The Celebrity Couple Otherwise Known As McFreed

California Supreme Court Gay Marriage Decision Announcement Tomorrow May 15, 2008

nobody@vox.com(Sean & Stefan) — Wed, 14 May 2008 12:38:28 -0700

The McFreeds excitedly but nervously report...

SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA

NOTICE OF

FORTHCOMING FILING

The Supreme Court has indicated that the filing of a written opinion in the following case(s) is forthcoming. At the filing time designated below, the filed opinion(s) will be accessible at the judicial branch web site (www.courtinfo.ca.gov) and copies will be made available at the Supreme Court Clerk’s Office.

[Generally, the description set out with regard to each case is reproduced from the original news release issued when review in the matter was granted, and is provided for the convenience of the public and the press. The description does not necessarily reflect the view of the court, or define the specific issues that will be addressed by the court.]

IN RE MARRIAGE CASES

S147999 (A110449, A110450, A110451, A110463, A110651, A110652

San Francisco County JCCP – 4365)

Argued in San Francisco 3-04-08

This case includes the following issue: Does California’s statutory ban on marriage between two persons of the same sex violate the California Constitution by denying equal protection of the laws on the basis of sexual orientation or sex, by infringing on the fundamental right to marry, or by denying the right to privacy and freedom of expression?

Opinion(s) in the above case(s) will be filed on:

Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 10:00 a.m.

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Baltimore Sun "Gay Rights At Standstill" Article Responses

nobody@vox.com(Sean & Stefan) — Sun, 11 May 2008 10:02:08 -0700

Sean reports...

Well the letter to the editor I submitted was not selected for publication unfortunately but here are the three that were published in the Friday May 9, 2008 issue of the Baltimore Sun in response to their "Gay Rights At Standstill" article. It is obvious that they chose to take two articles from activists rather than regular folk, and the one regular folk got a small bullet basically. Sometimes the activists miss the larger picture, however, I tend to agree with the third article by Shannon Avery more than anything. I beleive that the political groups seem to be more interested in keeping true to a broad vision and forgetting that it is truly about building a wall with bricks, each as important as the other in laying a solid foundation for our ultimate goals. I think Stefan and I will have to become more involved in the coming months and year!

Response #1: Dan Furmansky - Executive Director, Equality Maryland

Maryland Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley's insensitive and incendiary comments in The Sun's article "Gay rights at standstill" (May 4) reek of a fundamental disdain for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and families headed by same-sex couples.

I agree that most members of the general public don't rank the issue of same-sex unions as one of great importance to them because they are trying to "maintain their households," as Mr. Brinkley suggests.

Unfortunately, Mr. Brinkley seems to be blind to the household concerns of same-sex couples, even in his own district, because to him we are merely "shrieking from rooftops" without any merit to our arguments.

But we have real problems too. In fact, same-sex couples in Maryland have, on average, lower incomes, lower rates of homeownership and lower likelihood of health insurance coverage than our married counterparts.

Of course, as a state employee, Mr. Brinkley is lucky that he may carry a spouse on his health insurance. But that's not the case for state employees with partners of the same sex.

It is unlikely that Mr. Brinkley has ever worried about being shut out of the medical decision-making process for his wife or been told he couldn't accompany her in an ambulance en route to the hospital.

When Mr. Brinkley or his wife passes away, the surviving spouse will inherit tax-free the house they shared together during their marriage, unlike surviving partners in same-sex couples, who are taxed as though they are inheriting 50 percent of the home from a stranger.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are as diverse as the general population: Indeed, some of us are as insensitive to the struggles of other groups as Mr. Brinkley is to ours.

But Mr. Brinkley and those who think as he does hold the power in this situation.

Until they see lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals as actual human beings and not as "shrieking" people with no real problems, our families' pleas will be falling on deaf ears.

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Response #2: Hugh Silcox, Baltimore

Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley sees his gay and lesbian constituents as "shrieking from rooftops that they need these rights."

At least we have his attention.

Next year, maybe he'll even listen.

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Response #3: Shannon Avery, former chairwoman of Baltimore's Community Relations Commission and a former member of Gov. Martin O'Malley's transition team

As a gay rights activist, I too am disappointed in the stalled legislative efforts to achieve equality in Maryland. However, my disappointment does not flow to Gov. Martin O'Malley but rests at the front door of Equality Maryland, which is - unfortunately for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Marylanders - the only statewide gay rights advocacy organization in Maryland.

Equality Maryland's all-or-nothing approach to the marriage issue was ill-conceived and politically imprudent. A simple head count of the legislators would have steered even a rookie lobbyist toward a strategy of backing civil unions.

The reason that many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Marylanders worked to elect Mr. O'Malley was clear two years ago and remains so today. The governor, who as a member of the Baltimore City Council sponsored the first domestic partnership law in Maryland, has demonstrated his support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality time and time again.

After the devastating loss of the gay marriage case in the Court of Appeals in November, the governor stepped up to the plate and offered to sponsor a civil union package.

But Equality Maryland said no. It was marriage or nothing.

Now it is Equality Maryland that must take responsibility for this year's losses, and not blame the governor or any other elected official or activist who may have had a different opinion about what was possible in Maryland's legislature in 2008.

I know why I worked hard to elect Mr. O'Malley.

He cares about ending discrimination, and he is pragmatic enough to get it done.

I only wish that Maryland's leading gay rights advocacy organization could do the same thing.

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Response to Dateline Maryland: Gays Rights At Standstill

nobody@vox.com(Sean & Stefan) — Wed, 07 May 2008 10:03:01 -0700

Sean says...

This was what I submitted as an editorial response to The Baltimore Sun Article "Gay Rights At Standstill" today.

Maryland Senate Minority Leader David R Brinkley (R) was quoted as saying the following in The Baltimore Sun's May 4, 2008 Sunday Edition article "Gay Rights At Standstill":

"You have this group that's shrieking from rooftops that they need these rights, and everyone else is just trying to maintain their households… It just doesn't resonate."

Two years ago my partner Stefan and I met on of all things Match.com and fell in love like many couples have. We live together and both contribute to a mortgage. We both have stable jobs with benefits. This fall we looked over my new benefits package and made a few selections. We met with a financial planner together in September to prepare for immediate financial and retirement goals.

We're paying down credit card debt in preparation of buying a new home. We took out a home equity loan to fix up the house and replace our broken heating/cooling unit. We bought a new washer, dryer, and dishwasher just the other month. My partner bought a new car because his 14-year-old one needed replacing. We both were shocked just the other day by what we were paying for gas electricity lately. We make a grocery list together every other week.

We're excitedly looking into adopting a child in the next two years and went to a seminar about it this past weekend. We will soon be worrying about daycare and school, I am sure, once we legally adopt a child according to Maryland law. We're emotionally and financially preparing to support our own parents as they get older.

But Senator Brinkley of course doesn't think we will want to think, plan, or do any of this. Senator Brinkley says we aren't a household or even people who care about maintaining one. We're apparently not even interested in buying things or saving money. We apparently don't clip coupons, drive, commute, vacation, turn on the light when we get home at night, or own property in his mind either I guess.

How could we both be so delusional? Why didn't anyone tell us we weren't normal before? I guess it didn't quite resonate.

Thanks Senator Brinkley for keeping us informed and representing our interests in the General Assembly. We won't shriek so loudly next time.

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Dateline Maryland: Gay Rights At StandStill

nobody@vox.com(Sean & Stefan) — Wed, 07 May 2008 09:55:51 -0700

www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.gayrights04may04,0,5065065.story

baltimoresun.com

Gay rights at standstill

Governor's inaction during Assembly disappoints activists

By Laura Smitherman

Sun reporter

May 4, 2008

Gay and lesbian activists thought they had a friend in Martin O'Malley.

As a progressive mayor in Baltimore, O'Malley attended gay pride parades and signed into law a measure to protect transgender people from discrimination. When he ran for governor, he said he supported civil unions and wanted to extend benefits to same-sex partners of state employees, as he had done for city workers.

But two years into O'Malley's first term in Annapolis, neither has happened. He largely stayed out of the debate over legal recognition for same-sex unions that fizzled in the General Assembly, and aides say his financially strapped administration probably won't grant benefits for at least another year.

The lack of momentum for gay rights in the State House is the latest disappointment for activists after a lawsuit to force the legalization of same-sex marriage failed in state courts. While O'Malley's allies say he has done as much as he can in the face of significant hurdles, activists say they feel sidelined.

"There's just not a lot to be enthusiastic about, because the governor hasn't done much to help us move forward," said Dan Furmansky, director of Equality Maryland, a leading gay rights group. "Why did the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community work so hard to elect this person? What do we have to show for it at this point?"

The fits and starts of gay rights in Maryland reflect what has happened nationally. Four years after Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex marriage, no other state has followed suit, and only a handful offer civil unions, an institution that dissatisfies many activists who consider it separate but unequal.

O'Malley plans to sign two bills this month that would grant same-sex couples some rights of married couples, including the ability to visit each other in the hospital and an exemption from certain property taxes.

Spokesman Rick Abbruzzese said the governor would revisit proposals concerning other benefits and protections, and that he is willing to work with the legislature on civil unions.

"We didn't accomplish everything that we wanted to do," Abbruzzese said. "And there's a conversation that needs to continue on civil unions, but the reality is, a marriage bill will not pass through the Maryland General Assembly."

O'Malley has reached out to the gay community during his political career, drawing volunteers and campaign dollars.

As mayor, O'Malley implemented a law that bars discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation based on gender identity, and he formed a gay and lesbian task force to be a liaison with City Hall.

O'Malley might have been stymied in forwarding gay rights as governor by budget battles that forced him to expend political capital to get tax increases and spending cuts approved.

Former Gov. Parris N. Glendening, a Democrat whose gay brother died of AIDS after an Air Force career during which he remained closeted, said that budget problems also consumed his early years before he could focus on progressive measures, such as a statewide prohibition on discrimination based on sexual orientation.

"What you're seeing now is a political reality," Glendening said.

But Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley, a Republican representing Carroll and Frederick counties, said inaction on gay rights measures in Maryland reflects the public's greater interest in other issues such as the flagging economy and education. He opposes same-sex unions as institutions that undermine traditional marriage.

"You have this group that's shrieking from rooftops that they need these rights, and everyone else is just trying to maintain their households," Brinkley said. "It just doesn't resonate. I don't see fire hoses and dogs being turned on gay activists. That, to me, is not a civil rights problem."

The push for health and other benefits for domestic partners of government workers has been under way in Maryland for more than 15 years. Baltimore adopted the policy in 1993 under Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke. Some officials at the University of Maryland, College Park resolved to do the same for faculty and staff members the next year - a fight that continues.

Robyn S. Zeiger, a professor at the university, said she and her partner of 25 years have paid escalating amounts for her to be privately insured. "I'm really tired of hearing it's about the budget because civil rights transcend money, and I hope O'Malley does the right thing," Zeiger said.

Providing the benefits to all state employees would cost about $3 million a year, according to legislative analysts.

Abbruzzese said action by the governor to grant the benefits would have been unnecessary had legislation recognizing same-sex unions passed during the session. He said it is too late now for money to be set aside for the benefits in the next fiscal year.

The fate of statewide transgender protections is unclear. The governor's Commission on Human Relations had planned to file the bill, but Del. Peter A. Hammen, a Baltimore Democrat and committee chairman, declined to consider it unless the governor lobbied to rally support in the Senate, where it failed in committee last year. In the end, the administration did not introduce it.

It is also unclear whether activists can build enough support for legislation recognizing civil unions or same-sex marriage. Many say the biggest obstacle would be the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, where some had hoped that Sen. C. Anthony Muse, a Prince George's County Democrat and evangelical Christian bishop, would provide the key vote for such legislation this year. He did not.

"I would like to see civil unions, and we've got one vote in the Senate to change, and that's it," said Del. Maggie L. McIntosh, a Baltimore Democrat who is openly gay. "But it's going to be hard to push for civil marriage in the next two years. You can't just get people to roll easily on these votes."

laura.smitherman@baltsun.com

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Tender Vitters

nobody@vox.com(Sean & Stefan) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:20:18 -0700

Sean reports...

An interesting article from Louisiana's The Independent Weekly about the double standard concerning prostitutes and politicians that you all might find interesting concerning U.S. Senator David Vitter and his troubles with the DC Madam case...

By Scott Jordan
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
I had just taken the burgers off the grill and my family was sitting down to dinner when the phone rang. I told my wife that unless it was an emergency, tell whoever it was that we’d call them back. She answered the phone and told me, “It’s David Vitter.” It was one of U.S. Sen. Vitter’s “telephone town hall conferences.” These outreach efforts have become increasingly popular with legislators in recent years; according to a recent Politico story, Washington, D.C.-based company TeleTownHall pioneered the technology in 2005 and has since facilitated more than 1,000 of the phone meetings. For a recent telephone-town-hall meeting hosted by U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, Politico noted that more than 37,000 local phone numbers and households were dialed to invite participation. (Several hundred people often wind up listening in and/or participating.) So it isn’t hard to see how Vitter unwittingly called the home of a newspaper editor. Since 2006, Vitter’s regularly held these phone question-and-answer sessions with voters. “He also tries to focus the call around a particular subject but will answer questions that someone may have on other topics as he would in his formal town hall meetings,” Vitter’s Communications Director Joel DiGrado recently told the Bossier Press-Tribune. I figured my burger could wait and I’d see if I could participate in this telephone town hall conference, which focused on immigration issues. The way it works is you press the number zero on your phone if you want to ask a question, and you’re placed in a waiting line. About 20 minutes went by as I listened to Vitter field questions from other callers, and then a woman got on the line with me. She asked if I had a question for Sen. Vitter. Yes, I did, I replied. She asked what it was about, and I told her H2B workers. Another 15 minutes or so went by when an automated message told me I was next in line to speak. As Vitter finished answering a question, he said, “Now we go to the Jordan household in Carencro.” I asked him if he supported the legislation that Congressman Charles Boustany is working on to raise the cap on temporary H2B workers to help local businesses like seafood processors who are experiencing a labor shortage. Vitter noted that he is in favor of using legal H2B workers and pointed out that Boustany isn’t trying to raise the cap but working to restore H2B numbers to last year’s levels. Then I asked a second question. “New York Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer just resigned today after it was revealed that he had an affair with a prostitute,” I said. “I also just read an editorial in the Ouchita Citizen today that noted if Spitzer resigns, you should resign also over your past transgression. How do you respond to people who say that there’s a double standard at work here?” (Somewhere toward the end of asking the question, an automated message informed me that I was now in “listen-only mode.”) “I made a very serious mistake a long time ago, and I have to live with that every day,” Vitter replied. He sounded genuine and contrite. “That’s not a flippant statement. I need to spend my whole life making up for that.” Then his tone turned a bit defiant. “Anybody who looks at the two cases will see that there is an enormous difference between the two of them,” he said. “The people that are trying to draw comparisons to the two cases are people who’ve never agreed with me on important issues like immigration and other things.” He then moved on to the next caller. The second half of Vitter’s answer shows that his hypocrisy still knows no bounds. It was bad enough that he painted himself as a family-values crusader before his phone number showed up multiple times in the phone records of Washington, D.C. madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey — all during the time period when he was serving as a state representative. Since that link to prostitutes became public, Vitter made an apologetic statement last June with his wife by his side but has refused to answer any questions about the scandal. And how Vitter spent taxpayers’ time and money is a question that Louisiana citizens deserve answered. His continued stonewalling and diminished clout in Congress continues to be an embarrassment to his constituents and the state Republican Party — not to mention a thorn in the side of Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal. When word of Spitzer’s prostitute tryst became public, the Republican Governor’s Association — of which Jindal is an executive committee member — immediately called for Spitzer’s resignation. But Jindal apparently thinks that Vitter’s involvement with a prostitution ring is different — so much so that our governor recently co-hosted a fund raiser for Vitter that took in more than $400,000. With Jindal’s promising and largely successful start to his tenure and his repeated pledge to improve Louisiana’s image, his continued embrace of Vitter leaves an unflattering impression of a politician that puts party loyalty above one of his most important campaign pledges. Ouchita Citizen Publisher Sam Hanna Jr. isn’t the only one asking Vitter to resign. In the last week alone, conservative columnists Chistopher Tidmore of Louisiana Weekly and Ringside Politics commentator Jeff Crouere, along with longtime New Orleans political commentator and Gambit Weekly publisher and editor Clancy Dubos, have all publicly called for Vitter to step aside for the good of Louisiana. I agree with them — but given Vitter’s pattern of stubborn denial, I won’t hold my breath. The moral of this story? If a politician calls your house, don’t hang up — because the conversation can be very enlightening.

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Baraka Obama: A More Perfect Union Speech

nobody@vox.com(Sean & Stefan) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 19:19:00 -0700

The McFreeds, in the interest of equal time, post this speech from March 18, 2008 for your review...

This does not mean we are giving up on our support on Hillary Clinton, it means only that this speech is major enough to make available to our readers.

Barack Obama: A More Perfect Union

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Florigan!: The Lawsuit

nobody@vox.com(Sean & Stefan) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 06:30:34 -0700

Sean reports...

Well as the Democratic Party continues to shoot itself in the foot over stupid decisions and rules, I found this story that makes a lot of sense to me but in the end may mean nothing. To me the Democrats have a point on being a private entity but when they are utilizing resources from the state doesn't taht factor into having to abide by legal statute? Enjoy!

Attorney: DNC violating Constitution

Posted: 04:45 PM ET

ATLANTA (CNN) — The Democratic National Committee is violating the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment by allowing only four states to hold caucuses or primaries before the first Tuesday in February, a Florida attorney argued Monday before a federal appeals court.

Attorney Michael Steinberg filed suit in August on behalf of Democratic Party activist Vincent Dimaio after the DNC said it would not seat Florida delegates at the national convention because the state party defied party rules and scheduled its primary for January 29.

A federal judge in Florida dismissed the lawsuit in October, but Dimaio appealed.

"You can't treat the citizens of some states differently than other states," Steinberg told reporters after the hearing. "What I tried to assert is that the DNC has the right to make rules … but the rules have to be the same for all the states."

According to party rules, only Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada and New Hampshire can schedule their primaries or caucuses prior to the first Tuesday in February. Steinberg argued that the 14th Amendment, which bars states from denying individuals equal protection under the law, should prohibit the DNC from creating rules that make the votes of the citizens of those four states "paramount to the rights of the voters in Florida."

Joe Sandler, attorney for the DNC, told the three-judge panel that the committee is a private entity and "is actually exercising its own constitutional right by not seating delegates."

"The point we were trying to make in court today is that it's up to the parties themselves to determine the best means of selecting delegates to the convention, and it's not really a matter for a court to resolve," he told reporters later.

Dimaio, who referred to himself as the "little guy" who speaks for Floridians, told reporters that it is unfair for only four states to be allowed to hold primaries or caucuses in January.

"If you go before February 5, you're basically screwed because you get no delegates," he said. "We've lost 210 delegates. We're the fourth largest state in the nation and we have zero delegates."

"I'm not asking for a penny, I'm not asking for a dime in this action," Dimaio said. "I'm just asking for my vote to count."

The appellate court is not expected to deliver a decision until next month. Steinberg, who is handling the case pro bono, said that if the ruling goes against Dimaio, he will appeal to the Supreme Court.

– CNN Correspondent Rusty Dornin

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Our response to OK State Rep. Sally Kern...

nobody@vox.com(Sean & Stefan) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 19:42:10 -0700

The McFreeds say...

In case you haven't heard of her, Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern gave a strong speech about how homosexuality is a major threat to the American way of life. Here is a portion of her speech.

OK State Rep. Sally Kern Speaks Her Mind

This is our response...

"We fervantly agree with Mrs. Kern's right to free speech and we appreciate her taking time out of her life to represent women, married couples, teachers, seniors, people of faith, and people from her Oklahoma district in the State Legislature. We look forward to debating her point of view with future legislation in future forums as well as objectively reviewing her legislation and seeing where we - American gays, lesbians, and transgender - can find common ground on issues that support, serve, and protect all American families of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Most importantly, we would like to join Mrs. Kern in ensuring that Oklahomans never experience a day such as April 19, 1995 where Timothy McVeigh took the lives of so many for the cause of intolerance. Difference should never be used as a reason to kill, mame or terrorize."

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A true leader leaves the race...

nobody@vox.com(Sean & Stefan) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:41:04 -0800

Sean says sadly...

John and Elizabeth Edwards with their children

It was only 5 days ago that I announced that I would be voting for John Edwards in the Democratic Presidential Primary. Sadly, John Edwards announced his withdrawl from the race today, January 30, 2008. He returned to where it all started, New Orleans, in order to honor his commitment to a new war on poverty. All the comments I have heard both from friends and commentators alike is that he was a principled, decent guy who had great ideas. I guess respect of the mind is a great way to be remembered as you leave. What I find sad is that a man who was a leader on issues in this campaign was beaten by celebrity and oration rather than true facts and strong solutions. A bitter comment, of course; but a bitter reality of how our system works. Americans ask for change but in the end we vote for who is familiar and who is the better show horse even if that horse can't run. With that here is a clip of John Edwards saying thank you to his supporters as he departs the race, not the political scene we hope.

John Edwards says Goodbye and Thank You

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Nevada Democratic Debate Part II

nobody@vox.com(Sean & Stefan) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 07:09:54 -0800

Sean says...

As I posted before here, Stefan and I are trying to figure out who to support on the Democratic side and so we have been watching the debates when we can. Hence, we watched the Democratic debate in Nevada this week. I could post the whole debate here to be a little more inclusive, but I will be "bad" and do some editing on my own. I thought this was a great debate in terms of telling what the candidates are about. I am reposting about it to link the parts of the debate I felt moved me toward Clinton and Edwards and further away from Obama. I will say I will support the Democratic nominee regardless, unless an viable independent alternative is made available. Stefan, I believe, will as well.

This is the part of the debate that I think really swayed my thinking. Unfortunately, you can't forward to the specific parts easily so start the first video at the 3 minute mark and let run. Start the second video from beginning. The points bridge across the end of Part 3 and the beignning of Part 4 of the segments. (Further segments are also available on YouTube.) These parts deal with how these three would run the country. Perspective and method are big failings of our current commander-in-chief and I think we need to ask these questions about how he or she will approach the position and judge for ourselves, like in an interview, who is the best candidate to hire.

Part 3 Nevada Caucus Democratic Presidential Candidates' Debate 1-15-08

Part 4 Nevada Caucus Democratic Presidential Candidates' Debate 1-15-08

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