Out in America Features» Constitution

Court orders Prop. 8 trial videos to remain sealed

OIA Staff — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:54:55 +0000

A federal appeals court barred public release Thursday of videos of the trial over California’s ban on same-sex marriage, saying the trial judge, at the insistence of the U.S. Supreme Court, had promised that the recordings would not be broadcast. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco did not say how or [...]

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Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Faces Pivotal Hearing

OIA Staff — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:07:58 +0000

California’s same-sex marriage ban faces its next legal test Tuesday when the state’s highest court attempts to shed light on whether the voter-approved measure’s backers have legal authority to appeal the federal ruling that overturned Proposition 8. The California Supreme Court is scheduled to hear an hour of arguments on that question, which could prove [...]

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Rick Perry Signs Pledge against Same-sex Marriage

OIA Staff — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:36:59 +0000

Rick Perry signed a pledge Friday to back a federal constitutional amendment against gay marriage. The move is a reversal from only a month ago when the Texas governor said he supported individual states’ rights and that he was fine with New York’s approval of same-sex marriage. The pledge by the National Organization for Marriage [...]

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Judge Upholds Wisconsin’s Domestic Partnership Registry

OIA Staff — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:44:21 +0000

A judge ruled Monday that Wisconsin’s domestic partnership registry does not violate the state’s constitutional amendment that prohibits marriage for loving and committed gay and lesbian couples. Signed into law by former Gov. Jim Doyle (D) in 2009, Wisconsin’s domestic partnership registry provides limited, but important, protections for gay and lesbian couples, including the ability [...]

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Bankruptcy Court Rules against Gay-marriage Ban

OIA Staff — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:05:51 +0000

(San Francisco) Gene Balas and Carlos Morales were facing health problems and crushing financial pressures plaguing many U.S. households when they decided to file bankruptcy as a married couple. The Obama administration said they couldn’t, citing the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages. On Monday, 20 of 24 judges sitting [...]

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Judge Throws Out Bigoted Motion in Prop. 8 Case

OIA Staff — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:41:31 +0000

US District Court Chief Judge James S. Ware denied anti-marriage forces’ motion to throw out the decision that ruled Prop. 8 unconstitutional. He erased all doubt that the Prop. 8 trial was anything but fair and thorough and sent a powerful message that extreme fringe groups cannot strong-arm the law. Read the decision > Prop 8 [...]

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Minnesota Gay Marriage Ban Amendment On 2012 Ballot

OIA Staff — Wed, 25 May 2011 00:17:32 +0000

Minnesota lawmakers on Saturday night approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, sending it to voters for their approval, the Star-Tribune reported. After roughly five hours of often emotional debate, House members voted 70 to 62 in favor of Republican Representative Steve Gottwalt’s amendment, which seeks to define marriage as a heterosexual union in the [...]

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Boehner Petitioners Arrested

OIA Staff — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:41:06 +0000

House Speaker John Boehner’s office chose to lock out Sean Watkins, Morgan Bonney, Jesse Bonney, Liz Mills and Karay Miller. When they pressed their case and refused to leave until they were given their Constitutional right by delivering a petition to Boehner’s office demanding that he focus upon job creation instead of destroying American [...]

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Congress set to take over DOMA defense

OIA Staff — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:47:15 +0000

The Republican leadership in the House of Representatives this weekend indicated it will step up to argue that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act is constitutional in light of a decision by the White House and the Justice Department to cease defending a key portion of the law. via. Read the full article @ Congress [...]

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Both Sides Push New Laws on Same-sex Marriage

OIA Staff — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:20:57 +0000

Lawmakers in Rhode Island and Maryland are taking up bills to legalize same-sex marriage, advocates in New York are making a renewed push, and opponents are fighting for constitutional bans in Indiana and Wyoming and to reimpose bans in Iowa and New Hampshire. The flurry of activity nationwide has activists on both sides of the [...]

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Understanding the Ninth Circuit Ruling in Prop 8 Case Denying Intervention and Certifying Question to California Supreme Court

OIA Staff — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 14:49:25 +0000

Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Imperial County’s attempt to intervene in the federal court challenge to Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that stripped the freedom to marry from same-sex couples in California. The Ninth Circuit also asked the California Supreme Court to clarify whether the group that placed Prop 8 on [...]

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Virginia Delegate Bob Marshall Wants DADT-Like Gay Ban for Virginia National Guard

OIA Staff — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:56:16 +0000

Virginia Delegate Bob Marshall, a Republican, plans to introduce legislation that would ban gay troops from serving openly in the state’s National Guard, The Washington Times reported. Reacting to Congress’ decision over the weekend to repeal the Pentagon’s gay ban, known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Marshall said his bill would bar “active homosexuals” from [...]

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Marines Will ‘Step Out Smartly’ to Implement Repeal of DADT

OIA Staff — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 14:00:32 +0000

Gen. James Amos full statement: “Fidelity is the essence of the United States Marine Corps. Above all else, we are loyal to the Constitution, our Commander in Chief, Congress, our Chain of Command, and the American people. The House of Representatives and the Senate have voted to repeal Title 10, US Code 654 ‘Policy Concerning [...]

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Three Gay Veterans File Suit To Be Reinstated

OIA Staff — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 13:35:20 +0000

Three military veterans discharged because they are gay are suing to be reinstated and asking that the military’s ban on openly gay service members be again declared unconstitutional in the courts, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, was filed on behalf of two Air Force veterans, [...]

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DOJ appeals lesbian’s reinstatement to Air Force

OIA Staff — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 16:13:26 +0000

A lesbian flight nurse discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell” can rejoin the Air Force Reserve, even as the government appeals a judge’s ruling that returned her to the job, her lawyers said Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton ruled in September that former Maj. Margaret Witt must be reinstated because her dismissal advanced no [...]

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Justice Elena Kagan Recuses Herself from Scotus Appeal on DADT

OIA Staff — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:12:17 +0000

Supreme Court Justice, newly inducted, Elena Kagan recused herself from the future SCOTUS decision, indicating she won’t be a part of the nine-person bench when LCR’s lawsuit lands before the Supreme Court, in the case denying the Log Cabin Republicans’ request to knock down the Ninth Circuit’s stay, which kept DADT alive despite a federal [...]

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Path Clearer For Civil Unions In Hawaii?

OIA Staff — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 13:59:14 +0000

The fate of civil unions in Hawaii may now be a lot clearer with the election of Neil Abercrombie to the Governorship of that state. Unlike his predecessor Linda Lingle and his opponent Lieutenant Governor James Aiona, Abercrombie is a supporter of civil unions and equality, or as much equality as is available under the [...]

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Judge Denies Stay of Order To Halt Enforcement of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Policy

OIA Staff — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 13:13:54 +0000

U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips today refused to grant the government’s request to stay her order to halt enforcement of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy banning openly lesbian, gay and bisexual service members. Phillips ruled the policy unconstitutional last month. Statement by Rea Carey, Executive Director National Gay and Lesbian Task Force [...]

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AFER files brief to 9th Circuit; Plaintiffs defend Judge Walker’s Prop 8 decision

OIA Staff — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 15:07:09 +0000

The American Foundation for Equal Rights filed its response brief to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just before the midnight deadline. The plaintiffs in the landmark Perry v. Schwarzenegger case that overturned Proposition 8 filed their brief with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today, reiterating the clear unconstitutionality of the initiative that [...]

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Dept of Justice to Appeal DOMA Rulings

OIA Staff — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:35:08 +0000

Today, the Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal in the case of Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, the challenge brought by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) to Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Representing seven married same-sex couples and three widowers, GLAD filed Gill in March 2009. [...]

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Witt Decision Offers Preview of Post-’Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ World

OIA Staff — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 14:50:27 +0000

The Palm Center released a statement following the September 24 ruling in favor of Air Force Major Margaret Witt in the U.S. District Court in Tacoma. Witt was discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell” in 2004 and must be reinstated, according to the ruling by Judge Ronald B. Leighton. However, the Department of Justice is [...]

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Court affirms overturning Fla. gay adoption ban

OIA Staff — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 15:29:49 +0000

A Miami appeals court has upheld a ruling overturning Florida’s law banning adoption by gays. The 3rd District Court of Appeal issued its decision Wednesday affirming a lower court’s decision that the ban is unconstitutional. VIA. Read the full article @ Court affirms overturning Fla. gay adoption ban Read more articles @ our blogBecome a [...]

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‘Citizen of the State of California’ Wants Prop 8 Reinstated Because Judge Vaughn Walker Is Gay

OIA Staff — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:22:20 +0000

Is this really how supporters of Prop 8 plan on handling the appeal of Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling — by relying on the Bible and Walker’s sexual orientation as reason to overturn the decision? OFFICIAL PROP. 8 PLAINTIFFS’ STATEMENT ON TODAY’S 9th CIRCUIT FILING Statement from Chad Griffin, Board President, American Foundation for Equal Rights [...]

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“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Law Ruled Unconstitutional by Federal Judge

OIA Staff — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:28:36 +0000

Servicemembers United, the nation’s largest organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans, proudly hailed today’s announcement that U.S. District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillips has ruled that the 17-year old “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law is unconstitutional. Judge Phillips also indicated that she will issue a permanent injunction barring the Department of Defense from [...]

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Court Won’t Force Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jerry Brown To Defend Prop 8

OIA Staff — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:39:12 +0000

A court has rejected a Christian-based legal group’s effort to force California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown to appeal a federal district court ruling that found the state’s gay marriage ban, Proposition 8, unconstitutional. Without explanation, the Third District Court of Appeals in Sacramento on Wednesday denied the Pacific Justice Institute’s request [...]

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Charlie Crist Supports Federal Gay Marriage Ban

OIA Staff — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:51:18 +0000

Florida Governor – and U.S. Senate hopeful – Charlie Crist said Sunday that he supports putting a gay marriage ban in the U.S. Constitution. Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, Crist said: “When it comes to marriage, I think it is a sacred institution, I believe it is between a man and a woman.” [...]

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Margaret Hoover Asks Fellow Conservatives to Support Marriage For All

OIA Staff — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:21:11 +0000

Fox News contributor Margaret Hoover follows up January’s pro-same-sex marriage column with a plea to the network’s viewers and online readers: don’t be on the wrong side of history Now, with a decision handed down that social conservatives despise, a judge whose sterling reputation as a conservative for twenty years on the federal bench is [...]

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BREAKING: Judge declares Prop 8 unconstitutional

OIA Staff — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 21:26:03 +0000

Same-sex couples and their families won a huge victory Wednesday as U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker ruled California’s Proposition 8 violates both the equal protection and due process clauses in the U.S. Constitution. Says the ruling’s conclusion: “Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial [...]

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Six gay couples file suit in HI for the rights of marriage

OIA Staff — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:04:48 +0000

Six gay Hawaiian couples are suing the state for the same rights as married couples. Gay rights group Lambda Legal announced there WOULD BE a lawsuit the night Republican Governor Linda Lingle vetoed the Civil Unions bill that had been passed by state lawmakers. On Thursday, they made it official. The lawsuit asks for the [...]

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7 gay couples sue Montana over equal protection

OIA Staff — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:42:14 +0000

The ACLU of Montana may have found a way to force states like Texas that have outlawed same-sex marriage to provide rights to gay and lesbian couples. The lawsuit claims Montana violates its own state constitutional guarantees of rights like privacy, equal protection and due process. The suit seeks equal rights through domestic partnerships. By [...]

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Mugabe says no to gay rights in Zimbabwe

OIA Staff — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:06:13 +0000

President Robert Mugabe has vowed that the new constitution currently being drafted in Zimbabwe will have no provision for gay rights, state radio reported Sunday. Mugabe, like most other African leaders, has made no secret of his scorn for homosexuality, comparing gay individuals to dogs and pigs…. [ via Hindustan Times ] Read the full [...]

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Federal judge rules against DOMA – twice

OIA Staff — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:57:46 +0000

In an enormous victory for same-sex marriage, a federal judge in Boston Thursday ruled, in two separate cases, that a critical part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. Read this story for a breakdown of the two DOMA decisions, their scope and impact. [ via 365gay.com ] Read the full article @ [...]

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Costa Rica’s Constitutional Court Orders A Stop To Same Sex Marriage Referendum

OIA Staff — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:52:17 +0000

The Sala Constitucional (Constitutional Court) has ordered the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) to suspend the process of the referendum on same sex marriages that was to have been included in the December 2010 municipal elections. The referendum was to have let the population decide the fate of a proposal for law that would allow [...]

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Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds gay marriage ban

OIA Staff — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:07:28 +0000

The Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the state’s constitutional ban on gay marriage and civil unions in a unanimous ruling Wednesday. The court’s 7-0 ruling concluded that the constitutional amendment was properly put to voters in a statewide referendum in 2006. Justices rejected a lawsuit that claimed the amendment violated a rule limiting constitutional amendments to a single [...]

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Wisconsin High Court To Decide Future Of Same-Sex Marriage Ban

OIA Staff — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:08:40 +0000

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is expected to decide tomorrow whether that state’s the 2006 constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions should be struck down. The Justices are scheduled to hear a suit brought by Dr. William McConkey, a professor at UW-Oshkosh, that says the bans on same-sex marriage and civil unions should have [...]

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Judge asked to strike down DOMA

OIA Staff — Fri, 07 May 2010 13:56:45 +0000

A lawyer for 17 gays and lesbians who wed in Massachusetts urged a federal judge today to strike down a 1996 federal law that defines marriage as a union strictly between a man and a woman, calling it an unconstitutional intrusion on a matter previously left to states. Until Congress passed the Defense of Marriage [...]

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Prop 8 trial could wrap up in June

OIA Staff — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:18:43 +0000

The federal trial to determine if California’s same-sex marriage ban violates the U.S. Constitution may wrap up in June after a months-long hiatus, the judge said Wednesday. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker tentatively scheduled the long-delayed closing arguments in the case for June 16. [ via Sacramento Bee ] Read the full article @ [...]

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Arkansas Judge Strikes Gay Adoption Ban

OIA Staff — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:31:40 +0000

A circuit judge on Friday struck down a state law banning unmarried couples from adopting and serving as foster parents. Act 1 unconstitutionally burdens non-marital relationships and acts of sexual intimacy between adults by forcing them to choose between becoming a parent and having any meaningful type of intimate relationship outside of marriage, Circuit Judge [...]

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Culver: Gay marriage discrimination has no place in Iowa’s constitution

OIA Staff — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:44:49 +0000

Gov. Chet Culver today made his strongest public statements to date about gay marriage, telling reporters that discrimination has no place in Iowa’s constitution. “We stood firm for the civil rights of every Iowan by saying loudly and clearly that any and all efforts to add discriminatory amendments to our state constitution have no place [...]

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Pennsylvania Senate Committee Takes Up Gay Marriage Ban Bill and Tables It

OIA Staff — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:53:08 +0000

A key Pennsylvania Senate committee will take up the issue of gay marriage today. UPDATE: The bill before the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee has stalled, the AP reports. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider Senator John H. Eichelberger, Jr’s joint resolution that aims to define marriage as a heterosexual union in the state constitution, [...]

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Gay Marriage and Adoption To Be Legal in Mexico City Tomorrow

OIA Staff — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:16:46 +0000

Gay rights activist Mariana Pérez Ocaña said she fears conservative provincial leaders will chip away at same-sex marriage. After abortion was legalized, she noted, states altered their constitutions to say life begins at conception. Governors affiliated with PAN have promised to challenge same-sex marriage. “Many activists in gay groups fear there will be a backlash,” [...]

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Iowa Conservatives Concede No Chance of Gay Marriage Ban This Year

OIA Staff — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:18:38 +0000

When Gov. Chet Culver delivers his annual Condition of the State address next Tuesday, opponents of same-sex marriage from around Iowa will be there. Spearheaded by the influential social conservative group Iowa Family Policy Center, the gathering is advertised as a public call for lawmakers to pass an amendment to the state’s constitution banning same-sex [...]

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Same-sex Divorce Under Dispute in Texas

OIA Staff — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:03:01 +0000

One woman in Travis County is fighting for a divorce, but her spouse said the termination shouldn’t be recognized because same-sex marriage isn’t legal in Texas. Naylor and her partner married five years ago in Massachusetts, the only state to have legalized same-sex marriage at the time. Naylor’s spouse is challenging her request for a [...]

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Proposition 8 Opponents Tell Judge They Plan to Prove Measure is Irrational

OIA Staff — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:02:42 +0000

Two couples who challenged California’s ban on same-sex marriage have told a federal judge in San Francisco that they plan to prove at a January trial that the measure is “irrational, indefensible and unconstitutional.” U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker is scheduled to hold a nonjury trial beginning Jan. [ Topix - KRON ] Read the [...]

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Gay couples blast federal Defense of Marriage Act

OIA Staff — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:54:31 +0000

Gay married couples suing the government over a federal law that doesn’t recognize same-sex unions say there is “no legitimate or plausible” reason for having a federal definition of marriage that excludes gay couples. The lawsuit was brought by seven gay couples and three widowers, all of whom were married in Massachusetts after it became [...]

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The Dangers of Voting on Civil Rights

OIA Staff — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:52:06 +0000

In an election that had been billed for weeks as too close to call, Maine’s often unpredictable voters repealed a state law Tuesday that would have allowed same-sex couples to wed. Gay marriage has now lost in all 31 states in which it has been put to a popular vote — a trend that the [...]

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