California Gay Marriage Update –

From the Los Angeles Times 9/23/2008:
The campaigns for and against Proposition 8 have raised a combined $30 million, with donations given in support of the proposed ban on gay marriage running considerably ahead of those to the opposition.

So my thought when reading this article was why we would waste 30 million dollars to try to stop two people from getting married! What a waste of time, energy and financial resources. According to today’s article Proposition 8 could be the most expensive measure on social issues in history.

But the sad truth is that the conservatives have their followers so afraid that if two people of the same gender get married their own quality of life as they know it will disappear. So the financial donations are just rolling in and unfortunately the LGBTQi community is not keeping up.

This week the television ads have started running to try to frame the voters’ perspective on this issue… and now we get to wait and see if fear will override love, tolerance and acceptance.

Cindy Sproul co-founder
www.RainbowWeddingNetwork.com
Rainbow Wedding Network Magazine
www.SameLoveSameRights.com

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My November Election Story…Cindy Sproul Co-Founder of Rainbow Wedding Network & the Same Love, Same Rights® Campaign

My story follows the so called American Dream: Find the love of your life, your soulmate, fall in love, raise a family, live by the rules, teach your children right and wrong and how important it is to respect their fellow citizens, be a good steward of the earth and work hard and with integrity so that you can continue to fulfill that American Dream.

Well, quite happily, I can report that I’ve found my life partner. We married not once but twice, once in 2000 in the state of Georgia, which had no legal recognition, and once this past July in California, legal only in California and when we got on the plane to fly home no longer was our marriage recognized in the state of North Carolina.

My partner and I have a beautiful and thriving two year old daughter. She happens to be adopted, and we were lucky enough to be there in the hospital room watching as she came into this world. –With tears of absolute joy and awe we were there to be the first ones to cradle her in our arms.

Everyday we make the choice to alternate hours at work so one of us is always home with her, one of us is with her at the weekly storytime group to sing and dance with the other toddlers and parents. Since we are both active stay-home moms and run our full time business this means working late night hours or endless weekends and running on little sleep. But we love being parents and we love the time we spend with our daughter as a family and watching her as she grows and learns about this world of ours.

And consequently, my hope for the 2008 election is a simple one: That we elect a President who believes in my family and supports a policy of tolerance and equality, so that one day I can become my daughter’s legally recognized parent. So that, for her sake, she can be more fully protected as a child with two legal parents; so that I can enjoy the peace of mind in knowing that the same equal rights and responsibilities apply to me as apply to other parents all across this country. Currently, my partner is our daughter’s official adoptive mom - because of the current laws we had to make tough decisions on how we would execute our adoption... like who could pass for ‘not being gay’ if that came up in court.

Being a parent and having absolutely no legal rights to your child makes you look at the world a little differently.

You see I have always played by the rules, worked hard to make a good living, bought my first house at a young age, never had so much as a speeding ticket, enjoyed my passion for photography, found my life partner, got married, had a child... but if my partner is away on a trip and my daughter needs medical care I could be placed in an awkward position. Even though we have all the legal documents in order the thought still crosses my mind; there still is a very valid worry that my little girl might need me and I might be forced not to be there for her.

This is the reason why eight years ago we created RainbowWeddingNetwork.com . Well before gay marriage was in the political spotlight... and we’ve expanded to offer so much more through our company today, including the hard work we do everyday in striving for Equal Rights in Marriage thru our Same Love, Same Rights® campaign.

The time is now for all of us to come together as a community and work for Equality in Marriage and Family Rights. Everyday when I’m home with our daughter I’m filled with the joys of being a parent and, in ways, it is a constant reminder of how much harder I have to work for Equality in order to really live the American Dream. The first step of course is to make sure everyone we know is registered to vote and then make sure they go out on Election Day and take that important Action!

My partner and I, with our full-time schedules and our active toddler in tow, will without a doubt be there in November to stand in line and commit our Votes. –Rain or shine, gas prices notwithstanding, whether we feel well or not, no matter what the polls are predicting... We will cast our Votes. Please join us and commit to Making a Difference in 2008!

Cindy Sproul co-founder
www.RainbowWeddingNetwork.com
Rainbow Wedding Network Magazine
www.RainbowWeddingNetworkMagazine.com
www.SameLoveSameRights.com

Raise your voice for Equality! Share you reasons for voting in November…

We have less than 50 days until the November election! At the Same Love, Same Rights® campaign our focus is on the issues concerning Marriage, Adoption and Family Rights. But members of the LGBTQ community all across America vary as to their own concerns – each of us has our own reasons why the 2008 election is so very important. …And we want to hear your story!

By sharing our views and standing together, our concerns within the LGBTQ community become more cohesive and therefore can more directly impact this election. JOIN US!

Environmental Issues, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Hate Crimes Legislation, Equality in Marriage, Second-Parent Adoptions, Foreign Policy, Separation of Church and State, Education, Women’s Rights, Hate Crimes Legislation...

Upload your Story or Blog entry in our online Forum at www.SameLoveSameRights.com. You can even add a URL link to your Vlog so site visitors can view your own YouTube or IMGay.tv video! Then, keep checking the site to view other new posts – share info, get inspired and motivated. We’ll include the most compelling stories in our upcoming issue of RainbowWeddingNetwork Magazine… and we’ll send updated post data onto the candidates as November approaches.

Raise your voice for Equality! Visit www.SameLoveSameRights.com

Are you an Undecided Voter? Take the Poll...

With the November elections just 57 days away and the current polls show a virtual tie for the Presidential race are you still undecided about who you will vote for?

Yes

No

Visit www.SameLoveSameRights.com and take the quick poll.


Your friends at Rainbow Wedding Network

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Subscribe today to the Nation’s First-Ever Gay & Lesbian Wedding Magazine!
GO GREEN Special just $9.95 for one full year’s subscription and a $2.00 Donation will go to the Same Love, Same Rights Campaign!
Visit www.RainbowWeddingNetworkMagazine.com

Perception, Discrimination & Fear - A Reminder for Gay Voters

It's true, our outlook on life and the world around us is based on our own Perception. And, whether we like to stay on top of it or not, that Perception always boils down to be our own responsibility.

I'd like to take a moment to point out one of the very important basic differences between today's Republican Party & Democratic Party. Each bases its policies and platform on the outlook it chooses to convey about human nature, our society and what's best for America.

Here's the story in a nutshell... (and yes, it may be a little oversimplified, but I want to keep this blog relatively short!) OK, if you do any reading at all, then you know that the modern conservative movement in America bases its ideals on the patriarchal system. And their idea of the 'Patriarch' is a male figure that is a strict disciplinarian, one who loves his children but doles out positive reinforcement as he sees fit. Further, the conversatives definitely believe in Good and Evil, in a very cut and dry sort of way.

-This leads to a set of policies that is based on the idea that there is a limited amount of 'goodies' to be handed down to the average people (because the patriarch/God/Universe/Earth) has a limited supply or is only willing to allow his children to have so much based on his own sentiments... Furthermore, the conservatives believe that we must fear our patriarch, because he is the one in control. And we must generally fear the evil in the world. -Well again, this is a simplified overview, but it's the basics.

Well the conservatives control the Republican Party right now, so -and if you watched the Republican National Convention then you know this is true- the Republicans today base their platform and policy-making on the concepts of: LIMITATION, FEAR and a SINGLE LEADER
(preferably with male qualities, yes - even Gov Palin qualifies!)

Hmmm...

John McCain and others of his party love to flaunt the fact that they belong to the party of Abraham Lincoln. Not so true. Time has passed, Republicanism in America has changed drastically.

That leads us to the dogma & Perceptions of the Democratic Party. Again, in a nutshell... Today's more liberal thinkers may believe in a God -perhaps even one with male qualities- but they do not believe that he is a patriarch. They believe in that father-figure who loves and supports his children in a way that allows them to grow to believe in themselves, reach for their own potential, and he feels that his role as disciplinarian is so that he can instill in his children the successful skills they will need to function in society and live a fulfilling and productive life. The liberals today also continue to believe that others around them may not believe the very same thing: that old division of 'Church & State' which was once so important here in the United States...

Now if you watched any of the Democratic National Convention a couple weeks ago, then you know that the Democrats spoke from a very different place than the Republicans. The Democrats today base their platform and policy-making on far different ideals: OPTIMISM, COOPERATION, MEETING COMMON GROUND. They do not believe in giving hand-outs to those unwilling to pull their own weight, but they do believe that every human wants to live a fulfilling and productive life, and sometimes each of us needs a little help in order to do that. ...Therefore the ideas behind modernized HEALTHCARE and EQUAL EDUCATION for all AMERICANS.

As I said, Perception has much to do with everything about our daily lives. I urge you to consider what your daily life presents for you when you wake up in the morning and roll out of bed with an attitude of Limitation and Fear. -And how does it feel to wake up and greet the day with an attitude of Optimism, Self-Empowerment and Commonality?

America does have the tools and opportunities in place so that it can be a very different place for each of us in the years ahead. Let's make that choice in November!!


Marianne Puechl, co-founder and senior editor
http://www.rainbowweddingnetworkmagazine.com/

http://www.rainbowweddingnetwork.com/
http://www.samelovesamerights.com/
866.251.1564
rwneditor@gmail.com

29% of Democratic Voters Say NO to Legal Recognition of Same Gender Marriage

On Monday the New York Times and CBS released a poll that asked Republicans and Democrats their views on many issues. Along with how they approved of President Bush’s handling of his job as President to the national economy and the environment they also asked, ‘Should gay couples be allowed to marry legally, be allowed to form civil unions, or should there be no legal recognition?’

To my amazement 29% of Democratic voters said NO to legal recognition. How can we be 60 days from the November elections and yet we have done such an incomplete job in educating society - or at least the Democratic Party - about the issues concerning equal rights in marriage??

Here at Rainbow Wedding Network we work everyday to provide the largest LGBT wedding resource and over the past 8 years we have seen and heard almost everything in regard to this hot button topic. From having to move our office and home a couple of times to stay one step ahead of the death threats and enduring the pile of hate mail and hate email; to speaking with couples while they tell us about their nightmare of experiencing discrimination when it came time to hire businesses to provide services for their wedding day. All along this journey we would justify the discrimination and threats as coming from the far, far right conservative movement.

But from the poll numbers of 57% of Republican Voters and 29% of Democratic Voters, we still see today that in their opinion we deserve NO recognition! -That is nearly 1 in every 3 Democrats!

Once again I find myself wanting to jump on my soapbox and tell the community to get up off that couch and out of those suburbs and find their voice about this important issue. Have you noticed that gay marriage is not talked about on the Presidential campaign trail? Well, we have not decided that it is important enough for us to demand that our candidate makes a choice to support us as a community and as a minority. Obviously, we are not claiming our own identity as a powerful minority in this country, and that is our own failing... not the failing of those 29% or 57% of other voters out there...

While I could find myself ranting about the LGBT community being complacent I will just simply leave you with the numbers and you can digest them for yourself.

Here is the polling question:

Should gay couples be allowed to marry legally, be allowed to form civil unions, or should there be no legal recognition?

Republican Voters: Marry – 11% Civil Unions – 28% No Recognition – 57%
Democratic Voters: Marry – 49% Civil Unions – 19% No Recognition – 29%

Are you ready to Make a Difference but don’t know how to get started?

Visit us on http://www.samelovesamerights.com/ and leave us your thoughts, forward this message to your friends, add a Same Love, Same Rights web banner on your myspace page. We look forward to having you join us on this journey.

Cindy Sproul co-owner
http://www.rainbowweddingnetwork.com/
Rainbow Wedding Network Magazine
http://www.samelovesamerights.com/


GO GREEN with RAINBOW WEDDING NETWORK MAGAZINE
Subscribe today to the Nation’s First-Ever Gay & Lesbian Wedding Magazine!
GO GREEN Special just $9.95 for one full year’s subscription and a $2.00 Donation will go to the Same Love, Same Rights Campaign!
Visit http://www.rainbowweddingnetworkmagazine.com/