The Maryland Supreme Court heard arguments from 19 gay and lesbian residents, urging them to strike down a law banning same-sex marriage.- The New Jersey State Assembly’s judiciary committee approved a bill to create civil unions with the same rights as marriage, despite a push from LGBT-rights groups to call these unions “marriage.” The full Assembly will now vote on the measure. Lambda Legal has called the civil-union bill “one of the largest forms of statutory discrimination ever created by the New Jersey Legislature.” In separate but related news, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer), one of the those who introduced marriage-equality legislation to the Assembly, acknowledged he is gay.
- The Chief Family Court Judge in Rhode Island asked the state Supreme Court justices to determine if he has the authority to hear a case involving the divorce of a lesbian couple who married in Massachusetts shortly before the Bay State banned out-of-state couples from wedding there.
News from around the world is mostly cheery this week:
- The state parliament in South Australia has approved a set of rights for same-sex couples, including joint property, financial, and medical-leave rights. Couples not in a romantic relationship (such as siblings) can also apply for “couple” status under the bill.
- The Canadian House of Commons defeated a proposed measure to revisit the legalization of same-sex marriage. This effectively ends the debate for the foreseeable future.
- The Kandha tribe in India blessed a marriage ceremony between two women, although same-sex relationships are illegal in the country.
- The opposition party in Israel introduced a motion to ban same-sex marriage. It passed a first vote, but many expect it to fail the final one.
- The city council of Padua, Italy has allowed same-sex couples to register for a “certification of family,” giving them equal rights such as family leave and being on council housing lists. Unmarried opposite-sex couples have the same rights. The Vatican had the expected response. Meanwhile, the the Italian Senate majority party called on the premier to present legislation giving legal rights to same- and opposite-sex unmarried couples by the end of next month.
- Scotland passed a measure allowing same-sex couples to adopt.