Dems Raise Rainbow Flags

Gov't could create civil unions, while marriage would be religious

(NEWSER) - Confirmations, bar mitzvahs—religious institutions mark a number of rites of passage, but marriage is the only one the government has mucked with. As the heated debate over gay marriage continues, two professors ask: Why not take the government out of the equation? Officially, any couple could have a civil union, and "marriage" would be left up to one’s place of worship, Time reports in a look at the idea. More»

(NEWSER) - Five Nigerian lesbians are running for their love after a weekend wedding put them in direct violation of the local Islamic law. Police have issued arrest warrants against Aunty Maiduguri and her four wives, charging them with violating the Sharia law that governs much of northern Nigeria. More»

President fires away at GOP contenters at gay rights fundraiser

(NEWSER) - Ah, election season—when politicians remember that they once had guts. President Obama swung hard at GOP presidential hopefuls last night, blasting them for not condemning the crowd that booed a gay soldier at a Republican debate on Sept. 22, reports the Hill . "We don’t believe in the kind of smallness that says it’s OK for a stage full of political leaders—one of whom could end up being the president of the United States—being silent when an American soldier is booed," Obama said at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization. More»

Organizations say she and her husband are 'harmful to children'

(NEWSER) - Michele Bachmann has her haters, but now gay rights groups are setting their sights on the Minnesota Republican, with one activist calling her a "target-rich environment." Human rights organizations say they plan to home in this summer on Bachmann's past anti-gay efforts in Minnesota, reports Politico . Bachmann and husband Marcus—who one patient says told him to "pray away the gay" —have said that sexual preference is a choice, and in addition to leading the 2004 push for a ban on gay marriage, Bachmann has credited her stepsister's lesbianism to Satan. More»

With DOMA in question, Eric Holder wants case reviewed

(NEWSER) - The attorney general made the surprising move of suspending the deportation of a gay man in a civil union with a US citizen yesterday. The AP reports that Holder has asked the Board of Immigration Appeals to reconsider its decision. The board had called for the deportation of Paul Wilson Dorman to Ireland, even though he celebrated a civil union in New Jersey with his male partner—because the Defense of Marriage Act blocks gay marriage. Holder says there are two key points: Would the deportation would still occur if DOMA didn’t exist, and is Dorman officially a “spouse” according to New Jersey state law? More»