Tag: marriage equality

An anti-LGBTQ clerk is urging Tennessee clerks to disregard the Supreme Court ruling for marriage equality. Clerks in Tennessee have been operating under the assumption — one widely held by just about every legal authority — that they’re bound by the U.S. Supreme Court to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but one anti-LGBTQ lawyer

Northern Ireland’s rainbow community is finally celebrating the legalisation of same-sex marriage, after over a decade of fighting for the same rights as the rest of the United Kingdom. The new law which was passed by the U.K Parliament follows over a decade of attempting to move forward from the Civil Partnership legislation that had

Two years after Australia legally recognised same-sex marriage Australia Post is releasing two commemorative stamps to mark the historic legislation. The Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 passed Parliament on December 7 and received royal assent from the Governor-General the following day. The legislation followed a voluntary postal vote with 61.6 per cent

A Congressional race that pits a homophobic minister against a gay millennial would attract attention no matter where it was happening. But in this case, the setting is probably last place you’d expect: New York City. Rubén Díaz Sr., a 76-year-old Pentecostal minister, is running against Ritchie Torres, a 31-year-old gay man, for a seat being vacated by Rep. José Serrano. Serrano, the longest serving Hispanic member of Congress, is retiring due to illness. Both Díaz and Torres are Democrats currently...

When Karrie met Casey one balmy July night in Colorado, it was love at first sight. Of course, things didn’t take off immediately. A few months later, when the couple finally met up for coffee, it seemed this might be the life-altering relationship the two had hoped for. Casey had migrated to Colorado from Southern California with her young son and daughter, while Karrie hailed from a large Italian family on the East Coast. Both worked in the field of mental health...

The death of former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens underscores just how far the Supreme Court has come on LGBTQ rights–and just how far the Court has regressed. Stevens, who died yesterday at the age of 99, served on the Court for 35 years, retiring in 2010. A registered Repubilcan, Stevens was appointed to the Court by Gerald Ford. At the time, Stevens was considered a conservative–at least by 1970s standards. But as a justice, Stevens eventually emerged as the...

Tennessee lawmakers tried to sneak through a bill that would severely curtail the availability of officiants for marriage ceremonies, including same-sex weddings, but targets of the move have struck back. SB1377/HB0213 restricts exactly who can perform a marriage ceremony, prohibiting, “persons receiving online ordinations from solemnizing the rite of matrimony.” The Tennessee code, last updated in 1998, did not address anyone ordained online, such as from the American Marriage Ministries or the Universal Life Church. The newly-amended code, which was supposed...

Unlike the rest of the United Kingdom and Ireland, and most of Western Europe, Northern Ireland (the part of Ireland still connected to the UK) does not have marriage equality for its LGBT+ citizens. The reasons for this are long and varied, but essentially Northern Ireland has the responsibility of governing its own laws and legislation on things like human rights, welfare, policing etc.  Much like any US state, it has its own legislative assembly to debate these matters and...

Lawmakers in Tennessee just struck a low blow to marriage equality by banning anyone ordained online from officiating weddings. As of July 1, only priests, rabbis, ministers, people designated through a temple or church, and public officials can perform weddings, courtesy of a totally unnecessary new law. Critics of the law claim that it will unjustly affect LGBTQ couples who, by and large, have their weddings performed by friends and family members and outside churches in the state. By prohibiting online ordination...

The Supreme Court’s decided to punt on the case of a baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. That only delays the inevitable day of judgment. But perhaps the biggest impact on marriage equality came in an entirely different case and Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion in it. The case in question was about legal double jeopardy, in which you can’t be tried twice for the same crime. An Alabama man who had faced both federal...

Taiwan is the first nation in Asia with marriage equality.The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America's largest LGBT rights advocate, congratulated marriage advocates in Taiwan."We congratulate the Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan and all the advocates who worked tirelessly to bring same-sex marriage to Taiwan," Jean Freedberg, HRC director of global partnerships, said in a statement. "At a time when LGBTQ people's lives are threatened around the globe just because of who they are or who they love, this victory is a...

Alabama lawmakers have passed legislation that would eliminate marriage licenses in the state. The measure is widely seen as a punitive attack on the LGBTQ community after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage years ago. A license would no longer be required to get married under the new law. Instead, couples would file an affidavit that they were married and it would be recorded. Judges in the state have been using a loophole to refuse to issue marriage licenses to gay...

The Republican running against out lawmaker Danica Roem has come under fire for her anti-LGBTQ activism that included arguing that marriage equality is a “morally repugnant practice” comparable to slavery. Kelly McGinn (R) is running for Virginia’s 13th District seat in the state’s House of Delegates against Danica Roem, the first transgender person elected to a state legislature after winning her election in 2017. McGinn has been a lawyer, a Congressional staffer for far-right senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), and a movement...

Passage makes Taiwan the first nation in Asia with same-sex marriage.Roughly two years ago, Taiwan's Constitutional Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry and gave parliament two years to amend or enact new marriage laws.The legislation goes into effect on May 24.Conservatives campaigned against passage. Last year, a majority (67%) of voters rejected same-sex marriage.Lawmakers considered three bills. Two favored by conservatives would extend civil unions to same-sex couples, rather than marriage.While lawmakers approved a bill that...