Ruling on transgender people may help gay rights, say Indian lawyers

NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court’s ruling recognizing transgender people as the third sex might pave the way for decriminalizing same-sex relations in India, say gay-rights lawyers and activists in India, GayAsiaNews reports. In a landmark ruling on April 15, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices KS Radhakrishnan and AK Sikri directed that transgender people…

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Indian Supreme Court recognizes transgender people as third sex

NEW DELHI — Today, India’s highest court has directed that transgender people be recognized as the third sex, besides male and female and be accorded social acceptability and an equal standing under Indian law, reports GayAsia News.com. “The spirit of the Constitution is to provide equal opportunity to every citizen to grow and attain their…

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U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear NM anti-gay photographer case

The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to decide if a New Mexico wedding photographer was within her rights when she refused to take photographs at a same-sex commitment ceremony. Without giving any reasons , the court said it would not review a decision by the New Mexico Supreme Court that the denial of service violated…

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Indian High Court to reconsider ban on same-sex relations

The Indian Supreme Court April 3 has agreed to consider the plea by gay activists to reconsider its verdict that recriminalized same-sex relations. Naz Foundation, a voluntary organization fighting for gay rights and the repeal of the colonial-era anti-gay law, had filed a curative petition requesting the Supreme Court to “correct” its verdict. A bench…

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Marriage equality: it’s not over ’til it’s over

The string of victories for marriage equality since the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decisions on the Defense of Marriage Act and Prop. 8 have the LGBT community understandably excited, and some pundits surprisingly unhinged. David Cohen and Dahlia Lithwick of Slate have declared “It’s over” of the court debate. Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post’s blog…

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‘207 Against 377’: building momentum against India’s Supreme Court judgement recriminalizing same-sex behavior

NEW DELHI– More than 100 community stakeholders and activists came together today for a national consultation on Section 377 and the launch of Pehchan’s new advocacy campaign, ‘207 against 377’. The ‘207 against 377’ campaign initiated by Pehchan brings together the 207 organizations implementing the Pehchan program on a common platform to undertake advocacy at…

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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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Same-sex couples break marriage records in Utah; state to appeal ruling to U.S. Supreme Court

The number of marriages in the state of Utah have broken all records since a federal judge overturned Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage a week ago. According to a report in  The Salt Lake Tribune, as of close of business Thursday, more than 1,225 marriage licenses had been issued in Utah since last Friday and…

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