Federal court strikes down key part of federal law banning same-sex marriage
By Bill Mears, CNN
(CNN) - A key part of the law banning federal recognition of same-sex marriage was struck down as unconstitutional by a U.S. appeals court Thursday.
The Defense of Marriage Act - known as DOMA - defines marriage for federal purposes as unions exclusively between a man and woman.
At issue is whether the federal government can deny tax, health and pension benefits to same-sex couples in states where they can legally marry.
"If we are right in thinking that disparate impact on minority interests and federalism concerns both require somewhat more in this case than almost automatic deference to Congress' will, this statute fails that test," said the three judge panel.
About In America
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.
Black in America
iReport
As much as I am the world's most anti-gun person, I think that hanivg a gun is fairly crucial at this moment in NOLA... but why CNN had to obsess over it is ludicrous.
Interestingly enough, Jesus actually did say something.....but it was something positive. When the Roman soldier came to ask for his "servant" to be healed, he did not use the common term for "servant" but rather the affectionate term that was commonly used for a male servant with whom the soldier had an intimate relationship. Not only did Jesus heal the "servant," but He commented on te great faith of the soldier. It appears Jesus had no concern over the relationship.
They stood up and were couetndThe first US Federal Population Census was taken in 1790, and has been taken every decade since.A vast amount of old census data has been transcribed, making it possible for you to search for specific names in cities and states across the US. (Other countries also have kept census data.) When you locate a record you think might be a match, you can view a scan of the original ledger which usually offers even more information than has been transcribed.About American census recordsYou may think that this would make searching for an ancestor easy but it will and it won't, all depending on the era you need to explore.Why the discrepancy? For privacy reasons, census data is not made publicly available for 72 years. This makes it obsolete for any searches for people here and now but it remains a valuable tool if you're seeking information about ancestors prior to 1930.What you can findOn census data from 1790-1840, just the head of household is listed, along with the number of household members in certain age brackets.However, for the censuses from the years 1850 to 1930, there are details about each person in a household (family members, lodgers and others living there are all included). Information featured typically included the following:namesstreet addressgender/racetheir ages at the time of the censusmarital status & length of marriagetheir country (or state) of birththeir parents'a0country (or state) of birthyear of immigrationoccupation(s)value of their home, or monthly rentNote that census data will vary depending on year and location, and not all records have been digitized and/or transcribed.Where to get the informationThe National Archives has the census schedules on microfilm available from 1790 onward (though only a tiny portion of the 1890 census justa06,160 records out of the 62,979,766 people listed survived aa0Department of Commerce fire in 1921).But to make things easier, you can access the census data viaa0 although a membership fee may be required. ( also hosts some of these records, but they are only available only via public libraries.)
Jesus is not recorded as having said anything related to intimate s3xual relationships between people of the same gender. One has to wonder, if h0mos3xuality is such a heinous sin against God, why does Jesus himself never refer to it? One cannot extrapolate affirmation of such relationships from that silence, but still, why no mention of an issue now causing entire churches to split?
Thanks Marian! And good to know I'm not the only one with the printing and wriitng WDYTYA Live is a family history fair/conference/exhibition held annually here in London. Our TV series is not taped live either. I'm looking forward to your latest season when it airs in the UK.