In the News

11/25/2008

"The room got quiet for a few moments when I asked Trish and Kate Varnum of Cedar Rapids and others fighting a court battle to make same-sex marriages legal in Iowa whether they would accept a so-called compromise.

"If their elected representatives eventually offer them something less than marriage, perhaps some sort of civil unions that grant rights but not the use of the powerful M-word, could they live with it?

11/15/2008

"...Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving got married in Washington, D.C. They went home to Virginia, there to be rousted out of their bed one night by police and charged with a felony.

"...It turned out that it wasn't just the state that hated the idea of black people marrying white people. God was onboard, too, according to the trial judge, who wrote, 'The fact that He separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.'

11/5/2008

"After losing at the polls, gay-rights advocates filed a legal challenge Wednesday in the California Supreme Court to Proposition 8, a long-shot effort the measure's supporters called an attempt to subvert the will of voters.

"Lawyers for same-sex couples said they will argue the anti-gay-marriage measure was an illegal constitutional revision ? not a more limited amendment, as backers said.

10/31/2008

"Three states ? Massachusetts, California and Connecticut ? have legalized same-sex marriage.

"But...the question for gay couples is this: Is it worth it to tie the knot?

"For many couples, the answer is a resounding yes: the word "married" itself instantly conveys something that civil unions and domestic partnerships do not.

"...Still, the many rights that marriage confers vaporize the moment couples step into a state that does not recognize their unions.

10/30/2008

"Daniel McNeil and Patrick Canavan joke they've been married four times ? to each other.

"The 'I do's' started with a Washington, D.C., church wedding in 1998. Since then, the two men, have chased evolving laws across the U.S. to secure a civil union in Vermont, a domestic partnership in the District of Columbia and a marriage in California.

10/17/2008

"A state appeals court heard arguments today on whether New York can give equal benefits to same-sex couples married in other jurisdictions.

The case comes from a decision by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer in May 2007 to let gay couples married out of state and employed by the state receive health benefits for their families.

"...The court hearing was the latest battle in New York over whether same-sex couples can be afforded equal rights under state law.

10/06/2008

"Georgia's top court ruled in favor of a transgender politician who was slapped with a lawsuit by two political opponents who claimed she misled voters by running as a woman.

"The Georgia Supreme Court's unanimous ruling on Monday found that the two political opponents who filed the lawsuit failed to produce evidence of fraud, misconduct or illegal action after claiming that Michelle Bruce bamboozled voters by identifying herself as female."

"...Gay rights groups said the lawsuit appears to be a first in the country.

10/06/2008

"The Georgia Supreme Court ruled Monday that a transgender politician did not mislead voters by running for office as a woman.

"The court dismissed a lawsuit filed by two opponents of the politician, Michelle Bruce, who was born Michael Bruce, that said she disguised her sex while seeking re-election last year in Riverdale, Ga.

"...Gay rights groups celebrated the decision. 'Accusations of fraud only show the accuser's ignorance of transgender lives,' said Cole Thaler, a lawyer with Lambda Legal, a gay rights organization."

10/1/2008

"On May 16, 2006 K.K. Logan arrived at his senior prom in a dress, which was not unexpected since his classmates and teachers knew of his 'deeply-rooted femininity.' Principal Diane Rouse did not allow Logan to enter, claiming his attire violated school policy.

10/1/2008

"One of the 40 men charged in a city park sex sting last year filed a federal lawsuit against the city and Johnson City Police Chief John Lowry because he says the police department gave his arrest excessive publicity.

"Attorneys for Kenneth Giles filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Greeneville. It seeks monetary damages and injunctive relief because Lowry and the city violated Giles' right to equal protection under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, according to the complaint.