I thought you guys would get a kick out of this and possibly voice your opinions! Especially to the person who keeps talking about lawn furniture...he or she is quite hilarious! Ihad to post the HTML, though, because it's a slideshow. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/14/gay-marriage-comparisons-_n_2287055.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular#slide=1873604
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6:51PM EST December 1. 2012 - The U.S. Military Academy's Cadet Chapel at West Point hosted its first same-sex marriage Saturday.
Penelope Gnesin and Brenda Sue Fulton, a West Point graduate, exchanged vows in the regal church in a ceremony conducted by a senior Army chaplain. The ceremony comes a little more than a year after President Obama ended the military policy banning openly gay people from serving. The two have been together for 17 years. They had a civil commitment ceremony that didn't carry any legal force in 1999 but had longed to formally tie the knot. The couple live in New Jersey and would have preferred to have the wedding there, but the state doesn't allow gay marriage. "We just couldn't wait any longer," Fulton said. Guests at the wedding posted photos on Twitter while it was under way and afterward. Fulton said the Cadet Chapel on the campus at West Point was a fitting venue. "It has a tremendous history, and it is beautiful. That's where I first heard and said the cadet prayer," Fulton said. Fulton said that when she requested the West Point chapel, she was told that none of the chaplains who preside there come from a denomination that allowed them to celebrate a gay marriage. Their marriage was officiated by a friend, Army Chaplain Col. J. Wesley Smith of Dover Air Force Base. Fulton, a veteran and the communications director of an organization called OutServe — which represents actively serving gay, lesbian and bisexual military personnel — confirmed in an e-mail to USA TODAY Friday night: "We will be the first same sex couple to wed at the Cadet Chapel at West Point." The wedding was the second gay marriage West Point has hosted. The first was a small, private ceremony last weekend between two of Fulton's friends in a smaller venue on the campus. "We are thrilled for Sue and Penny, and along with them, look forward to a day when this kind of event no longer makes headlines and all Americans enjoy the freedom to marry and the justice of those marriages being recognized," said Zeke Stokes, spokesman for OutServe. In September 2011, the Pentagon issued guidance stating that "determinations regarding the use of DOD real property and facilities for private functions, including religious and other ceremonies, should be made on a sexual-orientation neutral basis, provided such use is not prohibited by applicable state and local laws." The policy change came with the caveat that the use of a military facility does not constitute an endorsement of gay marriage by the Defense Department. In July 2011, President Obama named Fulton to the West Point Board of Visitors, making her the first openly gay member of the board that advises the Academy. She graduated from West Point in 1980, part of the first class of cadets that included women, and later founded an organization called KnightsOut, which describes itself as "an organization of West Point Alumni, Staff and Faculty who are united in supporting the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender soldiers to openly serve their country." Fulton, 53, said she was getting married at the academy because "West Point has been an important part of my life," but also because Republican Gov. Chris Christie in her home state of New Jersey vetoed a gay marriage bill earlier this year. "We had always said that we wanted to get married in New Jersey," Fulton told USA Today, but "we didn't want to wait any longer," particularly because Gnesim, 52, is a breast cancer survivor and suffers from multiple sclerosis. "It is wonderful for us to celebrate the recognition that New York state will give our marriage," Fulton said, but "there is also some regret that we can't get married in our home state." In September, Obama issued a statement commemorating the one-year anniversary of the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell," the military policy that banned openly gay soldiers from serving. He said, "Gay and lesbian Americans now no longer need to hide who they love in order to serve the country they love." But the 1996 Defense Of Marriage Act still prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages and says that states cannot be forced to recognize them. New York's legislature approved gay marriage in June 2011, and in October, a federal appeals court in the state ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. Contributing: Associated Press IF MARRIAGE EQUALITY is a matter of civil rights, then America is finally starting to wake up. If it's a wedge issue designed to win elections, then social conservatives might want to find a new one. And if banning same-sex marriage is God's will, then God can't be thrilled with voters in Maryland, Maine and Washington. They've became the first three states in the nation to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote, a stunning turnaround that gay-rights leaders say could spur pushes for similar rights in states that already have established civil unions, including Delaware, Illinois, Rhode Island and Hawaii. "I'm ecstatic," said Philadelphia Gay News publisher Mark Segal, a gay-rights pioneer since the 1970s. "I think what this election proved beyond the shadow of a doubt is that this has become a nation of diversity. And diverse people believe in civil rights." Also Tuesday, Wisconsin congresswoman Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay person elected to the U.S. Senate, five openly gay Democrats were elected to U.S. House seats, and Minnesota voters rejected a proposal to place a gay-marriage ban in the state constitution. "Democratic legislators and Democratic executives in government are seeing that they can move forward on LGBT civil-rights issues and not have it cost them political capital," said Brian Sims, a Philadelphia lawyer who in January will become the first openly gay member of Pennsylvania's General Assembly. Sims attributed the developments to gay exposure in popular culture, but said President Obama's belated decision to support same-sex marriage likely encouraged voters to do the same. From the News Desk Latest Videos news: container - media promo - 173678181: autoplay - OFF: continuous - ON: tpltID - 1897076382001: playlistID - 20784181001 Latest News Stories Chaput calls for special Sandy collection M.E.: Delco baby's death by heroin a homicide Republican reboot? Pennsylvania’s swing-state status is up in the air Philadelphia’s city commissioners oust Singer as chair More News » News Blogs The Insider: Weekend must-tries: Kosher on the Main Line; go hot in Chinatown 17 minutes ago In the Mix: Ripping it up with Low Cut Connie about 1 hour ago Stay Connected Get the latest news and events delivered to your email. Sign up now! Patrick J. Egan, an assistant professor of politics and public policy at New York University, said gay-marriage supporters were fighting on friendly territory this year in Maryland, Maine, Washington and Minnesota. But the results belie a key talking point of those opposed to marriage equality, he said. "It really takes a weapon out of the opponents' quiver," said Egan, who served as an assistant deputy mayor of Philadelphia under Ed Rendell. "For a long time, a big part of the opponents' argument has been that, essentially, gay marriage has been forced on voters from above, either by a court or a state legislature. Now, they really can't say that. You have three electorates that have approved gay marriage at the ballot box." Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, which poured $5.5 million into the four states to oppose gay marriage, said the results do not represent a "changing point in how Americans view gay marriage," but simply the political reality in four liberal states. "Though we are disappointed over these losses, we remain faithful to our mission and committed to the cause of preserving marriage as God designed it," Brown said in a statement. "Marriage is a true and just cause, and we will never abandon the field of battle just because we experienced a setback." - The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact William Bender at [email protected] or 215-854-5255. Follow him on Twitter @wbender99 Source: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/177792421.html |
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