides and her group leader happened to be a lesbian I honestly wouldn't give a shit.

Too bad most people don't feel that way.

(12-29-2013, 02:27 PM)Duchess Wrote: [ -> ]...because there is a segment of society who view them as perverts and don't want them near their precious Johnny & Bobbie Sue. What if their perversions are contagious, oh my gods.

A heterosexual is just as likely to be a kiddy fiddler as a homosexual probably even more so.

You can't “turn” someone hetero into a homo for christs sake.

If I was gay and someone asked me if I would want to “turn” a straight person I would think-

A - that's not possible.

And

B - why would I want to do that? Plenty of fabulous gay fish already in the sea to choose from!

Lol.

VIRGINIA



^ This is Virginia's new State Attorney General, Mark Herring (Democrat).

He's gonna have a battle on his hands. Hoping he wins it.

Herring, in his new position, is essentially "switching" Virginia's stance on gay marriage. State officials and his predecessor, Ken Cuccinelli (Rep), support the state's ban on gay marriage. However, Herring is joining the plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the ban; he opposes the ban on grounds that it's unconstitutional (he voted for the ban 8 years ago, but says his views have since evolved and changed).

Snip:
Virginia has been a particularly appealing place for a challenge by supporters of gay rights because of the Supreme Court’s 1967 decision in Loving v. Virginia, which struck down laws against interracial marriage. Those who support same-sex unions often draw a parallel.

Herring will make the same point, according to a person who has seen the brief he will file. The state will say that Loving upheld the fundamental right to marriage, not the right to interracial marriage. The question at stake now, the brief states, is not a right to same-sex marriage but whether the fundamental right to marriage can be denied to “loving couples based solely on their sexual orientation.”
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/v...story.html

The US Supreme Court ruled DOMA unconstitutional last year and extended Federal benefits to same sex couples married/living in a state where same sex marriage is legal. SCOTUS also denied support of California's ban on same sex marriage. The door is now wide open for gay marriage advocates to push for legalization in their states. There will probably be several more states legalizing gay marriage in 2014, IMO.

Currently, same sex marriage is legal in the District of Columbia and 17 U.S. states.

DOJ: EXPANSION OF EQUAL RIGHTS TO SAME-SEX MARRIED COUPLES IN US ANNOUNCED TODAY




The immediate effects include recognizing that couples in same-sex marriages have the right to decline to give testimony in a civil or criminal case that might violate their marital privilege; that same-sex couples can file for bankruptcy jointly, and that federal inmates in same-sex marriages can be visited by their spouses and receive all other benefits afforded to opposite-sex couples.

"This means that, in every courthouse, in every proceeding, and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States - they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections, and rights as opposite-sex marriages under federal law," Attorney General Eric Holder (pictured) will say in a speech at the Human Rights Campaign gala on Saturday. The speech was release earlier in the day to the media.

Full story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/08...52270.html

That's good.

In your country “all men are created equal” so its about time they were all treated as such.

KENTUCKY ATTORNEY GENERAL REFUSES TO DEFEND BAN ON GAY MARRIAGE

Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled that Kentucky's ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional. The governor of the state, Steve Beshear, announced last week that the state will appeal that ruling.

Well, Jack Conway is the Attorney General of Kentucky. He's a Roman Catholic, been in the office for six years, married with two children.

Despite his religious beliefs and potential negative impacts on his career, Conway announced that he will be unable to represent the state in defending its gay marriage ban.



At 3:15 he breaks down a little when talking about how after praying and consulting with his wife, he's concluded that he can't support a discriminatory law nor put politics over people.

I think he's sincere in his speech here. Rare for me to be moved by a government official, but I was by this one.

(Of course, if he has aspirations to climb the political ladder in the democratic party, his actions here will probably be advantageous in that pursuit -- but a solid personal move on his part nonetheless, IMO.)

Would a gay guy run a girl scouts troop? I mean he might like doing that kind of stuff. Well maybe 50% of gay guys anyways.

(02-08-2014, 06:29 PM)Duchess Wrote: [ -> ]That's awesome to read!

It's amazing to me how quickly things are changing in the US in terms of same-sex couples gaining rights equal to those of heterosexual couples.

Last year's Supreme Court ruling that some DOMA provisions were unconstitutional opened the doors much wider for GLBT-equality activists, courts, and benefits administrators.

Last week, the first widow from a same-sex marriage was approved for veteran's survivor benefits. Her wife was killed in Afghanistan in 2012.

Story: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10...92686.html

(05-22-2012, 06:06 PM)Ma Huang Sor Wrote: [ -> ]

Not sure if I posted on this thread when this happened but I went to this church at one time---but left after Hurricane Hugo hit and the first call our family received was that we better come clean up his yard first because he couldn't get his NEW Caddie out of his garage----and it was *beneath* him to drive his 3 yr old car to town......

Sadly I still have an Aunt that adores and worships him and a cousin that married the associate pastor at this church.

In 1989 after Hugo hit, this caused a lot of Deacons to question him and soon after the church split and I attended the new church until the worshipping of the Pastor started again. That church is now our own local mega church.

I was raised in a Lutheran Church and hell and brimstone wore me down.

That being said, I am ALL for Gay Marriage. As the wonderful Kinky Fiedman once said "I support gay marriage. I believe they have a right to be as miserable as the rest of us."

(05-22-2014, 10:59 PM)Tammy75 Wrote: [ -> ]I was raised in a Lutheran Church and hell and brimstone wore me down.

^ that's interesting.

I've attended many different churches through the years, and I've found the Lutherans to be less into fire and brimstone than any of them.

(05-23-2014, 10:28 AM)Midwest Spy Wrote: [ -> ]I've attended many different churches through the years, and I've found the Lutherans to be less into fire and brimstone than any of them.

Here's a tip:

Try increasing your pilgrimages.

Your biannual Christmas and Easter services aren't the "fire and brimstone" venue.

Nobody will be happy until all men are sitting down to piss.