California’s ban on the marriage of same-sex couples is unconstitutional, ruled U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker. He then quickly issued a temporary stay of the ruling until Friday, by which time both sides must file papers in response to the stay—meaning same-sex couples can’t marry quite yet.  More thoughts and analysis to come . . . […]
(A new report came out yesterday that reevaluated the reasons California’s Prop 8 passed in November 2008. Among the findings (my emphasis): The most effective decision made by either campaign—the one with the biggest impact on the outcome—was Yes on 8’s decision to appeal to appeal to anti-gay prejudice by dishonestly alleging danger to kids.
In two separate cases today, a federal judge in Massachusetts ruled that part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional. In less than an hour, I’m sure, you won’t be able to swing a virtual cat in the LGBT blogosphere without hitting an article about this. To get you started, here’s Lisa Keen’s
(Originally published as my Mombian newspaper column.) Parenting took center stage in the closing arguments of the Prop 8 case on June 16. Attorney Ted Olson, by most accounts, made a superb argument for marriage equality. There was one point he left out, however, that is worth exploring here. Attorney Charles Cooper, speaking for the
Closing arguments in the Prop 8 trial dominated the LGBT news this week. Here are a few selections from the many channels that covered it: In “Fear v. Equality,” Lisa Keen reports on the closing from the courtroom. Chris Geidner offers excellent analysis at Metro Weekly as well. The New York Times also covered it,
Yes, that’s right. During closing arguments for the Prop 8 trial in California, defense attorney Charles Cooper said: I really think the state’s main concern or certainly among the state’s main concerns in regulating marriage, in seeking to channel naturally procreative sexual conduct into stable and enduring unions is to minimize what I would call
The State Department announced it will now allow transgender people to receive a passport reflecting their new legal gender without requiring gender reassignment surgery. Certification from an attending medical physician that the person has undergone appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition is sufficient. The State Department also issued a proclamation in honor of LGBT Pride
A circuit judge today struck down Arkansas’ ban against unmarried couples adopting or foster-parenting children. The Arkansas law was approved by voters in November 2008, during the same election that in California saw the imposition of Prop 8, which halted the previous legalization of marriage for same-sex couples. The news must be particularly galling to
(I wrote this for my Mombian newspaper column back in January, but since both sides in the Prop 8 trial have recently filed their final briefs and Judge Vaughn Walker may soon schedule closing arguments, I thought it was worth posting here now. ) I agree with Robin Wirthlin. The Massachusetts Mormon mother and I
Here’s a fun one for you. Which of these two quotes was made by a witness for the plaintiffs, and which by a witness for the defense, in the federal trial to overturn California’s Prop 8? “I believe that adopting same-sex marriage would be likely to improve the well-being of gay and lesbian households and
