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Same-sex marriage celebration rally set for Lancaster

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Gina Piellusch and Eric Morga at a marriage equality rally held in Lancaster in 2013. (file photo)
Gina Piellusch and Eric Morga at a marriage equality rally held in Lancaster in 2013. (file photo)

LANCASTER –A rally will be held in Lancaster today (June 26) to celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

Presented by the OUTreach Center, the celebration rally starts at 5 p.m. Friday, June 26, at Avenue K and 15th Street West.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled by a 5-to-4 vote on Friday that states cannot ban same-sex marriage. [Read the court’s opinion here.]

In a statement issued Friday by OUTreach Board of Directors President Sue Dell, the local organization hailed the landmark opinion.

“The OUTreach Center is deeply gratified that the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the fundamental right to marry as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgender persons are finally labelled as living within the Law of the Land, which gives this population a whole new take on patriotism in time for the upcoming Independence Day celebrations. There is just something special about finally being included, and about being told that equality was a birthright all along.

The decision is announced on what has apparently become the day of reckoning for gay rights. Lawrence v. Texas, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, was announced on 6/26/03, outlawing sodomy laws as unconstitutional. US v. Windsor, also drafted by Justice Kennedy, overruled many sections of the Defense of Marriage Act as discriminatory on 6/26/13. And today, Obergefell v. Hodges conveys upon all adults the right to marry.

Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority, has recognized the depth of respect LGBTs hold for marriage, “for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family.” The OUTreach Center congratulates this Community for its victory over bigotry and for the national grant of dignity.”

The OUTreach Center serves the interests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people, their friends, and families living in the Antelope Valley. For more information, visit http://www.outreachcenterav.org/.

Filed Under: Lancaster

61 comments for "Same-sex marriage celebration rally set for Lancaster"

  2. Wake up 2015, You age not going to be saved by a Jewish guy that the entire planet has no proof ever was even real. The fact is religions all preach what they think I right and the other religion is trash. Its 2015 have you rally figured out that God is not going to punish the killers or Evil that lurks. In this day and age with all the ways to prove and disprove are you really latching on to a worship that has killed more people and saved? Really? Look around where is the right an wrong? its our laws we vote for the ISIS nuts have a faith too what makes them any different? Ho about the Church that hides molesters and freaks some are even I the top status. Wake up

  3. “Ann K Barnett was County Clerk of Kern County, California (Bakersfield), the reddest county. She was so incensed at gay marriage, that she and her office stopped performing marriages to anyone at all, thus pleasing no one but herself. Thank God and Greyhound she’s gone.” -from a comment on the Huffington Post re: the Supreme Court upholding same-sex marriages in all 50 states.

    The nutty right wingers just can’t help themselves.

  5. This is an issue I’ve never cared about either way. At least now we can stop pretending that it’s the defining issue of our generation. $20 trillion in debt, anyone?

  6. Best summary I’ve seen so far of reaction to the ruling:

    “But the part I love the most is how those who are opposed are hypocritically claiming this is a blow to freedom and liberty. Of all the completely clueless statements they so frequently make, that has to be right at the top. All they care about is inflicting their own morality on others. When they can no longer do so, it is restricting their “freedom and liberty” to be sanctimonious authoritarians who want to still be able to force their Christian version of Sharia law on the rest of us.”

      • Who would attend? Straight people have nothing to complain about, or celebrate, since our rights have not been affected either way by much of anything in the past…well, ever, really.

        Ohhhhhh! I’ll bet what you are looking for is a BIGOT rally, where bigots can get together and claim to be supporting their “liberty” to oppress other people that are doing them no harm. I get it! Yeah, I probably won’t be there.

  8. Good job OUTreach! There’s a lot of LGBT folks in the AV who could use some community, as shown by some of these nonsense comments here.

    Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer LIBERATION!

  9. I saw this coming down the pike when the religious right pulled their Prop 8 stupidity. If they would have just kept their peace, maybe 5-7 states would have allowed same sex marriage. But no, they HAD to try to impose their religious convictions upon everybody by putting in amendments into state constitutions KNOWING that those are always trumped by the US Constitution and that the 14th Amendment would overrule them.

    What they should have done, instead of this sheer folly, would have been to get government out of marriage altogether. If the government were to have stop being involved in marriage and only been involved in the legal aspects of the issue, making ALL unions (male/female, male/male, female/female) “civil unions,” the term “marriage” could have become the domain of the church and they could have kept control over that term. There would have been no 14th Amendment issue and they could have kept their precious ‘marriages’ to their definitions.

    • Someone suggested that ‘matrimony’ should be the provence of houses of worship while ‘marriage’ is a government licensed contract.

      We usually hear of ‘holy matrimony’ but never ‘holy marriage’. I think that the religious fanatics have overstepped by demanding that a government license stipulating contractual agreements between 2 parties MUST be based on a religious tradition. No. It doesn’t have to be.

      “It’s nice that same-sex marriage was upheld 5 years after corporations were declared ‘persons’ with all the rights of human beings” – paraphrasing a comment by Stephen Colbert.

      Right wingers simply cannot get that their ancient beliefs must not be the basis for secular law in these United States. It’s really hard for them to understand that and they just won’t give it up.

  10. “Liberty” means “freedom from control, interference, obligation, restriction, hampering conditions, etc.; power or right of doing, thinking, speaking, etc., according to choice.”

    I am a registered Republican and am very happy today for two reasons. My gay friends (who are all awesome, tax-paying, lawful Americans and many are Republicans) can now make a choice without the government’s restriction. I am also proud that this is one thing the government cannot impede on anymore. It hurts no one. Limited government….remember?

    Folks who are religious still have the freedom of choice to not marry the same sex. Everybody wins. Look, I am no fan of President Obama’s choices but this is one thing that I will agree with. My fellow Republicans who steer toward a “religious” right will just have to bite the bullet on this one. Gay men and women have always existed….it is time to stop pretending they haven’t. If you are straight, how does this hurt you in your personal life?

    • @ Erik, You are wrong. It does hurt. The church will be forced to marry gay couples and when they refuse they will face prosecution. Look at the business owners who refused service to gays they were fined and several had to close their doors. You will see this ruling is just the start of turmoil and trouble for Religion. Do you really think the government will just accept Religious rights to follow their Godly beliefs and refuse. The LGBT community is the minority but they are now more powerful than all Religion put together thanks to the corruption of our government. There is no such thing as limited government now!

      • “Freedom of choice is what you got. Freedom from choice is what you want” -DEVO (1980)

        Limited government is something you work and vote for. This ruling was a step in that direction.

        Do you really think discrimination is a nice thing? Will homosexuals really want to get married by a church organization that wishes to persecute them? Religion is no longer allowed to burn folks at the stake either. Sometimes I feel like the church would love to bring that back….

        Your comment is full of hypothetical nonsense. And paranoia I might add. I feel good knowing that if my child hits puberty and discovers that they are gay they will not have to hide in the dark and suppress their feelings.

        My gay friends are nicer, more clean-cut, hard-working, moral, and “Christian” than a lot of straight people I know….including yourself. You just sound mean to me.

        Do me a favor. Drive down to Santa Monica and Western and then drive west down to “Boy’s Town” toward Santa Monica and Formosa. Do you see the difference? Where would you rather live? If this is not an eye-opener for you then I don’t know what is……

      • Have you noticed that the Catholic church has not been forced to allow protestant weddings in their building? Your claim is completely spurious. No one is going to force any church to let anyone walk down their aisle that they do not want walking down their aisle.

        BUSINESSES are not allowed to discriminate. CHURCHES are by definition discriminatory, as they have members and non members. You are just crying the blues because your church is only being allowed to discriminate inside its own doors, rather than being allowed to impose its beliefs on non members.

      • You are so wrong, Lady Liberty, as usual

        Churches and other houses of worship are in the tax-exempt ‘religion domain’ and play by their own rules.

        Bakeries and florists are in the ‘business domain’ and have to serve all the public.

        Somewhere you got your wires crossed and/or have been listening to right wing bs to think that churches will be forced to marry same-sex couples The only ones saying that and you and the right wingers.

        A marriage license is a government issued document like any other license. Religious zealots such as yourself want to impose their ‘beliefs into the government domain and we don’t do that in this country.

        So, stop with your whining.

    • Because our commitment to freedom of speech has us stuck with allowing bigoted jerks like yourself to embarrass yourself in public?

    • Our days may be numbered. This country is legalizing sin. God made marriage between a man and a woman. Now the Supreme Court is reversing that. Obama has ruined our country. Tonight he has the LGBT rainbow lights on the White House. We are in serious moral trouble.

      • Is that the bigoted fascists that don’t believe in equal opportunity under the law who’s days are numbered? If so, I’m in favor. Small number? Fingers crossed.

        • No, it’s those of us who retain the morals that were taught to us by our parents and church leaders…Unfortunately the “progressive” types weren’t blessed with that type of morality, and must seek it on their own. Many choose not to, and I feel sorry for them. This is not the USA that it was up until the 80s, and it looks like it’s downhill from here.

          • Funny thing is that I don’t feel any need to force you to live by the morals I was or wasn’t taught. Another funny thing is that I probably live by morals very close to the ones you do, even though I don’t feel the need to force them on anyone.

            What isn’t funny is the number of bigots of various sorts who think the country can abandon equal protection under the law without it having consequences for all of us.

          • Pssst…. hate to tell ya this but same sex relations have been around since at least biblical times. So were divorce, rape, murder and everything else ‘unmoral’. Yet there have been wars, many initiated by God himself (if the Bible is to be taken as fact), and many other unmoral things happening within the religious arenas as well as in the secular arenas.

          • The Rev is now going to propose marriage to his sister.

            If she’ll have him.

            Siblings know each other all too well and it’s unlikely she’ll say “Yes!”.

          • But if she does say yes!!???? Oh boy…us freaks will be considered normal, just like the other freaks of the USA. Isn’t it beautiful?? Do you think that what a couple of these sick guys do in their bedroom is beautiful? Haaaaaa!!

      • First of all, Christians didn’t invent marriage — you guys don’t have a monopoly on it — whether it’s sin or not is relative. Second, marriage, as defined by law, is a civil contract that, finally, can be enjoyed by every couple regardless of sexual orientation. Third, good riddance to you and your “good old days” — seriously, you guys are socially outnumbered and on the wrong side of history.

        • Pete you are wrong. God invented marriage. Read the Bible. Marriage has been between a man and a woman for hundreds of years. Why does the Supreme Court think they have to change it now. The law has defined it between man and woman. Tim Scott just because someone doesn’t agree with same sex marriage why do you call them bigoted fascists? I don’t hate anyone and I’m not a bigot even though I don’t agree with same sex marriage. People can disagree that’s what America stands for. Open your mind and heart to different opinions on life.

          • Because people who think it is appropriate or the government to deny rights to people who are not in the “chosen” group are fascists. People who think the “chosen” group should be chosen based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc, are bigots.

            I didn’t fit your foot to the shoe, but you are certainly wearing it.

            By the way, the whole “if you deny me my freedom to be a bigot you aren’t being tolerant” paradox stopped working on me forty years ago, so try something new.

          • Please. The concept of marriage existed before the bible was written. It existed before your religion, and it’ll exist long after your religion has faded away. Marriage is a committed relationship based on love, ma’am. That’s it. And legally, it’s a civil contract granting citizens certain rights. Who are you to decide which rights private citizens are afforded? Go live your own life, worship your own god, and let others do the same based on their own understanding of life. If a same-sex couple being granted a marriage contract threatens your faith then the issue isn’t with them — it’s with your own heart.

          • Lady Liberty is, once again, confused beyond belief.

            She writes>

            ” God invented marriage. Read the Bible.”

            Then writes>

            “Marriage has been between a man and a woman for hundreds of years.”

            So, God invented marriage only a couple hundred years ago. What were people doing before that?

            She then tells us to “keep an open mind”. Yeah, as though Lady Liberty has an open mind. LOL She began her comment by telling Pete that he’s wrong. That one open mind at work.

            So, Lady Liberty has opened her heart and mind to same-sex marriage now known simply as “marriage”. I’m a little skeptical of that.

            If someone doesn’t believe in ‘God’ or the ‘Bible’ then He and it don’t have any authority over him/her. Don’t try to foist the authority of your god and bible on others, Lady Liberty, and we’ll all be fine.

            Or, if you continue with the foisting, don’t complain about the feedback. You don’t want to be told what to do or think by others, do you? Then, don’t do it yourself.

          • @ Pete you say marriage existed before the Bible was written. Yes but I believe God made man before any other so he made marriage between man and woman. You don’t believe in Religion so I guess you are implying that the Apes invented marriage. So as you said I will go live my life and worship my God while you go to the Apes for yours.

          • You do realize that when it comes to making laws that apply to other people, what you believe is really not the main point of reference, right?

            Oh.

            Wait.

            Apparently you don’t know that.

          • Lady “Liberty,” why do you think I worship apes? Or whatever it was you were trying to convey?

            Anyways, so millions of people now have the same civil rights as you — how does it hurt you? How does it diminish your personal faith? How does it make your marriage weaker?

          • Lady Liberty: Basic human genetics disprove the creation myth so when you claim that your god invented man it’s readily apparent that you don’t have the first clue what you are talking about.
            You are entitled to your own opinions, you aren’t entitled to your own facts.

          • RF- You are basing your atheistic beliefs on faith….faith in what you read in books, TV, and the internet. So do Christians. However, your belief on the face of it is absurd. Somehow, algae started crawling out of the ocean, then it changed into zebras, people, eagles, worms, butterflies, etc. Oh yeah…all this happened after some big huge explosion that came out of nowhere. Humans are the supreme earthly rulers….why didn’t everything evolve into a human under you theory….Silence again? Thought so. What a fantasy you are living…..

    • Move to Russia or Iran if thats how you feel. Is that why natural disasters usually hit very conservative christian areas? If jesus were alive today he would be considered a liberal by fox news and you would hate him.