In a matter of hours New Hampshire will allow legal civil unions for their queer citizens. It's a jump the left, so you know some folk are going to wish for a step to the right. That's why The Civic Christian League of Maine took this historic development to release the following statement:

With New Hampshire's enactment of its homosexual civil unions law, Maine becomes one of only two remaining New England states to not formally allow this deviant behavior.

The Christian Civic League of Maine supports the Biblical precept that all sex outside of traditional marriage, including homosexual behavior, is sin. The celebration of this sin as seen in the events of January 1st in New Hampshire is wrong.

As it has for over 110 years, the League will continue to oppose homosexual civil unions, and preserve marriage in Maine as between one man and one woman only, so help us God.

Alright, the concept of homosexuality has existed since 1869, when novelist Karl-Maria Kertbeny used the term in an anonymous German pamphlet. The gay rights movement didn't get off the ground until about a century later. We can't help but wonder, then, how The Christian Civic League of Maine has been fighting civil unions since 1897. It's especially confusing because the first civil union laws went in effect in Denmark in 1989, way less than 110 years ago.

Regardless of their dubious historical understanding, the CCLM certainly know how to rain on a parade.

January 1st marks a new day for New Hampshire. The Granite State will start offering $45 civil unions: a legislative evolution that will certainly come up on the campaign trail ahead of the January 8th primary.

Social conservatives may criticize the unions as too similar to marriage and they'd be right: the unions are equivalent to marriage. Well, almost: civil unions don't generate quite as much revenue as marriages, but they still definitely help the economy:

…Even conservative estimates are that civil unions will add millions to New Hampshire’s economy.

A 2005 study predicted that legalizing same-sex marriage in New Hampshire would bring in an additional $630,000 a year in rooms and meals taxes in the first three years… A subsequent study in 2006 calculated that 1,352 gay couples, each spending about $7,600 — or one-quarter of the $30,510 straight couples spend on weddings in New Hampshire — would spend more than $10.3 million on weddings if they were allowed to marry.

How can anyone - especially a Republican - argue with $10.3 million for a state's economy?

Republican Mike Huckabee has once again had to clarify queer comments…

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You are gay, indeed! Uruguay's government came closer to legalizing civil unions.

Uruguay will legalize civil unions for homosexuals and heterosexuals next month, making it the first Latin American nation to treat gay and straight couples alike, a lawmaker said.

Deputies passed legislation allowing gay and straight couples to form civil unions after living together for at least five years.
…
"This recognition of the legal status of couples…recognizes the legal status of homosexual couples, which gives it a completely new dimension," said Edgardo Ortuno, a member of the center-left ruling party.

Before it can be applied, senators must consider the law again because some revisions were made to the document. Ortuno said he expects it to take effect by mid-December.

The measure will grant unionized couples the same inheritance, social security and parenting rights afforded married couples.

• A majority of American citizens support same-sex civil unions, according to ABC News, but not all opinions are created evenly:

Overall, 55 percent favor allowing homosexual couples to form legally recognized civil unions, giving them the same rights as married couples in areas such as health insurance, inheritance and pension coverage. That's up from 45 percent in an ABC/Post poll in 2006; the previous high was 51 percent in 2004.
…
On civil unions, support peaks among adults under age 30, and tanks among seniors. It's highest in the East and West, notably lower in the Midwest and South. Whites overall are more apt than blacks to support gay civil unions, and the idea wins more support among women (59 percent) than men (51 percent, and 47 percent among married men).

Interesting divide between single and married men, no?

• Reichen strips, fakes orgasm for Dante's Cove.

• Bob Allen jury cruises through park where alleged solicitation took place, one juror dismissed.

• Moscow court comes out against gay pride organizers. Anti-gay parade ban legal.

• Rosie O'Donnell offers more MSNBC explanation, professes love for Keith Olbermann.

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Maryland's split! A little more than half of Maryland-based Americans oppose same-sex marriage. More than half of the state's residents, however, approve of the less sacred "civil union".

51 percent said they oppose allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, and 44 percent said they support changing the law to allow that.

But Marylanders are far more open to the idea of allowing gay and lesbian couples to form civil unions, giving them some of the same legal rights as married couples. Fifty-seven percent support civil unions; 39 percent oppose them.

Apparently the Free State residents can't free their minds from traditional definitions.

Rudy Giuliani's got civil union cold feet. The former NYC mayor, who's vying to be the next Republican president, continues to distance himself from his gay loving ways by augmenting his policy on gay "nuptials".

A campaign aide told the Globe this weekend that Giuliani favors a much more modest set of rights for gay partners than civil union laws in effect in four states offer.
…
In an interview and follow-up e-mails, Maria Comella, the campaign's deputy communications director, told the Globe that Giuliani supports domestic partnership laws similar to the one he initiated in New York in 1998.

Giuliani also maintains that states should decide their own gay laws. Never mind America's liberal promise, this man wants to be a conservative hero. Too bad conservatives hate him and, now, even more gays will, too.

Nicely played, Giuliani! Our fears of you being our next President have been allayed!

Not so fast, a New Jersey court is telling gay couples who are looking to make good on the promise of equal rights. Just because NJ couples are allowed to get together under the civil union umbrella, that move didn't take effect until Feb. 19, which means twosomes looking to file joint tax returns are out of luck for 2006 returns. Technically, because the date started in the middle of the '06 fiscal year, they don't get to mark the "couple" box until 2007's filings.

In the initial lawsuit filed by Maureen Quarto and Judith Prichason – who wed in Canada, and then had their union recognized in New Jersey – "the state Division of Taxation said no, reasoning that their union was not recognized in the 2006 year and that it could be hard administratively to deal with more couples filing jointly."

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine must have talked some sense into United Parcel Service.

The mail giant came under fire after denying Garden State employees the same benefits as their straight colleagues. Now Allen Hill, UPS human resources VP, backtracked via press release:

Based on an initial legal review when New Jersey's law was enacted, it did not appear that a 'civil union' and 'marriage' were equivalent. Over the past week, however, we have received clear guidance that at least in New Jersey, the state truly views civil union partners as married. We've heard that loud and clear from state officials and we're happy to make this change.

And, we're sure, avoid even more scandal.

New Jersey governor Jon Corzine penned a letter to United Parcel Service CEO Michael Eskew asking the courier to abide by his state's civil union laws.

UPS made headlines when they refused to grant gay couples the same benefits as their straight counterparts. Federal law allows, but does not require, interstate businesses to eschew inherently unequal civil union laws.

Now Corzine's trying to get them in line.

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Meanwhile, in other gay criminal news, South African prison officials confirmed that gay prisoners can, in fact, take advantage of the so-called Rainbow Nation's civil union laws:

Gay prisoners will not be prevented from getting married in prison, says the department of correctional services.

While there have not been gay marriages in the country's prisons yet, [about 600] gay prisoners have already expressed their wish to get married.
…
[An official] added that there would be a strict application process and that applications would be accepted on the individual merit of each case.

"This is to ensure that the marriage is not just a marriage of convenience that could allow them to be in one cell…"

Yeah, 'cause sharing a prison cell sounds really convenient.

Some good news out of New Hampshire this morning - Governor John Lynch signed the state's civil union bill, thus ensuring queer couples the right to "marry".

Speaking after the signing, Lynch remarked: "We in New Hampshire have had a long and proud tradition taking the lead and opposing discrimination. Today that tradition continues."

Well, not really - the law doesn't go into effect until next year.

All eyes are on South Africa, where the so-called rainbow nation's parliment will soon pass a bill legalizing some sort of same-sex marriage. While the Constitutional Court ruled last year that the current marriage law, defined as between one man and one woman, derails their progressive constitution, it seems that the conservative Marriage Alliance of South Africa may be gaining a little momentum in their quest to squash gay marriage.

A coalition of religious leaders and conservatives, the Marriage Alliance plans a mass protest on September 16, to put more pressure on parliament to constrict it's legislation. It seems that they may not need to protest, as the government openly moves closer to civil unions.

While it may be tempting to fret, it's likely the Constitutional Court will use it's power and push for a more "traditional" definition. The bill hasn't been revealed yet, but will be in the next two weeks. If the march takes place, it will be a stain on the nation's long history of mass protest and public interest: steering the international communities' eye back to the grotesque underbelly of a nation once ruled by apartheid.

South African Conservatives To Show Anti-Gay Muscle [365 Gay]

Gay Marriage Nixed? [Mamba Online]

With public sentiment in favor of gay unions, and with the recent vote in the Czech Parliament to overturn a Presidential veto of the new civil partnerships law, we thought that July 1, the day the new law went into effect, would be a big day of celebration that kicks off a "frisky summer" of gays registering their unions. In fact only three couples reigstered on the first day, and none of those couples lived in Prague, the largest city.

We suspect that many gay couples were not eager to put their relationship into the spotlight and will take advantage of civil unions after the media circus has died down a bit. Still, only three couples? It's a rather disappointing turn-out, but we are happy that the Czech Republic now has another gay attraction besides Bel Ami.

First Gay Couples Enter Into Czech Civil Partnerships [365 Gay]

Even though the Czech Republic legalized gay civil unions in March, Czech tennis star Martina Navratilova has still slapped Czech President Vaclav Klaus on the wrist, saying, “I cannot be satisfied by him, because he does not consider homosexuals to be 100 per cent human beings." [insert bad, lesbian joke here]

We grew up watching Martina play tennis on our grandma's cable, and always liked her because she was so bad-ass, or as Grandma used to say, "a little funny." Something that is more than a little funny is Martina's glamour shot, which we have for you after the jump.

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