GatorJamie:
 ...the magazine also known as gmg's favorite porn rag...

wink

What's all the hubbub about same-sex marriages?

Imagine being married to the same woman for 25 years and having the same sex day after day.

Robert G. Cohn

PhillyFan:
So i'm watching CNN last night, yes CNN.  Seems that good ole AZ is a swing state kids.  If that is true my vote might mean something.  

Then they showed Kerry's speech.  All he said was, i'm opposed to the ammendment.  No more, no less.  He will avoid this issue in the coming months kids.  Why?  Because he doesnt support it,

Neither get my vote.

PhillyFan:
So i'm watching CNN last night, yes CNN.  Seems that good ole AZ is a swing state kids.  If that is true my vote might mean something.  

Then they showed Kerry's speech.  All he said was, i'm opposed to the ammendment.  No more, no less.  He will avoid this issue in the coming months kids.  Why?  Because he doesnt support it,

Neither get my vote.

coyoteugly:
 Kerry will avoid the issue simply because YOUR Republican party will use any sign of support he shows to this issue to try and ignite a fire under the ass of his fundamentalist, faith-based drones...

President Bush will do anything he can to turn the gay marriage issue into this year's Willie Horton.

Just vote for Bush like we all know you are eventually going to do, and I will cancel your vote with my vote for Kerry.

 On most matters, Lorence Wenke is a staunch conservative.
   
The 58-year-old state representative from Richland Township opposes abortion and gun control. He backs small government and tax cuts.

A member of a fundamentalist church, he includes a verse of Scripture on his business card and participates in a Bible-study group for state legislators.

One would be hard-pressed to find a more unlikely advocate for gay rights.

Yet Wenke plans to be one of perhaps only two House Republicans voting against putting on the November ballot a Marriage Protection Amendment, which would change Michigan's constitution to ban gay marriage.

And he is opposing the bill, he said, out of a long-held and deeply felt belief that discrimination against homosexuals violates democratic principles and his Christian values.

He said his vote \"will hurt me personally,\" and it already has.

Two Sundays ago, while Wenke and his wife were attending services at Richland Bible Church, the parking lot was blanketed with leaflets informing church members of Wenke's opposition to the Marriage Protection Amendment and urging them to take Wenke to task.

Gary Glenn, president of the Midland-based American Family Association of Michigan, which distributed the fliers, said, \"We thought it was an effective way to communicate with a constituency who we thought would be most likely to persuade Rep. Wenke to change his mind.\"

Glenn also said that, by opposing the proposed amendment, Wenke would be denying his constituents an opportunity to vote on an issue of vital concern, and there is little doubt it would hurt Wenke politically.

\"He's taking a standing contrary to President George W. Bush, against the Republican Party and against almost every Republican in the Legislature,\" Glenn said. \"It will hurt him and it should. ... I'm sure the people of his legislative district would prefer to have someone who will represent their views on something so fundamental.\"

By DOUG THOMPSON
Feb 25, 2004, 06:54
 
Well, well. The bigots, racists, homophobes and gutless wonders who dominate the Republican Party got their way.
....

Jorel
Senator John Warner of Virginia - once married to Liz Taylor.

Governor George Allen of Virginia - divorced.

Dear Representative Storm,
I’m writing as one of your constituents to urge you and ask you to not vote for HCR 5033, the proposed amendment to the state constitution which would ban same-sex marriage.  

I read a statement by Rep. Dan Williams who said, “There’s no evidence that gay families create the stability in society we’re looking for.”  Ms. Storm, I ask you to consider, is there evidence that gay families create instability in society?  

In your district and every other district in the state there are many same-sex couples living together in long-term loving relationships, enjoying the friendship and camaraderie of our neighbors and friends, both gay and straight.  Never has my 11-year relationship with my partner had a negative affect on the traditional nuclear families or heterosexual couples in our neighborhood.  Never has my relationship caused a heterosexual marriage to break up or caused a heterosexual couple to have children out of wedlock, the two things that are truly a threat to marriage.

Please do not allow state-sanctioned discrimination to become part of our great state’s constitution.

As you probably know, I did vote “NO” on HCR 5033.  I did this for a number of reasons, probably the same arguments you would use.  Basically, I just don’t think I could look anyone straight in the eye and explain a “YES” vote.  This was nothing more then a political move, and I can’t play politics with the Kansas Constitution.
Rep. Sue Storm

Seattle's mayor said Sunday the city will begin recognizing the marriages of gay employees who tie the knot elsewhere, although it will not conduct its own same-sex weddings.

Mayor Greg Nickels was to sign an executive order Monday giving same-sex spouses of city employees all the benefits of heterosexual spouses, including health insurance.

He also planned to send a proposal to the City Council that would extend that recognition to employees of city contractors and protect the rights of all same-sex married couples in Seattle.

\"The basic message is one of fairness, and that is that people who are willing to make a commitment to one another, who love one another, and who are willing to take on the responsibilities of marriage ought to be able to, regardless of their gender,\" Nickels told the Associated Press.

 

TomFord:
This one is about gay Republicans who still support Bush, despite his support of the amendment.  It has 'Set Bobby To Explode' all over it.

\"Right now, I am leaning toward Bush,\" Ms. Leber said. \"All the Democrats just rolled into Congress to vote for this gun-control bill. Somebody with my values and beliefs can't be a single-issue voter.\"

Gay Legislator at the Center of a Storm in Georgia
By ANDREW JACOBS

Published: March 9, 2004

ATLANTA, March 8 — In contrast to the mundane mementos that dress the offices of most politicians, State Representative Karla Drenner has chosen to hang a startling array of images that show her crossing the finish line of a half-dozen recent marathons, sweat-soaked and jelly-legged, her face contorted in pain.

The photos are a source of strength to Ms. Drenner, Georgia's only openly gay legislator, who has become the most visible — and derided — opponent of an effort to enact a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. The emotional turmoil she feels is often reflected in the agonizing expressions of those finish-line portraits.

\"When it gets real bad, I think about the 24th mile, the come-to-Jesus mile, when you've got blisters on your feet and your whole body aches,\" said Ms. Drenner, a Democrat from suburban Atlanta, glancing up at the pictures. \"For me, the finish line here is when this country doesn't care who you love.\"

Although the measure has already passed the State Senate, it is stalled in the House, where a handful of votes are still needed to put it on the November ballot. Polls show that voters would overwhelmingly approve the measure.

Since the proposal was first introduced in the General Assembly last month, Ms. Drenner has become the public face of resistance. She frequently appears on the nightly news here, sparking plenty of hosannas from supporters, but also a torrent of venomous e-mail and telephone calls. She said her most conservative colleagues sometimes waited for the next elevator when they saw her in an otherwise empty one.

And at a protest outside the Capitol last Monday, she found herself buffeted by a vocal gantlet as she passed the crush of anti-gay demonstrators. \"There wasn't a lot of love and light flowing from that crowd,\" said Ms. Drenner, 42, a mother of two young children who speaks in the sugared y'all-come-back-soon accent of her native West Virginia.

But just as troubling as the invective on the street, she said, is that her allies in the Democratic-controlled House have largely joined Republicans in voting for the amendment.

Ms. Drenner says many legislators have privately apologized to her for their stance and asked forgiveness, saying they fear that a no vote will doom them in November, when the whole legislature is up for re-election. Ms. Drenner, who has become respected by many colleagues since her election four years ago, refuses to grant forgiveness, relating those conversations this way:

\"They say, `It's not about you,' and I respond, `How can it not be about me?' I try hard to make them see that it's just as personal as can be when they're looking at me.\"

Representative Len Walker, a Loganville Republican who sat next to Ms. Drenner during her first term in office, was one of a dozen lawmakers who took to the floor last month to plead for the amendment. Although Mr. Walker said he cherished their cordial relationship, it did not sway him from his position. \"Representative Drenner is such a close and honored friend of mine, I love her dearly,\" he said, \"and that's what has made this debate so difficult.\"

Still, several lawmakers said the measure would probably have sailed through the House had it not been for Ms. Drenner. Senator Vincent D. Fort, a black Atlanta Democrat who opposes the measure because he believes it is discriminatory, said he asked her to sit in the Senate while that chamber debated the same amendment three weeks earlier.

\"I think she provides a moral presence on the issue,\" Mr. Fort said. \"She also allows them to see that she doesn't have two heads, that she's not a monster.\"

Ms. Drenner's emergence as Georgia's gay rights standard-bearer is something she says she never wanted. When she first ran for office in 2000, she spoke about education, health care and environmental issues while campaigning in her largely poor district, next door to Atlanta. Sexual orientation rarely came up, although she did not try to take advantage of hers or deny it.

The state's largest gay rights organization, sticking with a veteran politician who had been friendly to its views, endorsed her opponent.

Ms. Drenner won by 83 votes, defeating a four-term incumbent whose husband led the De Kalb County Democratic Party.

Once elected, she electrified the chambers and the public. Newspaper profiles called her \"the lesbian legislator,\" noting that she was the only openly gay state lawmaker in the Deep South. Some lawmakers resented that a freshman was getting so much attention. A fellow House member, she recalls, holding up a copy of his hometown paper, told her, \"I think it's a shame that you're so morally reprehensible that your sins should be on the front page of my paper.\".

When she tried to join committees focused on education and children's issues, she says she was asked to back off. \"I was told people would see me as a pedophile,\" she said.

The first public brouhaha over her sexuality erupted after the legislative directory printed her partner's name next to the heading \"spouse.\" The Christian Coalition joined several members of the legislature in protest, and she apologized, explaining that the questionnaire had not given her a choice. The uproar was quelled after it was agreed that the directory would substitute \"partner\" for \"spouse\" the next year.

Ms. Drenner is no longer living with the woman. They share custody of their adopted children.

Over the past three years, Ms. Drenner, who has two Ph.D's and works as an environmental consultant, has devoted herself to sexless causes: occupational safety, waste management and car insurance legislation. \"I've really never rocked the boat on anything,\" she said.

Her mother, an affirmative action officer in Charleston, W.Va., instilled her with a deep appreciation for civil rights, Ms. Drenner said. Her deep faith, revealed in frequent references to God and the Bible, comes from a strict Baptist upbringing.

Representative Stephanie Stuckey-Benfeld, a Decatur Democrat, said she and others had watched in amazement as events forced Ms. Drenner to become the focus of homosexuality in Georgia.

\"She never wanted to be pegged as the gay legislator,\" Ms. Stuckey-Benfeld said. \"This was thrust on her, and she's risen to the occasion.\"

In the late February debate, House members took their seats in rapt attention when Ms. Drenner spoke.

\"I am who God made me to be,\" she said, \"and I will tell you I was not raised to be gay. I make no apologies for that whatsoever.\"

She went on to say, \"I urge you to remember that we were all sent here to find ways to improve the quality of life for all Georgians, not to exclude your friends, your family and your neighbors who happen to be gay.\"

As she returned to her seat, the chamber erupted in applause.

TomFord:
Two articles in the New York Times about the amendment today:
...
This one is about gay Republicans who still support Bush.

DC_guy:
I actually think the LCR has taken a strong stand on this issue since he actually endorsed the amendment. I'm sure it's a tough situation for them and may lead to the end of the group, so it took some guts. It sucks to see someone you support and look up to completely pull the rug out from under you.

They have taken a stand but from what I have seen in interviews, I keep hearing from them that voting decisions should not be based on a single issue. How can they not see that this is NOT a single issue. In other words, hit us, stomp on us, kick us, put us in a pile and burn us...and we'll still betray our community and vote for you.

gmginsfo:
Actually, LCR has yet to endorse anyone. Unlike HRC, we don't endorse prior to primaries or the Convention; we bide our time - if we endorse at all.

bobby78751:
Anyone here who thinks the LCR will endorse anyone other than the Punk Ass Chimp speak up now! (insert sounds of crickets here) Thank you, traitors.

gmginsfo:
Actually, LCR has yet to endorse anyone. Unlike HRC, we don't endorse prior to primaries or the Convention; we bide our time - if we endorse at all. There's a world of difference between officially endorsing a candidate and supporting or not supporting him.

Lynne Cheney's still-remembered 1981 lesbian romance novel, \"Sisters,\" was feted Monday night in a special performance by the \"Lynne Cheney Players\" - to the delight of an audience of liberal East Village types.

The performance at the New York Theatre Workshop was part of a celebration of left-leaning radio personality Laura Flanders' new book, \"Bushwomen: Tale of a Cynical Species.\"

Yesterday, Flanders told Lowdown that Cheney's novel \"is a breathy, gothic romance, horribly written. It's celebrating lesbian love and promotes the value of preventative devices, condoms, to women who want to remain free. It features a woman who has unmarried sex with the widow of her sister - all this by Lynne Cheney, the culture warrior of the right.\"

Monday's crowd of 200 - which included actress Janeane Garofalo - laughed throughout the satirical staging.

Choice scenes adapted from \"Sisters\" included one in which two female characters write to each other: \"Let us go away together, away from the anger and the imperatives of men. We shall find ourselves a secluded bower where they dare not venture. There will be only the two of us, and we shall linger through long afternoons of sweet retirement.\"

One of Cheney's characters swoons to a Sapphic love letter: \"How well her words describe our love - or the way it would be if we could remove all impediments, leave this place, and join together ... Then our union would be complete. Our lives would flow together, twin streams merging into a single river.\"

Vice President Cheney's wife has been silent on the hot-button issue of gay marriage, although their 34-year-old daughter, Mary Cheney, is openly gay. President Bush has come out in a support of a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage.

\"Here's a whole book where she gloried in lesbian love affairs,\" Flanders said. \"The hypocrisy is rank.\"

Lynne Cheney's spokeswoman didn't respond to Lowdown's request for comment.

From the Washington Post article:
Bush campaign spokesman Terry Holt said: \"We respect differences of opinion in the Republican Party, and we feel that during this election the Republicans will unite behind the president on the big issues facing this country -- the war on terror and growing the economy.\"