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Partners Task Force for Gay and Lesbian Couples Online from 1995-2022 Demian and Steve Bryant originally founded Partners as a monthly newsletter in 1986. By late 1990 it was reformatted into a bi-monthly magazine. Print publication was halted by 1995 when Demian published Partners as a Web site, which greatly expanded readership. In 1988, the Partners National Survey of Lesbian & Gay Couples report was published; the first major U.S. survey on same-sex couples in a decade. In 1996, Demian produced The Right to Marry, a video documentary based on the dire need for equality that was made clear by the data from the survey mentioned above. The video featured interviews with Rev. Mel White, Evan Wolfson, Phyllis Burke, Richard Mohr, Kevin Cathcart, Faygele benMiriam, Benjamin Cable-McCarthy, Susan Reardon, Frances Fuchs, Tina Podlodowski, and Chelle Mileur. Demian has been the sole operator during the last two decades of Partners. Demian stopped work on Partners Task Force in order to realize his other time-consuming projects, which include publishing the book “Operating Manual for Same-Sex Couples: Navigating the rules, rites & rights” - which is now available on Amazon. The book is based on the Partners Survey mentioned above, his interviews of scores of couples, and 36 years of writing hundreds of articles about same-sex couples. It’s also been informed by his personal experience in a 20-year, same-sex relationship. Demian’s other project is to publish his “Photo Stories by Demian” books based on his more than six decades as a photographer and writer. |
Constitutional Constriction Prez Prays and Pitches Punk Power Ploy by Demian © February 29, 2004, Demian Updated contacts: September 17, 2012 A weapon of mass destruction has finally been located. It is an amendment to our Constitution. It is wielded by a president willing to pervert the the Constitution — a civil rights document that is our national treasure — into a means of creating second class citizens.
The present wording of the amendment — proposed by Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.) — would affect not only the ability to be get a civil marriage in the U.S., but the phrase “or the legal incidents thereof” would also prohibit workplace domestic partner benefits, Civil Unions, as well as prevent the recognition of wills, powers of attorney and other legal documents between same-sex partners. It does not appear to be enough for the U.S. president to erode civil liberties through the cover of a war against terrorism. He hopes to further enlarge the power of the Federal system, usurping the power of the states and of the state courts. He has demanded that congress restrict the rights of American citizens — for only the second time in more than 200 years — through a Constitutional amendment. And it would be the first time that the constitution would be amended to restrict the rights of a specific class of people. The words and deeds of this president cheapens us all.
Here is the full, anti-gay, anti-marriage address from president George W. Bush:
American Anthropological Association Of course, the president is completely wrong about human cultures. Bush cast the union between male and female as the only proper form of marriage, or what he called in his State of the Union address “one of the most fundamental, enduring institutions of our civilization.”
From the executive board of the primary organization representing American anthropologists, the 11,000-member American Anthropological Association:
The association’s statement added that the executive board “strongly opposes a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples.” The statement was proposed by Dan Segal, Pitzer College anthropology and history professor, who called Bush’s conception of the history of marriage “patently false.” Dan Segal: “If he were to take even the first semester of anthropology, he would know that’s not true.”Segal referenced sanctified same-sex unions in the fourth century in Christianity, to the Greeks and Romans applying the concept of marriage to same-sex couples, as well as to the Native American so called “berdache” tradition in which males sometimes married males. American Bar Association
The nation’s largest group of lawyers said that questions about whether same-sex couples can
legally wed should by settled by states, not by Congress or a Constitutional amendment. At its midyear meeting in San Antonio, Texas, the organization made a resolution:
Louis Weisberg, columnist
Coming out The single most effective tool at our disposal is the act of revealing our orientation. For instance: “Hi, my name is Max, and this is my partner Robin.” With this simple act, we reveal we are gay or lesbian, and are a family. Talk, Talk, Talk The best counter to prejudice and ignorance is one-on-one education. Telling blood relatives, co-workers, and friends why we need legal marriage. Most do not realize you have no legal status, are not next of kin. For a review of the main issues regarding legal marriage, please see our:Lobby Contact senators and representatives with the reasons why we need legal marriage. Because legal marriage is a contract between the state and a couple — and not between the couple and any religion — it must be considered as any other legal agreement and be made available to everyone.
In many right-wing circles, the discussion regarding legal marriage never enters the realm of civil law. For them, it is a narrowly focused Biblical, or religious discussion. This means that their debate is not one of civil rights, but rather of dogma.
See our article which includes answers to arguments heard against legal marriage: Lobby Your Representatives E-mail the U.S. president:Join To support ongoing legal marriage efforts in your state: See:Legally Protect You Family Your family should be legally protected by wills, powers of attorney, physician’s directives, and relationship agreements. These are the barest of supports, until legal marriage is available, and honored, in the U.S. See our article:
March on Washington Some have suggested another huge march. While bringing a lot of attention to an issue, marches do not have the persuasive power of the vote, of lobbying, or direct education. Further, events of this type usually take a minimum of two years to plan. They involve raising large sums of capitol, applying for permits, as well as reserving equipment and services. Advertisement Campaigns Media promotions do not appear to change people’s minds. Society needs to know same-sex couples, and hear directly about their lives. Also, unlike most advertising, there is no product to sell. The idea of civil rights, separation of church and state — or separation of so-called “biblical” law from civil law — are concepts impossible to impart in a sound bite. This kind of educational effort demands a more personal approach. |
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