CALIFORNIA – The legal team challenging California’s same-sex marriage ban has announced that they have asked the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to lift a stay on a district court ruling that found Proposition 8 unconstitutional. Lead attorney Ted Olson said the motion has been filed with the California Supreme Court to schedule oral…
MARYLAND – The chairman of the Maryland Republican Party is targeting Democrats in an effort to kill a gay marriage bill after a key Senate committee had approved the measure and sent it along to the full Senate, which is expected to act on the bill. The Washington Post reported that Alex X. Mooney, a…
ISRAEL – Dori Spivak, an attorney and former Civil Rights Association chairman, has become the first openly gay judge to be appointed in Israel. Spivak, the deputy director of the Tel Aviv University’s law clinics and a longtime gay rights activist, has made no comment on his new job despite his appointment receiving widespread praise…
IRELAND – Irish Fine Gael politician Lucinda Creighton has been heavily criticized for her views on gay marriage. Despite being a party spokeswoman for equality issues, Creighton wrote on Twitter recently that she did not believe gay couples should be allowed to marry. She also said she “fully supports” civil partnerships but that “marriage is…
BOTSWANA – A politician in Botswana has stated that he agrees with Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe’s views on homosexuality. Pono Moatlhodi, who is the deputy speaker of the Botswana National Assembly, told a January meeting on HIV prevention that he would “never tolerate” gays and lesbians. The Botswana Gazette reported that Mr Moatlhodi said: “On…
ITALY – Outspoken Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has gone on record as saying that gay couples will never be permitted to marry. “Gays will never have marriages equal to traditional family values because there is only one family. This government will not allow singles or gays to adopt,” said Berlusconi at a Catholic conference…
POLAND – A group of gay Polish soccer fans have requested that organizers of the 2012 European Soccer Championships provide separate seating for gay spectators to protect them from harassment and violence. According to the Associated Press, the group Teczowa Trybuna 2012 (Rainbow Stand 2012) have said, “During trips to matches of our beloved clubs…
UNITED KINGDOM – Hundreds of people gathered outside the locked doors of the John Snow pub in Soho, London last week and staged a mass kiss-in at 7 p.m. as a protest at the London pub after a gay couple claimed they were thrown out for kissing. Several weeks ago two men were asked to…
Gay sailor says anonymous sources do not reflect navy’s official decision The Associated Press has reported, “the Navy says it wrongly accused Navy dog handler Michael Toussaint of singling out a gay sailor for hazing at kennels he ran in Bahrain.” However, that gay sailor, San Diegan Joseph Rocha, says the AP has their facts…
Diversionary Theatre continues 25th Anniversary Year with the West Coast premiere of Fair Use by Sarah Gubbins. The show opens Feb. 26 and runs through March 13. Sexual politics collide with legal brinksmanship in this whip-smart romantic comedy. While attorneys at a Chicago law firm take on a high-profile plagiarism case, their after-hours romantic triangle…
