Same-sex couples in Doña Ana County, NM began receiving marriage licenses this morning after the county clerk announced he was issuing them based on a legal opinion endorsed earlier this year by the City of Santa Fe and a recent filing by the attorney general stating that New Mexico’s laws demanded that the state issue…
The first same-sex marriages have taken place in New Zealand following the successful passage of equal marriage legislation. According to the BBC, 31 couples were marrying today and about 1,000 same-sex couples in Australia planned to travel to the neighboring country to marry. Among the first couples tying the knot were Auckland couple Tash Vitali…
WASHINGTON — Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision striking down a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Social Security and Medicare benefits may soon be available to same-sex couples in the District of Columbia and the 13 states recognizing same-sex marriage. June 26, in United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court ruled Section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional, finding…
HONOLULU — Members of Hawaii’s Congressional delegation are uniting to express their support for marriage equality in Hawaii. Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz and Reps. Colleen Hanabusa and Tulsi Gabbard released statements of support, each urging Gov. Neil Abercrombie and the state legislature to pass the freedom to marry in Hawaii without delay. “We’re…
There appears to be no shortage of theories on why elected officials oppose same-sex marriage. Case in point? Ana Maria Jiménez Ortiz, an elected congresswoman from the Mexican political party PAN in Puebla argued in public that only couples who can look in each other’s eyes during sex should be eligible for marriage. “A marriage…
The recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have stirred up the LGBT community like never before. Many same-sex couples have already made a mad dash to City Hall, anxious to claim their rights to marriage and equal treatment under federal law. Others are unclear on what the changes mean for them, or are confused by the…
SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to revive Proposition 8, ending the last remaining legal challenge to same-sex marriage in the state. The Los Angeles Times reported that in its challenge before the state’s highest court ProtectMarriage, Prop. 8’s sponsors argued that a single judge lacked the authority to overturn a state…
Today, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced its plan to extend benefits to same-sex spouses of uniformed service members and Department of Defense civilian employees. The announcement stated: After a review of the department’s benefit policies following the Supreme Court’s ruling that Section Three of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional, and in…
PORTLAND, Ore. – In just 10 days, volunteers with Oregon Says I Do collected 37,211 signatures for the initiative that would make it legal for same-sex couples to marry in Oregon. Oregon Says I Do is the petition committee dedicated to qualifying the Freedom to Marry and Religious Protection Initiative for the November 2014 ballot….
Third Way and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), two Washington D.C.-based organizations who were heavily involved in crafting the strategy and messaging behind the recent surge in support for allowing gay couples to marry, have joined forces to tackle the movement’s next debate: overly broad religious exemptions to marriage and non-discrimination laws. Together with Anzalone…
