Marriage Equality

CNN Money reports: The CEO of Australian airline Qantas says he’ll continue to publicly support same-sex marriage after he was attacked with a pie over the issue. “My opinion on this has not changed,” Alan Joyce said in a statement Wednesday. “We’ll continue to speak about important social issues including indigenous reconciliation, gender diversity and marriage equality, because it’s the …

Bermuda’s Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage last week and the editorial board of the Royal Gazette can’t resist taking a poke at the haters. They write: At not long after lunchtime yesterday, a casual look outdoors revealed the sky was not falling; nor was it red. Upon further inspection, a saunter towards the coastlines revealed there was no tsunami hurtling …

Last June, Bermudan voters overwhelmingly rejected same-sex marriage by a 2-1 margin in a non-binding public referendum. The opposition had been rallied with the support of US hate groups including the Alliance Defending Freedom, which provided materials featuring quotes from anti-LGBT activists Ryan T. Anderson and Mark Regnerus. Which brings us to today. From the Royal Gazette: A gay couple …

The China Post reports: Taiwan’s grand justices are poised to make a landmark ruling concerning the constitutionality of a bar on same-sex marriage May 24, its secretariat confirmed Monday. 14 justices heard the arguments from gay rights activist Chi Chia-wei [photo], his attorneys and other government officials last month, over whether the Civil Code’s description of marriage as between a …

Via press release from hate group leader Brian Brown: I wish I didn’t have to write you about this, but I don’t know who else to turn to for help. NOM is in the midst of a critically-important Matching Fund Drive that began on Monday. We need to raise $100,000 to avoid making drastic budget cuts, and we’re way behind. …

The Dallas News reports: Two Texas couples who fought to overturn the state’s ban on same-sex marriage were awarded more than $600,000 in attorneys fees and other costs, a federal appeals court decided this week. Mark Phariss and husband Vic Holmes and Cleopatra DeLeon and wife Nicole Dimetman waged a years-long legal battle to do away with Texas’ anti-gay-marriage laws. …

AL.com reports: The Alabama Supreme Court today upheld the decision that removed Roy Moore from his position as chief justice. Moore in a press conference after the decision called the prosecution “politically” motivated and declared that he remains Chief Justice despite the suspension regarding an administrative order against the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. “I have done my …

The Belfast Telegraph reports: Game of Thrones star Kristian Nairn could swap the stage for the political arena after becoming frustrated with the lack of progress on equality issues such as same-sex marriage. The 6ft 10in actor, DJ and entrepreneur from Lisburn, who is gay, has been nominated for MTV’s Tearjerker award after his character Hodor’s iconic death scene in …

This doesn’t seem very surprising: Same-sex marriage has been the law of the land for nearly two years — and in some states for even longer — but researchers can already detect positive health outcomes among couples who have tied the knot, a University of Washington study finds. For years, studies have linked marriage with happiness among heterosexual couples. But …

The Raleigh News & Observer reports: Republican legislators’ proposal to defy a U.S. Supreme Court ruling and restore the state constitution’s ban on same-sex marriage won’t get a hearing in the N.C. House, its leader said Wednesday. House Bill 780 was filed Tuesday and says the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage across the country “is null …

The Associated Press reports: Legislators in the nation’s largest conservative state of Texas sought Tuesday to chip away at the landmark Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage, voting to let county judges and other elected officials recuse themselves from issuing marriage licenses if they have personal religious objections. The bill won preliminary approval in the Senate 21-10, with full Republican …

The Australian reports: Some of the country’s biggest businesses have upped the ante in the crusade for marriage equality by asking Australians to wear a specially designed “acceptance ring” until same-sex marriage is legalised. Led by accommodation provider Airbnb and supported by Qantas, ANZ, Fairfax Media and Foxtel, the Until We Belong campaign has been billed as the “most public …

The Gay Times reports: A huge majority of Germans support same-sex marriage, a new poll has revealed. The poll, conducted for German Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag, revealed that 75% of Germans favour full legal equality for gay people in life partnerships. Only 20% of those surveyed opposed same-sex marriage, while 5% had no opinion on the matter. This is …

The Associated Press reports: A watered-down version of a bill that took aim at Tennessee’s recognition of gay marriages is dead for the year. The House Civil Justice Subcommittee voted Wednesday to stop considering the bill by Republican Rep. Mark Pody of Lebanon until next year. The bill would have required the state attorney general to defend county or city …

Via World Net Daily: Daniel Horowitz, senior editor at Conservative Review, is not the least bit confident Gorsuch is the constitutional conservative many Republicans are hoping for. “Gorsuch is saying that Roe is the law of the land and Obergefell, which is one of the most radical opinions ever, is ‘absolutely settled law,’” Horowitz told WND. “There’s nothing there to …

CBC Miami reports: Gay marriage has been a hot topic in and out of courtrooms for the past several years. Another issue is being fixed to help those who lost loved ones before the epic court ruling. Florida widows and widowers whose spouses died before the U.S. Supreme Court declared state bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional can have the death …

The Washington Post reports: The discussion of same-sex marriage was particularly pointed. When asked how his views on marriage have changed over the years, Gorsuch said he would not answer because it “would send a misleading signal to the American people.” Gorsuch was asked about same-sex marriage, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2015, and called it “absolutely …

The Huffington Post reports: Taiwan is expected to become Asia’s first nation to recognize same-sex marriage by the end of the year, and businesses are definitely taking notice. On Valentine’s Day, HSBC Bank in Taiwan released a heartwarming YouTube video that told the real-life story of how the bank’s country CEO, John Li, walked one of his employees down the …

Little Rock’s CBS affiliate reports: A bill has been proposed to make marriage only between a man and a woman. Twenty Representatives and one Senator introduced House Bill 2098. Representative Stephen Meeks [photo] is the lead sponsor of the bill. HB2098 would not recognize marriages between two people of the same sex, even if the marriage happened in a different …

AL.com reports: The Alabama Senate has passed a bill that would eliminate marriage licenses and instead have marriages recorded by probate judges. The bill, by Sen. Greg Albritton [photo], now moves to the House. Similar bills have been proposed the last two years, since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states had to allow same-sex marriages and recognize same-sex marriages …