via Richard Wolf, USA Today WASHINGTON — If the range of possible Supreme Court rulings on gay marriage this month requires a scorecard, the potential confusion arising from those decisions may demand a manual. It’s not as simple as whether gays and lesbians can marry or not, and whether they become eligible for federal benefits. … Continue reading
via Greg Hinz, Crain’s Chicago Business Legal gay marriage may be coming to Illinois as soon as next month. After counting heads and consulting with legislative leaders, the chief sponsors of a bill to permit same-sex couples to get married in the state this morning disclosed they intend to push for a vote in the … Continue reading
via Mark Sherman, Associated Press The Supreme Court plunged into the contentious issue of gay marriage Friday when it agreed to take up California’s ban on same-sex unions and a separate dispute about federal benefits for legally married gay couples. The court’s action gives the justices the chance to say by late June whether gay … Continue reading
via David Ariosio, CNN A federal appeals court in New York on Thursday became the nation’s second to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, finding that the Clinton-era law’s denial of federal benefits to married same-sex couples is unconstitutional. The divisive act, which was passed in 1996, bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages and … Continue reading
Think the DNC should be moved out of North Carolina? Sign the petition here. via George E. Condon Jr., National Journal Democrats who already were queasy about the site of their national convention could be excused after Tuesday’s election in North Carolina if they asked, “Tell me again just why we’re going to Charlotte this … Continue reading
via Julie Pace, The Associated Press President Barack Obama declared unequivocal support for gay marriage on Wednesday, becoming the first president to endorse the politically explosive idea and injecting a polarizing issue into the 2012 race for the White House. Obama’s announcement, after refusing to take a clear stand for months, cheered gay rights groups … Continue reading
via Norma Love, The Huffington Post New Hampshire lawmakers on Wednesday rejected a bill that would have made their state legislature the first one to repeal a gay marriage law, handing gay-rights supporters a key victory in the Northeast, where same-sex marriage is prevalent. The state House voted 211-116 to kill the measure, ending a … Continue reading
via Editorial Board, The New York Times State legislators in New Hampshire, who are on the verge of writing government-sanctioned discrimination back into state law, might want to take a look at a powerful ruling on marriage equality by the federal appeals court in San Francisco. A three-judge panel on the court ruled 2 to … Continue reading
via Gay Marriage Watch 42% of Americans live in 21 states with various forms of IA, MA, NH, NY, VT, WA); civil union (DE, HI, IL, NJ, RI); or domestic partnership (CA, CT, DC, CO, MD, ME, NV, NM, OR, WI). Since 1993, all American states have taken positions on marriage equality. Each state allows … Continue reading
via Steve Kornacki, Salon Mitt Romney has gotten to be pretty good at playing dumb, and he showed it Sunday morning. The setting was the fifteenth Republican presidential debate, the final such event before Tuesday’s Republican presidential primary. One of the most baffling features of the previous debates — including the one held just ten hours before … Continue reading
Not long after ink from the governor’s signature had dried on Illinois’ civil unions law, Todd and Mark Wathen began preparations for a June ceremony. The couple wanted to hold the event somewhere quaint in central Illinois, a place that would be convenient to family in Kentucky and Indiana and to their home in Mattoon. … Continue reading