PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced today in a legal filing that Measure 36 “cannot withstand a federal constitutional challenge under any standard of review,” and that the State defendants in Rummell v. Kitzhaber will not defend the ban that excludes same-sex couples from marriage. The campaign also released updated polling today,…
Social Security has published new instructions that allow the agency to process some Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims by individuals who are in a same-sex marriage. These instructions come in response to last year’s Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Windsor which found Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. SSI is a program…
One of the major areas of change facing San Diego-based VA Home Loan Centers and other agencies responsible for administering the VA Home Loan Guarantee to veterans is the question of same-sex marriage. Under federal law, veterans and their spouses are eligible to apply jointly for mortgages backed by the Veterans Administration, whereas unmarried couples…
In an announcement, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has said that his office will join the growing consensus of opinion in arguing that the state ban on marriage for lesbian and gay couples should be overturned. There are two cases in federal court challenging the Commonwealth’s marriage amendment and Herring is urging the courts to rule…
Today, six same-sex couples and Equality Florida Institute are filing a lawsuit in Florida state court in Miami seeking the freedom to marry. The lawsuit argues that Florida’s laws barring same-sex couples from marriage violate the United States Constitution by denying them the legal protections and equal dignity that having the freedom to marry provides….
NEW YORK – With Valentine’s Day just a month away, many LGBT couples will celebrate their love by forming a legal union. A City Hall wedding has always had a certain element of grit and hipness, but can it be fabulous? At Duane Street Hotel in Downtown New York, that answer is a resounding yes,…
Today U.S. District Judge Terence Kern ruled that Oklahoma’s ban on marriage equality is unconstitutional. His ruling is stayed pending appeal, meaning marriages will not occur immediately in the state. Two plaintiff couples, Mary Bishop and Sharon Baldwin and Gay Phillips and Susan Barton, filed their case, Bishop v. Oklahoma, in the U.S. District Court for…
Newly ordained staff at Long Beach’s Hotel Maya are set to officiate walk-in wedding ceremonies at the hotel amid the lush landscape and tropical gardens of a romantic waterfront setting. Hotel Maya’s all-new walk-in wedding package is a fast and easy choice for couples recently engaged from the holidays, long-term couples benefiting from same-sex marriage…
Today the United States Supreme Court issued a stay temporarily suspending the issuance of marriage licenses to lesbian and gay couples in Utah. Hundreds of couples have been married since U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby ruled Dec. 20 that the state’s ban on such unions violated constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process….
Yes, it actually has been six months since the historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling struck down Prop. 8, restoring same-sex marriage to California; we trust and hope forever! We all remember where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news, along with the DOMA decision. For me, I was glued to…
