Four Okla. women continue fight against gay marriage ban
Four Oklahoma women have filed a new complaint challenging federal and state laws banning gay marriage, reports the Journal Record.
One of the couples, Susan Barton and Gay Phillips, were married in California in Nov., British Columbia in May 2005 and a civil union in Vermont in August 2001. The second …
Tags: Banning Gay Marriage, British Columbia, Civil Union, Couples, Gay Marriage Ban, Gay Oklahoma, Gay Women, marriage, Oklahoma Women, Phillips, State Laws, Vermont, Women MarriageDelaware is 21st state to pass lesbian-gay bias law
Dover, Delaware–State lawmakers sent a sexual orientation nondiscrimination bill to the governor on June 25, passing it through both houses of the legislature in only an hour.
The House passed the measure at 8:30 pm, shortly after the Senate passed an identical bill. In previous legislative sessions, the Senate killed the bill.
Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, one of the bill’s champions, said that Gov. Jack Markell had expressed support for the measure
When Markell signs it, Delaware will become the 21st state with such a law. But, unlike seven similar state laws passed since 2002, Delaware’s does not include gender identity.
See Delaware is 21st state to pass lesbian-gay bias law
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Gay Divorce Still Legal in California
Gay and lesbian couples who took advantage of California’s brief fling with gay marriage last year to tie the knot, but now can’t stand the sight of one another, will be relieved to hear that gay divorce remains an option.
Frederick Hertz, a lawyer in Oakland, Calif., who specializes in same-sex family law, told The Lede that since California’s Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that same-sex marriages that took place in 2008, before voters approved a ban in November, will remain “both valid and recognized,” that means “all the rules of marriage apply, including divorce.” That said, the state’s new law explicitly outlawing same-sex-marriage does create something of a gray area for couples who live in California, but were married in another state, or nation, and now want to get a divorce. As Mr. Hertz explains, the problem for unhappily married same-sex couples living in a state that bans same-sex marriage, is that “getting a divorce requires a recognition of the marriage.”
In an article explaining how the legal patchwork of state laws makes it nearly impossible for some same-sex couples to get divorced, the Los Angeles Times reported that a lesbian couple from Rhode Island who got married in Massachusetts were later denied a divorce in their home state, since the courts there can not recognize their marriage. See Gay Divorce Still Legal in California
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Lambda Legal Files Federal Lawsuit Against Assisted Living Facility Following Eviction of HIV-Positive Retired Minister
‘They shunned and rejected him, making him feel like a complete outcast.’
(Little Rock, Ark.) — Lambda Legal announced today that it has filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas against Fox Ridge of North Little Rock, an assisted living facility.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 75-year-old Reverend Dr. Robert Franke, a retired university provost and Unitarian-Universalist minister, and his daughter, Sara Franke Bowling.
Dr. Franke, who relocated to Little Rock to be closer to his daughter, moved in to Fox Ridge after fulfilling all of its residency requirements — including submission of medical evaluation forms from a local physician. The next day, however — after realizing Dr. Franke is HIV-positive —Fox Ridge officials abruptly ejected Dr. Franke from the facility. A Fox Ridge staffer told Bowling her father’s personal belongings could remain, but that the “body” had to be out by the end of the day.
“I was stunned that my dad was thrown out of his new home,” said Bowling. “The people at Fox Ridge were supposed to make sure that he was comfortable and cared for, and instead they shunned and rejected him, making him feel like a complete outcast.”
Dr. Franke requires no special medical attention beyond daily medication and regular check-ups with a physician, and Fox Ridge is licensed by the state to provide Dr. Franke with the kind of care he and his daughter were seeking for him.
“Federal and state laws exist to protect people from just this sort of unjust treatment,” said Scott Schoettes, HIV Project staff attorney for Lambda Legal. “Unfortunately, this is something we are seeing far too frequently, all across the country. Those tasked with caring for our elderly loved ones need to know that it is illegal to discriminate against someone with HIV based on outdated and misguided beliefs about its transmission.”
Franke and Bowling are seeking damages under the Fair Housing Act, the Arkansas Civil Rights Act and the Arkansas Fair Housing Act, as well as an injunction, under those laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act, preventing Fox Ridge from continuing to engage in this kind of conduct.
“This is about doing the right thing,” said Franke. “I want to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else — because no one should ever be made to feel the way I did.”
Scott Schoettes, HIV Project Staff Attorney, and Kenneth Upton, Supervising Senior Staff Attorney, are handling the case for Lambda Legal. They are joined by co-counsel Gary L. Sullivan of the Tripcony Law Firm in Little Rock, Arkansas. The case is Robert G. Franke and Sara Franke Bowling v. Parkstone Living Center, Inc., dba Fox Ridge at North Little Rock.
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“It’s not easy being gay,” says director of the Ohio Department of Insurance
“It’s not easy being gay,” said Mary Jo Hudson, director of the Ohio Department of Insurance. She wasn’t referring to political opposition and other obstacles, but the plight of same-sex couples who are trying to get and keep health insurance.
“You’ve got to go through a lot of hoops,” said Ms. Hudson, who is openly gay and has lived with her partner for eight years.
Same-sex couples have been making headlines; Maine followed the lead of Iowa and Vermont this week in legalizing same-sex marriage, and several other state legislatures are now considering it. But Ms. Hudson says that fairer and more comprehensive health care coverage for partners — whether they are legally married or not — is not necessarily part of the package.
“For the vast majority of gay couples,” she said, “getting health insurance for a domestic partner is still a challenge.”
Currently about one-third of companies with more than 500 employees offer domestic partner benefits. That’s up from about 12 percent in 2000, according to a study from Mercer, an employee benefits consulting firm. But the percentage drops off sharply when smaller employers are counted, Ms. Hudson said.
And there is no provision for domestic partner benefits for federal employees, although there are some legislative efforts to change that. Some states and municipalities offer their employees domestic partner coverage, depending on the state laws.
Even if the relationship is formalized with the state in a marriage or union, that does not always obligate the employer to cover a same-sex spouse. For one thing, self-insured employers are not regulated by the states. See Patient Money For Gay Couples, Obstacles to Health Insurance
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Conn. gov. signs bill updating marriage laws
(Hartford, Conn.) A decade-long battle for same-sex marriage in Connecticut has ended with the governor’s signature on a bill updating the state’s laws.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed the legislation Thursday, one day after the state House and Senate both approved it.
The bill removes gender references from state marriage laws. It …
Tags: Connecticut, Decade, Gender References, Hartford Conn, Legislation, M Jodi Rell, marriage, Marriage Laws, same sex marriage, Senate, Signature, Signs, State Gov, State House, State LawsVote caps decade-long gay marriage fight in Conn.
(Hartford, Conn.) A decade-long battle for marriage equality in Connecticut ended late Wednesday when the General Assembly voted to update the state’s marriage laws to conform with a landmark court ruling allowing gay and lesbian couples to tie the knot.
“It feels so good. It really does feel like the book …
Tags: Caps, Connecticut, Decade, Gay And Lesbian, Gay And Lesbian Couples, Gay Couples, Gay Lesbian, gay marriage, General Assembly, Hartford Conn, Knot, Landmark, marriage, Marriage Equality, Marriage Laws, State Laws, VoteCourt stays two men on birth certificate
Conflict between state laws mean case will wend its way through Federal courts. Adopted in NY.
Tags: Birth Certificate, Conflict, Federal Courts, State Laws, Two MenCourt stays two men on birth certificate
Conflict between state laws mean case will wend its way through Federal courts. Adopted in NY.
Tags: Birth Certificate, Conflict, Federal Courts, State Laws, Two MenProposal to strike ‘marriage’ from Calif. law
(Sacramento, California) California’s top election official says supporters can start collecting signatures for a proposed ballot measure to strike the word “marriage” from all state laws.
Supporters of this ballot measure want to replace it with the term “domestic partnership,” while keeping all the rights of marriage in place.
The proposal is …
Tags: Ballot Measure, California California, Domestic Partnership, Election Official, marriage, Marriage Law, Marriage Laws, Proposal, Sacramento California, Signatures, State Laws
