Pelosi Endorses Dem Marriage Plank

Big news from Freedom To Marry:

"Freedom to Marry is proud to have Leader Pelosi joining our call to put the Democratic Party squarely on record in support of the freedom to marry as part of the national platform. A strong majority of Democrats and Independents support the freedom to marry, and standing up for all families is not just the right thing to do morally, it's also right to do politically. I hope more people will quickly join Leader Pelosi by signing Freedom to Marry's Democrats: Say I Do petition so together we can get the party, and the country, where the majority of Americans already are."

Chris Geidner got the scoop at Metro Weekly. He notes:

The former House speaker's support for the move comes in response to Freedom to Marry's announcement on Feb. 13 that it was launching a campaign to ask the Democrats, as the group put it, to "Say I Do" to including such a marriage equality plank in the party's platform. The platform, a detailed statement of the party's positions that will be finalized at the Democratic National Convention this September, has never included language in support of the right of same-sex couples to marry. And the leader of the party, President Obama, opposed marriage equality in the 2008 campaign. He said in December 2010 that his position on marriage equality was "evolving" but that he still "struggle[s]" with it. His press secretary, Jay Carney, said this past week of Obama's position, "You know his position, where it stands now, on the issue of same-sex marriage, so I really don't have much to add on that."

Frothy Mix Vs Mittens

Rombo?

Five Men & A Wastebasket

"The gay rights issue is a perfect forum for explaining two of the biggest ways we are manipulated, and they are seduction and intimidation. The seduction is what you just described, ‘oh these two people just want to be married, how does their love and their being married hurt you’? Your darn right it hurts, if you go and redefine out of existence the prime institution of civilization since the beginning of man—marriage—and everybody who looks at this legally will admit that once you say that two men can be married and two women can be married you have to say that three men can be married or three women can be married or five men and a wastebasket can be married. Once marriage has changed from a man and a woman and it just becomes consenting adults who want to call themselves married, you will literally define marriage out of existence so marriage will not exist anymore." - David Kupelian, editor of World Net Daily.

Rabbi Yehuda Levin Vs Ellen DeGeneres

This is the same repulsive douchebag who claimed God murdered an eight year-old boy because he was so angry about gay marriage in New York.

Swag Tuesday

Today's Swag Tuesday prize is two tickets to Evolution Of A Dancer, this Sunday's epic ten-hour journey through the history of gay dance music. Starring legendary DJs Susan Morabito, Michael Fierman, and John Ceglia, the party takes place at Le Poisson Rouge in Manhattan's West Village. Doors open at 6pm and the aural excursion begins with the '70s music of the famed 12 West club.

Advance tickets. Event site. Party blog. Subway info.

JMG: Can you explain the "evolution" in the party's name?

Michael Fierman

The title “Evolution Of A Dancer” came out of our notion to present a completely unique dance event: one that told a musical story in a literal chronological order. A dancer, no matter what his or her age, can step on to the floor and be taken on a trip to hear and feel how dance music has evolved. How one movement in dance music follows another. One will not only recall some precious memories of clubs gone by, but also experience the music of today through the lens how “how we got here”. This is not just another oldies party by any means. By 11PM we will have reached the 21st century and all three of John, Michael and Susan’s one hour encores beginning at 1 AM will feature uplifting new music that is in keeping with our goal: not just to preserve the past, but to keep our community’s dance music alive and well into the future.

JMG: What kind of audience will this party draw?

Susan Morabito

We anticipate having an audience who remember music from all the decades we will be covering. Those who remember the music from the 70s will most likely get there on the earlier side and as the night progresses with each hour the music moves along the decades right up to current times. As the music evolves the crowd will most likely shift a little. And of course, like last year, we had people who were there from the first note until the last. Though this will be a prominently gay male dance event, the number of women who attended this event last year was delightfully surprising and we expect more women to be in attendance this year. Evolution of a Dancer is a celebration of music and dancing, it doesn’t cater to any particular group, Evolution of A Dancer is an inclusive event.

Enter to win tickets to Evolution Of A Dancer by commenting on this post. Only enter once and please remember to leave your email address in the text of you comment. Entries close at midnight on Thursday, west coast time. If you cannot be in Manhattan on the day of the party, your winning entry is transferable to your favorite dance lover. I attended last year and had a fantastic time.

MARYLAND: Marriage Bill Clears House Committee By 25-18 Vote

The bill had to survive the usual bullshit poison pill amendments from the GOP, including one that would require parental consent before teachers could mention "non-traditional" families. The full chamber will debate and vote later this week. And if you're counting, that's THREE big honking wins for the good guys this week. And it's only Tuesday.

Congressman Ruben Diaz?

Capitol Confidential tips us that asshat bigoted New York state Senator "Reverend" Ruben Diaz is thinking about running for Congress and is pissed off that the state hasn't settled its redistricting disputes. From a Diaz press release:

They seem to be playing games about where New York’s Congressional lines should be drawn. When those lines are finally drawn, the opportunity will be open for many people to consider running for Congress. I wish they would hurry up and appoint a federal judge to draw New York’s Congressional lines because as soon as they do, many people like myself will make up their mind to run for Congress or not. According to the census, the Bronx has gained population and I as well as many others are on the waiting list to decide what our options are. A new congressional seat in the Bronx will give many of us an opportunity to consider moving up.

Diaz' state senate district is fairly contiguous with the congressional district currently held by Rep. Joseph Crowley, a second-term Democrat who voted to repeal DADT and who twice voted against a federal marriage amendment. Crowley is a House cosponsor of the bill to repeal DOMA and the Uniting American Families Act, which seeks to end the deportation of foreign gay spouses.

Diaz better hope for that new district, because the New York Democratic machine is probably not about to let him take on Crowley. In any case, this blog will motherfucking DEVOTE itself to helping any opponent of Ruben Diaz from ANY party.