In the News

4/17/2007

"Larry deGroen knew when he became a firefighter in Bellevue 12 years ago that the city wouldn't give his partner, Thomas Dixon, certain benefits it extends to the families of heterosexual employees. It was something deGroen was prepared to live with.

"But in late 2005, Dixon's father died. Instead of giving deGroen two days of paid funeral leave, as it would have for heterosexual workers, the city gave him none, according to a lawsuit he filed Tuesday with two other gay Bellevue emergency workers.

3/6/2007

"'It doesn't matter if he was an NBA star or not.... The fact that he was an NBA player is what's important.... Sheryl Swoopes, the Houston Comets player who came out nearly a year and a half ago, says she's been following the Amaechi story since it broke last month.

Sheryl Swoopes is scheduled to speak at our Dallas 5th Annual Women's Brunch on Saturday, March 10, 2007.

6/28/2002

"When Marcye and Karen Nicholson-McFadden had a baby two years ago, the lesbian couple struggled to keep hospital staff aware of their decadelong partnership during the difficult delivery. As they prepare for another child, the Aberdeen parents want legal recognition: a marriage certificate that would protect their children, the home and business they built together, and would allow Marcye or Karen to make emergency decisions regarding each other's lives.

"But the state of New Jersey won't allow it.

4/1/2007

"For five years, Alicia Heath-Toby and Saundra Toby-Heath fought for the right to marry, taking on the state of New Jersey in a lawsuit filed with six other same-sex couples. They learned late last year that marriage would have to wait, when state lawmakers chose to allow same-sex civil unions instead.

2/27/2009

"The argument that the ERA supports gay marriage relies on the fact that bans on same-sex marriage employ gender as the sole reason for approving or denying a marriage license. While many other factors went into the famous Massachusetts decision that legalized gay marriage in that state, one of the concurring justices cited the state's ERA, saying that the 'prohibition [to marry] is based solely on the applicants' gender' and 'may offend Massachusetts equal rights amendment.'

4/24/2007

"City officials have spoken convincingly on behalf of diversity in the past. But this lawsuit doesn't place Bellevue in a good light.

"One of the plaintiffs is a 10-year employee promoted and commended in the past but who was forced to work a day without pay after he took one day off to attend the funeral of his partner's father. It is a shameful mark on the manager who didn't think to make an allowance for a valued employee in distress.

4/15/2007

"Shannan Hauser and Jennifer Bonfilio of Hamilton say they will form a civil union in two weeks. In theory, it should give them the same benefits that married couples have.

"So when the law creating civil unions took effect last month, Bonfilio, who pays $431 a month for health insurance, inquired about being added as a beneficiary on Hauser's medical plan at the New Jersey Carpenters Funds.

3/13/2007

"Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano's executive order recognizing gay marriages performed outside New York does not violate the state Constitution, a state Supreme Court justice ruled yesterday.

"Alphonso David, a lawyer for the gay rights group Lambda Legal who defended Spano's order before Lefkowitz, said her ruling will multiply its limited impact... 'This is incredibly significant for those couples living in the state who need to make sure their marriages are going to be respected.'"

2/17/2007

"Same-sex marriages performed in Massachusetts or in foreign countries will automatically be recognized as civil unions in New Jersey starting Monday, Attorney General Stuart Rabner ruled yesterday...

"David Buckel, Marriage Project Director of the gay rights group Lambda Legal, called Rabner's opinion 'a good news, bad news decision.' He said it 'brought enormous peace of mind to a lot of couples and families' who will continue to have legal protections..."

4/10/2007

"The state House of Representatives voted to create a domestic partnership registry for same-sex couples Tuesday, sending Gov. Chris Gregoire the historic measure on a mostly party line vote.