Flyer promoting prom says: ‘All dates must be of the opposite sex.’
Flyer promoting prom says: ‘All dates must be of the opposite sex.’
Iowa gay foes pledge to reverse gay marriage
(Des Moines, Iowa) Iowa opponents of same-sex marriage say they will fight to reverse the court ruling allowing gays to wed, no matter how long it takes.
Same-sex couples began marrying Monday following the state Supreme Court ruling this month striking down a law limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples.
Republicans and social …
Oregon tweaks DP law
(Salem, Oregon) The Oregon House has passed legislation aimed at clarifying several sections of its domestic partner law that LGBT groups said were ambiguous or confusing.
The domestic partner law allows same-sex couples – and opposite-sex couples who do not marry -to form legally-recognized partnerships. It was passed by the legislature …
Columbia, Mo. passes partner registry
(Columbia, Missouri) By unanimous vote, Columbia city council has voted to establish a domestic partner registry for same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples who choose not to marry.
While registering does not offer any specific rights in the city, it could be used as proof of a relationship for anyone wishing …
Denmark OKs adoptions by gay couples
(Copenhagen) Denmark’s Parliament has passed legislation allowing same-sex couples to adopt children. The bill puts gay and lesbian couples on the same footing as opposite-sex couples.
The measure was passed on a 62-53 vote with 64 absentees.
Gay couples had been fighting for a decade to have the law passed. They found …
Illinois Mormons against civil unions?
Gay rights advocates fear that Mormons in Nauvoo might try to undermine civil unions up for debate in Springfield today. They point to the church’s overwhelming financial support of California’s Proposition 8, the successful ballot measure that made it illegal for lesbian and gay couples to marry.
The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, accused the Latter-day Saints of sending a private e-mail to Illinois members, urging them to contact state legislators and voice opposition to the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act, a bill that would define “civil union” as a legal relationship between two persons, of either the same or opposite sex. It would also entitle both parties of a civil union to the same legal obligations, responsibilities, protections, and benefits afforded to spouses.
The bill has been scheduled for a hearing in the Illinois House of Representatives Youth and Family Committee today. If the bill is voted out of committee, it becomes eligible for a vote before the full Illinois House of Representatives.
But Kim Farah, a spokeswoman for the national church, said the e-mail was not part of a church wide opposition campaign. The church’s engagement with political causes is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. It is unclear if the Illinois legislation would violate church doctrine as interpreted by Latter-day Saints.
“As is widely known, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes in the sanctity of traditional marriage,” she said in a statement. “The Church has not taken a position on any legislation currently being considered by the Illinois State Legislature … An e-mail was sent from a local Illinois Church leader to his congregation – one of 129 congregations in the state — who was free to express his own views.”
The e-mail in question was sent to at least one Mormon ward in Illinois and authorized by Bishop Chris Church of Nauvoo.
The message warns recipients that the legislation would “empower the public schools to begin teaching this lifestyle to our young children regardless of parental requests otherwise.”
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Bill would allow gays to sponsor foreign partners
(Washington) Legislation was re-introduced in Congress Thursday that would allow Americans in a same-sex relationship to sponsor their “permanent partners” for legal residency in the United States, a right currently afforded only to opposite-sex couples under immigration law.
The Uniting American Families Act was filed in the House by Rep. Jerrold …
Gay couples rally for marriage rights
(New York City) Thousands of same-sex couples nationwide are prepared to apply for marriage licenses on Thursday.
The attempts are being undertaken to protest court and voter decisions restricting legal matrimony to opposite-sex couples.
Activists geared up for rallies at marriage bureaus or county clerks’ offices in communities large and small – …
Colombia high court upholds same-sex partner rights
(Bogota) Colombia’s Constitutional Court has upheld a lower court ruling that the government must provide same-sex partners with all of the rights that opposite-sex couples have.
Last year, LGBT rights groups went to court seeking health and other government benefits. Last April, a lower court ruled that same-sex couples are implicitly …
Religious, labor groups urge Court to invalidate Prop 8
(San Francisco, California) Religious leaders and labor unions have joined the call for the Supreme Court of California to invalidate Proposition 8, the amendment to the state constitution approved in November by voters that restricts marriage to opposite-sex couples.
The California Council of Churches and other religious leaders and …
