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OH, USA: Attorney General Seeks Dismissal of Lawsuit Against Marriage Equality Measure

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

Ohio’s attorney general has asked the state Supreme Court to dismiss a lawsuit by a group that wants to keep a pro-marriage equality proposal off the ballot.

Atty. Gen. Mike DeWine (pictured) last month approved the language of the measure, which would repeal a state constitutional amendment that bans same-sex marriage and replace it with an amendment permitting marriage between any two people regardless of gender.

DeWine said that while he opposes same-sex marriage, his opinion has no bearing on the matter. He was simply performing the duties of his office in certifying that the wording is a “fair and truthful statement of a proposed constitutional amendment” to go before voters, The Columbus Dispatch reports.

Full Story from The Advocate

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Tags: attorney general, initiative, lawsuit, marriage equality, mike dewine, ohio, supreme court

MN, USA: Supreme Court Won’t Hear Marriage Ban Lawsuit

Friday, April 20th, 2012

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to review a case challenging the constitutionality of the state’s ban on gay marriage, paving the way for the suit to proceed to trial, the MinnPost.com reported.

The case was filed on May 11, 2010 by three gay couples: Doug Benson and Duane Gajewski; Thomas Trisko and John Rittman; and Jessica Dykhuis and Lindzi Campbell along with their 2-year-old son Sean.

Benson also serves as executive director of Marry Me Minnesota.

Full Story from On Top Magazine

Click here for gay wedding resources in Minnesota.

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Tags: ban, Gay Marriage, lawsuit, minnesota, supreme court

MT, USA: State Supreme Court Hears Domestic Partnership Case

Saturday, April 14th, 2012

The American Civil Liberties Union today appealed a district-court ruling dismissing the same-sex domestic partnership case, Donaldson and Guggenheim v. State of Montana, to the Montana Supreme Court:

“The Montana Constitution guarantees fair and equal treatment to all people, including gay and lesbian couples,” said lead attorney, James Goetz, of the Bozeman, MT, law firm Goetz, Gallik & Baldwin, who is acting as a cooperating attorney.

“This case is about giving loving, committed couples the recognition they deserve and ensuring that all families can thrive in Montana. Domestic partnerships are a way for the Montana Constitution’s guarantees of human dignity and protection for all people to be upheld for same-sex couples.”

Full Story from Towleroad.com

Click here for gay wedding resources in Montana.

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Tags: aclu, domestic partnership, gay couples, montana, supreme court

Michelle Obama to Gay Community: President Chooses Supreme Court Justices

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

Michelle Obama is reminding voters that their choice for president will affect the fate of marriage equality, since the president makes appointments to the Supreme Court.

The first lady campaigned for her husband Monday in New York City. At a TriBeCa fund-raiser hosted by Robert DeNiro and his wife, Mrs. Obama stressed the importance of the next four years for the Supreme Court. “Let us not forget what [the Supreme Court's] decisions — the impact those decisions will have on our lives for decades to come — on our privacy and security, on whether we can speak freely, worship openly, and, yes, love whomever we choose.”

Full Story from The Advocate

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Tags: marriage equality, michelle obama, president, supreme court

US Supreme Court Likely to Have the Final Word on Marriage Equality

Monday, March 19th, 2012

Is a federal appeals court ruling that found California’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples unconstitutional a gamechanger in the movement for marriage equality?

On Feb. 7, the three-judge panel from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sitting in San Francisco upheld now-retired Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker’s 2010 ruling. The judges dismissed Proposition 8 proponents’ arguments that Vaughn should have recused himself from the case because he was in a long-term relationship with another man. The court also found that the defendants had legal standing to challenge Vaughn’s ruling under California law, even though state officials declined to defend Prop 8.

“Today the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, as the courts have repeatedly throughout our nation’s history, that singling out a class of citizens for discriminatory treatment is unfair, unlawful and violates basic American values,” said Chad Griffin, president of the American Foundation for Equal Rights’ Board of Directors. “Like many other Americans, our plaintiffs want nothing more than to marry the person they love. Committed, loving couples and their families should not be denied this most fundamental freedom.”

Full Story from Edge on the Net

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Tags: Gay Marriage, marriage equality, supreme court, united states, usa

MD: Supreme Court to Hear Lesbian Divorce Case

Sunday, March 18th, 2012

Jessica Port and Virginia Anne Cowan had settled on San Francisco as the place to turn their two-year engagement into a marriage, taking advantage of an opportunity in 2008 for same-sex couples to wed there.

They flew from their home in the District of Columbia, had a courthouse ceremony and played tourist in the city for a few days.

Two years later, the relationship in tatters, Port filed for divorce in Maryland, where she had bought a home. The women had already divided their belongings, didn’t hire lawyers, and they remained on terms so amicable that “we sat right next to each other at the divorce hearing,” Port recalled.

Full Story from the Baltimore Sun

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Tags: divorce, lesbian couple, maryland, supreme court

Supreme Court Turns Down NOM’s Appeal in Maine Campaign Finance Disclosure Case

Monday, February 27th, 2012

The U.S. Supreme Court announced on Monday it won’t hear a case brought by the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage challenging a Maine law requiring the organization to reveal its donors.

The high court posted a notice on its website indicating it wouldn’t hear the case, known as National Organization for Marriage v. McKee, without providing comment. The decision means NOM no longer has any avenue of appeal in the case.

NOM, among the most high-profile organizations opposing same-sex marriage, asked the Supreme Court to take the case after the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of the Maine disclosure laws.

Full Story From the Washington Blade

Gay friendly wedding vendors in Maine

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Tags: finance disclosure, maine, marriage equality, nom, supreme court

Analysis: Why Kennedy Will Support Prop 8 Ruling

Friday, February 17th, 2012

With the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last week that California’s Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, the debate on the constitutionality of marriage rights is hurtling toward the Supreme Court with increasing velocity. If and when the case reaches the Supreme Court, the decision will depend greatly on Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Following the Appeals Court ruling last week, the next step for the case is for the backers of Proposition 8 to file an appeal. They can appeal the ruling to one of two places: a larger panel of judges from the Ninth Circuit or directly to the Supreme Court of the United States. Appealing to a larger panel of the circuit court, however, is essentially just a pit stop on the way to the Supreme Court, since another Ninth Court ruling — even by a larger panel — can still be appealed to our nation’s highest court.

Once the case reaches the Supreme Court though, there is no guarantee the Justices will hear it. The Supreme Court receives thousands of requests to hear cases each year, and only chooses a small percentage of those to hear and rule on, based on which cases they think actually concern constitutional issues. For the case to be heard, four of the nine justices must vote to put the case on the Court’s calendar.

Full Story from City Watch LA

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Tags: antonin kennedy, marriage equality, prop 8, supreme court

DOMA and Prop 8: An Analysis

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

Meanwhile, at the Legion of Doom… the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is dying a slow death from a thousand cuts. The Ninth Circuit’s decision in Perry v. Brown is a great victory and a fine statement for equality, but so was Judge Tauro’s decision in Gill v. OPM, the Justice Department’s brief in Golinski v. OPM, and the Obama Administration’s refusal to defend DOMA because it fails the heightened scrutiny test the President thinks is appropriate for judging any state action that discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation.

That begs the question: Which case — Gill or Perry — would be a better vehicle for advancing the cause of gay rights at the Supreme Court? And, why?

AFTER THE JUMP, I try to think like a lawyer and a legal strategist and consider the questions up for review, the political context, and the positives and negatives of a progressive or traditionalist decision. I argue that though Gill offers the tidiest and least politically risky case for the current Supreme Court, the narrow holding in Perry opens a clear avenue for victory.

Full Story from Towleroad.com

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Tags: doma, marriage equality, prop 8, supreme court

India: Supreme Court to Hear Arguments Over Decision Legalizing Being Gay

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

A challenge of the decision to decriminalise homosexuality in India has begun at the country’s Supreme Court this week.

In 2009. the Delhi High Court overturned Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalised “carnal intercourse against the order of nature”.

The law was ruled to violate fundamental citizens’ rights under the Indian constitution. Requests to the Supreme Court to stay the judgement were denied and the law, introduced 150 years ago, was lifted.

Full Story from Pink News

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Tags: challenge, homosexuality, india, supreme court