5/29/2008

"David A. Paterson has directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada.

"In a directive issued on May 14, the governor's legal counsel, David Nocenti, instructed the agencies that gay couples married elsewhere 'should be afforded the same recognition as any other legally performed union.'

5/18/2008

"As soon as the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that gay men and lesbians had a constitutional right to marry, my partner and I started getting the calls: When would we head West to get hitched?

"In the euphoric wake of the decision, it sure seemed like a great idea. Unlike Massachusetts, where a couple has to declare an intention to live in the state, California has no residency requirement. Plus, we have a lot of family there.

"But do we really need to go to California?

5/16/2008

"California's Supreme Court declared that gay couples in the nation's biggest state can marry ? a monumental but perhaps short-lived victory for the gay rights movement Thursday that was greeted with tears, hugs, kisses and at least one instant proposal of matrimony.

5/16/2008

"A homeless man who spit in the mouth and eye of a police officer and then taunted him, saying he was H.I.V. positive, was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Wednesday for harassing a public servant with a deadly weapon: his saliva.

"Because of the deadly weapon finding, the man, Willie Campbell, 42, of Dallas, will not be eligible for parole until he has served half his sentence.

5/16/2008

"Even as same-sex couples across California begin making plans to tie the knot, opponents are redoubling their efforts.

"A conservative group said it would ask California's Supreme Court to postpone putting its decision legalizing gay marriage into effect until after the fall election.

"...The 4-3 opinion written by Chief Justice Ronald George said domestic partnerships that provide many of the rights and benefits of matrimony are not enough.

5/12/2008

"When Michigan voters headed to the polls in 2004 to decide the fate of a proposed amendment to the state constitution, they'd been told the following by its lead proponent:

"'(This) has nothing to do with taking benefits away. This is about marriage between a man and a woman,' said Marlene Elwell, campaign director of Citizens for the Protection of Marriage.

"CPM's Web site declared the group's purpose was 'for defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Period.'

4/16/2008

"A coalition of advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights is calling for Ventura County prosecutors to try 14-year-old Brandon McInerney in juvenile court, not as an adult.

"McInerney has been charged as an adult in connection with the Feb. 12 fatal shooting of a classmate, Larry King, at E.O. Green School in Oxnard.

"According to students, King, 15, might have been targeted because he was openly gay.

4/9/2008

"She says she didn't get the job because she was born male.

"The company says it wasn't that, claiming she misrepresented herself.

"In a letter rescinding the job, the employer complained she presented herself as a woman at her interview, but the background check revealed she was a man.

3/30/2008

"A new flock of same-sex marriage supporters jumped into Iowa's constitutional battle over gay rights Friday with legal briefs they hope will influence the Iowa Supreme Court.

"At least 17 groups from across the nation were expected to file friend-of-the-court briefs in support of gay marriage, the gay-rights group Lambda Legal announced. The papers were filed on behalf of six same-sex couples who want to marry in Iowa.

3/28/2008

"A Franklin County appeals court judge expressed concerns yesterday about the tactics a lesbian mother is using in an effort to invalidate a joint custody agreement with her former partner.

"'I find it a little upsetting,' Judge Susan Brown said of Denise Fairchild's legal maneuvers.

"The comment came as lawyers delivered oral arguments before a three-judge panel of the Franklin County Court of Appeals.