Marriage equality has been decades in the making for local same-sex couples, but when it came to Colorado in October, they met the news with surprise and excitement. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear appeals on same-sex marriage bans in five states Oct. 6, opening the door to gay marriage in Colorado. Across the…
Tag: civil rights
Obama Executive Order Is ‘Single Largest Expansion Of LGBT Workplace Protections’
The White House’s acknowledgment that President Barack Obama intends to sign an executive order banning anti-LGBT discrimination among federal contractors and their employees has become the news of the day — possibly the top LGBT news story of the year. The executive order, once signed, will affect about 16 million employees of federal contractors. It’s…
With Federal Court Ruling, Wisconsin’s Marriage Ban Becomes the Latest to Fall
Today U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled against Wisconsin’s constitutional amendment banning marriage equality, making Wisconsin the twelfth state to see such a ban struck down in federal court since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its historic marriage rulings last June. In Wolf v. Walker, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Wisconsin and the…
Same-sex marriages officially begin in Illinois
Couples attend a beach-front marriage equality ceremony at the Kathy Osterman Beach in Chicago, Sunday, June 1, 2014. Dozens of people attended the event. June 1 marked the first day all of Illinois’ 102 counties could begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples after a piecemeal start where some county officials began granting licenses months…
Judge Strikes Down Pennsylvania Ban on Gay Marriage
Continuing a rush of rulings that have struck down marriage limits across the country, a federal judge in Pennsylvania on Tuesday declared the state’s ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional. “We are a better people than what these laws represent, and it is time to discard them into the ash heap of history,” wrote…
Federal judge strikes down Oregon’s ban on same-sex marriage
Oregon state officials have said they’d be prepared to issue same-sex marriage licenses almost immediately; couples are lined up outside the county clerk’s office in Portland EUGENE, Ore. — A federal judge on Monday struck down Oregon’s voter-approved ban on gay marriage, saying it is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Michael McShane said the ban unconstitutionally…
Arkansas judge strikes down state’s ban on gay marriage
An Arkansas judge Friday invalidated the state’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, saying it violates the equal-protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. “Although marriage is not expressly identified as a fundamental right in the Constitution, the United States Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized it as such,” Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza ruled in…
Gay Rights Push Shifts Its Focus South and West
The country’s leading gay rights groups and donors, after a decade focused on legalizing same-sex marriage, are embarking on a major drive to win more basic civil rights and workplace protections in Southern and Western states where the rapid progress of the movement has largely eluded millions of gay men and lesbians. The effort will…
Colorado governor says he supports gay marriage
DENVER—Gov. John Hickenlooper has come out as a supporter of gay marriage. The Colorado Democrat has been a vocal backer of gay rights but generally stopped short of formally endorsing same-sex marriage. However, on Monday he provided a statement in support of a gay rights group that kicked off a campaign to bring gay marriage…
Republicans From the West Give Support for Gay Marriage
Evoking Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater, a group of Western-state Republicans plans to enter the battle in favor of same-sex marriage on Tuesday, urging a federal appeals court to declare gay marriage bans in Utah and Oklahoma unconstitutional. The most prominent of the approximately 20 signers of the brief are former Senator Alan K. Simpson…
