Not one, but two states have gained marriage equality this week, as Pennsylvania today joined Oregon. And lest anyone feel that U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane’s ruling in the Oregon case was influenced by the fact that he is a gay dad, consider that straight U.S. District Court Judge John E. Jones III, who ruled in Pennsylvania, was appointed by President George W. Bush and backed by anti-LGBT Senator Rick Santorum (R).
U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane yesterday struck down Oregon’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples, issuing a ruling that draws on his own experience as a dad, and ends with one of the most poetic passages I’ve ever seen in a legal document. McShane is also openly gay.
I’m pleased to report that a day before the 10th anniversary of the ruling that brought marriage equality to Massachusetts, there are still no swarms of locusts, plagues, or other signs of heavenly disfavor. In fact, in 2004, the same year that marriage equality was enacted, the Red Sox won the World Series after an 86-year gap, breaking the infamous “Curse of the Bambino.” Just saying.
It’s been a great few days for marriage equality, with an Arkansas state judge and a federal judge in Idaho striking down those states’ bans on marriage for same-sex couples. As with similar rulings in other states, the welfare of children weighed heavily in the judges’ decisions.
Same-sex couples seeking marriage equality in both Florida and Idaho were in court recently to make their cases. As in California, Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, among other states, parents were among the majority of the plaintiffs. Why? Some of the plaintiffs and an organizational leader behind one of the cases offer complementary perspectives.
Georgia yesterday became the latest state to have an active marriage equality lawsuit — and as in so many states, parents and prospective parents are among the plaintiffs.
A new academic review has surveyed the legal landscape for lesbian and gay parents in child custody cases, both with same-sex former partners and different-sex ones. It found that courts have not always taken into consideration the social science research that has found children raised by gay or lesbian parents are as well-adjusted as their peers
Two gay dads and their kids played a small but significant role in the evolution of President Obama and his administration on marriage equality.
April 15 has come and gone, and even though many same-sex couples can now pay as “Married,” many others, especially parents, still do not get the family tax benefits of different-sex married couples. A new campaign from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force hopes to change that.
Remember Mark Regnerus, the University of Texas at Austin Sociology professor whose work showing children don’t do as well with same-sex parents has been widely discredited? Even the State of Utah, which is defending its ban on marriage for same-sex couples today in court, has backed away from his findings.
