Peter Gomes died today

Via Alan Colmes:

The Rev. Peter J. Gomes, a Baptist minister, was the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, having served at Harvard University and in the Memorial Church since 1970. He died February 28 of complications from a stroke.

Widely regarded as one of America’s leading preachers, Gomes participated in the inaugurations of Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He was named Clergy of the Year by the organization Religion in American Life in 1998; in 1979 Time magazine called him “one of the seven most distinguished preachers in America.”

…A self-described cultural conservative, Gomes stunned the Harvard community and reluctantly made national news when he came out as a homosexual in 1991 in response to gay bashing on campus. “I don’t like being the main exhibit, but this was an unusual set of circumstances, in that I felt I had a particular resource that nobody else there possessed,” he told The New Yorker in 1996.

I met Gomes a few years ago at the home of mutual friends. I remember most his accent - it was almost English, but not quite. Yet he was born and raised somewhere in Massachusetts, he told me. He was part of that crowd of old America, with those fascinating accents you just don't hear anymore. I'd heard of Gomes for the first time, I think, in the early 90s while working on gay issues - probably because of the NYT op ed linked to below. He really knew how to take on the religious right, and more generally, so-called "religious" argument against homosexuality.

Alan links to a great NYT op ed Gomes wrote in 1992 about gays and God, explaining how the religious right's interpretation of the Bible, vis-a-vis the gays, is simply wrong. It's worth a read.

I regret not staying in touch with him. Read the rest of this post...

No committee vote on marriage in Maryland tonight

Just caught the news on twitter from Jeremy Hooper that there will not be a vote on the marriage bill tonight in the House Judiciary Committee:

RT @nealcarter: RT: @jwaldstreicher LIVE BLOGGING: Vote on gay marriage will not be held today. No reschedule as of yet. #marryland

Read more about today's drama in Annapolis here and here.

The marriage bill is still being held hostage -- or something. Read the rest of this post...

Ireland elects first openly gay members of the House (Dáil)

Rex Wockner has more. Read the rest of this post...

California's Attorney General says lift the stay on marriages

Via press release, we learn that the Attorney General of California, Kamala Harris, has added her voice to those calling for the Ninth Circuit to lift the stay on same-sex marriages:

Attorney General Harris said it is unlikely that an appeal will succeed in overturning Judge Walker's ruling that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. The appeal's likelihood of success has been substantially diminished, Attorney General Harris said, "both by the United States Attorney General's conclusion that classifications based on sexual orientation cannot survive constitutional scrutiny and by this Court's certification order to the California Supreme Court, which seriously questions the Court's jurisdiction to decide the merits of the case."

In addition, Attorney General Harris said, "there is no injury that the proponents of Proposition 8 will suffer if same-sex couples are permitted to enter into civil marriages in California." But as long as the stay on same-sex marriages remains in effect, Attorney General Harris said, the due process and equal protection rights of same-sex couples will continue to be violated, perpetuating unconstitutional discrimination and making a stay of Judge Walker's ruling legally inappropriate.

"The President and the United States Attorney General have determined that they will not continue to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (‘DOMA')," Harris said, "because it enforces a classification that fails to meet the heightened standard of scrutiny that should apply for equal protection analysis under the Fifth Amendment."

The California Attorney General's long-standing position, Harris told the Ninth Circuit, is that Proposition 8 "violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution."

"For 846 days, Proposition 8 has denied equality under the law to gay and lesbian couples," Attorney General Harris said. "Each and every one of those days, same-sex couples have been denied their right to convene loved ones and friends to celebrate marriages sanctioned and protected by California law. Each one of those days, loved ones have been lost, moments have been missed, and justice has been denied."

Harris won the A.G.'s race last year by the slimmest of slim margins. Read the rest of this post...

Drama in Annapolis: Pro-marriage Delegate will now 'hold marriage vote hostage'

UPDATE @ 4:36 PM: Possible progress towards a committee vote according a tweet from the Baltimore Sun's Julie Bykowicz:

House judic vote on same-sex marriage could take place tonight. Speaker met at length with 2 dels who were withholding support.

________

Have to love it when our "allies" decide that basic civil rights are political fodder. That's apparently what is happening today at the Maryland State House. As reported earlier, two delegates, both supporters of marriage, were "missing" from the House Judiciary Committee hearing where the bill was supposed to get a vote. Well, they're back, but Delegate Jill Carter is holding the bill "hostage." That's according to The Baltimore Sun, where the headline reads "City del. willing to hold marriage vote hostage":

Del. Jill Carter, a Baltimore Democrat, said she is reluctant to vote on legislation that would legalize marriage for same-sex couples until other issues, including a child custody bill and education funding, gain traction in the General Assembly this year.

Carter was one of two delegates supportive of gay marriage who staged a walkout this morning during a specially scheduled vote on the marriage proposal -- which has already cleared the Senate and had been expected to make it out of the House committee today.

But Carter said there are "more important, or at least equally important" issues that she would like to see fast-tracked in the way that, in her view, gay marriage has been. And she said that until she hears from House leadership, she does not plan to cast a committee vote in favor of the Civil Marriage Protection Act.

She is a critical vote: The House Judiciary Committee contains only exactly enough "yes" votes to get the same-sex marriage proposal out of committee and to the House floor for debate by the entire 141-member chamber.

I don't know Delegate Carter. But, I've spent a lot of time in State Houses. They are funny places. I guess we have to take Delegate Carter at her word. But, she knows that the longer the debate plays out, the less likely are chances of success. Read the rest of this post...

Committee vote on Maryland marriage bill delayed by missing Delegates

This doesn't sound good:

Maryland's same-sex marriage legislation hit an unexpected roadblock Tuesday morning when two delegates who had expressed support for the bill failed to show up for a committee vote.

Colleagues frantically tried to locate Del. Tiffany T. Alston (D-Prince George's) and Del. Jill Carter (D-Baltimore) for about half an hour before calling off a scheduled vote in the House Judiciary Committee. Both Alston and Carter are co-sponsors of the House version of the bill.

"It simply means the soup's not ready yet," said Don H. Dwyer Jr. (R-Anne Arundel), a staunch opponent of the bill, suggesting supporters were short of votes.

Del. Luiz R.S. Simmons (D-Montgomery), a bill supporter, said he believes there is still a possibility of securing the 12 votes needed to pass the bill out of committee and suggested the absence of his colleagues showed "dissatisfaction with the way this bill has been organized."

"We'll have to see if we can round up 12 votes," Simmons said.

"Still a possibility"? "See if we can round up 12 votes"? What kind of games are being played in Annapolis?

It's ominous to see that quote from the face of homophobia in the House, Don H. Dwyer, Jr. The anti-gay forces are in overdrive. They're doing everything they can to block this bill. Everything.

Below are photos of the missing Delegates. If anyone sees them, please call the House Judiciary Committee.

Jill Carter:

Tiffany Alston:
Read the rest of this post...

House GOP Leader Cantor also wants to defend DOMA, expect action by Friday

The House Republicans can't help themselves. They rarely miss an opportunity to engage in legislative gay-bashing. It's like catnip for them -- and the President's determination that DOMA is unconstitutional is giving them another opportunity. Majority Leader Eric Cantor wants us to know that he's in synch with Speaker John Boehner on the need to defend DOMA -- and we can expect a decision by Friday:

“I stand by [Boehner’s] commitment to make that happen,” Cantor (R-Va.) said Monday afternoon at a press conference, promising to outline their plans in detail Friday.

Cantor said the Justice Department’s refusal to defend the law is a problem separate from the substance of the law itself, which allows states to decide whether to recognize same-sex unions in other states. The Justice Department has called another provision, that bars same-sex couples from receiving federal-worker benefits, unconstitutional.

“Again I do believe that this is a case that is distinguishable on its merits and to have the administration take the position, the president take the position, that he’s not defending the law of the land, is something very troubling I think to most members of the House,” Cantor said.

When pressed on what House Republicans planned to do, he demurred.

“I think you’ll see that on Friday,” Cantor said.

Note how Cantor is trying to finesse this issue. He's pretending to focus on the process, not the substance. But, for his GOP caucus, this is all about the substance. They are so apoplectic because DOMA impacts LGBT Americans.

And, again, the House can defend DOMA because there's a statute in place just for these kinds of situations. While working for President George H.W. Bush, Chief Justice John Roberts took a similar action.

The White House has figured -- finally -- that it's good politics to be on the side of equality. So, I can't wait to see how the Republicans handle this -- and to see how ugly it gets. When some of those GOPers get going on gay issues, they lose control.

The best part is still that House Republicans are taking strategy advice from Rick Santorum:

In a taped interview posted Monday, Boehner (R-Ohio) said the GOP-controlled House could appoint a special counsel to defend the law commonly known as DOMA, a suggestion first made by former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.).

Yep. Santorum. Read the rest of this post...

Another vehemently anti-gay reverend busted for lewd behavior

Caught (allegedly) playing with himself in a van while watching children in the park.

One of the loudest voices against the annual Southern Decadence festival in New Orleans's French Quarter was arrested Friday afternoon for masturbating in a public park.

Rev. Grant Storms, 53, was arrested at Lafreniere Park in Metairie, La., a suburb outside of New Orleans, according to the Times-Picayune. He told police he was having lunch in a van with his friend, but needed to urinate, so he used a bottle instead of a bathroom.

Two women in the park saw Storms reportedly masturbating in his van, while watching children, and notified a parks employee who proceeded to call police.

Much more from the Times-Picayune. Read the rest of this post...