Cinco de Mayo, Spanish for “May 5th”, or literally, “Fifth of May”) is a celebration held on May 5.
The date is observed to commemorate the Mexican Army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza.
In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is sometimes mistaken to be Mexico’s Independence Day – the most important national holiday in Mexico – which is celebrated on September 16.
“IOTD” is image of the day, a concept I came up with. I teach visual meditative therapy – or in easy terms – a mini mental holiday. For some people it is very difficult for them to get their image right. I post an image a day for people to use in their mini mental vacay. Some are serious, some are silly, and some are just beautiful!”
Even at a distance, “my star” looks simply beautiful.
My Puerto Rican flag.
Mi bandera Borinqueña!!
Like no other.
The three red stripes represent the blood from the brave warriors. The two white stripes represent the victory and peace that they would have after gaining independence. The white star represented the island of Puerto Rico. The blue represents the sky and blue coastal waters.
The untold story of the improbable campaign that finally tipped the U.S. Supreme Court.
May 18, 1970, Jack Baker and Michael McConnell walked into a courthouse in Minneapolis, paid $10, and applied for a marriage license. The county clerk, Gerald Nelson, refused to give it to them. Obviously, he told them, marriage was for people of the opposite sex; it was silly to think otherwise.
Baker, a law student, didn’t agree. He and McConnell, a librarian, had met at a Halloween party in Oklahoma in 1966, shortly after Baker was pushed out of the Air Force for his sexuality. From the beginning, the men were committed to one another. In 1967, Baker proposed that they move in together. McConnell replied that he wanted to get married—really, legally married. The idea struck even Baker as odd at first, but he promised to find a way and decided to go to law school to figure it out.
Last week, June 26, 2015, the high court reversed itself and declared that gays could marry nationwide.
“Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his sweeping decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.
“They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.”
~~GALLERY~~
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The plaintiffs’ arguments in Obergefell were strikingly similar to those Baker made back in the 1970’s. And the Constitution has not changed since Baker made his challenge (save for the ratification of the Twenty-Seventh Amendment, on congressional salaries).
But the high court’s view of the legitimacy and constitutionality of same-sex marriage changed radically: In the span of 43 years, the notion had gone from ridiculous to constitutionally mandated.
TO READ THE FULL TIMELINE AND DETAILS, CLICK ON LINK BELOW
SUPREME COURT’s landmark ruling legalizes gay marriage NATIONWIDE
WASHINGTON, June 26, 2015
(Reuters)
The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the U.S. Constitution provides same-sex couples the right to marry, handing a historic triumph to the American gay rights movement.
The court ruled 5-4 that the Constitution’s guarantees of due process and equal protection under the law mean that states cannot ban same-sex marriages. With the landmark ruling, gay marriage becomes legal in all 50 states.
Immediately after the decision, same-sex couples in many of states where gay marriage had been banned headed to county clerks’ offices for marriage licenses as state officials issued statements saying they would respect the ruling.
~~GALLERY~~
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President Barack Obama, appearing in the White House Rose Garden, hailed the ruling as a milestone in American justice that arrived “like a thunderbolt.”
“This ruling is a victory for America,” said Obama, the first sitting president to support gay marriage. “This decision affirms what millions of Americans already believe in their hearts. When all Americans are treated as equal, we are all more free.”
Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing on behalf of the court, said the hope of gay people intending to marry “is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.”
Kennedy, a conservative who often casts the deciding vote in close cases, was joined in the majority by the court’s four liberal justices.
Kennedy, appointed by Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1988, has now authored all four of the court’s major gay rights rulings, with the first coming in 1996. As with his 2013 opinion when the court struck down a federal law that denied benefits to same-sex couples, Kennedy stressed the dignity of marriage.
“Without the recognition, stability and predictability marriage offers, their children suffer the stigma of knowing their families are somehow lesser,” Kennedy wrote.
~The President Speaks on the Supreme Court’s Decision on Marriage Equality~
~~Published on Jun 26, 2015~~
President Obama delivers remarks in the Rose Garden heralding the Supreme Court’s ruling that gay and lesbian couples have the right to marry in America.
Tuesday is a day of the week occurring after Monday and before Wednesday.
According to some commonly used calendars, it is the third day of the week. According to international standard ISO 8601, however, it is the second day of the week.
The English name is derived from Old English Tiwesdæg and Middle English Tewesday, meaning “Tīw’s Day”, the day of Tiw or Týr, the god of single combat, victory and heroic glory in Norse mythology.
Tiw was equated with Mars in the interpretatio germanica, and the name of the day is a translation of Latin dies Martis.
BREAKING: Historic Victory for Marriage Equality in Ireland
#LoveWins
Today, May 23, 2015, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, hailed the historic victory for marriage equality in Ireland.
Ireland is the first country in the world to pass marriage equality through a national referendum, and the 21st country to decide to afford same-sex couples full marriage rights.
“Voters in Ireland had a rare opportunity to make their country and the world more just and more equal — and that’s just what they did,” said HRC President Chad Griffin.
“As these election results prove, momentum for equality reaches around the globe. HRC is proud to join our partners in Ireland in celebrating this historic victory which guarantees that everyone has the same right to marry the person they love.
Love can’t wait, not in the United States or in Ireland, and it is clear it won’t wait any longer.”
The referendum asked voters to approve language that updates Ireland’s constitution to state, “Marriage may be contracted in accordance with the law by two persons without distinction as to their sex.” Through an unprecedented voter registration campaign and voter mobilization effort by the Irish LGBT community, including the Yes Equality campaign, voters voted overwhelming for equality.
Today is the Day: Ireland Heads to the Polls to Vote on Marriage Equality
Today (May 22, 2015) is the Day Ireland Heads to the Polls to Vote on Marriage Equality!
Do your part today by sharing this image and using the hashtag #YesEquality to show your support for loving, committed same-sex couples in #Ireland.
~~GALLERY WORLD COUNTRIES~~
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~Republic of Ireland Votes On Marriage Equality Referendum~
~Published on May 22, 2015~
Voters in the Republic of Ireland are taking part in a referendum on legalizing same-sex marriage on Friday, May 22, 2015.
More than 3.2 million people are being asked whether they want to amend the country’s constitution to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.
Polling stations opened at 07:00 British Standard Time with voting continuing until 22:00 British Standard Time and counting due to start on Saturday morning. In 2010, the government enacted civil partnership legislation, which provided legal recognition for gay couples.
It Is What It Is 