my care2
make a difference

community & fun

groups

get together & make a difference

 
 
This thread is archived. To reply to it you must re-activate it.
 Gay Marriage Is Put to a Vote in Maine November 03, 2009 6:35 PM

NOVEMBER 3, 2009, 8:50 P.M. ET
By KEITH J. WINSTEIN

Same-sex marriage was put to a vote by Maine residents Tuesday, in a closely fought contest that could make the New England state the first to approve gay marriage in a popular referendum.

Officials were counting ballots at 8 p.m., as polls closed across the state. Public opinion polls had put the measure at nearly a dead heat. Maine's secretary of state, Matthew Dunlap, said Tuesday that turnout in the state could be as high as 50% of registered voters, unusually high for an off-year election.

A gay-rights measure was also on the ballot in Washington state, where residents voted on a measure to reduce the number of rights granted to gay couples under the state's "domestic partnership" registry.

Measures that could signal a backlash against government spending were also on the ballots in Maine and Washington. Residents of each state voted on whether to cap state spending at current levels, adjusted for inflation and population. In Maine, the measure would have also required tax increases to be subject to popular referendums. A similar measure failed in 2006.

Mainers also voted Tuesday on whether to broaden a medical-marijuana law to allow nonprofit organizations to dispense marijuana to the sick.

Maine currently grants domestic-partnership status to same-sex couples, along with about seven other states. The state's legislature voted in May to allow gays to marry each other, but an opposition petition campaign led the measure's implementation to be delayed and submitted to a popular referendum.

Voters in California and Hawaii have previously rejected gay marriage; if approved in Maine, the state would be the first to approve such marriages in a popular referendum. The other states that grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples -- Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, and New Hampshire -- have done so after rulings by the state's supreme court, or a legislative vote.

The federal government and most other states don't recognize same-sex marriages.

Write to Keith J. Winstein at keith.winstein@wsj.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125729859474726963.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

 [ send green star] 		 
Remember... November 03, 2009 6:37 PM

O'Donnell ties knot at City HallComedian says Bush's action encouraged her to fly to S.F.

Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, February 27, 2004

Comedian Rosie O'Donnell, in a show of defiance against President Bush's push for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, stood on the grand staircase at San Francisco City Hall Thursday and introduced the world to her new wife.

O'Donnell and Kelli Carpenter, who have been together six years and are raising four children, left their New York home at 5 a.m. to get to San Francisco in time for a 1 p.m. wedding appointment. The nuptials made O'Donnell the most prominent celebrity to tie the same-sex knot in San Francisco.

The comedian said she decided to make the cross-country trip after Bush announced Tuesday that he wanted an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to prevent gays and lesbians from marrying.

"We were both just trying to come here after the sitting president said the vile and vicious and hateful comments he did on Tuesday and inspired myself and my brand-new wife to fly here this morning," O'Donnell said.

Theirs was one of about 3,200 same-sex marriages performed in the city since Feb. 12, when Mayor Gavin Newsom launched a constitutional challenge to the state ban on gay and lesbian nuptials.

The celebrity wedding raised the profile of the unfolding story, expanding it beyond the news pages and into the tabloids. A crush of media from around the country showed up with cameras and tape recorders in tow to catch the couple, who said their vows in private but emerged a short time later to greet a swelling throng of fans and curious onlookers who crowded into City Hall's ornate rotunda to cheer the newlyweds.

City Treasurer Susan Leal officiated at the ceremony, which was held in the International Room, a ceremonial space that's part of the mayor's suite of offices.

It's the same room where administration officials and civil rights attorneys met in secret 3 1/2 weeks ago to devise their legal and political strategy to start marrying gay and lesbian couples.

"We all had tears in our eyes. It was very moving. Their love and commitment to each other was obvious,'' said Leal, who pronounced them "spouses for life'' after they exchanged platinum and diamond wedding bands.

Newsom, who has taken the national stage fighting for same-sex marriage and against the president's election-year bid to stop them, did not attend the short ceremony but later presented the couple with a copy of the California Constitution, which he signed.

Newsom argues that the state constitution's equal-protection guarantees give gays and lesbians the right to marry and should trump the voter-approved state law prohibiting same-sex marriage.

Opponents already have mounted legal challenges, and the city countered with its own lawsuit attempting to overturn state law.

O'Donnell publicly praised the city's new mayor. "I'd like to thank the city of San Francisco for this, the amazing stance that the mayor has taken, for all of the people here who assisted not just us, but the thousands and thousands of other law-abiding, loving American families,'' she told the crowd.

"One thought ran through my mind over and over on the plane as we were flying out here -- liberty and justice for all.'' Hundreds shouted "for all'' in unison with her.

In 2002, O'Donnell became one of the first U.S. celebrities to come out of the closet and use her public platform to promote gay and lesbian rights. Her activism began when a gay Florida couple were prevented -- because of their sexual orientation -- from adopting foster children they had been raising. In an interview on her way out of City Hall, she said her decision to come to San Francisco was part political, part personal.

O'Donnell, who described her wedding as "quite emotional,'' said she hadn't given much thought to getting married until she was entangled in a lawsuit over the magazine bearing her name.

"I was denied spousal privilege,'' said O'Donnell. Carpenter, a former executive at Nickelodeon, was deposed for five days, and anything the couple said or wrote to each other was admissible in court. Married spouses don't have to testify against each other.

"That,'' she said, "is why I think the law has to change.''

As for their honeymoon, there won't be one -- at least for now.

"Some people asked us where we were going on our honeymoon," O'Donnell said. "With four kids under the age of 8, there will be no honeymoon.''

Chronicle staff writer Suzanne Herel contributed to this report.E-mail Rachel Gordon at rgordon@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/02/27/MNG1H59R601.DTL#ixzz0Vr2GvYPs

 [ send green star] 		 
Rosie gets Married to spite GW Bush lol... November 03, 2009 6:39 PM

Rosie Takes Shot At Bush During Gay-Friendly Cruise Cruise To Stop In Key West Later This Week

POSTED: Tuesday, July 13, 2004
UPDATED: 6:34 am EDT July 14, 2004

PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On the eve of a possible U.S. Senate vote to make gay marriages unconstitutional, Rosie O'Donnell spoke out against the Bush administration's plans to ban same sex unions during a stop on a gay-friendly cruise, according to Local 6 News.

Video
Rosie Promotes Cruise, Discusses Possible Gay Marriage Ban
"I think this cruise comes at the perfect time, when they're considering an amendment making it illegal for us to have families," O'Donnell told Local 6 News partner Florida Today.

O'Donnell, who is a strong advocate of gay marriage and adoption, railed against President George W. Bush and the administration, according to the report.

"It will be the first time, except for prohibition, that bigotry has been added to the Constitution," O'Donnell said. "That the prevention of rights and exclusion of rights takes paramount over some religious ideology. And, supposedly, that is what we are fighting in Iraq -- A religious extreme government that is not letting people live freely."

The Norwegian Dawn cruise ship docked in Port Canaveral Tuesday with more than 2,000 passengers.

The seven-day trip departed New York on Sunday and is the first cruise of R Family Vacations, the O'Donnell-backed company that promotes family-friendly vacations for gay and lesbians.

Besides standard cruise ship entertainment fare, the 2,100 passengers on the chartered ship can attend discussion groups on adoption, artificial insemination, surrogacy and other topics of interest to gay parents or gay parents to be.

"It is not by any means only gay families (on the cruise)," O'Donnell said. "There are bi-racial families, one-parent families. There are heterosexual families. It's all families are welcomed. It is, in my opinion, what America is all about."

O'Donnell will receive the key to Key West when her cruise stops at the popular island, according to Local 6 News.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

Previous Stories:


Copyright 2005 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 [ send green star] 		 
 November 03, 2009 6:40 PM

Rosie O’Donnell’s wife Kelli on how to move out while the divorce is pending

The Enquirer is…omg I am quoting the Enquirer! What is this, a tabloid?! …

Well, whatever.

The Enquirer is claiming that former “View” talk show host Rosie ODonnell and her wife Kelli are having a marital spat over an alleged kiss Kelli had with a Broadway star who was a “long time friend” of the couple.  Hogwash, right? When I heard that I was like, “huh?!” For some reason, I didn’t think that lesbian couples cheated on each other. Is that sexual-orientationalist? To have assumed that one of the fringe benefits of such a relationship is the fact that you don’t have to worry about your husband or boyfriend cheating on you and bringing home unpleasant surprises?

I mean, I know it probably sounds all wrong, but I am being truthful. It’s how I thought for some reason. I’m sorry. Watch as I put my foot further in my esophagus… but I could have pictured same sex male couples cheating, but it just never occurred to me that same sex women would cheat on each other too. I mean, is there nothing sacred?

I guess adultery comes in all types of marriages, huh? Boy. Go figure. Well, given the way Rosie is said to have gone ballistic after she heard, I would say if Kelli is planning to “move out,” she better do so very very carefully, and in the early hours of the morning when Rosie is dead asleep. No, seriously. Kelli needs to have the get away car gassed up and ready to go, all her treasured belongings in the trunk ahead of time, and enough cash to get her through at least a few months, and pay the divorce attorney.

She probably should have some documents packed too, like bank statements, social security numbers, employment contracts, residual contracts and whatever else she can neatly store in a box which she puts at the bottom of the trunk. She does have about 4 kids with the Missus, so Kelli has to think about what she wants to do there. I wouldn’t suggest taking them very far from the marital abode where they are used to living without a court order of custody. Not that Rosie would win a kidnapping suit, but it is probably going to be in their best interest to be raised in the home they are used to. So Kelli wants a court order before moving them.

As for the real estate, boat, and cruise ship, marital property no doubt. So I don’t think she loses anything by moving out. Unless she wanted exclusive possession. If she wanted exclusive possession, always better not to move out. The law will probably find that she gave Rosie de facto possession when she packed her bags and drove off in the wee hours of the morning.

But what am I talking about? Kelli will never leave Rosie. Not if I have Rosie pegged right.

Similar Posts:

http://www.divorcesaloon.com/rosie-odonnells-wife-kelli-on-how-to-move-out-while-the-divorce-is-pending

 [ send green star] 		 
 November 03, 2009 6:45 PM

Rosie has been all over the place hasn't she? Wonder if she will fly to Maine to continue to promote Gay marriage while she makes a mockery of it...

BUT WAIT!!!!

Rosie O'Donnell reveals missed romance with Angelina Jolie: 'She's scary in a sexual kind of way'

BY Issie Lapowsky
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, October 28th 2009, 12:44 PM

Rosie O'Donnell reveals her missed opportunity to date Angelina Jolie.
News/Getty
Rosie O'Donnell reveals her missed opportunity to date Angelina Jolie.
Related News

Rosie O'Donnell has finally opened up about her relationship with partner Kelli Carpenter.

Though last week the former "View" host told USA Today, "We are working on our issues. Those are the only words I am ever going to say," O'Donnell said a whole lot more than that in an interview with Howard Stern Monday.

According to Popeater.com, O'Donnell told the shock jock, "Kelli and I have a lot of issues and sex wasn't one of them."

The 47-year old comedian went on to tell Stern that she and Carpenter have "different styles of living."

She said they are deciding whether or not "what will make everyone happiest is maybe to not live together, but continue to parent."

The couple has adopted three children together, Parker, 14, Chelsea, 12, and Blake, 9. In 2002, Carpenter, 42, gave birth to their youngest daughter Vivienne, and Carpenter and O'Donnell were married two years later.

Now, O'Donnell tells Stern she's not considering dating, though her love life before finding Carpenter was actually quite interesting.

One so-called phone fling included A-Lister Angelina Jolie.

"We talked on the phone two or three times, but that was that. There was a tentative plan to have dinner that never came through," O'Donnell said. "I was a little afraid of her. She's scary in a sexual kind of way."

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/10/28/2009-10-28_rosie_odonnell_reveals_missed_romance_with_angelina_jolie_shes_scary_in_a_sexual.html



 [ send green star] 		 
 November 03, 2009 10:26 PM



If people want to get married, they should.

Screw whoever has a problem.

Does it make any difference?

It doesn't stop there from being gay couples.

Religious marriages cannot be constitutionally stopped.

So what does it do but keep loving people apart.

Spread hatred.

What fun...


  [ send green star] 		 
 November 04, 2009 5:51 AM

I dont see why we have to tell them what they can and can't do...Yes I am a newly wed just celebrated my 1 year anniversay and its been awesome so who am I to tell someone else you can't have this same happiness?  

 [ send green star] 		 
 November 04, 2009 7:56 AM

While we agree on what loving couples should be allowed to do and have without the interference of Church or State, I find it amusing how O'Donnall and her wife used "politics" to get their marriage "sanctified" and now they will use the courts to bust it up and to use each other... Sad... Hypocritical

Is it going to be a gay divorce? Will they set precedence in their division as they did in their uniting?

I'm just asking?



This post was modified from its original form on 04 Nov, 7:57  [ send green star] 		 
  New Topic              Back To Topics Read Code of Conduct

 

This group:
American Politics
246 Members

View All Topics
New Topic

Track Topic
Mail Preferences


Copyright © 2009 Care2.com, inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved