On Thursday, we reported that Ellen DeGeneres was to announce on Friday’s show that she will marry Portia de Rossi. Well, she did, and here’s the clip of the show:

365Gay.com reports that an HIV-positive homeless Dallas man convicted of spitting into the eye and mouth of a Dallas police officer has been sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Because a jury found that Willie Campbell used his saliva as a deadly weapon, the 42-year-old will have to serve half his sentence before becoming eligible for parole. He was sentenced Wednesday.

Campbell was arrested in May 2006 for public intoxication when he began resisting and kicking inside the patrol car, Dallas police office Dan Waller testified.

Campbell was convicted of harassment of a public servant.

(source)

This is what full equality and respect looks like. 

This season’s Operacion Triunfo, Spain’s equivalent of American Idol, has several out gay contestants, and one of those contestant’s romance with his husband has become the highlight of the season. A 34-year-old American named Chipper Cooke has been doing extremely well in the competition, and his relationship with his husband has been put squarely in the spotlight.

Watch the clip below to see Chipper’s husband invited on stage to present Chipper with flowers. The two men embraced and kissed and Chipper cried, all to the deafening cheers of the crowd:

(source)

Yesterday, both Hilary Clinton’s and Barack Obama’s camps responded to the California’s Supreme Court’s decision to repeal the ban on same sex marriage. As did the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain, and the Libertarian presidential hopeful, Bob Barr. 

Here’s what Clinton’s statement had to say:

“Hillary Clinton believes that gay and lesbian couples in committed relationships should have the same rights and responsibilities as all Americans and believes that civil unions are the best way to achieve this goal. As President, Hillary Clinton will work to ensure that same sex couples have access to these rights and responsibilities at the federal level. She has said and continues to believe that the issue of marriage should be left to the states.”

And Obama, who supports the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Acts (DOMA) said:

“Barack Obama has always believed that same-sex couples should enjoy equal rights under the law, and he will continue to fight for civil unions as President. He respects the decision of the California Supreme Court, and continues to believe that states should make their own decisions when it comes to the issue of marriage.”

McCain’s response was, not surprisingly, against the decision, stating he believes ballot are initiatives are the answer”

“McCain supports the right of the people of California to recognize marriage as a unique institution sanctioning the union between a man and a woman, just as he did in his home state of Arizona. John McCain doesn’t believe judges should be making these decisions.”

Barr, the Libertarian, while conservative in his values, said this:

“Regardless of whether one supports or opposes same sex marriage, the decision to recognize such unions or not ought to be a power each state exercises on its own, rather than imposition of a one-size-fits-all mandate by the federal government (as would be required by a Federal Marriage Amendment which has been previously proposed and considered by the Congress). The decision today by the Supreme Court of California properly reflects this fundamental principle of federalism on which our nation was founded.”

The Associated Press reports that Ellen DeGeneres is putting the California Supreme Court ruling in favor of gay marriage into action — she and Portia de Rossi plan to wed. DeGeneres made the announcement during a taping of her talk show on Thursday, which is set to appear on Friday.

A person close to the production, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. Citing the court’s ruling, DeGeneres said she and girlfriend de Rossi (”Ally McBeal,” “Nip/Tuck”) would be getting married.

De Rossi, 35, who was in the studio, and DeGeneres, 50, were applauded by audience members, the person close to the production said.

Calls and e-mails late Thursday to DeGeneres’ publicist were not immediately returned.

DeGeneres has boldly used TV before to make a stand for gay rights. In 1997, she brought her character on the ABC sitcom “Ellen” out of the closet, making the show the first on prime-time network TV to have an openly gay lead. The move drew cheers from gay civil rights organizations but was condemned by some religious groups.

This time up close and personal…

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom gestures during a rally inside City Hall in San Francisco, Thursday, May 15, 2008 after the California State Supreme Court ruled in favor of the right for same sex couple to wed.

“It’s about human dignity. It’s about human rights. It’s about time in California,” San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, pumping his fist in the air, told a roaring crowd at City Hall. “As California goes, so goes the rest of the nation. It’s inevitable. This door’s wide open now. It’s going to happen, whether you like it or not.”

(source)

Christine Quinn, the speaker of the New York City Council and an openly gay official in the city, issued a statement this afternoon hailing the California Supreme Court’s ruling today that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.

Here’s her statement:

“I applaud the California Supreme Court for lifting its ban on gay marriage and upholding the fundamental and universal rights of civil equality and equal protection.

“While this is a tremendous victory in our fight for equal rights, we must carry on with our efforts toward making marriage equality a reality in the state of New York. I implore every member of the New York State Legislature to place equal rights ahead of politics and end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people by conferring the right to marry to same-sex couples.

“History has repeatedly shown that the arch of equality always bends towards justice. I know that, soon enough, LGBT New Yorkers will have the right to marry.”

New York has a mixed history of support for same sex marriages. A few years back, same-sex marriage proponents initially sought the legalization of same-sex marriage through New York’s courts. Five separate suits were filed seeking same-sex marriage. At the trial level, four failed and one succeeded (though it was stayed and later reversed). At the intermediate appellate level, four failed and one was not decided. The cases were all rolled into one and heard by the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, on May 31,2006. On July 6, 2006, the Court of Appeals in Hernandez v. Robles decided that New York law does not permit same-sex marriage and that there is no constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

Following the Hernandez decision, the focus of the same-sex marriage battle shifted to the executive and legislative branches of government. During his campaign for Governor of New York, then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said that he would push to legalize same-sex marriage if elected,[1]and he proposed legislation to that effect to the state legislature on April 27, 2007. This legislation passed in the State Assembly on June 19, 2007, but died in the State Senate and was returned to the Assembly.[2]

In February 2008, a five-judge panel of the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department ruled unanimously in Martinez v. County of Monroe that because New York legally recognizes out-of-state marriages of opposite-sex couples, it must do the same for same-sex couples. Monroe County subsequently announced its intention to move for leave to appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals.[3] On May 6, 2008 the Court of Appeals refused to hear the case, effectively allowing the lower court’s ruling to stand.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement in reaction to the California Supreme Court’s decision today to strike the state ban on gay marriage:

“I welcome the California Supreme Court’s historic decision. I have long fought against discrimination and believe that the State Constitution provides for equal treatment for all of California’s citizens and families, which today’s decision recognizes.

“I commend the plaintiffs from San Francisco for their courage and commitment. I encourage California citizens to respect the Court’s decision, and I continue to strongly oppose any ballot measure that would write discrimination into the State Constitution.

“Today is a significant milestone for which all Californians can take pride.”

Ned Dolejsi, executive director of the California Catholic Conference, released the following statement on behalf of California’s Bishops and the California Catholic Conference, following the California Supreme Court’s decision declaring the state’s Defense of Marriage Act (Proposition 22) unconstitutional, thus allowing same-sex marriages to take place in California:

“The California Catholic Conference of Bishops must express its disappointment in the California Supreme Court decision to declare Proposition 22 unconstitutional.

“Proposition 22, which states, ‘Only marriage between one man and one woman is valid and recognized in California,’ passed eight years ago by a vote of 61.2 to 38.8 percent. That statute reflected the wisdom of the voters of California in retaining the traditional definition of marriage as a biological reality and a societal good. Unfortunately, today, the Court saw fit to disregard the will of the majority of people of California.

“Catholic teaching maintains that marriage is a faithful, exclusive and lifelong union between one man and one woman joined in an intimate partnership of life and love — a union instituted by God for the mutual fulfillment of the husband and wife as well as for the procreation and education of children.

“Partnerships of committed same-sex individuals are already legal in California. Our state has also granted domestic partners spousal-type rights and responsibilities which facilitate their relationships with each other and any children they bring to the partnership. Every person involved in the family of domestic partners is a child of God and deserves respect in the eyes of the law and their community. However, those partnerships are not marriage — and can never be marriage — as it has been understood since the founding of the United States. Today’s decision of California’s high court opens the door for policymakers to deconstruct traditional marriage and create another institution under the guise of equal protection.

“Although we strongly disagree with the ruling, we ask our Catholic people, as well as all the people of California, to continue to uphold the dignity of every person, to acknowledge individual rights and responsibilities, and to maintain support for the unique and irreplaceable role of traditional marriage as an institution which is fundamental to society.”