South Carolina Could Owe Gay Groups $150,000 — or Maybe Even More
South Carolina’s anti-gay Attorney General may have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to gay rights groups. New research shows why marriage equality has been so successful so fast. And Hillary Clinton gets thanks for supporting the freedom to marry from an unlikely source.

Marriage is here to stay in South Carolina, but Attorney General Alan Wilson seems to be having a hard time accepting it. Even though South Carolina couples have been getting married since last month, Wilson has continued his losing battle to stop the weddings. But the longer he drags out his appeal, the more money he may wind up having to give to a coalition of gay rights groups.

That’s because the coalition has filed a petition seeking to recoup the money that they’ve had to spend to keep marriage legal. If the court grants their request, Wilson will have to give over $150,000 to organizations fighting for equality. Wilson really has no chance of stopping marriage at this point. He’s appealing to the Fourth Circuit, which has repeatedly allowed marriages to go forward. So all he’s doing now is running up a huge tab.

And the same thing’s happening Arkansas. Outgoing Governor Mike Beebe and incoming Governor Asa Hutchinson both say they oppose marriage equality. Last week Beebe went even further, telling supporters that he might be willing to consider limited civil unions. That might’ve been an okay position twenty years ago. But civil unions are a compromise, and at this point we’re so close to winning we don’t have to compromise anymore.

In fact, there’s a new study this week that shows why we’re so close to winning. And no surprise, it’s what Harvey Milk said back in the ’70s: you have to come out. The new study in the journal Science shows that when door-to-door canvassers come out, and talk about wanting to get married, voters’ minds change — and stay changed. If we don’t come out, their minds change back after less than a week. So that’s why coming out as queer is so important, and why those anti-gay politicians are going to lose.

And finally this week, congratulations to Hillary Clinton, who came out in favor of marriage equality last year and has now won the “Straight Ally of the Year” award, as decided by users of Grindr.

www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-baume/south-carolina-could-owe_b_6325108.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Benjy the gay bull makes it to his new home in time for Christmas

Benjy the gay bull, saved from an end in an Irish slaughterhouse, is settling in at Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norwich, England and is already making new friends

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andrewp

www.gaystarnews.com/article/benjy-gay-bull-makes-it-his-new-home-time-christmas151214

Video director for a National Football League team comes out as gay

‘I’ll do whatever I can to help people. And I’ve had enough’

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Jamesw

www.gaystarnews.com/article/video-director-national-football-league-team-comes-out-gay151214

Kansas Pastor Claims She's Received Death Threats For Officiating Same-Sex Weddings
A Kansas pastor is refusing to give in to hate.

Rev. Jackie Carter, a pastor at First Metropolitan Community Church, claims she’s been getting death threats after she started performing same-sex weddings for couples in her area.

After alleged vandals broke windows at the Wichita church, her congregations is considering taking extra security measures — like purchasing cameras and having people stand guard outside during services.

“When you’re here and the phone rings, and there’s heavy breathing and two seconds later the doorbell rings and then somebody’s throwing rocks through the windows. All those things combined create fear,” Carter told KSN.

Despite the threats to herself and to her church community, Carter says she won’t stop helping LGBT couples tie the knot.

“I’m not going to change my message of inclusion, I’m not going to change my message of love, and I’m not going to stop marrying people. I’m going to keep it up!” she told the news station. “This is ridiculous hatred that has no place in this city or state or this country.”

Some counties in Kansas have been issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples since October. However, it is unclear whether the state will continue to recognize these marriages, as Kansas’ ban on same-sex marriage is still being debated in the courts.

Kansas state is currently facing a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two lesbian couples who weren’t allowed to obtain marriage licenses in Douglas and Sedgwick County, which is where Carter’s church is located. The state wanted to put a stay on gay marriages as it fought the lawsuit, but the U.S. Supreme Court denied that request last month, the AP reports.

As of Thursday, Kansas has issued 23 marriage certificates to same-sex couples, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Earlier this year, Carter made history by officiating the weddings of 15 same-sex couples on the steps of the County Courthouse in Wichita.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/14/jackie-carter-gay-marriage_n_6324040.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

ABC Family Orders Trans Reality Series 'My Transparent Life'

Move over, Maura. Make room for Ben and his transgender parent, Carly.

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Dawn Ennis

www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2014/12/14/abc-family-orders-trans-reality-series-my-transparent-life

South Carolina lawyers who fought for marriage rights seek legal fees from state

Lambda Legal and South Carolina Equality sued after the state governor and attorney general declined to apply the Fourth Circuit decision

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Jamesw

www.gaystarnews.com/article/south-carolina-lawyers-who-fought-marriage-rights-seek-legal-fees-state141214