U.S. National News
- The House Oversight & Government Reform Committee approved the Domestic Partnership Benefits & Obligations Act, which would offer the same benefits, including health insurance and pensions, to same-sex partners of federal workers and to opposite-sex spouses. (This news comes via the DC Agenda, the reincarnated Washington Blade.)
- The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a gay federal lawyer who was denied government health coverage for his husband after their marriage last year, is entitled to extra pay to cover private insurance for him.
- During her confirmation hearing for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, openly lesbian nominee Chai Feldblum answered questions about whether she supported polygamy. The questions came because she had signed the document “Beyond Same-Sex Marriage: A New Strategic Vision for All Our Families & Relationships,” which talks of valuing various types of families including “committed, loving households in which there is more than one conjugal partner.” Feldblum said she had asked for her signature to be removed from the document.
U.S. State News
- Bil at Bilerico reminds us that politicians in several states, including Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio, have introduced legislation to repeal their state’s amendments banning marriage for same-sex couples, but he questions their motives when none of the states have even been able to pass arguably simpler LGBT-inclusive anti-discrimination measures.
- Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Tucson, Arizona to block a move to strip domestic partner benefits from gay and lesbian state employees.
- Tampa, Florida has added “gender identity” to its human rights ordinance that bans discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodation.
- A new poll found that 46 percent of adult residents in New Jersey want marriage rights for same-sex couples while 42 percent oppose them. Twelve percent of respondents were undecided.
- New York’s highest court upheld policies giving some government benefits to same-sex couples who have legally married outside the state, focusing on the narrow question of benefits in the cases before them, but leaving open the issue of whether all marriages of same-sex couples performed outside the state should be recognized.
- North Carolina State Sen. Julia Boseman (D-New Hanover), the only openly gay or lesbian member of the General Assembly, announced she will not seek re-election when her term ends in 2010, citing family responsibilities. Boseman, already a mother with a previous partner, is expecting a child with her current partner in January.
- Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker signed nondiscrimination ordinances banning sexual-orientation-based discrimination in employment and housing. Religious institutions, employers with fewer than 15 employees, and landlords with fewer than 3 properties are exempt.
- The Washington, D.C. Board of Elections & Ethics said a proposed voter initiative filed by a Maryland minister that seeks to ban gay marriage would violate the city’s Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Around the World
- If one same-sex partner needs to apply for immigration in Australia, couples will now not need to have lived together for 12 months prior to applying. They may instead simply sign up with a state-based registry in the Australian Capital territory (ACT), Victoria or Tasmania. Couples may also be exempted if they have not lived together for reasons such as ongoing work commitments or having lived in a country where homosexuality is illegal.
- Austria’s government approved civil partnerships for same-sex couples, although ceremonies at the civil registry’s office are still banned.
- South African runner Castor Semenya will get to keep the gold medal and prize money she won at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany, said the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), after her win was called into question by allegations that she is is intersex.