Do you support Gay Marriage in Trinidad & Tobago?

[Habit7]

September 18, 2007
Group Loses Tax Break Over Gay Union Issue

By JILL P. CAPUZZO
A boardwalk pavilion in the seaside town of Ocean Grove, N.J., that has been at the center of a battle over gay civil union ceremonies has lost its tax-exempt status because the state ruled it no longer met the requirements as a place open to all members of the public.

In a letter to the administrator of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, a Methodist organization that owns the pavilion property, the state commissioner of environmental protection, Lisa Jackson, declined to recertify the pavilion as eligible for a real estate tax exemption it has enjoyed since 1989 under the state’s Green Acres Program, but did renew the tax-exempt status of the rest of the boardwalk and the beach, also owned by the association.

The issue arose after the association, which has owned the land, the beach and 1,000 feet of the sea itself since 1870, rejected the requests of two lesbian couples to have their civil union ceremonies at the Boardwalk Pavilion.

The couples complained to the State Division on Civil Rights, which began a discrimination investigation. The association sued the state, claiming that the investigation violated its First Amendment rights because civil unions were contrary to the beliefs of the United Methodist Church.

A federal district court judge refused last month to halt the investigation.

In a letter dated Saturday that revoked the longstanding certification, Ms. Jackson, the environmental protection commissioner, wrote, “It is clear that the pavilion is not open to all persons on an equal basis.”

The administrator of the Camp Meeting Association, Scott Hoffman, said in a written statement that “the Camp Meeting is reviewing the letter. However, it is worth noting that over 99 percent of the Camp Meeting’s land was recertified as tax-exempt.”

Every three years since 1989, the association has applied for, and received, tax exemptions for its boardwalk, beach and the pavilion under the Green Acres Program, designed to encourage the use of privately owned lands for public recreation and conservation. This is the first time any part of its application has been turned down.

Facing a deadline of last Saturday mandated by the Green Acres rules, Ms. Jackson said it was important to make clear where her department stood on the definition of open property.

“When people hear the words ‘open space,’ we want them to think not just of open air and land, but that it is open to all people,” said Ms. Jackson. “And when the public subsidizes it with tax breaks, it goes with the expectation that it is not going to be parsed out, whether it be by activity or any particular beliefs.”

The tax assessor in Neptune Township, where Ocean Grove is located, said he could not estimate how much more tax the association might have to pay because of the changed status of the pavilion. When the lawsuit was filed against the state last month, the assessor, Bernard Haney, estimated that the association was saving about $500,000 a year because of all of its Green Acres exemptions.

In a letter sent to the state last week arguing that the tax-exempt status of the Pavilion, should be retained, Michael Behrens, the association’s lawyer, said that the use of the open-air pavilion had not changed since it was first included in the Green Acres Program 18 years ago.

The pavilion, which is used largely for Sunday church services and youth ministry programs, has also been a place where boardwalk strollers are welcome to sit and relax. “But never was the general public granted unfettered right to use the pavilion in any way it chooses (e.g., to reserve it for an exclusive use such as a civil union ceremony),” Mr. Behrens wrote.

The case has drawn national attention, in part because Ocean Grove has long been considered a community that embraced gay residents. Steven Goldstein, executive director of Garden State Equality, a New Jersey gay rights organization, said he has gotten more e-mail messages on this issue than on any other cause his group has taken up.

“I’m hearing from gay people all over the country who thought Ocean Grove was the leading light for gay tolerance and that’s not the case anymore,” Mr. Goldstein said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/18/nyregion/18grove.html

[Bareback]

The only support required is this...............

[mitsu_chick941]

^^^those are cute

[bluefete]

[Bareback]

They look better on the floor!!!!!!!!!!!

[nismaniac]

May GOD have mercy for all of you who selected yes.

LOL

May FSM have mercy on u for ur blasphemy!

I dont believe in fsm and dont require his or her mercy. When fsm fails you in your life I want you to know that GOD will never fail you.

[rollingstock]

May GOD have mercy for all of you who selected yes.

LOL

May FSM have mercy on u for ur blasphemy!

I dont believe in fsm and dont require his or her mercy. When fsm fails you in your life I want you to know that GOD will never fail you.

steups......anyone that drives a B14 with hid's in the fogs cannot be taken seriously or have an iota of common sense.

[Persia]

Hellllll NO!!!.

[whyteliver]

oh canada says its cool ....well we good to go then.

what u mean by that?..

i just dont understand y because its accepted in so called developed worlds it should b here too. You do know in some places ppl want to marry their pets ah guess thats ok.....they have rights to.

[Stephon.]

oh canada says its cool ....well we good to go then.

what u mean by that?..

i just dont understand y because its accepted in so called developed worlds it should b here too. You do know in some places ppl want to marry their pets ah guess thats ok.....they have rights to.

Your argument is very stupid. Ok let me go down to your extremely idiotic level and say this.

Driving without seat belts are against the law in most developed countries, I have been driving without one for years, I dunno why they put this stupid law to make everybody put on seat belts now!

DERP!!!!!

[S_2NR]

oh canada says its cool ....well we good to go then.

what u mean by that?..

i just dont understand y because its accepted in so called developed worlds it should b here too. You do know in some places ppl want to marry their pets ah guess thats ok.....they have rights to.

Have fun in Tobago

[whyteliver]

oh canada says its cool ....well we good to go then.

what u mean by that?..

i just dont understand y because its accepted in so called developed worlds it should b here too. You do know in some places ppl want to marry their pets ah guess thats ok.....they have rights to.

Your argument is very stupid. Ok let me go down to your extremely idiotic level and say this.

Driving without seat belts are against the law in most developed countries, I have been driving without one for years, I dunno why they put this stupid law to make everybody put on seat belts now!

DERP!!!!!

wait till the last horse cross the finish line...then u might get it.

[shogun]

Speaking of horses. Isn't that "then people will marry pets" point as good as a beaten dead horse?

and hasn't it been disproved as nonsense, over and over again, in this thread?

[nismaniac]

steups......anyone that drives a B14 with hid's in the fogs cannot be taken seriously or have an iota of common sense.[/quote]

and what do you say of persons who assume that the B14 has HIDs when they are actually the stock bulbs. Please rollingstock dont ass / u /me.

[Greypatch]

when ppl in trinidad & tobago vote on issues..we as a society will be mature enough to engage the issue of gay marrige

[nemisis]

when ppl in trinidad & tobago vote on issues..we as a society will be mature enough to engage the issue of gay marrige

Half the people vote on issues the other half vote on the issue of race

[jm3]

May GOD have mercy for all of you who selected yes.

LOL

May FSM have mercy on u for ur blasphemy!

I dont believe in fsm and dont require his or her mercy. When fsm fails you in your life I want you to know that GOD will never fail you.

steups......anyone that drives a B14 with hid's in the fogs cannot be taken seriously or have an iota of common sense.

lol so i'm not the only one that knows this gj rs.

[Daran]

The world is progressing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18118350

Malawi to overturn homosexual ban, Joyce Banda says

President Joyce Banda has said she wants Malawi to overturn its ban on homosexual acts - the first African country to do so since 1994.

Two Malawian men were sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2010 after saying they were getting married.

Several Western leaders have recently said they would cut aid to countries which did not recognise gay rights.

Mrs Banda took power last month after her predecessor, Bingu wa Mutharika, died of a heart attack.

She has since reversed several of his policies, including devaluing the currency, in a bid to get donor funding restored.

Many donors cut aid under Mr Mutharika, accusing him of economic mismanagement and political repression.

In her first state of the nation address to parliament, Mrs Banda said: "Some laws which were duly passed by the august house... will be repealed as a matter of urgency... these include the provisions regarding indecent practices and unnatural acts."

The BBC's Raphael Tenthani in the main city, Blantyre, says the president has the support of a majority of MPs and so should be able to get parliament to overturn the law.

However, he says it will be an unpopular move with many church leaders, as well as the wider population in this conservative country.

After a storm of international condemnation, Mr Mutharika did pardon the two Malawian men on "humanitarian grounds only" but said they had "committed a crime against our culture, against our religion, and against our laws".

Homosexual acts are illegal in most African countries.

In Uganda, an MP recently introduced a bill which stipulated the death penalty could be imposed for some homosexual offences, although he has since said he now wants this changed to life in prison.

South Africa is the only African country where same-sex marriages are legal - discrimination based on sexual orientation was banned after a new constitution was introduced when white minority rule ended in 1994.

'Attempted coup'
Earlier this month, Mrs Banda said she did not want Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to attend an African Union summit Malawi is hosting in July.

She said she feared the "economic implications" if Mr Bashir visited the country in defiance of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges over the conflict in Darfur.

Relations with donors have already improved under Mrs Banda and the UK, which had been extremely critical of Mr Mutharika, is now urging other donors to restore funding as soon as possible.

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and aid used to make up a large proportion of the national budget.

Mrs Banda was elected vice-president as Mr Mutharika's running mate in 2009 but the pair had since fallen out.

When the president died, there were reports that Mr Mutharika's allies attempted to sidestep the constitution to prevent her succeeding him.

Mrs Banda also announced that an official inquiry would be opened into this "attempted coup" and the circumstances of Mr Mutharika's death.

[Ronaldo95163]

Those two fags deserved to be jailed

hurrdurrhurrdurr

[UML]

for all the "I am born gay" believers

how do u explain the homosexuality that occurs in our nations prisons......are these rough neck, hating, oppressed, blood thirsty, man killing machines born fruity?

or is their "gayness" as a result of the need for sex and the conditions they live under?


so if it is the need for sex and the unavailability of conjugal visits.....then gayness is a CHOICE.

[Humes]

so if it is the need for sex and the unavailability of conjugal visits.....then gayness is a CHOICE.

The homosexual activity that takes place in prisons is rarely a result of men being fundamentally attracted to men. The same way gays who hide their sexuality, get married to women, have sex with them, have children etc...aren't fundamentally attracted to women.

Prison rape is the expression of sexuality through aggression and dominance. Few of these fellas would be able to function sexually if it was a lovemaking, kissing and feelings situation with another man. And make no mistake...the vast majority of prison sexual relationships are about dominance and survival.

Then there are those who use a man as a proxy for a woman. They get blown and close their eyes and imagine it's a woman. And it might surprise you, but the average prisoner simply does nothing sexually (except masturbate) throughout his sentence.

You should do some reading about human sexuality and actually try to learn something. Ignorance is not a state anyone should be satisfied to live in.

The preference is no choice. The activity, like all activity, is a choice.

[Daran]

so if it is the need for sex and the unavailability of conjugal visits.....then gayness is a CHOICE.

The homosexual activity that takes place in prisons is rarely a result of men being fundamentally attracted to men. The same way gays who hide their sexuality, get married to women, have sex with them, have children etc...aren't fundamentally attracted to women.

Prison rape is the expression of sexuality through aggression and dominance. Few of these fellas would be able to function sexually if it was a lovemaking, kissing and feelings situation with another man. And make no mistake...the vast majority of prison sexual relationships are about dominance and survival.

Then there are those who use a man as a proxy for a woman. They get blown and close their eyes and imagine it's a woman. And it might surprise you, but the average prisoner simply does nothing sexually (except masturbate) throughout his sentence.

You should do some reading about human sexuality and actually try to learn something. Ignorance is not a state anyone should be satisfied to live in.

The preference is no choice. The activity, like all activity, is a choice.

excellent post.

It scares me to think so much people think homosexuality is a choice. The fact that these people think it's so easy to choose to be gay raises a lot of questions over their sexuality. Quite possibly, they are repressed homosexuals or bisexuals who constantly fight their sexual urges toward the same sex.

I myself am 100% straight and I can never choose to suddenly be with a man. That is repulsive to me. Yet, gays feel the same way about women, and have said they always felt this way.

Trust me, you have to be born with a sexuality like that if you can't get aroused over something like this.

[sharkman121]

so if it is the need for sex and the unavailability of conjugal visits.....then gayness is a CHOICE.

The homosexual activity that takes place in prisons is rarely a result of men being fundamentally attracted to men. The same way gays who hide their sexuality, get married to women, have sex with them, have children etc...aren't fundamentally attracted to women.

Prison rape is the expression of sexuality through aggression and dominance. Few of these fellas would be able to function sexually if it was a lovemaking, kissing and feelings situation with another man. And make no mistake...the vast majority of prison sexual relationships are about dominance and survival.

Then there are those who use a man as a proxy for a woman. They get blown and close their eyes and imagine it's a woman. And it might surprise you, but the average prisoner simply does nothing sexually (except masturbate) throughout his sentence.

You should do some reading about human sexuality and actually try to learn something. Ignorance is not a state anyone should be satisfied to live in.

The preference is no choice. The activity, like all activity, is a choice.

Well said...

[Humes]

The fact that these people think it's so easy to choose to be gay raises a lot of questions over their sexuality.

Heh.

[Mudboy]

If they wanna go that way...migrate to a country that has made same sex marriages legal....so simple...


why does the whole country have to change laws for a few people?

[Stephon.]

If they wanna go that way...migrate to a country that has made same sex marriages legal....so simple...


why does the whole country have to change laws for a few people?

Unless the law affects you (which I'm guessing it wont because you're not gay) then I don't see why it would bother you that much if this becomes legal.

[redmanjp]

I would say decriminalize homosexual activity- but going so far to give legal recognition to it as in marriage- hell no- because it wont stop there...

I've heard talk of forcing churches/other religious institutions to violate their own beliefs and perform same-sex marriages bcuz it's 'discrimination' to not allow it.

At least in the case of Catholics AFAIK, at least one of the 2 people getting married has to be Catholic. (I believe they allow A Catholic to marry someone of another faith) If you are baptized, receive 1st Communion AND then go on to confirm, you essentially agree to abide by the rules of the Church- which includes the rule that the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony is conferred upon a man & a woman in order for them to procreate & raise children (which same sex couples can't do naturally)

I can't speak for the other faiths if they would allow it or not.

But one can't claim 'discrimination' if you CHOOSE to be a member of an Institution- either abide by their rules or UDFR.

[Stephon.]

Churches won't be forced to do anything, stop.

[Habit7]

Really?

then scroll up to the second post on this page

[Daran]

you people are rediculous sometimes.

What you think it is gay people want? To take over the world and enslave you? Well who doesn't want that, but you all need to put things in perspective and be open minded.

Throw religion out the window, the state and the church/temple/mosque ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO MIX.

All they want is the right to be married or have some sort of civil union that affords them the same benefits, as well as protection from discrimination.

how do you feel about groups putting our misinformation like this?


Ads like that can only cause hurt and discrimination.