Peon's Place

Seriously. Can we stop over-ruling the decision and people of California for once?

A federal appeals court in San Francisco has blocked same-sex marriage in California, until it hears broader questions over the constitutionality of such marriages. The brief order from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals set aside a federal judge’s decision August 4 permitting same-sex marriages to resume.

If you have not heard from earlier, California stated that gay marriage will begin again August 18th.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage last week, ruling that voter-approved Proposition 8 violates the U.S. Constitution. Walker had issued a temporary stay on his decision, which on Thursday he said he would lift.

The high-profile case is being watched closely by supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage, as many say it is likely to make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. If it does, the case could result in a landmark decision on whether people in the United States are allowed to marry others of the same sex.

Same-sex marriage is legal in five U.S. states and in the District of Columbia, while civil unions are permitted in New Jersey. The five states are Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa and New Hampshire.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker has ruled Proposition 8 is unconstitutional “under both the due-process and equal-protection” clauses. His verdict comes in response to a lawsuit brought by two same-sex couples and the city of San Francisco seeking to invalidate the law as an unlawful infringement on the civil rights of gay men and lesbians.

Proposition 8, which outlawed gay marriages in California five months after the state Supreme Court legalized them, passed with 52 percent of the vote in November 2008 following the most expensive campaign on a social issue in U.S. history. Attorneys on both sides have said an appeal was certain if Walker did not rule in their favor. The case would go first to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals then the Supreme Court if the high court justices agree to review it.

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A San Francisco federal judge tomorrow will issue a much anticipated ruling in the Proposition 8 trial, a decision that will be a first step in a long legal process to decide whether California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage violates the federal constitution.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker will release the ruling without holding a hearing, typical in deciding most cases. Bay Area federal court officials announced the scheduled release of the much-anticipated decision in a brief order today.

Walker in January conducted an unprecedented trial in January in the challenge to Proposition 8, which restored the state’s ban on the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry. He heard closing arguments in June, and now will decide the outcome of a lawsuit that maintains the same-sex marriage ban violates the equal protection rights of gay and lesbian couples.

Either way the judge decides, the losing side is expected to appeal the ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Most legal experts expect the case to ultimately be decided in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Another sweet victory world-wide for homosexual couples, possibly allowing influence to other nations, including our own. Will California overturn the decision that we overturned on this issue?

Argentina’s Senate narrowly approved a measure early today authorizing same-sex marriages, making Argentina the first country in Latin America to allow gay couples to wed.

After 15 hours of debate, the Senate voted 33 to 27 in favor of the measure, which was sponsored by the government of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. For weeks, she waged a bitter war of words with the Roman Catholic Church over the measure. The church organized large protests throughout the country on Tuesday night involving tens of thousands of opponents of the law. Some senators criticized the Senate leadership on Wednesday for not allowing a vote on an alternative bill to authorize civil unions for gay couples. The same-sex marriage measure will give gay people the same marital rights as heterosexuals, including adoption and inheritance rights.

Mexico City became the first jurisdiction in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriages last year. Two other countries in the region, Uruguay and Colombia, allow civil unions for same-sex couples.

A federal judge in Boston, Massachusetts, has ruled that the federal ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional, because it interferes with an individual state’s right to define marriage. The ruling gives same-sex married couples in Massachusetts the same right to federal benefits that heterosexual couples enjoy.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro ruled that “as irrational prejudice plainly neverconstitutes a legitimate government interest,” the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the protection under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. Tauro ruled simultaneously in favor on two separate lawsuits that were filed by the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) on behalf of eight same-sex married couples and three widows, and by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage has been permitted for over six years.

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Google is set to begin covering a cost that gay and lesbian employees must pay when their partners receive domestic partner health benefits, according to a report in the New York Times. The increased pay is largely to compensate these workers for an extra tax that heterosexual married couples do not pay. The increase will be retroactive to the beginning of the year, the newspaper said.

Google is not the first large company to make up for the extra tax, the Times reported, adding that Google’s move could inspire its Silicon Valley competitors to follow suit, as they compete for the same talent. Right now Google offers benefits to the spouses or partners of both straight and gay employees.

Under federal law, employer-provided health benefits for domestic partners are counted as taxable income, if the partner is not considered a dependent, the newspaper said, noting that the tax owed is based on the value of the partner’s coverage paid by the employer. Citing a study, the Times said employees with domestic partners will pay about $1,069 more a year in taxes than a married employee with the same coverage. Google will essentially cover those costs, the newspaper said, putting same-sex couples on an even footing with heterosexual employees whose spouses and families receive health benefits.

Miley Cyrus is no Adam Lambert … at least according to “Good Morning America.”  After simulating a girl-on-girl kiss while on “Britain’s Got Talent” two weeks ago (bottom left), the 17-year-old pop sensation performed on ‘GMA’ today (top).

Interesting move … considering they banned Adam Lambert from performing back in November after he kissed a male band member on the American Music Awards (bottom right).

Translation: Heterosexual underage female singer simulating a lesbian kiss = good. Gay male singer actually kissing a man = bad.

“I’m not trying to be ‘slutty,’” said Cyrus in a recent interview. “I’m not trying to be like, go to the club and get a bunch of guys … What I’m trying to do is to make a point with my record and look consistent, in the way my record sounds and the way I dress.”

What she wears has been put under the spotlight recently. Some thought the video for “Can’t Be Tamed” was too provocative, and others have criticized her for revealing too much skin in her outfits. Cyrus admits to being partial to shorts and hot pants. But she sees nothing wrong with flashing her legs. ”I’m really comfortable with my body, I work really hard to be fit and to know that I can wear whatever makes me most comfortable. I feel more comfortable dressing with a little less, which is just how I’ve always been,” she said. ”Now I’m able to do that a little more freely and, also, I’ve just grown up to be this way too. It’s not like this was me five years ago. It’s me now, presently.”

Maturing is Cyrus’ current mission. She’ll finally shed the blonde wig of her Disney pop star persona, “Hannah Montana,” when it ends this year. Then Cyrus will be free to embrace her solo stardom and sex appeal. ”When you’re 11, the word you would use to describe someone is definitely not sexy, and as you get older I think you grow into that. And I think I’ve done that but that’s not my schtick. That’s not what I’m trying to do to sell records. I want people to buy my record because of my music.”

This Saturday marked a significant step for homosexuals and the church. For the first time EVER, a lesbian had been ordained as a bishop in Los Angeles!

The Rev. Canon Mary Glasspool of Baltimore was ordained and consecrated before 3,000 people in the Long Beach area this weekend, making her the second openly gay biship in church history as well as one of the first two female bishops of the Episcopal Church.

Just before the ceremony began, a man stood, shouted about the need to repent and held up a sign that read “Do not be deceived, homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God.” After he was escorted out, a young boy in the same section rose holding a Bible and shouted similar slogans. Security guards also led him out.

She did not speak Saturday, but told a gathering of media Friday that the church’s willingness to ordain women and gays shows a commitment that goes beyond mere inclusive language. ”We are being the church we say we are,” Glasspool said. “We’re not just saying it, we’re doing it and there’s something very powerful about that.”