Posts Tagged ‘Proposition 8’
Bay Area watches as Proposition 8 case begins in federal court
Testimony in Perry v. Schwarzenegger featured vivid personal testimony about struggles with discrimination based on sexual orientation. The team defending Proposition 8, meanwhile, argued that the state has a compelling interest to allow voters to define marriage.
Read MoreProp 8 sparring begins in S.F. federal court
In a San Francisco courtroom packed to overflowing, attorneys on both sides of Proposition 8 argued this morning about whether the same-sex marriage ban is discriminatory or a justifiable expression of California voters’ will.
Read More“I felt as though a baseball bat had hit me”: a community prays, reflects, on Prop 8
At a commemorative interfaith service in Oakland, supporters of gay marriage gathered to reflect on the year since state voters approved the ballot initiative restricting marriage in California to man-woman couples.
Read MoreA year after Prop 8: the state of gay marriage law
A year ago today, California voters approved Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment that bars same-sex marriages in the state. Maine voters yesterday approved a similar ban, leaving five states–Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and New Hampshire–in which gay couples may legally wed. This interactive map (scroll over to get more information on each state), designed and reported by Oakland North’s Shannon Service and Tasneem Raja, shows the current state-by-state array of marriage and civil union law around the United States.
Read MoreMarriage is only a matter of time say those at nation’s oldest gay bar
Gilbert De Jesus remembers where he was when he heard last week’s news that the California Supreme Court upheld the proposition that changed the state constitution to outlaw gay marriage. The general manager of the White Horse Inn – established in 1932 and serving as one of the oldest gay and lesbian bars in the…
Read MoreHundreds protest Prop 8 in downtown Oakland
by MELANIE MASON Nov. 15–“Are you happy not to have to cross the bridge for justice today?” That was the question posed by Richard Wright, an Oakland-based blogger and activist, to an estimated 500 Oakland residents this morning, as they gathered in downtown’s Frank H. Ogawa Plaza to protest Proposition 8, the ballot measure to…
Read MoreMinisters grapple with election’s spiritual message
Around local houses of worship, some ministers spent the first days after the election grappling with the spiritual message to be taken from Barack Obama’s victory. Click here for the story.
Read MoreProp 8 foes grapple with the blow and joy of Nov 4
“Just like the body can be sick from being exposed to hot and cold,” the Reverend Roland Stringfellow said today, “my soul was sick from being exposed to jubilation over Obama’s election and defeat from the passage of Prop 8.”
Read MoreProp 8 challenged in court, questions abound
By HENRY JONES and SAMSON REINY Nov. 6–The passage of Proposition 8 has set off statewide legal confusion as same-sex marriage advocates filed petitions before the California Supreme Court yesterday, calling for the suspension of the gay marriage ban until the court decides if the amendment is unconstitutional. Californians voted on Tuesday by a 52…
Read MoreGet out vote effort starts before dawn
By MELANIE MASON Nov. 4 – It is 6 am, and most of the storefronts on Broadway are dark and shuttered. The sun has yet to rise. But the lights are on at the Oakland Democratic Party headquarters, and the people streaming in are awake and attentive. This is no day for early morning grogginess. …
Read MoreBlack church leaders urge no vote on Prop 8
By KRISTINE WONG Oct. 21 – On the steps of Oakland City Hall this morning, African-American ministers and politicians declared their strong opposition to Proposition 8, the state ballot initiative that would make same-sex marriage illegal in California. Citing civil rights as well as religious, legal, and personal reasons, they challenged the assumption that the…
Read MoreOakland Democrats focus on local elections
By BAGASSI KOURA Sept. 22 — As the California Democratic Party works on playing a larger role in the battleground states for the presidential election, Bay Area Democrats opened Sunday a new Oakland campaign office that will focus on local races. “We want the Obama supporters to get involved for the different propositions that we support,…
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