On Friday the Supreme Court of the United States announced its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. The majority (Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan) held that the Due Process Clause of the 5th Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment guarantee marriage equality for same-sex couples in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories of the United States. The USA is now one of 21 countries with nationwide marriage equality.
Posts Tagged ‘GLBT’
Supreme Court: Love Wins, 5 to 4.
June 27, 2015Idaho Same-Sex Marriage Ban Struck Down
May 14, 2014
Federal Chief Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale has declared Idaho’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional and ordered the state to allow same-sex couples to marry and to recognize the marriages of couples who wed in other states.
U.S. Judge: Oklahoma Same-Sex Marriage is OK
January 15, 2014
On Tuesday Judge Terence Kern of the Northern District of Oklahoma ruled that the Sooner State’s amendment banning same-sex marriage is “an arbitrary, irrational exclusion of just one class of Oklahoma citizens from a governmental benefit” and violates the U.S. Constitution.
Don’t order the cake and orange blossoms just yet, though. The ruling is stayed pending appeal, so there won’t be gay nuptials in Muskogee any time soon.
Panic in the Beehive State!
December 21, 2013
There’s panic in the streets of Salt Lake City! U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby has ruled that a 2004 Utah state constitutional amendment and two state laws banning same-sex marriage violate gay and lesbian couples’ 14th Amendment rights to due process and equal protection under the law. The state measures claimed to be “defense of marriage” provisions, but the state failed to show that same-sex marriages would affect opposite-sex marriages in any manner, according to the judge.
After Judge Shelby ruled, the office of the Salt Lake County Clerk began issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples. Utah’s Attorney General immediately applied for an emergency stay to halt this while he filed an appeal. Utah’s governor and the Mormon Church hope the ruling will be reversed on appeal. The church may be preoccupied with another recent court ruling that decriminalized plural marriage in Utah.
Marriage Equality Legalized in Illinois
November 6, 2013
Marriage Equality will be the law in the Land of Lincoln. The Illinois Legislature voted to legalize same-sex marriage, and Governor Pat Quinn has pledged to sign the bill when it arrives on his desk.
More:
“Illinois lawmakers approve gay marriage in historic vote,” Monique Garcia and Ray Long, Chicago Tribune
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Image (“The Wedding Couple, after Abbot Handerson Thayer and Richard E. Miller”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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Supreme Court Strikes Down DOMA. Sort of.
June 26, 2013
The Supreme Court has ruled. Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. Same-sex couples married in states where it is legal must receive the same federal health, tax, Social Security and other benefits that heterosexual couples receive. Other aspects of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act remain, and only 13 states and the District of Columbia believe civil marriage is a civil right, so legal and legislative battles will continue.
Portman: Conversion of Convenience
March 15, 2013
Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) bravely decided to reverse his staunch opposition, and support same-sex marriage.
After his son came out.
Two years after.
A half-year after he was passed over as GOP vice presidential candidate.
9 years after voting for a constitutional amendment banning marriage equality.
17 years after voting for the anti-equality Defense of Marriage Act.
Free Elmo!
November 14, 2012
“The man who accused Kevin Clash, the voice and puppeteer of the Sesame Street character Elmo, of an under-age sexual relationship has recanted that claim, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
The reversal came a day after the claim was published by the gossip Web site TMZ, threatening Mr. Clash’s reputation and alarming parents and other fans of the beloved children’s television franchise.”
Maryland Chooses Love
November 7, 2012
In a remarkable act of decency and understanding, the voters of the state of Maryland approved legal status for same-sex civil marriage. In a political year marked by hate speech and fear-mongering, it’s a significant triumph for tolerance and love.
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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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Mary Cheney Marries
June 23, 2012
It was a June wedding for Mary Cheney and her longtime partner Heather Poe in Washington DC last Friday. The happy couple, who have two children, were congratulated by Ms. Cheney’s father, former vice president Dick Cheney.
Ms. Cheney, a conservative political consultant, and Ms. Poe, a former park ranger, met 20 years ago while playing ice hockey. The two live in Virginia but married in the District of Columbia, one of six U.S. jurisdictions where same-sex marriage is legal.
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Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-dqo
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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