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MN: House Approves Funeral Rights for Gay/Lesbian Couples

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

On Tuesday, the Minnesota House approved a measure that allows gay and lesbian couples to control the remains of a loved one. If approved, it would be the first time the state has recognized gay couples as domestic partners.

House members approved the measure on a 78-to-55 vote.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. Eric Murphy, a Saint Paul Democrat, allows a surviving domestic partner to decide what to do with the remains of a loved one. Currently, only married spouses can make such decisions under Minnesota law. The measure also allows a partner the right to sue to recover funeral and hospital costs in the event of a wrongful death.

Full Story from On Top Magazine

Click here for gay marriage resources in Minnesota.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in funeral rights, gay couples, lesbian couples, minnesota | No Responses »
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Ireland: Official Says Public Places Must be Open to Gay Couples for Civil Partnerships

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

MINISTER OF State for the Office of Public Works Martin Mansergh warned that public facilities should not be closed to gay couples seeking to obtain a civil partnership. Some proposals, he said, had been made for what would, in effect, amount to discrimination, namely, that offices of the State should be allowed to withhold, or not participate in, civil partnership ceremonies.

“My view is that if one takes up a public appointment, one must carry out the duties that the law prescribes, and those duties will change from time to time as the law changes,’’ said Dr Mansergh.

“We should not give sanction, effectively, to homophobia for conscientious reasons.’’ Dr Mansergh was speaking during the resumed Second Stage debate on the Civil Partnership Bill 2009.

Full Story from the Irish Times

Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in civil partnerships, gay couples, lesbian couples, public facilities | No Responses »

UK: Conservative Leader Promises Equality For Gay/Lesbian Couples in Tax System

Monday, January 11th, 2010

Conservative leader David Cameron promised on Monday to offer tax breaks to same-sex couples engaging in civil partnerships, one of a raft of family-friendly measures he hopes will soften his party’s image.

Cameron, who will become prime minister if the Conservatives win a general election due by June, was seeking to bounce back after admitting last week he had “messed up” by appearing to go back on a pledge to give married couples tax breaks.

“We will recognise marriage, whether between a man and a woman, a woman and a woman or a man and a man, in the tax system — and yes, that is a commitment,” he said during a speech at think-tank Demos.

Full Story from Reuters: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE60A2QG20100111

Click here for gay marriage resources in England.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in civil partnerships, conservative, david cameron, gay couples, lesbian couples, promise, tax breaks, uk, united kingdom | No Responses »

NH: Gay Couples to Marry at Midnight

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

A handful of gay couples plan to celebrate the New Year and New Hampshire’s law legalizing gay marriage by exchanging their vows in front of the Statehouse just after midnight.

Mo Baxley of New Hampshire Freedom to Marry said Wednesday that a few couples plan to get married while others who got married in other states will celebrate with them.

Two years ago, about three dozen gay couples celebrated the state’s new civil union law by entering into unions at the Statehouse. The new marriage law grants no new rights to gays, but eliminates the separate status for civil unions.

Full Story from the Nashua Telegraph: http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/statenewengland/508717-227/nh-gay-couples-plan-midnight-statehouse-weddings.html

Click here for gay marriage resources in New Hampshire.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in gay couples, Gay Marriage, january 1st, midnight, new hampshire, nh, statehouse, weddings | No Responses »

Canada: Financial Planning Different for Gay/Lesbian Couples

Friday, December 18th, 2009

Over the past decade, major inroads have been made into broadening the rights of same-sex couples in Canada, but when it comes down to financial planning some advisers say important differences remain. Often it comes down to how same-sex couples manage their long-term financial goals and whether they have really addressed what would happen if one partner was to die without the proper estate documents in place.

Those potential pitfalls can usually be avoided if they’re anticipated and a financial plan is etched out, but sometimes that’s the hardest part, said Julia Chung, a branch manager at the Bank of Montreal in downtown Toronto.

Some lesbian, gay, transgendered or bisexual individuals – and even long-term couples – don’t like to discuss their personal lives with outsiders, or they omit crucial details that could impact their financial futures. Examples range from children borne from a previous relationship to the hopes of having children in their current one.

Full Story from the Winnipeg Free Press: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/finance/79550127.html

Click here for gay marriage resources in Canada.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in canada, financial planning, gay couples, lesbian couples, retirement | No Responses »

Artist Creating Portraits of Long-Term Gay/Lesbian Couples as Protest

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

I was dismayed earlier this month when the New York State Senate voted down the gay marriage bill, and I decided to interview and paint long-standing gay couples, both men and women, and ask them about their stories and their relationships and what marriage means to them. This is the first of the series.

On a recent rainy afternoon in Brooklyn, I sat down to talk with writer and communications specialist Nancy Goldstein and syndicated cartoonist Joan Hilty, whose marriage in Provincetown in May of 2004 has been recognized in New York State since July of 2006. With their dog Juno trying to get in on the conversation, Nancy and Joan talked about love and marriage.

Joan: We met online in the early, early days of internet dating, in mid-1999. It was on a lesbian/gay dating website called Edwina.com. Its icon was a little guy dressed up as your “Aunt Edwina who only wants the best for you”. You could browse other people’s personals, and only get an idea of them through the quality of their writing because there were barely any pictures up yet or videos or songs or anything.

Full Story from Drawger: http://www.drawger.com/zinasaunders/index.php?article_id=9369

Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in artist, gay couples, Gay Marriage, lesbian couples, marriage equality, portraits, protest, zinnia saunders | No Responses »

NH: Gay/Lesbian Couples Can Marry As of January 1st

Monday, December 14th, 2009

A new era begins in New Hampshire on Jan. 1 when gays and lesbians can begin to legally marry. Although Gov. John Lynch said he personally opposes marriage for same-sex couples, he signed legislation into law on June 3 that will allow gays and lesbians to tie the knot.

Marriage will replace civil unions, which have been legal in the state since Jan. 1, 2008. Couples who have civil unions can choose to convert them to marriages by filling out paperwork with their local governments. If they do nothing, their civil unions will still convert to marriages on Jan. 1, 2011, and couples can then obtain marriage licenses.

City and town clerks began to distribute applications in October.

Full Story from Edge Boston: http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=100029

Click here for gay marriage resources in New Hampshire.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in begins, gay couples, Gay Marriage, Janusry 1st, lesbian couples, marriage equality, new hamshipre, nh | No Responses »

WA: Everything But Marrige Law Takes Effect Thursday

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

On Thursday, it will be 30 days since Election Day. Big deal, you say? It is a big deal. As John Marsh, Bob Teichman, Dee Peterson and others planning to celebrate outside the Snohomish County Courthouse know, the state’s new domestic partnership law takes effect Thursday.

Voters approved it last month by deciding the fate of Referendum 71, which was placed on the ballot by those opposed to expanded rights for state-registered domestic partners.

Seen as a direct vote on gay rights, R-71 bucked a national trend. Maine voters on Nov. 3 repealed a same-sex marriage law. In 2008, voters in California, Arizona and Florida eliminated the right of gay couples to marry or approved marriage-protection measures.

Full Story from Herald.net: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20091202/NEWS01/712029857

Click here for gay marriage resources in Washington State.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in domestic partner law, everything but marriage, gay couples, gay men, lesbian, lesbian couples, washington | No Responses »

Portugal: Likely to Pass Gay Marriage Early in 2010 – Video

Monday, November 30th, 2009

The gay community in Portugal is confident that, after much pressure, same-sex marriages will be allowed within a matter of months.

While neighbouring Spain permitted gay marriage almost five years ago, so far much of Portuguese society has staunchly opposed the concept.

However, it is thought the Socialist government may pass gay marriage or civil partnership into law as soon as early in the New Year.

Full Story from BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8385935.stm

Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in 2010, catholic church, gay couples, Gay Marriage, lesbian couples, portugal | No Responses »

New Study: Same Sex Couples Face Significant Disadvantages in Retirement

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

As same-sex couples are increasingly being granted rights similar to those of traditional marriages, many will be at a comparative disadvantage as they enter retirement.

The study by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law says gays and lesbians will have less retirement income and fewer ways to pass savings on to their families after their death. Merrill Lynch, a unit of Bank of America(BAC Quote), helped fund the report.

A large share of same-sex couples will be entering retirement in the next two decades, just as states open marriage and civil-union laws. There are about 1.2 million gay people living with a same-sex partner in America, according to the most recent U.S. Census.

Full Story from The Street: http://www.thestreet.com/story/10618376/1/same-sex-couples-not-so-golden-years.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEFI

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in 401k, disadvantages, gay couples, lesbian couples, retirement, same sx couples | No Responses »

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