Late last night by the Washington Senate Committee on Law and Justice voted four to three in favor of legislation that would specifically prohibit the state’s non-discrimination laws from protecting transgender people against discrimination in the use of sex-segregated facilities. The vote to advance SB 6548 comes shortly after a different Senate committee voted last week to…
Today’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) deadline for filing taxes can be a stark reminder for thousands of legally married same-sex couples of the inequality they face if they happen to live in a state that doesn’t recognize their marriage. While they are able to file jointly at the federal level, tax day can be even…
After the IRS decision to allow gay and lesbian married couples to file joint federal tax returns, we noted that a number of states would have to provide guidance because they require two contradictory things: (1) if you file a joint federal return, you must file a joint state return, and (2) same-sex married couples cannot…
The first time I did taxes for Greg and Linda, I was blindsided. They were married the summer before they became my clients. Both of them had only ever received refunds on their tax returns. And this year, they owed money to Uncle Sam. A lot, too. I, like my new clients, hadn’t really internalized…
There is strong support for equality in Mississippi despite the state’s “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” which took effect yesterday. Since January, eight cities have passed equality resolutions recognizing the dignity and worth of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. “This is proof that the people of Mississippi are further ahead than their leaders at…
What an agenda I had in the past week or so. June 16 I celebrated the 26th anniversary of my last birthday (my last birthday being my 29th), and enjoyed a diet-busting piece of chocolate cake from North Park’s Heavenly Desserts. Friday June 20, I went to Lake Cuyamaca to fish for trout and crappie….
When the United States Supreme Court ruled in 2003 in Lawrence vs. Texas on a 6-3 vote that the state had violated the liberty of the plaintiffs protected by substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment, it not only legalized consensual sex between two adults regardless of gender, but it overturned Bowers vs. Hardwick (1986)…
San Diego’s leaders and public officials flooded the hall at the Balboa Park Club Friday as Assemblywoman Toni Atkins was ceremonially sworn in as this city’s first speaker of the assembly and the California State Assembly’s first lesbian speaker. Even though Atkins’ official swearing in happened last month in Sacramento, a jubilant atmosphere filled the…
Today seven same-sex couples in North Dakota filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the state’s constitutional amendment banning marriage equality. Before today, North Dakota was the last remaining state with a marriage ban and no court case challenging it. The case was filed by Minneapolis attorney Josh Newville, who recently filed a similar case…
Many people have an interest in real estate; the ups and downs of the business are matters of general discussion at tables around the country. But how about real estate as a career? What kinds of jobs are out there and how do they measure up against other vocational choices? In this two part article,…
