Politicians can come around

NoH8

Philadelphia Mayor Presides Over Same-Sex 'Wedding'
By Randy Hall
CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor
November 26, 2007

(CNSNews.com) - Outgoing Philadelphia Mayor John Street officiated at his first same-sex commitment ceremony at City Hall on Saturday. A pro-family organization said the event marked a "dark day in the history of the City of Brotherly Love."

"Mayor Street has drifted off course during his political career. Once a strong advocate for traditional values, he can no longer be trusted to uphold those values that are supposedly part of his belief system," said Diane Gramley, president of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania (AFA-PA), in a news release.

The ceremony celebrated the relationship of 33-year-old Micah Mahjoubian, who serves as deputy secretary of external affairs in Street's administration, and his male partner, 32-year-old Ryan Bunch.

For the 64-year-old Street, who is concluding his final year as the city's mayor, the event was a significant departure from the Democrat who was elected to the office eight years ago on a family-values platform rooted in his personal faith as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian.

"Micah is my friend. He has been in my campaign and has been in my administration for eight years," Street told the Philadelphia Inquirer last week. "I've come to respect him as a person, and if this is something he would like for me to do, then I'd like to do it for him."

"To me, this is like a 'Nixon goes to China' thing," Mahjoubian told the newspaper. Street "came in as a mayor that a lot of people in our community were skeptical of, and yet he is going out able to accomplish more than anyone thought."

Nevertheless, Street emphasized that the event would have no legal weight in Pennsylvania since neither same-sex "marriage" nor civil unions are recognized there.

"It's not marriage. It's not real marriage. They can't be married," he told the Inquirer. "It's not a religious ceremony. I mean, it's not really marriage."

Gramley of the AFA-PA agreed.

The mayor has officiated at fewer than 10 marriages during his two terms, she said. "Even though he is insisting [that] the ceremony is not marriage, homosexual activists are viewing it as a political statement and a giant step forward in their quest for so-called 'marriage equality.'"

She pointed to a comment made last week by Steven Goldstein, chairman of the New Jersey-based group Garden State Equality, who said, "Every single time a public official like Mayor Street performs a ceremony, it strengthens the case for marriage equality."

In addition, Gramley said that Street's actions on Saturday contradicted the beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which state: "Marriage was divinely established in Eden and affirmed by Jesus Christ to be both monogamous and heterosexual, a lifelong union of loving companionship between a man and a woman.

"To this biblical view of marriage the Seventh-day Adventist Church adheres without reservation, believing that any lowering of this high view is to that extent a lowering of the heavenly ideal," the statement of beliefs says.

As Cybercast News Service previously reported, Street narrowly won the mayor's office in 1999 after serving as city council president through most of the previous decade.

Before becoming the city's chief executive, Street strongly opposed measures that would have provided benefits to the same-sex partners of city employees because "taxpayer dollars should not be used to support relationships such as these that mimic traditional family relationships."

The city adopted a domestic-partnership ordinance in 1998, and that was viewed as Street's first real defeat as council president.

But Gramley said that Street's decision to preside over a same-sex commitment ceremony offers an explanation of the course Philadelphia has taken in the past several years" as the city has become more "gay-friendly."

While Street signed a smoking ban, the AFA-PA president noted that he "ignored a greater threat to his city: the promotion of the homosexual lifestyle and all the health risks involved -- including HIV/AIDS, which is much more dangerous than smoking."

"But Mayor Street's legacy will be the city reneging on a 1928 agreement with the Boy Scouts to permit them 'in perpetuity' to use a half-acre piece of property in downtown Philadelphia," Gramley stated.

Because of the Scouts' ban on homosexual leaders, the organization's Cradle of Liberty Council must either pay $200,000 in annual rent or vacate the headquarters they built by May 31, she noted.

"What kind of message is the mayor sending to Philadelphians and the rest of Pennsylvania -- especially the children of this state?" she asked.

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I can't quite understand how protesting a marriage is "pro family" and what kind of prejudiced values these families espouse. It's always refreshing to hear when a politician changes his mind and accepts gay marriage (whether legal or not). Any group that thinks homosexuality is more of a threat that 2nd hand cigarette smoke is a joke and not very bright, in my opinion.

A moronic reporter asked the couple, "so do you feel like this is a real marriage." she asked it in a way that didn't sound like "even though it's not recognized by the state or federal gov't do you..." but "ya all gay folks getting married-- is this for real or just a joke."

I loved one of the men's response, "Well, DUH." I couldn't have said it better myself.

The mayor's response could have gone further. In my opinion, if he really believed in the couple's rights to marry he wouldn't have said, "it's not a real marriage." but "in every sense of the word it is a real marriage, unfortunately it's not recognized by the government yet."

I guess this is baby steps, which I'll take.

Anonymous

Cambridge , Massachusetts has elected the first Gay Woman Mayor

We have come a long way baby. Just a little info. Her name is Simmons. Sorry I forgot her first name.

I am happy to see we are making strides so that everyone in this country has a voice.

Benita   

NoH8

That's so cool Benita. I'm not surprise a college town would prove to be the most progressive.