Breitbart.com’s Shapiro: Hollywood’s ‘Hatred of Biblical Values’ will doom marriage equality

Media Matters for America’s latest post about how Breitbart.com Editor-At-Large Ben Shapiro predicted that Hollywood, which he credits with shifting American public opinion in favor of marriage equality, will soon push sentiment in the other direction. He bases this assertion on the assumption that the weddings of 33 same-sex and opposite-sex couples at the 56th annual…

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VA Home Loan Centers offers VA-backed mortgages to veterans married to same-sex partners

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…

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Lawsuit filed for marriage equality in Florida

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….

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New thesis reveals Finnish same-sex relations far more common, accepted prior to World War II

A thesis being funded by the Academy of Finland and to be argued  Jan. 24 at the Department of History of the European University  in Florence, Italy suggests that men engaged in same-sex relations far more frequently and with far less reluctance than originally thought. According to a thesis by Sandra Hagman, “Finnish men were…

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Attorney General Eric Holder: ‘For purposes of federal law Utah same-sex marriages will be recognized as lawful’

WASHINGTON— Attorney General Eric Holder issued the following statement today on the status of same-sex marriages performed in the state of Utah: “Last June, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision – in United States v. Windsor – holding that Americans in same-sex marriages are entitled to equal protection and equal treatment under the law. …

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Supreme Court stops same-sex marriages in Utah

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….

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HRC on Utah’s same-sex marriage appeal: ‘Defending discrimination is indefensible’

WASHINGTON – The Utah Attorney General’s office has announced they would be continuing their appeal of a federal judge’s decision allowing marriage for lesbian and gay couples. With no other details, the AG’s office announced that they will bring in outside counsel at the expense of taxpayers.  HRC Vice President for Communications Fred Sainz issued the following…

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NM Supreme Court ruling extends same-sex marriage statewide

With lesbian and gay couples having married over the past several months in many New Mexico counties, today the state Supreme Court ruled to allow same-sex couples throughout the state to continue making lifelong commitments through marriage. This makes New Mexico the first state in the Southwest with marriage equality and the 17th state nationwide….

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Treasury notice advances federal tax equality for same-sex married couples

From the U.S. Department of the Treasury: The Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Windsor last June, invalidating a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act, has given rise to crucial protections to same-sex married couples nationwide. In August, Treasury and IRS helped to clarify the federal tax implications of Windsor by determining that…

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Statement by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on same-sex benefits

Statement by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on same-sex benefits, released by the U.S. Department of Defense today: On Oct. 31, I called on the chief of the National Guard Bureau to work with several states to fully implement Department of Defense policy by providing DoD identification cards to all eligible military spouses, regardless of sexual orientation.  Following…

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