as a lesbian, it has been a different experience. my children see discrimination. we face a lot of discrimination, and so i am hoping that maybe we can go to california and get married later this year. it has beeno say like stepping into a different world. been sad to be in public and feel discrimination. my kids have lost friends over this. peopleo idea how many would be supportive of me when i came out, and i can say that love is love. my partner and i love each other. i do not think that love is any different than a man and a woman, and i have had both experiences. is when ithe issues hi comes to legal documents, when you file taxes, putting together a will, somebody who is married before a traditional marriage and now in a traditional marriage, do you know any difference in the legal documents you have to put together? caller: then writes that i had when i was married to a man, i have lost most of those rights with my partner. we do not get to file our taxes. i have to pay more in taxes. that is not beneficial to our families. that does not help my children. so

hertz gays and lesbians in california. it hurts the children we are raising and it does so for no good reason. it is our hope we can move forward and remove this harm from societies of gays and lesbians in california can go back to their lives, living equally among their neighbors with the same rights and protections as everybody else. thank you very much. beginning,from the this case has been about securing the right to marry the person i love and having the equal access to the most important relationship i know in life, and that is marriage. i look forward to the day where i can be married to the person i love. it is exactly that and i cannot wait to start my family with jeff. we are so pleased to have had this opportunity to present his case to the supreme court today. it has been the culmination of a long and amazing journey and we are so thankful for ted koppel some. looking forward to the court's decision. thank you. sandy and i would like to introduce you to two of our sons. spencer and elliott. >> hello. my name is

. >> but voters approved proposition 8 taking away the right for gays and lesbians to marry in california. >> california has made it very clear. >> we were sitting there and licking the wounds and saying, what do we do now? and serendipitously, a friend of my wife's came by the table and she says, i think you'd be very interested to find out that you might find an ally in ted olson on your issue. >> that's the ted olson, the conservative legal icon. that stunned you, right? >> yes, more than stunned me. it stunned me, but i said if this is true, this is the home run of all times. i mean, the idea that ted olson, this arch conservative, the solicitor general for george bush who argued bush v. gore and basically put me in bed for a couple of days i was so depressed after bush v. gore, was interested in gay rights. i thought, let's check it out. >> didn't you have doubts about ted olson? >> they say politics makes strange bedfellows. you don't have a stranger bedfellow than me and ted olson. >> i was skeptical, absolutely. >> gay rights activist, chad griffin, was at lunch with reiner that d

for would provide fairness gays and lesbian couples. we want to live the american dream. we want to have the same opportunities and privileges of others have. to lisa gough signature robert -- [inaudible] voters say the freedom to marry the person you love is a constitutional right that is given to all americans. the nation is ready for marriage a quality and so are we. inthis rally is taking place front of the kohr plaza. live coverage continues on our companion network. the national organization for marriage is hosting a rally later this morning. they are expected to start in about half an hour. you'll be able to see this. we do have a poll on our facebook page. we're asking whether you agree that marriage should only be between a man and a one-minute? she says this is not an issue of religion or economy or anthropology. its is a civil rights issue. i should have a right to marry my best friend. we're taking your tweets, has htag #samesexmarriage. >> at the activities continue in front of the supreme court, if the court continues to debate same-sex marriage. from this m

it hurts case and lesbians in california and the children we are raising, and for no good freezing. it is our hope that we can afford and remove this harm from society so gays and lesbians in california can go back to their lives living equally alongside their neighbors with the same rights and protections as everyone else. >> historic that the supreme court, the justices hear the first of two cases involving same-sex marriage. they appeared divided on whether to overturn california's proposition 8. >> traditional marriage has been around for thousands of years. same-sex marriages very new. i think was first adopted in the netherlands in 2000. so there is not a lot of data about it. it may turn out to be a good thing, and may turn out not to be a good thing as the supporters of proposition 8 apparently believe. horrocks we will play recordings of some of the justice questions in speak to a married same-sex couple from california leading the fight for equality and look at today's case or the constitutionality of doma, the defense of marriage act. we will also speak to the wood or of

overweight lesbians. do you know any overweight lesbians? >> do i know any overweight lesbians? a half of our tax money. >> biggest show on cable tv and you are asking me if i know any overweight lesbians? >> bill: i want to know if the overweight lesbians need a million and a half bucks to find out if why they are overweight. >> i have no idea. >> bill: do you object to a million and a half taxpayer money to find out why lesbians are overweight? here is why they are overweight. they eat too much. i don't need a million and a half. >> listen, i'm overweight. >> bill: areare you a lesbian? >> no, no, no i'm not. take that shot there. and i could give one back to you but i won't. >> bill: it's not a shot. it's a joke. >> sometimes your jokes just fall a little flat. >> bill: i know you are offended? >> very tough to offend me about anything. >> bill: what i'm telling you 400 million in duplicate and waste that could be consult out if president obama cared. last word? >> you agree with me then that taking $4 billion a year and giving it to oil companies. >> bill: close up all of th

i am a proud lesbian activist woman.a and i are the proud parents of jackie. [cheers and applause] the three of us are a >> we married in 1995 without legal support, and we have created a life. we asked our government to help protect that right. jackie is now 13 years old. we raise our daughter like any oh family, going to school recitals, doing homework. we're saving for her college education. more than anything, sheila and i want to be able to offer our daughter the life that parents dream of for their child, a life full of achievement and respect. however, when we suffer the inequity of unfair treatment under the law, we cannot do that for her. currently, we pay tax on medical insurance. it's considered income for us, but not for couples who enjoy full marriage equality. under the current law, our estate is taxed as if we're giving a gift to a friend when, in fact, we work together to gain everything we have. our family exists and needs the rights, benefits and obligations that civil marriage provides. without these r

and my lesbian brothers and sisters are beside me and they are denied the same rights. it does not seem fair or equal. we standited states, for freedom, justice, and the quality. it does not make sense to me. the whole argument seems really silly. it is simple. if a person is gay or lesbian, whoever they are, if they want to get together and get married, they shouldn't be able to express their love with no issue at all. >> we did not have a middle line for people. -- question i ask >> that seems interesting. seems very much support or oppose it, but i hear your point. >> the question i want to ask you is, the debate on the merits defense act, president bill clinton, just recently, in the last week and a half, also admits he has written law into constitution that directly violated our constitution. >> he signed that bill into law, yes. >> he has just recently admitted. we have had a lot of admissions, from the pope, to queen elizabeth, on some practices in the law that have not been kosher, and under this doma act, admittedtute, that he he wrote under doma and it directl

in this case, that decision to exclude gays and lesbians was made by the state of california. becausehat's only proposition 8 came 140 days after the california supreme court issued its decision. >> that's right. >> and don't you think it's more reasonable to view it as a change by the california supreme court of this institution that's been around since time immemorial? >> the california supreme court, like this supreme court, decides what the law is. the california supreme court decided that the equal protection and due process clauses of that california constitution did not permit excluding gays and lesbians from the right to get married -- >> you -- you've led me right into a question i was going to ask. the california supreme court decides what the law is. that's what we decide, right? we don't prescribe law for the future. we -- we decide what the law is. i'm curious, when -- when did -- when did it become unconstitutional to exclude homosexual couples from marriage? 1791? 1868, when the fourteenth amendment was adopted? sometimes -- some time after baker, where we said

do gays and lesbians have the constitutional right to marry? the politics and the legal challenges ahead. joining us one of the key lawyers in the fight, david boies. plus, the rest of our roundtable, chairman and founder of the faith and freedom coalition ralph reed, had hilary rosen, and david brooks and e.j. dionne rejoin the conversation. we know why we're here. ♪ to connect our forces to what they need, when they need it. ♪ to help troops see danger, before it sees them. ♪ to answer the call of the brave and bring them safely home. [ female announcer ] around the globe, the people of boeing are working together, to support and protect all who serve. that's why we're here. ♪ plays a key role throughout our lives. one a day men's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day men's 50+. >>> you can follow me each day on twitter @davidgregory. this morning i posted some of the reading i've done preparing for the program this week including a great piece in "

she's an openly gay lesbian. she has been quoted as saying she has faith in justice roberts.o you think he'll have an eye toward the legacy of his court, and do you think that loving v. virginia from 1967 over interracial marriage is going to have a legacy for this court today? >> i think the judges are always looking at their legacy. it just goes to show that personal connection people have can have such an impact. we've moved the ball forward on marriage equality so far, and one of the things that keeps coming over and over again is i know someone who's gay or lesbian. i have a friend, a family member, a colleague. that has pushed our movement so far forward because it's very hard to deny rights to people you work with and live with and are family with every single day. >> gentlemen, i'm going to ask you to stand by and bring in congressm congressman. you're one of two openly gay members of congress in the state of wisconsin along with senator tammy baldwin. you and your partner married in canada, but that marriage is not recognized back here in the states, certainly not in

the gays and lesbians see it as a degradation of some sort of recognition. those of us supporting to a traditional marriage see the word marriage draws on its traditional role that is tied to procreation and child rearing. we want men and women to understand that marriage is the ideal context in which to raise children, and in a sense to read the fine marriage in a way that eliminates the essential components. >> you have a bunch of people out there raising children right now cannot get married. if you think marriage is an important thing to happen your parents, if you think they would benefit from having unmarried parents. alln california they have the rights but not the label. >> even then they do not give federal rights. >> that is a separate question. >> but right now they do not get any. there is no relationship recognition at all. in order to avoid the speculation that straight people are going to be more likely to have children and their household without being married, how do make that happen as? calculus? i do not understand it. street people will h

do gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marriage? the supreme court is taking up the question. how far the country has moved on gay marriage politically but is there still a ways to go? one of the key lawyers in the fight, david boies, joins our discussion. plus, the president in the middle east. >> you are not alone. >> how did he do? analysis about his new push for peace and new warnings for syria and iran. >>> and good sunday morning. new hope for a peace push in the middle east. the president arrived back in wa washington after a mideast trip that took him to israel for his first time as president as well as visits to the palestinian territories and jordan while a reinvigorated peace process is one goal, more pressing concerns for the obama white house are the threats from iran and the effect of the relentless bloodshed in syria. we want to begin with some analysis about the president's trip this morning with our chief foreign correspondent richard engel back from the region. he is in new york this morning. i have david brooks of

times" broke this story that he had an openly lesbian very close cousin. that's america today, and it is just an i think very revealing window into how the country has changed. >> jeffrey toobin, thank you so much. these two cases are going before the supreme court at a time when public support for same-sex marriage continues to grow. recent polls show that's the case, but maybe the most striking number of concerns how many americas count gays and lesbians as close members of their circles these days, the higher visibility of gay power in hollywood has not exactly hurt that cause. >> knock knock, anybody homo? >> i am, i am. >> it's just a tv show, a situation comedy, not even a drama. >> tonight at dinner i'll tell my mother i'm gay. >> vice president biden has credited "will & grace" with changing americans' attitudes about same-sex marriage. >> i think will & grace probably did more to educate the american public than anything anybody's done so far. >> on this, supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage agree, hollywood has been influential of encour

after noting a long history of discrimination against gays and lesbians, the court concluded any law that makes distinctions based on sexual orientation must be subjected to "heightened scrutiny," and the government must present "exceedingly persuasive" proof that the distinctions further "an important government interest." should the u.s. supreme court agree, it would be much more difficult for congress or any city or state to discriminate against gays and lesbians on anything, not just marriage. the justice department ordinarily defends laws passed by congress, even those it doesn't like. but after the new york court's decision, president obama said his justice department would no longer defend doma in court. >> those who had fought for passage of the defense of marriage act were understandably dismayed. >> this is about what our children are going to be taught in elementary school. it is about stepping in between a parent and their child and imposing a new morality, or absence thereof, upon our children. >> republican leaders in the house said they would defend the law themselves.

. >> this proposal is not a way to oh boy declaim that gay and lesbian couples deserve equality . they do. from a civil-rights prospective marriage is a good fight, but from a family policy perspective marriage is the wrong fight. gay rights activists should not link elimination of specific arms to achieving marriage equality because those arms affect a wide range of the families and relationships of both gay and straight people, all of film share an interest in reforming outdated laws. so this book is a road map for how to get the laws that we need and want now whether we achieve meritor not. it is a road map for protecting their relationships with children, a sharing of family and medical leave to care for our loved ones, a sharing economic security after the death of an economic provider, making sure that the person we choose makes medical decisions for us if we're unable to make them for ourselves. marriage should not be the dividing line between the relationships that count and the relationships that don't. in fact over the course of the last several decades the legal signifi

the media award, glad, the gay lesbian alliance against deaf mission.onna said she thought she would be a great boy scout but then spoke seriously talking about the toll that bullying and discrimination has on gay, lesbian and france gendered teens. >>> baseball is back in san francisco. >> we'll explain why tonight's crowd here at at&t park has an a distinctly international feel. >> we have to know what's going on around you before you can affect change. >> a group of hackers tries to expose open city records. why city officials have given them their blessing. >> cleaning up the community, the efforts today to clean up the walls in one east bay city. [ teen ] times are good, aren't they, kids? it's nice having u-verse, isn't it? see back in my day, we didn't have these newfangled wireless receivers. fangled? no, we watched march madness in the living room... that's where the tv outlet was. what is he talking about? and if mom was hosting her book club that day, guess what...you missed it! we couldn't just move the tv all willy-nilly all over the house.

i think this is -- excuse me, i'm a little bit nervous. >> that's all right. >> i am a lesbian. last year they voted for it and i'm proud of all my friends up there. hopefully, you know, this is going to be life changing for a bunch of folks. >> what is the state law in virginia? >> there's -- it's -- there is no state law. we're not protected against anything. it is very sad. you know, we need to -- we need to, you know, just all get along basically. >> angela, thank you for calling. ozzie is in pennsylvania. he's opposed to same-sex ia

the lesbians and the squirrels? not suggesting come. >> there is the shrimp. >> shrimp on a treadmill. >> that is for dinner later. that's part of the mars menu i think actually. the fact of the matter is this is part of a nasa mission which is helpful to america. >> bill: you would not cut this back. >> he has already cut nasa. that's a federal program that he has cut. >> bigger point here when the government, our tax dollars are directed to this kind of insanity, it prevents the government from doing what it actually supposed to do. there is no reason why we should have such deep and irresponsible cuts in the military. government is supposed to protect us from enemies foreign and domestic. well now we have got to restrain ourselves on that and pull back on that. >> for the kids. >> and by the way. >> i'm blaming that on the lesbians. >> biggest budget busters are medicaid, medicare and social security. >> bill: i didn't call colmes any names. >> you were so good tonight. >> counseling is working. >> bill: monica i

the gays and lesbians as a degradation of some sort of recognition. those of us supporting to a traditional marriage see the word marriage draws on its that is tiedole to procreation and child rearing. we want men and women to understand that marriage is the ideal context in which to raise children, and in a sense to read the fine marriage in a way that eliminates the essential components. >> you have a bunch of people out there raising children right now cannot get married. if you think marriage is an important thing to happen your parents, if you think they would benefit from having unmarried parents. hawthorne and they have all the rights but not the label. >> even then they do not give federal rights. >> that is a separate question. >> butright now they do not get any. there is no relationship recognition at all. in order to avoid the speculation that straight people are going to be more likely to have children and otheir household without being married, how do make that happen as? i do not understand it. street people will have more kids about ge

. >> scott: outside city hall, gays and lesbians lines up around the block. about 4,000 couples tied the knot. it was not to last. at the urging of then governor schwarzenegger, the supreme court stopped the marriages. over the years, it snaked its way through the judicial system. in 2008, ruling banning gay unions violated the state constitution. it cannot be denied based on it. >> so goes the rest of the nation. it's inevitable. this door's wide open now. it's going to happen. whether you like it or not. >> scott: the ruling triggered a wave of joyful weddings this time across the state. including the celebrated union of two long time lesbian activists together since the 1950s. it infuriated millions for proposition 8 to amend the california constitution and restore marriage to opposite-sex couples only. on the same night californians voted barack obama in office, they ovgot this vote back. >> they created the judiciary and legislature and they control the constitution. they decided that marriage should be between a man and woman. >> scott: supporters of ga

. >> the united states versus windsor, that is the 83-year-old lesbian edith windsor who took her challenge of the defense of their attack to the supreme court four years ago after her spouse died. today we look at the remarkable story. in 1962, soon got engaged and had to wait 40 years before they could marry. >> edie and thea spent four years together, in sickness and in health, just like any other married couple. for the federal government to protect their marriage did that exist is unfair and an american and unconstitutional. >> we will hear excerpts of the film, "edie & thea: a very long engagement." we will play part of wednesday's landmark oral arguments before the supreme court. we will also host a discussion on same-sex marriage and the future of the lpg -- lgbt rights. all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. afghan police say five civilians, including four children, were killed in a night raid by afghan and international special forces in the eastern province of klo -- logar. while the afghan defense mi

okay, it's magic. >> stephen: they are tugging at your heartstrings or as lesbians call it scissoring. sick stuff. la laugh on the pro-gay side you got your kagan, breyer, wise latina and ginsburg who acted all surprise that the defense of marriage act makes the federal government treat gay couples differently from straight couples. >> you are saying there's two kinds of marriages the full marriage and skim milk marriage. >> stephen: yes, skim milk marriage. i have always suspected that skim milk was gay. for god sake it has homogenized on it. for pete's sake sean penn won an oscar for it. don't call me a bigot because i'm lactose intolerant. 2% that is straight missionary. half and half, come on. [ laughter ] and yogurt, i think we all know what that fruit is doing on the bottom. [ laughter ] plus, ladies and gentlemen, giving homosexual marriages federal recognition means giving them benefits meant for straight couples. >> think social security benefits, federal estate and income taxes as well as medical and family leave. same-sex couples who are legally married do not get them simp

many of my clients are not lesbian, they're gayses, they are elderly. i've dealt with all of their family issues. i think i have from the black community, hispanic community, latino community, asian american as well. and i guess going back to, you know, the old days and this does speak to my being a senior . in fact, i kind of got outed by the b-a-r. it showed up on the internet. i'm 68. so, i probably trump you on that, but that's neither here nor there. what i do see, though, is really how important it is, you know, how gender and age and ethnicity and, if you will, wealth and lack thereof, affects our people. and, you know, just

i'm say senior, a lesbian, in a committed relationship 24 years, we are married.e been in san francisco enough years to see a big change in the population and the growth of the eldering community from san francisco, the lgbt elders. i'm an elder law attorney and my focus for a good 50% of my clients is on lgbt issues, financial, health, estate planning, et cetera. and what i see there is a great deal of focus on aids, on invisibility, questions on living alone or together, outliving a partner, on illness and death within our community, on housing and the lack thereof past a certain point if you're not gainfully employed or have a very huge pension from something that you did when you were gainfully employed, you might be out on the streets in san francisco. i have not done much political work here. i have been -- this is a mid-life career change for me. i was a college professor. i was [speaker not understood] at san francisco state when it was largely lesbian. i've been on the aids legal referral panel. in fact, the first work i did as an attorney was at my tree

for once gays and lesbians weren't used as a wedge issue by republicans in a presidential election.an, senator portman comes out in favor of marriage equality because his son came out as gay. mute. the party has been mute in terms of especially criticism of him. there's been nothing. there's been silence on that . with the democrats, whoever runs in 2016 on the democratic side, that person will be for marriage equality. and so what you're going to have happen in 2016, and certainly by 2020, where the issue of marriage equality and civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered americans will be completely off the table because the candidates for both major parties will be on the same page. >> you know, that would be -- >> relatively. >> that would be really nice having watched how gays and lesbians have been demonized in previous elections. i would love that. >> no question the country's ready. >> chad griffin, jonathan capehart, thank you. >> thank you, karen. >>> stay with us. the day's top lines are coming up. >> what do you think of president bush's paintings? have yo

consistent with the ideals, and the laws and the constitution of this country to take our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters and put them in a class, and deny them rights that we give to everyone else. >> the case that's before you today is whether or not california can take a class of individuals based upon their characteristics, their distinguishing characteristics, remove from them the right of privacy, liberty, association, spirituality and identity that marriage gives them. >> reporter: but as the hour-long argument came to a close, several justices did not appear ready for a broad national ruling. >> traditional marriage has been around forhousan of years. same-sex marriage is very new. i think it was first adopted in the netherlands in 2000. so there isn't a lot of data about its effect. but you want us to step in and render a decision based on an assessment of the effects of this institution which is newer than cell phones or the internet. i mean we -- we are not -- we do not have the ability to see the future. >> reporter: notwithstanding all the attention the case has generate

she is just as john roberts lesbian cousin.do the right thing. supporters of proposition 8 say boulders, not the high court should decide on the merits. >> we do not need 850 state solution presented by this a great supreme court. are pulled politicians are care really capable of making that decision. >> tapes on the proceeding will be made available to the public. >> michael yap the letting us know some of the arguments going on and that the discussion has led to the children of same-sex couples. we will have more coming up as a kron4 morning news continues to file the latest with michael yankee. thousand people marched in rally in san francisco. ammar started at castro and market streets at about 630 last night and made its way to city hall very active as say they're optimistic that the elderly of the supreme court will go in their favor especially now and then applies to the majority of americans support same-sex marriage. >> everyday get more more optimistic. >> it feels like there's a momentum that is happening across the

you never see a lesbian embezzer will or counter fitter. actually being severely physically beaten by her partner. luckily, she had parents that intervened. and also immigrant groups that come from cultures that are so anti-female to begin with. >> john: yes. they come here -- >> they come here and behave like indians burning their wives, you know. >> john: when you think about -- this is illegal immigrants, of course. when you think about it, there is domestic abuse in lesbian relationships. you think some of the republicans will have another chance to put another lesbian in jail. speaking of men who don't know how to talk to women, let's briefly touch on seth macfarlane. what did you think of the umbrage when he was hired to say outrageous things? >> exactly. i think political correctness is the death of comedy. i hate it. about comedy. i think comedians -- as long as it's funny. for example the teddy bear anti-semitic thing it wasn't funny. >> john: it wasn't funny. >> if it was funny, i would have forgiven it. >> john: of course. >> the

yeah, equality for lesbian and gay people as americans like everyone else., it is an interesting topic. as i said before, the problem for the chairman and the problem for that party is that the country is moving very quickly away from it and away from the folks like reince priebus who still think that way. as julian said, in five to ten years, this country, marriage equality will be legal in this country in some way, shape or form, and quite frankly, if the supreme court decides it wants to punt on process grounds or legal technical grounds to allow marriage in california and strike down doma, i'm fine with that. >> jonathan capehart, julian epstein, thank you for joining me. >> thanks, lawrence. >>> today, rick santorum and ann coulter jumped into the south carolina campaign to try to stop stephen colbert's sister from becoming the next member of congress from south carolina. >>> and in the "rewrite," it pained rush limbaugh to have to mention bill o'reilly on his show today because those two guys hate each other. but the stakes were important for rush. he

lesbian feminists did not want any part of it.s of sex radicals did not want a part of marriage because they saw it as monogamous and did not want to commit to that. that is a big shift within the gay rights movement within 20 years. whether you want to have children or not, it does not seem that relevant as to whether you should get married because there is no requirement that straight couples have to indicate they want children before they get married. this is one of the real problems for the defenders of proposition 8. they need to give an argument why we need to exploit same-sex couples from marriage and one of their principal arguments as marriage is about channelling procreation and straight couples can have sex and on intended children and same-sex couples cannot. that hardly seems like a reason to exclude same-sex couples from marriage. whyight be a reason marriage was greeted in the first place so that it straight couples have unintended children, you are providing a secure social environment for them but it is difficult

for today's argument, white house senior advisor and chief justice john roberts' first cousin, a lesbian, who wants do marry her partner of four years. live in washington at the supreme court for abc7 news. back to you. >> thank you. cameras are not allowed in the court but the supreme court has released audio of the hearing. the lawyer defending prop 8 faced tough questions from the justices. >> what harm you see happening and when and how and what harm to the institution of marriage or to opposite sex couples, how does this cause and effect work? >> once again, i would reiterate we don't believe that's the correct legal question before the court. that the correct question is, whether or not redefining marriage to include same-sex couples would advance the interests of marriage. >> are you conceding the point that there is no harm or denigration to traditional opposite sex marriage couples? you are concede that? >> no, no, i'm not. >> we have link to the entire audio recording of the prop 8 hearing on our website at abc7news.com. >> happening right now a look at the flags flying at city