Greek PM Faces Fierce Opposition over Pledge to Legalise Gay Marriage

THE GUARDIAN: MPs in his own cabinet are against move, while powerful Orthodox church fear it could lead to dismantlement of society

Kyriakos Mitsotakis: ‘It is not something radically different from what applies in other European countries.’ Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
The Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, appears to be facing one of his most daunting challenges yet after a pledge to legalise same-sex marriage ignited fierce debate in the Orthodox Christian country.

Throwing his weight behind an issue still prone to provoke extraordinary emotion, not least among his own MPs, Mitsotakis acknowledged he would have to use his skills of persuasion to push through the reform as opposition mounted within his centre-right New Democracy party.

“I, and all those who believe in this legislation, must convince our parliamentarians and subsequently those who may still have a negative stance,” he said in his first interview of the year with the country’s public broadcaster ERT. “What we are going to legislate is equality in marriage, which means the elimination of any discrimination based on sexual orientation. It is not something radically different from what applies in other European countries.” » | Helena Smith in Athens | Thursday, January 11, 2024

Kids on Gay Marriage | #shorts

This is a hoot !

Pope Francis Suggests Gay Couples Could Be Blessed in Vatican Reversal

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Conservative cardinals had challenged the pope to confirm teachings on LGBTQ+ issues

Pope Francis appears to have reversed the Vatican’s position on the blessing of same-sex marriages by suggesting they could be possible in a note to conservative bishops. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Pope Francis has suggested there could be ways to bless same-sex unions, responding to five conservative cardinals who challenged him to affirm church teaching on homosexuality ahead of a big meeting where LGBTQ+ Catholics are on the agenda.

The Vatican on Monday published a letter Francis wrote to the cardinals on 11 July after receiving a list of five questions, or dubia, from them a day earlier. In it, Francis suggests that such blessings could be studied if they did not confuse the blessing with sacramental marriage.

New Ways Ministry, which advocates for LGBTQ+ Catholics, said the letter “significantly advances” efforts to make LGBTQ+ Catholics welcomed in the church and represented “one big straw towards breaking the camel’s back” in their marginalisation. » | Associated Press | Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Conservative Catholics, Relegated to Sidelines, Denounce Papal Gathering: As bishops and laypeople from around the world prepared to gather at the Vatican, traditionalist Catholics who would not be among them staged their own show. »

Marriage Equality in Japan

You can support gay marriage in Japan by signing this petition.

Why Diana’s Brother Won't Go to the King's Coronation | Earl Spencer

Feb 20, 2023 | "I think of Diana every day, but in different contexts and the whole royal thing, I don't find it as interesting ... I just get on with my life." Earl Spencer says he won't be attending the Coronation on #timesradio.

India's Top Court Opens Landmark Hearings on Same-sex Marriage | DW News

Apr 18, 2023 | In India, homosexuality is legally permitted, but same-sex unions have not been recognized yet. That could change soon: Beginning April 18, India's Supreme Court will start hearing final arguments to determine whether same-sex marriages should be legalized. Gay couples in the country currently face hurdles when it comes to adoption, inheritance and alimony, among other issues. The disparities of treatment between heterosexual and homosexual couples is also noticeable at many levels. For example, Kanav Sahgal, a writer on LGBTQ issues who works for the think tank Vidhi Center for Legal Policy, explains that hospitals usually require a patient undergoing a procedure to fill in the name of their spouse, mother, father or another person. Currently, he says, gay persons can only fill in their partner's names under "other."

My Gay Husband: King's Gay Cousin Lord Ivar Mountbatten on Dynamic between His Husband and Ex-wife

Attitude meets the King's gay cousin Lord Ivar Mountbatten, his husband James Coyle, and ex-wife Lady Penny Mountbatten (who walked him down the aisle on his wedding day).

Bill to Protect Same-Sex Marriage Rights Clears Congress

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The House gave final approval to the measure, with lawmakers from both parties voting in favor. It now heads to President Biden to be signed into law.


The House gave final approval to the Respect for Marriage Act with both sides voting in favor of the legislation, which provides federal recognition for same-sex marriages. | Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday gave final approval to legislation to mandate federal recognition for same-sex marriages, with a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers voting in favor of the measure in the waning days of the Democratic-led Congress.

With a vote of 258-169, the landmark legislation cleared Congress, sending it to President Biden to be signed into law and capping an improbable path for a measure that only months ago appeared to have little chance at enactment.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the tally triumphantly, banging the gavel repeatedly as if to applaud as members of the House cheered.

It was the second time in five months that the House had taken up the Respect for Marriage Act. Last summer, 47 House Republicans joined Democrats in support of the legislation, a level of G.O.P. enthusiasm for same-sex marriage rights that surprised and delighted its supporters. That set off an intensive effort among a bipartisan group of proponents in the Senate — boosted quietly by a coalition of influential Republican donors and operatives, some of them gay — to find the 10 Republican votes necessary in that chamber to move it forward. » | Annie Karni | Thursday, December 8, 2022

Aux Etats-Unis, le Congrès adopte une loi protégeant le mariage homosexuel : Le texte voté jeudi interdit aux agents d’état civil, quel que soit l’Etat, de discriminer les couples « en raison de leur sexe, race, ethnicité ou origine ». »

US-Kongress stimmt für Gesetz zum Schutz gleichgeschlechtlicher Ehen: Das Gesetz verpflichtet die Bundesstaaten zur Anerkennung aller Ehen, die andernorts legal geschlossen wurden. Gegenstimmen kamen ausschließlich von Seiten der Republikaner. »

Bermuda Becomes First Country in rhe World to Repeal Same-sex Marriage | TIME

Feb 8, 2018 | Legislation replacing same-sex marriage with domestic partnerships in Bermuda was signed into law by the governor Wednesday as critics called it an unprecedented rollback of civil rights in the British island territory.

Ban on Same-sex Marriage in Bermuda Upheld. Click here.

Supreme Court Seems Ready to Back Web Designer Opposed to Same-Sex Marriage

THE NEW YORK TIMES: A web designer in Colorado wants to limit her wedding-related services to celebrations of heterosexual unions because of her religious beliefs, but a state law prohibits discrimination against gay people by businesses open to the public.

Andrew Harnik
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority seemed prepared on Monday to rule that a graphic designer in Colorado has a First Amendment right to refuse to create websites celebrating same-sex weddings based on her Christian faith despite a state law that forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation.

But several justices leaning in that direction appeared to be searching for limiting principles so as not to upend all sorts of anti-discrimination laws.

They explored the difference between businesses engaged in expression and ones simply selling goods; the difference between a client’s message and that of the designer; the difference between discrimination against gay couples and compelling the creation of messages supporting same-sex marriage; and the difference between discrimination based on race and that based on sexual orientation.

The bottom line, though, seemed to be that the court would not require the designer to create customized websites celebrating same-sex marriage despite the state anti-discrimination law.

The court’s three liberal members expressed deep qualms about the damage a ruling in favor of the designer could do to efforts to combat discrimination. » | Adam Liptak | Monday, December 5, 2022

Darkness is rapidly befalling the Western world! Beware the bigots, the ignoramuses and the demons who pervade the West these days and the ether. They threaten to take us back to a 'New Dark Age' (of which I once wrote many years ago), back to a less enlightened age, to benighted times. – © Mark Alexander

Christopher Hitchens and Andrew Sullivan - On Gay Marriage and Christianity

Jun 25, 2013

The Knot Has Been Tied and the Contentment Is Palpable | Reupload

LGBTQ+ wedding photos in NYC. Jonathan & Gabe's anniversary session captured by the best New York wedding photographers, Brooklyn Wedding Photo.
Many thanks to Megan & Kenneth Photography | Brooklyn Wedding Photographers NYC for this superb photo.

Same-sex Marriage Legislation Clears Key US Senate Hurdle with Republican Support

THE GUARDIAN: Twelve Republicans voted with all Democrats to advance the bill, which would ensure same-sex unions are enshrined in federal law

Legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriages crossed a major Senate hurdle on Wednesday, putting Congress on track to take the historic step of ensuring that such unions are enshrined in federal law.

Twelve Republicans voted with all Democrats to move forward on the legislation, meaning a final vote could come as soon as this week, or later this month. Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, said the bill ensuring the unions are legally recognized under the law is a chance for the Senate to “live up to its highest ideals” and protect marriage equality for all people.

“It will make our country a better, fairer place to live,” Schumer said, noting that his own daughter and her wife are expecting a baby next year.

Senate Democrats are quickly moving to pass the bill while the party still controls the House. Republicans are on the verge of winning the House majority and would be unlikely to take up the issue next year. » | Associated press in Washington | Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Mehrheit im Senat für Gesetz für gleichgeschlechtliche Ehe: Die gleichgeschlechtliche Ehe ist in den USA zwar durch eine Entscheidung des Supreme Court legalisiert, das Recht darauf jedoch noch nicht im Gesetz verankert. Das wollen die Demokraten ändern. »

The Guardian View on LGBT+ Anglicans: Finally Grounds for Hope?

THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: A significant intervention by the bishop of Oxford points the way to overdue reform in the Church of England

For more than a decade, the Church of England has engaged in an agonised, divisive and often poisonous debate about the status of same-sex relationships. As attitudes in the wider national culture have transformed beyond recognition since the 1980s, the country’s established church has gradually become an anomalous outlier, steadfastly refusing to countenance same-sex marriages or the blessing of civil unions. Its doctrine continues to conform to the view that homosexual practice is “incompatible with scripture”.

Responding to the hurt and grief that this has caused LGBT+ members of its congregations – apparently equal in the eyes of God but second-class citizens in their own church – the C of E has, at best, wrung its hands sympathetically. To the deep disquiet of many bishops and much of the laity, the goal of maintaining unity, both at home and in the worldwide Anglican communion, seems to have led to the perpetuation of a derided status quo. » | Editorial | Monday, November 7, 2022

Related articles here and here.

Bishop of Oxford Says Church Should Marry Gay Couples

The Right Reverend Dr Steven Croft said his own views on same-sex marriage were "slow to change" | DIOCESE OF OXFORD
BBC: The Bishop of Oxford has said Church of England clergy should be able to bless and marry gay couples.

The Right Reverend Dr Steven Croft said he was sorry his views on same-sex marriage were "slow to change" and had "caused genuine hurt, disagreement and pain".

In an essay, he said clergy should also be allowed to marry a same-sex partner if they wished.

By law no Church of England minister can bless or marry gay couples.

He is the most senior cleric in the Church of England to so far speak out in favour of same-sex marriage.

The essay, Together in Love and Faith, sets out the ways Bishop Croft's own views on same-sex relationships have changed over the last decade.

"I need to acknowledge the acute pain and distress of LGBTQ+ people in the life of the Church," he wrote.

"I am sorry that, corporately, we have been so slow as a Church to reach better decisions and practice on these matters.

"I am sorry that my own views were slow to change and that my actions, and lack of action, have caused genuine hurt, disagreement and pain." » | BBC | Thursday, November 3, 2022

Senior bishops join chorus of calls for Church of England to allow same-sex marriage: Bishops across the country have called for the Church of England to allow same-sex marriage, after the Bishop of Oxford became the highest ranking church official to do so. »

Kevin Rudd Launched a Passionate Defence of Gay Marriage in 2013

Sep 3, 2013 | Australia's prime minister, Kevin Rudd, a devout Christian, stared down a pastor on live television and cited scripture while delivering a stirring defence of gay marriage. …

This is something that all Christians (and people of other faiths and none) should listen to. Well done Kevin Rudd! His reasoning is a joy to listen to. – © Mark Alexander

Maurice Williamson's 'Big Gay Rainbow' Speech | 2013

Apr 17, 2013 | Watch MP Maurice Williamson's witty speech supporting the Marriage Amendment Bill

This Is Wonderful! Politics at Its Very Best!

Australian MP proposes to partner during same-sex marriage debate in parliament

Two Bears Life: We Can Get Married! Gay Couple Talks about Marriage Equality in Austria | 2017

We talk about the landmark decision of the Austrian supreme court that will open "marriage for all". This means that gay couples will be allowed to get married at the latest by the beginning of 2019.

Cuba Just Voted to Legalise Same-sex Marriage and Adoption for Queer Couples: ‘Love Wins!’

The Cuban government urged its citizens to vote 'yes' on a broad legislative package, which will improve LGBTQ+ and women's rights in the country. (Getty)
PINK NEWS: Cuba’s citizens have approved a broad family law code that will usher in same-sex marriage and other LGBTQ+ friendly measures in a historic vote.

Millions of Cubans turned out to vote for or against a major overhaul of the island country’s over four-decade-old family code. The package included the historic step of legalising same-sex marriage, allowing LGBTQ+ couples to adopt children and other progressive measures.

Campaigners said preliminary results indicated that the LGBTQ+ friendly package will be approved after millions voted in favour of the referendum on Sunday (25 September).

The Cuban national centre for sex education (CENESEX) – which has advocated for broadening LGBTQ+ rights in the country – wrote on Instagram that “love and affections won” after approximately 67 per cent of citizens voted in favour of the package. » | Maggie Baska | Monday, September 26, 2022

Les Cubains approuvent le mariage entre personnes de même sexe : Près de 67 % des votants ont dit oui au nouveau code des familles lors du référendum qui s’est tenu le 25 septembre. Mais l’abstention importante et les bulletins contre traduisent un mécontentement envers le pouvoir communiste. »