- The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from “ex-lesbian” mom Lisa Miller, who is trying to deny visitation to her former partner, Janet Jenkins. SCOTUS rejected the appeal based on a ruling from the Vermont Supreme Court, where the case was first heard. It must still decide whether to hear a petition in the case based on the Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling that stated Vermont had jurisdiction.
- The Arkansas Family Council has accused the state Department of Human Services of having a “gay agenda,” after the agency repealed a rule banning lesbians, gay men, and unmarried people from fostering children.
- Ellen DeGeneres is giving the No On 8 coalition $100,000 to run the PSA that she recorded against California’s Prop 8. Sen. Joe Biden also appeared on her show, speaking against Prop 8.
- Christine Chavez, granddaughter of civil-rights activist Cesar Chavez, spoke out against California’s Propositions 4 (parental notification before an abortion by a minor) and 8 (revoking the right of same-sex couples to marry).
- The California Teachers Association, the state’s largest teacher’s union, has given another $1 million (on top of an earlier donation of $250,000) to defeat Prop 8, making them the largest institutional donor to the campaign.
- Fifty-three percent of Connecticut residents support the ruling legalizing marriage for same-sex couples, but 42 percent of residents do not, according to a recent poll.
- The President of the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA), whose organization contributed to and co-signed an amici brief submitted for the case that won marriage equality in Connecticut, said, “We are now able to demonstrate, scientifically, that the idea that gay couples are unfit as parents is nonsense. And we can demonstrate that children of gay parents do just as well as children of opposite sex parents. The Court’s decision is good for children and families.”
- The Yes on 2 group in Florida began running ads that assert no one will lose benefits if the state passes an amendment to ban marriage of same-sex couples. LGBT-rights groups say even unmarried heterosexual couples could lose rights under the proposed law.
- This is why we need LGBT-inclusive hate crimes laws: Russell A. Schmalz, an elementary-school bus driver in Bourbonnais, Illinois is charged with mob action, endangering the life of a child and battery after he repeatedly called a boy on his bus “gay” and “encouraged other students to chase and beat the child.”
- One of the first openly gay state legislators in the country and former president of the Minnesota Senate, Allan Spear, died Saturday. The Minnesota Historical Society recently named him one of the “150 Minnesotans who shaped our state.”
- A midlevel New York State appeals court is considering a challenge to the policy granting benefits to the same-sex partners of state workers if they have legally married in another jurisdiction. The conservative Alliance Defense Fund (think of them as the antimatter to Lambda Legal) is representing four upstate taxpayers in the case.
- The School Board in Bozeman, Montana voted to add sexual orientation to the categories of students against whom they will not discriminate.
- Advocates for marriage equality in Vermont say that the Connecticut ruling may have increased the chance that Vermont’s Legislature will consider a marriage equality bill early next year.
- A Christian evangelical group is demanding that the West Virginia governor call a special session to pass a constitutional amendment banning marriage for same-sex couples. The governor’s office responded that the state already has a law defining marriage as one-man-one-woman and denying recognition to same-sex couples married elsewhere, so it sees no need for an extraordinary legislative session.
Around the world:
- The European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, said it is up to individual member states whether or not to recognize same-sex relationships.
- The Australian Senate passed legislation requiring that de facto couples, including same-sex ones, who are separating, will be treated in the same way as divorcing couples. All family law issues faced by thse couples will now be under the federal family law courts, instead of the state and territory courts.
- The General Teaching Council for England ruled that an education manager at Brighton and Hove City Council is guilty of discriminating against a transgender teacher.
- The Greek Justice Minister said that a proposed cohabitation law, granting cohabitating opposite-sex couples the same rights as those who are married, would not be extended to same-sex couples.
