OH: Lawsuit Against Cleveland Domestic Partner Registry Proceeding

Lambda Legal filed a friend-of-the-court brief today in support of the city of Cleveland in a lawsuit brought by an anti-gay group attempting to strip away the newly enacted domestic partnership registry for same-sex couples and their families. The brief was filed in the Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth Appellate District.

"To suggest to same-sex couples and their families that a domestic partnership registry somehow resembles marriage is preposterous. The domestic partnership law in Cleveland and the state constitutional amendment barring same-sex couples from marriage are not in conflict with each other," said Christopher Clark, senior staff attorney in Lambda Legal's Midwest Regional Office based in Chicago.

"We hope this court will rule as other courts across the country have ruled and dismiss this mean-spirited attack on same-sex couples and their families."

Full Story from SDGLN
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UK: British Group Outrage! to Sue for Marriage Equality

The London LGBT group OutRage! on Feb. 1 announced a dual legal challenge to the British bans on same-sex marriage and opposite-sex civil partnerships. Several gay and straight couples will file a joint application to the European Court of Human Rights, the group said.

"The aim is to secure full equality in civil marriage and civil-partnership law," said veteran activist Peter Tatchell. "We want both systems open to all couples, gay and straight."

Civil partnerships and marriage carry the same rights and obligations in the United Kingdom, but under different laws and names.

Full Story from Pride Source
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CA: Prop 8 Trial's Judge Walker is Gay

The biggest open secret in the landmark trial over same-sex marriage being heard in San Francisco is that the federal judge who will decide the case, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, is himself gay. Many gay politicians in San Francisco and lawyers who have had dealings with Walker say the 65-year-old jurist, appointed to the bench by President George H.W. Bush in 1989, has never taken pains to disguise - or advertise - his orientation.

They also don't believe it will influence how he rules on the case he's now hearing - whether Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure approved by state voters to ban same-sex marriage, unconstitutionally discriminates against gays and lesbians.

"There is nothing about Walker as a judge to indicate that his sexual orientation, other than being an interesting factor, will in any way bias his view," said Kate Kendell, head of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which is supporting the lawsuit to overturn Prop. 8. As evidence, she cites the judge's conservative - albeit libertarian - reputation, and says, "There wasn't anyone who thought (overturning Prop. 8) was a cakewalk given his sexual orientation."

Full Story from SFGate
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HI: Civil Union Backers to Sue State for Rights

Gay-rights advocates are preparing a lawsuit alleging that the state is violating the equal protection rights of same-sex couples by not passing a civil-unions law. Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i yesterday said they would bring the lawsuit after the state House voted on Friday to indefinitely postpone action on civil unions this session.

The lawsuit will be based on a 1993 Hawai'i Supreme Court ruling which held that denying same-sex couples the ability to marry was a violation of their equal-protection rights under the state Constitution.

Voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1998 that gave the state Legislature the right to define marriage — and lawmakers have defined it as between a man and a woman — so gay-rights advocates are unable to claim a right to marry.

Full Story from the Honolulu Advertiser
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UK: Straight Couple to Sue to Open Marriage to Gays, Civil Partnerships to Straights

A simultaneous legal challenge to the ban on same-sex marriage and opposite-sex civil partnerships is being prepared by gay human rights group OutRage!, this week.

It comes after heterosexual couple Tom Freeman and Katherine Doyle filed an application for a civil partnership at Islington registry office last November. They were rejected because, under UK law, civil partnerships are open to only same-sex couples. This legal exclusion mirrors the way civil marriage is available solely to heterosexual partners. They say the decision is "discriminatory and perpetuates legal inequality."

Now, Outrage! has the support of legal expert, Professor Robert Wintemute, Professor of Human Rights Law at Kings College in London, who has agreed to take on the case.

Full Story from the Pink Paper
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NJ: Garden State Equality to Take Gay Marriage Back to Court in February

In spite of their recent set-back, LGBT activists in New Jersey continue to push forward with their efforts to extend marriage to same-sex couples The New Jersey State Senate voted 20-14 earlier this month against a bill that would have allowed gays and lesbians to marry in the Garden State. While many supporters left Trenton devastated, Steven Goldstein, chair and chief executive director of Garden State Equality, reiterated his vow to move forward.

"In no way is this back to the drawing board," he told EDGE. "The community has moved seamlessly and so rapidly towards the next phase, which is winning marriage equality in court. In order to win in a court of law, we have to win in the court of public opinion."

Goldstein’s organization continues to work alongside Lambda Legal to mount a legal challenge. The state Supreme Court ruled in 2006 it was unconstitutional to treat same-sex couples differently than their straight couples. Kevin Cathcart, executive director of Lambda Legal, hopes to have similar success in light of the state Senate’s vote.

Full Story from Edge Boston
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DC: Anti Gay Marriage Lawsuit Dismissed

A District of Columbia Superior Court Judge has dismissed a lawsuit aimed at putting marriage equality in the District of Columbia to a vote. In September, a group led by an Anti- Gay Maryland preacher, Bishop Harry Jackson, had asked the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics to approve a ballot measure establishing that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in the District of Columbia.” However, finding that that such a referendum would violate the D.C. Human Rights Act by discriminating against gays and lesbians, the board decided to deny that request and Jackson sued, arguing that the Human Rights Act could not be used to stop citizens from putting ballot initiatives to a vote. Earlier this month Yesterday Thirty-nine Republican legislators, including 37 members of the House and two senators, also filed an amicus brief to Jackson’s lawsuit and were supporting a public vote on the issue. Yesterday, Judge Judith N. Macaluso ruled in favor of a District motion asking the suit be dropped and agreed with Board of Elections and Ethics decision, saying the board’s action were justified because the initiative would in effect authorize and “ostracize a disfavored minority in violation of District of Columbia law.” Full Story from Lez Get Real

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DC: District Asks for Dismissal of Gay Marriage Lawsuit

Although gay marriage will soon be taking place in Washington DC (so long as Congress does not block it, which they are not expected to do), opponents of same-sex marriage have filed suit against the District of Columbia over the DC Board of Elections and Ethics decision to not let gay marriage become a ballot issue. One the same day that Mayor Fenty was signing the new gay marriage law, the District filed a motion (found below) to have the lawsuit dismissed. In the 46-page motion, lawyers for the District argue that the DC Board of Elections and Ethics was correct in rejecting the ballot measure in that it violated the DC Human Rights Act by discriminating against GLBT people. The DC Code does not permit initiatives that “authorize discrimination.” Full Story from Gay Vantage: http://www.gayvantage.com/gay-news/dc-gay-marriage-lawsuit-2484010018/

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Obama Administration Refuses to Comply With Judicial Order on Benefits for Lesbian Couple

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management still thinks it can't authorize health care coverage for the same-sex spouse of a federal court employee even though a judge has ordered the agency to do, a government lawyer said Friday. Elaine Kaplan, the office's general counsel, said in a statement issued Friday that the Department of Justice has determined that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act supersedes the recent ruling by Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski. DOMA, as the law is known, prohibits the government from recognizing same-sex unions. "As the President has explained, the Administration believes that this law is discriminatory and needs to be repealed by Congress," Kaplan said. The dispute involves Karen Golinski, a staff lawyer at the 9th Circuit's San Francisco headquarters. Earlier this year and again last month, Kozinski ruled that Golinski is entitled to enroll her wife in her employer-sponsored health plan because the court has a policy prohibiting discrimination against gay workers. Full Story from The LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-gay-marriage-federal-employees,0,1977764.story

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CA: Alliance Defense Fund Behind Surprise Imperial County Move in Prop 8 Lawsuit

While I live and work in San Diego, I hail from the Imperial Valley. ... Very upset over the actions of my home county, I picked up the phone and eventually was able to have an hour long conversation with the Chair of the County Board of Supervisors, Wally Leimgruber, and the County Executive Officer, Ralph Cordova, who both attempted to assure me that their interest was in protecting the will of the voters in their county. In questioning how they were able to bring up the motion, the topic was avoided and I can only assume that it was then brought into their agenda as an “emergency item.” EMERGENCY?! REALLY?! It was quite transparent that the Chair was using this opportunity to appease the voters as he attempts to run for re-election. Mr. Wally also informed me that he was approached by the Alliance Defense Fund (the anti-equality guys with money) to bring the issue to the board with the promise that they would pay all of the county's expenses with regards to the case. This, I must mention, is a good sign for our side. Our opposition is so desperate for support that they sought out a small county to help add legitimacy to their case. Full Story from SDGLN.com: http://sdgln.com/causes/2009/12/17/love-warrior-news-valley-grinch

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CA: County Wants to Join Prop 8 Defenders in Lawsuit

Imperial County officials want to join the sponsors of California's gay marriage ban in defending Proposition 8 during an upcoming trial. The Imperial County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of an emergency motion Tuesday to intervene in the case. Supervisors say the county's participation is needed because Attorney General Jerry Brown supports overturning the voter-approved measure, while Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken a neutral position on it. The case is scheduled to go to trial on Jan. 11. A final pretrial hearing is scheduled in San Francisco on Wednesday. The papers filed by the county say that 70 percent of Imperial's voters supported Proposition 8. Full Story from SFGate: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/12/15/state/n172126S51.DTL&tsp=1

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CA: 9th Circuit Says Prop 8 Backers Don't Have to Release Campaign Documents

A federal appeals court in San Francisco has reversed a judge's order that backers of Proposition 8, the state initiative that banned same-sex marriage, give their campaign strategy documents to opponents trying to overturn the measure. In a unanimous ruling Friday, the Ninth U.S. Circuit of Appeals tossed out the order that Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker issued in October against backers of Prop. 8, which state voters approved in November 2008. Walker had said lawyers for two same-sex couples and a gay-rights group were entitled to see internal memos and e-mails between Yes on 8 strategists to look for evidence that the campaign had exploited prejudice against gays and lesbians. The plaintiffs are trying to show that the measure was discriminatory and thus unconstitutional. Full Story from SFGate: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/11/BA3A1B34VC.DTL

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CA: Yes on 8 Targeting Californians Against Hate Founder With Lawsuit

In a lawsuit against state election officials, Proposition 8 supporters have targeted the man who first exposed the financial role the Mormon Church and the National Organization for Marriage played in the referendum’s passage in Nov. 2008. In a subpoena, Yes on 8 and NOM want Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate, to surrender all records associated with his investigation. Karger, who is seeking financial help to mount his legal battle, founded his organization to oppose Prop. 8. He initially went after a San Diego hotel owner who put up $125,000 to help marriage opponents launch a successful petition drive to get the referendum on the ballot and a self-storage company magnate who gave the the pro-Prop 8 campaign $693,000. Full Story from Edge Boston: http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=99777

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Argentina: Buenos Aires Mayor Refuses to Confirm Gay Wedding, May Be Sued

A gay couple in Buenos Aires have demanded that City Mayor Mauricio Macri be fined after failing to authorise their union - despite a legal ruling requesting him to do so. According to the Buenos Aires Herald newspaper, Alejandro Freyre and José María Di Bello, made the formal request to City Judge Gabriela Seijas this week. The couple requested that the court set a fine on Macri for each of the days until they are allowed to wed. On Monday, Freyre and Di Bello went to a Civil Registry in the City neighbourhood of Barrio Norte, after Judge Seijas' court ruled that the law barring same-sex marriages was unconstitutional. Full Story from the Pink Paper: http://news.pinkpaper.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=2097

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Analysis of the Prop 8 Gay Marriage Case

A federal court case in San Francisco may offer a window into the arguments in favor of marriage equality that could eventually find their way before the U.S. Supreme Court. An Oct. 26 New York Times article reported that the lawyer in the anti-marriage side of the case, which challenges Proposition 8 on the claim that the voter referendum that yanked marriage rights away from Californai’s gay and lesbian families last year violated federal Constitutional protections, was unable to articulate why gays marrying is a threat to stable unions between heterosexuals. Attorney Charles J. Cooper made the claim that there was a state interest in denying gay and lesbian families marriage parity in order to encourage straight couples to marry and have children. But when the judge in the case, Vaughn R. Walker, asked exactly how the domestic affairs of a gay couple could disrupt the martial course of a straight couple’s life, Cooper admitted that he was stumped. Full Story from Edge Boston: http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=98269

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Prop 8 Gay Marriage Trial May Be Televised

The challenge to California's Prop 8 could be coming to a television near you. Ted Olson and David Boies, who represented Bush and Gore, respectively, in that little known Suprme Court battle, have teamed up to challenge the constituionality of Prop 8, California's amendment prohibiting gay marriage.  Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker refused to dismiss the case, called Perry v. Schwarzenegger. ... Liptak also notes the judge has "hinted" that he may allow cameras in the courtroom for the trial, which would be an extremely rare move, especially in federal court. Full Story from Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/gay-marriage-trial-could-be-televised-2009-10

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NY Supreme Court to Hear Case on Out of State Gay Marriage Recognition Today

New York's top court is set to hear arguments against providing government benefits to same sex couples married in Canada or other jurisdictions where such marriages are legal. The state Department of Civil Service extended health insurance benefits to those spouses of state and local government workers in 2007. A year earlier, Westchester County agencies granted similar recognition and benefits. The Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments Tuesday by the Alliance Defense Fund of Scottsdale, Ariz., contending those benefits are unlawful in New York, which does not permit same-sex marriages. Full Story from the AP: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jZVhxGXCMRA-mJB4JYXiICP3a6jQD9BA50VG0

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Gay Marriage Foes Ask Judge to Dismiss Prop 8 Case

The legal showdown over California's ban on same-sex marriage heats up again this week as a federal judge considers an attempt to short-circuit the challenge to Proposition 8, the voter-approved law putting a halt to same-sex weddings in the state. On Wednesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker will consider a motion from Prop. 8 backers that would scrap plans for a January trial and put a quick end to the effort to overturn the anti-gay marriage law. Prop. 8's defenders say U.S. Supreme Court precedent and the historical underpinnings of the definition of marriage negate the need for a trial, an argument strongly rejected by same-sex marriage advocates who vow to present strong factual evidence that Prop. 8 denies gay couples federal equal protection rights. Based on Walker's comments to date, Prop. 8 backers may have an uphill fight to avoid a trial, even with what some legal experts say are several strong legal arguments. The judge has indicated on numerous occasions that he believes the case warrants a trial to develop a full record for higher court review that many predict could reach the Supreme Court. Full Story from the Oakland Tribune: http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_13539981

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Court Case Tossed Out for Lesbian Denied Visit to Dying Partner in Florida Hospital

In an illustration of the hazards that travel across state lines poses to gay and lesbian families who have no federal recognition and no nation-wide protections, a Washington woman whose partner succumbed to a stroke while on vacation says that she, and the women’s children, were denied visitation privileges even as the stricken woman lay dying in a Florida hospital. A suit that followed the incident was tossed out of federal court on Sept. 29. As reported at EGDE last February, Janice Langbehn, her partner of 17 years Lisa Marie Pond, and their children had traveled to Florida from Washington and were about to embark on a cruise from Miami when Pond collapsed, either from a heart attack or because of an aneurysm (media accounts have cited both). Full Story from Edge Boston: http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=97026

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Lambda Legal, Fair Wisconsin Submit Briefs in Defense of Wisconsin Domestic Partner Law

Gay rights groups have urged the Wisconsin Supreme Court to reject a challenge to the state's gay-inclusive domestic partnership registry, Wisconsin Radio Network reported. The group Wisconsin Family Action (WFA) and the Christian-based Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) have asked the state Supreme Court to strike down the law, arguing that it is prohibited by the state's constitutional ban on gay marriage approved by voters in 2006. WFA supported the passage of the anti-gay marriage amendment as the Family Research Institute. Despite being challenged, the law that gives gay and lesbian couples access to 43 rights, most of which center around estate planning and hospital visitation issues, took effect last month. Full Story from On Top Magazine: http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=4581&MediaType=1&Category=26

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