Same-sex marriage

Latest news on same-sex marriage

Quinn trivializes same-sex marriage effort, claiming: "[G]ays never wanted to get married until ... about five years ago"

On the November 19 broadcast of The War Room with Quinn & Rose, co-host Rose Tennent said of the nationwide protests that have followed the passage of a California ballot initiative to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage: "[T]here are so many people at the events that aren't gay." Co-host Jim Quinn replied, "Yeah, they're guilty straights," to which Tennent responded, "Guilty straights -- there we go." Earlier in the broadcast, Quinn stated: "[G]ays never wanted to get married until what -- about five years ago, we started to hear about this? ... [T]his is all -- this is a purely political act." In fact, same-sex couples have brought court cases to overturn bans on same-sex marriage for decades. According to the website glbtq.com, the first court case challenging a ban on same-sex marriage was brought in Minnesota in 1970. Two men applied for a marriage license and sued the state when their application was rejected "on the sole ground," in the words of the Minnesota Supreme Court, "that petitioners were of the same sex, it being undisputed that there were otherwise no statutory impediments to a heterosexual marriage by either petitioner." The court upheld the ban on same-sex marriage in its 1971 decision. Numerous court cases challenging same-sex marriage bans have been brought since then, including cases in the 1970s, the 1990s, and the current decade. As Media Matters for America documented, Quinn previously said: "The only thing that -- the only thing that gay marriage produce -- well, gay marriage doesn't produce anything that the state has an interest in. Gay sex produces AIDS, which the state doesn't have -- or should have an interest in. They should charge homosexuals more for their -- for their health insurance than they charge the rest of us." Quinn later added: "So why don't they charge gay men, especially, higher premiums? Because they're engaged in an activity that will have an impact on that -- on the health care system." Talkers Magazine lists Quinn & Rose on its "Heavy Hundred" list, which it describes as a list of the "100 most important radio talk show hosts in America." According to the show's website, it airs on 18 radio stations and XM Satellite Radio. From the November 19 broadcast of Clear Channel's The War Room with Quinn & Rose: TENNENT: You know, Elton John weighed in on all of this, and I thought it was interesting what he said. He said that -- he said, "I don't want to be married. I'm very happy with a civil partnership. If gay people want to get married, or get together, they should have a civil partnership." Hey, that's what we've been saying all along, isn't it? QUINN: Good grief, the voice of reason. TENNENT: He said, "The word 'marriage,' I think, puts a lot of people off. You get the same equal rights that we do when we have a civil partnership. Heterosexual people get married. We can have civil partnerships." Now, see, this is interesting, because if that is -- you know, and this has been my argument all along. If there are the same rights -- equal rights within a civil partnership -- why are they going after marriage? QUINN: Because it -- that's one of the basic underpinnings, one of the basic legs of Western civilization -- TENNENT: Right. QUINN: -- and Judeo-Christian civilization. TENNENT: They break that down -- QUINN: Right. Break it down, deconstruct it -- TENNENT: And you've broken down society. QUINN: Exactly. Exactly. This is a purely -- the whole marriage issue is -- gays never wanted to get married until what -- about five years ago, we started to hear about this? TENNENT: Yeah. QUINN: No, this is all -- this is a purely political act. TENNENT: See, he, actually, John -- Elton John distanced himself from the protesters and all the protests that are taking place in all the cities across the United States. He said, "What is wrong with Proposition 8 is they went for marriage." [...] TENNENT: This fringe that is out there -- and they're mobilizing, although they're seemingly bigger than a fringe, but they are still a fringe. QUINN: Oh, yeah. TENNENT: They are a fringe. QUINN: They're very visible; loud. TENNENT: And they're embarrassing to even other homosexuals in this country. They are. Their behavior, I think it's -- QUINN: Well, they've managed -- TENNENT: -- reprehensible. I really do. What? QUINN: They've managed to fill the streets, though, with angry people. They get people all worked up about this stuff. TENNENT: Yeah. And some of the people that are joining them aren't even necessarily gay, either -- you know -- QUINN: Oh, no. They're -- TENNENT: -- there are so many people at the events that aren't gay. QUINN: Yeah, they're guilty straights. TENNENT: Guilty straights -- there we go. So, Jim, I got a question for you. All of this -- like, later today, I hope, or possibly Friday, I wanted to go over some of the appointments.

California's same-sex marriage case affects all of us

It forces us to consider why we have rights.

Same-sex marriage ban stirs LA gay district protest

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Several thousand people gathered in Los Angeles on Saturday evening to protest a voter-approved ballot measure that bans same-sex marriage in California.

Quinn: "Gay sex produces AIDS"; "They should charge homosexuals more for their ... health insurance"

On the November 6 broadcast of The War Room with Quinn & Rose, co-host Jim Quinn said: "The only thing that -- the only thing that gay marriage produce -- well, gay marriage doesn't produce anything that the state has an interest in. Gay sex produces AIDS, which the state doesn't have -- or should have an interest in. They should charge homosexuals more for their -- for their health insurance than they charge the rest of us." Quinn made the comment while discussing the passage of a California ballot initiative to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Quinn continued: I mean, just like they charge -- look, if I'm a tobacco smoker, I pay more, right? Why? Because I'm risking my life, and the insurance company has an interest in that, because the chances were more likely they're gonna have to pay off on me than somebody else. So why don't they charge gay men, especially, higher premiums? Because they're engaged in an activity that will have an impact on that - on the health care system." From the November 6 broadcast of Clear Channel's The War Room with Quinn & Rose: QUINN: Let me ask you a question. You're hanging out with some -- some woman that you picked up in a bar and, you know, you two are out there; maybe you decided at the last minute to go to Las Vegas, rent a hotel room, and make a little whoopee for the weekend. What is that called? Does society have a strict definition for that? I mean, yeah, I mean, there's a lot of people who different definitions for it, different names for it. But, I mean, is there one thing that we can all agree on? Is there a name for it? And no, there is no one name for it, because society has no interest in it. But there is a name for a man and a woman who commit to each other, it's called marriage. Why does it have a name? Because we seek to define it. Why do we seek to define it? Because society has an interest in the outcome, and the outcome is the next generation of citizens in that society, and the assurance that those citizens will have a proper upbringing. That's why we name things. That's why we have words to define things. We are under no obligation to change the definition of things to include some demand from some special-interest group who suddenly decides that their union ought to be called a marriage to make them feel better about it, and to force the rest of us to look at it as equivalent to a man and a woman having a marriage that produces something that the state has an interest in. The only thing that -- the only thing that gay marriage produce -- well, gay marriage doesn't produce anything that the state has an interest in. Gay sex produces AIDS, which the state doesn't have -- or should have an interest in. They should charge homosexuals more for their -- for their health insurance than they charge the rest of us. I mean, just like they charge -- look, if I'm a tobacco smoker, I pay more, right? Why? Because I'm risking my life, and the insurance company has an interest in that, because the chances were more likely they're gonna have to pay off on me than somebody else. So why don't they charge gay men, especially, higher premiums? Because they're engaged in an activity that will have an impact on that -- on the health care system. That's -- I don't know, is there something wrong with that? Anyway, the people of -- of California, you know, maybe they didn't articulate it quite that way, but somehow they understood. And they voted against gay marriage. And the mayor of San Francisco is just beside himself over this. But they did the right thing. Look, if you're gay and you want to have a relationship, and you want to have it -- you know, you want to have it legalized and sign a contract, I have no problem with that. Go ahead. I'm not gonna come knock on your door, it's not a problem for me. Just don't -- don't try to muddy the waters by calling it a marriage -- it's not. What else here this morning?

Protests As Same-Sex Unions See Defeat In California (AHN)

(AHN) - Campaigners against Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in California, conceded defeat of their cause on Thursday while gays protested outside a Mormon Church temple in Westwood. - Thu, 6 Nov 2008 22:54:21 GMT

DeGeneres rues gay marriage ban

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres says she is 'saddened' by the passing of an amendment banning same-sex marriage in California.

California votes down same-sex marriage

Voters in Florida and Arizona also approved similar bans in a setback for the gay rights movement.