Judge supports another marriage of a gay couple in Argentina
Posted on Feb 24, 2010 at 12:05 pm
A judge on Tuesday authorized two men to marry in Buenos Aires in what would be the country's second marriage of a gay couple.
In December, two Argentine men, Alex Freyre and Jose Maria Bello, became the first gay couple to legally marry in heavily Roman Catholic Latin America, after the governor of southernmost Tierra del Fuego province allowed them to wed in the provincial capital, Ushuaia.
Divorce in Texas?
Posted on Feb 22, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Barbara Ann Radnofsky, the 2010 Democratic candidate for Attorney General of Texas, writes that two women should be able to divorce in Texas because the state’s family code says the “law of this State applies to persons married elsewhere who are domiciled in this state.”
"The Texas AG, if he agrees that gay people are 'persons', must read Texas divorce law which applies to 'persons,' not 'marriages.' Then, our Texas laws governing custody, support and community property, for example, would apply."
Fresh Litigation Route For Freedom to Marry in New York
Posted on Feb 21, 2010 at 06:50 pm
Candidate for New York Attorney General, Eric Dinallo, writes about gay couples getting around New York's ban on the freedom to marry by being wed in states or countries that do honor marriage equality and then having those marriages recognized in New York under a 2008 ruling.
"The differing treatment of couples who can leave the state to get married and those without the means to travel only serves to underline the irrationality of the current state of the law. Indeed, it may provide a new basis to challenge the unjust 2006 ruling in the courts [that denied the freedom to marry]."
Mexico’s Supreme Court Upholds Freedom to Marry Law
Posted on Feb 21, 2010 at 06:17 pm
Mexico's Supreme Court on Friday rejected three out of five challenges to Mexico City's freedom to marry law, El Universal reported. The court said the challenges brought by the governors of three states controlled by the conservative PAN Party were “clearly inappropriate.”
The court has yet to review challenges by two additional states – Sonora and Jalisco – and another by the federal government of President Felipe Calderon.
Massachusetts challenges federal so-called Defense of Marriage Act
Posted on Feb 21, 2010 at 12:27 pm
A federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman forces Massachusetts, the first state in the country to legalize the freedom to marry, to discriminate against same-sex couples, state Attorney General Martha Coakley argues in court papers.
In court papers filed in US District Court on Thursday, Coakley asked a judge to deem the law unconstitutional without holding a trial on the lawsuit. The law forces Massachusetts “to engage in invidious discrimination against its own citizens in order to receive and retain federal funds in connection with two joint federal-state programs,’’ Coakley said in the court filing.
Court: Louisiana must put two adoptive fathers on document
Posted on Feb 20, 2010 at 06:02 pm
Louisiana must put both fathers' names on the birth certificate of a boy adopted by a same-sex couple, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. A three-judge panel unanimously upheld a district judge's ruling, ordering the state registrar to quickly issue a new certificate for the boy identified as "Infant J," and "J.C. A.-S."
U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey found that the law was so clear that no trial was needed. Louisiana's law requires the state to list adoptive parents' names. Because New York law allows adoption by unmarried couples, Louisiana had to follow that law in writing the new certificate, he wrote.
Texas divorce case draws attorney general’s attention
Posted on Feb 16, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has intervened in a first-of-its-kind Travis County divorce case, arguing that the women involved, who were married in another state, may not be legally granted a divorce because Texas law defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Initiatives trample rights, California Justice Moreno says
Posted on Feb 16, 2010 at 11:26 am
Ballot initiatives have been used to mislead the public and trample on the rights of minorities, says Carlos Moreno, a Freedom to Marry Voice for Equality and the only California Supreme Court justice who voted to overturn the state's ban on the freedom to marry. "It's of great concern to me that certain basic rights, such as equal protection, the right to privacy and other fundamental rights, can be subject to change by simple majority vote," Moreno said in an interview last week while preparing to accept a gay-rights group's Equality Leadership Award.
Remembering a “Loving Spirit” This Valentine’s Day
Posted on Feb 15, 2010 at 12:57 pm
Rev. Irene Monroe takes the occasion of Valentine's Day to remember the 1967 Loving v. Virginia U.S. Supreme Court decision that "set the stage for defining marriage as a civil right. May the 'Loving -spirit' of Mildred Loving and the justice acts of St. Valentine be with us on this day."
Remarks by California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno at EQCA Awards dinner Saturday night
Posted on Feb 15, 2010 at 11:46 am
For LGBT people nationwide, California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno (a Freedom to Marry Voice for Equality) is a profile in courage. Los Angeles native Moreno stuck to his principles and was the lone dissenting voice when the California high court voted to uphold Prop 8. Saturday night, Equality California honored Justice Moreno at a gala at City Hall in San Francisco - read his remarks.