- The Iowa Caucuses were last night, as most of you in the U.S. are well aware. Lisa Keen has an LGBT take on them at Bay Windows, and Visible Vote has a number of posts covering the event.
- The California Supreme Court rejected an appeal to deny domestic partners in California the same property tax breaks as husbands and wives.
- The man who gained notoriety last summer for filing a lawsuit when he failed the Massachusetts bar exam after refusing to answer a question about same-sex marriage, has apologized to the gay community.
- Same-sex couples in New Hampshire can now unite in civil unions. The Boston Globe opines:
This page finds civil unions to be an inadequate substitute for true marriage equality. Still, there likely would have been more opposition had New Hampshire legalized gay marriage and not just civil unions, which are seen as a compromise measure. Also, the fact that New Hampshire’s elected legislators initiated the change, as opposed to an “unelected” court, as was the case in both Vermont and Massachusetts, may have made the reform more acceptable to voters.
But the strongest factor making civil unions such a non-issue in New Hampshire has to be the opportunity the state has had to look elsewhere in New England, where experience shows that legal recognition of same sex couples has stabilized and strengthened those relationships without doing anything to weaken heterosexual marriage.
- The New Jersey Senate unanimously approved major changes to the state’s hate crimes and anti-school bullying laws, including the addition of “gender identity or expression” to protected categories and mandating anti-hate crimes training for new police officers. The Assembly must now vote on the measure.
- New Jersey now has its third openly gay or lesbian mayor in state history, the no-doubt competent but unfortunately named Randy Bishop.
- Supporters of Oregon’s delayed domestic partnership law held candlelight vigils across the state Wednesday night, the day the law should have gone into effect. It makes stories like this one on OregonLive, about (straight) couples lining up to reserve space for their weddings in city parks seem particularly ill-timed. Basic Rights Oregon, however, has been granted permission to intervene in the case. Gay Rights Watch reports that two other interveners are expectant mothers.
- On the positive side, an Oregon law banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity did go into effect.
- The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that a sperm donor does not have to pay child support if the biological mother promised he would not have to do so. Seems a good call.
Around the world:
- Gay and de facto couples in Australia who break up will now be able to divide their assets through the Family Court, rather than going through the costly and more complicated process of using the state courts.
- Pinknews.co.uk profiled Louise Pratt, Labour Senator-Elect from Western Australia, who will become the second lesbian senator when she takes her seat in July.
- The Iraqi government may release 5,000 prisoners but said they would not include terrorists or homosexuals. I guess that’s because we’re a threat to peace, as the Pope says.
- A riot policeman in Korea who recently came out has raised questions about how his country’s military treats LGBT members.
- A former magistrate in the U.K. who was dismissed after he was told he could not refuse to rule on same-sex adoption cases, will appeal for the second time.