<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div>Jus' let me know when I should make the necessary arrangements to reserve The Basoa Stage in East City Park for Doug Wilson to perform the marriage between Melynda Huskey and Joan Opyr, ok?</div><div><br></div><div>I'm thinkin' a warm Sunday afternoon in May . . . NO . . . make that 1:00 on the afternoon of June 21st in East City Park . . . performed by un-pastor Doug Wilson . . . followed by a true symbol of progress and unity as Doug Wilson leads the procession, singing "We are Family", in a rally-march to the 1912 Center as guests of honor at the Fifth Annual Intolerista Wingding . . . followed by the wedding reception at the Quality Inn in Pullman.</div><div><br></div><div>Heck! I'll even buy the first bong at the reception.</div><div><br><div>Seeya round town, Moscow, because . . .</div><div><br></div><div>"Moscow Cares"</div><div><a href="http://www.MoscowCares.com">http://www.MoscowCares.com</a></div><div> </div><div><div>Tom Hansen</div><div>Moscow, Idaho</div><div> </div></div></div><div><br>On Nov 8, 2012, at 8:11 AM, Art Deco <<a href="mailto:art.deco.studios@gmail.com">art.deco.studios@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/"><img src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/nytlogo153x23.gif" alt="The New York Times" align="left" border="0" hspace="0" vspace="0"></a>
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<div class="timestamp">November 7, 2012</div>
<h1>A Big Leap for Marriage Equality</h1>
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Progress on civil rights can occur in bursts. The nation’s march toward
full equality for all took an important step forward on Election Day
with <a title="The Times’s report" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/us/same-sex-marriage-gains-cheer-gay-rights-advocates.html">groundbreaking victories for same-sex marriage</a> across the country. </p>
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Until Tuesday, no state had ever legalized same-sex marriage through a
ballot referendum. This cause has been rejected more than 30 times at
the ballot box, though six states and the District of Columbia have
legalized gay marriage through court rulings or legislative measures.
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In a move that shows the shift in public opinion, voters in Maine and
Maryland approved measures giving gay and lesbian couples the freedom to
marry by decisive results. Early returns in Washington State also show
that voters there have passed a same-sex marriage initiative [now approved]. With these
victories, opponents will no longer be able to argue that the movement
for marriage equality is something imposed by radical judges and
legislators, who are out of touch with the popular will. </p>
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In Minnesota, meanwhile, voters rejected a ballot measure that would
have enshrined the state’s existing ban on same-sex marriage in the
State Constitution. In Wisconsin, voters elected a Democratic House
member, Tammy Baldwin, to the United States Senate, making her the first
openly gay person ever elected to the chamber. </p>
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In Iowa, voters decided to retain a State Supreme Court justice, David Wiggins, <a title="A Times article" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/us/gay-marriage-ruling-fuels-iowa-vote-on-a-justice.html">rejecting a campaign</a> by the State Republican Party and other conservative forces to oust him because of his participation in <a title="A Times article" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/us/04iowa.html">the court’s unanimous ruling in 2009</a> allowing same-sex-marriage on equal protection grounds. </p>
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Justice Wiggins’s retention, like Florida’s vote to retain three State
Supreme Court justices singled out by the State Republican Party and
others on the right, was a victory for judicial independence. It was
also a remarkable turnaround from two years ago, when three other Iowa
justices who joined in the 2009 ruling <a title="A Times article" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/us/politics/03judges.html">were defeated for retention</a>,
after groups opposing same-sex marriage campaigned against them.
Predictions that President Obama would be politically damaged by his
support for same-sex marriage did not come to pass. Instead, by standing
up for equality, he energized his base and retained the broad coalition
that won him a second term. </p>
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Even before these victories, the principle of fairness for gay people
and their families has been gaining force in courts and statehouses.
Half of Americans believe their states should recognize marriages of
same-sex couples. </p>
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There is still much work to do to secure the freedom to marry in every
jurisdiction and end the odious Defense of Marriage Act that bars
federal recognition of same-sex marriages performed in places where it
is legal. It is a moment for the opponents of civil rights for all
Americans — including Congressional Republicans, who are still defending
the marriage act in court — to decide whether they want to continue to
stand against justice to court a dwindling share of voters. </p>
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<br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)<br><a href="mailto:art.deco.studios@gmail.com" target="_blank">art.deco.studios@gmail.com</a><br><br><img src="http://users.moscow.com/waf/WP%20Fox%2001.jpg"><br><br>
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