03/07/2009

"...The California Supreme Court's signal Thursday that it would uphold Proposition 8 but still recognize 18,000 existing same-sex marriages raised questions and concerns about the prospect of being a minority within a minority ? part of an exclusive club whose doors have been closed to others.

"...Jon Davidson, legal director for the gay-rights advocacy group Lambda Legal, called the couples 'pioneers' put into 'an unprecedented situation.'

3/6/2009

"The mood was somber among gay rights supporters after a bruising, three?hour hearing before the justices of California's highest court, who expressed considerable skepticism at the idea of overturning the state's voter?approved ban on same?sex marriage.

2/20/2009

"Courts can oversee a custody dispute between lesbian parents who adopted in Illinois even though Michigan doesn't formally recognize gay relationships, the state Court of Appeals said in a decision released Friday.

"'My concern is the well?being of my children. I want them to live in a place where their rights are protected,' Giancaspro said in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and the New York?based gay rights group Lambda Legal."

2/18/2009

"Lambda Legal filed an amicus brief in the Georgia Supreme Court Tuesday arguing that a restriction in a gay father's Fayette County child custody arrangement should be dismissed.

"Eric Mongerson, who took his case before the state's highest court in January, is challenging a clause which prohibits him from 'exposing his children to his homosexual partners and friends.'

2/17/2009

2/12/2009

"Same?sex couples seeking to wed showed up at marriage license counters nationwide Thursday to highlight a right they don't have in 48 states, part of an annual protest that took on renewed urgency given recent election setbacks.

"In San Francisco, where same?sex marriage was legal for nearly five months last year before California voters approved a ban, many couples who came to City Hall had already tied the knot but wanted to express their gratitude and to show they're still part of the fight.

2/12/2009

"Lambda Legal and the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit today in federal court against Agnesian HealthCare claiming one of its physicians refused to treat a patient with HIV.

"The suit is on behalf of Melody Rose, a 35-year-old female inmate at Taycheedah Correctional Institution who was denied surgery to remove her gallbladder because she has HIV, according to a press release from the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin.

2/5/2009

"Two federal judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have required payment of health insurance benefits to same-sex spouses of lawyers employed by the U.S. government.

"Judge Stephen Reinhardt and Chief Judge Alex Kozinski issued the orders as hearing officers for circuit employee disputes, the Daily Journal reports (sub. req.). Reinhardt's order declared the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.

1/30/2009

"It was as predictable as it was privately heartbreaking: A gay couple marries while living in Massachusetts, then moves to Texas and later seeks a divorce.

"A marriage ending in divorce would seldom make news; only the couple's sexual orientation makes this case noteworthy. I worry, though, that in the minor tempest accompanying the news, we're missing two important points.

2/2/2009

"Same-sex couples who were married out of state are being given a clearer understanding of what their rights and responsibilities are in New York in a guide recently published by four leading advocacy groups.