Tag Archives: marriage equality

Courthouse News reports: Poland should honor the rights of same-sex couples who got married in other EU countries, a legal adviser to the bloc’s top court said Thursday. EU advocate general Jean Richard de la Tour wrote in an advisory opinion for the European Court of Justice that the country should register the marriage certificate of two Polish citizens who …

The New York Times reports: State senators in North Dakota voted down a measure on Thursday calling for the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its decision that established a national right to same-sex marriage, an issue that has divided the Republicans who control that legislative chamber. State Representative Bill Tveit, a Republican who sponsored the North Dakota resolution, cited the …

Courthouse News reports: The Sixth Circuit ruled late Thursday to uphold an award of damages against former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis, who was sued after refusing to issue two gay men a marriage license. The three-judge panel unanimously rejected Davis’ arguments that she was immune to the lawsuit and upheld a jury award of $100,000 in emotional damages to …

Billings’ NBC affiliate reports: A Senate joint resolution to oppose same-sex marriage and the 2015 Obergefell decision was tabled in the body’s Judiciary committee on Monday morning. Republicans in the Legislature sought to pass a formal resolution that Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court case that codified same-sex marriage into federal law, was “at odds with the Constitution of …

NPR reports: Hundreds of same-sex couples tied the knot across Thailand on Thursday, as the country became the first in Southeast Asia to legally recognize equal marriage. A luxury shopping mall in Bangkok hosted over 150 same-sex weddings alone, as members of the LGBTQ+ community celebrated the landmark ruling. “I feel more secure in our life because we can be …

Rochester, New York’s PBS affiliate reports: Love and resilience were on full display this past weekend at the inaugural Big Gay Wedding Day, held at Rochester’s First Universalist Church. Organized by local Unitarian Universalist congregations, including First Unitarian Church of Rochester, First Universalist Church of Rochester and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Canandaigua, the free event offered LGBTQ couples the …

The Washington Post reports: President Joe Biden will honor former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney and 19 others on Thursday with the Presidential Citizens Medal, a tribute given to those who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or fellow Americans. Alongside Cheney, Biden will award Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Mississippi), who served as the chairman of the Jan. …

Via press release from Boulder County, Colorado: The historic Boulder County Courthouse has been designated a National Historic Landmark, recognizing its pivotal role in advancing LGBTQ+ rights in the United States. The courthouse became a beacon of equality and justice in 1975 when Boulder County Clerk Clela Rorex issued the first same-sex marriage license in the nation. On March 26, …

CNY Central reports: The administrative judge in Syracuse is removing Judge Felicia Pitts Davis from her role overseeing the Human Trafficking Intervention Court, linked with her alleged refusal to approve the marriage of two women, according to Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick. On Nov. 16, Pitts Davis performed the wedding for a heterosexual couple before walking out of the …

The Associated Press reports: Japan’s refusal to recognize same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, a high court ruled Friday, the latest victory for the LGBGQ+ community to add pressure on the reluctant government. Friday’s decision marks the eighth victory out of nine rulings since the first group of plaintiffs filed lawsuits in 2019. In Friday’s ruling, presiding Judge Takeshi Okada noted that …

The Syracuse Post-Standard reports: A Syracuse City Court judge recently refused to perform a wedding ceremony for a same-sex couple. Judge Felicia Pitts Davis was the assigned judge for arraignments on Saturday, Nov. 16, and two weddings were scheduled, according to the members of the legal community familiar with what happened. Pitts Davis performed the first wedding — a heterosexual …

The Associated Press reports: Former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson, who served two Republican presidents as one of the country’s best known conservative lawyers and successfully argued on behalf of same-sex marriage, died Wednesday. He was 84. The law firm Gibson Dunn, where Olson practiced since 1965, announced his death on its website. No cause of death was given. One …

Des Moines’ CBS affiliate reports: A local chaplain is helping dozens of same-sex couples across the state tie the knot before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House in January due to concerns about marriage equality protections under the new administration. Des Moines area chaplain Anitta Milloro said they’re working with more than 40 couples who want to get …

Colorado Public Radio reports: Amendment J, which takes language out of Colorado’s constitution that declared marriage only to be valid if it’s between a man and a woman, passed decisively Tuesday night. Voters put the ban into the state constitution in 2006, adding an amendment that stated, “Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or …

San Francisco’s ABC affiliate reports: California voters passed Proposition 3 to update the state constitution, removing the language that says marriage is between a man and a woman, NBC News projected Tuesday. With more than 43% of the votes counted, the “Yes” votes were overwhelmingly leading the race as of Tuesday night. In 2008, California voters approved Proposition 8, which …

The Associated Press reports: A second high court in Japan ruled on Wednesday that the government’s policy against same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, the latest in a series of decisions upholding plaintiffs’ demands for marriage equality. The Tokyo High Court called the ongoing ban “a groundless legal discrimination based on sexual orientation”, saying it violates the constitutional guarantee of right to …

The South China Morning Post reports: The Thai king has signed same-sex marriage into law, the official Royal Gazette said Tuesday, making Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia to recognise marriage equality. King Maha Vajiralongkorn gave royal assent to the new law, passed by parliament in June, which will take effect in 120 days – meaning the first gay …

“In 2011, Kamala Harris refused to defend California’s ban on same-sex marriage. She refused to argue that some families should have fewer rights than other families. It meant a lie. She was fighting for families, like mine. “Now, in 2022, I faced a similar situation when after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Michigan’s archaic abortion ban was resurrected. But Vice …

The Washington Post reports: Delegates at the Republican National Convention approved a new party platform Monday that embraces presumptive nominee Donald Trump’s political positions, including a leave-it-to-states approach to abortion restrictions that abandons the party’s long-standing explicit support for national restrictions on the procedure. The new platform also abandons the old document’s opposition same-sex marriage, saying only that “Republicans will …

The Washington Post reports: The 2024 Republican convention platform that aides to Donald Trump have drafted stops short of explicitly calling for a constitutional amendment to give embryos or fetuses constitutional rights and does not call for any national bans on abortion, confirming the concerns of antiabortion activists. The document, with a long introduction in the voice of Trump, the …