(CNN) — Jim Scales and William Tasker have been a couple for 35 years, but only on Tuesday were they able to legally marry, thanks to Maryland’s new same-sex marriage law, which went into effect with the new year. Maryland was among three states this past November where voters approved laws allowing same-sex marriages. At…
CNN — A chorus of whoops and cheers greeted Steven Bridges and Michael Snell as they exited City Hall in Portland, Maine, early Saturday as the first same-sex couple to wed under a new law. Supporters of the law allowing same-sex marriage — passed by a referendum in November — jumped up and down, flashed…
Anti-gay deputy court clerks in St Mary’s County, Md., will stop performing marriages when same-sex marriage becomes legal in the state next week. Pink News reported that Joan Williams, clerk of the St Mary’s Circuit Court, told the Washington Examiner that some of her employees are opposed to equal marriage for religious reasons. As a result…
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Supreme Court will tackle the contentious issue of same-sex marriage and hear two constitutional challenges to state and federal laws dealing with the recognition of gay and lesbian couples to legally wed. In a one-page order on Friday, the court took on what will be one of the most important issues…
WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is calling on the Maryland Marriage Alliance (MMA) to return the $10,000 donation of Michael Peroutka, an active white supremacist and secessionist sympathizer who was one of the three largest individual donors to the campaign against marriage equality in Maryland. HRC also calls on the Maryland Catholic Conference,…
WASHINGTON – Nearly a month after nationwide elections delivered historic victories for marriage equality across the country, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), released a polling report showing a new, pro-marriage equality voting bloc drove ballot measure victories in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington. “This year, our adversaries tried to use marriage equality to whip up…
The Roman Catholic Church hierarchy funneled $2 million into efforts to advance discrimination against LGBT people in the four marriage ballot states of Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington this election cycle. An updated HRC report provides a snapshot of just how much money the Church, along with its close ally the National Organization for Marriage…
WASHINGTON – The nation’s leading anti-gay group, The National Organization for Marriage (NOM), saw a steep decline in the amount of money it raised in 2011 – dropping to $6.2 million from the $9.1 million it raised the previous year. Just two donors were responsible for funding 75 percent of the anti-gay group – the…
LOS ANGELES – The election has not only brought marriage rights to same-sex couples in Maine, Maryland and Washington but it will also boost the economies of the three states according to a new report by the Williams Institute. The report estimates that extending marriage to same-sex couples will generate more than $166 million in…
WASHINGTON – With school bullying reaching epidemic proportions through social media, a new, 21-minute film and bullying prevention program is saving lives nationwide. Entitled Acception, which means to accept and appreciate differences, the storyline follows four students as they perform a class assignment on bullying and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues. Using original animations…
