http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/08/04/98643/california-court-overturns-proposition.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38560562/ns/us_news-life

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/04/prop-8-overturned-gay-mar_n_671018.html

PDF of final ruling :  Perry et al v. Schwarzenegger et al

McGowan, a Hallowell Democrat, said he supports same-sex marriage and would support another referendum vote on the issue.

STEVEN ROWE-D

Rowe is both pro-abortion rights and supportive of same-sex marriage.

ROSA SCARCELLI-D

She said she supports abortion rights and same-sex marriage.   “I was raised in a community where loving, compassionate relationships were not just heterosexual,” said Scarcelli.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL-D

She’s supported gay marriage as a state senator and would continue to do so, she said, though it rarely comes up on the campaign trail.

PETER MILLS-R

“I’m pro-choice, I voted for the gay marriage bill – next question,” said Mills. “Sometimes there isn’t a next.”

LES OTTEN-R

On gay marriage, he said he was a supporter of traditional marriage but also believed in civil unions.

Otten said he would have vetoed the gay marriage bill that Gov. John Baldacci signed. He said he would have supported something closer to the bill Washington state passed, which essentially extended the same rights and responsibilities to same-sex couples without calling their relationship marriage.

STEVE ABBOTT-R

Abbott, a Portland Republican, said he’s heard very few questions about social issues on the campaign trail. The one that comes up the most is same-sex marriage. Abbott said he supported traditional marriage but recognized that something more needed to be done for gay and lesbian couples.

“There are many same-sex couples in the state, and they have legal issues that we need to recognize involving property, personal issues,” said Abbott. “It would make sense for the state to give those couples legal recognition that would include the same rights and responsibilities that traditional married couples have.”

BILL BEARDSLEY-R

He supports traditional marriage and is opposed to civil unions, calling them a confusing concept. He said he supports the traditional laws that exist and the domestic partner laws on the books, adding that they could be tweaked if needed.

MATT JACOBSON-R

On same-sex marriage, he said the state needs to keep the word “marriage” out of any solutions but needs to change the current legal environment.

PAUL LePAGE-R

On gay marriage, LePage said he supports traditional marriage and isn’t in favor of giving “anything special to any class of people.” He said he would abide by the state’s civil rights laws.

BRUCE POLIQUIN-R

Poliquin, a Georgetown Republican, said he is a “strong believer in traditional marriage” and is also anti-abortion.

More… http://www.pressherald.com/home/governor/Social-issues-take-back-seat-in-Blaine-House-race-.html

[From the National Center for Lesbian Rights]
Clay and his partner of 20 years, Harold, lived in California. Clay and Harold made diligent efforts to protect their legal rights, and had their legal paperwork in place—wills, powers of attorney, and medical directives, all naming each other. Harold was 88 years old and in frail medical condition, but still living at home with Clay, 77, who was in good health.

One evening, Harold fell down the front steps of their home and was taken to the hospital. Based on their medical directives alone, Clay should have been consulted in Harold’s care from the first moment. Tragically, county and health care workers instead refused to allow Clay to see Harold in the hospital. The county then ultimately went one step further by isolating the couple from each other, placing the men in separate nursing homes.

Ignoring Clay’s significant role in Harold’s life, the county continued to treat Harold like he had no family and went to court seeking the power to make financial decisions on his behalf. Outrageously, the county represented to the judge that Clay was merely Harold’s “roommate.” The court denied their efforts, but did grant the county limited access to one of Harold’s bank accounts to pay for his care.

What happened next is even more chilling: without authority, without determining the value of Clay and Harold’s possessions accumulated over the course of their 20 years together or making any effort to determine which items belonged to whom, the county took everything Harold and Clay owned and auctioned off all of their belongings. Adding further insult to grave injury, the county removed Clay from his home and confined him to a nursing home against his will. The county workers then terminated Clay and Harold’s lease and surrendered the home they had shared for many years to the landlord.

read more at http://www.nclrights.org/site/PageServer?pagename=issue_caseDocket_Greene_v_County_of_Sonoma_et_al

The home page currently goes to the GIM blog, but I’ll be fixing this…..The activity feed eventually will be the site’s home page, its just more interesting.

The activity feed is more interactive and easier to use, members can now post and reply to an activity/wire feed on the same page instead of having to go into your profile page.

Before we couldnt post videos to the activity feed, but its now possible to do this…if you want to post a video, just copy and paste the URL of the YouTube video into the activity comment box.

That’s it for now….enjoy the warm sunny weekend, suppose to be in the 50s!!

Thanks to http://blabbeando.blogspot.com for getting the words out about the videos.

part 1

Part 2

The 10th annual USM Royal Majesty Drag Competition and Show will be held on Friday, November 20th at the Holiday Inn by the Bay. This event attracts over 600 people each year and is one of the largest campus and community Drag Shows in Northern New England.

Special guest performers for the 2009 show already include:
The Maine Gay Men’s Chorus Touring Ensemble
Mimi Imfurst (from NYC and the first USM Royal Majesty Queen from the 2000 show)
The Kings of the Hill
Jelvis
Last year’s winners: The Dynamic Dictaphones and Jelly Jacobs
A surprise guest host!
And more……..

Celebrity Guest Judges from 10 years of Royal Majesty Winners!

ASL Interpreted

Tickets available at the door the night of the show only.

$5 for students
$10 all others

Doors open at 7:00pm
Show begins at 7:30pm

This event is a fundraiser for the USM Center for Sexualities and Gender Diversity and LGBTQA Programming on Campus. Event co-sponsors and supporters include: Gorham Events Board, Portland Events Board, Student Involvement and Activities Center, Campus Involvement and Activities