MD: Attorney General Issues Positive Opinion on Gay Marrriage

Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler says he believes Maryland's highest court likely would rule that gay marriages valid in another state would be valid in Maryland. However, Gansler writes in a 45-page opinion on Wednesday that while he doesn't know for sure how the Maryland Court of Appeals would rule, he's outlining his view of how the court "would likely resolve this issue."

Maryland law defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. But the state also generally acknowledges couples married elsewhere.

Maryland has extended a variety of protections to same-sex couples in recent years, but it has stopped short of legalizing marriages or civil unions.

Full Story from WJZ.com
Click here for gay marriage resources in Maryland.
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MA: AG Asks Federal Judge to Find DOMA Unconstitutional

A federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman forces Massachusetts, the first state in the country to legalize gay marriage, to discriminate against same-sex couples, state Attorney General Martha Coakley argues in court papers. Coakley's office filed a lawsuit in July challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

In court papers filed in US District Court on Thursday, Coakley asked a judge to deem the law unconstitutional without holding a trial on the lawsuit.

Coakley argues that regulating marital status has traditionally been left to the states. She said the federal law treats married heterosexual couples and married same-sex couples differently; for instance, when determining eligibility for Medicaid benefits and when determining whether the spouse of a veteran can be buried in a Massachusetts veterans cemetery. The law forces Massachusetts "to engage in invidious discrimination against its own citizens in order to receive and retain federal funds in connection with two joint federal-state programs," Coakley said in the court filing.

Full Story from Boston.com
Click here for gay marriage resources in Massachusetts.
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MD: Lawmaker Threatens AG With Impeachment Over Forthcoming Gay Marriage Opinion

In May 2009, Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, responding to a request from state senator Richard Madaleno (D – Montgomery County), began the process of issuing an opinion on whether the state is permitted to recognize same-sex marriages from other states. Ten months have passed since the AG began researching the issue, and Marylander’s are still waiting for Gansler’s report.

But with the District of Columbia having voted in favor of gay marriage, many same-sex couples can now choose to wed in D.C. (beginning March 3) and still reside in Maryland – where those nuptials will not be recognized.

A bill introduced in this legislative session by Delegate Emmett Burns (D – Baltimore County) – which would have banned same-sex marriage recognition in advance of Gansler’s opinion – was killed in early February by the House Judiciary Committee with a 12 to 8 vote.

Full Story from Examiner.com
Click here for gay marriage resources in Maryland.
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TX: AG Tries to Block Lesbian Couple's Divorce

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is arguing that divorce, like marriage, according to Texas law, is reserved solely for a man and a woman. A state district judge in Austin granted a divorce last week between Sabina Daly, of San Antonio, and Angelique Naylor, of Austin.

The two were married under Massachusetts law in 2004.

A day after the judge’s decision, Abbott filed a motion to block the divorce before it was entered into the official record. Abbott told the San Antonio Express-News that the marriage was not valid in Texas, and therefore neither is the divorce.

Full Story from KWTX
Click here for gay marriage resources in Texas.
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SC: Conservative AG Kills Same Sex Partner Health Benefits Plan

On the advice of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a proposed state regulatory change to allow government employees to add same-sex partners to their state health benefits has been withdrawn from consideration. The suggested policy change from Democratic former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine became public in December in the waning days of his term, eliciting support from gay groups and condemnation from social conservatives.

If adopted, it would have permitted insured state workers to include "other qualified adults" living in their households - such as domestic partners, adult children and other relatives - to the state's health coverage system.

Kaine administration officials claimed that wouldn't increase state expenses because employees adding a person would pick up all the extra costs. But a state fiscal analysis dated Jan. 12 indicates that "insufficient data" and certain unknown variables make cost calculations problematic.

Full Story from the Pilot Online
Click here for gay marriage resources in South Carolina.
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MD: Republicans Accuse AG of Delay in Gay Marriage Recognition Decision

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee took aim at the state's attorney general Thursday, accusing him at a hearing of playing politics with a highly anticipated opinion on whether Maryland law will honor same-sex marriage certificates issued by other states.

The opinion was requested in May, and Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler has not yet ruled, prompting Del. Don H. Dwyer of Anne Arundel County to say the lengthy deliberation process has "become political in nature."

Del. Michael D. Smigiel Sr. of Southern Maryland accused Gansler of "bastardizing" the process by "coming in the back door" to settle an issue that the delegate believes the General Assembly ought to debate. Smigiel predicted that Gansler would rule after the session ends in April.

Full Story from the Baltimore Sun
Click here for gay marriage resources.
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Mexico: Federal Prosecutors Try to Overturn Gay Marriage Law

Federal prosecutors in Mexico City announced yesterday they would seek to overturn the city's new gay marriage law on the grounds that it is unconstitutional. A statement from the federal Attorney General's Office said the law "violates the principle of legality, because it strays from the constitutional principle of protecting the family".

The law is due to come into effect in March, after being approved in December. It also includes specific rights for gays to adopt and is the first such law in Latin America. Mexico City previously allowed civil unions but did not allow gay couples to adopt.

Mayor Marcelo Ebrard of the progressive Democratic Revolution Party refused to veto it, despite calls for him to do so from the Mexican Catholic Church and the conservative National Action Party, which said it would appeal to Mexico's Supreme Court.

Full Story from Pink News
Click here for gay marriage resources in Mexico.
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Mexico: Christians Ask Mexico AG to Block Mexico City Gay Marriage Law

Christian groups on Thursday said they had asked Mexico's attorney general to overturn a newly-voted Mexico City law allowing gay marriage and the possibility of adoption, because it was "unconstitutional." The capital's legislature approved gay marriage on December 21, in the first such law passed anywhere in Latin America. The Contraternice group of Evangelical churches and the College of Catholic Lawyers said they believed the new law that "allows marriage between people of the same sex and the possibility to adopt" was unconstitutional, a statement said. The complaint was based on "Christian principles," but also included legal issues on which the Supreme Court should decide, including possible violations of the Constitution and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, it added. Full Story from the Laredo Sun: http://www.laredosun.us/notas.asp?id=2772

Click here for gay marriage resources in Mexico.

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TX: AG Candidate Says Gay Marriage Ban Could Eliminate all Marriages in Texas

Texans: Are you really married? Maybe not. Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Houston lawyer and Democratic candidate for attorney general, says that a 22-word clause in a 2005 constitutional amendment designed to ban gay marriages erroneously endangers the legal status of all marriages in the state. The amendment, approved by the Legislature and overwhelmingly ratified by voters, declares that "marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman." But the troublemaking phrase, as Radnofsky sees it, is Subsection B, which declares: "This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage." Architects of the amendment included the clause to ban same-sex civil unions and domestic partnerships. But Radnofsky, who was a member of the powerhouse Vinson & Elkins law firm in Houston for 27 years until retiring in 2006, says the wording of Subsection B effectively "eliminates marriage in Texas," including common-law marriages. Full Story from the Star-Telegram: http://www.star-telegram.com/local_news/story/1770445.html

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Texas.

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Virginia AG Candidate Says Laws Should Reflect Fact that Being Gay is "Wrong"

As the campaign season in Virginia enters its final days, one conservative candidate is drawing the ire from LGBT people for recent remarks against “homosexual acts.” State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli (R-Fairfax), the GOP contender seeking to become Virginia’s next attorney general, made the comments to the editorial board of the Virginian-Pilot. The paper published the remarks on Monday in an endorsement of his opponent, Democrat Steve Shannon. The election is set for Tuesday. Cuccinelli, who has often voted against gay issues during his time in the General Assembly, reportedly declined to commit to a non-discrimination policy in his office against gays as attorney general, and went on to criticize gays. “My view is that homosexual acts, not homosexuality, but homosexual acts are wrong,” he was quoted as saying. “They’re intrinsically wrong. And I think in a natural law based country it’s appropriate to have policies that reflect that.” Full Story from Washington Blade: http://www.washblade.com/2009/10-30/news/localnews/15464.cfm

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Virginia.

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Obama Denies Man's Partner Assylum Despite Couple's Gay Marriage in Massachusetts

A gay Brazilian man has been denied asylum by the Obama administration and won't be reunited with his Massachusetts husband in the U.S., the husband said Monday. Tim Coco said Attorney General Eric Holder did not act on a Friday deadline in the case of Genesio "Junior" Oliveira, effectively denying the 30-year-old Brazilian man's request for asylum in the U.S. on humanitarian grounds. "We needed the Attorney General to make a decision on whether Junior could come home," said Coco, 48, of Haverhill. "He didn't take this request seriously." Full Story from the AP: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gw-g_7TpOunvri-o-SIwk4cBOsaAD9BJ39S80

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources.

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Maine AG on Gay Marriage Law's Effect on Schools: "I have found none"

The state's same-sex marriage law has no bearing on what can be taught in public schools, Attorney General Janet Mills said Thursday.  Mills examined the issue at the request of Education Commissioner Susan Gendron, who had been fielding questions from school officials and the media. The issue has been a central part of the Yes on 1 campaign, which is seeking to repeal the state law that allows gay and lesbian people to marry. "I have scoured Maine laws relating to the education of its children for any references to marriage in the public school curricula," Mills wrote in her opinion. "I have found none." Full Story from the Morning Sentinel: http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/6984138.html

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Maine.

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Maine's AG Asked to Put Lies About Gay Marriage's Effect on Schools to Rest

Maine's attorney general is being asked to look into what effect the state's gay marriage law would have on the public schools' curriculum. Education Commissioner Susan Gendron asked for the analysis. Gendron has said the law will have no impact on curriculum decisions. But the campaign supporting repeal of the law in a Nov. 3 referendum says it could lead to gay marriage being taught in schools. In her request to Attorney General Janet Mills, Gendron says questions about the impact of gay marriage on school teachings have persisted and are now being directed to superintendents. fFull Story from WGME: http://www.wgme.com/template/inews_wire/wires.regional.me/31c2c55d-www.wgme.com.shtml

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Maine.

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