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The Christian Civic League of Maine's Mike Hein calls Pam's House Blend:
"a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy."

He is "praying that Pam Spaulding will "turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior." (CCLM's web site, 10/15/07)


Ex-gay "Christian" activist James Hartline on Pam:
"I have been mocked over and over again by ungodly and unprincipled anti-christian lesbians."
(from "Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline," 9/4/2006, written from the "homosexual stronghold" of Hillcrest in San Diego).

"Pam is a 'twisted lesbian sister' and an 'embittered lesbian' of the 'self-imposed gutteral experiences of the gay ghetto.'" -- 9/5/2008



Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality heartily endorses the Blend, calling Pam:

A "vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist."
(Concerned Women for America's radio show [9:15], 1/25/07)

"A nutty lesbian blogger."
(MassResistance radio show [16:25], 2/3/07)


Pam's House Blend always seems to find these sick f*cks. The area of the country she is in? The home state of her wife? I know, they are everywhere. Pam just does such a great job of bringing them out into the light.
--Impeach Bush


who monitors yours Bevis ?? Just thought I would drop you a line,so the rest of your life is not wasted.
--"Joe"

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Marriage equality kicks off in Iowa today

by: Pam Spaulding

Mon Apr 27, 2009 at 12:00:00 PM EDT


A new day in the Midwest that affects us all. Freedom to Marry:

Today, gay couples in Iowa will start applying for marriage licenses.  Families will rejoice as couples celebrate their love for each other through the freedom to marry.  Volunteers across Iowa are assisting county recorders who process marriage applications, and celebrations are taking place across the state.

As we join Iowa in celebration, we can't take this victory for granted! Right now opponents are working hard to reverse that   victory.  They are well-funded and well-organized.  We must come   together to protect the freedom to marry in the heartland and continue our   progress across the country!

One Iowa, the leading LGBT advocacy organization in Iowa, released an ad last week as part of a broad public education plan to protect the freedom to   marry from those who would strip these freedoms from the   Constitution. The ad, "This Place" features Iowa scenes and Iowa families, and speaks to the traditional Iowa values of freedom and fairness. View the ad online here and help to keep it on the air!

 Over the   last few weeks, we've also seen advances in New Hampshire, Maine, and New   York:

  • New   Hampshire's House passed a bill to end the exclusion of gay couples from marriage, but a Senate committee voted against the bill.  The full Senate will likely vote this Wednesday.  Take action here: http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/nhmarriagediscrim
  •   On April 22, the Maine legislature held a joint committee public hearing for a marriage equality bill.  Over 3,000 people attended with supporters outnumbering opponents more than 4 to 1.  This week, the Judiciary Committee will vote on the bill.  Keep the momentum going by taking action with Equality Maine: http://equalitymaine.org/
  •   Gov. Paterson announced he would   introduce a bill to end the exclusion of gay couples from marriage in New York and it is gaining momentum across the state.  Just last week, two major up-state New York newspapers endorsed marriage equality.  Tomorrow is Empire State Pride Agenda's Equality & Justice Day where thousands of New Yorkers will travel to Albany to meet one-on-one with their lawmakers and tell their stories.  Get involved at: http://www.prideagenda.org/

Thank   you to everyone who is already involved in helping these efforts or others in states across the country.  As we’ve seen in the national press over the last few weeks, the wind is at our backs for the moment so we must capitalize on the momentum our movement is gaining by both protecting our victories and pushing hard to gain more ground. 

And here's One Iowa's video, How the Freedom to Marry benefits ALL Iowans:

We hope this ad will start a conversation with Iowans about the Supreme Court decision, which isn't just about gay and lesbian Iowans-it's about ALL Iowans. We know that marriage strengthens families and, as Iowans, we support committed couples who want to accept the responsibility that comes with marriage.

We invite you to view our ad and participate in a statewide conversation about marriage. Talk to your family, friends, and neighbors. Discuss what marriage means to you.

Note: You can follow GLAAD's @sarahkkennedy (http://twitter.com/sarahkkennedy) and @oneiowa (http://twitter.com/oneiowa) for updates throughout the day as Iowa begins issuing marriage licenses to gay & lesbian couples.  
Pam Spaulding :: Marriage equality kicks off in Iowa today
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First License Issued!
Des Moines women marry following court decision

By AMY LORENTZEN | Associated Press Writer
10:46 AM CDT, April 27, 2009

DES MOINES, Iowa - A pastor has married two Des Moines women on the steps of the Polk County administrative building, less than two hours after an Iowa Supreme Court decision legalized same-sex marriage in the state.

Pastor Pat Esperanaz married Melisa Keeton and Shelley Wolfe just before 10 a.m. Monday during a ceremony under cloudy skies where they were pronounced "legally married." They have already begun referring to one another as wife.

"It's not very romantic is it?" Melisa Keeton joked about the location and media attention at the ceremony.

They will both share the last name Keeton.

Link to full article below.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/...


There's at least one judge
who isn't granting the 3 day wait period wavier so a couple can't get married today.  Saw a video linked on DesMoinesRegister website.  What a jerk.

[ Parent ]
Idea for a new ad,
 Showing couples, both men and women, getting married, title it building a family,
These people are building a family, this couple is building a family,etc. about 4 times.  

and at the end, how is building a family destroying one? End discrimination, Support Marriage Equality.

If I make sense? it was quite by accident.


here come the Iowa anti-equality protest petitions
Gay marriage around Iowa: License applications, protest petitions.
Cathy Johnson of Lineville stood at the courthouse door and collected petitions with at least 190 signatures. The petitioners asked County Recorder Angela Horton not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex marriages.

They also called for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

Throughout Iowa, county recorders were receiving similar petitions. Also, in the state's most populated counties, recorders were busy issuing marriage licenses. In rural counties, however, few if any licenses were issued.

Also this morning, supervisors in Jefferson County supervisors unanimously passed a resolution asking lawmakers to take action against same-sex marriage.

..."There are recorders out there, like me, that think this goes against their beliefs," Horton said. "But we have to follow the code."

Corydon Assembly of God Church pastor Greg Colegrove led the outdoor prayer circle a few steps from the courthouse door. "We know there is a standard that God has set on what is right and wrong," Colegrove said. "If we make up our own rules, the truth is we become our own god. That's a pretty miserable life."

Colegrove prayed for the area, for the county recorders, and for same-sex couples he hoped would see their relationship is not, in his view, what God wants. "There are county recorders who really have been put on the spot," Colegrove said.

Yep, follow that code or lose your job, folks.

Do your job or find another,
  I am sure with the unemployment rate at what it is, there are plenty of people willing to do their job.

 This is the same shit that Massachusetts and California went through. It will go by the wayside after time and will become business as usual, granting Marriage Licenses to all couples the way it is supposed to be.  

If I make sense? it was quite by accident.


[ Parent ]
Funny you don't ever hear the flipside of this argument
What I mean is I haven't heard of judges refusing to grant divorces, based on their religious beliefs, or lawyers who refuse to take on divorce cases, based on religious beliefs.  I mean if they really wanted to preserve marriage, you'd think they'd be pushing for it, as the number of straight divorces far and away outnumbers gay marriages.

[ Parent ]
Spent the morning at the Statehouse
Today EQME delivered approximately 50,000 postcards from supporters collected from Election Day to April 22- they had a joint press conference with CPHV [(Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence)http:??www.preventinghate.org].

EQME formally released their video "Marriage For All Maine Families" and CPHV released a booklet entitled "Honoring All Maine Families". I'll be posting more about all of this later, but here's the link to the videos I shot today.

Tomorrow, the Judicial Committee has a work session that I will be attending and recordingas well; part of today was also spent getting my laptop rigged for use at the Statehouse, getting signed up for alerts, talking with my pal/ state rep and Gawd help this Luddite, swapping out my phone for a Blackberry.

Gonna be busy for a bit and sharing every second I can...

Early word from 3 sources is that the Judicial is gonna pass this quickly onto the Senate and vote will come QUICKLY! :)


There's a caravan of couples from St. Louis in Iowa today.
Mazel Tov - Congratulations - Blessed Be.

Desmoines Register has a straw poll up.
Your vote is needed.






Lurleen on Twitter


Another example of why equal rights
should not be put up for a vote.

[ Parent ]
Yes, equal rights shouldn't be a voting matter, but....
...give Iowans some time to get used to same-sex marriage.  In couple years time, when we do get to vote on the matter, I think basic Iowa fairness will win out.

If you want allies, you have to be an ally.

[ Parent ]
Lawmakers already rejected
a constitucional amendment, so there's nothing opponents can do to reverse the court's decision. Or am I missing something?

Yes and No
There is still the possibility of a Constitutional Convention in I believe 2010.  From what I understand, and someone please correct me if I'm mistaken, all that is needed is a simply majority to call for the convention when time draws near.  However, it's been stated that it is unlikely that one would be called for a single amendment.  If there are other amendments to be considered then one could be called on.  Who knows what may happen then!  One thing is for sure, Equality isn't out of the woods yet in Iowa.

[ Parent ]
I think you are right
A simple majority vote in 2010 can call for a Constitutional Convention, and if it is approved, a special election would be held in 2011 to pick representatives to that convention.

I'm sure opponents of gay marriage will push for the CC, but it really opens up a whole can of worms because the CC would consider all sorts of amendments.  Everyone's pet project would be on the table.

If you want allies, you have to be an ally.


[ Parent ]
This is unfortunate....
Just read that the head of Iowa's NAACP is against equality, and homosexuality, in general.
One of the most outspoken opponents of same-sex marriage, and homosexuality in general, the Rev. Keith Ratliff, is also the statewide president of one of the nation's premier civil-rights organizations: the NAACP. On the day of the ruling, Ratliff, prominently dressed in red to symbolize the blood of Christ, held a prayer vigil outside the courthouse with Chuck Hurley of the Iowa Family Policy Center. And in an April 11 op-ed piece in the Register co-signed by other clergy members, Ratliff wrote, "To anyone who reads and believes the Bible, there is no room for compromise on the issue of homosexuality. To those who look to 'natural law,' homosexuality will always be un-natural and un-healthy..."
http://www.delawareonline.com/...

There are a couple of points here that need to be addressed.
1) People read the bible (note that I do not capitalize it) in different ways.  I have yet to see everyone agree on one point in it.  They can't even agree on the ten commandments, Catholics read them in a different order than Protestants.

2) The bible contradicts itself in numerous places.

Do we really want base our legal system (which is supposed to be separate from our numerous religious beliefs) on something that is so open to a myriad of interpretations and so convoluted when it comes to a clear message on anything?

Also, contrary to what the religious right nutballs would have us believe, we do have separation of church and state, and thereby separation of civil and religious marriage in this country.  For all their bleatings, the religious opposition to same-sex marriage really do not want to have biblical law enshrined in our civil laws.  It was tried in the past, prior to the founding of the U.S. in other countries and had disastrous consequences for those who believed in the "wrong" interpretation - e.g. the Spanish Inquisition, the persecution of the Hugenots, etc.


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