(EU) - European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg delivered its judgement in a landmark case on pension rights for registered same-sex partners (case of Tadao Maruko v. Versorgungswerk der deutschen Bühnen). The facts of the case are as follows: Mr. Maruko lived with his partner in a registered partnership. After his partner died the VddB, the pension scheme for German theatres, refused to pay him a survivor’s pension as such pensions were provided only for married partners. Mr. Maruko sued the VddB, and the Bavarian Administrative CourtMunich referred the case to the ECJ for interpretation of the 2000/78/EC Directive which established a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation. Read more...
(Poland) - Gay Americans Brendan Fay and Tom Moulton found a media frenzy when they arrived at Warsaw airport yesterday for a three-day visit. The couple, who were married in Canada, hit the international headlines when their wedding image was used in Polish President Lech Kaczynski’s televised prime-time address to scare the Polish people against supporting the Lisbon Treaty, arrived to Warsaw for a three-day visit. The trip is sponsored by TVN Television. Their first day in Poland was an opportunity to meet with Polish Gay rights leaders Tomasz Szypula and Greg Czarnecki from the Campaign Against Homophobia (Kampania Przeciw Homofobii – KPH) as well as other members of the LGBT community.
Note: Read more on UK Gay News
(Europe) - A Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) hearing on the legal recognition of same-sex partnerships will take place in Paris tomorrow. The 47-member Council of Europe predates the European Union. It promotes and protects democracy, educational and sporting co-operation and created the European Court of Human Rights. The hearing will involve representatives of the International Lesbian and Gay Association ILGA Europe as well as parliamentarians and academics. It will also focus on freedom of assembly and expression for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans people in the Council member states.
Note: Read more on Pink News
(USA) - Iowa Republicans frustrated with the majority Democrats refusal to hold a vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban Gay marriage have failed in their last ditch effort to advance the measure. House Minority Leader Christopher Rants attempted on Tuesday to use a procedural motion to move the amendment out of committee where it has been stonewalled and onto the floor of the House for a full vote. On a 50-to-46 vote along party lines Democrats rejected the motion. That means the issue remains in committee where it will likely die by the end of the week. Republicans have been pushing the proposed amendment since last year when Polk County Judge Robert Hanson struck down a state law limiting marriage to straight couples. To amend the Iowa Constitution simple majorities are needed in both the House and Senate in two consecutive general assemblies and then it must be approved by a simple majority of voters in the following general election.
Note: Read more on 365Gay.com
(USA) - The majority of Iowa voters support restricting marriage to heterosexual couples but at the same time are divided on a constitutional amendment to put that in place, and most believe Gay couples should have the right to have civil unions a new poll shows. The survey, by the Des Moines Register, found that 62 percent of prospective voters believe marriage should be available only to heterosexual pairs. But when asked if the state constitution should be amended to block Gay marriage 48 percent said yes while 47 percent said no. Five percent had no opinion. Last year Polk County Judge Robert Hanson struck down a state law limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. Hanson ruled that a state law allowing marriage only between a man and woman violated the constitutional rights of due process and equal protection.
Note: Read more on 365Gay.com
(USA) - Legislation that would create civil unions in Illinois has been introduced in the state Senate. The bill, filed by Sen. David Koehler (D) would include both same and opposite-sex couples. It is similar to legislation filed last year in the House by Rep. Greg Harris (D). That version has been approved by committee but has not been scheduled for a vote by the full House. Koehler acknowledges that the legislation is bound to encounter opposition from 'social conservative' groups and Republicans. The legislation would also recognize same sex marriages and civil unions from other states as civil unions in Illinois. Civil unions currently are legal in New Jersey, Vermont and Connecticut. Same-sex marriage is available only in Massachusetts, although legislation has been filed in Maryland and next week the California Supreme Court will consider Gay marriages.
Note: Read more on 365Gay.com
(USA) - Getting married has been a goal for long-time partners Robin Tyler and Diane Olson for each of the past six Valentine's Days, and this year will be no different. They'll be turned away, of course, since their home state of California doesn't allow same-sex marriages, but Tyler hardly seems heartbroken by that inevitability. "It's all about raising awareness," says the Los Angeles-based activist, comedienne and producer. Similar demonstrations will be happening all over California tomorrow, from Alameda County to Yolo County, according to Marriage Equality USA, all in the hopes of raising awareness about the six cases challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage.
Note: Read more on Pink News
(USA) - Republican lawmakers on Monday proposed asking voters in November to amend the Arizona Constitution to ban same-sex marriage in the state, which was the first to turn down such a measure. The proposal was backed by 16 of 30 state senators, and an identical proposal was introduced in the House. Both chambers would have to approve the measure in a vote for it to be included on the ballot. Under the amendment, "only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state." The proposal comes after Arizona voters narrowly rejected a similar measure in November 2006. The previous measure included the same definition but also contained wording that was interpreted as prohibiting government recognition of civil unions or domestic partnerships. Seven other states approved amendments that day.
Note: Read more on 365Gay.com
(USA) - Opponents of three measures that would give varying rights to same-sex couples in Maryland say they will attempt to force a proposed amendment to ban same-sex marriage and civil unions directly onto the floor of the House and bypass committees. Longtime Gay foe in the legislature, Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr. (R) is circulating a petition that would all a full House vote on the amendment. Dwyer, who attempted to pass measures in the past limiting LGBT civil rights, needs the endorsement of 47 members of the House of Delegates to bypass the committee process and move the issue to a full vote. So far he has 34.
Note: Read more on 365Gay.com
(Cuba) - Taking up Raul Castro's invitation to speak their minds without fear of reprisal, more Cubans have begun publicly complaining and challenging government policies on everything from Gay rights to limits on Internet access and travel restrictions. This week some leading figures called for change: Culture Minister Abel Prieto said that he supports Gay marriage, and famed folk singer Silvio Rodriguez said he believes all Cubans should be free to travel abroad and stay in the hotels reserved for foreign tourists. "I think that marriage between Lesbians, between Homosexuals can be perfectly approved and that in Cuba that wouldn't cause an earthquake or anything like that," Prieto, a member of the party's powerful Politburo, told reporters following a screening of a documentary on Rodriguez's career. Cuban lawmakers are considering a proposal to allow Gay marriages, though its progress in the legislature's closed-door sessions remains unclear.
Note: Read more on 365Gay.com
(Romania) - Romanian Senators amended on Tuesday the Family Code applied at national level to specify that "the family" means "the heterosexual family" i.e. is based entirely upon the marriage of a man and a woman and not upon the reunion of the partners, as stipulated before. The initiative pertains to a senator from the far-right Greater Romania Party (PRM) and was accepted by all members of the Judicial Commission in the Senate. The amendment referred to the first article of the Family Code and leaves no room for interpretation. The text added refers that "the union between a man and a woman respects the Biblical requirements."
Note: Read more on Hot News
(USA) - After years of emotion on the streets and in the Capitol, the fight for Gay rights boiled down to a quiet ruling in a federal courtroom on Friday. U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman's decision means that starting Monday, same-sex couples can start signing up for domestic partnerships, entitling them to most of the duties and benefits that married residents receive. Friday afternoon, Mosman rejected a lawsuit that sought to block the domestic partnership law passed by the Legislature and force a public vote. Mosman's decision was a major victory for Gay-rights advocates, who have fought for years to gain the rights and protections that married couples enjoy.
Note: Read more on Oregon Live
(USA) - An appeals court has ruled that a Gay couple's marriage in Canada should be recognized in New York. The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court on Friday reversed a judge's ruling in 2006 that Monroe Community College did not have to extend health benefits to an employee's Lesbian partner. The couple formalized their relationship in a civil union ceemony in Vermont in 2001 and were married in Canada in 2004. The college refused to add Golden to the health care benefits because its contract with the Civil Service Employees Association did not address benefits for same-sex partners.
Note: Read more on Winnipeg Free Press
(Czech Republic) - The number of registered partnerships between Czech same sex couples reached 487 by the end of last year with homosexual male couples prevailing considerably, according to a poll the results of which were given to CTK by the Sidovsky Management agency today. The law on registered partnership that allows marriages between gay and lesbian couples has been valid in the Czech Republic since July 2006. Since then, legal registered partnerships were concluded by 353 homosexual male and 134 female couples. In 43 cases, one of the partners was a foreigner, especially from Slovakia, but also Azerbaijan, Taiwan, Israel, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Armenia, the Netherlands, the USA and Canada.
Note: Read more on Ceske Noviny
(USA) - Petitions calling for the impeachment of a judge who overturned Iowa's ban on Gay marriages have been delivered to Legislature. The petitions, with over 6,000 signatures, were handed over today by a homophobe called Bill Salier. He says the goal is to "stop a runaway judiciary." Salier says Polk County Judge Robert Hanson overstepped his authority by legalizing Gay marriage last summer. Hanson stayed his ruling while it's under appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court. Impeaching a judge takes an act of the Legislature.
Note: Read more on Washington Blade
(Argentine) - Denied the chance to marry in Argentina, two Gay activists traveled to Spain to tie the knot on Monday. Once home from their honeymoon, they plan to campaign for legal recognition for their marriage in Argentina. “It's not going to be easy. ... But we're already married, Spain recognizes us,” Cesar Cigliutti, president of the Argentine Homosexual Community, told The Associated Press from Madrid. “We want Argentina to recognize us as well.” Cigliutti and Marcelo Suntheim were able to wed because Suntheim has dual citizenship in Argentina and Germany – allowing him to marry within the European Union. Spain began allowing same-sex marriages in 2005, granting Gay couples the same rights as heterosexual ones to marry, adopt children and inherit each other's property.
Note: Read more on Sign On San Diego
(Sweden) - A large majority of Swedes are in favour of allowing Gays to marry, a new poll has shown. Seven out of ten respondents told pollster Sifo they would back moves to change the current legislation. Christian Democrat voters however deviated from the majority. "The proposal enjoys overwhelming support but it runs up against equally strong opposition in the Christian Democrats," Sifo's Toivo Sjörén told Svenska Dagbladet.
Note: Read more on The Lokal
(Sweden) - Sweden's opposition says it plans to force a bill legalizing Gay marriage through parliament, in a move that would seize the initiative from the government and threaten to drive a wedge between the four governing parties. A government inquiry last year proposed that the country allow same-sex couples to get married, instead of offering civil partnerships as at present. Of the seven parties in the current Swedish parliament, all but one are in favour of Gay marriage, but the continued opposition of the Christian Democrats, one of the three smaller governing parties, makes acting on the issue difficult for the goverment.
Note: Read more on The Lokal
(UK) - A marriage registrar has sparked a major legal challenge to the acceptance of Gay weddings by refusing to carry out the ceremonies. The woman, a Christian fanatic, is taking action against Islington Council, saying the civil partnership ceremonies she has been asked to perform are against her religious beliefs. More than 300 Gay couples a year have been tying the knot in the North London borough since the ceremony became legal in 2005 – but the unnamed registrar has refused to take any part in them. Her stance has escalated into a full-scale dispute with her employers, who she is now taking to an employment tribunal, in the first case of its kind.
Note: Read more on Mail on Sunday
(Ireland) - The Government's planned civil partnership scheme for Gay and Lesbian couples is likely to provide for the automatic legal recognition of civil unions or weddings in certain other countries, it has emerged. Already, dozens of Gay and Lesbian couples are travelling to countries such as Canada and the UK to wed or obtain civil partnerships, in the hope their unions will be recognised in Irish law shortly. Senior sources say that civil unions or weddings will have the same legal recognition as new civil partnerships in Ireland, as long as they meet a number of conditions. Such a provision is contained in civil partnership legislation in the UK, which recognises unions in almost 20 countries, including the US, Canada and France.
Note: Read more on Ireland.com
(USA) - Domestic partners in California won the right to the same property tax breaks as husbands and wives under state law Thursday when the state Supreme Court turned down an appeal by county assessors. The justices left intact an October ruling by an appeals court in Sacramento that allowed registered domestic partners - same-sex couples, or unmarried heterosexual couples in which one partner is at least 62 - to accept or inherit real estate from one another without new tax assessments. That's a significant advantage under Proposition 13, the 1978 initiative that rolled back property taxes to 1 percent of value and limited increases to 2 percent a year. Prop. 13 allowed counties to reassess property to full market value when it was sold or changed ownership, often leading to a substantial tax increase.
Note: SF Gates
(USA) - Hundreds crammed into a Portland community center and spilled onto the rainy street Wednesday evening for a candlelight vigil to lament a court ruling that blocks Oregon's civil unions law. Among them were Bev Balliett and Ruth Szilagyi, both 58 and of Portland, who have been in a committed relationship for more than 30 years. They had hoped to make their relationship official Wednesday through the law, which gives same-sex couples most of the state benefits of marriage. "After 30 years, it just seems so ludicrous that we can't be acknowledged," Balliett said during the vigil at the Q Center, a Gay community center in Southeast Portland.
Note: Read more on Oregon Live
(USA) - If the rainbow-painted deck chairs, fluttering rainbow flag and purple shutters don't make it clear, the Highlands Inn's toll-free number, 877-LES-B-INN, leaves no doubt as to whom this White Mountains resort in Bethlehem, N.H. caters to. Innkeeper Grace Newman began hosting commitment ceremonies at this self-proclaimed "lesbian paradise" -- in the 1980s. Newman says she has lost track of the number of commitment ceremonies that have happened there; she estimates about 300 couples have honeymooned at the inn after getting civil unions in Vermont or marriages in Quebec, Canada, both short drives away.
Note: Read more on Boston.com
(Bolivia) - A new constitution for Bolivia approved by the national assembly this month includes a ban on Gay marriage that went virtually undiscussed during the legislative process, La Prensa reports. The document, proposed by President Evo Morales, also includes a provision banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Gay groups welcomed the latter provision, calling it a step forward, but they complained that the constitution offers no legal recognition for Gay couples. Opposition groups have promised a massive effort to defeat the proposed constitution, which still must be approved by referendum some time next fall, because it grants Morales indefinite right to re-election and cedes land rights to the country's indigenous majority.
Note: Read more on Gay News Watch
(USA) - A federal judge Friday blocked Oregon's new domestic partnership law for Gays and Lesbians from taking effect next week, allowing opponents to continue their efforts to try to get voters to overturn the law. The surprise ruling comes four days before the law would allow Gay couples to gain most of the same legal benefits of marriage. Couples across Oregon were planning to show up at county offices Wednesday to register as partners. But U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman ruled that they will have to wait. He set a Feb. 1 hearing to decide a lawsuit challenging the state's methods for verifying signatures on a November 2008 referendum.
Note: Read more on Oregon Live
(Italy) - The city council in Rome has blocked plans for a domestic partners register for same-sex and heterosexual couples. The Vatican had vehemently opposed the measure. Rightwing groups on the council rejected the modest proposal, whereby couples could have signed a register at the city clerk's office. They would then have been entitled to rights to visit their partner in hospital, family rates at city-run leisure centres and other benefits in the control of the council. Earlier this month Massimo D'Alema, a former Prime Minister who currently holds the highest post at the Italian Foreign office, said that he was against marriage between Gay people, because "only a marriage between a man and a woman represents the basis of the family according to the Italian Constitution, and is also a sacrament according to the Church." He added that Gay marriage would offend the religious feelings of 'many people'.
Note: Read more on Pink News
(Uruguay) - Uruguay's Congress legalized civil unions for Gay couples on Tuesday in the first nationwide law of its kind in Latin America. Under the new law, Gay and straight couples will be eligible to form civil unions after living together for five years. They will have rights similar to those granted to married couples on such matters as inheritance, pensions and child custody. Uruguay's Senate passed the bill unanimously after the lower house approved it last month, a congressional spokesman said. The country's center-left president is expected to sign it into law.
Note: Read more on Reuters
(Hungary) - Hungary's parliament passed a law late on Monday that allows same-sex couples to register a civil partnership with many of the rights and obligations of marriage. Registered couples will have the same rights as married heterosexual couples in inheritance, taxation and other financial matters. But they will not be allowed to adopt children, unlike married couples. After decades under communist rule when homosexuality was banned or simply out of sight, it is far less widely accepted in Eastern Europe than in most of Western Europe. The law passed with 185 votes in favor, 154 against and 9 abstentions. It will take effect as of January 2009.
Note: Read mopre on Reuters
(Australia) - After being elected into power less than a month ago, The Sunday Telegraph has reported that senior ministers of the Labor party are considering plans to legalize same-sex civil unions after an election promise of state based relationship registers is successfully implemented. Speaking to the Telegraph, Professor Kerryn Phelps said that she had received confirmation from several ministers in the Rudd government, and that civil unions will be introduced “slowly and gradually”. “Their reaction to it was they were committed to eliminating discrimination and ensuring real equality and not a watered-down version. Not proceeding with Gay marriages or civil unions would be a watered-down version of equality.
Note: Read more on GenerationQ
(Spain) - A Gay couple who took on the British and Spanish governments over the recognition of their civil partnership have won a major victory. Paul and Martin Ward signed the civil partnership register in Devon on Valentine's Day this year, having been advised that it would be recognised in Spain, where Paul lives. However, when the couple returned to Spain to live, they found out from the British Consul in Malaga that their civil partnership was not recognised in Spain. "We both decided to fight for our partnership to be recognised here in Spain, in the same way that Spain recognises a UK heterosexual marriage and the UK recognises a Spanish Gay marriage," the couple said today.
Note: Read more on Pink News
(Israel) - The Interior Ministry must recognize the overseas adoptions of same-sex couples, the state said yesterday. The state prosecution told the High Court of Justice that it would tell the ministry's Population Registry to recognize such adoptions as long as the couple presents a valid adoption certificate from a foreign country. "This is another step toward equality and the abolition of discrimination toward same-sex couples," said MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz-Yahad). "The time has come for the state to recognize these couples, just as it recognizes the adoptions of heterosexual couples."
Note: Read more on Haaretz
(USA) - A Lesbian couple who married in Massachusetts are unable to get divorced in their home state of Rhode Island, the state's Supreme Court ruled yesterday. The three-to-two decision ruled that the state's family court does not have the ability to grant a divorce to Gay couples as the state defines marriage as between a man and a woman. "The role of the judicial branch is not to make policy, but simply to determine the legislative intent," the court said in a written judgement.
Note: Read more on Pink News
(Australia) - The decision follows talks today between ACT Attorney-General Simon Corbell and federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland, who voiced concerns about the Territory's proposal. The ACT Government had planned to introduce the legislation in February. Mr Corbell described the meeting as very constructive but said the two parties had agreed to further talks at a departmental level about the issue. "This means the ACT won't be able to present its legislation in February,'' he said. "The Commonwealth minister indicated he does have concerns with the proposed arrangements.'' The meeting came after former Attorney-General Philip Ruddock used his power to block ACT laws, saying they contradicted the federal Marriage Act.
Note: Read more on The Australian
(USA) - Michael E. Guest, a tall, soft-spoken man with salt-and-pepper hair, looks every bit the diplomat. At the young age of 43, at the start of the Bush administration, he was named ambassador to Romania, and since he returned in 2004 he has trained new ambassadors before they ship out overseas. But last month, after 26 years in the Foreign Service, he did something uncharacteristically undiplomatic. Guest resigned from the State Department, giving up a career he loved, in order to protest rules and regulations that he believes are unfair to the same-sex partners of Foreign Service officers, giving them fewer benefits than family pets.
Note: Read more on Washington Post
(Australia) - Victorian human rights group, Civil Union Action (CUA), has welcomed the Victorian Government's announcement today to introduce new legislation in Parliament this week for a relationships register, but said the register should include equal substantive rights and the option for official ceremonies. MLA for Prahran, Tony Lupton, made the announcement via press release today. Mr Lupton chaired the working group that recently reported to the State Government on relationship recognition. Read more...
Joyce and I can recite Gay-couple horror stories about dying or becoming incapacitated without giving one's partner undeniable decision-making authority. But what really hit home was seeing firsthand the power of having the proper document --and, more important, the powerlessness of not having it. We quit stalling and turned our attention to the half-finished set of legal protections gathering dust on our stairs: for each of us, a will, a durable power of attorney, a health care power of attorney and authorization for the release medical information.
Note: Read more on The Detroit News
(Australia) - While Dr Nelson says his stand on Gay rights is a personal view and he'll be consulting his colleagues on any formal policy shift, he told the Sunday Mail in a wide-ranging interview yesterday he thinks it's a change in the law that's overdue. "I don't support Gay marriage, adoption or IVF," Dr Nelson said. "But I believe in addressing the social and economic injustices affecting homosexuals the length and breadth of this country." Dr Nelson is understood to have unsuccessfully argued inside the former Howard Cabinet along with his now shadow treasurer, Malcolm Turnbull, for the legal rights of Gay couples to be recognised.
Note: Read more on news.com
Uruguay will legalize civil unions for homosexuals and heterosexuals next month, making it the first Latin American nation to treat gay and straight couples alike, a lawmaker said Thursday.
Deputies in the early hours of Thursday passed legislation allowing gay and straight couples to form civil unions after living together for at least five years.
The Senate has already approved the measure.
Note: Read more at Sign On San Diego
THE incoming attorney-general, Robert McClelland, says Labor is unlikely to block a proposal by the ACT to legally recognise same-sex couples - a plan that was repeatedly stymied by the Howard Government.
The ACT Attorney-General, Simon Corbell, is planning to reintroduce a civil partnerships bill, which will give legal recognition to unions between same-sex couples. The plan was blocked by the Howard Government last year and the outgoing Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, threatened to do so again in February.
Mr McClelland told the Herald yesterday that Labor opposes gay marriages but would support moves to give same-sex couples the same legal rights as de facto heterosexual couples.
Note: Read more at Sydney Morning Herald
(Morocco) - A wedding for a well-known gay man in Morocco ended with the colorful 'bride' behind bars, along with five other wedding guests, and sparked riots and calls for authorities to clamp down on gays in Moroccan society. The wedding, attended by scores of Gays and Lesbians, lasted two days and had many elements of a traditional Moroccan wedding. More than 600 heterosexuals took to the streets, chanting slogans condemning the city's leniency towards Gays and criticizing the couple's audacity to hold a Gay wedding in the open. According to article 489 of the Moroccan Penal Code, homosexuality is illegal and is punishable by six months to three years in jail and a fine of 120 to 1,200 dirhams (15 to 155 dollars).
Note: Read more on Al Arabia
(Thailand) - Gay rights activist Natee Teerarojanapong called on Thursday for the next government to push for the legal sanction of Gay marriage as an urgent agenda following the December 23 election. "The demand of the third sex is meant for sexual equality without any discrimination," Natee said. He said Gay marriage should not be construed as a priviledge but a way of life in a nondiscriminatory manner. He said the next government should also amend the military regulations that label Gay conscripted soldiers as suffering from the psychological disorder before wavering constription duty. The label has no medical justification and stigmatised Gays for the rest of their life, he said.
Note: Read more on The Nation
(UK) - Proposals to make it easier for Lesbian and Gay couples to have IVF babies have been heavily criticised in the Lords. A number of peers opposed moves to remove a requirement for IVF clinics to consider "the need of that child for a father" before offering treatment. They said it would be a "huge error" and the Lords should reaffirm the importance of both parents. The Lords debate followed criticism of the proposals by the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, who said they would undermine "the place of the father in a child's life".
Note: Read more on BBC
(China) - "About 90 percent of Chinese people believe that homosexuality will exercise no influence on job selections, which exceeds the number of 86 percent in America. This is a noticeable progress and it may mean more tolerance towards homosexuality in China,"said Professor Li Yinhe, a sociologist focusing on sexology with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. As a researcher on homosexuality, Li Yinhe is leading the call for legalizing Gay marriage with many proposals and she is the interest representative for the minority of homosexuals in China. "There are no extreme moral opponents against homosexuality in China, so it is easier for the same sex lovers in China to claim their rights than in the Western countries, and China is always making progress,”"said professor Li.
Note: Read more on China.org.cn
(USA) - The state office that oversees marriage licenses and other vital records says civil union licenses will be available at city and town clerk offices throughout New Hampshire by the first week of December. With civil unions becoming legal Jan. 1, many Gay and Lesbian couples have been eager to start planning their ceremonies but have been worried about whether the licenses would be available in time for New Year's Day. Mo Baxley, director for the New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition, said people have been calling her office daily with questions about getting a license.
Note: Read more on Citizen.com
(USA) - LGBT civil rights have taken a step forward in communities in three states: Ohio, Maryland and Iowa. Toledo, Ohio has become the first major city in that state to create a domestic partner registry. It will be available to same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples who cannot or chose not to marry. Couples would have to prove they cohabitate, are financial interdependent and are over the age of 18 to register at city hall. The registry would offer the same municipal benefits as married couples have. Registering would also serve as proof of a relationship for people whose employers offer domestic partner health and insurance plans.
Note: Read more on 365Gay.com
(USA) - Attorney General Dustin McDaniel on Wednesday approved a conservative Christian group’s second proposed ballot initiative to ban unmarried couples from adopting or becoming foster parents in Arkansas. The proposal, aimed at banning Gays and Lesbians from adopting or fostering children, is nearly identical to the other but includes the sentence: “The people of Arkansas find and declare that it is in the best interest of children in need of adoption or foster care to be reared in homes in which adoptive or foster parents are not co-habiting outside of marriage.”
Note: Read more on SW Times
(Hungary) - Governing parties agree on tackling the issue of same-sex relationships, probably by introducing some form of legal partnership, in order to solve a long neglected human rights issue. Theoretically, both governing parties are willing to provide equal rights for same-sex couples, though only two MSZP MPs supported the liberal party's suggestion at a human rights commission meeting. In Hungary, same-sex couples have absolutely no legal background for their relationships.
Note: Read more on Caboodle.hu
(USA) - A constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages in Florida is closing in on a spot on the 2008 election ballot, triggering a political battle that could sway voters in a key presidential year. Florida4Marriage, the group pushing the amendment, has garnered 597,000 signatures and needs only 13,000 more to put it before voters. Proponents of the ban are heartened by polls showing that the amendment has a good chance of getting the 60 percent of votes necessary for passage. “It’s a little sad,” said Bryan Worthington of Venice, president of the local Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered caucus. “If there were no way to link the effects of this amendment to straight people, then it would pass in a heartbeat. But we have to do what it takes and it will end up effecting the rights of all people, Gay or straight.”
Note: Read more on Herald Tribune
(Ireland) - A Labour Party private members bill, the Civil Unions Bill, was defeated in the Dail last week. The government announced its own plans to give legal protection and recognition to same-sex couples and the ‘‘myriad’’ life relationships with no legal status. Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan and Green Party leader John Gormley pledged to have the legislation drawn up by March, although no timeframe has yet been advanced for its implementation. ‘‘The problem is we’re not sure how much of the equality agenda is going to be implemented in the government’s legislation,” said Ritchie Keane, chairman of Labour’s equality group. ‘‘If they were serious about equality, they should have let the Labour Party bill go to committee stage and it could have been worked on there. We believe our bill was robust enough for any challenges.”
Note: Read more on Irish Business News
(USA) - New Jersey's 8-month-old civil union law has failed to live up to its promise of giving same-sex couples all the protections of marriage by another name, the state's top official for enforcing civil rights said yesterday. Civil Rights Director Frank Vespa-Papaleo, who chairs a commission that recently concluded three hearings on how the new law is working, said, "To me as a commissioner, the testimony revealed overwhelmingly that the civil union law has been a failure." "It is not working as effectively as if the word 'marriage' were used," Vespa-Papaleo said. "That could be controversial. I could lose my job for saying that."
Note: Read more on nj.com
(Ireland) - The Government has announced plans to give legal recognition to same-sex couples but the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Brian Lenihan, has ruled out Gay marriage as "being in conflict with the Constitution." The Minister said last night that the heads of a Bill to legislate for civil partnerships would be ready by next March and the Government would then proceed as quickly as possible with detailed legislation. Mr Lenihan said the Government opposed a Labour Party Bill on civil unions, originally tabled last March, as the "clear advice of the Attorney General was that it was contrary to the explicit recognition given to the family based on marriage in the Constitution."
Note: Read more on The Irish Times
(Ireland) - The Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) have called on all parties to support Labour’s Civil Union Bill, which will be re-introduced to the Dáil tonight. If passed, the Civil Union Bill will extend the same benefits and legal obligations of marriage to same-sex couples. The Bill was postponed for six months by the last Government and was supported by all other parties including the Greens, who are now in government. The new Government has committed to enacting civil partnership legislation at the earliest opportunity.
Note: Read more on GCN
(Ireland) - Justice Minister Brian Lenihan was under pressure from the Greens last night to act on civil partnerships for same-sex couples, as Labour moved to expose government tensions on the issue. Senior Green Party figures have been lobbying Mr Lenihan for a number of weeks to prioritise the reform agreed in the programme for Government. They are believed to want a firm commitment announced before Labour brings its Civil Unions Bill back to the Dáil later in the week. The Labour bill, to be debated on Wednesday and Thursday, provides that in most respects the rules of law applying to marriage will also apply to same sex civil unions.
Note: Read more on Examiner
(USA) - MassEquality, the Gay-marriage advocacy coalition, created one of the most effective political campaigns Massachusetts has ever seen, leading a battle that attracted US-wide attention and culminated in a historic victory last June, when the Legislature defeated an amendment to ban same-sex marriage. But four months later, the group is agonizing over a question born of its own success: What, if anything, should it do now? Some involved with the group are raising concerns that the organization has been spending more than $100,000 a month since June without a clear mission.
Note: Read more on Boston.com
(Australia) - The independent candidate for Fisher, Caroline Hutchison, was the lone voice in support of Gay marriage when the Sunshine Coast’s sitting MPs and high-profile challengers were asked for their thoughts on the subject. Issues surrounding same-sex couples made a brief appearance on the election campaign agenda when Labor leader Kevin Rudd was quizzed about whether he believed they should be able to marry and adopt children.
Note: Read more on The Daily
(Sweden) - Sweden's Moderate Party on Saturday gave its backing to gender-neutral marriages. A large majority of the conference delegates were in favour of a change to the law. The party agreed that the decision of whether to conduct same-sex marriages should be up to the local parishes. The party conference also agreed that lesbian couples should be entitled to artificial insemination treatment at state hospitals and that Gays can adopt children. Six of parliament's seven parties have now given their backing to Gay marriage. Only the Christian Democrats are opposed and they have vowed to continue arguing against it.
Note: Read more on The Lokal
(USA) - Some 57 percent of the population of Maryland support allowing Gay couples to form civil unions, according to a new Washington Post poll. Meanwhile, 51 percent continue to oppose granting full marriage rights to same-sex couples. The findings place Maryland somewhat to the left of the USA as a whole on social issues likely to be heavily debated when the General Assembly reconvenes in January for its annual 90-day session.
Note: Read more on Washington Post
(Australia) - Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd has angered members of the Gay community by saying he is opposed to homosexual marriage and refusing to be drawn on the question of Gay couples adopting children. "When it comes to the Marriage Act, that is the responsibility of the Federal Parliament," Mr Rudd said. "And the Marriage Act relates to a union between a man and a woman, and that remains Labor policy as it has been into the past and as it will remain into the future. Australian Coalition for Equality spokesman Rodney Croome said the community was disappointed by Mr Rudd's comments. Mr Croome said that partners in same-sex relationships would continue to be second-class citizens while they were denied the right to marry.
Note: Read more on The Age
(USA) - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed another Gay marriage bill Friday, saying voters and the state Supreme Court, not lawmakers, should decide the issue. The Republican governor turned down a measure by Assemblyman Mark Leno that would have defined marriage as a union between two people, not just a man and a woman. Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill from Leno, a San Francisco Democrat, in 2005 and has said he would veto all such bills. The California Supreme Court is likely to rule next year on whether the state's voter-approved ban on Gay marriage violates the constitution.
Note: Read more on AP
(Australia) - Prime Minister John Howard could announce within days a new policy to eliminate discrimination against same-sex couples in legislation. Speculation is mounting that Mr Howard is set to announce changes to give same-sex couples the same rights of access to a partner's superannuation as are enjoyed by married and de facto couples. A broader policy would also include equal rights to pensions, tax and other benefits such as Medicare safety net thresholds. But it is believed Mr Howard has no plans to overturn his legislation, introduced before the 2004 election and supported by Labor, to ban gay marriage.
Note: Read more on The Age
(USA) - Opponents of a new domestic partnership law for Gay couples failed to gather enough signatures to put a referendum on the November 2008 ballot. The secretary of state's office said Monday that volunteers who spent the summer collecting signatures to allow voters to weigh in on domestic partnerships fell 116 signatures short of the 55,179 needed to qualify for the ballot. That means that on Jan. 1 Gay couples in Oregon will be able to enter into domestic partnerships allowing them most of the state benefits of marriage, such as inheritance rights. It does not affect federal benefits, such as Social Security.
Note: Read more on Oregon Live
(China) - While their old school friends are walking up the aisle, China's Gays have been left on the shelf. Despite the nation's rapid development, society remains deeply conservative, and Gay weddings are unimaginable for the majority of citizens. But a new generation of scholars is challenging the idea that marriage can only ever be between a man and a woman. Professor Li Yinhe, a sociologist and Gay rights campaigner, is leading the call for marriage and other rights for the nation's 40 million homosexuals.
Note: Read more on China Daily
(Colombia) - Gay couples in Colombia won the same social security rights as their straight counterparts in a court ruling called a major advance for homosexuals in this conservative Roman Catholic country. In a decision embraced by rights groups but opposed by the church, the Constitutional Court said on Friday it extended health benefits long enjoyed by heterosexuals in common law marriages to same-sex couples. The first nationwide law of its kind in Latin America, the measure allows Gay people to include their partners in their health insurance plans.
Note: Read more on Reuters
(Sweden) - The three opposition parties are piling pressure on the government to table a bill establishing gender-neutral marriage. The leaders of the Social Democrat, Left and Green parties submitted a motion to parliament on Friday demanding that gay marriage legislation is passed by 18th March. A clear majority in parliament is in favour of gender-neutral marriage, with only one party - the Christian Democrats, one of the four governing parties - against. Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt is a strong proponent of gay marriage, but the government cannot put forward a bill as long as the Christian Democrats block the idea. "It is absurd for the Christian Democrats to get a veto," said Mona Sahlin on Friday.
Note: Read more on The Local
(USA) - New Jersey's civil unions law has failed to provide all the benefits of marriage to at least one in five same-sex couples, a gay rights group told a panel Wednesday that will report its findings to the governor and state Legislature. More than 300 of the 1,514 same-sex couples who have joined in civil unions have complained to Garden State Equality, the state's leading gay rights group, about employers denying them benefits under the law, said David M. Smith, the group's deputy director. ``Calling our relationship and our legal status a civil union, I believe, gives my company an easy out,'' said one of the affected men. ``Calling it what it is - a marriage - makes denial of those benefits obvious for what it is: discrimination.''
Note: Read more on Guardian
(USA) - An Englewood couple was arrested Monday when they challenged the state ban on same-sex marriage in Denver. Sheila Schroeder, 43, and Kate Burns, 44, were led away in handcuffs by police when they refused to leave the Denver clerk and recorder's office after being refused a marriage certificate. "We're sorry for the disturbance, but we won't leave until we're provided with the same rights as everyone else," Burns told clerk and recorder Stephanie O'Malley. Denver Police Lt. James Henning said Burns and Schroeder would be issued a summons for trespassing and released. Voters in 2006 amended the Colorado Constitution to permit marriage only between heterosexual. A proposal to recognize "domestic partnerships" between same sex couples was rejected in the same election.
Note: Read more on Rocky Mountains
(USA) - Equality California submitted some 15,000 petitions to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, urging him to sign the law that would recognize marriages of Gay couples. Exactly 14,766 Californians have signed EQCA's online petition supporting AB 43, the recently-passed marriage legislation that is on its way to the Schwarzenegger’s office. Gov. Schwarzenegger has vowed to veto the bill. Read more...
(USA) - San Diego's City Council agreed Tuesday to signal its support for recognition of marriages of Gay people, only to have Mayor Jerry Sanders pledge to veto the action. Sanders' spokesman, Fred Sainz, said the mayor prefers civil unions, which offer some, but not all of the legal protections found in marriages. Sainz also noted that 62 percent of city voters backed Proposition 22, the statewide measure that bars California from acknowledging same-sex marriages performed in other states.
Note: Read more on Sign On San Diego
(USA) - The Maryland Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, ruled that Gay couples do not have a constitutional right to marriage equality. The decision reversed a lower-court ruling that Maryland's ban on marriage for Gay couples violated the states Equal Rights Amendment. "This is a setback in the fight for equality, but we remain confident that, ultimately, same-sex couples in Maryland who form committed relationships and build loving families will receive the same protections that the state provides to married opposite-sex couples," said Joe Solmonese of Human Rights Campaign. Read more...
(USA) - Equality California (EQCA), Marriage Equality USA (MEUSA) and other allied organizations are staging rallies in over a dozen cities throughout California to show the Governor Schwarzenegger that the will of the people supports equality. The groups also urge him ‘to be a hero’, not do a veto sequel but rather sign the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act recently passed by Californian lawmakers. The rallies are sheduled for Tuesday, 18 September. Read more...
(USA) - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday that he won't reconsider his decision to veto a bill legalizing Gay marriage and will keep vetoing the measure as long as lawmakers send it to him. The Republican governor said he won't change his position unless voters overturn an anti-Gay marriage initiative that Californians adopted in 2000. Geoff Kors, executive director of the gay rights organization Equality California, said Proposition 22 only bars California from recognizing same-sex marriages performed outside California. The equal marriage bill, by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would amend a different section of law that covers marriages performed in California.
Note: Read more on Mercury News
(Nepal) - Two Nepalese Gay women, Kalpana Pariyar, a fresh-faced 21-year-old from Karabari village, and Sabi Bishwokorma, 32, from the same region, have married despite the prejudice of the society. Disowned by their families, the defiant women came to Kathmandu this week looking for support from Blue Diamond Society (BDS), Nepal's only gay rights organisation that last year organised the kingdom's first public Gay marriage. On Wednesday, hundreds of Gays, Lesbians and Transgenders marched through the capital, chanting slogans. The rally was the culmination of a two-day seminar on creating a more inclusive and tolerant society that ended with a Kathmandu Declaration.
Note: Read more on New Post India
(USA) - Married Gay partners of state and local government workers across New York now will be eligible for benefits from the state and local government pension system. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said Wednesday that a state court judge’s ruling this week tossing out a lawsuit by a conservative group clears the way for him to expand the pension benefits to same-sex marriages performed in any jurisdiction that has legalized the unions. “This is a great day for New Yorkers who believe in fairness and equality,” DiNapoli said.
Note: Read more on Buffalo News
(USA) - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger must sign the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act to ensure basic human rights to all citizens of California, Human Rights Watch urged in a letter to the governor. The legislation grants full marriage equality for same-sex couples, within the limitations of the restrictive federal legislation. Schwarzenegger had vetoed a similar bill when passed by California's legislature 2005. Read more...
(USA) - For the second time in two years, the California Legislature has passed legislation that would grant same-sex couples the ability to marry. With a 22-15 vote, the Senate on September 7 approved AB 43, authored by Assemblymember Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and sponsored by Equality California. The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act is almost identical to the bill the Legislature passed in 2005. California claims the pioneerining status of the only state in the US that has approved marriage for same-sex couples through the legislative process, but has been actually never implemented. Read more...
(EU) - Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer Damaso, an Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg delivered today his opinion in a landmark case before the court which is favourable to same-sex partners (case of Tadao Maruko v. Versorgungswerk der deutschen Bühnen). The ECJ ruled that refusal to pay Mr Maruko survivor’s pension constituted indirect discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. Mr. Maruko lived with his partner in a registered partnership. After his partner died the VddB, the pension scheme for German theatres, refused to pay him a survivor’s pension as such pensions were, they claimed, provided only for married partners. Read more...
(UK) - A leading Tory MP, Michael Ancram, has launched a withering attack on civil unions, saying treating them in the same way as marriage "insults the intelligence of the British people." In an open attack on Conservative leader David Cameron, the MP for Devizes unveiled an alternative manifesto today calling on the party to adopt more traditional Tory policies. "Giving them that equivalence does not enhance them; instead it diminishes the value of real marriage. In doing so it damages the concept of family and eventually of community." The enexpected attack against civil partnerships reveals deep anti-Gay bias among UK conservatives, however thinly veiled.
Note: Read more on Pink News
(China) - Gay couples living together in Shanghai are facing homelessness because of new rules introduced by Shanghai’s housing bureau. The authorities have ordered landlords to abstain from offering "group rents" to unmarried couples, insisting that rooms should be given only to singles and heterosexual families. In what appears a pooly realized attempt to reduce dwelling density, landlords are also encouraged to cease renting out individual beds and sub-dividing rooms, ordering that the total floor space should be not less than 5 m2 per person. Joint dwelling and the illegal partitioning of rooms are widespread in Shanghai, whith rents becoming increasingly unaffordable for many of the population. Read more...
(USA) - The joys of equal marriage didn’t last long in US state Iowa. The hopes of many Gay couples were bitterly disappointed when judge Robert Hanson ordered a halt to his own ruling which declared restrictions of marriage to heterosexuals only as unconstitutional. Just a day after issuing his ground-breaking decision, Hanson complied to the request of a county prosecutor that no more marriage licenses be given to gay couples until the Supreme Court has considered the appeal submitted by the prosecutor. Luckily, two Iowa State University students managed to get their marriage license and be married by a a Unitarian minister whom they were able to win for their case. Read more...
(Israel) - Gay rights activists yesterday fiercely criticized Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann for bowing to pressure by religious parties in his decision to redraft inheritance laws. The revised bill would preclude homosexual couples from inheritance laws that apply to people in common-law marriages. The bill proposed by Friedmann contradicts the recommendations of a public commission (headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Jacob Turkel) that was set up in 1999. The minister decided to limit the proposed inheritance law to "a man and a woman who lead a family life in a joint household." The original bill, which the committee approved, proposed to regard all "partners who live together in a common household" as each other's legal inheritors.
Note: Read full article on Haaretz
(USA) - According to the 2000 US Census, some 35,000 same-sex couples who list themselves as "unmarried partners" similarly include one person who is a US citizen and one person who is not. Because Congress passed - and former President Clinton signed - the mean-spirited "Defense of Marriage Act" in 1996, no federal rights extend to the roughly 9,000 married same-sex couples in Massachusetts. There are more than 1,000 different benefits - from filing joint income taxes to receiving Social Security benefits - that are denied to same-sex couples everywhere in the country, whether they live in a state that recognizes their marriage or civil union status or not. The ability of a US citizen to sponsor a husband or wife for immigration to the United States, called a form I-130, is just one of them.
Note: Read full article on Boston.com
(USA) - Should the legal ties between parents and their adopted child unravel if the family leaves the state where the adoption decree was handed down? Of course, not. The very idea is outrageous. But that's what Oklahoma lawmakers were striving for in 2004 with their chillingly titled "Adoption Invalidation Law," which targeted adopted children with Gay parents. That wrongheaded statute declared that Oklahoma would refuse to recognize "an adoption by more than one individual of the same sex from any other state or foreign jurisdiction." In other words, if a Gay couple and the child they adopted in, say, California or Maryland moved to Oklahoma or simply drove through Oklahoma on vacation, they would not be treated as a legally recognized family by any Oklahoma official - whether a police officer, public school teacher or judge.
Note: Read full article on DetNews
(Gibraltar) - A Lesbian couple who have been in love for 19 years are bringing a legal case against the government of Gibraltar over its decision to refuse them joint tenancy of their rented apartment. Nadine Rodriguez has applied to the Gibraltar high court for a judicial review of the non-inclusion of her partner in her tenancy agreement. This is a cruel, vindictive policy. Gibraltar is nick-named the Rock. In the Rodriguez case, it is proving to be a rock by name and a rock by nature. Chief minister Peter Caruana has failed to provide any significant progress for Gibraltar's Gay and Lesbian citizens. Same-sex relationships have no legal recognition or rights in Gibraltar. Civil partnerships do not exist, and there are no plans to introduce them.
Note: Read full article on Guardian
(USA) - A Gay Baltimore man has won a legal battle to keep his late partner’s remains buried in the Tennessee grave the two men chose. Kevin-Douglas Olive reached a settlement Aug. 10 with the parents of his late partner, Russell Groff, who sought to move the body to a family plot. The settlement ended a legal battle that lasted two years. Olive said Gay Marylanders - unable to acquire the legal protections that marriage or civil unions would afford - must guard themselves through other means. He noted that Equality Maryland, which is seeking marriage equality in the state for same-sex couples, might be the recipient. Olive said he strongly supports that effort. “It’s more than just inheritance,” he said. “It will change things. It will change the disrespect that same-gender couples get all the time when we describe ourselves as same-gender couples.”
Note: Read full article on Washington Blade
(Australia) - Thousands of people marched August 12 in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney as part of the National Day of Action, which marked the three year anniversary of gay marriage being outlawed. The largest of the marches was in Melbourne, where more than 5,000 people attended. All the marches were peaceful. Prime Minister John Howard's Liberal government passed federal legislation in 2004 banning same-sex marriage. Earlier this year he proposed that HIV positive immigrants should not be allowed into the country. Howard is due to stand for re-election at the end of this year.
Note: Read full article on Pink News
(Armenia) - Harut and Misha got married in Echmiadzin last Sunday. In case you don't know, those are both men's names. Harut and Misha are gay. Of course, it was a symbolic ceremony, as the Armenian Apostolic Church does not condone gay marriages. They exchanged rings in the church and staged a small wedding party at a restaurant with Misha's mother and their friends. They came from Paris especially to exchange vows in Echmiadzin. Both grew up in environments - one here and one abroad - where homosexuals are not only disapproved, but despised. They say they were connected by love and wanted to express it in Armenia’s holiest site. Misha Meroujan (35), left Yerevan in 1994, after he could no longer tolerate the intolerance toward homosexuals in Armenia.
Note: Read full article on 168.am
(Australia) - Federal Liberal MP Warren Entsch will present Prime Minister John Howard with a petition signed by 25,000 people which calls for an end to discrimination against same-sex couples. Mr Entsch today said he hoped to present a copy of the online petition organised by activist group Get Up! to Mr Howard today or tomorrow. The petition addressed to Mr Howard and Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd reads: "Same-sex couples should have the same legal rights as de facto heterosexual couples. "I call upon you to make this first step towards equality by immediately legislating to end discrimination against same-sex couples.''
Note: Read full article on news.com
(UK) - Stonewall, which represents the interests of gay, lesbians and bisexual people in the UK, has come out in support of Law Commission proposals for cohabiting couples to be given similar, but lesser, legal safeguards to married couples. "Stonewall broadly welcomes the Law Commission’s recommendations for cohabitants," a spokesperson said. "It's right that any scheme should apply to both gay and straight couples."
Note: Read full article on www.politics.co.uk
(Boston, USA) - Gay couples from New Mexico can now marry in Massachusetts because their home state has not explicitly banned same-sex marriage, according to a decision by a top state records official. New Mexico joins Rhode Island as the only states whose gay residents can marry in Massachusetts because neither specifically bans same-sex marriage. But neither Rhode Island nor New Mexico has said it would recognize the marriages after its residents return home. Gay rights advocates said they had expected the decision on New Mexico, which comes after Massachusetts's highest court ruled last year that gay couples from other states could not marry here if their home state banned gay marriage.
Note: Read full article on The Boston Channel
(Madrid, Spain) - A judge has ordered a lesbian mother to hand over her two daughters to their father because, he said, her homosexuality would harm them and “raised the risk” that the girls would also become lesbians, press reports said on Monday. Judge Fernando Ferrin Calamita, who heard the case at a court in the eastern region of Murcia, also said the woman could keep custody of the children if she found another male partner. According to Ferrin, being raised by homosexual would not allow the children the right to the proper environment to which they were entitled.
Note: Read full article on Expatica
(USA) - Same-sex couples came Monday to Olympia (Washington) with mixed feelings, lining up to register as domestic partners with the Secretary of State's office. They said the new set of legal rights that when into effect Monday morning - which include hospital visitation, property inheritance and funeral planning - were steps in the right direction but still a far cry from full marriage equality. Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, was the leading force behind the new legislation in Olympia. He and his longtime partner Michael Shiosaki, were among those waiting to register.
Note: Read full article on SeattlePI
(USA) - Because immigration law does not recognize same-sex couples, an American citizen would not be able to sponsor their partner if they are on a temporary visa, and in some cases registering for a domestic partnership could jeopardize a foreign national's status. And in the case of military couples, it could violate the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law and jeopardize their careers. The new state law creates a domestic partnership registry with the state, and will provide enhanced rights for same-sex couples, including hospital visitation rights, the ability to authorize autopsies and organ donations and inheritance rights when there is no will.
Note: Read full article on Boston.com
(USA) - New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine on Friday asked United Parcel Service of America to recognize the state's civil-union law and offer gay employees partner benefits similar to those given married workers. Gay activists are targeting the Atlanta-based shipping company, which has denied health benefits to legal partners of its gay workers despite the New Jersey law enacted in February that endeavored to give civil-union partners all marriage rights. "Surely, as a company with a long-standing commitment to its employees and the community, UPS would not want to make its employees and their families face these difficult choices based on the subtleties of the interaction of federal and state law," Corzine wrote in a letter dated Friday and released to reporters.
Note: Read full article on gay.com
(Ireland) - A sperm donor today won a landmark court battle to stop a lesbian couple moving to Australia with his 14-month-old son. In the first case of its kind in Ireland, the Supreme Court ruled it was in the best interest of the child's welfare to remain in the state with his biological father. Two out of three judges in the state's highest court upheld a temporary order granted by the High Court to prevent the child's mother and her partner moving away for a year. The child's mother's partner - who is Australian - wanted the child to meet her family. A battle over the guardianship of the child is now due to be heard. Mrs Justice Susan Denham, supported by Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan, said she was guided by the paramount importance of the welfare of the infant, by the young age of the infant, and by the fact that a year is a long time in the life of a developing infant. But Mr Justice Nial Fennelly argued no expert evidence had been heard that the child's welfare would be jeopardised or compromised by his being taken to Australia.
Note: Read full article on Daily Mail
(Ireland) - Gay couples are to be given the same legal rights as other couples during the course of the current Dail, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern confirmed yesterday. Under a new civil partnership law, gay and co-habiting couples will be entitled to the same tax breaks, social welfare benefits, pension schemes and inheritance rights as married couples have now, he said. But opposition parties poured cold water on Mr Ahern's promises, claiming they have heard it all before. Labour's justice spokesman Brendan Howlin said the Fianna Fail-PD coalition voted down a private member's bill he introduced in the Dail last year that would legalise civil unions amongst gay couples. A spokesperson said: "Fianna Fail has broken every promise they've ever made on civil partnership and I have no reason to believe that this promise will be any different to the one that the Taoiseach made in April 2006."
Note: Read full article on Independent
(USA) - According to a press release from Basic Rights Oregon, a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge found that two Oregon state laws violate the state's constitution by discriminating against families headed by same-gender couples. Judge Eric Bloch's decision in Parman v. Oregon et al holds that two Oregon laws granting parental rights to married couples are discriminatory against same-sex couples. Judge Bloch's ruling was based on the1998 Tanner v. OHSU decision, where he found that assigning benefits based on marriage, while not permitting same-sex couples access to these benefits, constitutes illegal discrimination against certain families.
Note: Read full article on Washington Blade
(USA) - The American and Australian met in London. They fell madly in love. They got together, got a dog, got a house near Venice Beach. But there is no happy ending in sight for Tim Miller and Alistair McCartney. That's because the couple is gay, and U.S. immigration law does not allow the Whittier-born Miller to sponsor McCartney for a green card as heterosexuals cando for their husbands and wives. Federal law reserves immigration benefits for those with "valid marriages" to U.S. citizens, defining them as unions between a man and woman. It supersedes state laws that recognize civil unions or, in the case of Massachusetts, same-sex marriages.
Note: Read full article on LA Times
(Delhi, India) - A lesbian couple in Delhi has gone underground after they declared their wedding on Sunday. Their families of Geeta and Babli have disowned them and efforts are on to resolve them though the police have failed. ''We didn't want them to live here as we have other kids and that would set a bad example for them,'' Babli's mother Lajpat said. The women had been in a relationship for the past year and a half. Many lesbian women hestiate to step out of the closet fearing hostility from society and an insenstive media whose reportage isolates more than integrates such cases.
Note: Read full article on www.ndtv.com
(Tallahassee, USA) - A bipartisan group opposing a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage in Florida announced today that it has raised more than $1 million for next year's ballot fight. The organization, known as "Florida Red & Blue," hopes to focus public attention on what it called the "unintended consequences" that the pending marriage definition might have on heterosexual couples. Florida Red & Blue raised $1.01 million in about 60 days, including a $250,000 "challenge grant" from philanthropist John Burns that was matched by hundreds of small donors.
Note: Read full article on Florida Today
(USA) - United Parcel Service has denied health benefits to some same-sex couples in New Jersey, a decision gay rights advocates say starkly illustrates the limitations of the state's civil unions legislation. The company provides health benefits to its employees' spouses, including married gay couples in Massachusetts. However, it said the Garden State's decision to recognize same-sex relationships as civil unions, rather than marriages, has tied its hands. In a letter to Gabriael "Nickie" Brazier, a driver for UPS, and her civil union partner, Heather Aurand, the company concluded that "New Jersey law does not treat civil unions the same as marriages." It said if the state had done that, Aurand could have been covered as a spouse.
Note: Read full article on www.nj.com
(USA) - Roi Whaley, 42, stood by his domestic partner, Aurelio Tolentino, 34, a native of the Philippines, for the past two years as Tolentino waged a losing legal battle to fend off a U.S. deportation order brought about because of his HIV-positive status. A U.S. immigration law bans HIV-positive immigrants from staying in the country. On July 11, five days before he would be subject to arrest and deportation, Tolentino is scheduled to fly from Gulfport to Billington, Wash., where he will rent a car and drive 30 miles north to the Canadian border. In a process arranged through his lawyers in the U.S. and Canada, Canadian customs officials will allow Tolentino to enter that country as a refugee from the United States.
Note: Read full article on Washington Blade
(Israel) - Many adults in Israel believe gay and lesbian couples should be afforded pension and survivorship rights, according to a poll by The Friedrich Naumann Foundation. 56 per cent of respondents believe this prerogative is either good or necessary. Since the 1990s, Israel has granted spousal and survivor benefits to gay and lesbian partners. In November 2006, Israel’s High Court of Justice ordered the government to acknowledge same-sex marriages performed abroad. In January 2007, Jerusalem officially registered its first homosexual married couple.
Note: Read full article on www.angus-reid.com
(USA) - Carrie and Elisia Ross-Stone are dedicated to the goal of marriage equality. But these grannies aren't sitting around in rocking chairs waiting for something to happen. Instead, they mounted their bicycles and rode across the country. TWICE. Along the way, they inspired other activists and won the hearts and minds of many people. They also experienced injury, frustration, exhaustion, and threats. But with every milestone reached along their journey, Carrie and Elisia's dedication grew with each mile traveled. These lesbian grandmothers first bike cross country in 2003. Together, they planned their itinerary, reach out to LGBT organizations, made calls to the press, wrote speeches, and mended flat bicycle tires.
Note: Read full article on Bilerico.com
(India) - A young woman from Batala, India, slit her wrists in a courtroom Thursday when her partner testified that she was coerced into their marriage. Baljit Kaur is now recovering but has been placed under arrest for attempted suicide. Rajwinder Kaur, 20, and Baljit Kaur, 21, ran away from their homes last month and exchanged vows in secret on June 3. They had considered emigrating to Canada. Baljit claims that Rajwinder's family forced her to testify against their relationship. "We are totally in love," she screamed before running from the courtroom. In hysterics she slit her wrists to protest the proceedings. Police in the courtroom caught Baljit and administered first aid.
Note: Read full article on The Advocate
(Australia) - Gay couples are increasingly turning their back on Australia because their relationships are not being recognised, it has been claimed. Katherine Eastaughffe and her partner Una Hakin say they regret returning to Australia after taking advantage of Britain’s civil union laws in 2005. And, the couple say, they are not alone, with many of their friends electing to settle in New Zealand, Canada and the UK, where their relationships are recognised. Eastaughffe, a software engineer, and Hakin, a drug and alcohol counsellor, moved to Queensland to be closer to Eastaughffe’s parents. They were shocked at the bureaucratic hurdles they faced – including tax forms with small print that specifically excluded same-sex partners from benefits de facto couples enjoyed.
Note: Read full article on www.ssonet.com.au
(San Juan, Puerto Rico) - Two weeks ago 20,000 Puerto Ricans took to the streets in San Juan to protest legislation seeking to permit Gay civil unions. "Coalicion de la Familia", the island's largest homophobic organization, organized the march and rally and invited US anti-Gay activist David Parker to speak to the crowd. Parker addressed the mob claiming that "elevating homosexual behavior" to a status equivalent to marriage would bring a flood of homosexual books, lessons, and other indoctrination into the schools - as has happened in Massachusetts. "You must have zero tolerance for this," swadronned Parker, "or they will be marketing sodomy to your children."
Note: Read full article on www.lifesite.net
(USA) - When New Jersey became the first state outside liberal New England to approve same-sex civil unions, Craig Ross and Richard Cash hoped the new law would be their financial white knight -- compelling Ross's employer to give his partner the same spousal benefits as heterosexual married couples. But more than four months after New Jersey's civil union law went into effect, Ross, 46 and Cash, 54, are among the many same-sex couples severely disillusioned with their prospects for legal equality. Citing federal regulations that allow many employers to effectively ignore state laws regarding corporate benefits, the Fortune 500 company where Ross has worked as a computer specialist for 21 years denied the couple's request for joint coverage.
Note: Read full article on Washington Post
(USA) - A bill providing federal funding to the District of Columbia has passed the House after a clause stating the money could not be used to fund a domestic partner registry was reinstated. When the bill came to a vote on the House floor late Thursday Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) offered an amendment adding back the anti-gay language. The amendment passed by a vote of 224 to 200. The Republican-led Congress have repeatedly attached anti-gay language to past appropriations bills which stipulate that federal funds cannot be used to operate the program. Since local funds are used, observers have noted that the provision was simply used as a way for Republicans to demonstrate their disapproval for the law and for same-sex families.
Note: Read full article on 365gay.com
(Sweden) - The Moderate Party, the largest party in Sweden's coalition government, has thrown its support behind same-sex marriage. The party's board voted in favour of a gender-neutral marriage law on Friday. The party also wants to retain religious groups' rights to carry out legally binding marriage ceremonies. Individual priests will be allowed to choose whether to marry same-sex couples. The board's decision will be put to the party's conference in October. If approved, the only party in parliament not to support same sex marriage will be the Christian Democrats.
Note: Read full article on The Lokal
(USA) - After a trip 14 years ago to Thailand, where he met the man he would eventually marry, Bruce MacDonald began searching for a way - any way - for them to be together. A student visa offered no permanent solution for Suratin Rianpracha, then 27, to live in the U.S., and the possibility of sponsorship by a U.S. employer seemed remote, at best, for someone in the shrimping industry. MacDonald, who is in his 50s, briefly considered moving to Thailand but knew he wouldn't earn enough as a medical social worker to live there comfortably. So seven years ago, he relocated to Canada, which granted visas to both men, and they settled in Vancouver's west end.
Note: Read full article on The Seattle Times
(Havana, Cuba) - Cuba could become the first Caribbean island nation to recognise the civil and inheritance rights of gay and lesbian couples, if a proposed reform of the Family Code is approved. Drawn up by the non-governmental Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) with support from CENESEX, the draft reform of the Family Code has been presented to the Political Bureau, the highest body of the ruling Communist Party. "We are waiting for approval in order to introduce it to parliament as a draft law," said Mariela Castro, director of the governmental National Centre for Sex Education (CENESEX).
Note: Read full article on IPS News
(Bogota, Colombia) - A landmark gay rights bill was derailed at the last minute by a bloc of conservative senators, but supporters vowed Wednesday to revive the legislation. The bill, which had been endorsed by conservative President Alvaro Uribe, would have made Colombia the first nation in Latin America to grant gay couples in long-term relationships the same rights to health insurance, inheritance and social security as heterosexual couples. Conservative lawmakers broke ranks with the pro-Uribe faction backing the bill and it was defeated, 34-29, in the 102-member Senate. Many of the bill's supporters were absent.
Note: Read full article on LA Chronicle
(Albany, USA) - New York's state Assembly approved legislation to legalize same-sex marriage after an emotional three-hour debate, but the bill is not expected to be acted on any time soon in the Republican-led state Senate. The legislation, sponsored by Democrat Daniel O'Donnell, the gay brother of entertainer Rosie O'Donnell and backed by Gov. Eliot Spitzer, was approved Tuesday 85-61 in the Democratic Assembly. The bill would also need to be approved by the Senate to become law. "We not doing gay marriage by Thursday that's for sure, or this year," Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno declared Tuesday morning as lawmakers wound down their annual legislative session, which is due to wrap up on Thursday.
Note: Read full article on International Herald Tribune
(Boston, USA) - A proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was swiftly defeated today by a joint session of the Legislature by a vote of 45 to 151, eliminating any chance of getting it on the ballot in November 2008. The measure needed at least 50 votes to advance. The vote came without debate after House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, Senate President Therese Murray, and Governor Deval Patrick conferred this morning and concluded that they have the votes to kill the proposal. "Today's vote was not just a victory for marriage equality, it was a victory for equality itself," Patrick told reporters as cheers echoed in the State House. "Whenever we affirm the equality of anyone, we affirm the equality of everyone."
Note: Read full article on Boston.com
(USA) - Gainesville is one step closer to a domestic partner registry for same and opposite sex couples. In a 5-2 vote Monday, city commissioners approved the city attorney to draft an ordinance for the registry. If enacted, the registration fee will be $10 for city residents and $20 for non-city residents. Couples would register by signing a Declaration of Domestic Partnership and a certificate of registration. The main focus would be several types of benefits, which include health care, funeral and burial preparations and emergency notifications. The registry would not extend to federal laws or institutions.
Note: Read full article on www.alligator.org
(USA) - For Eric Affholter, the St. Louis public defender, it was an almost impossible decision: lose the man he loves, leave the country to be with him or commit a federal crime. Affholter picked the crime. "It was an agonizing decision from a personal perspective, from a legal perspective," he said in an interview. But he and Pedro Cerna-Rojas did what they thought best, Affholter said. They asked a good friend - who was an assistant public defender in Affholter's office - to marry Cerna-Rojas to save him from being forced home to Peru for want of a visa. A marriage between a man and a woman is recognized for immigration purposes, but civil unions and gay marriages - even where they are allowed - do not qualify under the Defense of Marriage Act, said Adam Francoeur, policy coordinator of Immigration Equality.
Note: Read full article on STL Today
(Sweden) - Eight MP’s from Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt’s Conservative Moderate Party, have vowed to rebel if the party does not come out in support of gay marriage. The group has urged their party, which has traditionally been conservative on social issues, to introduce full legal rights to same-sex marriages. The MP’s say that they will take independent action to introduce a gender neutral marriage law, if the government doesn’t act. They argue that a modern society must include all people, regardless of whom they choose as a life partner.
Note: Read full article on Sweriges Radio
(Prague, Czech Republic) - Two-thirds of Czechs believe that homosexual couples should have the right to registered partnership, but not the right to adopt children, according to a poll conducted by the polling agency CVVM and published today. Two years ago, almost one-third of Czechs agreed with homosexuals' adoption of children, while now it is only 22 percent. The right to conclude a regular marriage was approved by 42 percent in 2005, while now it is 36 percent of Czechs. Some 69 percent of Czechs agreed with the homosexuals' right to conclude registered partnership, while 57 percent disagreed with their right to conclude a regular marriage and 67 percent disagreed with the notion that homosexuals should be allowed to adopt children.
Note: Read full article on Prague Monitor
(Sacramento, USA) - A measure to legalize marriage for gay couples easily passed the California Assembly after a respectful debate Tuesday, in stark contrast to rancorous exchanges on the same issue two years ago. The legislation by Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) would make California the only state besides Massachusetts to sanction same-sex couples, but it is likely to be vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Leno said he is not dissuaded by the governor's public comments in February that he would veto same-sex marriage legislation. Leno, whose bill, AB 43, must still pass the Senate, said he hopes to introduce the governor to "children and families who suffer on a regular basis due to the current inequity in the law."
Note: Read full article on LA Times
(Tokyo, Japan) - Japan’s first openly lesbian politician, who is running in the upcoming national election, celebrated her same-sex partnership on 3 June in Nagoya, Japan. Kanako Otsuji, 32, the former Osaka Assembly Member and an official candidate of Democratic Party of Japan for the next month’s election for the House of Councilors, Japan’s upper house, tied the knot with her partner of four years, Maki Kimura, 32, who is working for Otsuji’s office. Their wedding took place in IkedaPark in Nagoya, the country’s third largest city, during an HIV/AIDS prevention festival, the Nagoya Lesbian & Gay Revolution, organised by ANGEL LIFE NAGOYA. Some 1,000 people including relatives and friends of both Otsuji’s and Kimura’s attended the wedding.
Note: Gay Japan News
(USA) - Americans have long viewed June as the month for weddings, but Buffalo’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities know it is also their national pride month. This year’s Buffalo Pride Weekend theme, “Happily Ever After - Legal or Not,” emphasized the intersection of the two: The LGBT community wants equal marriage rights. The Pride festivities Saturday and Sunday came after Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer said in April that he would introduce legislation to legalize samesex marriage in New York.
Note: Read full article on Buffalo News
(St. Louis, USA) - The former head of the city public defender's office is charged with arranging a sham marriage between a female subordinate and his Peruvian boyfriend to keep the boyfriend in the U.S., federal prosecutors said Friday. Eric Affholter, 40, and live-in boyfriend Pedro Cerna-Rojas, 31, "recruited" Affholter's employee, Assistant Public Defender Collette Lewis, to marry Cerna-Rojas in a Las Vegas wedding chapel, a marriage fraud indictment against both men says. Federal immigration law, which lets immigrant spouses remain in the U.S., makes no accommodation for same-sex marriages or civil unions, even in states that permit them. As part of an anti-terrorism initiative, prosecutors and immigration officials have recently started scrutinizing marriage licenses more closely to look for marriage fraud.
Note: Read full article on STL Today
(Riga, Latvia) - A draft new partnership law will a unveiled on Friday at a Riga Friendship Days and Gay Pride seminar. Five seminars will form part of Riga Friendship Days and Gay Pride, this coming weekend, in addition to the march, film screenings and party nights. On Friday morning (June 1) a draft law for partnerships will be unveiled at a Family in Contemporary Latvia seminar in the Riga Conference Centre. The aim of this draft proposal for legislation will be to gain legal rights for same-sex couples, as well as secure certain rights for any co-habiting couples who are not married, regardless of sexual orientation. Read more...
(India) - India is a conservative country where a homosexual relationship is an offence under section 377 of Indian penal court (IPC) but in article 14-1 (A), where people have the right to freedom and equality by which people can choose any thing if it is not harmful for others. Still people hesitate to talk on this issue saying homosexual relationships are a threat to religion and society. Gautam Panah, who is currently fighting a case in the Supreme Court against section 377 of IPC says, "It will help curtail HIV/AIDS and Procreation." Tanuj 24, a student of Delhi University who is in a homosexual relationship with Abhay 26, an engineer in the merchant navy says, "Nobody wants to help us. India being a democratic country why can’t we live together?" Adding, “Our family is also against us. They do not want to keep relations with us anymore. Even our society doesn’t accept it but we are happy and we will continue to live together.”
Note: Read full article on www.merinews.com/
(USA) - A dire weekend weather forecast that revived memories of last year when heavy downpours drenched roughly 1,000 participants made the 2007 Wedding March this past Saturday the smallest in the event’s four-year history. Gustavo Archilla, 91, and Elmer Lokkins, 88, who fell in love in 1945, joined a gay marriage march in Cadman Plaza Saturday. Demonstrators had marched over the Brooklyn Bridge. “After 62 years, it’s wonderful to have a partner who gives you a kiss every time he walks by you,” Archilla said.
Note: Read full article on Downtown Express
When Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter gave birth to a baby boy this week, it reopened the debate on equality laws. So how does America's Vice-President reconcile his personal life with the conservative policies of the Bush administration? The family photograph could not be simpler. Proud, smiling grandparents cradling their new-born grandchild. But the grandfather is Dick Cheney, the American Vice-President, and the power behind the throne of what has been among the most socially conservative administrations that America has known. And the child - weighing in at 8lb 6oz - is the son of Cheney's daughter, Mary, a lesbian who has been in a 15-year relationship with her partner, Heather Poe, a former park ranger.
Note: Read full article on Independent
(Athens, Greece) - The South African ambassador in Greece raised a few eyebrows when she presided over what appears to be the first gay marriage in Greece. Same sex marriages are not legal in Greece at present. The two South African men who were living in Greece, applied to the Department of Home Affairs and received permission to get married in Athens. The couple were apparently very happy and satisfied with the proceedings and were apparently "proud of South Africa". Following the wedding, the story made it onto Greek TV and talk shows where the issue of gay rights and marriage was fiercely debated.
Note: Read full article on www.news24.com
(New York, USA) - Supporters of same-sex marriage rights rallied Saturday - calling on the state to legalize gay marriage. Advocates held a march across the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn. "We aren't here in favor of mandatory gay marriage. We are neither advocating that people become gay or become married. We are saying that there's a certain dignity this country aspires to,” said Representative Anthony Weiner.
Note: Read full article on www.ny1.com
(USA) - Three years after gay marriage become legal in Massachusetts, gays and lesbians, who have come to think of themselves as counter-cultural and unconventional, are now being seen as part of the mainstream. What happens to "gay identity" when you're getting married, dealing with a mortgage, kids, picket fences and pressure to "settle down" just like everyone else? Some in the gay community see marriage as a sell-out and say gay culture will lose its edge. Others welcome a chance to celebrate a gay culture that is more mainstream than extreme.
Note: Listen to on www.npr.org
(USA) - Thousands of people will march across the Brooklyn Bridge, May 19, in support of marriage equality for all New Yorkers. The introduction of Governor Eliot Spitzer’s marriage equality bill in to the New York State legislature has added even further significance to this march. The Governor of NY has cemented his stance as a supporter of marriage equality and marchers will gather to support his efforts. The march, which will be held simultaneously in San Francisco, Seattle and other cities around the country, has grown into the largest pro-marriage equality rally in the United States.
Note: Read full article on brooklyngraphic.com
(Boston, USA) - The marriages of more than 170 gay couples from New York who wed in Massachusetts before last July are valid because New York had not yet explicitly banned same-sex marriages, a Massachusetts judge ruled. Couples are barred from marrying in Massachusetts if their marriages would be prohibited in their home states. The New York Court of Appeals ruled against same-sex marriages on July 6, 2006. Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders had asked for clarification of the status of New York couples who married in Massachusetts before that ruling. Massachusetts became the first state in the country to allow gay marriage in May 2004.
Note: Read full article on NY Times
(Nigeria) - Homosexuality has always been in existence from time immemorial, but was rarely an issue to generate public reactions especially in Nigeria until recently. A lesbian, who spoke under anonymity with the Nigerian Tribune, said she was happy dating a female friend but she was not ready to dare the odds and discrimination against homosexuality in Nigeria . “Even as a nurse, none of my colleagues knows that I am a lesbian but some of them may be suspicous. How I wish government can make laws giving us leverage to marry,” she said.
Note: Read full article on Nigeria Tribune
(Hartford, USA) - Connecticut's civil unions for same-sex couples are inferior to marriage and violate their rights to equal protection and due process, an attorney for eight gay couples told the state Supreme Court Monday. The couples want the court to rule that the state's marriage law is unconstitutional because it applies only to heterosexual couples, effectively denying gay couples the financial, social and emotional benefits of marriage. Connecticut was the first state to allow civil unions without court pressure, but the lawsuit raises questions of whether the 2005 law helped or hurt same-sex couples in their quest for equality.
Note: Read full article on www.chron.com
(Rome, Italy) - Everyone knows that the Italian family, the more dynastic and inbred the better, is the heart and soul of Italy - think Gucci, think Agnelli, think the Mafia. Hence the electricity in the build-up to today's (Saturday’s) celebration in the vast Piazza San Giovanni of that newest of Roman holidays, “la giornata della famiglia”, which in Italian is spelled, and written, “Family Day” (pronunciation: fam-ee-lee dai).
Note: Read full article on Direland
(Rome, Italy) - Hundreds of thousands of Italians rallied at a Rome church square on Saturday to protest against a proposed law that would give greater rights to unmarried couples, including gays and lesbians. Waving banners and dancing to tambourines and trumpets, more than 500,000 people poured into the square outside Rome's St. John in Lateran cathedral to support traditional family values based on marriage between a man and a woman. The rally's organizers -- a consortium of largely Catholic groups -- handed out millions of flyers and plastered lampposts and walls with posters in a publicity blitz before the event that ensured a strong turnout. Not far away at Piazza Navona, hundreds gathered at a counter-demonstration to support rights for gay couples, egged on by bemused tourists.
Note: Read full article on Washington Post
(USA) - As the law now stands, bi-national same-sex couples in the United States are sometimes forced to relocate to the country of the foreign partner, if that country offers immigration benefits to same sex partners, or, face long periods of separation or even still, face what some would say is a cruel and imposed breakup. "The most cruel form of anti-gay discrimination is to physically separate a couple from one another," said Rachel B. Tiven., a lawyer and Executive Director at Immigration Equality, a national organization that seeks to end discrimination in U.S. immigration laws.
Note: Read full article on ohmyNews
(Salem, USA) - “Oregon is a land of equal opportunity for all our citizens” – words that could well have been heard by adventurous American pioneers of the 19th century at the end of their 3,500-kilometre journey west along the Oregon Trail. But it was the words used by modern-day pioneer –Governor Ted Kulongoski who this morning signed two bills into law ensuring that all Oregon families are treated with basic fairness and that all Oregonians can live and work free from the sting of discrimination, regardless of sexual orientation or gender. Read more...
(Canada) - Parenting by same-sex families is just as good if not slightly advantageous for children when compared to heterosexual families, a Justice Department study has concluded. Commissioned by the then-Liberal federal government in 2003 at the height of the same-sex marriage debate, the academic study was not released until recently when its main author, Professor Paul Hastings at Concordia University, obtained it by making a request using the Access to Information Act.
Note: Read full article on www.canada.com
(Israel) - The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) on Sunday petitioned the High Court, claiming the state's decision not to provide provide health insurance for the partner of a gay Israeli security officer is discriminatory. Raz Herbst, a security officer at Thailand's Bangkok airport who has been living with a male Thai national for the past three years, learned his companion was entitled to health insurance by his employer, the State of Israel. However, his request was rejected because the Interior Ministry does not recognize the man's partner as a legal companion.
Note: Read full article on Haaretz
(New Delhi, India) - A 145-year-old law that bans sex “against the order of nature” has landed the foreign ministry in a quandary. The Canadian high commission has requested Delhi to clear diplomatic spouse privileges for two officials, a man and a woman, each married to a partner of the same sex.Foreign ministry sources said that as Indian law does not recognise same-sex marriages, the Canadian requests cannot be granted. Indian police routinely arrest and punish gay men and lesbians although the law, many argue, only bars sexual intercourse. “This is unfortunate,” senior IPS officer Kiran Bedi said.
Note: Read full article on Telegraph India
(Salem, USA) - A Bill that will recognise same-sex domestic partnerships has passed the State’s Senate. House Bill 2007 will create a new statute in Oregon law, separate from Oregon’s marriage statute, to provide same-sex couples with Domestic Partnerships. A Domestic Partnership differs substantially from marriage in several ways: its protections are not portable outside the boundaries of Oregon, it does not grant the over 1,100 rights available through marriage under federal law, and no solemnization is necessary as it is simply a civil contract.
Note: Read full article on UK Gay News
(USA) - The US' highest court has declined to take up an appeal in a national-headline-making custody dispute stemming from a Vermont civil union breakup. The issues at the heart of the dispute involve custody and contact with a child born while the lesbian couple was joined in a civil union from Vermont. The case has focused attention on the fate of children in relationships sanctioned in one state, but not in others.
Note: Read full article on Ruthland Herald
A couple of years ago I was at a fundraiser for one of our larger gay and lesbian organisations. The organisation had arranged for a prominent gay activist to appear. He took the stage and began to explain why it was important to continue to oppose laws that discriminate against us, including the current definition of marriage. After a few minutes, a voice boomed out from the back of the room. It was the owner of the bar. “This is a gay bar,” he said. “We don’t want your politics here.” I’ve often thought about the irony of those words.
Note: Read full article on www.samesame.com.au
(New York, USA) - New York governor Eliot Spitzer submitted a bill to legalize same-sex marriage Friday, making good on a promise he made during his 2006 bid for the gubernatorial seat. This is the first time any U.S. governor has authored and introduced a same-sex marriage bill to a state legislature. At the same time the bill was introduced, the New York State Department of Civil Service, which is part of the Spitzer administration, said that all legal out-of-state marriages of state and local government employees who are gay will now be recognized.
Note: Read full article on Advocate
(Albany, USA) - Following through on a campaign pledge, Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer unveiled a bill Friday that would legalize gay marriage in New York - a bill he has conceded has almost no chance of passing. Opposition from the Republican leader of the state Senate effectively blocks the legislation.
Note: Read full article on News Observer
(Concord, USA) - The Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, says he and his partner of 18 years will be among the couples taking advantage of New Hampshire's soon-to-be-signed civil unions law. Robinson commented after the state Senate voted for the bill and sent it to Governor John Lynch, who says he will sign it. With the vote, the state became the first to embrace same-sex unions without a court order or the threat of one. The Senate passed the bill 14 to 10 on party lines, Democrats in favor, Republicans against.
Note: Read full article on www.boston.com
(Albany, USA) - New York Governor Eliot Spitzer vowed Monday to introduce legislation soon to legalize gay marriage in New York. However, Spitzer conceded that the state Legislature isn't ready to agree with him on the issue. Spitzer admitted he doesn't think there's a realistic shot that it gets passed, but added that he will submit it as a statement of principle, to begin the discussion.
Note: Read full article on www.newswatch50.com
(Australia) - Premier Steve Bracks announced today his government would move to introduce similar laws to those in Tasmania, setting up a register for same-sex and defacto couples plus people in long-term care giving relationships. Mr Bracks, who remains opposed to gay weddings, said the move would help stop discrimination against people in relationships other than heterosexual marriages.
Note: Read full article on www.news.com.au
(Olympia, USA) - Cheers and tears filled a Capitol reception room Saturday for the signing of a law extending [some] spousal rights to same-sex couples. Gov. Chris Gregoire called it a "historic occasion" to be signing legislation ensuring gays and lesbians are not barred from visiting their partners in hospitals, making decisions on their well-being or handling arrangements should they die. [Meanwhile, roughly 400 rights, privileges and benefits that the state legislature automatically provides to opposite-sex married couples are not included under the new rules. (Eds.)]
Note: The full story is in the Daily Herald
Previous story: Washington Legislature Passes Domestic Partner Bill
(Concord, USA) - Gov. John Lynch said yesterday he decided to sign legislation establishing civil unions to prevent and end discrimination against gays in New Hampshire. The House passed the bill nearly 2-1 on April 4, the Senate votes on the bill next week, and Lynch said he is confident it will pass. It would authorize civil unions beginning next year.
Note: Read full article on Union Leader
(Newark, USA) - Almost two months after a law went into effect allowing same-sex couples to enter into civil unions, some couples say they are being denied health care coverage. Civil unions offer gay couples the legal benefits of marriage _ but not the title. New Jersey lawmakers last December passed legislation allowing civil unions in response to a state Supreme Court ruling two months earlier that said it was unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples access to the protections of marriage.
Note: Read full article on www.newsday.com
(Amsterdam, Netherlands) - The Supreme Court of Netherlands ruled that a same-sex marriage performed in the Netherlands must be recognised on Aruba, a semi-autonomous Dutch dependency in the Antilles. Charlene and Esther Oduber-Lamers were legally wed in the Netherlands in 2001. They wanted to be entered as a married couple in the civil register in Aruba, but the municipal official for the civil register in Aruba had refused to grant their request. Read more...
(Concord, USA) - A civil unions bill moving quickly through the Statehouse hit a jam Friday and some are questioning whether Gov. John Lynch, who has been silent on the issue, is behind it. A Senate spokeswoman announced Friday a vote on civil unions expected Wednesday had been put off and didn't know when it would be scheduled. Senate president Sylvia Larsen said the decision was hers. "I didn't want the senators to be rushed when it came time to be voting on civil unions" she said. Republican and Democratic senators alike said the delay took them by surprise and were skeptical of the reason -- to give them more time to make up their minds.
Note: Read full article on www.fosters.com
(Gibraltar) - Gibraltar’s Equality Rights Group, GGR, is today is challenging local Government on its housing policy towards same-sex couples. Discrimination against sexual minorities comes in many forms in Gibraltar and none is clearer than in the area of housing, the group points out in a statement. Read more...
(Concord, USA) - A Senate committee voted Thursday to recommend civil unions for same-sex couples in New Hampshire, amid the shouted protests. Discussion among opponents who gathered to watch the committee vote turned to their views on homosexuality and the threat they feel from same-sex couples. The full Senate is expected to vote on civil unions next Wednesday.
Note: Read full article on www.boston.com
(USA) - Days away from her seventh birthday, a little girl named Emma Rose is currently trapped in Georgia’s foster care system, unable to reunite with the woman who has been her mother for almost a year — all because the mother is a lesbian. The prospective adoptive mother, Elizabeth Hadaway, was also sentenced to 10 days in jail earlier this month by a Wilkinson County Superior Court judge who refused to grant the adoption in part because “the child will have a long-term exposure to the homosexual parent’s lifestyle.” Wilkinson County is located about 133 miles southeast of Atlanta.
Note: Read full article on Southern Voice
(Olympia, USA) - Gays and lesbians can't yet legally wed, but the Legislature took another step toward that end Tuesday by passing domestic partnership legislation for same-sex couples. "It's not marriage," said Rep. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle. "There are more than 400 state law rights or obligations that don't come with domestic partnership and we are going to have our hands full trying to get those rights and protections, too.
Note: Read full article on seattlepi.nwsource.com
(Boston, USA) - Gay couples from across the country could be getting the green light to marry in Massachusetts after three of the state's top political leaders said they support repealing a 94-year-old law that has blocked the practice. While gay couples living in Massachusetts have been free to marry since 2004, following a ruling by the state Supreme Judicial Court, couples from other states have been barred from tying the knot here. What legal weight those certificates would carry once the couples returned home is an open question. Most states prohibit gay marriage, but a Massachusetts certificate could provide couples with the foundation for legal challenges.
Note: Read full article on www.telegram.com
Related story: Rhode Island Gay Couples Can Marry In Massachusetts
(USA) - Janet Miller-Jenkins got the news she's been waiting more than two years to hear. She will soon be able to see her daughter, Isabella Miller-Jenkins. "No matter what happens, Janet will get visitation with Isabella, and that's going to start as early as next Saturday," Janet's attorney, Theodore A. Parisi Jr. said Friday. Isabella, who will turn five April 16, has been at the center of a much-watched court case. She is the daughter of Lisa Miller-Jenkins and Janet Miller-Jenkins. Lisa is Isabella's biological mother. Isabella was conceived by artificial insemination.
Note: The latest custody battle dispatches are in the Rutland Herald
See previous editorial: Lesbian Legal-ese & This Baby Business
(USA) - It wasn't pretty and the vote was close, but members of a committee of the Indiana legislature have rejected a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have banned Equal Marriage. But before we get too excited, we ought to realize that it was the legislation's potential to hassle unmarried str8 couples that did it in. Read more...
(Massachusetts) - When Massachusetts was forced to allow gay people to marry last year, then Governor (now Presidential candidate) Mitt Romney moved fast to prohibit out-of-state couples from getting hitched, but not before 26 of those couples had already taken vows. Those marriages were not recorded by the state and so remained in legal limbo. Now there's a new governor and a new policy.
Note: The arcane legal details are in the Boston Globe
(Illinois) - The state legislature is taking its first stab at coming up with a Civil Unions bill, copying most of its language from the current state marriage statute. There's only one problem: when cousins marry in Illinois, they're supposed to agree to be sterilized, to prevent them from making babies with birth defects-- and the sterilization provision would apply to gay cousins, too.
Note: The strange story is at Quad-cities.com
(San Diego) - It's the poll you never saw coming. As part of a campaign to remove the state ban on ferrets kept as pets, the (obviously partisan) group Ferrets Anonymous commissioned a professional nose-count that shows more Californians support Equal Marriage than support the wriggly rodents' right to rule the family roost. We may now expect the gerbil jokes to commence.
Note: The numbers are at 10News.com
(Indiana, USA) - Advocates of a state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage contend the amendment is needed so the will of a majority of Hoosiers prevails over a future ruling of some court. Unless the language of the proposed amendment is changed, however, it will create exactly the situation advocates insist they want to prevent.
Note: Get the whole story in the Journal-Gazette
(Milwaukee, WI) - By law, marriage in Wisconsin is described as a union between one man and one woman. But what if the man is a transsexual? ...That's what Barbara Lynn Terry, 58, is trying to find out. ...Terry, who changed her name from Ronald Francis Terry, and Australian Nicole Winstanley, 22, received a marriage license from Milwaukee County. They have a meeting with a judge this morning to determine whether he will marry them in a formal ceremony. **UPDATE:Judge Agrees to Peform the Marriage
Note: More details in the Pioneer Press
(London, UK) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair has spoke last night of the pride and “real joy" civil partnerships have brought to gay people and the “civilising effect” equality legislation has had beyond the community. Addressing the Stonewall Equality dinner at the Dorchester Hotel in London, the Prime Minister said that the first set of ceremonies in Northern Ireland were “just so alive”, and admitted to “doing a little skip” in celebration. Read more...
From the Gay Republic Daily Editorial desk: In a stunning step that would drag Minnesota law forward, kicking and screaming, smack-dab and shining, into the early 1990s, lawmakers are considering passing legislation that says that a gay partner ought to be allowed to visit his or her distressed beloved should said partner become hospitalized. Read more...
(USA) - No private employers testified against a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage when it was before the Senate, but that will change when discussion begins today in the House. Cummins Inc. Chairman and CEO Tim Solso has sent a letter to [state] House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, encouraging him to oppose the amendment. ...The diesel-engine maker was one of the first major employers in the state to offer domestic-partner benefits. Solso told Bauer the amendment's vague language could affect his company's ability to continue to offer the benefits.
Note: Read the full article in Indianapolis Star
(Trenton, NJ) - Same-sex couples are in no rush to the altar in New Jersey, which in February became the third state in the nation to grant civil unions. Since the right was granted last month, 219 couples have applied for civil union licenses -- three of those in Warren County and 16 in Hunterdon, according to figures released Tuesday by the state Department of Health and Senior Services.
(USA) - Advocates in Rhode Island have introduced bills to legalize gay marriage every year since 1997, but they've gone nowhere. So this year, in addition to filing marriage legislation, they hope to have some success with six new bills that focus on incremental rights rather than the label of marriage. But the shift has critics both in and outside the gay rights movement. Evan Wolfson says anything short of marriage relegates gays and lesbians to second-class status. He said a two-pronged approach might be temporarily appropriate in some places, but he questioned whether advocates in Rhode Island and Washington pushed hard enough before switching tactics.
Note: Read full article on www.signonsandiego.com
(Mexico City, Mexico) - An economist and a journalist became the first couple united under Mexico City's new gay civil union law, kissing while an orchestra played "Besame Mucho" and police cordoned off streets around a white wedding tent filled with guests. The new law, which took effect on Friday, grants same-sex couples inheritance rights and social benefits similar to those enjoyed by married heterosexual couples.
Note: Read full article on Casper Star Tribune
(Netherlands) - The former Dutch colonies of Saba and Sint Eustatius have joined the island of Bonaire in saying that they will not carry out gay weddings once the islands become officially classed as Dutch local authorities from December 2008. 'Saba has always been tolerant of homosexuality... but marriages are something else,' MP Roy Hooker told local paper The Daily Herald.
Note: Source: www.dutchnews.nl
(France) - France's highest court has declared the country's first gay marriage unlawful and annulled the union between the two men. Stephane Charpin and Bertrand Charpentier were married in June 2004 in the town of Begles. Homosexual couples are allowed to enter into basic civil unions in France, but do not enjoy the same advantages in taxes, inheritance and other civil matters as heterosexual married people.
Note: Read full article on www.voanews.com
(Israel) - The Housing and Construction Ministry recently decided to provide housing and mortgage assistance to common-law couples - including those of the same sex - thereby removing one of the major obstacles to equality for alternative families. The decision, which was made two months ago, changes the ministry's policy of granting such benefits only to married couples and common-law couples with at least one joint child.
Note: Read full article on www.haaretz.com
(USA) - They were happy, but I was a bit embarrassed. Not because the couples are gay and lesbian. I just felt as if it was suddenly the '60s again and I was calling black folks to say, "Congratulations! Looks like, soon, you'll have to sit only halfway back in the bus!" Yes, finally after 29 years of failing, the Legislature had passed a bill extending Human Rights Commission protections against work and housing discrimination to gays. But marry? No way. Not yet.
Note: Read full article on nwsource.com
(Rome, Italy) - Thousands of Italians rallied on Saturday for legal rights for unmarried gay and heterosexual couples while Roman Catholics launched a movement against what many of them consider an attack on the 'traditional' family. Demonstrators filled a Roman piazza in support of a bill to give unwed couples rights in areas like inheritance. Read more...
(Somersworth, USA) - The highly contested struggle to make same-sex unions legal in more states throughout the nation might soon have another victory right here in New Hampshire. A bill that would permit same-sex couples to enter spousal unions and have the same rights, responsibilities and obligations as married couples was presented to the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives.
Note: Real full article on www.fosters.com
(Rome, Italy) - Paola Binetti says homosexuality is "deviant". Franco Grillini is openly and proudly gay. The problem for Prime Minister Romano Prodi is that both are parliamentarians in his centre-left coalition. The split over gay rights is a constant conflict in Prodi's Catholics-to-Communists coalition. A bill that would give rights to unwed couples, including gays, goes before parliament on Tuesday. The draft bill, which the cabinet approved in early February, was conspicuously absent from the plan. Prodi said the matter was now in parliament's hands but promised his leftist allies that it "has not been dumped overboard".
Note: Read full article on Reuters
Our assignment to third-class status is evident beyond the institutions of marriage and military. Felons, drug abusers and adulterers may participate with aplomb in the world of sports and make piles of money from it. But an out gay or lesbian athlete in a major sports league? Forget about it. So bad is the environment for a gay man in sports that on those rare occasions that one comes out of the closet, the disclosure takes place well after his retirement. They talk of the homophobia that exists within the locker rooms and team offices and how they would be shunned by their teammates, fans and potential corporate sponsors.
Note: Read full article on www.washblade.com
(PHILLIPSBURG, USA) - The mayor of this Warren County community [in New Jersey] performed one civil union ceremony for a same-sex couple. He said he will do no more. Mayor Harry Wyant said he is giving up performing marriages and civil unions as of Saturday. Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality, a gay rights advocacy organization, told the newspaper that his group estimates 30 of New Jersey's 566 mayors have opted out of marriages and civil unions to date.
Note: Read full article on www.thnt.com
(Concord, USA) - Lawmakers expect a marathon public hearing starting at 10 a.m. today on two bills that would expand gay rights. Today is just the first in a series of Statehouse showdowns in the long-standing debate between gay activists and religious conservatives with a biblical and family-values world view. The split has followed party lines. This time, Democrats control the Legislature, and the governor's office will have the final say on these and six related bills.
Note: Read full article on www.seacoastonline.com
(Taipei, Taiwan) - Taiwan on Monday took the first step towards recognizing gay marriage by expanding the definition of the Domestic Violence bill to cover homosexual couples. Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian has said Taiwan should protect the rights of homosexuals and Vice President Annette Lu has formed a committee to draft the Basic Human Rights Law which includes legalizing gay marriage. But so far the government has not legalized gay marriage, triggering gay rights groups’ suspicion that Taiwan leaders are only paying lip service to gay rights issues.
Note: Read full article on www.ecanadanow.com
(Rome, Italy) - Disagreement over the Italian government's plan to give legal rights to unmarried couples, including homosexual ones, exposed deep rifts in the governing center-left coalition days after it survived its worse political crisis. At issue is proposed legislation that the Italian Cabinet approved last month, granting legal rights to unmarried couples in heterosexual and same-sex relationships. The measure is delicate enough that Prodi dropped mention of it in a 12-point plan that serves as the new government platform - an apparent nod to Catholic politicians courted by the center-left to broaden the coalition.
Note: Read full article on www.iht.com
(Australia) - News that Prime Minister John Howard is planning a review of gay rights has fuelled scepticism among some advocates. The Prime Minister's office has confirmed he is undertaking a review of tax, welfare and superannuation with a view to ending discrimination against gay couples. But Canberra man Gary Fan, who went to Canada to marry his partner Wayne Lodge, says any review fails to go far enough unless it looks at legal recognition of same sex partnerships.
Note: Read full article on www.abc.net.au
(Ottawa, Canada) - Surviving spouses of same-sex partnerships lost their bid Thursday to force the federal government to pay millions of dollars worth of retroactive CPP survivor benefits. In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada said the spouses are fully entitled to apply for CPP survivor benefits if their partner died since the equality provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms were enacted in 1985. It said the federal government’s legislation setting the cut off date at January 1, 1998 violated the equality provisions of the Charter. But it said applicants should only qualify for retroactive benefits of 12 months which, the court said provides them the same treatment as their opposite sex counterparts.
Note: Read full article on www.canada.com
(Honolulu, USA) - Gay, bisexual, lesbian, and transgendered advocates decried the demise of a bill before House lawmakers that would have created civil unions for same-sex couples in Hawaii. The bill was shelved in the House Judicial Committee late Tuesday night, and advocates blamed Committee Chairman Tommy Waters.
Note: Read full article on starbulletin.com
(Ottawa, Canada) Canada's Supreme will deliver a ruling Thursday on what is considered the biggest gay class action suit every filed, worth possibly as much as $100 million with accrued interest. The case involves more than 1,000 gay men and lesbians whose same-sex partners died in the period between April 17, 1985 and January 1, 1998. Those partners paid into the government run Canada Pension Plan most of their working lives, but unlike heterosexual pensioners, when they died their survivor benefits were not paid to their surviving partners.
Note: Read full article on 365Gay.com
(Honolulu, USA) - Hawaii lawmakers decided Tuesday night not to vote on a bill that would have created civil unions for same-sex couples, effectively killing the measure. After five hours of testimony Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee wouldn't vote on the proposal - a sign that it didn't have enough support to pass into law. Civil unions were suggested as a way for the state to sidestep a controversy over gay marriage, but they proved to be nearly as contentious.
Note: Read full article on cbs2chicago.com
(USA) - Bills that would create civil unions and ban discrimination based on sexual orientation were formally introduced Monday in Salem, setting the stage for a broad discussion of gay rights at the state Capitol. One of the bills would establish a Vermont-style civil unions system in Oregon, allowing same-sex couples some of the legal protections and rights given to opposite-sex married couples. The unions would also only be valid within Oregon, and couples would not receive any of the federal taxation benefits that are granted to married couples.
Note: Read full article on Washington Blade
(Boston, USA) - A U.S. group that spearheaded an unsuccessful push for a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage has reset its sights on state lawmakers, conceding it has little chance to successfully change the U.S. constitution in a Democrat-controlled Congress. The Washington-based Alliance for Marriage will try to build a nationwide network of state lawmakers who would support such an amendment to the Constitution, the group's leaders said in an interview with The Associated Press on Monday, a day before they planned to unveil their new effort.
Note: Read full article on www.iht.com
(Ireland) - The lesbian couple who lost a High Court case for recognition of their Canadian marriage have lodged appeal papers to the Supreme Court. Dr Katherine Zappone and Dr Ann Louise Gilligan are hoping their case will be heard before the end of this year. In her High Court judgment last December, Justice Elizabeth Dunne found that the Irish Constitution meant that marriage was to be confined to persons of the opposite sex. She also found that the refusal to permit same-sex couples to marry in Ireland did not breach the European Convention on Human Rights.
(Asbury Park, USA) - Gay and lesbian couples across New Jersey began claiming their right to the legal benefits of marriage early Thursday in ceremonies that formalized their relationships as civil unions. The state law establishing civil unions for same-sex couples took effect Monday. But because there is a 72-hour waiting period after applying for a license, most couples had to wait until Thursday to hold civil union ceremonies.
Note: Read full article on www.foxnews.com
(Dublin, Ireland) - A Labour party Bill on same sex unions was defeated in the Dáil last night. Fianna Fáil TD Barry Andrews and PD deputy Fiona O'Malley had both criticised the position taken by the Government, but voted against the Bill. Read more...
(Paris, France) - France's highest court on Tuesday ruled that the partner of a gay mom cannot adopt the child. The court said there is nothing in the law to permit same-sex couples to be co-parents. In its ruling the court said that there are only only two ways the partner would be allowed to be considered a parent to the child. The first would be for the child's mother, who gave birth to the baby, to renounce her parental rights - something the court said would not be in the child's best interests. The other would be for the government to amend the laws and allow same-sex marriage.
Note: Read ful article on 365gay.com
(Ireland) - LABOUR last night branded Government moves to block its civil union proposals “shameful” as the Dáil debated same sex marriage for the first time. The party’s Justice spokesman Brendan Howlin attacked Tánaiste Michael McDowell’s amendments to Labour’s landmark Bill as “deeply opportunistic”. Amid heated Dáil exchanges he attacked Government moves to delay a second reading of the proposed legislation for six months as an attempt to kill the Bill while attempting to look supportive. Mr Howlin compared the reform to previous ones on contraception and divorce which were highly contentious at the time yet today command widespread approval.
Note: Read full article on www.irishexaminer.com>
(Melbourne, Australia) - Melbourne City Council has dipped its toe into the legal minefield of gay civil unions. The state and federal laws governing Victoria offer no official recognition of gay unions. The Melbourne City Council, however, is on the verge of striking out on its own, giving small recognition to same-sex couples.
Note: Read full article on www.theage.com.au
(Teaneck, USA) - Steven Goldstein and Daniel Gross were among the first gay couples in New Jersey to be joined together in a civil union on Monday as a state law granting marriage rights to same-sex partners took effect at midnight.New Jersey became the third U.S. state in December 2006 to provide equal rights for same-sex couples in committed relationships known as civil unions. The state Supreme Court deferred to the legislature a decision on whether to call their relationships "marriage" and lawmakers opted to call them "civil unions."
Note: Read full article on Reuters
(USA) - A bill to allow same-sex marriages in California would be dead on arrival if it lands on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk this year. So pledged the governor on Thursday, February 15 in response to a question from a high school student at the California YMCA Youth and Government conference. Asked if he would sign a gay marriage bill, the governor replied, "No. I wouldn't sign it because the people of California have voted on that issue."
Note: Read full article on ebar.com
(USA) - Gay couples who are married in Massachusetts, Canada or other places where same-sex marriage is allowed will have all the rights of married people in New Jersey as of Monday, the state Attorney General's Office decided Friday. New Jersey should consider those couples to be in civil unions rather than marriages, Attorney General Stuart Rabner said in the opinion for the state Department of Health and Senior Services, which is responsible for registering civil unions. Civil unions, which will be available in New Jersey starting Monday, grant all the benefits of marriage — but not the title — to gay couples.
Note: Read full article on www.southernvoice.com
(Amsterdam, Netherlands) - Mayor of Amsterdam Job Cohen believes it is very sad that under the new cabinet, municipal officials will be allowed to refuse to perform marriage ceremonies for homosexual couples, ANP reports. The Mayor made the above statement on Wednesday morning at the unveiling of a commemorative plaque at city hall in the memory of the first same sex marriage in Amsterdam officially recognized there on 1 April 2001. Cohen also said he regretted that the new cabinet was seemingly not prepared to take any steps in the further emancipation of homosexuals in the Netherlands.
Note: Read full article on www.expatica.com
(USA) - The first politics forum of the semester kicked off last Thursday as Reed Gusciora, state assemblyman and professor of political science at the College, criticized the current New Jersey State and White House positions on same-sex marriage. "There isn't really equality in New Jersey," Gusciora said, referring to the recent Supreme Court decision on civil unions. Gusciora cited the similarities between Hawaii, Vermont and New Jersey. Each state's Supreme Court has ruled that civil unions must be allowed in the state. Marriage, however, has been an entirely different issue. Massachusetts remains the only state to grant full equality in terms of marriage.
Note: Read full article on www.signal-online.net
(Tallahassee, USA) - The new chairman of the Florida Republican Party said today the state party will continue its support of a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. Under the administration of ex-Gov. Jeb Bush and former state GOP Chairwoman Carole Jean Jordan, the state party pumped $300,000 into the petition campaign for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. The proposal did not get on the 2006 ballot but organizers of the campaign say they are now only about 28,000 signatures short of the 611,009 required for a spot on the 2008 ballot.
Note: Read full article on www.tampabays10.com
(San Francisco, USA) - Other county clerks in Northern California are joining in a protest against the state's ban on same-sex marriage during Freedom to Marry Day. Same-sex couples will line up at local clerks offices across the country on February 14 to request marriage licenses and as they have for each of the ten past Freedom To Marry Days be turned down. Earlier this month Yolo County clerk Freddie Oakley said she is tired of turning away gay and lesbian couples for no good reason and that this year she will present the couples with "certificates of inequality".
Note: Read full article on <365gay.com/a>
(PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Mexico) - State legislators from President Felipe Calderón´s conservative National Action Party (PAN) have asked the Supreme Court to overturn a same-sex civil union law in the northern state of Coahuila. Francisco Cortés, one of the Coahuila lawmakers, said Saturday that the legal challenge argues that the law - which grants registered same-sex partners rights similar to those of married couples - violates a constitutional clause protecting the family. The law was approved by Coahuila last month and on Jan. 31, a lesbian couple in the state registered what officials called Mexico´s first "civil solidarity union."
Note: Read full article on www.eluniversal.com.mx
(USA) - A Michigan appeals court ruling that bans public universities and state and local governments from providing health insurance to partners of gay employees has alarmed gay rights advocates nationwide. They fear the decision could encourage similar rulings in 17 other states whose bans on gay marriage could be interpreted to prohibit domestic partner benefits for same-sex couples. Michigan last week became the first state to rule that public employers cannot offer health benefits if the benefits are based on treating same-sex relationships similar to marriage.
Note: Read full article on www.cbsnews.com
(Rome, Italy) - The Italian government approved a bill granting new rights to de facto couples (both gay and straight). Cabinet ministers unanimously agreed to the decision during an extraordinary cabinet meeting in Rome. The proposed legislation allows de facto couples to notify their relationship at their local registrar's office. This will grant them certain rights, including the right to take over a partner's rent contract, access to inheritance and the right to visit their hospitalized partner without having to obtain permission from the victim's relatives first. The bill must be approved first by parliament to become law. Read more...
(Colombia) - Homosexual couples in Colombia should have the same property rights as their heterosexual counterparts, the nation's Constitutional Court has ruled. The decision applies to those who have been living together for two years. A gay rights group, which had sought the clarification from the court, said at least 100,000 couples would benefit. A court source said it did not mean same-sex civil unions - which are part of a bill currently being debated in Congress - had been approved.
Note: Read full article on BBC
(Australia) - The Federal Government has dealt a fatal blow to the ACT's plans to legalise gay marriage, rejecting the proposed laws for a second time. But the territory government vowed to maintain its fight to enshrine same-sex unions in law, saying it would sit on the bill and hope for a change of government at the next federal election. Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said he would recommend the governor-general disallow the ACT's revamped Civil Partnerships Bill if it became law. It was the second time the commonwealth had vetoed the territory government's move after disallowing the ACT's Civil Unions Act last June.
Note: Read full article on www.smh.com.au
(UK) - Academics and students are shocked by ruling at institution with close links to Anglican church. The heads of a university closely aligned to the Church of England plan to ban civil partnership ceremonies on campus. The vice-chancellor, chair of governors and deputy pro-chancellor of Canterbury Christ Church University argue that the church's position on homosexuality makes it wrong to conduct lesbian and gay marriages on the university's premises. They want governors of the university, whose chancellor is the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to change the institution's policy at their meeting next month.
Note: Read full article on guardian.co.uk
(USA) - Michiganians in same-sex relationships who work for state or local governments or universities face the imminent loss of health care insurance for their domestic partners as a result of a court ruling Friday. The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in a case involving the city of Kalamazoo that public employers and universities can't provide health insurance and other benefits to the partners of same-sex couples without violating the Michigan Constitution.
Note: Read full article on www.detnews.com
(Piedras Negras, Mexico) - A lesbian couple registered what officials called Mexico's first gay civil union on Wednesday in the northern city of Saltillo. The couple, Karina Almaguer and Karla Lopez, traveled to Saltillo, Coahuila from their home state of Tamaulipas to register as a "civil solidarity union" under a newly passed law that made Coahuila the first of Mexico's 31 states to grant recognition to such unions. Television footage showed the couple smiling broadly and shaking hands with officials after the simple ceremony at a registrar's office.
Note: Read full article on www.iht.com
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who had been taking the side of the Catholic Bishops against advocates of gay equality over the issue of adoptions by same-sex couples, last week was forced to back down after an unprecedented revolt by his own cabinet of ministers, which overwhelmingly supported the right of gay couples to adopt.
Note: Read full article on DIRELAND
(Honolulu, USA) - Trying to avoid a heated battle over gay marriage, Hawaii lawmakers are considering a renewed push to grant same-sex couples similar benefits through civil unions. Democratic legislators, who hold overwhelming majorities in both houses of the state legislature, are supporting a proposed civil union bill as one of the party's top priorities for this year's legislative session. If it passes, Hawaii would become the fifth state to recognize either civil unions or gay marriage.
Note: Read full article on www.iht.com
(Ottawa, Canada) - The Conservative government has quietly scrapped one of the last remnants of official discrimination against gay couples by allowing same-sex couples married outside of Canada to be fully recognized as spouses for immigration purposes. The controversial policy was introduced in June 2004, soon after Quebec became the third province to legalize gay marriage. When same-sex marriage was made legal throughout Canada in 2005, the bar on foreign gay marriages remained in place.
Note: Read full article on www.canada.com
(Jerusalem, Israel) - Jerusalem officially registered its first homosexual couple as married Monday, three months after a ruling by the High Court of Justice paved the way for same-sex couples to be listed in the Interior Ministry's Population Registry. Binyamin and Avi Rose married on June 28 in Toronto, Canada, but immediately returned to Jerusalem to start building their life together.
Note: Read full article on www.jpost.com
(Honolulu, USA) - Legislation to legalize civil unions has been filed in the Hawaii state legislature. but how far it will advance it unknown. The bill, written by local LGBT civil rights activist Bill Woods-Bateman, does not have a sponsor. At the moment it is sitting on the desk of House Judiciary Chair, Representative Tommy Waters (D). But the measure does have one key supporter - Debi Hartmann and that has surprised a lot of people in the state. In 1998 she led a successful campaign that results in the state banning gay marriage.
Note: Read full article on 365gay.com
(South Africa) - In the sprawling black Johannesburg township of Soweto, such a ceremony remains a pipe dream for Zwakele, a lesbian who goes by one name. Even though gay marriages are now permitted, South Africa's proclamation of the law has in fact worsened the public scorn Zwakele and other black gays have long experienced. Many people in this society shun gay people, branding them nature's curse on humanity or the result of God's wrath against evildoers.
Note: Read full article on www.thestar.com
(HARTFORD, USA) - The issue of gay marriage will be put before lawmakers again this sesssion and Governor Rell says she would veto any legislation that would allow it. Two years ago, Rell signed into law a civil unions bill that allows same-sex couples to enter into legal unions. That law provides gay couples with the same rights and privileges under state law as married couples and also defined marriage as between a man and a woman in Connecticut.
Note: Read full article on www.abc6.com
(Cheyenne, USA) - Gay couples who marry in Massachusetts and move to Wyoming would suddenly find themselves single if some Wyoming legislators have their way: A bill has been introduced that would allow Wyoming to void same-sex marriages granted by other states. Wyoming already has a law in place that mandates marriages conducted in the state must be between a man and woman.
Note: Read full article on www.edgeboston.com
(Madison, USA) - When they are sworn into office in April, city leaders will vow to uphold the state constitution, but with a caveat - many plan to add a statement protesting the state's new ban on marriage of same-sex couples. The city council voted 14-4 Tuesday night to let hundreds of elected and appointed city officials opt to add a statement saying they are taking the oath of office under protest because the amendment "besmirches our constitution." Read more...
(Ufa, Russia) - Edward Murzin, a member of the Bashkir State Assembly, has introduced a bill that aims to legalize same-sex partnerships. "I intend to introduce this bill in the State Duma as well, as it aims to guarantee real equality amongst citizens and further humanize relations in society," Murzin told Interfax. "In my view, the bill's main purpose is to guarantee equal rights and responsibilities and to protect human rights through an official recognition of same-sex family relations," he said. The Russian constitution outlaws discrimination against people on any ground, he said.
Note: Read full article on Interfax
(USA) - While she has denied her lesbian ex-partner visitation that was ordered by Vermont courts, ex-gay biological mother Lisa Miller-Jenkins has nevertheless demanded child support from her ex, Janet Miller-Jenkins.
Note: Read full article on Ex-Gay Watch
(South Africa) - Lesbian and gay couples in South Africa hoping to get married in church are facing delays because of a backlog of people waiting to take a qualification exam. Government "registrars," called marriage officers, were all trained about the Civil Unions Act last year, before the Act became law. Any other person who can officiate at a wedding, such as a church minister, are required to take an exam before they can carry out same-sex unions.
Note: Read full article on Pink News
(VATICAN CITY) - Some 150 Italian gays protested in the Vatican on Saturday against Pope Benedict's adversity to equal marriage of same-sex couples, on the anniversary of the protest suicide of a gay man in St Peter's Square nine years ago. Gay people from the Italian gay organization Arcigay and other groups reportedly waved rainbow flags and disclosed banners telling "No to the Taliban! No to the Vatican!".
Hallelujah! It seems that same-sex marriage in Massachusetts has a good chance of finally coming before the voters, giving the moral majority, in this case God-fearing heterosexuals, a chance to trample all over the rights of the immoral minority, in this case God-defiling homosexuals. Now that assumes these sodomites even have rights to trample on. Considering their abhorrent behavior, they don't have rights as much as they have wrongs.
Note: Read full article on www.metrowestdailynews.com
(Phoenix, USA) - A state constitutional ban on gay marriage could be brought back to voters in 2008. A gay marriage ban that prohibited public employers from offering health benefits and legal status to unmarried couples lost in an upset defeat in November. The new proposed ban would only define marriage as a heterosexual union and would not deal with domestic partner or unmarried couple benefits. The latter component led to opposition to Proposition 107 from labor unions and some business groups.
Note: Read full article on www.bizjournals.com
(MEXICO) - The northern Mexican state of Coahuila became Friday the third Latin American jurisdiction to approve gay civil unions, but the new law bars same-sex couples from adopting children. The new law, which follows similar moves in Mexico City and Buenos Aires, allows same-sex as well as heterosexual couples to register as "civil or united companions." But the law, which passed the state legislature in a 20-13 vote, bars gay couples from adopting or getting custody of children. Read more...
(USA) - Now that the Republicans have lost control of Congress, perhaps legislation such as the Uniting American Families Act will finally get passed. This bill would give U.S. citizens the right to give their loved ones citizenship. Yes, this is a right that already exists, but only if you marry someone of the opposite sex. Read more...
(Stockholm, Sweden) - Ruling in two cases involving lesbian couples, a Swedish judge has ruled that the nonbiological mothers cannot adopt their partners children. In each case the birth mother had been artificially inseminated. And in each case the birth mothers partners had been approved for adoption by social services authorities. Read more...
(Boston, USA) - Sixty-two state legislators voted to shrink the civil rights of Massachusetts citizens yesterday when they advanced a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Every effort should be made now to kill the measure by reducing that number below 50 when the issue comes up again before the newly elected Legislature. One of the key arguments raised by opponents of gay marriage is also one of the most spurious: that, having filed more than 123,000 certified signatures for the amendment, they have a right to see it go on the 2008 ballot.
Note: Read full article on www.boston.com
And we've been much too careful for the last two years about calling this situation exactly what it is - tyranny. This heterosupremacist attitude that only married people should be entitled to have control over their lives and relationships is not only against the framework of our own freedom of association, but is obscene in the methods being used to maintain supremacist control over our lives. Read more...
(USA) - Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has reluctantly agreed to follow the state Supreme Court ruling that same sex partners should receive equal benefits to heterosexual couples. The court ruled on the issue in October 2005 and Ms Palin, a Republican, has vowed to introduce a law from next month. Read more...
(Columbus, USA) - Constitutional legal experts disagree on the strategy to combat Ohio’s marriage ban amendment. As the Ohio Supreme Court considers its first case under the amendment, the legal path taken by the measure’s opponents will determine which future cases get appealed, and possibly how long the amendment will remain in effect. The conflict is over whether it is better to try for narrowing the amendment’s effect, making it less threatening; or to allow the amendment’s proponents to have it interpreted as broadly as possible, so it will collapse under its own contradictions.
Note: Read full article on www.gaypeopleschronicle.com
(TRENTON, New Jersey, USA) - New Jersey's governor signed legislation Thursday giving gay couples all the rights and responsibilities of marriage allowed under state law - but not the title. The Legislature passed the civil unions bill on December 14 in response to a state Supreme Court order that gay couples be granted the same rights as married couples. The court in October gave lawmakers six months to act but left it to them to decide whether to call the unions "marriage" or something else.
Note: Read full article on CNN.com
(BRUSSELS, BELGIUM) - European Union nations are sharply split in their attitudes toward gay marriage, with 82 percent of Dutch citizens backing it compared to just 11 percent in Romania, according to a poll released Monday. Overall, 44 percent of citizens in the 25-nation EU believe gay marriage should be allowed throughout the bloc, according to the Eurobarometer poll, with support highest in northern European nations and lowest among southern and eastern members.
Note: Read full article on www.iht.com
(New Jersey, USA) A bill to allow civil unions for same-sex couples passed the New Jersey Legislature Thursday afternoon. It now goes to Gov. Jon S. Corzine who has said he would sign the legislation into law. The bill will take effect in 60 days after he signs it. The first civil unions could begin in February. "Love counts," said Wilfredo Caraballo, (D) opening debate in the Assembly. "The gender of whom one loves should not matter to the state." The Assembly voted 56-19 to pass the bill. It was approved in the Senate on a 23 - 12 vote an hour-and-a-half later.
Note: Read full article on 365gay.com
(Canberra, Australia) - The local government in the territorial district including Australia's capital Canberra has undertaken a new attempt to grant same-sex couples a number of the rights of heterosexual married couples. The local government of the Australian Capital Territory has submitted a bill that would legalize civil partnerships. In 2005, the local government passed a similar bill wich was subsequently quashed by the federal government by pretensions that the measure circumvented the ban on same-sex marriage passed by Australia's federal government. Read more...
(UK) - After Pink Wednesday 2005, when gay couples were finally given the chance to formalise their relationships after decades of hiding, Louise France talked to some of the first to tie the knot. Going back now, she finds them in perfect agreement: civil partnership works.
Note: Read full article on observer.guardian.co.uk
(Lima, Peru) - In what became the first gay marriage ceremony to take place in Peru, a British citizen and his Peruvian partner formalized their union under British law. The ceremony was held at the British Embassy in Lima, announced the Homosexual Movement of Lima (Mhol in Spanish). Although the legal union between two adults of the same sex is not permitted in Peru, the couple was able to legally validate their partnership under British law. Peter Goad, a British citizen, and Marco Bretoneche, his Peruvian partner, both 42 years old, were wed last Thursday according to Mhol.
Note: Read full article on www.livinginperu.com
(Trenton, USA) - Contentious legislation creating civil unions for same-sex couples is expected to be passed next week by the New Jersey legislature but some mayors say they are prepared to go to jail rather than officiate at gay unions. The legislation passed a key Senate committee on Thursday and will go before an Assembly committee on Monday. LGBT activists have condemned the measure because it is less than marriage.
Note: Read full article on 365gay.com
(India) - An Indian tribe has given its consent to a lesbian 'marriage' in the eastern Indian state of Orissa. A priest belonging to the Kandha tribe led the ceremony between Wetka Polang, 30, and Melka Nilsa, 22, in Koraput district recently. Both the women are day labourers and now live together in Dandabadi village.
Note: Read full article on news.bbc.co.uk
(Rome, Italy) - Italy's Senate on Thursday passed a motion calling on the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi to bring in legislation creating civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. It said it wants the bill by the end of next month. The motion cited "the growing debate within politics and public opinion concerning common law unions and the rights and duties stemming from them," and said that the bill should "recognize the rights, including regarding taxes, of persons in de facto relationships".
Note: Read full article on 365gay.com
(Adelaide, South Australia) - The South Australia parliament passed legislation Thursday granting same-sex couples most of the state rights accorded to opposite-sex married couples. The bill passed 16 - 3 in the upper house, bringing South Australia in line with the country's other states. It covers property ownership, inheritance and hospital visitation rights.
Note: Read full article on 365gay.com
(NEW YORK, USA) - Sixty percent of New Jersey voters support a law allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions, but half oppose a law allowing gay marriage, according to a poll on Thursday. The survey was released before the New Jersey Assembly's Judiciary Committee was scheduled to vote on a bill allowing gay civil unions with the legal rights of married couples.
Note: Read full article on today.reuters.com
(OTTAWA, CANADA) - Parliamentarians today re-affirmed the legality of same-sex marriage in Canada by voting down a Conservative motion to re-open the controversial debate. A total of 175 members of Parliament rejected a Tory motion “to call on government to introduce legislation to restore the traditional definition of marriage without affecting civil unions and while respecting existing same-sex marriages”. A total of 123 MPs supported the idea of re-visiting the issue.
Note: Read full article on www.canada.com
(Padua, Italy) - The city council in Padua, in northern Italy, has voted to create a domestic partner registry for same-sex and unmarried opposite-sex couples. The leftist coalition-dominated council voted 26-7 in favor of the motion, making the city the first in Italy to give any official recognition to gay and lesbian couples. The registry has little legal authority, only covering areas in which the city has jurisdiction. Still, it was hailed by LGBT rights supporters as a significant victory, and assailed by conservatives as an affront to the "sanctity of marriage".
Note: Read full article on 365gay.com
(Israel) - Two weeks after the High Court of Justice issued a 6-1 ruling ordering the Interior Ministry to register five homosexual couples married abroad, the Knesset approved the first reading of legislation that seeks to overturn that decision. In a vote whose timing took many coalition MKs by surprise, the plenum decided 33 to 31 to approve a bill sponsored by MK Michael Eitan (Likud) that would make it illegal for the state to recognize same-sex marriages.
Note: Read full article on Jerusalem Post
(MOUNT LAUREL, USA) - In inheritance, health insurance, parental rights and virtually everything else but name, gay couples in New Jersey would be treated the same as married couples under a bill introduced this week. The legislation filed late Monday and made available to the public Tuesday is the response of key Democratic lawmakers to the state Supreme Court's ruling in October that New Jersey must extend all privileges of marriage to gay couples within 180 days.
Note: Read full article on www.guardian.co.uk
(Annapolis, USA) - Attorneys for same-sex couples told the Court of Appeals - the highest court in Maryland - Monday that state law barring gay and lesbian couples from marrying violates the Maryland constitution's Equal Rights Amendment, which protects against sex discrimination. The state is appealing a lower court ruling that found the ban unconstitutional. In January Baltimore Judge M. Brooke Murdock said that the 1973 law defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman "cannot withstand constitutional challenge."
Note: Read full article on 365gay.com
(Montreal, Canada) The new leader of Canada's Liberal Party says he will encourage party members to vote against reopening the debate on same-sex marriage when it comes before the House of Commons this week. But Stephane Dion told reporters in Montreal on Sunday that he has not made up his mind if he will force Liberal MPs to reject the Conservative government motion. Dion said he will wait until the first party caucus meeting this week.
Note: Read full article on 365gay.com
(USA) - While state after state in the U.S. closes its doors to the prospect of same-sex marriage, lesbian and gay relationships have been gaining acceptance in the rest of the world. Last month, South Africa joined the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada and Spain in opening civil marriage to same-sex couples, allowing them equal economic benefits, legal rights and social status as families. The law, passed by an astounding 230-41 margin in Parliament, was in response to an equally notable unanimous decision last year by the South African Constitutional Court. It ruled that the post-apartheid constitution ensures the dignity and equality of all people — and that includes lesbian and gay couples wishing to affirm their love and commitment through civil marriage.
Note: Read full article on www.latimes.com
(SACRAMENTO, USA) - The debate over gay marriage is back after a year's hiatus, and this time supporters are hopeful the political climate has changed since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in 2005. San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno, a Democrat who is openly gay, announced he will introduce a new marriage bill Monday, when legislators are sworn in for the upcoming session.
Note: Read full article on www.mercurynews.com
(South Africa) - A day of triumph turned to tears for many of South Africa's gay and lesbian community as bureaucratic red tape prevented them from getting married on Friday after the new Civil Union Act was signed into law. Now religious marriage officers will have to undergo examinations on the new Act before they can officiate marriages, and couples who intended to get married at Department of Home Affairs offices have been told to make appointments with Home Affairs marriage officers, which could take weeks or even months.
Note: Read full article on www.int.iol.co.za
(Ceorge, South Africa) - Friday dawned bright and pink for Vernon Gibbs and Tony Halls as they made history by becoming the first same-sex couple to be legally married in South Africa. In an emotional ceremony, the two men exchanged their wedding vows as well as gold and diamond wedding bands in George in the Western Cape. "I'm on a high... I suppose it will only sink in later once all our guests are gone," said Gibbs after they tied the knot. He said it was even more significant that they were married on World Aids Day and dedicated their union to all those affected and infected with HIV and Aids.
Note: Read full article: www.int.iol.co.za
(USA) - Since November’s passage of Ballot Question No. 1, also known as the marriage amendment, groups all over Virginia have spoken out in protest. Gay rights organizations, including Tech’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Alliance, Equality Virginia and Hollins University’s OutLoud organization have stepped forward to exhibit their dissent towards the amendment in attempts to repeal it from Virginia’s constitution. “It was painful,” said Liz Ford, the president of LGBTA and a fifth-year student double majoring in interdisciplinary studies and art. “We had done a lot of work, and it has solidified how people think of us here.”
Note: Read full article on www.collegiatetimes.com
(South Africa) - In a new twist, traditional leaders are balking at giving communal land to gay couples, even though they will be legally married in terms of the bill. A high-level meeting to discuss the bill and its ramifications has been called for next month. If traditional leaders do not give communal land to couples based on their sexual orientation, this matter may end up in the Constitutional Court as it can be interpreted as a human rights violation. The bill is a result of last year’s Constitutional Court finding that the Marriage Act was unconstitutional and ordering Parliament to remedy the situation with a new law.
Note: Read full article on www.businessday.co.za
(Boston, USA) A Supreme Judicial Court justice Thursday declined to rule on a motion to force a proposed amendment banning gay marriage on the ballot in 2008 - instead she passed the issue onto the full court. A lawyer for Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney implored Justice Judith Cowin to order the Legislature to hold a vote on a proposed amendment banning same-sex marriage, or failing that to direct the Secretary of State William Galvin to place the question on the 2008 ballot bypassing the State House. On November 10 the legislature, meeting in a special joint session to consider the proposed amendment recessed until January 2, without taking a vote. January 2 is the final day in the current session and it is expected no vote will be held, effectively killing the measure.
Note: Read full article on 365gay.com
(SOUTH AFRICA) - South Africa has become the first country on the African continent to authorise marriage for gay and lesbian couples after the controversial Civil Union Bill received the final seal of approval. The legislation, which was overwhelmingly approved by Parliament, was signed on to the statute book by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka in her capacity as acting head of state while Thabo Mbeki attends a conference in Nigeria.
Note: Read full article on www.gaynz.com
(South Africa) The Reverend Deborah Bell, of the gay-friendly Deo Gloria Church in Durban, said she had encountered enormous problems in trying to register to be able to conduct ceremonies. "I made enquiries with the home affairs in Durban and they had no idea what register would or should or could be used for the proposed new Bill. In fact, the gentleman I spoke to asked me to let him know once I had spoken to Pretoria, if I heard anything on the procedures." She said home affairs in Pretoria had told her that she would have to make another application to home affairs to get a licence to marry gay and lesbian people.
Note: Read full article on www.iol.co.za
(OTTAWA, CANADA) - The Conservative government is bringing the divisive issue of same-sex marriage back to the floor of the Commons - but the debate could be over practically as soon as it begins. "I hope to have it into the House next week, and I think we can probably do this as early as Wednesday," Rob Nicholson, the Tory House leader, said in an interview. He also signalled that the time for MPs to speak on the issue could be as short as one day, with a vote to follow immediately.
Note: Read full story on www.canada.com
South Africans are justifiably proud of the constitution but more of them have been in conflict with it in the past month than ever before. And the issue has not been about the property clause, or the provisions for the judiciary, but about allowing gay and lesbian couples to get married.
Note: Read full article on www.businessday.co.za
(South Africa) - The South African ‘Civil Union Bill’ has taken a further step to becoming an Act when it was approved by the National Council of Provinces this morning in Cape Town, making the gay and lesbian 'unions' on target to be in place for the court-imposed December 1 deadline. Voting was 36 in favour, 11 against, and one abstention.
Note: Read full article on UK Gay News
(Colchester, USA) - Janet Peck of Colchester said she isn't homosexual by choice and, after decades watching her heterosexual siblings tie the knot, she wants to marry her female partner of 31 years. Earlier this week, Peck, 55, her partner Carol Conklin, 53, and their fellow plaintiffs announced they're appealing New Haven Superior Court Judge Patty Jenkins Pittman's March decision against gay marriage. Pittman dismissed the couples' lawsuit on the grounds Connecticut's 2005 law allowing same-sex civil unions provides homosexuals with equality.
Note: Read full article on www.norwichbulletin.com
(BOSTON, USA) - Gov. Mitt Romney asked Massachusetts' highest court Friday to force a proposed anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment onto the state's 2008 ballot if the Legislature fails to vote on it. The Republican governor, a fierce opponent of gay marriage and a possible presidential contender, filed the request with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court after lawmakers put off acting on the question until January. The high court ruled 4-3 in 2003 that the state could no longer deny marriage licenses to gay couples. Romney has said the state Constitution requires legislators to vote on whether the measure should go on the ballot. If they don't vote when they return Jan. 2, the last day of the legislative session, the court can order the secretary of state to put it on the 2008 ballot, Romney argues.
Note: Read full article on www.chron.com
(Uganda) - Civil society organisations in Uganda have protested the legalisation of same sex marriages in South Africa. The chairperson of the Political Parties platform, Emmanuel Tumusiime, yesterday said the move would create a cultural and economic clash on the continent. Tumusiime, Pastor Martin Sempa, and the People's Development Party chief, Abed Bwanika, braved the morning downpour and went to the South African High commission offices at Nakasero to present their protest. Read more...
(Juneau, USA) - A key Alaska Senate committee has ratified two bills passed Friday by the House that could result in a constitutional showdown between the legislature and the state Supreme Court over same-sex benefits. The first bill prohibits Gov. Frank Murkowski's administration from granting any court-ordered health and retirement benefits for same-sex partners of state employees. The second would explore the possibility of a constitutional amendment barring gay benefits that could go on the 2008 ballot.
Note: Read full article on 365gay.com
(JERUSALEM) - In a landmark ruling, Israel's Supreme Court ordered the government on Tuesday to recognize same-sex marriages performed abroad. Yossi Ben-Ari and Laurent Schuman were married in Canada after that country legalized same-sex marriage in 2003. Determined, after a 21-year partnership, to enjoy all the privileges of a married couple in Israel, they were among five couples who petitioned the Supreme Court court to have their marriage registered here, too.
Note: Read full article on www.newyorkblade.com
(BOSTON, Reuters) - Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said on Sunday he would ask the state's highest court to intervene to let voters decide on a proposal to ban gay marriage in the only U.S. state where it is legal. "This week we will file an action before the courts calling upon the judiciary to protect the constitutional rights of our citizens," Romney, a potential Republican presidential contender in 2008, told a rally organized by opponents of gay marriage.
Note: Read full story on Reuters
(MEXICO CITY) - Mexico's ruling conservative party is considering filing a legal challenge to Mexico City's new law recognizing gay civil unions, saying it violates a clause in the country's constitution protecting the family, legislators said Friday. The law was published in the city's official gazette on Thursday, making it the first such law in the history of the conservative, predominantly Roman Catholic country. It will take effect 120 days from that date.
Note: Read full article on www.iht.com
(United Kingdom) - Gay couples will only be allowed to adopt children who have failed to find a home with married heterosexuals if a proposal by a Labour MSP is approved at Holyrood. Paul Martin has provoked an angry backlash over his suggestion that married couples should be given preference over homosexuals when placing children with adoptive parents.
Note: Read full article on www.timesonline.co.uk
(Melbourne, Australia) - Melbourne City Council will set up a "relationship register" for same-sex couples to publicly declare their partnerships. Openly gay Deputy Lord Mayor Gary Singer said the plan, which would have couples make a written declaration before witnesses, would be largely symbolic, but it would help gay couples by providing proof that they were in a relationship.
Note: Read full article on www.theage.com.au
A new law in Mexico grants legal status to same-sex couples in Mexico City. However, along with the gains, intolerance is leading to violence. Gay people in Mexico are winning new rights, despite strong opposition in a country known for traditional family values. Even so, old problems persist - like discrimination, harassment and hate crimes, including murder.
Note: Read full article on www.mysanantonio.com
(MEXICO CITY) - Legislation recognizing gay civil unions in the Mexican capital was published in the official gazette on Thursday, making it the first such law in the history of the conservative, predominantly Roman Catholic country. The law was passed by the city legislature last week and signed on Monday by Mexico City Mayor Alejandro Encinas. However it will not take effect for 120 days.
Note: Read full article on www.iht.com
(MOUNT LAUREL, USA) - In some of the first legal fallout from a state Supreme Court ruling that gives same-sex couples in New Jersey access to the same rights as married couples, two women will be listed on the birth certificate of a baby born this week in Burlington County. In a closed family court proceeding on Monday, a day before the child was born, the state and the women agreed that both women should be listed as the baby's parents in light of the landmark high court ruling last month. A judge agreed with the state and the women, lawyers said.
Note: Read full article on www.pressofatlanticcity.com
(South Australia) - Any two people who live together and present themselves as a couple will be covered under South Australia's proposed changes to partnership laws, state Attorney-General Michael Atkinson has said. Mr Atkinson introduced the Domestic Partners Bill to parliament today and said he expected support from the majority of MPs. The new legislation will allow same-sex couples to share property and financial affairs and take carer's leave to look after each other during periods of illness. The laws will dispense with the term "de facto'' and categorise couples as domestic partners.
Note: Read full article on www.news.com.au
(Cape Town, South Africa) The National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality warned Friday that South Africa's Civil Union bill is unconstitutional and if it passes the government will be hauled before the Constitutional Court. The legislation passed its last hurdle in committee earlier this week (story) and heads to the floor of Parliament for debate on Tuesday. The measure gives same-sex couples all of the rights of marriage but without the name. That says the NCGLE perpetuates discrimination in violation of South Africa's constitution.
Note: Read full article on 365gay.com
(BOSTON, USA) - Massachusetts' lawmakers on Thursday took a giant step towards killing a proposal to ban gay marriage in the only U.S. state where it is legal. With protesters on both sides of the debate rallying outside the gold-domed statehouse, lawmakers voted 109 to 87 to delay a decision on whether to back a constitutional amendment that would have given voters a chance to ban gay marriage.
Note: Read full article on scotsman.com
(MEXICO CITY) - Mexico City's assembly on Thursday voted for the first time in the country's history to legally recognize gay civil unions, a measure that will provide same-sex couples with benefits similar to those of married couples. The mayor was expected to sign the measure into law. The bill, which does not approve gay marriage, allows same-sex couples to register their union with civil authorities, granting them inheritance and pension rights, as well as other social benefits. Lawmakers were still finalizing the details. Heterosexual couples who are not legally married can also be registered under the legislation.
Note: Read full story on www.washingtonpost.com
(USA) - Rock music legend Elton John has donated $20,000 to a group trying to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage in Wisconsin. The donation showed up in a campaign filing with the state Elections board today. Voters will decide the issue a week from tomorrow.
Note: Read full article on www.newyorkblade.com
(Sydney, AUSTRALIA) - A gay couple is refusing to lodge a tax return until their same-sex marriage is recognised. The two Sydney men say they were married overseas earlier this year but the Australian Tax Office (ATO) will not recognise the union. Australian Marriage Equality (AME) said the situation was unfair and the group backed the couple in their fight against the ATO.
Note: Read full article on www.theaustralian.news.com.au
(New Jersey, USA) The Supreme Court of New Jersey has ruled in favor of gay marriage, sort of. By a vote of 4 to 3, the court says the state must afford gay couples all the “rights and benefits” that straight couples have under the law. But the majority punted on the question of what to call gay marriages. If it doesn’t want to call them marriages, the legislature is free to come up with a term of its choosing for committed gay relationships.
Note: Read full article on Time.com;
+ Commentary by Doug Ireland
A survey conducted by the Sunday Tribune in association with Millward Brown reveals that nearly two thirds of voters support equality in civil marriage for gays and lesbians in Ireland. This is a significant increase on the previous survey conducted by The Irish Examiner/Red C survey in February in which 51 per cent indicated support for equal marriage.
Note: Read full article on www.gcn.ie
WASHINGTON -- Gerry Studds, America's first openly gay congressman, pushed the country to another landmark development when he died Saturday: the federal government for the first time will deny death benefits to a congressman's gay spouse. The US government does not recognize the 2004 Massachusetts' marriage between Studds and Dean Hara, and won't provide a portion of Studds' $114,337 annual pension to his surviving spouse.
Note: Read full article on www.lowellsun.com
(Washington, USA) The US Supreme Court turned down an appeal Tuesday by a gay California gay couple who want to marry. It is the first time the issue of same-sex marriage has been offered to the high court. Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer of Mission Viejo, California went to court after they were turned down for a marriage license in 2004. U.S. District Judge Gary Taylor last year ruled against the pair Taylor saying that the California law preventing same-sex marriage "has a disproportionate effect on homosexual individuals," but said the government's desire to promote procreation is a valid reason for infringing on the rights of gays. The couple then appealed to the the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Note: Read full article on 365gay.com
(Ljubljana, Slovenia) The central European nation of Slovenia witnessed its first same-sex civil partnership on Tuesday when Mitja Blazic and Viki Kern registered their union in the capital, Ljubljana. The current law, passed in July, allows gay men and lesbians the right to register their unions and covers property issues along with inheritance rights. The law does not, however, grant any other rights associated with marriage, including social security or adoption rights. It also excludes guests from being present at the signing of the documents.
Note: Read the article on advocat.com
(Boston, Massachusetts, USA) A Boston judge has ruled that a Massachusetts law forbidding out-of-state residents from marrying in Massachusetts if their marriage would not be permitted in their home state does not apply to Rhode Island. Superior Court Judge Thomas Connolly said that Rhode Island does not specifically ban gay marriage.
The law was enacted in 1913 when most states did not recognize interracial marriage. After the US Supreme Court ruled that laws barring interracial couples from marrying was illegal the Massachusetts statute fell into disuse.
Note: Read full article on 365gay.com
(Cape Town, South Africa) A speech by former Deputy President Jacob Zuma in which he called same-sex marriage an affront has drawn ire from LGBT rights groups. Zuma was removed from the deputy presidency after a court found he had had a "generally corrupt" relationship with a former aide but he remains a major force within the African National Congress and is a leading candidate to succeed Thabo Mbeki as president.
(SEVILLE, Spain) The Guardian reports that two male soldiers wed in Spain, sealing their union with gold rings and a long kiss. Alberto Linero, 27, and Alberto Sanchez, 24, both privates in the air force, wore dark blue dress uniforms with red and gold epaulets as they exchanged vows in a reception room at Seville's town hall - the first known wedding among same-sex members of the military since Spain legalized gay marriage last year. Read more...
(Pretoria, South Africa) A legal advisory board to the South African government is refusing to give its approval to legislation giving same-sex couples the right to marry and allowing gay and non gay couples who do not wish to marry the right to register their relationships.
Note: Discuss in forum: hereRead more...
(Cape Town, South Africa) As the South African government prepares to take up legislation to allow same-sex couples to marry a coalition of conservative churches is preparing to hold protests across the country.
KATHMANDU, August 24, 2006 – Two gay men are challenging the culture, tradition, family values and constitution of Nepal for the sake of their love. Read more...
