News Roundup: Pat Robertson Says Gays "Want to Destroy Marriage"; NY to Vote on Marriage Equality?; Public Debate on Question 1

Pat Robertson Says That I, and Many Other Gays, Want to Destroy Marriage



Pat Robertson: "I don't really believe that homosexuals want to get married. What they want to do is destroy marriage and some of the other things that we have in our society. There's been an outright campaign against the traditional moral values that have grown up in a Judeo-Christian culture. And they don't want any, any hindrance to their particular lifestyle or their particular way of having sex, that's what it amounts to. Whether or not this will be something that will change the country. The country has voted overwhelmingly in favor of traditional marriage. They don't want homosexual marriage. But you find a few states - Maine, Massachusetts, Iowa - who have voted them into the legislature. The people have their say - the people say 'No way!'"

Uhm, Pat - the people had their say when they Democratically voted in their legislature. Just saying. And my wanting to get married is somehow my effort to destroy marriage? Someone lacks the skill of simple cause and effect logic.

New York Senate to Finally Vote on Marriage Equality Bill?

The New York Daily News is reporting that Gov. David Paterson will yet again call a special session to deal with the state's budgetary problems and to vote on the long-delayed marriage equality bill.

"The governor has always said that same-sex marriage will be on the agenda," a spokeswoman said.

A source said gay marriage will be on the agenda to force the Senate to deal with it one way or the other.

Paterson's political team sees the issue as one way to start raising his historic low poll numbers.

Recently, Sen. Tom Duane, the bill's sponsor, had stated he believed that the bill would get a vote by the end of the year. He had also stated at one point that he had enough votes to get it passed, but this was before the power struggle that rocked the senate.

The WCBSTV is now reporting, "Supporters have quietly been trying to rebuild a coalition of 32 senators needed to pass a bill in the chamber, which has a 32-30 Democratic majority." Hopefully Duane has succeeded.

ACTION: New Yorkers, join Empire State Pride Agenda's action and call your senator, urging them to support marriage equality.

Public Debate Over Maine's Question 1

Over the next two weeks GLAD Civil Rights Project Director Mary Bonauto, a Maine resident, will debate Stand for Marriage Maine’s Marc Mutty on the question of preserving Maine’s marriage equality law.

The following debates leading up to the November 3 vote will be available to view or listen to online:

Thursday, October 22nd, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Live debate on MPBN radio
Moderated by Susan Sharon, Assistant News Director at MPBN
Listen at www.mpbn.org

Monday, October 26th, 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Live debate on “207” on WCSH-TV and WLBZ-TV
(NBC affiliate, Channel 6 in Portland, Channel 2 in Bangor)
Moderated by “207” hosts Rob Caldwell and Kathleen Shannon
Watch at www.wcsh6.com or www.wlbz2.com

Wednesday, October 28th, 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Live debate on WMTW-TV (ABC affiliate, Channel 8 in Portland)
Cosponsored by Maine Today Publications (Portland Press Herald, Maine
Sunday Telegram, Kennebec Journal and Central Maine Morning Sentinel)Moderated by WMTW-TV news anchor Tory Ryden
Watch at www.wmtw.com

Thursday, October 29th, 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.
Live debate on WGAN-AM radio in Portland
Moderated by WGAN Morning News co-hosts Mike Violette and Ken Altshuler
www.wgan.com

Thursday, October 29th, 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Live debate on WGME-TV (CBS affiliate, Channel 13 in Portland)
Moderated byWGME-TV news anchor Greg Lagerquist
Watch at www.wgme.com

Below is Mary's testimony at the marriage equality public hearing before Maine's Judicial Committee back in April:



(H/T Louise)

Conservative Christian Group Focus on the Family Donates $98K to Yes on 1 Campaign

The Gazette reports:

Last year, Focus on the Family donated nearly $450,000 to support a California proposition outlawing gay marriage.
This year, the Colorado Springs-based organization is setting its sights on Maine, but the outlay is a lot smaller — both because Maine is a lot smaller, and because of the economy.

As of Sept. 30, Focus had donated $98,500 to Stand for Marriage Maine, a coalition supporting an initiative on the Nov. 3 ballot to overturn the state Legislature’s legalization of gay marriage. Efforts began in May to collect signatures to get the measure on the ballot.

Jenny Tyree, marriage analyst for Focus Action, the political arm of the Colorado Springs family group, said the creation of the measure shows that people, not politicians, should decide the parameters of marriage.

“Marriage is the safest in the hands of the people,” Tyree said. “Politicians are swayed by a lot of things.”

ACTION: Go to NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality to help protect the existing right of gays and lesbians to marry.