6/13/2007

"Civil rights organizations gathered at the Capitol Tuesday to celebrate a landmark Supreme Court case they say might aid the cause of gay marriage.

"They marked the 40th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court, the case that allowed interracial couples to marry.

"...Jon W. Davidson, legal director of Lambda Legal, is co-counsel in the California case seeking marriage equality. 'The Lovings didn't give up,' Davidson said. 'They had faith in the constitutional promises of equality and liberty.'"

6/12/2007

Commentary by Kevin Cathcart and H. Alexander Robinson

"Just forty years ago it was against the law in sixteen states for people of different races to marry. On June 12, 1967 the United States Supreme Court struck down all bans on interracial marriage in the landmark case, Loving v. Virginia. The decision sparked fiery controversy ? today it is seen as a triumph for racial justice and the freedom to marry."

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6/2007

"...It's not always easy talking to your doctor about sex. Whether you're asking about birth control, STDs or infertility, these discussions can be tinged with self-consciousness, even embarrassment. Now imagine those same conversations, but supercharged by the anxiety that your doctor might respond with moral condemnation ? and actually refuse your requests.

5/27/2007

"The Rev. Mark Alan Lewis and the Rev. K. Dennis Winslow, Episcopal priests, were joined in civil union on Tuesday at the couple's home in Union City, N.J. The couple met 15 years ago this week, shortly after Lewis moved to New Jersey.

"...'Our eyes met from across the apartment,' Mr. Lewis said. 'We have been together since that day.'

6/5/2007

"After a lawsuit and years of lobbying by gay-rights advocates, the Bellevue City Council Monday night approved employment benefits for partners of gay city employees. The unanimous vote means that domestic partners — straight and gay — will receive the same benefits the city now provides to married partners. These benefits include medical, dental, vision, life insurance, mental-health counseling and family leave.

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.'