After failing in April in the Arizona House of Representatives after Democrats changed the measure to tie it to expanded legal rights for domestic partners, causing most Republicans to withdraw their support, the Senate approves a measure to ban same-sex marriage in the final hours of one of the longest state legislative sessions on record.
Arizona voters rejected a similar state constitutional amendment in 2006. That measure would have also stopped the state from recognizing civil unions of same-sex couples.
The long-anticipated vote came just before adjournment and followed hours of angry, raucous debate in which the Arizona Senate rule book was used as a weapon to both stall the vote (Democrats) and cut short debate (Republicans). Senators on both sides of the aisle and of the issue lamented a meltdown in the higher chamber, as most of the day's work was scrapped so that the marriage amendment could be voted upon while key senators were present.
Senate President Tim Bee, a Tucson Republican, cast the decisive, 16th vote in favor of the referendum that defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
After the vote, conservative activists rejoiced that voters would get a chance to vote on the issue this fall. A similar measure, which also banned governments from offering benefits to employees' domestic partners, gay or straight, failed at the polls in 2006.
Democratic Sen. Paula Aboud accused leadership of "cheating," while Harper derided Democrats for "dilatory" stall tactics.
"To end this session today means we all walk out of here tainted, besmirched," Aboud said. "That's what will be remembered about this session."
Aboud, who is openly gay, accused the amendment's supporters of being "afraid of me and my relationship."
Bee and other members decried the lack of decorum.
After the vote, conservative activists cheered while gay rights activists blasted lawmakers for pushing a measure that would divide Arizonans.
Barbara McCullough-Jones, executive director of Equality Arizona, warned that anti-gay rhetoric from lawmakers could fuel anti-gay violence. She pledged that her group would work to defeat the election of lawmakers who supported the referendum, as well as the referendum itself.
"We as an electorate, we are going to say no again," she said.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Arizona citizens to vote on banning same-sex marriage
Thursday, June 26, 2008
David Benkof - the fault is not in his stars, but in himself
As a gay male, I celebrate the diversity within our community. Though we will not always agree on varying issues, we remain a close knit community who understands each other.
People once thought you would fall off the Earth if you sailed far enough; they believed the Earth to be flat, with definable borders. Fanatics also believed if same-sex couples married in California, the state would fall into the ocean, or the end of time would occur at the precise moment the first same-sex couple married. With people believing these things, how did we overcome them? In one word, progress.
As activists, we are mobilized in our cause because like so many other groups throughout history, we are being discriminated against.
More than 50 years ago, it was illegal for interracial couples to marry. I wonder how they would have responded if instead of marriage, the state offered them a domestic-partnership, or a civil union?
We live in a nation that allows you to pretty much say anything you like; the State of California is the only state in the union that has additional laws protecting this right more so than the U.S. Constitution. When a member of our community like David Benkof (Story 1) (Story 2) goes on a crusade against same-sex marriage, as an organization and as activists, we can pity him.......but we shall not leave him behind.
When his 15 minutes of fame are over, he will reintegrate into our community and enjoy the freedoms we have fought for.
I received this response related to David Benkof's article and wanted to share it here:
I'm not a social scientist, blogger, Ph.D, or whatever. I'm just a married person, in a same-sex marriage. We are completely monogamous to each other. I took my vows seriously! This could be cut and paste directly from a "gays eat their young!" type website. Complete rubbish.
Be sure to checkout this post about David.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
HRC still under fire; San Franciso also plans to have a protest against them
The self proclaimed largest gay rights organization in the United States continues to draw fire from LGBT people around the nation.
- Andrew Sullivan, one of the most respected and most read gay bloggers slammed them in his post: HRC Busted.
- Log Cabin Republicans issued a statement denouncing the HRC's YouTube video of John McCain.
- Organizers of Atlanta pride refused money from the HRC.
What else can go wrong for them? Plenty! This is hot off the press:
As gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people prepare to celebrate gay pride in San Francisco this weekend, many of them also are organizing a boycott and protest of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).
Activists plan to be on the streets during the festivities to inform people of the boycott and protest of the Human Rights Campaign's annual fundraising dinner in San Francisco next month, a major event that raises tens of thousands of dollars for the organization.
Similar actions took place at fundraising dinners in Philadelphia and New York City earlier this year.
The controversy stems from the Human Rights Campaign's decision last fall to support a bill in Congress that would bar employers from firing a person because of his or her sexual orientation. The bill, which passed the House but has stalled in the Senate, did not include the same protections for transgender people. More than 370 gay rights organizations condemned the bill for that reason.
On Tuesday, San Francisco Supervisors Tom Ammiano and Bevan Dufty introduced a resolution at City Hall calling for a bill that includes transgender people and recognizing the boycott.
"The Human Rights Campaign should not be human rights cowards," Ammiano said at a news conference at the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center. He said the organization seems uneasy with transgender issues.
Dufty said he will skip the fundraising dinner for the first time in 23 years and instead will make dinner at his home for people protesting outside the event.
The city's two LGBT Democratic clubs support the boycott, as does the San Francisco Labor Council. Assemblyman Mark Leno and state Sen. Carole Migden, both of San Francisco, also are not attending the event.Matt Foreman, who was executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force when the congressional vote took place, called the actions of the Human Rights Campaign "a monumental betrayal."
Foreman said it raises questions about the effectiveness of the organization, which raised $28 million last year.
"What is going on here is an emperor-has-no-clothes moment," said Foreman, who said he will be outside protesting but is "pained" to be doing so. "We still don't have one single federal law that protects gay people, let alone transgender people."
Theresa Sparks, who is president of the San Francisco Police Commission and is transgender, said she returned an award she received from the Human Rights Campaign.
Sparks, who attended the news conference with Dufty and Ammiano, noted the contributions of transgender people to the LGBT movement. The 1969 Stonewall riots in New York that sparked the modern LGBT rights movement were promulgated by transgender people, she said.
She dismissed the political argument that the nondiscrimination bill was more likely to pass Congress if it didn't mention transgender people.
"To me, this is less about strategy and more about integrity," Sparks said.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints enters to stop gay marriage
Mormon church leaders have asked their California members to join the effort to amend that state's constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman.
A letter sent to Mormon congregation bishops and signed by church president Thomas S. Monson and his two top counselors calls upon Mormons to donate "means and time" to the ballot measure. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says the letter is authentic.
The church will work with a coalition of churches and other conservative groups that put the California Marriage Protection Act on the Nov. 4 ballot to assure its passage, the letter states.
"The church's teachings and position on this moral issue are unequivocal. Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and the formation of families is central to the Creator's plan for His children," the four paragraph letter states.
Wait! Marriage is a right granted and controlled by the state. Have you ever heard a minister pronounce someone married based solely on the authority of a church? If you said yes, you're not entirely correct; in order for the marriage to be legal, the minister must say "and the state of ______ I now pronounce you married."
One word for church president Monson..... love makes a family!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Marriage Stories Project
Yesterday Pam Brown (policy director for Marriage Equality USA) and I exchanged several emails about the new Marriage Stories site (www.marriagestories.org). I posted a story on the site for Pam and a quote in the article touched me (which is very hard to do these days):
If we can show how contagious love is, we can gain support from communities that traditionally have opposed same sex marriage.
I think that says it all! I hope others will share their stories from across the nation. If you're married, have a civil union, or are in a long-term relationship and cannot get married because of the laws of the state you live in...... share your story with us!
What does the freedom to marry the person you love mean to you? How does your ability or inability to marry impact your life?
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Reconsidering New Jersey's Civil Union Law
New Jersey could boost its economy by more than half a billion dollars over the next three years by promptly legalizing same-sex marriage, a California law professor told a state commission yesterday.
Brad Sears, executive director of the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, said gay weddings alone would pump $248 million into New Jersey's economy under a "very conservative" economic analysis. He said additional spending on gifts, overnight hotel stays by visiting friends and other items could boost the total to "a half billion dollars plus" over the next three years.
Sears testified before the New Jersey Civil Union Review Commission, which is exploring the economic impact of legalizing gay marriage. He said by legalizing only civil unions for same-sex couples, as it did in February 2007, New Jersey had incurred "all the costs without getting the main benefit" -- spending on wedding celebrations.
John Tomicki, chairman of the N.J. Coalition to Preserve and Protect Marriage, said that argument could justify polygamy.
But Marcia Van Wagner, a deputy comptroller for New York City, told the commission, "While the civil rights justification for civil unions and marriage equality is persuasive alone, there is a strong economic argument for legally recognized gay unions as well."
The commission was formed to advise the New Jersey Legislature, which has bills before it that would legalize same-sex marriage. The commission issued an interim report in February finding civil unions have not lived up to their promise of providing all the benefits of marriage by another name.
A poll last year indicated twice as many New Jerseyans "would be fine" with allowing gay couples to marry as would be upset if lawmakers enacted a marriage equality law, according to a new poll. (story)
Last year, the chairman of Garden State Equality, Steven Goldstein released the following comments to the media:
Regardless of whether any public official supports marriage equality or wants to maintain the state's failed civil unions law, no official in New Jersey can credibly say that marriage for gay couples is a divisive issue in the state.
Even voters who oppose marriage equality are ready to accept an upgrade of the state's civil unions law to real marriage equality.
Check out this great video from Garden State Equality:
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Marriage Equality Rings in California
All same-sex couples and members of Marriage Equality USA have been celebrating a major victory in the State of California since yesterday evening, a victory activists and volunteers fought long and hard for: the civil right to marry the person they love.
Marriage Equality USA's president, Mr. David Janis-Kitzmiller and his partner Jeff had the honor of being the first Fairfield residents married in Solano County yesterday. (story)
In other California counties:
- "I'm really amazed and happy," said Jason Scott, leader of Marriage Equality USA's Fresno chapter. "It's something you might not expect in Fresno." (story)
- Monday night's marriage was the second one for Ryan James, 32, and Moe Perez, 39, leaders of the Alameda County chapter of Marriage Equality USA. They lined up for a license on Valentine's Day 2004 in San Francisco after Mayor Gavin Newsom allowed same-sex marriages in that city.
- Jamila Tharp and Michelle Hasting crossed the Canadian border two years ago to commit themselves to each other for the rest of their lives. Both sides of their families attended the Vancouver wedding ceremony, as did their daughter, who was the flower girl, “3, and very excited,” Tharp said. Tharp sits on the Marriage Equality USA board and is on a state advisory board for the Unitarian Universalists Legislative Ministry of California. The stay-at-home mother also sits on the Humboldt County Human Rights Commission. (story)
"No one can rain in our parade. This is an absolutely fantastic day, it's a historic milestone for California as we move forward in the civil rights struggle for our generation." - Marriage Equality USA Media Director Molly McKay
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Liberty Council tries to stop gay marriages in California (again)
An anti-gay group on Thursday made a last-ditch effort to stop gay marriage from becoming legal in California by asking a midlevel appeals court to temporarily prohibit county clerks from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
The Liberty Counsel, in a petition (view) with the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco, argued that the wording of the California Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriages allows the lower court to set the terms and schedule for implementing the decision.
Liberty Counsel argued that the high court's May 15 ruling put dozens of state laws addressing marriage into conflict and that the Legislature needs time to address those issues.
Barring any further legal intervention, gay couples will be able to start marrying in California at 5:01 p.m. Monday, when the Supreme Court's decision becomes final.
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera called Liberty Counsel's filing "absurd."
"I am not aware of a process in American law that enables parties to effectively appeal a higher court ruling to a lower court," Herrera said.
The Liberty Council sent a blast email asking the following:
Will you help me flood Governor Schwarzenegger's office with phone calls? I want to literally shut down his switchboard right up until the 5pm Sunday deadline when the ruling permitting same-sex "marriage" will go into effect.
From Liberty Council's website, for $15.00, you can send faxes to California Governor Schwarzenegger, and California lawmakers. Senator Gil Gedillo of California angered Liberty Council by returning a fax to them with the words, "do not send" written across the page (view). Liberty Council responded by calling Senator Gedillo "arrogant." Great job Senator Gedillo!
Liberty Council claims to be a nonprofit litigation, education and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and the traditional family.
Did you catch that? Traditional? As I have said before and must say again, traditions' must sometimes be broken in favor of progress. Without progress, this nation could still be a colony that uses slave labor, filled with women who cannot hold public office or vote.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Additional gay groups gain observer status at the United Nations
One of Europe's best-known gay rights organisations has been recommended for consultative status at the United Nations.
COC Netherlands, along with Spanish Federacion Estatal de Lesbianas, Gays, Transexuales y Bisexuales, will be considered by ECOSOC at its meeting in July in New York.
ECOSOC, the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, assists the General Assembly.
Both groups had been denied a recommendation at a January meeting of the Non-Government Organizations Committee ("NGO Committee"), a UN body of 19 member states from all regions whose responsibility includes evaluating NGO applications for consultative status.
In 2005, the largest worldwide gay rights federation, the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) began its ECOSOC campaign, an initiative aimed at allowing gay, bisexual, lesbian and trans human rights defenders to address the UN "in their own name."
This development has already allowed ILGA members to address the floor of the Human Rights Council (HRC) plenary, which prompted the High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour to state her support for LGBT rights in that international forum.
The positive recommendation for COC Netherlands came as a result of a vote called for by the United Kingdom in the last hour of the NGO Committee session last week.
Pushed by the International Lesbian and Gay Association, The Yogyakarta Principles also made their way into the NGO Committee’s session. Egypt asked COC to express their position in regards to the Yogyakarta Principles, which they introduced consider a "Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but only for homosexuals."
Kingdom of Norway recognizes gay marriage; marriage is now "gender neutral"
Members of Parliament in the Kingdom of Norway today approved a bill that will allow same-sex couples to marry.
The new law, which passed by 84 votes to 41, will make marriage gender neutral.
The Scandinavian Kingdom already allows gay and lesbian couples to enter into civil partnerships, but LGBT rights groups had long complained the law does not go far enough.
In 2004 a similar law, which proposed to abolish the system of civil partnerships and replace it with one single gender neutral marriage law for all citizens, was rejected by the Norwegian parliament.
The new legislation, while not full equal marriage, amends the definition of civil marriage in Norway to make it gender neutral.
It will replace a 1993 law that gives gays the right to enter civil unions similar to marriage, but refuses them the right to church weddings or to be considered as adoptive parents.
As well as more equal partnership rights, it would expand the provision of parenting rights.
Family Issues minister Anniken Huitfeldt, introducing the bill in March, called it "an historic step towards equality."
She also had a message for some members of Parliament who claimed the bill would weaken tradition marriage.
"The new law won't weaken marriage as an institution," Huitfeldt told Parliament.
"Rather, it will strengthen it. Marriage won't be worth less because more can take part in it."
About 85 percent of Norway's 4.7 million people are registered as members of the state Lutheran Church of Norway, although far fewer are active.
Norway has historically had a tolerant attitude towards the LGBT community and has championed LGBT rights on the international stage.
Representatives from Norway joined the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) in delivering a short oral statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006 in support of a resolution condemning human rights abuses involving LGBT victims.
The statement dealt with the most severe human rights abuses , such as violence, torture and death, directed against people because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
The Kingdom of Norway, which is not a member of the European Union, joins the following countries in recognizing same-sex marriage:
- Kingdom of Spain
- Kingdom of Belgium
- Kingdom of the Netherlands
- Canada
- Republic of South Africa
I cannot help but wonder why so many of the worlds monarchies and constitutional monarchies have outpaced the United States (save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the State of California) in social diversity and equality?
Monday, June 9, 2008
Wedding Marches for Marriage Equality
Important Marriage Equality USA event: Wedding Marches for Marriage Equality on September 14, 2008 in New York and California.
Gay Marriage foes divorced reality
Add Kern, Merced and Kings counties to the places in California where officials are resisting the California Supreme Court’s recent ruling on gay marriage.
- Kern County Clerk Ann Barnett plans to stop ALL marriage ceremonies in the county on June 14.
- Merced County’s Stephen Jones initially said the same thing about stopping all marriage ceremonies, but later retracted the statement under pressure from county officials who agreed to hire more clerks and provide more office space.
- In Kings County, the clerk is citing a legal loophole as throwing in doubt whether the county has to actually issue the new marriage licenses starting June 17.
Meantime, New York's Republican-controlled legislature has balked at passing a bill to legalize gay marriage in the Empire State. So, New York Governor David Paterson last month directed state agencies to work around the legislature, earning him a lawsuit from Republican lawmakers and a conservative group based in Arizona. (story)
Using gay marriage to 'scare people to vote?' That dog, as they say in the American South, won’t hunt this time. The gay-marriage issue, seized on by President Bush’s former political guru, Karl Rove, may have been moderately helpful to conservatives in 2004; it won’t distract voters from other concerns — the economy, health care and the war in Iraq — in 2008.
Conservatives need to go back to the drawing board to disillusion the American public; they're no longer listening to the same 'old' arguments, and they no longer want the country to move forward VIA "business as usual." Doing business as usual is what got us to this point; a sluggish economy, outrageous gas prices, global warming, and a war that costs more per month than the Russian Federation's yearly gross national product.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Organization of American States recognizes LGBT people
The Organization of American States (OAS), whose concept predates the United Nations, and was critical to U.S. President Kennedy during the "day the world stood still," also known as the Cuban Missile Crisis passed a historic resolution recognizing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
The resolution was presented by the government of the Federative Republic of Brazil (who has worked with the International Lesbian and Gay Organization for years in favor of LGBT protections) and was approved after three days of negotiations and a mobilization campaign by civilians present there. The English-Speaking Caribbean countries (some countries still criminalize homosexuality) initially resisted and the initial text – although short, was further shortened.
The decision includes gender identity (a subject considered difficult in many countries and forgotten by many activists in the world) besides sexual orientation, and recognizes the existence of the human rights violations to the ITBLG population.
The text of the resolution in English together with the declaration was to the General Assembly of the Organization of American States by Camilo, a young 14-year-old Colombian transsexual (female to male).
(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 3, 2008)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
REAFFIRMING:
That the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in that Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status;*That the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man establishes that every human being has the right to life, liberty, and the security of the person;
CONSIDERING that the OAS Charter proclaims that the historic mission of America is to offer to man a land of liberty and a favorable environment for the development of his personality and the realization of his just aspirations;
REAFFIRMING the principles of universality, indivisibility, and interdependence of human rights; and
TAKING NOTE with concern acts of violence and related human rights violations perpetrated against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity,
RESOLVES:
- To express concern about acts of violence and related human rights violations committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
- To request that the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs(CAJP) include on its agenda, before the thirty-ninth regular session of the General Assembly, the topic of "Human rights, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
- To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-ninth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, the execution of which shall be subject to the resources allocated in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.
ILGA worked with Brazil a couple of years ago to have similar resolutions passed at the United Nations, but the United States, Iran, and Egypt killed the legislation.
The primary difference between this being passed at the United Nations and the Organization of American States is that if the United Nations passed such legislation, it would carry the weight of law. The Organization of American States can only sanction or suspend member states who violates its charter (such as Cuba, who has been suspended for decades).
Nonetheless, this is progress for LGBT people!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Gay newspaper editor responds to David Benkof's L.A. Times article
Washington Blade editor Kevin Naff responds to bisexual blogger David Benkof who does not support marriage equality for LGBT people. (story)
According to his site, gaysdefendmarriage.com, Benkof believes LGBT people should focus on issues other than gay marriage.
I first wrote about Benkof on United We Stand in May 2008. Mr. Benkof, I have to wonder what exactly you think traditional marriage needs protected from? You claim to be bisexual; if you decided to spend the rest of your life with another man, wouldn't you want to have equal rights?
Anytime you take a specific group of people and tell them they are not entitled to a civil right enjoyed by the majority (regardless of how you justify it) you're creating a 'special right' for the majority.
During some of the most horrific days of the American Revolutionary War, Thomas Paine wrote, "These are the times that try men's [and women's] souls." More than 200 years later, nothing seems closer to the truth for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community of this nation.
'Traditions' must sometimes be broken in favor of progress. Without progress, this nation could still be a colony that uses slave labor, filled with women who cannot hold public office or vote.
I'll end this with two of my favorite quotes:The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments. - William H. Borah
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
New York's Governor facing lawsuit for recognizing gay marriages
The Alliance Defense Fund, a 'Christian' legal group based in Arizona, and several Republican New York Senators sued New York Governor David Patersonto today to halt the recognition of gay marriages legally performed in other states.
The lawsuit was filed in the Bronx, a borough of the City of New York.
Gay marriage is unconstitutional in the State of New York. Governor Paterson however issued an executive order on May 14th stating the state and its subdivisions must recognize same-sex marriages performed in Massachusetts, Canada and other places where they are legal.
The National Organization for Marriage plans to start running radio ads in New York City, Albany, and Rochester beginning tomorrow, condemning Governor Paterson's executive order.
The Alliance Defense Fund is well known for filing lawsuits to stop gay marriages and anything that damages "traditional family values."
No comments on the lawsuit have been issued by Marriage Equality New York or Empire State Pride Agenda.
Just prevails again: California Supreme Court refuses to stay gay marriage ruling
The California Supreme Court denied a request today to put its ruling allowing same-sex marriages on hold until after the November election, clearing the way for gay and lesbian weddings to begin June 17.
Opponents of the court's May 15 ruling had asked the justices to stay the decision until Californians vote Nov. 4 on a constitutional amendment that would overturn the court's decision.
The court denied the stay request unanimously, and voted 4-3 to reject requests for a new hearing in the case.
However, state Attorney General Jerry Brown's office, which also defended California's marriage law before the Supreme Court, had urged the justices to allow their ruling to become law as scheduled.
"It is time for these proceedings to end," said Christopher Krueger, a senior assistant attorney general, in a court filing. Now that the court has decided that gay and lesbian couples have the right to marry, he said, they are entitled to "an effective declaration of their constitutional rights, one that is implemented by government without unjustified delay."
Mayor charged for gay weddings
The mayor of the tiny Dodecannese island of Tilos was charged on Wednesday after conducting Hellenic Republic's ("Greece") first ever same-sex weddings in defiance of a prosecutor's ban, reports said.
Mayor Tasos Aliferis performed the civil ceremonies for two couples, one gay and one lesbian, shortly after dawn on Tuesday before hundreds of witnesses that included members of the countries gay and lesbian community, journalists and island residents.
Defying the country's justice minister, he was later charged with breach of duty by a prosecutor on the nearby island of Rhodes, under the jurisdiction of which the Municipality of Tilos falls.
The charge carried a maximum five-year prison sentence.
The ceremonies were conducted after a lesbian organisation in Greece said it had discovered a loophole in a 26-year-old civil marriage law that would allow gays to marry legally.
The group, OLKE, said a 1982 law legalising weddings and civil ceremonies referred only to participating "persons", without specifying gender.
The justice ministry recently introduced civil partnership legislation granting legal rights to unmarried couples, but gays were not included in the law.
Gays were protected under Greek anti-discrimination laws, but gay groups complained they still faced widespread discrimination, both in public and at work.
Greece's powerful Orthodox Church was staunchly opposed to granting gays legal rights and accepting common-law marriages.
