Marriage Equality

Anti-Gay National Guard Member Loses Suit After Criticizing Superiors About Same-Sex Marriage

You might recall this case from 2013 when Todd Starnes and Tony Perkins were first wailing about it. Religion Clause reports: In Wilson v. James, the D.C. federal district court dismissed RFRA, 1st and 5th Amendment and various other challenges by an enlisted member of the Utah Air National Guard to letters of reprimand he received for his opposition to …

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KENTUCKY: Court Orders Governor To Address Marriage Licenses Altered By County Clerk Kim Davis

The International Business Times reports: A federal judge has ordered Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear to decide whether gay marriage licenses issued by Rowan County clerk Kim Davis’ office were valid, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. A lawyer of one of Davis’ deputies said in a September court filing that Davis changed the forms by dropping her name as well as …

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Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor Becomes Third SCOTUS Member To Officiate Gay Wedding

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: U.S. Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor officiated on Saturday the wedding of a lesbian couple with a history of LGBT advocacy, the Washington Blade has learned. Sotomayor performed the wedding of Ingrid Duran and Catherine Pino, who are founders of D&P Creative Strategies. The organization seeks to increase the role of corporate, legislative and …

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NEVADA: State Agrees To Pay Lambda Legal $615K After Losing Same-Sex Marriage Battle

Via the Associated Press: A Nevada board has approved a $615,000 payment to lawyers who successfully challenged the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. The Nevada Board of Examiners voted Tuesday to pay attorney fees and costs to Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, which said it spent about 2,000 hours working on the case. The group originally sought more …

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ALABAMA: SPLC Files Judicial Ethics Complaint Against State Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker

Last week Alabama Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker appeared on Bryan Fischer’s radio show where he called for defying SCOTUS on the Obergefell ruling. Today the SPLC filed a judicial ethics complaint against Parker as a same-sex marriage case remains pending before his court. AL.com reports: “Tom Parker has a choice: He can be a judge or he can be …

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KENTUCKY: Local Haters To Visit Governor With Demand For Accommodations For Kim Davis

Pastor Randy Smith [photo] and the Family Foundation of Kentucky will today attempt to meet with Gov. Steve Beshear to present their demand on behalf of Kim Davis and other anti-gay county clerks. They claim that a 10AM meeting is scheduled but the governor’s office says no such meeting is planned. Beshear has refused to call a special session of …

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TEXAS: Court Recognizes Common Law Gay Marriage

Over the objections of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, last week a Travis County judge ruled that a lesbian and her late partner were in a common law marriage prior to the Obergfell ruling. The Austin American-Statesman reports: Travis County Probate Judge Guy Herman signed a judgment acknowledging that Stella Powell and Sonemaly Phrasavath met the legal requirements to be …

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Alabama Probate Judge John Enslen: Let The Federal Government Issue All Same-Sex Marriage Licenses

Anti-gay Alabama probate Judge John Enslen wants his state’s Supreme Court to rule that only the federal government should have to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. AL.com reports: Enslen also asked that the Alabama justices issue an order declaring the state will only honor same-sex marriage licenses either issued by the federal government or a state that has a …

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Matt Baume On Edith Bunker & Gay Marriage [VIDEO]

In one of his best clips yet, Matt Baume takes us back to a night in television and gay history that happened 38 years ago today. He writes: “When did gay partners become a part of the family on TV? October 9, 1977. That’s the night CBS aired an All in the Family episode entitled “Cousin Liz,” which in just …

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NORTHERN IRELAND: Challenge To Same-Sex Marriage Ban To Be Heard In December

Northern Ireland’s Rainbow Project this morning announced on Facebook that their clients’ same-sex marriage ban challenge will be heard on December 3rd. According to a poll released in July, 68% of the Northern Irish public now supports same-sex marriage, an even greater number than the 62% that voted “yes” in Ireland’s national referendum. The highest support comes from Catholics, 75% …

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Notorious RBG: Scalia Sang Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ On Day After Obergefell Ruling

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Gingsburg has revealed a tidbit about the day after the Obergefell ruling came out. Via Reuters: On the evening after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld same-sex marriage, liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was entertained by her conservative colleague Antonin Scalia singing a Bob Dylan song. The song, Ginsburg told Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung, was …

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SLOVENIA: Local Catholic Church Backs Referendum To Repeal Same-Sex Marriage

Back in March, the Slovenian national legislature approved a same-sex marriage bill by a 51-28 vote. The law has not yet gone into effect as anti-gay factions call for a repeal referendum despite a 2013 constitutional amendment which bans any public votes on human rights issues. Slovenia’s Constitutional Court has heard the case but has yet to rule on whether …

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Hillary Clinton: Kim Davis Got What She Deserved

Speaking today at a rally in Mount Vernon, Iowa, Hillary Clinton responded to a question about Kim Davis by saying, “I think what happened to Kim Davis was the right thing. She violated the law, and therefore she was arrested. I actually think that she was treated as she should have been treated. You either enforce the law or you resign. …

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TENNESSEE: Resolution Asking God Not To Kill Everybody Over Gay Marriage Will “Most Likely” Return

As those of us who watched the live-stream know, last night’s county commission meeting in Blount County, Tennessee was abruptly adjourned without a vote on the resolution that would ask God to pass over Blount County when he kills everybody for loving gay marriage. The resolution’s author, Commissioner Karen Miller, says she was “blindsided” by the move. The adjournment brought …

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LIVE VIDEO: Tennessee’s Blount County Commission To Vote On Resolution Asking God To Spare Them From God’s Wrath Over Same-Sex Marriage

The county commissioners of Blount County, Tennessee are about have a public hearing on the resolution of loony bird Commissioner Karen Miller, who wants them to formally ask God to “pass us by” during “His Coming Wrath” when he righteously kills the fuck out of the rest of America over gay marriage. Local activists are staging a protest outside the …

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Salon Questions Bernie Sanders’ Marriage Record

Bernie Sanders regularly touts himself as one of the first and most vigorous supporters of  marriage equality. And compared to Hillary Clinton’s relatively recent evolution, he’s right. But as Salon points out, Sanders too took a while to get there. Mark David Stern writes: In 2006, he took a stand against same-sex marriage in Vermont, stating that he instead endorsed …

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Washington Post Interviews The Pope’s Gay Friend

After today’s big reveal about the Pope’s private audience with his former student Yayo Grassi, reporters are deluging Grassi’s DC home with interview requests. The Washington Post got some fascinating quotes from Grassi, who says that he had to speak out in the wake of the Kim Davis story. “Although I didn’t know any details, I knew immediately that he …

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BREAKING: Vatican Distances Pope Francis From Kim Davis, “Meeting Should Not Be Seen As Support”

This morning the Vatican formally distanced Pope Francis from Kim Davis in a statement which declares that his meeting with her “should not be considered a form of support.” The Associated Press reports: After days of confusion, the Vatican issued a statement Friday clarifying Francis’ Sept. 24 encounter with Davis, an Apostolic Christian who has become a focal point in …

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Court Consolidates All Kim Davis Appeals

The Sixth Circuit Court today agreed to a Liberty Counsel request to consolidate all their various appeals on behalf of Kim Davis. Equality Case Files has the order: The defendant-appellant moves to consolidate these three appeals for briefing and submission. She also moves to extend the briefing schedule previously set in No. 15-5880 and for leave to exceed the word …

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Jim Obergefell To Kim Davis: You’re Not Above The Law

Marriage equality champion Jim Obergefell has penned an open letter to Kim Davis. Via the ACLU, here’s the full text of his letter: “As you may know, when you fall in love with someone, you hand your heart and soul over to them. Anyone who has committed to sharing their life with another human and forming a family unit knows …

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