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 […]
Del Martin, 87, and Phyllis Lyon, 83, will be the first same-sex couple to have a legal wedding in California. The couple, who have been together for over five decades, were also the first to wed when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom began marrying couples in 2004—marriages that were then revoked by the state. The
The California Supreme Court has ruled (PDF link): We conclude that to the extent the current California statutory provisions limit marriage to opposite-sex couples, these statutes are unconstitutional. . . . we determine that the language of section 300 limiting the designation of marriage to a union “between a man and a woman” is unconstitutional
This just in from Clare of When Do We Get the Toaster: Non-biological lesbian moms in New South Wales, Australia, will now have equal parenting rights and responsibilities under the law. The move brings NSW in line with Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, and the Northern Territory, as well as New Zealand and Canada.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on Thursday unanimously upheld the rejection of a suit brought by two couples from Lexington, Massachusetts, who said their school district had no right to include LGBT-related books like King & King in its elementary school curriculum. (See my August post about the case.) The parents
A big congratulations to the citizens of Oregon who have at long last won the right to domestic partnerships. From the Basic Rights Oregon press release: Judge Michael Mosman ruled at 4:25 PM today that opponents of domestic partnership did, indeed, fail to gather the necessary signatures to place the law on the ballot for
E. Denise Simmons received a lot of press coverage last week when she took office in Cambridge, Massachusetts as the nation’s first openly lesbian, African-American mayor. What wasn’t revealed in the first round of press coverage was that she is also the mother of four and the grandmother of three. The Boston EDGE just published
The GLBT Round Table of the American Library Association has published its first “Rainbow List” of the year’s best LGBT-themed children’s and young adult books. (Since this is the list’s inaugural year, it in fact includes books of the past three years.) Thanks to K. T. Horning of Worth the Trip for making the list
Originally published in Bay Windows, November 13, 2007 (which explains the Massachusetts bias). See also this recent article about a similar initiative in Toronto. LGBT parents and educators in the Boston area are the source of one of the most comprehensive new resources for making elementary schools across the country more welcoming for all types
Some good news to start the week: By a mere 116 names, opponents of Oregon’s new same-sex domestic partnership law did not turn in enough valid signatures to suspend the measure and place it on the November 2008 ballot. This means the law will take effect next year, giving registered partners equal state rights related
