Marriage rights activists will deliver a petition asking Mayor Kevin Johnson to join other mayors in support of same-sex marriage Tuesday morning at City Hall in a move they said they hope will cause him to consider endorsing Mayors for the Freedom to Marry. “We’re not trying to force anybody’s hand or be aggressive in any way,” said Neil Pople, communications director for the Stonewall Democratic Club of Greater Sacramento and author of the petition. It has more than 300 signatures and is posted here. “We want to positively encourage the mayor and let him know that there are people who want this to happen.” Last week’s ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals against Proposition 8 –

On Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. PT, The California Channel will carry LIVE coverage of the California State Supreme Court oral arguments in Perry v. Brown. California residents can watch the arguments online at www.calchannel.com or on their local Cal Channel cable station. The arguments will center on whether state law gives sponsors of the gay marriage ban the right to defend the measure in a case now pending before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, based in San Francisco. Proposition 8, enacted by California voters in 2008, prohibits same-sex marriage by providing that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." L

Writer Armistead Maupin read the first chapter of his new book, “Mary Ann in Autumn,” Thursday night as part of the Bee Book Club. The adoring audience hung on his every word, whether it was the familiar-sounding yet new prose of “Maryann in Autumn” or his reminiscing about his life and his very popular “Tales of the City” book series. With this latest book, the series now stands at eight titles. Maupin also wrote two standalone novels. When Maupin started writing about what was essentially his life, it opened a door for the straight community for a look into the gay community. What was to become “Tales of the City” started in the San Francisco edition of the Pacific Sun. In 1976 it had

Sacramento, CA – August 9, 2010 - It isn’t known how many same-sex couples are poised to rush down to the Sacramento County Clerk’s Office, however if Wednesday is any indication there could be more then just a few dozen who spent the weekend ring shopping, buying flowers and ordering wedding cakes in anticipation of the possibility Judge Vaughn Walker who presided over the Federal Prop 8 Trial will lift the stay and allow those couples to apply for a marriage license. If you go to the Sacramento County Clerks Office web site you will see highlighted in bright yellow the following statement: “Prop 8 Ruling – Until the ruling on Proposition 8 is entered, it is not in effect. The court has

Sacramentans were expectedly divided following Wednesday’s ruling overturning Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California determined Wednesday that the ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. “Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples,” according to the decision in the case, Perry v. Schwarzenegger. Vaughn also declared that Prop. 8 “prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on

Lisa Gorden and JDD Doran-Jammer, both blind, trailed behind the crowd of people marching around the Capitol, echoing their chants “Hey hey, ho ho, discrimination has got to go.” Although they are not gay and said marching with crowds is difficult given their physical disposition, the two friends joined in Tuesday’s rally against the California Supreme Court’s upholding of Proposition 8. “I’m just real sad and mad about the Prop. 8 decision. It just seemed important to come out in the heat and support this,” Gorden said. “We have plenty of noise to follow.” Gorden and Doran-Jammer were two of an estimated 2,000 who appeared at Tuesday’s rally, organized by Equality Action NOW, which ref