Soledad O'Brien chronicles the journey of eight African-American entrepreneurs in "Black in America: The New Promised Land – Silicon Valley" at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET February 11 and 12.
Editor’s Note: Rev. Mike Denton is a conference minister of the United Church of Christ working with congregations in Washington, Northern Idaho and Alaska. He supports gay marriage.
For an opposing view, click here.
On Wednesday afternoon, Washington's House passed a same-sex marriage bill, 53-43. The state Senate has already passed it, and Gov. Chris Gregoire has promised to sign it. Opponents of the bill are promising to put the issue on the ballot this November.
By. Rev. Mike Denton, Special to CNN
(CNN) - It was a little more than 15 years ago when two friends of mine - I’ll call them Amy and Christine - asked me to officiate at their wedding. Actually, at the time, I’m not sure we called it a “wedding.” Fifteen years ago, gay and lesbian folks were still stepping gingerly around the words “wedding” or “marriage.” It didn’t feel safe and just didn’t seem to be worth the fight so words like “union service” or “commitment service” were used instead.
Amy and Christine knew this would be a service that wouldn’t be recognized by the state and, although that was a bit of concern, it wasn’t why they wanted to marry, anyway. They loved each other. They wanted to tell the world. They wanted to ask for the support of those who loved them and they wanted to do it in a public way.
The service was held on a beautiful October Saturday. In a church filled with flowers, music, family and friends prayers were said, vows were shared, tears were shed and, of course, the couple was lovely. The only big difference was at the end of service when I said the words, “You may both kiss the bride.”
I know that not everyone who reads these words will read them with the same sense of joy that others will. In particular, some of my Christian sisters and brothers will read this while shaking their heads or with a tight, growing knot in their stomach. I understand that. There would have been a time I might have been there, too.
Editor’s Note: Reverend Kenneth Hutcherson is the senior pastor and founder of Antioch Bible Church in Kirkland, Washington. He is also an author of four books, and a former middle linebacker in the National Football League. Hutcherson is a leading voice in the fight to uphold marriage between one man and one woman in Washington state. He blogs at hutchpost.org.
For an opposing view, click here.
On Wednesday afternoon, Washington's House passed a same-sex marriage bill, 53-43. The state Senate has already passed it, and Gov. Chris Gregoire has promised to sign it. Opponents of the bill are promising to put the issue on the ballot this November.
By Rev. Kenneth Hutcherson, Special to CNN
(CNN) - Why do I stand so strong in support of traditional marriage? Because I am a pastor of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am a shepherd that is supposed to lead, feed and protect the flock. Anything the bible says is good for society, I stand on it and I will not compromise on it. What the bible says is good for society has always proven to be good. Anything the bible says is wrong for society has always proven to be wrong. There have never been any winners in a scenario where society went against what God said would be good.
The Israelites were told not to have any idols before God (Leviticus 26:1.) They did and were thrown into captivity under Nebuchadnezzar. Under Cyrus, the great leader of Persian Empire they were under captivity for 70 years because they disobeyed God.
When I read about Sodom and Gomorrah, I believe God is saying that the right thing to do is for a man and a woman to be in a relationship without sexual sin and if you stray from that, it is very detrimental to society. Sodom and Gomorrah practiced the rampant sexual sin of homosexuality and because of that God brought judgment on the cities and destroyed them with fire because of the sin of homosexuality acts (Genesis 19:1-29.)
Now do I think God brings judgment on a society that encourages homosexuality? I do. And since I am a pastor and God has commanded me to love everyone, I will do what it takes to love them. That does not mean I will accept that they stay the way they are. Unrepentant sin destroys you and will kill you. So if I believe the word of God, that He will bring judgment on a people, then I would be a very bad shepherd not to warn those people.
Editor’s Note: Jennifer C. Pizer is the legal director and the Arnold D. Kassoy Senior Scholar of Law at The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, a national research center on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy.
By Jennifer Pizer, Special to CNN
In California, same-sex couples again are celebrating in the streets. Some probably have started making wedding plans. The largest federal appeals court, the Ninth Circuit, has become the first to strike down a state’s exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage.
Proposition 8, approved by California voters in November 2008, violates the federal equality rights of same-sex couples. It passed thanks to campaign messages designed to scare voters into taking away gay couples’ right to marry. And it serves no legitimate purpose. So concluded two of the three judges deciding the case, with reasoning that promises national impact whether or not this case goes to the U.S. Supreme Court. Writing for himself and Judge Michael Hawkins, and capturing what many Californians have come to believe since the 2008 vote, Judge Stephen Reinhardt said: “Proposition 8 works a meaningful harm to gays and lesbians, by denying to their committed lifelong relationships the societal status conveyed by the designation of ‘marriage.’”
The court has put its decision on hold to allow the Prop 8 side to seek review by more Ninth Circuit judges or the U.S. Supreme Court, so there will be no California marriage licenses for gay couples in the short term. Still, members of the LGBT community are feeling vindicated and confident.
What does Tuesday’s decision mean for same-sex couples who want to marry in California? For those in other states? Is it likely to be the last word in this case?
By the CNN Wire Staff
San Francisco (CNN) - California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage violates the U.S. Constitution, a federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled Tuesday.
The decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to be appealed, to either the full court or to the U.S. Supreme Court. But supporters of same-sex marriages cheered the decision when it was announced outside the courthouse Tuesday morning.
The 2-1 decision found the ban - known as Proposition 8 - "served no purpose, and had no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationship and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples." That violates the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law, the decision states.
Editor's Note: Philip Rafshoon is the founder, former president and general manager of Outwrite Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Atlanta. The LGBT bookstore closed last month.
By Philip Rafshoon, Special to CNN
On November 5, 1993, we were proud to open Outwrite, Atlanta’s gay and lesbian bookstore and coffeehouse. At the time, Atlanta was the largest city in the country that did not have a bookstore geared to the LGBT community. Fresh out of a 10-year stint in the computer industry, I was a Georgia Tech graduate and almost-native Atlantan who, with others, saw a need to have a space in this progressive southern city where our community could congregate, in the day as well as the night, in an environment that promoted literacy and the arts. Writings by, for, and about gay men and lesbians were exploding at the time and the opening of Outwrite was an instant success.
We started by guiding writers and hosting author events. Local, national and upcoming literary stars - such as Felice Picano, Nicola Griffith, Andrew Holleran, James Earl Hardy, Jim Grimsley, and E. Lynn Harris – all spoke in the early days. And we hosted an unprecedented 1500 person book signing for Olympic superstar Greg Louganis.
Less than three years later, three months before the 1996 Olympic games, we found a new location that was a much larger space. It was situated at a major intersection in Atlanta’s Midtown neighborhood that had traditionally been the center of our community, our own “gay ghetto.” The corner at Piedmont and Tenth was quiet, with a fenced-in used car rental store on one side and a boarded up disco on another. We converted the abandoned club, uncovering the windows and creating a wide open space for the neighborhood and our community. With a giant window featuring our rainbow logo and the big words ”gay and lesbian,” we became the most open LGBT landmark in the city and one of the most visible ones in the world.
The city’s and the neighborhood’s population exploded and the new location brought us wider recognition. We created weekly empowerment lunches where community leaders and activists could discuss and argue the important issues of the day over a cup of coffee, a sandwich, soup, and dessert. We partnered with and supported a broad spectrum of community organizations to raise awareness of their mission, events, and fundraisers. We became an essential stopping point for elected officials, and those seeking office, to connect with our community, learn about the issues that were important to us and gather our support.
Washington (CNN) - A U.S. Army veteran of both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is suing the federal government, claiming she and her wife are being denied military benefits that are available to heterosexual married couples.
A complaint filed Wednesday in Los Angeles says that the government's definition of marriage is unconstitutional and violates equal protection.
"We're only asking for the same benefits as other married couples, we simply want the same peace of mind," Tracey Cooper-Harris, the plaintiff, said at a press conference in Washington announcing the lawsuit.
Editor’s note: Rob Smith is a writer, lecturer and openly gay U.S. Army and Iraq War veteran. His work has appeared in USA Today, The Huffington Post, Metro Weekly and Salon.com among others. He is also a contributing author to "For Colored Boys ...," an anthology featuring the stories of gay men of color to be released on March 13. He can be reached at www.robsmithonline.com and on Twitter @robsmithonline.
By Rob Smith, Special to CNN
I’m a typical gay male with a defining feature that is atypical in my community.
When I log onto my computer in the morning I check my favorite gay blogs. There, I will undoubtedly see images of people who don’t look like me attached to stories written by other people who don’t look like me. Above the page and to the right of the text are ads for various products being sold. They are modeled by people who don’t look like me. Maybe they are the underwear models made to be eye candy for the brand being promoted. Perhaps they’re the people used to represent the typical gay couple that would be welcome on that cruise, or in that hotel.
When I see people who do look like me written about and shown on my favorite gay blogs, they will most likely share my skin color but not my sexual orientation.
Editor’s Note: Marci Weis is the chief operating officer at a healthcare consulting and care management company in Washington. She is pursuing a Masters in Divinity degree for ordained ministry in the United Church of Christ. Weis and her lesbian partner have been together more than 20 years and they have two daughters.
Washington's Senate passed a bill late Wednesday that would allow gay marriage in the Evergreen State. A House vote is expected within days. If it passes both chambers, Gov. Christine Gregoire has promised to sign it into law.
By Marci Weis, Special to CNN
"Mama, if it doesn’t pass, will we still be able to be a family?"
Those were the words of my then-7-year-old daughter on the night of the 2009 election. Over the prior months, sides had been chosen, harsh words had been hurled from all fronts, battle lines drawn. Up for vote was a referendum on whether Washington state would allow gay and lesbian couples to have several of the rights and responsibilities of legally married heterosexual couples. My true love, my lesbian life partner of now 20 years, had watched the debate unfold along with our two daughters. We had heard the harsh condemnation of our relationship, of our family.
And so it has begun again, this time for the legalization of marriage for gays and lesbians in Washington state. The battle has occurred in the legislature and most likely will move to a general election. Again, sides have been chosen and a fair number of my fellow Christians have argued that my love, my family, undermines society by our very existence. While I strongly support marriage equality, the debate over the right for gays and lesbians to marry raises a much more pressing concern for me. Why do my Christian brothers and sisters feel so strongly that my love, my relationship, my family has the power to shred the fabric of our very society?
By David Ariosto, CNN
(CNN) - A political battle is shaping up in the Garden State about whether to give gay and lesbian couples the right to wed - a move that, if approved, would make New Jersey the seventh state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage.
How the issue plays out was the subject of a series of political thrusts and parries this week between a Democratic-controlled state legislature and a Republican governor, who supports New Jersey's civil unions but opposes same-sex marriage.
Gov. Chris Christie, a conservative favorite once thought of as a potential presidential contender, called Tuesday for a state-wide referendum to settle the issue.
"This issue that our state's exploring, whether or not to redefine hundreds of years of societal and religious traditions, should not be decided by 121 people in the statehouse in Trenton," the governor said during a town hall meeting. "The institution of marriage is too serious to be treated like a political football."
By Deirdre Walsh, CNN Senior Congressional Producer
(CNN) – Democratic Rep. Barney Frank's spokesman Harry Gural said the longtime congressman plans to marry his partner, Jim Ready, in Massachusetts.
Gural declined to provide any more details on the timing of the wedding, adding that Frank has no plans to say anything more about the event.
The 16-term congressman is openly gay and has already announced he will not seek re-election this year. Frank's spokesperson declined to give any more details and said Frank does not plan any further comment noting the congressman is at the Democrats' yearly retreat on the Eastern shore.
What defines you? Maybe it’s the shade of your skin, the place you grew up, the accent in your words, the make up of your family, the gender you were born with, the intimate relationships you chose to have or your generation? As the American identity changes we will be there to report it. In America is a venue for creative and timely sharing of news that explores who we are. Reach us at inamerica@cnn.com.
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