Tag: same-sex couples

Even if the couple is married and both are listed on the birth certificate, the Trump administration says they may not be a family because they were "born out of wedlock." A Trump administration change to how immigration law is implemented has led to the children of same-sex couples being denied American citizenship. Several years ago, the State Department issued rules to how it would implement the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Before, under the INA, a child born to...

A 2017 court ruling means same-sex marriages will automatically become legal on 24 May At least 157 couples in Taiwan plan to wed on the first day same-sex marriage will be legal in Taiwan next month, according to a local rights organization. Same-sex marriage will automatically become legal in Taiwan on 24 May according to a Constitutional Court ruling in 2017. But, parliament plans to pass a bill to legislate the ruling ahead of the deadline. The government said last week it would...

It seems odd that Wife Swap could strike a blow for progress, but apparently it has: the Paramount network has announced the show will feature its first-ever episode featuring gay African-American dads. Terrell and Jarius Joseph, both age 26, will participate in an upcoming broadcast that sees the couple “swap” families with a heterosexual, ultra-religious couple and their eight children. The Josephs have two kids of their own, Ashton and Aria, born in 2017. The family resides in Atlanta. “It was...

(CNN)The Mormon church will no longer consider same-sex couples "apostates" and will allow their children to be baptized into the church without special approval from church leaders, the church said in a surprise announcement Thursday. The announcement was made by Dallin Oaks, a member of the church's First Presidency, at a conference in Salt Lake City. "Previously, our Handbook characterized same-gender marriage by a member as apostasy," the church said in a statement. "While we still consider such a marriage to...

LGBT people are typically depicted as city and coastal dwellers. And those who live in rural America are often characterized as people yearning to escape rural life for more acceptance in urban areas. But a new study from the Movement Advancement Project, a think tank that advocates for LGBT equality, shatters that stereotype. Between 2.9 million and 3.8 million LGBT people live in rural America, that's up to 5 percent of the rural population and up to 20 percent of the...

Some princes marry other princes. Get over it. The happiest place on Earth is also shaping up to be the gayest. Disney’s official Instagram shared a post this week featuring two men getting married at Orlando’s Walt Disney World resort to promote its Fairy Tale Weddings and Honeymoons program, a vacation package that includes a special ceremony with Disney characters and photos in front of Cinderella’s castle. Similar images of same-sex couples are also prominently featured on Disney’s official wedding website. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt38yDElNZM/?utm_source=ig_embed Comments on...

All children must learn about same sex couples regardless of their religious background, the head of Ofsted says. Hundreds of parents protested outside a Birmingham school against it teaching pupils about same sex couples and gender identity. Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman told the BBC it was crucial children were exposed to differences in society. She said it was important children knew "there are families that have two mummies or two daddies". Parents of Muslim and Christian faith have held demonstrations outside Parkfield...

Saint Helena has seen its first ever same-sex wedding. Swedish national Michael Wernstedt tied the knot with native citizen Lemarc Thomas in a beautiful ceremony on December 31 2018. The event came just over a year since Governor Lisa Phillips signed marriage equality into law on December 20 2017, the Saint Helena Independent has reported. Registrar Karen Yon oversaw the historic gay wedding on the tiny British territory, which is home to 4,500 people and sits in the South Atlantic Ocean island...

I’m the first to admit I was such a flamboyant little fairy growing up during my childhood. I yearned to play with my cousin’s Barbie dolls rather than the mostly-female action figures I had. Then, oh man, the Spice Girls came about and Lord, all I ever wanted was a Ginger Spice Doll! I cried in the middle of KB Toys when my mother refused to purchase one for me. Still waiting on that gift, mom – Christmas is...

The Trump/Pence administration is continuing it's assault on the LGBTQ community as the Department of Health and Human Services has proposed a new, extremely narrow definition of 'sex' that would virtually erase the existence of 1.4 million transgender Americans. The move would exclude transgender people from federal non-discrimination protections. From The New York Times: The Department of Health and Human Services is spearheading an effort to establish a legal definition of sex under Title IX, the federal civil rights law that bans...

Hong Kong has made spousal visas available to same-sex couples for the first time in the wake of a court ruling—but the government has firmly ruled out permitting same-sex marriage. Hong Kong only recognises marriage as between a man and a woman, but the international business hub has come under pressure from employers and LGBT+ activists to respect the rights of same-sex couples. In July, Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal ruled that same-sex couples who have entered unions elsewhere must...

New data from the UK shows same-sex couples are more likely to marry later in life than heterosexual couples. Commissioned by the Office of National Statistics in the UK, the study, titled “Being 18 in 2018,” examines different aspects of life for young adults who were born in 2000. The subjects of the study include life expectancy, employment, becoming parents, and getting married, among many topics. While couples are allowed to marry in the UK at the age of 18 without parental...

The government recently shot down an amendment that would have extended parental rights to gay and lesbian couples. Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv this Sunday to protest the government’s denial of equal parental rights to same-sex couples. A new law enacted in Israel this week granted single women surrogacy rights. However, conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his religious-right political coalition blocked an effort to pass an amendment that would have extended those same...

"We're stuck in this mental representation of domestic violence as a female victim and a male perpetrator." New research shows that nearly half of all men in same-sex relationships have experienced some type of abuse at the hands of their partner, HealthDay News reports. The study, published in the July issue of the American Journal of Men’s Health, surveyed 320 men in 160 couples. Results show that 46% reported some type of partner abuse in the last year, including physical or...