Adultery still Illegal in New Hampshire After 200 years!

The original punishments — including standing on the gallows for an hour with a noose around the neck — have been softened to a $1,200 fine, yet some lawmakers think it’s time for the 200-year-old crime of adultery to come off New Hampshire’s books.

Seven months after the state approved gay marriage, lawmakers will consider easing government further from the bedroom with a bill to repeal the adultery law.
“We shouldn’t be regulating people’s sex lives and their love lives,” state Rep. Timothy Horrigan said. “This is one area the state government should stay out of people’s bedrooms.”

In June, lawmakers voted to legalize gay marriage — a law that takes effect Jan. 1.
“We shouldn’t be in the business of regulating what consenting adults do with each other,” Horrigan said.

Convicted adulterers years ago faced standing on the gallows, up to 39 lashes, a year in jail or a fine of 100 pounds. The punishment has been relaxed to a misdemeanor and a fine of up to $1,200 — with no jail time.

The high court found that the state had no legitimate interest justifying its intrusion into the personal and private lives of two gay men arrested in their bedroom during a police investigation in a weapons case. The men had been charged with sodomy.

Some recently questioned whether South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s admitted extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina made him subject to his state’s 1880 criminal law against adultery. The penalty is a fine of up to $500 and a year in jail. The state said it couldn’t waste limited money trying to prosecute Sanford on such a charge. The law’s constitutionality also has been questioned.

In the past, conservatives argued decriminalizing adultery would weaken marriage.
Kevin Smith, executive director of the conservative Cornerstone Policy Research, opposes this repeal effort for the same reason.

“Even though this criminal law probably is not enforced right now and probably has not been enforced for some time, I think it’s important to have a public policy statement that says generally or in all situations adultery is not a good thing. And I think, by repealing that statute, you’re essentially diminishing the harmful effects of adultery,” Smith said.

Horrigan doesn’t think a small fine will stop anyone from cheating on a spouse. He also wouldn’t oppose taking adultery out of the civil divorce statute as a cause for the breakdown.

“Who we love and how we love is not something, an area the state has much business meddling in,” he said. The original punishments — including standing on the gallows for an hour with a noose around the neck — have been softened to a $1,200 fine, yet some lawmakers think it’s time for the 200-year-old crime of adultery to come off New Hampshire’s books.

In June, lawmakers voted to legalize gay marriage — a law that takes effect Jan. 1.
“We shouldn’t be in the business of regulating what consenting adults do with each other,” Horrigan said.

The last attempts to repeal New Hampshire’s law came after a Merrimack husband filed a complaint against his wife and her boss in 1987. When police refused to pursue adultery charges, Robert Stackelback brought the complaint himself against the pair. He later dropped the charges.

Big Wins for Gays in Detroit, FL and N.C-Not much Media!

Maine voters may have chosen to take marriage rights away from their neighbors, but not all was gloomy for LGBTs: three wins around the country brought victory to gay and lesbian politicians and their constituents.

In Chapel Hill, N.C., GLBT equality advocate Mark Kleinschmidt won as mayor against Matt Czajkowski and two others contenders, taking 49% of the overall vote, reported the Chapel Hill News on Nov. 4. Kleinschmidt’s victory marks the third time an openly gay candidate has won Chapel Hill’s mayoral office.

In St. Petersburg, Fla., the city council gained a new, and openly gay, member in the person of Steve Kornell, who won over Angela Rouson for the council’s District 5 seat with nearly 60% of the vote, making him the city’s first openly gay elected official. The seat became available when Jamie Bennett resigned to pursue a spot in the mayoral race, which was won by Bill Foster, reported a Nov. 4 St. Petersburg Times article posted at TampaBay.com, which noted that the town’s leaders have historically been opposed to Pride events there.

The article quoted Kornell as saying, "The thing about making history is fine. But this campaign was really about the future of St. Petersburg and that’s what I plan to focus on for the next four years."

Said Rouson, "I have no regrets.... I am very proud and pleased and we worked very hard. I’m proud of the folks who worked for me. We fought a good fight. District 5 couldn’t have lost no matter what the results were."

Outgoing mayor Rick Baker praised both candidates, saying that Rouson "ran a great race. But the guy she ran against is a good guy and ran a great race, too. Nothing to be ashamed about."

And Detroit elected openly gay former Fox News reporter Charles Pugh as city council president, reported a Nov. 3 article at the Detroit Free Press.

Said Pugh, "This is unbelievable... It means Detroit has really wanted change for a very long time."

In other elections, Washington voters seemed poised to uphold state provisions for same-sex families granting most of the same state-level rights and protections enjoyed by married heterosexuals, but not calling such unions marriage.

The "Every Child Deserves a Family" Act?

Do we really think that the "system" can continue to absorb the weight and brunt of unwanted children crowded into an outdated and overwhelmed capacity? Well thats precisely what "they" say when children are denied same sex couples; when families are not permitted to bring in additional children to nurture and care for.

There's new legislation however and if passed, the new bill could restrict federal funding for states with anti-LGBT adoption and foster policies.

The ’Every Child Deserves a Family Act,’ which was introduced by U.S. Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) on Oct. 15, would penalize states with outdated adoption policies that restrict access based on marital status, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

"We got 25,000 kids a year maturing out of the welfare system without permanent foster care or adoptive care, and the prospects of those children having a successful adult life are diminished greatly," Stark told the Washington Blade. "These are kids who end up in the criminal justice system, or end up homeless."

The legislation would directly affect states with explicit adoption restrictions, including Utah, Florida, Arkansas, Nebraska, and Mississippi.

The bill has received support from Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House. According to Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s spokesperson, the Speaker believes that children "should have the security of two fully sanctioned and legally recognized parents, whether those parents are of the same or opposite sex."

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and Family Equality Council (FEC), both LGBT rights organizations, have also offered their support.

According to Stark, a hearing on the bill could take place in a House Ways & Means Committee this year.

Gay Adoption Seminar A Success!

Circle Surrogacy came to Atlanta today to put on what turned out to be a wonderful informational seminar for Same Sex (Gay) Adoptions and Surrogacy. A big thanks to all those who showed up and participated as well as the excellent panel which included John Weltman, the founder of Circle Surrogacy.

Although I'm not personally considering surrogacy or adoption, the opportunity presented itself as great source of information as well as a LGBT community resource for our social members as well other locally organizations.

Of which, I had the great pleasure of meeting up with Kathy Kelly, Executive Director of MEGA Family Project. MEGA (megafamilyproject.org) is known throughout Georgia for their education support, advocacy and LGBT family assistance. I encourage you all to get behind this organization as I intend to further support Kathy and her team. Great to meet wonderful folks like Fernando Rengifo "Fercho", also pictured above, which proves supportive networking and helping our own community is not just a desire, but a necessity.

Those in attendance received a great deal of information on Georgia adoptions as well as laws within the state concerning surrogacy. To my surprise there are no laws in the state of Georgia regarding the surrogacy, the highly expensive medical/legal procedure. For all those who could not be in attendance, look out for the video on Circle's Youtube Channel.

Thanks again to John, Nancy and Ron and the rest of "Circle" team for a great event.

Coming in 'Second, under the radar!

As you know, I like to bring new information to you from around the world as well as from all over the nation to keep you aware and informed of all the LGBT happenings and news. You really have to be excited about what seems like a slew of late breaking advancements in the realms of equality.

Since we have been focusing so much lately on adoptions and surrogacies, I wanted to share this latest update about "Second Parent Adoptions". A second parent adoption is a legal procedure that allows a same-sex parent to adopt a partner’s biological or adoptive child without terminating the legal rights of the first parent. Most importantly, unlike the same sex marriage issues, States must honor second-parent adoptions from other states.

Second-parent adoption is authorized in California by statute - and where appellate courts have ruled that the state adoption law permits second-parent adoption.

A statute is a law passed by a legislature. An appellate court is about appeals. It has the power to review the judgment of another lower court or tribunal. Second-parent adoption is authorized by statute in Colorado, Connecticut, and Vermont.

Appellate courts have ruled that the state adoption law permits second-parent adoption in the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Trial courts have granted second-parent adoptions in Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington.

Appellate courts have ruled that state adoption law does NOT permit second-parent adoption in Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

It is unclear in the following 22 states whether the state adoption law permits second- parent adoptions: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

But what is important is, you have to know whats going on around you in order to ensure you clearly understand what it is you support and lobby for. Familyblendz is happy to bring this information to you. Stay informed.

Surrogacy & Adoption for Same Sex Familyblendz Couples!

Circle Surrogacy has helped bring to the world over 250 babies since 1995. They have assisted couples and singles, gay and straight, from more than 30 different countries -- from as far away as Dubai, Afghanistan, Russia, Israel and Australia, as well as almost every European country, Canada and Columbia. They also have personnel in Boston, New York, Texas, Indiana and Arizona, and we work with all of the Harvard teaching hospitals and fertility centers in the Boston area, Connecticut, New York and California. They work with fertility centers from all over the country.

I wanted to present some of this information to you because I have been getting emails and questions regarding both adoptions and surrogacy. Lets not kid each other, surrogacy can be extremely expensive, yet what it provides is something that ultimately can't be bought.

As the next seminar for adoption and surrogacy approaches, think about attending to gain information on your own as well as have many of your questions answered by professionals as well as those who have already done it.

familyblendz is not affiliated with Circle Surrogacy and Adoptions, but this organization has a long history of working with Same sex Couples in America and goes above and beyond to help the GLBT community in starting families of their own.

Through some back channels, I was invited today to play a role in getting this seminar off the ground in the GLBT Community. We will continue some of these discussions tomorrow in our meeting with the Human Rights Campaign in Atlanta.

FamilyBlendz is eager to do whatever we can to not only share our experiences with raising children you and the rest of the GLBT-World, but we also want to ensure you are building a strong family base in your own life. Elle and I also want to ensure that those who desire these responsibilities as Same Sex Couples enjoy the right to do so.

As soon as I get more information I will surely pass it on to you! Email me your name(s) to "familyblendz@gmail.com" if you are interested in attending the Circle Surrogacy and Adoption Seminar in Atlanta. This IS A FREE EVENT!! I will be in contact with you regarding further information.

Who is Defending Marriage? Anyone Defending Equality?

Interestingly enough, last night President Obama pledged to continue his stance to get DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act repealed on the floor of the U.S. Congress. I will continue to say that the president repeated that pledge with the largest gay rights organization in the country as his audience on the eve of todays Equality March taking place in D.C.

Problem with that stance, that pledge, is that it won't be that simple. Let me first take the stance I always take and that is this. Know exactly what it is you are fighting for. Are you more interested in calling your same sex relationship a "marriage" or are you more interested in having that relationship be treated fairly and respected because you possess the rights of a marriage?

We seem to get so lost in the titles that we miss the forest for the trees. It might just sound like symantecs to you, but it sounds the same way to the opposition as well. For example, DOMA, was signed into law back in 1996, when then President Bill Clinton sat in the Oval. Lets be clear about what exactly DOMA is. It a bill that DEFENDS THE DEFINITION OF WHAT A MARRIAGE IS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

And that definition was signed into law by one our countries most famous democratic presidents. Why? Because by overwhelming majorities in the House and in the Senate, Congress wanted to define marriage to prevent states from peeling off with their own interpretations. Kinda like whats happening now.

So although Mr. Obama wants to repeal DOMA which would simply allow states to make their own choices, which is fine for us @ familyblendz;trying to get Congress to actually vote to change the definition of what a marriage is would be a death sentence to many democrats back home in their districts.

Back to my original point though. What stops Domestic Partnerships from providing the same rights of the same sex couples from mirroring those of hetero couples? What are you gaining other than a title? Do you gain nothing because you can't have it all? Do you continue to throw the babies out with the water just because you can't get the water as warm as you like it?

Remember, the fight we wage is for equality, not branding;it is for rights, not wants. This message never goes over well among my LGBT folks, however, call it what you like, but in the meantime, families are hurting, loved ones are being denied access and benefits to children are being taken away (Arizona's recent Equality repeal).

Defend Marriage all you want, I and the rest of familyblendz will defend equality!

FamilyBlendz Social Network: Gaining Momentum!

I cannot thank the many of you who have already expressed interest in the FamilyBlendz Social Network; a group of Same Sex Couples who are raising a family or has a desire to so. O ur first event was successful and turnout was amazing especially since most of our contacts were by word of mouth. Your help in building our Twitter following is another great way of getting the word out about this family oriented social network for what we believe has become America's new modern family; a new normal.


Knowing this however is not enough! We know how to showcase our PRIDE, but now as a true familyblendz, we need to show how PROUD we are by being the new face and examples that will be required to move forward. Everything we do and are makes us activists of the sort simply because everything we do the "live", is what the media calls "unpredented".


What you are doing today, has not been done, so this makes you and I and the rest of this new group the best blueprint for the agenda, the policy, as well as the followthrough for what is to come with America's equality. Who we are, is unprecedented. If you are able to help with some event planning and setup (minimal), please let me know. Our next get together will be a casual networking function, i.e. light and fun. As soon as we confirm the next venue, all of the information, (Date/Time) will be posted up. Contact me at: familyblendz@gmail.com or on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/familyblendz