BY THOM SENZEE SAN DIEGO — A promise from San Diego Mayor Bob Filner to step up his work with groups such as Mayors for the Freedom to Marry if the Supreme Court does not strike down both DOMA and Prop. 8 was buried amid last week’s hubbub regarding the City’s contract with ConVis, the…
(CNN) — Edith Windsor, who filed the original case that could upend the Defense of Marriage Act, says just getting the case to this point is a kind of victory. “We’ve made a huge step forward and a huge difference in how people look at us,” she said. “And so, it’ll happen. Another year if…
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Obama administration has formally expressed its support of same sex marriage in California. It said in a legal brief on Thursday that gay and lesbian couples there have the same “equal protection” rights to wed, and that voters in the state were wrong to ban it, according to an administration official….
WASHINGTON – Today Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta has announced that the Department of Defense will be extending additional benefits to same-sex partners of servicemembers. Panetta also stated that while the Defense of Marriage Act still remains law the Department faced legal limitations in regard to extending full benefits. Panetta’s statement follows: “Seventeen months ago, the…
WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, announced today the formation of a business coalition made up of Fortune 500 and brand name companies that support ending federal discrimination against legally married gay and lesbian couples. Currently, because of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), lawfully married same-sex couples are not recognized by the federal government…
The Supreme Court released Monday the schedule of oral arguments for the sitting that begins March 18, showing that the two cases on same-sex marriage will be heard Tuesday, March 26, and Wednesday, March 27 reports Lyle Denniston of Scotusblog. The case on California’s “Proposition 8″ will come first, followed by the case on the…
NEW YORK (CNN) — A federal appeals court in New York on Thursday became the nation’s second to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, finding that the Clinton-era law’s denial of federal benefits to married same-sex couples is unconstitutional. The divisive act, which was passed in 1996, bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages and…
The Supreme Court released its list today of cases they will take up this session and none of the DOMA cases nor the federal Prop. 8 case is on the list. The American Foundation for Equal Rights writes: Today, the U.S. Supreme Court released the first list of cases it will hear this Term and…
WASHINGTON (CNN) – The divisive issue of same-sex marriage was expected to be discussed privately by the Supreme Court Monday, and the justices could soon announce if they will hear a constitutional challenge to a federal law denying financial benefits to gay and lesbian couples. An order from the court announcing whether they will take…
Joining his counterparts in New York and Connecticut, Vermont’s attorney general has requested that a federal court of appeals finds that the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutionally denies same-sex couples the right to marry. Attorney General William H. Sorrell said in a statement Friday that the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a…
