Marriage Equality

Politico: GOP “Waves White Flag” On Marriage Equality

Politico reports: In interviews with Republican operatives, former Trump administration officials, and conservative leaders, there is a widespread acceptance that debate over marriage equality is settled. There is no serious discussion about trying to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark Supreme Court case that ruled states are required by law to recognize the marriage of same-sex couples. There were openly …

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Chilean Senate Approves Same-Sex Marriage Bill

Michael Lavers reports at the Washington Blade: The Chilean Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that would extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. The vote took place less than a month after President Sebastián Piñera announced he supports marriage equality and urged lawmakers in the South American country to quickly act on the issue. The bill now goes to the …

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Court Tosses Suit By Judge Who Was Sanctioned For Refusing To Perform “Offensive” Same-Sex Marriages

The Waco Tribune-Herald reports: Travis County judge has thrown out McLennan County Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley’s lawsuit against the state panel that sanctioned her in 2019 for refusing to perform same-sex weddings. Neither Hensley nor her attorney, Jeremy Dys of the First Liberty Institute, returned phone messages Monday from the Tribune-Herald. In dismissing the suit, Soifer also ordered …

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Gallup: Support For Same-Sex Marriage At Record 70%

Gallup reports: U.S. support for legal same-sex marriage continues to trend upward, now at 70% — a new high in Gallup’s trend since 1996. This latest figure marks an increase of 10 percentage points since 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all states must recognize same-sex marriages. Republicans, who have consistently been the party group least in favor …

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POLL: Majority Of GOP Voters Back Same-Sex Marriage For First Time, Majority Of All Groups Back LGBT Rights

The Hill reports: A majority within all partisan groups, including Republicans, now support same-sex marriage, according to a poll from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) released on Tuesday. In 2019, less than half of those who identify as Republican — 47 percent — backed gay marriage, but the survey indicates that number rose to 51 percent last year. Approval …

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Japanese Court Rules Against Same-Sex Marriage Ban

The Associated Press reports: A Japanese court ruled Wednesday the government’s ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional, recognizing the rights of same-sex couples for the first time in the only Group of Seven country that doesn’t acknowledge their legal partnership. Even though the court dismissed the plaintiffs’ demand for government compensation, the precedent is a major victory for same-sex people …

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Support For Same-Sex Marriage At Record High 70%

From the Public Religion Research Institute: The vast majority of Americans (70%) favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally, compared to 28% of Americans who oppose it. Majorities of Democrats (80%) and independents (76%), as well as half of Republicans (50%), support same-sex marriage. White evangelical Protestants stand out as the only major religious group in which a …

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Pete Buttigieg: My Marriage Might Depend On What’s About To Happen In Senate With Amy Coney Barrett

The Guardian reports: Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Pete Buttigieg, who married his husband Chasten in 2018, indicated that the court’s 2015 decision that made same-sex marriage legal was among a number of rulings a strong conservative majority could look to overturn. Republicans are seeking to seat Barrett before the 3 November general election. The Senate judiciary committee will vote …

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Liberty Counsel: We Will Petition SCOTUS On Obergefell

Via email from hate group leader Mat Staver: Although the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to grant review of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision involving former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis and regarding the legal doctrine known as qualified immunity, Justices Thomas and Alito appear to invite future challenges to the 2015 Obergefell marriage case. Justice Clarence Thomas …

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SCOTUS Allows Lawsuit Against Kim Davis To Proceed

Reuters reports: The Supreme Court is leaving in place a decision that allowed a lawsuit to move forward against a Kentucky clerk who was jailed in 2015 after refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The high court said Monday it would not take the case involving Kim Davis, the former clerk of Rowan County, and two same-sex couples …

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Mourners Pay Tribute To RBG On Supreme Court Steps

CBS News reports: A large crowd of people gathered on the steps of the Supreme Court on Friday night after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Well-wishers left flowers and signs and broke into applause and songs, and the American flag outside the Supreme Court was lowered to half-mast. “I think it’s a testament to who she was as …

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Federal Court Orders Release Of 2010 Prop 8 Trial Video

The San Francisco Chronicle reports: Ten years after a historic trial in San Francisco on the right to same-sex marriage, a federal judge on Thursday ordered a videotape of the proceedings unsealed next month so that the public could finally view it. The non-jury trial before Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker included testimony by gay and lesbian couples and …

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TODAY: The Fifth Anniversary Of The Obergefell Ruling

USA Today reports: The four justices appointed by Democratic presidents were joined by Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Republican appointee. Within two years, more than 150,000 same-sex couples got married. According to U.S. Census estimates, there are more than 500,000 married same-sex couples in the country. The impact of those unions has been more than cultural. Same-sex weddings have generated more …

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ISRAEL: Tel Aviv Recognizes Same-Sex Marriages In Challenge To Law Allowing Only Religious Ceremonies

The Times of Israel reports: The Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality on Sunday said it would allow cohabiting couples to register their relationship and enjoy marital rights, in a protest of the government’s refusal to recognize same-sex couples or those not wed under the state’s religious authorities. Tel Aviv-Jaffa Mayor Ron Huldai said the move, coinciding with the country’s Pride Week, makes …

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Same-Sex Marriage Legalized In Costa Rica [VIDEO]

Agence France-Presse reports: Costa Rica legalised same-sex marriage on Tuesday, becoming the first Central American country to do so and sparking an emotional response from rights campaigners as the first weddings were held overnight. Celebrations were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, but a special program about LGBT rights was broadcast on public television and online after a court ruling …

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Prop 8 Attorneys Seek To Block Release Of Trial Video

Law.com reports: The attorneys who defended Proposition 8, the ill-fated 2008 ballot initiative that barred same-sex marriage in California, are pressing a federal court to block the public release of the video recording of the landmark 2010 trial that concluded the ban was unconstitutional. Charles Cooper, founding member of the Washington litigation boutique Cooper & Kirk, argued in a motion …

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Putin Backs Constitutional Ban On Same-Sex Marriage

Reuters reports: President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Russia would not legalize gay marriage as long as he was in the Kremlin. He made clear he would not allow the traditional notion of mother and father to be subverted. “As far as ‘parent number 1’ and ‘parent number 2’ goes, I’ve already spoken publicly about this and I’ll repeat it …

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Same-Sex Marriage Begins In Northern Ireland [VIDEO]

RTE news reports: Two Belfast women have become the first same-sex partners to get married in Northern Ireland. Robyn Peoples, 26, and Sharni Edwards, 27, tied the knot at 2pm in Carrickfergus, just outside Belfast, following the landmark law change last year championed by the Love Equality campaign. “We didn’t expect to be the first couple, it’s coincidental,” said Ms …

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Texas AG Sides With Judge Who Won’t Marry Gays

The Waco Tribune-Herald reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will not defend a state agency being sued for its decision to sanction a Waco judge who refuses to perform same-sex marriages. Dianne Hensley, a justice of the peace who officiates marriages between men and women but refuses to perform marriages for same-sex couples, received a public warning late last year …

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Virginia House Repeals 2006 Same-Sex Marriage Ban

So many advances in Virginia with more to come: Virginia’s House of Delegates on Tuesday officially repealed a 2006 amendment to the state constitution banning same-sex marriage. “We just voted for Del. @nancyguyva’s bill to repeal the statuary [sic] code that unconstitutionally and unenforceably bans marriage equality in Virginia,” tweeted Virginia Del. Danica Roem (D), the first openly trans woman …

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