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'Being Gay in Iowa' Radio Series
Submitted by matty on Fri, 2012-02-03 19:00
The Iowa Public Radio series “Being Gay in Iowa” begins Monday, January 30, and runs each day of the week at 5:50 a.m., 7:50 a.m. and 6:20 p.m.
The best stations on which to hear it in Des Moines are 640 WOI-AM and 101.7 KUNI-FM. Or you can listen to the series here.
The schedule for "Being Gay in Iowa" radio series is:
Monday, "Marriage"
Tuesday, "Religion"
Wednesday, "Coming Out"
Thursday, "Bullying"
Friday, "Children"
Find out more at iowapublicradio.org!
In the News: Famous Gay Rights Speaker Stops in Mason City
Submitted by matty on Fri, 2012-02-03 11:18
from KIMT-TV.
MASON CITY, IA - It's a YouTube video that grabbed worldwide attention.
One year ago then University of Iowa student Zach Wahls testified to the Iowa House of Representatives urging them not to pass a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage in Iowa.
Wahls was raised by two women who married after the Iowa Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in 2009.
Since that speech Wahls has been spreading his message across the country.
The Mason City High School Gay Straight Alliance hosted Wahls at an event at NIACC. While Wahls is famous for his Iowa Legislature speech, today he focused more on life of current high school students and how pressures and stereotypes have changed over the years.
He also said groups like gay straight alliances can help alleviate some of those issues. Students who organized the event say they're thrilled Wahls was able to speak to the Mason City group.
Watch video:
In the News: NJ Teen Makes Heartbreaking Plea to Lawmakers to Let Her Gay Dads Marry
Submitted by matty on Fri, 2012-02-03 11:11
from Towleroad.
At yesterday's hearing before New Jersey's House Judiciary Committee, 15-year-old Madison Galluccio made an emotional and heartbreaking plea to lawmakers to let her two dads, John and Michael Galluccio, marry and let her family feel equal.
"I do have to say that New Jersey has made me feel discriminated, like I'm some sort of outcast. But guess what New Jersey? I'm no outcast. I am Madison Galluccio, and I am part of the Galluccio family. My parents will be married, and I will make sure that this happens till the day that I die. So please, will you help me? Help me feel equal. We aren't different. I'm not different. And I shouldn't have to be forced to feel like I'm different. This is my family, and I want us to be able to have the same rights as you. So NJ, please give me my freedom."
Watch video:
In the News: State justice says Iowans misunderstand Supreme Court’s role
Submitted by matty on Fri, 2012-02-03 11:04
from The Globe Gazette.
MASON CITY — Choosing legislators who make the laws should not be the same as choosing judges who interpret the laws, Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins told members of the Mason City Noon Lions Club on Wednesday.
“In the Legislature, you elect those folks and if they’re not doing what you want, you elect them out,” said Wiggins, one of seven Supreme Court justices.
Judges, on the other hand, do not decide cases “on the basis of majority rules,” Wiggins said.
“We decide on the basis of the constitutions of the state and the United States and Iowa state law.”
Wiggins, of West Des Moines, was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2003. He said people sometimes misunderstand the role of the courts, which is to interpret the laws so they can be enforced uniformly throughout the state.
“We take the words the Legislature used in writing the law and try to figure out what they meant and how it should be enforced,” Wiggins said.
Their decision has nothing to do with whether the judges personally agree with the law or like it, he said.
...Iowa was the second state to adopt a merit selection system for selecting its Supreme Court justices, which Wiggins said is the fairest method of judicial selection. The system has been in place in Iowa since 1962.
It preserves the integrity of the courts and keeps politics out of it, he said.
“It’s important that we keep this a fair and impartial system,” Wiggins said. “It’s important for courts to be independent.”
Read the full article from The Globe Gazette.
Read more In the News.
In the News: Government has no reason to deny gay marriage
Submitted by matty on Thu, 2012-02-02 11:53
from Iowa State Daily.
It seems like every time I read about this topic, an organization like the National Organization of Marriage or the Family Leader (led by Iowa’s own Bob Vander Plaats) has some illogical reasoning for denying marriage to homosexuals. Be it religion, sanctity of marriage, reproduction or that it should be up for popular vote, none of them make sense.
Let’s start with religion. I was raised a Lutheran and when the discussion comes up with my mother, this is often the first reason raised. Putting aside that most religions teach that people should be open and accepting to those who are different and/or outcasts in society, there is absolutely no reason that this should be considered.
The government isn’t in the business of endorsing a religion. Look at the First Amendment if you’re unclear on that point. If religion is the purpose for the government denying marriage, it is in violation of the First Amendment. If the government allows gay marriage, they do not force any religion or church to recognize it. Religions are free to do as they please, as they always have. It simply enables homosexuals to freely exercise their ability to get married without being unduly interfered with by a religion that may not be their own.
The sanctity of marriage doesn’t hold up well either. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for every 1,000 persons in the United States in 2009, there were 6.8 marriages and 3.4 divorces. So for every two marriages, there was one divorce. Sacred as a cow in India, isn’t it?
No-fault divorces have existed since 1969, when it was first enacted into state law in California. They’re available in every state now and require only a single petitioner to dissolve the marriage, without having to show a reason for the divorce. With laws like that on the books, no claim of “sanctity” can stand. Not when you can go to Vegas, get married after a night of drinking and divorced the next day for a few bucks and no reason.
Even if you could call the institution of marriage sanctimonious, the government has no reason to preserve that. It only must act in its best interest and the interest of those it governs. The government has an interest to treat all of its citizens equally and to promote a high standard of living for all of its citizens, and this would go a long way toward that objective.
Now, it’s no secret that gay couples can’t (naturally) reproduce. But that isn’t the point of marriage, nor is it the sole reason why the government extends benefits to married couples. If it were, then having kids would be a requirement for marriage. But many couples decide not to get married for a multitude of reasons. There would be no reason to recognize marriage after children were grown either. That would be a fun discussion to have with my grandparents, whose last child moved out nearly 30 years ago.
Read the full article from the Iowa State Daily.
Read more In the News.
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