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 StonedShroom
OG shroomerite
Registered: 10/22/00
Posts: 10,871
Last seen: 22 days, 21 hours
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 Woohoo! 
#2119833 - 11/18/03 02:53 PM (13 years, 8 months ago) |
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http://www.tulsaworld.com/BreakingNewsStory.asp?ID=031118_Br_agays18
Massachusetts high court rules ban on gay marriage unconstitutional
By JENNIFER PETER Associated Press Writer
11/18/2003 11:44:00 AM
BOSTON (AP) -- Massachusetts' highest court ruled 4-3 Tuesday that the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and gave lawmakers 180 days to come up with a solution that would allow gay couples to wed.
The court did not issue marriage licenses to the seven couples who sued and left the details to the Legislature.
"Whether and whom to marry, how to express sexual intimacy, and whether and how to establish a family -- these are among the most basic of every individual's liberty and due process rights," the majority opinion said. "And central to personal freedom and security is the assurance that the laws will apply equally to persons in similar situations."
"Barred access to the protections, benefits and obligations of civil marriage, a person who enters into an intimate, exclusive union with another of the same sex is arbitrarily deprived of membership in one of our community's most rewarding and cherished institutions," the opinion said.
Legal observers said the case took a significant step beyond the 1999 Vermont Supreme Court decision that led to civil unions in that state.
This decision, lawyers said, rules that gay couples are entitled to all the rights of marriage and that creating a separate class of marriage -- such as civil unions -- would not be acceptable.
Attorney Mary Bonauto, who represented the seven gay couples who sued the state, said the only task assigned to the Legislature is to come up with changes in the law that will allow gay couples to marry at the end of the 180-day period.
"This is a very good day for gay and lesbian families in Massachusetts and throughout the country," Bonauto said.
But the issue may find a hostile audience in the Massachusetts Legislature, which has been considering a constitutional amendment that would legally define a marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The state's powerful Speaker of the House, Tom Finneran of Boston, has endorsed this proposal.
And Republican Gov. Mitt Romney criticizing the ruling, saying: "Marriage is an institution between a man and a woman. I will support an amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution that makes that expressly clear. Of course, we must provide basic civil rights and appropriate benefits to nontraditional couples, but marriage is a special institution that should be reserved for a man and a woman."
sweet now if only they'll legalize marijuana...
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We are not human beings going through a temporary spiritual experience.
We are spiritual beings going through a temporary human experience.
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 OldSpice
Geritol Breath...
Registered: 08/25/03
Posts: 59,080
Loc: Crankytown, Texas
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Cool now me n Bruthy can tie the knott...
*gets down on knees* Bruthy will you marry me ..  
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So hard to be ....WDWGFH?
Texas is humongus compared to France
Our Gair, who art in Texas,
Paw Paw be thy Name....
My friends are thirsty
You never see a motorcycle parked outside a Psychiatrist office
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Anonymous
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I read that in the paper as well...
Oh yeah! You live in Oklahoma to don't you?
bf6
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HB
Registered: 04/06/01
Posts: 42,528
Last seen: 4 years, 6 months
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 Re: Woohoo! [Re: OldSpice]
#2119854 - 11/18/03 02:58 PM (13 years, 8 months ago) |
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goddamnit i was just going to say that bruthy and me now can be in holy wedlock
>=(
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StonedShroom
OG shroomerite
Registered: 10/22/00
Posts: 10,871
Last seen: 22 days, 21 hours
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 Re: Woohoo! [Re: ]
#2119857 - 11/18/03 02:59 PM (13 years, 8 months ago) |
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...unfortunatly
and it's raining like everyday for the past week 
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We are not human beings going through a temporary spiritual experience.
We are spiritual beings going through a temporary human experience.
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Anonymous
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Re: Woohoo! [Re: HB]
#2119858 - 11/18/03 02:59 PM (13 years, 8 months ago) |
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I'll marry you HB...
bf6
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Anonymous
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Quote:
StonedShroom said:
...unfortunatly
and it's raining like everyday for the past week
Yeah it's raining where I am to.
Check your PM's here in like 2 minutes...
bf6
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OldSpice
Geritol Breath...
Registered: 08/25/03
Posts: 59,080
Loc: Crankytown, Texas
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 Re: Woohoo! [Re: ]
#2119867 - 11/18/03 03:02 PM (13 years, 8 months ago) |
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Hell we had 7 inches of rain in places yesterday w/tornados all over the place
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So hard to be ....WDWGFH?
Texas is humongus compared to France
Our Gair, who art in Texas,
Paw Paw be thy Name....
My friends are thirsty
You never see a motorcycle parked outside a Psychiatrist office
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Anonymous
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Re: Woohoo! [Re: OldSpice]
#2119872 - 11/18/03 03:03 PM (13 years, 8 months ago) |
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We had 2 tornadoes where I was at as well.
Luckily I have a cellar in my backyard... but I still hate running outside during shitty weather... 
Eh.. I won't melt though..
bf6
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