Wisconsin gay couples who marry outside state could face penalty

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=768670

Madison - When Dick Myers heard that California was going to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, he and his partner of nearly 13 years considered traveling there to get married.

That is until Myers and his partner, Steve Brondino, learned of an obscure state law that makes it a crime for Wisconsin residents to enter into marriage in another state if the marriage would be prohibited here. The law imposes a penalty for those who enter into a marriage that's prohibited or declared void in Wisconsin of up to $10,000 and nine months in prison.

"If we would go to California and come back here, what are the chances we might be prosecuted?" Myers asked. "Neither of us could afford the legal costs in defending ourselves."

It's a concern for same-sex Wisconsin couples who might be considering a wedding in California, where the state Supreme Court recently legalized gay marriage, according to gay rights advocacy group Fair Wisconsin. However, it's unclear whether those couples would be prosecuted.

The group sent an e-mail to about 10,000 supporters to see if anyone was making plans to go to California to get married. It heard back from two, and followed up to warn them about the law, said Glenn Carlson, executive director of Fair Wisconsin.

"We're telling people, especially if you live outside of Dane County, to be careful," Carlson said. After receiving the warning, one person wrote back that "I'd rather be prosecuted than persecuted."

In 2006, 59% of Wisconsin voters supported a constitutional amendment that reads: "Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state."

Julaine Appling, chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Family Council, said the statutes are clear and the law should be enforced.

"If it were challenged and the courts decided to basically wink at it, and refused to enforce the law, we have a problem," she said, adding that the constitutional amendment clarified that no marriage other than between a man and woman is legal.

Penalty 'very serious'
David Buckel, marriage project director for Lambda Legal, said other states have similar laws, but Wisconsin's imposes the stiffest penalties. The national group advocates for civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.

Lambda Legal posted on its Web site a list of frequently asked questions for people who might be weighing a wedding in California or another country, and included on the list was a reference to the Wisconsin law.

"We put the information out there because we're deeply worried about same-sex couples in Wisconsin who may not know about this," Buckel said.

"That's very serious for getting married," he said of the penalty.

Decisions about whether to prosecute are left to district attorneys.

The law is believed to have been enacted to prohibit underage couples from going across state lines to marry and returning to Wisconsin to live, Carlson said.

The issue has gained relevance with the California ruling in May, Carlson said. Massachusetts started recognizing same-sex marriages in 2004 but only for residents, he said.

Senate Republican Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), one of the authors of the marriage amendment, said he had a hard time seeing how the law would apply to same-sex couples here, because marriages that wouldn't be recognized in Wisconsin are strictly ceremonial.

"You're not going to go after some couple because they got married in California," Fitzgerald said.

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison) and his partner went to Canada in late 2006 to get married, but Pocan said he wasn't overly concerned about the impact of the law.

"It's not technically evading state law because it wasn't allowed anyway," Pocan said. "It's not something I was too worried about, and I've got a feeling that Brian Blanchard feels the same way."

Blanchard, the district attorney in Dane County, said that without evidence of an intent to defraud the government or another person, it would be difficult to imagine considering such a marriage as criminal conduct. Also, he called it a "poor use of scarce prosecution resources."

"It's hard for me to imagine a jury of citizens wanting to convict anyone under this statute," he said.

yeah right..

My ass.. If you want done with really bad service.. N like some soap scum in your drinking glass.. Seriously.. Go here

Harassed Lesbian Couple Ends LIfe

CHENNAI: Two married women, who allegedly shared a lesbian relationship, committed suicide by setting themselves ablaze after their families tried to separate them. The police recovered the charred bodies of the women, who died hugging each other, from the residence of one of the women at Sathangadu, near Thiruvotriyur, on Saturday.

The incident came to light on Saturday morning when the family members noticed thick smoke emanating from the house, where the women stayed the previous night. They peeped through the window and were shocked to see the bodies lying as if they had died hugging each other.

Police identified the women as Christy Jayanthi Malar (38) and Rukmani (40).

Malar and Rukmani studied in the same class at a Tondiarpet school. Malar got married to Chinappa Raj, a small-time biscuit seller, and lived in Sathangadu. Rukmani was married to Mohan and lived in Ernavur, near Sathangadu, when she met Malar again, 10 years ago. Rukmani later married Vijayan, a labourer, and shifted to Washermanpet. The classmates continued to see each other.

Sathangadu inspector A J Ravikumar, who registered the statements of the relatives, said the relationship had caused much consternation in both families. On Friday, Rukmani had gone to Malar's house. Rukmani's relatives went there and abused her. Malar's relatives, too, shouted at her. The two women stayed together on Friday and set themselves afire early on Saturday.

One of the relatives said Rukmani was forced to move from Ernavur, near Malar's place in Sathangadu, after the families came to know of their "unusual relationship."

Despite the opposition from the relatives, the two women continued to meet when their husbands were out on work.

This infuriated the relatives. Rukmani got separated from her first husband, Mohan and her relatives got her married to another man, Vijayan, four years ago and they moved to Washermanpet, some five km away. This, the relatives thought, would help in keeping the two women friends away.

But that was not to be. They continued to meet, often at Malar's house. On Friday morning, Rukmani went to Malar's house after their husbands had left for work. Not finding Rukmani for a long time, her relatives started searching for her and finally found her in Malar's house. In front of several people, they abused her for having a "physical relationship" with Malar, whose family members also started shouting at the two friends.

"Around midnight, they poured kerosene on their body and set themselves on fire. They appear to have hugged each other during the final moments of their life," an investigation officer who inspected the scene said.

Based on a complaint by Rukmani's elder sister Padmavathy, Sathangadu police have registered a case and further investigations are on. The case has been handed over to the revenue divisional officer (RDO), as Rukmani died within seven years of her marriage with Vijayan.

"We will proceed with the case after getting the RDO's report," a senior police officer said.

Reacting to the incident, lawyer and activist Sudha Ramalingam said it was time Section 377 of IPC (unnatural offence) was scrapped. "We have reached a stage where one has to accept relationships which are not termed normal. Everyone has the right, especially two consenting adults, to choose their way of life," she said. All India Democratic Women's Association leader Vasuki said suicides are not a solution to any problem. "Same sex relationships are coming to the fore these days, and we do not have a coping mechanism in place," she told The Times of India.

Vasanthi Devi, former Chairperson, State Women's Commission, said, "In India, same sex relationships are not in any way accepted, and even talking about it is considered taboo. Since it is perceived to be unnatural and unacceptable, a lot of sensitivity is required in handling the issue. Sadly, counselling is virtually unknown in our society, be it for students or adults. If we had counsellors to guide, any number of tragedies can be avoided."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Chennai/Harassed_lesbian_couple_ends_life/articleshow/3049896.cms

This Is Disgusting!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/specials/immigration/cwc_d4p1.html

sparkling wine

It taste pretty disgusting.. Yuck!! I would not drink it again.. Unless someone pays me to do it..... And depends how much money too..

See what u get from eating dead turkeys??

Its disgusting!! Jessica had throw-up incident.. She said its cause of the green apple.. Sick!!
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Crazy Hearless Bitch

God! So I was watching animal planet, the animal precint. Some crazy lady had a dog that had babies, and after it was born she threw it out in the trash can. Because apparently she said "the litter won't eat drink milk off her mother" so she decided to throw em in the trash!! They aspca found 13 alive, and 3 DEAD. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PPL?!?! And u know what she said to the cops?? She said "at least I didn't kill all of em like some people" I was like WHAT?!?! She a crazy bitch.. DAMN!! I wish I had the money to take care of all of em.. MAN! I'm so upset!
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