And it’s a dud. Reminiscent of some of the lamer ads by the folks who brought us Prop 8, this new television spot uses the same old tired and debunked arguments: gay marriage taught in schools, churches losing their tax exempt status and lawsuits aplenty. Hopefully Mainers won’t fall for it, like they did here in California.
In what few would consider a fair fight, Sirius XM host Mike Signorile took on National Organization for Marriage (NOM) executive director Brian Brown, making short work of Brown’s feeble, empty-headed arguments.
It’s truly amazing that characters like Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown are able to keep NOM afloat considering how ineffective they are in defending positions which fail under the mildest of scrutiny. Just take a look back at some of Brown’s earlier work on Penn & Teller’s Bullsh!t.
At 12:01 AM Eastern Standard Time, Bob Sullivan and Bill Slimback became the first same-sex couple to exchange their vows as gay marriage became legal in Vermont.
Dressed in suits, saying their vows under a large wall-mounted moose head, the two Whitehall, N.Y., men promised their love, exchanged rings and held hands during a modest 17-minute ceremony. Moose Meadow Lodge co-owner Greg Trulson, who’s also a Justice of the Peace, presided.
“It feels wonderful,” said Slimback, 38, an out-of-work Teamster who is taking Sullivan’s last name as his own. “It’s a day I’ve been long waiting for, and a day I truly honestly thought would never come.”
Slimback said he and Sullivan, 41, have long wanted to cement their relationship with a wedding, but since they couldn’t legally marry in New York they chose to wed even before Vermont’s gay marriage era officially dawned.
Vermont is one of five states that now allow same-sex couples to marry. Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa are the others. New Hampshire’s law takes effect Jan. 1, 2010.
Vermont, which invented civil unions in 2000 after a same-sex couple challenged the inequality of state marriage statutes, was a mecca for gay couples who to that point had no way to officially recognize their relationships.
Since then, other states have allowed gay marriage, as did Vermont, which in April became the first state to legalize gay marriage through a legislative decree and not a court case.
Coverage from the local Fox affiliate below:
A new ad called “Together” began airing in Maine today advocating for marriage equality. The ad comes on the eve of a decision that may force marriage equality to a November vote provided enough signatures are gathered in opposition to the law, despite the governor having signed the measure on May 6. The 60 second spot is produced by Equality Maine, GLAD and MCLU.
Marriage equality in Maine is opposed by StandForMarriageMaine, as well as the usual suspects, the National Organization for Marriage and the Catholic Church.