Out in America Features» Court

Proposition 8 Backers Have Standing to Defend It, Court Rules

OIA Staff — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:36:12 +0000

This morning, the CA Supreme Court ruled that the proponents of Prop 8 do have standing under state law to appeal the decision in Perry v. Brown: …In response to the question submitted by the Ninth Circuit, we conclude, for the reasons discussed above, that when the public officials who ordinarily defend a challenged state law [...]

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Obama Expects DOMA Ruling ‘Soon’

OIA Staff — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:22:30 +0000

Barack Obama said during a Sept. 28 meeting that he expects a court ruling “soon” on the Defense of Marriage Act , an anti-gay law from 1996 that singles out gay and lesbian families for discriminatory treatment by denying them federal recognition of any sort, ThinkProgress reported that same day. via. Read the full article [...]

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Federal Judge Orders Release Of Gay Marriage Trial Video

OIA Staff — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:02:25 +0000

A federal judge on Monday ordered the release of video of last year’s trial that resulted in declaring Proposition 8, California’s gay marriage ban, unconstitutional, the AP reported. “No compelling reasons exist for continued sealing of the digital recording of the trial,” U.S. District Court Judge James Wares wrote in his decision. via. Read the [...]

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Appeals Court Hears HIV Lawsuit Against Atlanta Police

OIA Staff — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:06:39 +0000

on Sept. 7, 2011 POZ Magazine reports that The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has heard a brief on behalf of a Georgia man who was allegedly denied employment as an Atlanta police officer because he is HIV positive. According to a statement from Lambda Legal, which is representing the man. The 39-year-old plaintiff, whose [...]

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Feds Ask to Kill Suit Challenging DADT Ban

OIA Staff — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:04:14 +0000

With the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” less than three weeks away, the Obama administration asked a federal appeals court Thursday to discard the lawsuit challenging the ban on openly gay and lesbian service members and a judge’s ruling that declared it unconstitutional. “Once ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ has been ended in 19 days, [...]

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Another strike against DOMA

OIA Staff — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:23:57 +0000

The Task Force applauds the U.S. Department of Justice’s filing of a legal brief that argues that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional. The brief was filed in the case of Karen Golinski, a staff attorney of a federal court in California whose wife was unable to be added to [...]

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Appeals Court Says Gay Panic Is Not Self Defense

OIA Staff — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 18:37:42 +0000

A Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that a man who attacked another man for unwanted sexual advances was rightly denied the use of “gay panic” as a defense strategy. In the case People of the State of Michigan v. Dale Edward Cutler out of Montcalm County, Cutler and his victim, Ryan Young, told quite [...]

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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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7 Years Later, The Air Force Is Finally Giving Lesbian Nurse Her Retirement Benefits

OIA Staff — Wed, 11 May 2011 14:41:36 +0000

Big congratulations are in order for the ACLU and Major Margaret Witt, who announced a major victory today over the Army’s still-in-effect Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy. Under the terms of a settlement, the government will remove the discharge from her record, provide her with full benefits, and will drop its appeal of a court [...]

Read the full article @ 7 Years Later, The Air Force Is Finally Giving Lesbian Nurse Her Retirement Benefits

Gay Dads Lose Appeal in Louisiana Birth Certificate Case

OIA Staff — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:35:02 +0000

A gay couple who wanted both their names to appear on the birth certificate of the Louisiana child they adopted in New York have lost their latest round in federal court. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Tuesday that a Louisiana registrar’s insistence that only one father’s name can go on the certificate [...]

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Walmart Wins Court Case For Defending Lesbians

OIA Staff — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:16:08 +0000

The 7th Circuit Appeals Court has ruled that Walmart was acting within both its legal rights and the stated policy of the company when it fired a fundamentalist Christian for harassing a lesbian employee. via. Read the full article @ Walmart Wins Court Case For Defending Lesbians Read more articles @ our blogBecome a fan [...]

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LGBT & Civil Rights Groups Urge U.S. Ninth Circuit to Uphold Ruling Striking Down DADT

OIA Staff — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:38:37 +0000

Lambda Legal, Knights Out, OutServe, the Human Rights Campaign, and the Anti-Defamation League today filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals urging it to uphold a lower court ruling that declared “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) unconstitutional. The brief was filed in support of a case originally filed in 2004 [...]

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Uganda Courts Ruled in Favor of Gay vs. Newspaper

OIA Staff — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 15:50:40 +0000

Gays in Uganda celebrated, after courts ruled in their favor in a case against a newspaper which called on people to hang them. But after taking the case to court and applying for damages whilst requesting for an injunction against the newspaper, a Uganda court Monday ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. via. Read the [...]

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Israel Ruling Will Allow Gays to Adopt Partner’s Child

OIA Staff — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 13:57:55 +0000

A breakthrough legal ruling in the Jerusalem Family Court on Thursday will pave the way for homosexuals to officially adopt their partner’s or spouse’s child, the Tel Aviv-based New Family organization told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday. “This is a big step for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community in Israel,” commented lawyer Irit [...]

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Judge Refuses to Step Aside in Prop. 8 Case

OIA Staff — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:45:37 +0000

A federal appeals court judge, Judge Stephen Reinhardt, has rejected a request by the sponsors of California’s ban on same-sex marriage to disqualify himself from next week’s hearing in their case, saying he would not be biased by his wife’s leadership role in the American Civil Liberties Union. VIA. Read the full article @ Judge Refuses to [...]

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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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C-SPAN To Air Gay Marriage Ban Prop 8 Hearing

OIA Staff — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:15:13 +0000

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to allow C-SPAN to broadcast the December 6 oral arguments in the appeal of California’s gay marriage ban, Proposition 8, the Los Angeles Times reported. VIA. Read the full article @ C-SPAN To Air Gay Marriage Ban Prop 8 Hearing Read more articles @ our blogBecome [...]

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ACLU Sues U.S. Military Over Lesser Discharge Pay for Gays

OIA Staff — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:25:56 +0000

The ACLU has filed a class action suit against the Department of Defense over a policy which apparently halves separation pay for soldiers discharged from the military for homosexuality. The ACLU writes: The lead plaintiff in the case is Richard Collins, a decorated former staff-sergeant in the U.S. Air Force who served for nine years [...]

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Log Cabin Republicans Asks Supreme Court To Toss Out 9th Circuit’s DADT Stay, Immediately Halt Discharges

OIA Staff — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 17:05:19 +0000

In an emergency request to reverse the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2-1 decision to grant a stay, thus blocking Judge Virginia Phillips’ injunction of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the Log Cabin Republicans are asking the Supreme Court to toss out the stay and keep DADT from being enforced while the government appeals the decision. [...]

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Iowa Courts Hijacked By National Organization for Marriage Intimidation Campaign

OIA Staff — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 14:53:32 +0000

Marriage equality remains law in Iowa After tonight’s defeat of the three Iowa state Supreme Court justices who ruled in favor of marriage equality last year, the Human Rights Campaign and Courage Campaign condemned the National Organization for Marriage’s efforts to intimidate judges across the country. NOM’s president Brian Brown has admitted that his group’s [...]

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Bishop Long Responds: They Called Me ‘Daddy,’ I Bought Them Cars, But There Was No Sex

OIA Staff — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 14:03:11 +0000

Bishop Eddie Long has always said he’d fight the sexual molestation lawsuits from accusers since they came forward last month. But in a court filing yesterday, he went even further and categorically denied all charges against him for the first time. Long, though, said in the four separate documents that he often encouraged his New [...]

Read the full article @ Bishop Long Responds: They Called Me ‘Daddy,’ I Bought Them Cars, But There Was No Sex

DADT Will Be Enforced For Now

OIA Staff — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 13:30:14 +0000

The Pentagon may continue discharging gay troops while the U.S. government appeals a ruling that found the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy unconstitutional, according to a decision tonight from a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. VIA. Read the full article @ DADT Will Be Enforced For Now Read [...]

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Florida Anti-Gay Adoption Ban Comes to an End

OIA Staff — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:07:12 +0000

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that he will not appeal last month’s ruling by a state appellate court striking down a state law barring gay people from adopting. Governor Charlie Crist and the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) had already announced that they would not appeal the decision. Attorney General Bill [...]

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Pentagon Issues Revised Guidelines on Discharge Procedures under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

OIA Staff — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 12:13:21 +0000

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a national, legal services and policy organization dedicated to ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), released a statement today on new guidelines issued by the Pentagon that signal a major shift in how discharges under DADT will proceed. Statement by Army veteran and SLDN Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis: “The Pentagon [...]

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‘Don’t Ask’ Discharges Allowed Again By Appeals Court

OIA Staff — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:18:26 +0000

“Don’t ask, don’t tell” is the law of the land again, at least for a few more days. Late Wednesday afternoon, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco granted the Obama administration’s request for a temporary stay that allows military authorities to resume discharging openly gay and lesbian troops after a one-week [...]

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Justice Department asks appeals court for emergency stay in DADT case

OIA Staff — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:46:33 +0000

Attorneys for the Department of Justice this morning asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for an emergency stay of Judge Virginia Phillips’ permanent injunction that prohibits enforcement of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. “We respectfully request that the Court enter an administrative stay by today October 20, 2010, pending this Court’s resolution [...]

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Military Recruiters Told To Accept Gay Applicants

OIA Staff — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:05:41 +0000

Military recruiters have been told that they must accept gay applicants, a Pentagon spokeswoman said Tuesday, following a federal court decision striking down the ban on gays serving openly in the military. Top-level guidance has been issued to recruiting commands informing them that the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule has been suspended for now, [...]

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DADT: Judge Says Injunction Holds – Maddow and Meghan McCain Discuss It

OIA Staff — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 14:08:01 +0000

A federal judge on Monday tentatively refused to lift her worldwide injunction ordering the U.S. military to immediately cease enforcement of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law governing gay and lesbian service personnel. U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips said during a hearing in her Riverside court she would finalize the tentative ruling by today. [...]

Read the full article @ DADT: Judge Says Injunction Holds – Maddow and Meghan McCain Discuss It

Pentagon warns gay troops to stay silent for now

OIA Staff — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:14:52 +0000

The Defense Department on Friday warned gay troops that if they disclose their sexual orientation now, they could still get in trouble. In a new memo, the Pentagon’s top personnel chief cited a “legally uncertain environment” facing service members during a court battle over the 1993 law known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.” The Defense [...]

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Administration Asks For Stay of DADT Injunction / Pentagon Compliance

OIA Staff — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 13:04:50 +0000

Servicemembers United, the nation’s largest organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans, issued the following statement today in response to the Obama administration’s request to U.S. District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillips that she stay the injunction she issued on Tuesday barring the Pentagon from enforcing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law: “This request from [...]

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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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NOM Files Yet Another Lawsuit Challenging Disclosure Laws

OIA Staff — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:24:55 +0000

As part of its radical nationwide efforts to dismantle state laws that provide transparency about who is funding political campaigns, the National Organization for Marriage this week filed suit in Rhode Island seeking to have their disclosure laws ruled unconstitutional. The suit comes the same week as NOM lost in federal court in Minnesota on [...]

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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 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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Christian-based Legal group seeks to force Calif to defend Prop 8

OIA Staff — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:11:38 +0000

A Christian-based legal group is attempting 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, the AP reported. The Pacific Justice Institute filed its case Monday in the Third District Court of Appeals in Sacramento. VIA. [...]

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Arizona To Appeal Same-Sex Health Benefits Ruling

OIA Staff — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:11:15 +0000

A spokesman for Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says that state will appeal a federal judge’s ruling that Arizona cannot deny family health insurance to employees with same-sex partners. According to AZCentral.com, Brewer spokesman Paul Senseman said, “We are appealing the preliminary injunction because we disagree with the federal court’s initial injunction ruling and we believe [...]

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Highly Decorated Combat Air Force Aviator Files Injunction in Federal Court to Block “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Discharge

OIA Staff — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:02:30 +0000

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and Morrison & Foerster LLP filed a request for a temporary restraining order today on behalf of their client, Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, seeking to block the Air Force from discharging him under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), the discriminatory law barring gay and lesbian service members from serving openly [...]

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Prop 8 Decision To Be Handed Down Today

OIA Staff — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:40:28 +0000

Today, the decision regarding Perry v. Schwarzenegger will be released. The trial was held between January and June of this year, and the decision will finally be released. According to the court’s website: On August 4, 2010, the court will issue its written order containing findings of fact and conclusions of law following the court [...]

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Indiana man wins $1.25M after doc discloses he’s HIV+

OIA Staff — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:17:59 +0000

Bloomington, Indiana man won $1.25 million judgment against Internal Medicine Associates after they disclosed his HIV status when they sued him for a $326 past due bill. The doctor’s office gave the information to their collection lawyers who gave it to collection agents and included it in a court filing demanding payment… [ via The [...]

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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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Crist Warms to Adoption by Gays

OIA Staff — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:19:16 +0000

Florida governor Charlie Crist expressed his openness to allowing adoption by gays. The practice is banned in the state under the harshest law of its kind in the country and is being challenged in court. Crist “said he no longer supports Florida’s ban against gay couples adopting children,” the Times reported. “A better way and [...]

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Elena Kagan’s friends: She’s not gay

OIA Staff — Wed, 12 May 2010 17:02:27 +0000

Elena Kagan is not a lesbian, one of her best friends told POLITICO Tuesday night, responding to persistent rumors and innuendo about the Supreme Court nominee’s personal life. “I’ve known her for most of her adult life and I know she’s straight,” said Sarah Walzer, Kagan’s roommate in law school and a close friend since [...]

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Transgender Activist Chaz Bono Officially A Man

OIA Staff — Mon, 10 May 2010 13:50:52 +0000

Chastity Bono, daughter of Cher and Sonny Bono, is officially Chaz Bono after legally filing to alter his name and gender in a Santa Monica court Thursday. According the Bono’s lawyer, Kristina Wertz of the Transgender Law Center, the court granted the petition. “Chaz now has a court name change and a court order recognizing [...]

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Court hears dispute on “everything-but-marriage” petition signers’ names

OIA Staff — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:36:02 +0000

Gay rights opponents are asking the Supreme Court to protect the anonymity of the signers of a petition that sought a vote to overturn Washington state’s domestic partnership rights. The case being argued at the high court Wednesday weighs the right to political speech, unfettered by fear of intimidation, against transparency in government. [ via [...]

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Bisexual men sue gay softball group, claim discrimination

OIA Staff — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:02:32 +0000

Three bisexual men are suing a national gay-athletic organization, saying they were discriminated against during the Gay Softball World Series held in the Seattle area two years ago. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle accuses the alliance of violating Washington state laws barring discrimination. The alliance organizes the annual Gay Softball [...]

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Homophobic gay California senator gets jail

OIA Staff — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:12:40 +0000

Sen. Roy Ashburn, the homophobic gay state senator from California, was sentenced yesterday for his drunk driving arrest. He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to two days in jail and three years probation. He will pay court costs and fines of about $2,000 and attend a mandatory first offender DUI program. His driver’s license [...]

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Gay marriage fails to get on California ballot

OIA Staff — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 14:23:00 +0000

A challenge to California’s gay marriage ban failed on Monday to qualify for the 2010 ballot, leaving gay activists mulling a 2012 push and hoping a federal court will overturn the measure before then. [ via Reuters ] Read the full article @ Gay marriage fails to get on California ballot Read more articles @ [...]

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Judge orders advocacy groups to turn over campaign material in Prop. 8 trial

OIA Staff — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:27:43 +0000

A federal judge today ordered same-sex marriage advocacy groups to turn over campaign materials from the election fight over Proposition 8, a move that could prolong the legal challenge to California’s ban on gay nuptials. In a 24-page ruling, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker rejected the arguments of the American Civil Liberties Union and [...]

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Insurance Company Intentionally Targeted, Dropped HIV Patients

OIA Staff — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:30:04 +0000

If you’re not familiar with the concept of rescission, it’s a lovely business practice of health insurance companies in which they examine patients records to find a reason to “rescind” coverage after finding out that a customer has a life-threatening illness. This saves them money. That’s not news. What is news is that according to [...]

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Threatening posts not protected free speech

OIA Staff — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:00:20 +0000

A state appeals court says a 15-year-old boy whose Web site was flooded with anti-gay slurs and threats can sue a schoolmate who admitted posting a menacing message but described it as a joke. In a 2-1 ruling Monday, the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles said the violent language of the message [...]

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