Defiant nuns and a GOP leader

The legislature in Illinois is scrambling through all kinds of hurdles to vote on marriage equality before the new legislature is sworn in next Wednesday. At this point it is too iffy to tell whether they'll make it. Among the various people actively lobbying for (and alas, against) it is one everyone is delighted to see helping out -- Pat Brady, head of the Republican Party in the state (though he says when he calls GOP legislators he is just a citizen.) “I think it’s time for people to support this,” Brady said.

My lesbian sister saw a sweet video of a gay couple getting married and wondered why she couldn't marry her partner here in Michigan. A while later she wrote back with a link to an article in the Chicago Phoenix (a news outlet I'm unfamiliar with) about a coalition of nuns who support marriage equality in Illinois in defiance of their bishop. That coalition has members across the country, so my sister hopes they'll use some of that influence here in Michigan.



Timothy Kincaid of Box Turtle Bulletin has noticed that the Southern Baptist Convention has been mighty quiet in the marriage equality battle over the last year. Don't believe for a moment they have changed their theology, or be so quiet if someone tried to repeal the gay marriage ban in, say, Alabama. However, for now they seem to be content to let the Catholic Bishops and the National Organization for Marriage to speak for them. And not appear quite so blatantly anti-gay.



The Guardian has created a chart showing which states have which gay rights. The listed rights are schools (anti-bullying), hate crimes, housing, employment, adoption, hospital visits, and marriage. The brighter the color the more comprehensive the right. The Northeast is in bright colors, as is bits of the Northwest and Southwest and a touch of color in the Midwest. Other than adoption (for single gay people), the Southeast is mostly gray.



The site Upworthy has a timeline showing women, black, and gay rights through the centuries. Back before 1250 homosexual activity was legal across Europe. By 1300 such activity resulted in torture and perhaps death. The last such execution in Britain was in 1836. It is getting better.