Category Archives: Law
Karen Golinski: Marriage equality’s inadvertent champion
Karen Golinski never meant to become one of the headline names in the fight to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). All she wanted to do was to secure health care coverage for her legal spouse.
California court says Prop 8 proponents have standing in fed court
In what amounts to a bump in the road for opponents of Proposition 8, a unanimous California Supreme Court told a federal appeals court November 17 that California law “authorizes” the proponents of the initiative to defend it in federal
New birth certificate lawsuit in Iowa
A state district court in Iowa heard arguments November 7 in a case to determine whether the child born to a lesbian couple married in that state has the right to have the names of both her parents on her
SLDN challenges use of DOMA against gay service members
The Servicemembers Legal Defense Fund filed suit in a federal district court Thursday (October 27) challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act and its use in denying to gay service members spousal benefits equal to that given to their straight
Supreme worries: drawing the line on religious bias
The ACLU called it “one of the most important religious liberty cases in years” and said the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the matter would determine whether religious organizations have “the right to discriminate based on non-religious grounds.”
Supreme Court refuses couple’s plea
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday (October 11) refused to hear a case that challenged a sort of “back door discrimination” against a gay couple by a Louisiana state official.
Fed judge says Prop 8 videos should be released
On the same day a Broadway play is to premiere to highlight the transcripts from the landmark Proposition 8 trial, a federal judge has ordered release of videotapes of the trial.
GOP abandons ‘transparency’ vow; blocks videotape of DOMA proceeding
Remember last year’s Pledge to America from the Republican Party? It promised three times to make government “more transparent.” Well, apparently, that pledge had a hidden expiration date.
New guidelines for same-sex parenting and custody
Many contentious lawsuits involving the rights of LGBT people have occurred when a biological parent uses anti-LGBT laws to try and deny a child’s non-biological parent custody or visitation. Several LGBT organizations have published a revised set of standards aimed