Marriage Equality

The Cayman Compass reports: Same-sex marriage is legal in the Cayman Islands after a landmark judgment in Grand Court this morning. Chief Justice Anthony Smellie ruled that the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman was unconstitutional and violated multiple rights. He ordered that the local law be changed to reflect that same-sex couples are allowed equal …

The Montgomery Advertiser reports: The Alabama Senate on Thursday approved a bill that would eliminate marriage licenses and the need to solemnize marriages. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Range, passed 26 to 0. It moves onto the House. Albritton, who first filed the bill in 2015, said it “takes the state out of granting permission, saying who can …

NBC News reports: In 1971, gay couple Michael McConnell and Jack Baker applied for a marriage license from Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The clerk, not realizing one of the individuals listed on the application was male, issued the license — though stopped short of officially recording it. Nearly five decades later — after a prolonged legal battle to get their …

Over at the Friendly Atheist, our friend Hemant Mehta reports that right wing lawmakers are wasting no time in pushing an anti-LGBT and Christianist agenda now that Jair Bolsonaro is in power. There’s a system in Brazil that allows old bills to essentially get resurrected by their sponsors even if they didn’t become laws in the past. By “dearchiving” those …

The Texas Tribune reports: A Houston judge has thrown out the six-year-old lawsuit a pair of Houston taxpayers filed to keep the city from paying spousal benefits to the same-sex spouses of municipal employees. But the long-running legal saga is long from over, according to the side that was handed a loss this week. The lawsuit dates back to 2013, …

The Kyodo News reports: Thirteen same-sex couples demanding marriage equality filed lawsuits against the government at district courts across Japan on Valentine’s Day on Thursday, arguing that its refusal to allow them to marry is unconstitutional and discriminatory. Each of the 26 plaintiffs is seeking 1 million yen ($9,000) in compensation, claiming that the government’s failure to recognize same-sex marriage …

USA Today reports: A group of state representatives in Kansas introduced legislation Wednesday that seeks to define same-sex marriage as “parody marriage,” stop the state from recognizing gay marriage and establish an “elevated marriage” option for straight couples who seek “higher standards of commitment.” One of the two bills introduced contends LGBTQ people are aligned with the secular humanism movement, …

The Tennessean reports: After failing to advance last session, Republicans have again filed legislation to keep Tennessee from permitting same-sex marriages, a bill officials previously estimated could cost the state more than $9 billion in federal funding. Known as the “Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act,” the bill by Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, and Rep. Jerry Sexton, R-Bean Station, states that …

Our friends at St. Martin’s Press have provided JMG readers with an exclusive first look at the coming memoir of late LGBT activist and marriage equality champion Edith Windsor: Edie Windsor became internationally famous when the Supreme Court ruled in her favor in her case seeking recognition from the US government for her marriage to her partner Thea Spyer. The …

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports: Citing “conduct that violates civil rights,” lawyers for Gov. Matt Bevin say former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis should be held responsible for nearly $225,000 in legal fees and court costs incurred by couples who sued her in 2015 when she refused to issue marriage licenses because of her religious opposition to same-sex marriage. Although Bevin, …

The Associated Press reports: Two Austrian women are the first same-sex couple to officially tie the knot in the predominantly Catholic country, following years of legal challenges from gay rights groups. Austria’s constitutional court ruled in 2017 that same-sex couples should have the right to marry from Jan. 1, 2019. Previously, same-sex couples could only enter into a registered partnership …

The Associated Press reports: Cuba’s government said Tuesday that language promoting the legalization of gay marriage will be removed from the draft of a new constitution after widespread popular rejection of the idea. Gay rights advocates had proposed eliminating the description of marriage as a union of a man and woman, changing it to the union of “two people … …

The Taiwan News reports: Taiwan’s Judicial Yuan Secretary-General publicly announced today that the passage of anti-equality referendums cannot override the Constitutional Court’s 2017 ruling on same-sex marriage. Secretary-General Lu Tai-lang clarified what has already been stressed by many keen legal observers: interpretations made by the Constitutional Court hold the highest rule of law and cannot be defeated by referendums. The …

The Taipei News reports: Results from the three same-sex marriage referendums held on Nov. 24 suggest that the Civil Code will remain unchanged, and legalization of same-sex unions is likely to take place through the passing of new legislation. The people of Taiwan voted to maintain the concept of marriage as defined in the Civil Code to be between a …

Bermuda’s Royal Gazette reports: Same-sex marriage campaigners were victorious in court today after the Bermuda Government lost a legal battle. The Court of Appeal dismissed the government’s claim that former Chief Justice Ian Kawaley erred in a ruling that reopened the door for same-sex marriage. An application by the Government to stay the decision was also refused today, meaning same-sex …

The BBC reports: One of Australia’s leading wedding magazines is shutting down after it refused to feature same-sex couples. Luke and Carla Burrell, founders of White Magazine, said advertisers had abandoned them in droves. The Christian couple said they made the choice because they had “no desire to create a social, political or legal war.” Australia legalised gay marriage in …

“Looking out the window, I saw that beyond the gates on Pennsylvania Avenue, a big crowd of people had gathered in the summer dusk to see the lights. The north drive was filled with government staff who’d stayed late to see the White House transformed in celebration of marriage equality. The decision had touched so many people. From where I …

Expats.cz reports: The lower house of the Czech Parliament is set to debate the legalization of same-sex marriage. On Wednesday, October 31, marriage equality is for the first time in history guaranteed to be on the agenda of the 20th meeting of the Chamber of Deputies. The opening of this debate item will take place as part of the Chamber …

Pink News reports: A street sign in honor of lesbian campaigner Edie Windsor was unveiled on October 7. “‘Don’t Postpone Joy’ today and take a stroll The Edie Windsor Way,” Windsor’s widow Judith Kasen-Windsor—her second wife—wrote on Facebook on Sunday, quoting one of the campaigner’s mantras. Windsor died in September 2017 aged 88 after spending most of the past decade …

NBC News reports: The State Department on Monday began imposing a new policy that restricts visas for the same-sex partners of staff of U.S.-based international organizations, such as the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The State Department’s website on G-4 visas currently states: “Effective immediately, U.S. Embassies and Consulates will adjudicate visa applications that are …