NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest homosexual activist organization, has endorsed Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, saying he is a “true leader” on homosexual issues.
According to a June 16 Human Rights Campaign news release, its board of governors endorsed Kerry based on his “support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality.”
Kerry opposes a constitutional marriage amendment, voted against the Defense of Marriage Act and supports overturning the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, the news release said.
“I want to thank HRC for its endorsement,” Kerry said in a statement. “We have worked together on so many battles and we still have many challenges ahead of us. I know that America finds its strength in the diversity of this great country.
“I have worked for [more] than 20 years to make sure that LGBT Americans are treated with dignity in our society and equality in our laws. That fight is not over and I will be there for the fights in the future.”
HRC President Cheryl Jacques praised Kerry’s support for homosexual issues.
“From voting against the Defense of Marriage Act to actively opposing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ John Kerry is a true leader for our community,” Jacques said in a statement. “Just six months into his first Senate term in 1985, he introduced a gay civil rights bill. His aggressive support for our community continued unabated for the years that followed, demonstrated time and again by perfect HRC ratings on GLBT issues in Congress.”
LOUISIANA MAKES SEVEN — Louisiana became the seventh state to send a state constitutional marriage amendment to voters when the state House passed an amendment June 15 by a vote of 88-13. The Senate earlier had passed it, 31-6. The amendment will appear on the Sept. 18 ballot.
Legislatures in Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Utah also have sent marriage amendments to voters.
MONTANA, TOO? — The Montana Family Foundation may have succeeded in its bid to place a state constitutional marriage amendment on the November ballot. The group said June 17 that it had collected 70,000 signatures — more than the 41,000 required, according to the Billings Gazette newspaper. The signatures now must be certified.
MASS. LAW CHALLENGED — A 1913 Massachusetts law being used to prevent out-of-state same-sex couples from getting “married” is being challenged in court. Eight same-sex couples and some 13 municipalities filed a lawsuit June 18 seeking to overturn the law, which they say is unconstitutional, the Associated Press reported.
The law prevents couples from getting married in Massachusetts if their marriage would not be recognized in their home state. Massachusetts is the only state with legalized same-sex “marriage.”
CALIF. MARRIAGE CASE — San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer has been assigned the cases that will determine the legality of same-sex “marriage” in California, the Mercury News reported. Kramer, a Republican, was handed five cases June 10 that have been consolidated. The city of San Francisco and homosexual activist groups have sued the state, seeking to overturn the state’s ban on same-sex “marriage.”
The cases Kramer will hear are different from the case the California Supreme Court heard in May. That case will determine whether San Francisco officials had the authority to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
FRANCE MAYOR SUSPENDED — Noel Mamere, the mayor of a French town who conducted a same-sex “wedding,” has been suspended from his post for a month, Reuters reported. The nation’s justice minister had declared the “marriage” invalid.
FMA UPDATE – Republican Senators Jon Kyl of Arizona and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas have signed on as co-sponsors of the Federal Marriage Amendment, increasing to 17 the number of Senate sponsors. The Senate is scheduled to debate the issue the week of July 12.
The amendment bill is HJR 56 in the House and SJR 30 in the Senate.
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