Category Archives: LGBT Rights

Well, to answer my question, not exactly, but the City Council voted yesterday 12-0 to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions (now Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and mid-2008 California).   The twist, of course, is that nothing becomes law in … Continue reading →

In response to a “reach out” by President Obama, LGBT families have been encouraged to apply for tickets for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, according to the Family Equality Council.  That organization  previously organized LGBT families to participate … Continue reading →

    The words on the Vermont state flag?  “Freedom and Unity.”  Beautiful. -Bridget Crawford

News flash: The Vermont legislature today overrode Governor Douglas’s veto by a wide margin in the state senate and with just enough votes in the state house. This now makes Vermont the fourth state to recognize same-sex marriages (joining Massachusetts, … Continue reading →

Aside from the unanimity of the opinion, for me, the most interesting part of the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision in Varnum v. Brien yesterday is its forthright discussion of religious opposition to same-sex marriage and the role that it plays … Continue reading →

Feminist Law Prof Ruthann Robson (CUNY) has an excellent analysis of the Iowa same-sex marriage case here at Constitutional Law Prof blog. -Bridget Crawford

From KCCI.   More to come…. Summary of the decision from the Iowa court website is here.   It looks like the court rules that sexual orientation is a protected class that gets intermediate scrutiny under the state constitution.   … Continue reading →

By a wide margin, Sweden legalized same-sex marriage today. Gender neutral marriage licenses will be issued beginning May 1. Sweden is now added to a list of countries recognizing same-sex marriages that includes the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Canada, Spain, and … Continue reading →

Bad news on two fronts in the battle for legal recognition of same-sex relationships today. First, a bill that would allow same-sex couples in Hawaii to enter into civil unions died in that state’s senate. Second, the governor of Vermont … Continue reading →

Intern in Education & Public Affairs at Lambda Legal 120 Wall Street, National Headquarters, New York Lambda Legal’s Education and Public Affairs Department seeks college and high school students for Summer 2009 semester internships in our New York City national … Continue reading →

The ACLU’s challenge to the ban on adoption and foster parenting by cohabiting unmarried couples, which was approved by Arkansas voters last November, survived a motion to dismiss this week. As with similar bans in Alabama, Mississippi, Utah, and North … Continue reading →

I’ve long maintained the following:   as unwaveringly committed as I am to being pro-choice and anti-death penalty, I can understand the arguments on the other side.   I completely disagree with them, but I get the logic behind the … Continue reading →

With all of the focus on the AIG bonuses, an important bit of news might have escaped attention today. The Obama administration once again has broken with the Bush administration. This time, by signing on to the UN Statement on … Continue reading →

The arguments before the California Supreme Court raised many hard questions, but one that particularly intrigued me was one to which the Justices frequently returned: What did Proposition 8 really do, after all?   Did it overturn the Marriage Cases … Continue reading →

The oral argument for the Prop. 8 lawsuit before the California Supreme Court is set for tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. (Pacific Time). For those interested in watching the arguments, they will be webcast live here. They are apparently expecting … Continue reading →

Today, House Bill 300 was introduced in the Pennsylvania legislature. It would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. I have reproduced below the press release from the Value All Families Coalition about the bill: … Continue reading →

Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) filed a lawsuit today challenging the constitutionality of a portion of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The suit challenges only the provision in DOMA that denies recognition to same-sex marriages for … Continue reading →

The California Supreme Court has now set the date for oral arguments in Strauss v. Horton, which is the suit concerning the validity of Prop. 8. Argument will be held on the morning of March 5. The court further indicated … Continue reading →

In a “narrow” ruling that is really quite expansive in scope, the California Court of Appeal for the 4th District ruled last week that a private religious high school was not covered by the state’s public accommodation law. As a … Continue reading →

In an earlier post  following the November election, I noted how a Utah LGBT rights organization saw the potential for a silver lining in the LDS church’s support for Prop. 8. The organization, Equality Utah, planned a multipronged legislative agenda … Continue reading →

In a blow to hypocrisy, a federal judge has rejected the attempt by Prop. 8 supporters to shield the names of those who donated in support of the measure from release to the public. I refer to this as a … Continue reading →

Organizers at Equality Matters are planning a “Virtual March for LGBT Equality” from January 17 to 24,  2009.  Here’s the back story: On November 4, the nation broke an equality barrier and elected Barack Obama our first African-American President. At … Continue reading →

Following up on Ann’s post from yesterday, I came across this story on advocate.com that provides a link to an interactive map of the pro-Prop. 8 donors. If you take the map out far enough, you can see the non-California … Continue reading →

President-elect Obama’s inaugural committee has asked Rev. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay person to be ordained an Episcopal bishop, to deliver the invocation at the inaugural’s opening ceremony on Sunday, January 18. The opening ceremony will be held at … Continue reading →

Last week, the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court decision in Monson v. Rochester Athletic Club,  2009 Minn. App. LEXIS 1,  that the Rochester Athletic Club (RAC) did not violate the Minnesota Human Rights Act’s prohibition against discrimination … Continue reading →

Though New York Governor Paterson’s order requiring state agencies to recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages has overshadowed this earlier action, Westchester County executive Andrew Spano did issue an order in June 2006 requiring all county agencies under his control to recognize … Continue reading →