TOP CALIFORNIA EPISCOPAL BISHOPS COME OUT AGAINST PROP 8

What I reported Wednesday was going to happen, Episcopal Bishop the Right Rev. Marc Handley Andrus did hold the promised press conference later that day.

According to the LA Times, California's six most senior Episcopal bishops unanimously declared their opposition to Proposition 8. The bishops argued that preserving the right of gays and lesbians to marry would enhance the "Christian values" of monogamy, love and commitment.

Flanked by fellow clergy members and gay and straight couples, the Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles said,

"We believe that continued access to civil marriage for all, regardless of sexual orientation, is consistent with the best principles of our constitutional rights. We do not believe that marriage of heterosexuals is threatened by same-sex marriage."

In the face of the extraordinarily expensive and massive push by the Mormon Church and other right-wing religious zealots to pass Prop 8, it is certainly heartening and very encouraging to hear this kind of strong, religion-based support for our community.

If you would like to read the full report, go to: Los Angeles Times

STRAIGHT ALLIES DEMAND EQUALITY FOR LGBT AMERICANS

Luis Garcia of Echo Magazine reported that straight allies of the GLBT community are having a rally in Phoenix.

The nationwide event is scheduled to take place in cities across the country from Sunday, Sept. 14th through Saturday Sept. 20th. Called Seven Straight Nights for Equal Rights, it's a community vigil designed to provide straight Americans with the opportunity to publicly stand up for equal rights for the GLBT community.

The Phoenix event is scheduled to take place at 7 pm on Tuesday, September 16th, directly across from Biltmore Fashion Park mall in front of the Camelback Esplanade complex (SE corner of 24th Street and Camelback Road).

Mesa resident Susan Hurley is the local organizer for Phoenix. Susan is a heterosexual married woman who believes that all couples deserve the opportunity to have their relationship recognized by the government.

“Part of the goal of Seven Straight Nights is education and information,” Hurley said. “We want to outreach to the mainstream community and people who don’t really know what the issues are. We want to show the GLBT community that they have a lot of straight allies out there who will not be silent anymore.”

Seven Straight Nights for Equal Rights was created by the equality non-profit groups Atticus Circle and Soulforce. Last year, 38 cities in 28 different states across the country participated in the weeklong event.

To check out their website, go to: sevenstraightnights.org

To read Luis Garcia's full article in Echo Magazine go to: echomag.com

Additional Note:
If you plan on going to the Phoenix event, parking will be available on the fourth floor of the Biltmore Fashion Park garage, directly behind Macy's.

FLORIDA'S GAY ADOPTION BAN DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Monroe Judge David J. Audlin Jr. has ruled that Florida's 31 year old ban on gay adoption is unconstitutional.

The case evolved around a 13-year-old boy with learning disabilities and special needs. Neither the boy nor the foster father were identified by name.

The boy has lived with his foster father since being placed there by the Department of Children & Families in 2001. In 2006, Judge Audin appointed the foster father as the boy's legal guardian.

According to an article in the Miami Herald,

At a recent hearing, the boy testified he wanted the man to be his ''forever father'' -- like all the other kids had -- ''because I love him.''

Judge Audin noted that the statute was passed by lawmakers in 1977 amid a politically charged campaign to, as one lawmaker at the time put it, send gay people ''back into the closet.'' Audin said the law violates the Constitution's separation of powers by preventing family court and child welfare judges from deciding case-by-case what is best for a child.

A home study by a social worker ''highly'' recommended the guardian and his partner be allowed to adopt the boy, saying the two men provided a ''loving and nurturing home,'' provided ''fair and consistent'' discipline and are financially secure, the order says.

The case can still be appealed to the Florida Supreme Court but more and more attention is being focused on Florida and Mississippi as the only two states left that have outright bans on gay adoption. This attention is beginning to cast them as being against the best interest of adoptive children. Virtually every study and almost all directly involved agencies and institutions have expressed strong support for gay adoptions.

Unfortunately, John McCain and most republicans still oppose these adoptions because their right-wing, religiously fanatic base is still fervently against them. Apparently they would rather let children grow up in over-burdened institutions rather than let them go to loving, caring homes for no other plausible reason than political expediency.

To read the full story, go to: Miamiherald.com