VALENTINE'S IS NOW A DAY FOR ACTIVISTS: From the Associated Press

Chocolates and flowers still abound, but Valentine's Day is acquiring a new, politically tinged layer of symbolism: For many activists, it's now the date of choice to mobilize on matters of the heart--advocating abstinence, decrying divorce, rallying nationwide to demand gay marriage.

Across the country, teens from hundreds of schools and youth groups will make chastity pledges Monday on the "Day of Purity"--organized by the Liberty Counsel, a Florida-based conservative legal group.

In Arkansas, Gov. Mike Huckabee and his wife, Janet, will renew their wedding vows in the presence of hundreds of other couples at a ceremony promoting the state's covenant marriage law--a voluntary system that makes divorce harder to obtain. "The nation will be watching as we take a stand for marriage," the Huckabees' invitation says.

And at statehouses, courthouses and city halls nationwide, gay-rights supporters will be rallying in support of gay marriage as Valentine's Day serves as the centerpiece of Freedom to Marry Week. Similar observances have occurred annually since 1998, but this year the mood is more combative as state after state moves to entrench bans on gay marriage in their constitutions. ...

Monday's events include rallies for gay marriage in Milwaukee, Portland, Ore. and Tampa, Fla., and at the statehouses in Maryland, New Mexico and Washington state. In Richmond, Va., gay and lesbian couples plan to apply for marriage licenses at City Hall, then be united in ceremonies performed by a minister from the Metropolitan Community Church. Same-sex couples in California plan to request marriage licenses from their county clerk's office.

A very different crowd is expected Monday evening at a North Little Rock arena for the marriage celebration in Arkansas--where voters overwhelmingly approved a gay-marriage ban last year.

more
posted by Eve at 11:45 PM | link

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home