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Showing posts with label Gay Marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gay Marriage. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Oklahoma ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional

By Greg Botelho, CNN
January 14, 2014

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that an Oklahoma law limiting marriage to heterosexual couples violates the U.S. Constitution, giving yet another victory to same-sex marriage supporters.

U.S. District Court Judge Terence Kern said the court would not immediately enforce this ruling -- therefore not opening the doors right away to marriages of gay and lesbian couples in Oklahoma -- pending appeals. Still, he delivered a clear opinion on how the voter-approved Oklahoma state constitutional amendment relates to the U.S. Constitution.

The entire article is here.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Judges Extend High Court Same-Sex Ruling

By ASHBY JONES
The Wall Street Journal
Originally published August 4, 2013

Just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of a federal law that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman, judges in lower courts are citing and even building on the ruling in battles over state laws concerning same-sex marriage and other issues affecting gays and lesbians.

A federal judge in Cincinnati cited the June ruling in U.S. v. Windsor in finding Ohio's 2004 law banning the recognition of same-sex marriages from other states "likely" to be unconstitutional, at least in regard to the couple that brought the suit.

The entire story is here.

Friday, July 19, 2013

PA Gay Marriage Ban Faces ACLU Challenge

By Chris Gentilviso
The Huffington Post
Originally published July 9, 2013

Two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled that a federal ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, the American Civil Liberties Union is bringing that decision to the state level.

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the group is filing a lawsuit against Pennsylvania's same-sex marriage ban. The move will also aim to keep state officials from mounting further challenges against same-sex couples seeking to marry.

The entire story is here.

Editorial note: I would never have imagined that folks in Pennsylvania would be this progressive.

Friday, June 28, 2013

Kentucky same-sex case to be landmark

Murder case marks the first legal test in Ky. over whether same-sex partners can be forced to testify against each other.

Jason Riley
The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal
Originally published on June 16, 2013

Prosecutors say Geneva Case heard her spouse admit to killing a man two years ago and saw her clean blood out of the man's van and abandon it in Southern Indiana.

Now, they argue, Case must testify about those facts, even though Kentucky law exempts spouses from being compelled to testify against each other.

The reason, they say, is that Case and the defendant, Bobbie Joe Clary, entered into a same-sex civil union in Vermont in 2004 — and Kentucky does not t recognize same-sex civil unions or marriages.

"That ceremony is not a 'marriage' that is valid and recognized under Kentucky law," prosecutors said in a court motion, noting that marriage between members of the same sex is prohibited in Kentucky. "Geneva Case and the defendant cannot prove the existence of a marriage under Kentucky law."

But attorneys for Clary say they are legally married and denying them the same marital rights others have would be a violation of the Constitution.

The case has become the first legal test in the state over forcing same-sex partners to testify against each other — raising the broader issue of whether the state recognizes marriages or civil unions that are legal elsewhere. The case could have ramifications for issues such as divorces and division of property after death.

The entire story is here.

Supreme Court strikes down Defense of Marriage Act, paves way for gay marriage to resume in California

By Pete Williams and Erin McClam
NBC News
Originally posted June 26, 2013

In a pair of landmark decisions, the Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down the 1996 law blocking federal recognition of gay marriage, and it allowed gay marriage to resume in California by declining to decide a separate case.

The court invalidated the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal benefits to gay couples who are legally married in their states, including Social Security survivor benefits, immigration rights and family leave.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority in a 5-4 decision, said that the act wrote inequality into federal law and violated the Fifth Amendment’s protection of equal liberty.

“DOMA’s principal effect is to identify a subset of state-sanctioned marriages and make them unequal,” he wrote.

Edith Windsor, the 84-year-old woman who brought the case against DOMA, said that the ruling ensured that the federal government could no longer discriminate against the marriages of gays and lesbians.

“Children born today will grow up in a world without DOMA, and those same children who happen to be gay will be free to love and get married,” she said.

In the second case, the court said that it could not rule on a challenge to Proposition 8, a ban on gay marriage in California passed by voters there in 2008, because supporters of the ban lacked the legal standing to appeal a lower court’s decision against it.

The court did not rule on the constitutionality of gay marriage, but the effect of the decision will be to allow same-sex marriage to resume in California. That decision was also 5-4, written by Chief Justice John Roberts.

Lt. Gavin Newsom told NBC News that gay marriage would resume in California within 30 days. Gov. Jerry Brown said counties could begin issuing marriage licenses to gay couples as soon as one formality was taken care of: A federal appeals court had to lift a stay issued by a lower judge.

The entire story is here.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Minnesota now 12th state to approve gay marriage

By Sofia Perpetua
NBCNews.com
Originally published May 15, 2013

As thousands cheered outside the state Capitol with rainbow and American flags, Governor Mark Dayton signed a bill on Tuesday that makes it possible for same-sex couples to get married.

Minnesota is the 12th state to pass a gay marriage bill and the first Midwestern state to do so through a legislative vote.

"What a day for Minnesota!" Dayton, a Democrat, declared moments before putting his signature on a bill. "And what a difference a year and an election can make in our state."

The bill was signed a day after it was approved by the Senate in a 37-30 vote.

"It is an overwhelming joyful day, the culmination of years of work. Two years ago it would have been unimaginable to be here," said Jake Loesch, communications director with Minnesotans United, a LGBT group. "It was incredible, we had 7,000 people cheering as the bill as signed, it was probably the biggest crowd the Capitol has ever seen."

The entire story is here.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Delaware becomes 11th state with gay marriage

By Doug Denison
The Wilmington Delaware New Journal
May 7, 2013

Delaware became the 11th state to legalize same-sex marriage after a lengthy debate Tuesday in the state Senate and the surprise votes of two lawmakers.

A half hour after the 12-9 Senate vote, Gov. Jack Markell signed the legislation into law on the main stairs in the lobby of Legislative Hall.

Democratic Sen. Bethany Hall-Long and Republican Sen. Catherine Cloutier provided the swing votes in favor of the legislation. Cloutier was the lone Republican yes vote in the Senate and one of two in the General Assembly as a whole.

According to the bill, Delawareans will be able to enter into same-sex marriages effective July 1. The law provides a mechanism for converting existing same-sex civil unions established in Delaware to marriages.

The entire story is here.

Rhode Island Legalizes Gay Marriage - 10th State to Legalize

The Huffington Post
Originally published May 2, 2013

Rhode Island became the tenth U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage Thursday with a 56-15 vote.

Just before he signed the legislation into law, Gov. Lincoln Chafee took to the steps of the Rhode Island State House, where he told a jubilant crowd, "Today we are making history ... we are living up to the ideals of our founder."

The entire article is here.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

No Scientific Basis for Prohibiting Same-Sex Marriage, Key Associations Argue

Leading mental health groups file briefs in Supreme Court cases challenging Defense of Marriage Act, California’s Proposition 8

American Psychological Association
Press Release
Released on March 1, 2013

There is no valid scientific basis for denying same-sex couples the right to legal marriage, or to deprive them of considerable benefits of the institution, according to legal briefs filed with the U.S. Supreme Court by the American Psychological Association and other leading mental health associations.

“Empirical research demonstrates that the psychological and social aspects of committed relationships between same-sex partners largely resemble those of heterosexual partnerships,” the briefs state. “Like heterosexual couples, same-sex couples form deep emotional attachments and commitments. Heterosexual and same-sex couples alike face similar issues concerning intimacy, love, equity, loyalty and stability, and they go through similar processes to address those issues.”

Denying recognition to legally married same-sex couples stigmatizes them, according to the “friend of the court” briefs filed in the cases of Hollingsworth v. Perry, which challenges California’s Proposition 8, and U.S. v. Windsor, which challenges the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Perry is slated to be argued before the court on March 26; Windsor will be argued on March 27.

The briefs cite empirical scientific evidence that demonstrate that “homosexuality is a normal expression of human sexuality, is generally not chosen and is highly resistant to change.” Likewise, “there is no scientific basis for concluding that gay and lesbian parents are any less fit or capable than heterosexual parents, or that their children are any less psychologically healthy and well-adjusted,” according to the briefs.

The entire release is here.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Google wants the world to "Legalize Love"


By Anna Peirano
Originally published July 8, 2012

Google is launching a new campaign called "Legalize Love" with the intention of inspiring countries to legalize marriage for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people around the world.

The "Legalize Love" campaign officially launches in Poland and Singapore on Saturday, July 7th. Google intends to eventually expand the initiative to every country where the company has an office, and will focus on places with homophobic cultures, where anti-gay laws exist.


Sunday, April 29, 2012

Catholic nuns group 'stunned' by Vatican scolding for 'radical feminist' ideas

By Reuters
Originally published April 20, 2012

The Vatican
A prominent U.S. Catholic nuns group said it was "stunned" that the Vatican reprimanded it for spending too much time on poverty and social justice concerns and not enough on abortion and gay marriage.

In a stinging report on Wednesday, the Vatican said the Leadership Conference of Women Religious had been "silent on the right to life" and had failed to make the "Biblical view of family life and human sexuality" a central plank in its agenda. It accused the group of promoting "certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith."

It also reprimanded American nuns for expressing positions on political issues that differed, at times, from views held by American bishops. Public disagreement with the bishops -- "who are the church's authentic teachers of faith and morals" -- is unacceptable, the report said.

The entire story is here.