"Oh, but gay marriage only affects 5% of the population"......

[Bluebear]

Kelly Burke holds her son Avery, 3, while playing in the back yard Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004, in Portland, Ore. Like many housewives, Burke relies on her spouse's employer for her own health insurance. But because Burke is a lesbian, it was only this spring after Multnomah County momentarily flung open the door to gay marriage, that she became a legal 'spouse' _ and was one of a handful of married gays and lesbians who began receiving comprehensive medical insurance through their partner's employer.


PORTLAND, Ore. - As she watched her 3-year-old son convert a box into a spaceship, Kelly Burke was dreading the arrival of a letter that could change their lives. The stay-at-home mom and her partner of 15 years, Dolores Doyle, are among the nearly 3,000 gay couples who wed in Oregon this spring. Now the status of those marriages, and the benefits that come with them, is unclear after Oregon voters decisively approved a ban on gay marriage this past week.

The mailman came this morning and I panicked," said Burke, who relies on Doyle's employer for health insurance. "My first thought is: 'Oh my God, here comes the letter. They're cutting me off.'"

While 11 states passed constitutional amendments banning gay marriage on Election Day, Oregon is the only state among them where the government has already approved gay marriage, albeit temporarily.
Some 2,960 gay couples tied the knot after Multnomah County momentarily flung open the door to same-sex marriage. A judge stopped the practice after six weeks, and the state has refused to acknowledge the marriages pending the outcome of a lawsuit on the constitutionality of banning same-sex marriage.

Still, some companies took it upon themselves to view the couples as legally married, extending benefits — such as insurance coverage — not previously available.....more

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=519&e=7&u=/ap/20041107/ap_on_re_us/gay_marriage_couples_2

[SammyWinstonJack]

1. Sweet pic

I am ashamed of my Country. I don't know what to say.? Why make children suffer our prejudices? Or anyone else for that matter. Whatever happened to Live and let Live?

[Bluebear]

2. "You've got to be carefully taught"

You've got to be taught to hate and fear
You've got to be taught from year to year
It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a different shade
You've got to be carefully taught

You've got to be taught before it's too late
Before you are six or seven or eight
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught

--Rodgers and Hammerstein

[tjdee]

3. What show is that from??

[Bluebear]

4. That is "South Pacific" nt

[nradisic]

5. Igonrance Breeds bad things...

Ignorance Breeds Fear Bigotry Hatred & Lies!