On Tuesday's Newsroom, CNN's Ali Velshi continued his network's promotion of homosexual "marriage" with an interview of two men who conducted what they called an "e-marriage." The two used Skype to have an officiant in Washington, DC, where same-sex "marriage" is legal, remotely perform their ceremony, which took place in Texas.
Velshi introduced the "fascinating story" of Mark and Dante Walkup and described "e-marriage" as "not just the idea that you get married using the Internet- the idea that a gay couple can get married using the Internet in a state that doesn't allow gay marriage....They got married via Skype, and they got married via Skype while they were in Dallas by somebody officiating who was somewhere else."
The CNN anchor tossed softball questions at the two homosexuals throughout the interview, only asking them to "explain...how this all transpired" and how they went about performing their "e-marriage." Towards the end of the segment, Velshi brought on defense attorney Ann Fitz, who stated that "this is absolutely a legal marriage under the laws of Washington, DC, and the fact that they have the ceremony itself in Texas does nothing to negate the validity of it." He also complimented his two guests for their "very innovative way of doing things."
This isn't the first time Velshi has helped promote the homosexual agenda. Just over a month earlier, the anchor labeled the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy "unjust" and asserted that homosexuals "have a right to serve. They have a right to fight." The anchor also called for legislation that would "require school districts to have policies recognizing sexual orientation and gender identity" during a July 25 commentary.
Overall, CNN has regularly devoted segments to pushing homosexual activism during 2010. On August 4, the network leaned mostly towards those who opposed Proposition 8 after the voter-approved amendment to the California state constitution was struck down by a federal judge. Later that month, CNN.com highlighted a new online magazine for same-sex couples planning their same-sex "marriage" ceremonies.
During June, CNN aired several pro-homosexual agenda segments as part of their promotion for their propagandistic "Gary and Tony Have a Baby" documentary. On October 7, anchor Anderson Cooper gave cover to openly-homosexual University of Michigan student body president Chris Armstrong, stating that he "hardly seems...[to have] a radical agenda," despite his support for gender-neutral student housing. The network also heavily promoted GLAAD's "Spirit Day" or "Wear Purple Day"on October 20 by devoting five segments to the cause.
The full transcript of the segment from Tuesday's CNN Newsroom, which began 26 minutes into the 1 pm Eastern hour:
VELSHI: I want to talk to you about a fascinating story: e-marriage- not just the idea that you get married using the Internet- the idea that a gay couple can get married using the Internet in a state that doesn't allow gay marriage. I want to introduce you to two guys, Mark and Dante Walkup. They got married via Skype, and they got married via Skype while they were in Dallas by somebody officiating who was somewhere else, and now, you two are married. Congratulations. You call yourselves 'accidental activists.' Explain to me how this all transpired.
MARK WALKUP: Well, in terms of being an accidental activist, we were both outraged after the passage of Prop 8 in California, when voters took away the rights of gay people to be able to marry. And so, since then, we've been doing what we can to advocate and to try and fight for full equality. The way this worked was we wanted to get married. My partner was in an automobile accident a year and a half ago. I got to the emergency room and the very first question I was asked was, what was my relationship to him? I lied. I said he was my husband and I wanted to see him immediately.
VELSHI: Right.
M. WALKUP: But there's a lot of other couples- a lot of relationships out there where they couldn't be able to see their partner because of the lack of a legal marriage status.
VELSHI: So what did you do?
M. WALKUP And so, we decided-
VELSHI: How did you go about doing this?
M. WALKUP: Well, we tried- well, first of all, we researched some laws- marriage laws- and, for example, the first one that we went to was Iowa, and Iowa's language was very specific. It said that the officiant and the party had to be geographically there together.
VELSHI: Right.
M. WALKUP: And- but when we went to Washington, DC, the language was not that specific. It said the officiant had to solemnize and witness the ceremony in their said district, and that's what she did when she married us.
DANTE WALKUP: Yes- we got the document in May this year in Washington, DC, and the document basically says that we were registered to be married by an officiant out of the District of Columbia- okay? So the document stayed there, and during that time, both Mark and I decided that we wanted to get married in our home state with our family and friends all around us. We realized it would not be affordable or- you know, in everybody's interest to be up there in Washington, DC. That's when Skype came around, and we realized that the officiant had to be there and we could be here, and she had to sign the document and have it registered, and it's registered in DC. And then, once she signed it and she had witnessed and solemnized it on 10/10/10-
VELSHI: Yup-
D. WALKUP: It was sent to us, and it was an official document- that we were married.
VELSHI: Guys, hang on there. I've got Ann Fitz with me in the studio. She's a legal expert and a defense attorney. Ann, is this legal?
ANN FITZ: Absolutely. They- essentially, what happened is they had the ceremony in Texas and the legal aspect of it took place in Washington, DC. So this is absolutely a legal marriage under the laws of Washington, DC, and the fact that they have the ceremony itself in Texas does nothing to negate the validity of it.
VELSHI: How interesting- is this an effective way of working around states that don't have gay marriage laws or don't allow gay marriage?
FITZ: Right, yes. They found a loophole in the law, and until there's actually legislation that prohibits these types of ceremonies from taking place, there's absolutely nothing illegal about having the ceremonies in a different state or jurisdiction from where same-sex marriages are legal.
VELSHI: If the- if somebody does something to make this kind of activity illegal in the state of Texas, are these two guys still married?
FITZ: Yes. If there's legislation that's subsequently passed ex post facto prohibits the retroactive banning of these types of commitments or marriages. So this marriage, and any other marriage like this, would stand in the state of Texas.
VELSHI: Mark and Dante, do you guys have the rights of a married couple in Texas?
M. WALKUP: No, we don't. There's a ban on same-sex marriage in Texas or anything that's similar to marriage. So, no, we don't have the legal rights and we're not considered legally married in Texas. I was able to get my Social Security card changed via my wedding certificate- or my wedding license. But when I went to try and get my driver's license changed, they wouldn't allow it because of the same-sex ban.
VELSHI: Interesting, guys- very innovative way of doing things. Mark and Dante Walkup, joining us from Dallas, Texas; Ann Fitz, joining me here in the studio- thank you very much for all of you joining us on a very, very interesting topic.
