Tag Archives: marriage equality

CNN reports: Pope Francis put his shoulder to the doors of the Catholic Church and shoved them open a little wider Friday, calling for the church to be more tolerant in practice, while not changing any official doctrines. He urged priests around the world to be more accepting of gay men and lesbians, divorced Catholics and other people living in …

Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed: A federal appeals court on Thursday stated unambiguously that Puerto Rico’s ban on same-sex couples’ marriages is unconstitutional, throwing a federal judge off a case after the judge had ruled in March that the ban was still in effect. “The district court’s ruling errs in so many respects that it is hard to know where …

In a ruling that was widely anticipated, today the Colombian Constitution Court issued a landmark 6-3 ruling which legalizes same-sex marriage nationwide. Today’s ruling follows a 2011 decision which declared that unions between same-sex couples fall under the government’s definition of families. You can find Spanish-language reporting on today’s ruling here and here. I’ll update this post shortly when we …

AL.com reports: Gov. Robert Bentley made perhaps his most heartfelt apology yet on Monday, repeatedly asking the people of Alabama for forgiveness for the scandal that has engulfed his administration. Bentley also said he had asked forgiveness from God. “I’ve asked God to forgive me because that’s the most important thing,” Bentley said in midday remarks at Limestone Correctional Facility. …

The local Republican Party in each state and territory selects two people to help craft the GOP’s official platform at the convention. Politico today reports that these 112 platform committee members are being lobbied by GOP moderates to write a more inclusive platform position on same-sex marriage, which was denounced in the 2012 platform with a call for a constitutional …

Donald Trump’s current positions on gay marriage, foreign policy, and other issues are totally contradicted by posts pulled from his own blog using the Wayback Machine. Unshocking, yes. Via USA Today: Ten years ago, Donald Trump had a pretty open mind about gay marriage. “If two people dig each other, they dig each other,” he wrote about the marriage of …

The Perchy Bird reports: Greenland’s same-sex marriage law went into effect today (April 1st). The marriage bill, which is an adoption of Denmark’s matrimonial laws, was passed unanimously by both the Greenlandic Parliament and Danish Parliament. The two-year long journey from the first marriage bill’s submission to marriage equality in Greenland began back in 2014 when the same-sex marriage bill …

The Springfield News-Gazette reports: A bed-and-breakfast near Paxton that turned down a same-sex couple’s request to hold a civil-union ceremony there in 2011 has been ordered to pay $30,000 in damages to the couple and $50,000 to their attorneys and to stop violating the Illinois Human Rights Act. Michael R. Robinson, an administrative law judge appointed by the Illinois Human …

In April 2013, Orange County elementary school teacher Rebecca Friedrichs sued the California Teachers Association, arguing that her mandatory union fees meant that she had been unwillingly forced into financially supporting the union’s advertising campaign against the passage of Proposition 8. Friedrich’s suit was joined by the Christian Educators Association International. Which brings us to today. Via The Atlantic: The …

From the Knoxville News Sentinel: The state must pay more than $2 million in legal fees to three couples who successfully challenged Tennessee’s same-sex marriage ban, a federal judge in Nashville ruled Friday. Judge Aleta Trauger awarded $1.98 million in attorneys’ fees and $59,916 in expenses to the plaintiffs, which include Knoxville veterinarians Valeria Tanco and Sophy Jesty. The award, …

The Kentucky GOP’s plan for a separate marriage license for gay couples has been shot down. Via McClatchyDC: Kentucky would have a single marriage license for straight and gay couples under a compromise plan backed by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin and the Democrat-controlled House Judiciary Committee. The proposed form would allow applicants to identify themselves as bride, groom or spouse …

JMG reader Luis reports at The Perchy Bird: In Colombia, several media outlets have reported that a 20-page Constitutional Court opinion that will bring marriage equality to the country is ready and only awaits a meeting to cast a Court vote. According to them, sources close to the Court say that the magistrates will vote against one conservative judge’s proposal …

Brian Brown has issued yet another money beg in support of Ted Cruz because John Kasich doesn’t hate gay people as much as he should. Brown writes: I’m asking for your immediate financial help so that we can get the truth about John Kasich out to voters and the media and stop any consideration of him as the GOP nominee, …

We’ve heard this one before. Gay Star News reports: Family First Senator and marriage equality opponent Bob Day on Friday hit out at same-sex marriage, saying that most gay men in relationships are unfaithful to their partners. During the second reading of the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill, the Senator for South Australia started his speech calling it ‘shameful that activists …

Two weeks ago the Alabama Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to Obergefell with a ruling that Chief Justice Roy Moore bizarrely contends actually upholds his state’s ban on same-sex marriage. Today the state Senate continued to ride the crazy train. The Associated Press reports: The Alabama Senate has voted to do away with state-issued marriage licenses following the U.S. Supreme …

Via press release from Lambda Legal: Today, Governor Alejandro García Padilla [photo] announced that the decision issued yesterday by the District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, holding that the historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges striking down discriminatory marriage bans nationwide did not apply to Puerto Rico because it is not a state, would not …

Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed: Puerto Rico’s marriage ban remains valid and the law of the territory, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. Because Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory, the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex couples’ marriage rights does not automatically apply there, U.S. District Court Judge Juan Pérez-Giménez ruled in a 10-page decision. The judge had previously upheld …

Via press release from Lambda Legal: Today Lambda Legal announced the resolution of its lawsuit against the Social Security Administration (SSA) brought on behalf of Kathy Murphy, a Texas widow denied spousal benefits after the death of her wife, and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (the National Committee). “The Social Security Administration has finally adjusted Kathy’s …

But he’ll totally party at Sydney’s gay mardi gras. From the Sydney Morning Herald: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has failed to endorse a pledge made by Attorney-General George Brandis to hold a same-sex marriage plebiscite, and change the Marriage Act, by the end of 2016. Speaking on Sky News on Sunday, Senator Brandis said the government would hold a plebiscite …

From the Daily Mail: The Queen did not approve of the legalisation of same-sex marriage, the Daily Mail can reveal today. While in favour of civil partnerships, as a woman of deep Christian faith she took a different view on the legislation allowing same-sex couples to ‘marry’. She expressed her frustration to a friend at the height of the controversy, …