In the News

"The Obama administration's decision to no longer back the Defense of Marriage Act won't immediately enable married gay couples to receive federal benefits, but is already shaping battles in the courts and in Congress that could affect a range of government policies.

"...The move 'will have a very significant impact because it is easier for the courts to say "we think this law is unconstitutional" if another branch is already saying that,' said Jon Davidson, the legal director of Lambda Legal, one of the groups that has challenged the law in court.

"On Wednesday, President Obama directed the Justice Department to stop defending the law that bans federal recognition of same-sex marriages. And while the decision will — and should — be celebrated by gay couples across the country, practically speaking, their lives won’t change much for some time.

"In a major shift on gay rights, the Obama administration said that it would no longer oppose legal challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act, just two months after Congress and the president agreed to repeal the military's ban on openly gay service members.

"The administration's new stance was hailed as a 'monumental turning point in the quest for equality' by Jon W. Davidson, legal director for Lambda Legal, a gay rights group in Los Angeles".

"Under so-called 'income splitting,' the IRS is requiring all same-sex married couples or registered domestic partners in California to divide their combined income equally and report it on their separate tax returns.

"For some couples, it will mean more money in their 2010 refund; for others, they'll pay more in taxes.

"Either way, the change is significant, both monetarily and emotionally, officials of Lambda Legal, the national gay and lesbian legal rights group, said Tuesday in a conference call with reporters.

"An Arizona law removing domestic partner benefits for state employees discriminates against same-sex couples because they can't get married to qualify, an attorney argued Monday before an appeals court panel.

"'It requires gays and lesbians to go to work every day with the humiliating message that they are not equal,' said Tara Borelli, an attorney representing 10 same-sex couples suing over the change.

"Carrie Sperling and Sue Shapcott moved here from Texas in 2007 knowing that Arizona wouldn't recognize their same-sex marriage, but at least they would qualify for domestic partner benefits available to state employees because of Sperling's job with Arizona State University.

"Then, in 2009, a budget-cutting measure signed by Gov. Jan Brewer narrowed coverage to employees' spouses and dependent children, effectively barring same-sex couples.

"The Nebraska Constitution prevents gay couples who've married in other states from getting divorces in Nebraska, a state judge told a lesbian couple seeking an end to their 2003 marriage.

"...Ken Upton Jr., an attorney for advocacy group Lambda Legal, said state laws and constitutional amendments in opposition to gay marriage are a departure from the legal reciprocity states have historically paid to each other and 'are just beginning to create untold problems we have not been forced to face before.'

2/4/2011

"Two gay rights organizations have launched a way to track the couples who take advantage of Illinois' newly signed civil unions law.

"Lambda Legal and Equality Illinois say their civil union tracker aims to make sure same-sex and different-sex couples are treated fairly under the law.

"Gov. Pat Quinn signed the civil unions law Monday during a Chicago ceremony attended by about 1,000 people. The law takes effect June 1."

2/2/2011

"Vandy Beth Glenn still has the box she packed more than three years ago after being told to empty out her office.

"Though the legislative editor -- hired as a man in 2005 and fired roughly two years later after informing a supervisor she was undergoing gender transition -- was reinstated last August, the box remains untouched.

February 2011

Francisco Dueñas, Coordinator of Lambda Legal's Proyecto Igualdad, was profiled in a cover story about Latino LGBT community leaders.