By Lisa Keen on February 23, 2011
Ted Olson, lead attorney for the lawsuit challenging California’s same-sex marriage ban, announced Wednesday that he is asking the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to lift a stay on a district court ruling that found Proposition 8 unconstitutional.
Posted in Federal Courts, Issues, Law, Lawsuits, Marriage/Relationships, News, U.S. Circuit Courts
By Dana Rudolph on February 23, 2011
Marriage equality and legal recognition for same-sex relationships took a few big steps forward this past week—in Maryland, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Rhode Island. But they took a few steps backward, too—in Indiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming.
Posted in Issues, Marriage/Relationships, News, Politics, State Politics
By Lisa Keen on February 21, 2011
The Dept. of Health and Human Services said it “strongly supports” regulations which protect the rights of health care providers from being “compelled to perform or assist in an abortion.” But what it did not say was of greater interest to the LGBT community.
Posted in Federal Courts, Health, Issues, Law, News, Politics, White House
By Lisa Keen on February 16, 2011
The road to marriage equality in California just got a little longer. The California Supreme Court said today it would make ruling on whether Yes on 8 proponents have authority, under California law, to appeal a federal court ruling that the initiative is unconstitutional.
Posted in Federal Courts, Issues, Law, Marriage/Relationships, News, State Courts, State Supreme Courts, U.S. Circuit Courts
By Dana Rudolph on February 12, 2011
Same-sex couples with adopted children living in states with anti-gay adoption laws and attitudes had more mental health issues in their first year of parenthood than couples with adopted children living in more accepting states, a new study has found.
Posted in Adoption, Issues, Law, News, State Courts
By Lisa Keen on February 9, 2011
So much attention has been paid to the landmark challenge to California’s ban on same-sex marriage that another very important case regarding gay couples has gone almost unnoticed. And this latter case will be heard before the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on February 14.
Posted in Federal Courts, Issues, Law, Marriage/Relationships, U.S. Circuit Courts
By Dana Rudolph on February 7, 2011
Marriage equality in Maryland got a boost in the past week from two prominent politicians, but a winter storm delayed a marriage equality hearing in Rhode Island. Elsewhere, conditions were variable.
Posted in Issues, Marriage/Relationships, News, Politics, State Politics
By Dana Rudolph on January 31, 2011
Two New Hampshire legislators have introduced bills to repeal the state’s marriage equality law, even though Republican leaders said such a repeal is not a party priority in 2011. And several other states saw legislative moves toward or away from equality in the past week.
Posted in Issues, Marriage/Relationships, News, Politics, State Politics
By Lisa Keen on January 30, 2011
Reaction has been mixed to the Pentagon’s status report Friday, January 28, saying training to prepare for implementation of the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell could begin as early as next month.
Posted in Don't Ask Don't Tell, Federal Courts, Issues, Law
By Lisa Keen on January 26, 2011
President Obama on January 26 appointed two prominent gays to important positions in his administration and nominated an openly gay attorney to a judgeship for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Posted in Appointees, Federal Courts, Issues, Law, News, Politics, White House
By Dana Rudolph on January 26, 2011
A federal circuit court heard arguments January 19 in a case that asks whether states must recognize adoptions by same-sex parents from other states–and the outcome could have “frightening” implications for the rights of adoptive parents.
Posted in Adoption, Federal Courts, Issues, Law, Lawsuits, News, U.S. Circuit Courts
By Lisa Keen on January 25, 2011
Tuesday 10:15pm EDT edition – President Obama once again brought up the issue of gays in the military during his annual State of the Union address.
Posted in Don't Ask Don't Tell, Issues, National Politics, News, Politics, White House
By Dana Rudolph on January 20, 2011
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced proposed new regulations intended to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in its core housing programs–programs that impact 4.4 million units of housing in the country.
Posted in Congress, Issues, Misc, National Politics, News, Politics
By Lisa Keen on January 18, 2011
The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday refused to hear the appeal of a group of clergy in Washington, D.C., who want to put the city’s new marriage equality law on the ballot.
Posted in Issues, Law, Marriage/Relationships, News, U.S. Supreme Court
By Lisa Keen on January 4, 2011
A 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel surprised many Proposition 8 observers Tuesday when it suddenly issued five documents relating to the case. But there was no decision Tuesday in Perry v. Schwarzenegger.
Posted in Federal Courts, Issues, Law, Lawsuits, Marriage/Relationships, News, U.S. Circuit Courts
By Chuck Colbert on January 3, 2011
In an important win for LGBT people and U.S. international diplomacy, the General Assembly of the United Nations voted to restore a reference to “sexual orientation” in a resolution against the killing of vulnerable minority groups—a reference that had been removed only a month earlier.
Posted in International, News, Politics
By Dana Rudolph on December 31, 2010
The federally supported National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (NAASP) on December 30 officially announced a task force dedicated to suicide prevention among LGBT youth.
Posted in Health, Issues, News
By Dana Rudolph on December 28, 2010
The North Carolina Supreme Court on December 20 voided the adoption by a lesbian mother of the child who she and her former partner, the biological mother, were raising together. The ruling jeopardizes the legality of all other such “second-parent adoptions” in the state.
Posted in Adoption, Issues, Law, Lawsuits, News, State Courts, State Supreme Courts
By Lisa Keen on December 23, 2010
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to lesbian law professor Chai Feldblum as President Obama’s nominee to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Posted in Appointees, National Politics, News, Politics
By Lisa Keen on December 22, 2010
Following a dramatic and eloquent speech, President Obama Wednesday morning signed the legislation that will launch the repeal of a 17-year-old law that prohibits openly gay people from serving in the military.
Posted in Don't Ask Don't Tell, Issues, National Politics, News, Politics, White House
Minnesota: Where the push for a marriage license began
Immigration bill advances without provisions for same-sex couples
Leahy submits language to help bi-national same-sex couples
Delaware votes for marriage equality; becomes 11th state to make it the law
Rhode Island marriage law signed; Two more states could vote next week