[Lady Sidhe]

Oooh, this just burns me up....marriage is an institution comprised of two people who love each other and want to spend their lives together. It shouldn't matter if they're straight or gay....


Sidhe




Ohio governor signs bill making state 38th to ban gay marriage

Saturday, February 7, 2004 Posted: 11:39 AM EST (1639 GMT)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio Gov. Bob Taft approved one of the country's most-far reaching gay-marriage bans on Friday, saying its adoption was urgent because the nation's first legally sanctioned same-sex weddings could take place as early as this spring in Massachusetts.



((OH, Gawd fah-bid that two people who love each other should get married!!!))


The bill, which Taft signed in private, also prohibits state employees from getting marital benefits for their unmarried partners, whether homosexual or heterosexual.


((now, that's just adding insult to injury))


Approving the bill to make gay marriages "against the strong public policy of the state" became more pressing after the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled 4-3 this week that denial of marriage to same-sex couples as unconstitutional, Taft said. (The Massachusetts ruling)



((it IS unconstitutional, because it is denying the basic right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to a select group of individuals based on their sexual preference))




"It is necessary for us to act now to safeguard Ohio's marriage laws," Taft said. "Ohio could have same-sex couples who were 'married' in Massachusetts taking legal action in Ohio to recognize that marriage and to obtain the resulting benefits."



((ok, and....what's the problem? Afraid that a gay marriage might end up being more solid than a hetero one?))



When the law takes effect in 90 days, Ohio will become the 38th state to adopt a "defense of marriage act" and the second to deny benefits to some employees' partners.


((noooo...it's a defense of marriage for straights only, not a defense of marriage.))


Taft, a Republican, denied assertions that the law promotes intolerance. He said the new law would send a strong positive message to children and families.



((Really? It doesn't promote intolerance? I must be missing the tolerant part....matter of fact, it sounds like he's trotting out the old "separate but equal" idea, just dressed up with new words....and it'll send a message to families and children that love and respect and a desire to spend your lives together isn't what matters in a marriage....what REALLY matters is whether you're straight or not))



"Marriage is an essential building block of our society, an institution we must reaffirm," he said.



((And so therefore we are going o undermine this building block by restricting it to only straights.))


Sidhe