Marriage and other LGBTQ Rights

[Brian-E]

The current situation whereby some states of the USA will not recognise same sex marriages performed in other states, has led to some unexpected and horrifying red tape for a woman in Texas who legally took her wife's name when she married her in California. When she applied to renew her driving licence, she discovered that the Department of Public Safety in Texas will not recognise her legal name.

http://www.texasobserver.org/same-se...s-license-dps/

[Connie] Wilson said the DPS employee, who turned out to be a supervisor, suggested that she should apply for a driver’s license using her maiden name. However, Wilson said she lacks the necessary documentation to do so.
The DPS supervisor later told her she could apply for a Texas license if she obtains an order from a state court changing her name to Wilson. But Wilson said obtaining such an order would cost at least $500 and there’s no guarantee the petition would be successful.
“My name is already legally Wilson,” she said. “I don’t know if a judge will even grant me a name change from Wilson to Wilson.”
[...]
Among other things, Wilson said the pending expiration of her California license has threatened her family’s ability to close on a house in Texas. It could also jeopardize the couple’s ability to obtain disability benefits for one of their children, who has both autism and Down syndrome.
“I still can’t believe I’m being met with all the roadblocks that I am,” Wilson said. “For the first time in my life, I in a minuscule way know what it feels like for a person who is undocumented, how terrifying it must be to function in day-to-day life. It terrifies me—I’m a U.S. citizen—the fact that I can’t get something that I’ve had all my life, that I assume is my right. My right was taken away.”

[only_human]

Then there are the gradual improvements in flexibility and recognition like this one:

Share content with your family
Coming soon—With Family Library, link your Amazon account to that of your spouse or partner so you can easily share apps, games, audiobooks, books, and Prime Instant Video content without changing accounts

my bold

[Brian-E]

Originally Posted by only_human

my bold

Well, isn't Amazon being inclusive here! Now, I wonder how quickly the "pro-family" groups will get their acts together on this one and protest about people who live together in sin being allowed to read each other's books.

[only_human]

Originally Posted by Brian-E

Well, isn't Amazon being inclusive here! Now, I wonder how quickly the "pro-family" groups will get their acts together on this one and protest about people who live together in sin being allowed to read each other's books.

I think this one is going to stay without much blowback. Apple is doing it too:

Apple included a similar feature -- it's called Family Sharing -- in iOS 8, the latest version of its mobile operating system, which became available for download on Wednesday. Apple lets you share music, books and other content with up to six people. Amazon's Family Library only allows for two adults and four kids. (Amazon has kid-specific accounts.)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5838490.html

[Xyzzy]

http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement...hia_gay_couple

[kladner]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement...hia_gay_couple

Gee! They sure learned their Loving Christian Lessons well at that Catholic High School. Nice that the coach got fired. It would be nicer if similar repercussions could fall on the rest of these cowards.

[Brian-E]

The pastor of a Louisiana Baptist Church has told an Alcoholics Anonymous group that they can no longer meet in his church because of same sex marriage. He is clamping down on the use of his church by outside groups because he does not want to be forced to "accommodate the homosexual and lesbian community". His argument is interesting when you consider that (1) Louisiana has no same sex marriage, (2) Louisiana does not even have any legal protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or identity, and (3) even in areas where marriage is equal, no church is ever forced to conduct same sex weddings.

http://www.kpho.com/story/26622287/c...r-gay-weddings

KEITHVILLE, LA (KSLA) - A local Alcoholics Anonymous group will have to find another place to meet, after the church told them they are no longer welcome because they don't want to be forced to accommodate homosexual weddings.

[kladner]

Originally Posted by Brian-E

The pastor of a Louisiana Baptist Church has told an Alcoholics Anonymous group that they can no longer meet in his church because of same sex marriage. He is clamping down on the use of his church by outside groups because he does not want to be forced to "accommodate the homosexual and lesbian community". His argument is interesting when you consider that (1) Louisiana has no same sex marriage, (2) Louisiana does not even have any legal protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or identity, and (3) even in areas where marriage is equal, no church is ever forced to conduct same sex weddings.

http://www.kpho.com/story/26622287/c...r-gay-weddings

Never imagine you've heard the craziest thing ever. There's always something wilder lurking. Churches, and other non-profits, often depend on facility rentals to help pay the bills. This seems like a case of blowing one's foot clean off with a shotgun.

[chappy]

http://xkcd.com/1431/#

http://today.yougov.com/news/2014/10...-sex-marriage/

[Brian-E]

It seems that not everyone in the Republican party who has been engaged in campaigning against equal marriage has managed to think out their arguments for themselves. Here's someone whose speech in 2012 against New Hampshire's equal marriage law has just been shown to have been plagiarised from a previous editorial in the National Review.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/1...n_6035420.html

Marilinda Garcia, a Republican U.S. House candidate from New Hampshire, plagiarized portions of a 2012 speech she gave against same-sex marriage, according to an analysis by the left-leaning group Granite State Progress.
[...]
Zandra Rice Hawkins, executive director of Granite State Progress, said the plagiarism is evidence that Garcia simply parrots right-wing talking points, rather than thinking for herself.
"Marilinda Garcia is a Koch-funded and scripted candidate who sticks closely to the talking points provided by her big dollar donors. On the occasions she has had to speak in more detail about her own record and positions, she has struggled. Now we learn that she plagiarized major sections of a speech she gave on the House floor. We cannot be certain this was the only time Garcia has taken someone else's work and passed it off as her own," she said.
Garcia's campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

[davar55]

Could gays be legally marred? Not for too much longer.
Same-sex-marriage for the nation has become inevitable.