Ohio Episopalians open door to gay church weddings
The Columbus Dispatch reported last week that gay Episcopalians in central and southern Ohio will be able to marry in churches beginning Easter 2010.
Bishop Thomas E. Breidenthal of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio announced at the 135th diocesean convention that he would lift the prohibition of same-sex unions in …
Tags: Bishop Thomas, Church Weddings, Churches, Columbus Dispatch, Episcopal Diocese Of Southern Ohio, Gay Church, Gay Columbus, Gay Weddings, Prohibition, Same Sex UnionsGa. Supreme Court rules against ban against allowing kids around father’s gay friends
The Georgia Supreme Court tossed out part of a Fayette County court’s decision that kept a divorced gay father from allowing his children to interact with his gay friends, according to a ruling today from the state Supreme Court.
In the ruling, Justice Robert Benham wrote the high court acknowledges that trial courts have the discretion to “limit a parent’s exposure of the children to certain people, if it can be shown that the children would be adversely affected.”
In this case, the Supreme Court justices rejected Fayette County Superior Court Judge Christopher Edwards’ ban on having the gay father bring his gay friends around his children. Edwards has been nominated to fill the a seat on the state Supreme Court after Chief Justice Leah Sears steps down at the end of June.
“The blanket prohibition against exposure of the children to members of the gay and lesbian community who are acquainted with husband is another matter,” says today’s opinion. “There is no evidence in the record before us that any member of the excluded community has engaged in inappropriate conduct in the presence of the children or that the children would be adversely affected by exposure to any member of that community.”
See Ga. Supreme Court rules against ban against allowing kids around … Sovo.com
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Gay Marriage Battle Heats Up In Nation’s Capital NPR
Until 2004, same-sex couples couldn’t wed anywhere in the country. Now, gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Maine and most recently New Hampshire.
Despite these historic strides by the gay rights movement, though, the United States is still a nation divided over whether to redefine marriage.
The California Supreme Court on May 26 upheld the state’s voter-approved constitutional ban on gay marriage, but ruled that some 18,000 same-sex couples who wed before Proposition 8 took effect would still be married under state law.
Twenty-nine other states have enshrined voter-approved prohibitions blocking same-sex marriage in their state constitution as a way to keep state judges from overturning the bans. See Gay Marriage Battle Heats Up In Nation’s Capital NPR
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Drive to stop gay partnership law is dividing conservatives
Reporting from Seattle — A campaign to roll back gay rights that kicked off in Washington state over the weekend has split the Christian conservative community, with some wondering whether it is the right time for a fight and others arguing that time may be running out.On the heels of the recent California Supreme Court ruling that upheld Proposition 8’s prohibition against same-sex marriage, conservative groups here began collecting signatures for a ballot referendum to block a new Washington state law that substantially expands rights for domestic partners.
The law that Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire signed in May has been dubbed the “everything but marriage” bill. When it takes effect in July, it will expand previous domestic partnership laws to include issues like adoption, child support, pensions and other public-employee benefits.Washington’s secretary of state approved the referendum petitions Friday and signature collections began over the weekend. If referendum backers collect 120,577 signatures by July 25, the law would be suspended pending a vote in November.But some conservatives fear that public support for domestic partnership rights and a preoccupation with the economy could doom the effort — and make it harder to battle same-sex marriage down the road. See Drive to stop gay partnership law is dividing conservatives
Los Angeles Times
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Churches that staged protest wait for IRS response
(Milwaukee) Nearly seven months after defying a prohibition on endorsing candidates from the pulpit, 33 churches across the country are still waiting to learn whether the Internal Revenue Service will take action against them.
The goal of “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” was to trigger a legal fight and ultimately overturn regulations that …
Tags: Churches, Freedom, Internal Revenue Service, Irs, Legal Fight, Milwaukee, Prohibition, Protest, Pulpit, Seven MonthsSupreme Court takes up dispute over endorsement of gay adoption by Florida Bar’s family-law section
State Supreme Court justices critically questioned both sides today in a dispute over whether the family-law section of the Florida Bar should be allowed to legally endorse adoption for gay couples. A circuit judge in Miami threw out the statute banning adoption by gays but the case is headed for the Supreme Court. The Bar itself has not taken a position but its family-law section sought to file a “friend of the court” brief supporting the circuit court ruling. Lawyers supporting the statute objected — saying the Bar shouldn’t be using compulsory dues paid by all lawyers to fight on one side of a controversial issue.
Tallahassee attorney Barry Richard said the family section is a voluntary association and that its lawyer members have a right to take positions. But Matt Staver, representing the conservative Liberty Counsel, said Bar rules forbid lobbying on either side of a hot topic.
The attorneys argued over the distinction between lobbying the Legislature and filing a legal brief in court. They also disagreed about whether a voluntary section of the bar is restrained by the same rules applying to the full bar.
Chief Justices Peggy Quince and Justices Barbara Pariente, Fred Lewis, Charles Canady and Ricky Polston pressed Richard and Staver on the legal distinctions.
Pariente said that if the prohibition on pursuing controversial, divisive issues had been interpreted as a ban 50 years ago, the Bar could not have taken sides on racial integration. Lewis said he doesn’t think much of “friend of the court” briefs, because they are usually partisan advocacy rather than independent guidance on the law, and that the public doesn’t make a distinction between a section of the Bar and the whole Bar itself.
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Gay marriage effort shifts back to New England
(Montpelier, Vt.) Vermont was the first state to outlaw slavery. Neighboring New Hampshire declared its independence from England before any other colony. Maine led the way with Prohibition.
These days, Yankee activism has another cause - gay rights.
Two states in New England already allow same-sex marriage, and lawmakers in three more …
Tags: Activism, gay marriage, gay rights, Lawmakers, Maine, marriage, Montpelier Vermont, Montpelier Vt, New England, New Hampshire, Outlaw, Prohibition, same sex marriage, Slavery, Two States, Vt Vermont, Yankee2 Fla. students challenge school ruling on gay club
(Jacksonville, Florida) An attorney for two gay students at a north Florida high school told a federal judge Thursday they should be allowed to form a campus club promoting tolerance toward gays, despite a school prohibition.
But a lawyer for the Nassau County School Board said the group’s name, Gay-Straight Alliance, …
Tags: Challenge School, Club Jacksonville, County School Board, Federal Judge, Florida High School, Florida School, Gay Club, Gay Florida, Gay Straight Alliance, Gay Students, Gays, Jacksonville Florida, Lawyer, Nassau County School Board, North Florida, Prohibition, Tolerance
