Bill Moyers Journal Tonight

... is about same sex marriage. There are a lot of good links on the website, too:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02262010/profile.html.

Here in Louisville, it airs at 10:00.

I'd be interested to get the reasoning behind this...

West Virginia gay marriage ban voted down in House.

My thoughts are as follows, not just with West Virginia, but with all states in similar situations...
-Gay marriage is currently illegal in West Virginia. Why make a law banning something that's already illegal and already strictly regulated by the government?
-There are two ways that gay marriage could become legal in states like West Virginia-
1) they pass a law/have a state supreme court decision allowing same sex couples to marry
2) there is some sort of federal action legalizing gay marriage, such as:
A) an amendment is passed legalizing gay marriage
B) a supreme court case finds that denying marriage status to same sex couples is unconstitutional
C) an amendment is passed repealing DOMA

Admittedly, the likelihood of any of these happening in the near future is, at best, highly questionable.

Only the third option has any possibility of meriting the need for a state amendment banning gay marriage, but even repealing DOMA doesn't lead to the logic "pro-gay marriage unless proven otherwise by constitutional amendment."

I'm trying to come up with a good simile for this, but I can't think of one that fits exactly.

I'm also fairly certain there's a gaping hole in my logic, but I clearly can't discern what that is right now either. I look forward to your thoughts.

Can they call these pre"nups" without any nuptials?

Something we haven't yet discussed: prenuptial agreements. Here's an article about unmarried cohabitors signing prenups.

Prop 8 Trial Reenactment

This is a testament to the need for theatre and the power of the Internets. From this article, I found out that since the Prop 8 trail was banned from being broadcast on YouTube, some people in California got together and decided to compile transcripts and do a re-enactment of the trial. You can access their re-enactment at http://www.marriagetrial.com/.

Pro-gay marriage ad sparks controversy

Clothing store Armani Exchange featured same-sex couples in recent advertising, which of course, pissed some people off.

Wedding Songs

I've been collecting music and songs people associate with weddings or wedding receptions. Do you have any to add?

Lots of people say the Chicken Dance. Also the Hokey Pokey. And the Electric Slide. I always wondered if these were the staples of midwestern or southern middle-and-working-class weddings, but it looks like they span the United States for the most part. Not sure about spanning economic class. Do extremely wealthy people do the Hokey Pokey, too?

Post a comment with your favorites or memorable songs you've heard used below, please!

Also, click here for a funny NPR feature about the most inappropriate wedding songs ever.

Jokes and Metaphors

We're compiling a couple of lists for use in the performance, and would love to have as many contributions as possible.

First, are there any jokes you've heard about marriage or married couples?

Second, what metaphors can you think of that are related to marriage? ("Tying the not" is probably most prominent. But we've heard some others: a "stamp," a "paper clip," "glue," etc.)

Please comment here, or send a private message to marriageprojectlouisville@gmail.com, if you'd prefer.

Mexico City

Click here for an article from today's New York Times on gay marriage legislation in Mexico City. In the article, they mention the "global gay rights movement." It's important to acknowledge that this discussion isn't limited to the United States. I want to see more about how other countries deal with the issue, and in general how other countries understand marriage. Anyone have any thoughts?