(Originally published in Bay Windows (PDF link), July 24, 2008) For many same-sex couples, one of the primary motivations for getting married is to gain legal protections for our children. Nancy Polikoff, professor of law at American University Washington College of Law, cautions us, however, that we should not tie parenthood and marriage too tightly. […]
The Grossmont Union High School District in California voted 4-0 yesterday in support of Proposition 8, the November ballot initiative that would ban marriage of same-sex couples in California. It is believed to be the first public school board in the state to do so. The San Diego Union-Tribune notes that some supporters of the
President Bush reauthorized the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which allocates $48 billion over the next five years to treat people living with HIV and fund prevention programs in poorer countries for men who have sex with men. The reauthorization also contains changes that should remove legal roadblocks for HIV-positive immigrants wishing to
It’s official. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has signed a repeal of the 1913 law prohibiting out-of-state couples from marrying in the state if their home states forbid the unions. At the same time, he signed the MassHealth Equality bill, granting equal benefits to married same-sex and opposite-sex couples through MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program. MassHealth,
Out-of-state same-sex couples could marry in Massachusetts later today. Lawmakers have attached an emergency preamble to the bill lifting marriage restrictions on out-of-state couples, stating that it will take effect as soon as the governor signs it, rather than after the usual 90 days. The bill could go to the governor today, according to the
The Massachusetts House just voted to repeal the 1913 law that prevented most out-of-state same-sex couples from marrying in the Bay State. The bill now goes to Governor Deval Patrick, who has said he will sign it. Massachusetts was, of course, the first state to legalize marriage for same-sex couples, although California was the first
The U.S. House approved repeal of a law barring HIV-positive visitors and immigrants to the country. It now goes to the President. The Personnel Subcommittee of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee heard testimony for and against the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. SLDN executive director Aubrey Sarvis notes the irony that this was
The U.S. Senate voted to drop travel and immigration restrictions on persons who are HIV-positive. The House Armed Services personnel subcommittee has scheduled a hearing on the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for July 23. The Washington Blade reports, though, that “as of Wednesday, the subcommittee was not scheduled to hear from even one
Four retired officers, each from a different branch of the U.S. military, recommended that the military repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and let gay men and lesbians serve openly. In the “Report of the General/Flag Officers’ Study Group” released by the Michael D. Palm Center of the University of California at Santa Barbara,
Headline from 365gay.com: “LA Mayor Weds Gay Couple” (Or am I the only one who parsed it this way? Compare, for example, “Gay Bishop Weds Longtime Partner,” or, on a straight note, “‘SNL’ alum Chris Kattan weds model Sunshine Tutt,” not to mention, from the amusing annals of straight, marriage-themed reality shows, “Ex-Bachelor Firestone Weds
