Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit today on behalf of Steven White and Matthew McCrea, a gay couple who were unlawfully refused service and forced to exit a Chicago cab after they exchanged a kiss.
The Minnesota Senate voted 37-30 today to grant same-sex couples the freedom to marry.
The measure now goes to Gov. Mark Dayton, who said he will sign it into law tomorrow.
Jennifer C. Pizer, Lambda Legal's Law & Policy Project Director, worked with Minnesota advocates on the substance of the marriage bill. She released the following statement:
With nine states and the District of Columbia now respecting same-sex couples’ freedom to marry, and voters in four states having rejected antigay bias in state ballot questions concerning marriage last November, it is clear change is happening.
Q: I live in Illinois and have been eagerly waiting to see if we become the next state to win marriage. I was reading about an issue with religious exemptions. Can you tell me what that means?
President Obama signed into law yesterday a defense budget bill including a clause that may allow service members to invoke “religious conscience” as a defense for illegal discrimination. The President promised to protect the rights of lesbian and gay service members.
On Friday, the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit upheld a lower court’s ruling against Jennifer Keeton, a graduate student in counseling at Augusta State University. Ms. Keeton expressed intent to engage in discriminatory and harmful professional practices when working with LGBT students as a school counselor. Keeton claimed her first amendment rights were violated when the school required her to complete a remediation program to better understand LGBT issues.
(Birmingham, AL, February 20, 2009) — At the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama late yesterday, Lambda Legal joined a lawsuit on behalf of Central Alabama Pride (CAP) against Mayor Larry Langford who interfered with their right to free speech last summer when he directed city workers to treat the group differently than other groups are treated.
