Tag Archives: marriage equality

Winning Thai PM Candidate Blocked From Taking Office

The Guardian reports: The leader of Thailand’s pro-reform party, which won the most seats in May’s election, has been blocked from taking power by a parliamentary vote that includes military-appointed senators, a move likely to provoke street protests. Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of Move Forward, a progressive party that has a strong youth support base, won the most votes and most …

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Greek PM Promises To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

Bloomberg News reports: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis plans to legalize same-sex marriage, a huge step forward for LGBTQ rights in a region where some conservative governments are cracking down on the community. “Same-sex marriage will happen at some point and it’s part of our strategy,” Mitsotakis, a center-right politician, said Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Athens. …

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Nepal Allows Registration Of Same-Sex Marriages

The Associated Press reports: LGBTQ+ rights activists and couples in Nepal on Thursday were celebrating an interim order issued by the country’s Supreme Court enabling the registration of same-sex marriages for the first time. The Supreme Court issued the order on Wednesday allowing for the temporary registration of marriages for same-sex and non-traditional couples. It was not clear when the …

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Estonia’s Parliament Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage

Reuters reports: Estonia’s parliament approved on Tuesday a law to legalise same-sex marriage, making it the first central European country to do so. Same-sex marriage is legal in much of western Europe but not in central European countries which were once under communist rule and members of the Moscow-led Warsaw Pact alliance but now members of NATO and, largely, the …

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CA Voters Could Get Measure To Repeal Marriage Ban

Politico reports: Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5, which has over 70 co-authors, would place a measure on the November 2024 ballot asking voters to undo Prop 8 and remove language from the California Constitution that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. In part, it’s an effort to correct language that would be unlikely to be adopted today in …

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Gallup: Support For Same-Sex Marriage Steady At 71%

Gallup Polling reports: Seventy-one percent of Americans think same-sex marriage should be legal, matching the high Gallup recorded in 2022. Public support for legally recognizing gay marriages has been consistently above 50% since the early 2010s. When Gallup first polled about same-sex marriage in 1996, barely a quarter of the public (27%) supported legalizing such unions. It would take another …

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Frontrunner For Thai PM Promises Marriage Equality

Reuters reports: The frontrunner to be Thailand’s next prime minister joined a Pride parade in Bangkok on Sunday, promising to pass a law that would allow same-sex marriage and gender identity rights if he becomes premier. Thousands of LGBTQ+ people, their allies and political leaders marched through central Bangkok, marking Pride month and promoting gender equality in the second official …

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Gay MO Republican Accused Of Enabling Pedophilia, Faces Censure For Bill To Recognize Same-Sex Marriage

The Kansas City Star reports: For the second time in a month, an openly gay Missouri Republican lawmaker will face a censure vote from the Jackson County Republican Party for trying to redefine marriage in the state constitution as between “two individuals” instead of “a man and a woman.” The planned censure targets state Rep. Chris Sander, a Lone Jack …

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Cardinals Demand Trial For Pro-Gay German Bishops

Fox News reports: Leaders of the Catholic Church in Germany must be punished for breaking from the Vatican and approving blessings for same-sex marriages, two cardinals say. Cardinal Raymond Burke of the United States and Cardinal Gerhard Müller of Germany spoke about the de facto schism underway in Germany during an interview with EWTN. “Whether it’s a departure, heretical teaching …

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Indian Marriage Case Opposed By Major Hindu Group

Reuters reports: The ideological parent of India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has backed the government position against recognising same-sex marriage, months after raising hopes with supportive comments on gay rights. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP government has opposed recognising same-sex marriage and urged the Supreme Court to reject challenges to the current legal framework lodged by LGBT …

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Tennessee House Passes Bill Allowing Refusal To Certify Marriage Licenses Of Gay, Interracial, Interfaith Couples

The New Republic reports: The Tennessee House of Representatives has passed a bill that would allow people to refuse to perform a marriage if they disagree with it. According to the bill, “a person shall not be required to solemnize a marriage if the person has an objection to solemnizing the marriage based on the person’s conscience or religious beliefs.” …

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Japan Sees Bill To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

The Japan Times reports: Japan’s leading opposition party submitted to parliament on Monday a bill to legally recognize same-sex marriage in an effort to spur debate on the issue. The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s bill proposes amending wording in the country’s Civil Code that has been written on the premise that marriage is a union between partners of different …

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FRC: Iowa May Get SCOTUS To Overturn Obergefell

Via email from the Family Research Council: The political battle to defend natural marriage is far from over in the nation’s heartland, as Iowa legislators have introduced two bills that would expunge same-sex marriage from state law and declare a national law redefining marriage “null and void.” The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Brad Sherman (R) felt moved to introduce the bill …

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Iowa Rep Defends His Bills To Ban Same-Sex Marriage

Iowa Starting Line reports: The lead sponsor of two bills that would outlaw gay marriage in Iowa—where it has been legal since 2009—told his Iowa House colleague his bills aren’t actually about banning gay marriage despite the language in the bills doing just that. Starting Line acquired a copy of an email Rep. Brad Sherman (R-Williamsburg) sent from his legislative …

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Iowa Republicans Propose Ban On Same-Sex Marriage

Des Moines’ CBS affiliate reports: Some Republican lawmakers want to change the state constitution to ban gay marriage. House Joint Resolution 8 was introduced in the Iowa House on Tuesday. The bill has eight sponsors: Brad Sherman, Luana Stoltenberg, Mark Cisneros, Helena Hayes, Zach Dieken, Skyler Wheeler, Mark Thompson and Thomas Gerhold. The resolution wants to add the following amendment …

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Potential Scottish Leader Opposes Marriage Equality

Agence France-Presse reports: Nominations for a leader to succeed First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as head of Scotland’s ruling party will close on Friday amid an uproar over a top contender’s conservative views on gay marriage. Finance Secretary Kate Forbes, a 32-year-old rising star in the SNP, caused controversy this week after revealing that she would have voted against same-sex marriage, …

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Virginia GOP Blocks Attempt To Repeal Same-Sex Marriage Ban After Testimony From Hate Group Spox

The Virginia Mercury reports: A scaled-back proposal to repeal Virginia’s antiquated constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was blocked Friday by the Republican-controlled House of Delegates, despite supporters’ attempts to win bipartisan votes by stripping out any language overtly backing LGBTQ equality. Just prior to Friday’s vote in a House Rules subcommittee set up to hear proposals for constitutional amendments, a …

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California Will Move To Protect Same-Sex Marriage

The Associated Press reports: California, a U.S. trendsetter for progressive policies and a state where the current governor once made news issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in San Francisco before it was legal, will attempt to enshrine marriage equality in the state constitution. The effort comes 15 years after a voter-approved initiative, called Proposition 8, banned the state from …

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Japanese PM Fires Aide After Anti-LGBTQ Rant

Reuters reports: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday fired an aide who said he wouldn’t want to live next to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender couples and warned that people would flee Japan if same-sex marriage was permitted. In remarks reported by local media, Masayoshi Arai, an economy and trade official who joined Kishida’s staff as a secretary in …

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VA Senate Codifies Same-Sex Marriage In State Law

Richmond’s ABC affiliate reports: A bill adding language in the state code legalizing same-sex marriage passed in the Virginia Senate with a bipartisan vote. The bill introduced by state Sens. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) and Jennifer Boysko (D-Loudoun) would give religious organizations and clergy members the right to refuse to perform any marriage. The 40-member chamber voted 25-12 to pass the …

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