Also Try Gender Equity News -02-26-07 Family Challenges Lesbian Adoption (ABC News) "In their 14-year relationship, Patricia Spado and Olive Watson spent only five nights apart. They lived in New York, spent summers in Maine, and shared the more practical pieces of a life together a home, a joint bank account." "But in a time long before civil unions or gay marriage, Watson wanted to ensure that her partner would be taken care of when she was no longer there. So, at a small courthouse in coastal Maine, she adopted Spado." 02-07 -03-16-09 End Government Role in Marriage? (Time.com) "In a paper published March 2 in the San Francisco Chronicle, two law professors from Pepperdine University issued a call to re-examine the role the government plays in marriage. The authors — one of whom voted for and one against Proposition 8, which ended gay marriage in California — say the best way out of the intractable legal wars over gay marriage is to take marriage out of the hands of the government altogether." 03-09 -04-03-09 Poll: Americans Divided on Gay Marriage (CBS News) "Regionally, same-sex marriage is most popular in the Northeast (44 percent support) - where Massachusetts and Connecticut have already established same-sex marriage as legal – and it is popular in the West (38 percent support). Same-sex marriage is far less popular in the Midwest (30 percent) and the South (25 percent)." 04-09 -05-03-06 Vice-President's Daughter Speaks Out About Being Republican and Lesbian (ABC News) "Mary Cheney discussed the campaign, her feelings about President Bush, life with her partner of 14 years, and what it was like to come out as gay to her parents." 05-06 -05-16-08 Editorial: What the California Court Did Not Do (Time.com) "Gay couples in California will now be able to wed under state law, as those in Massachusetts can, but their marriages will still be something less than what straight Californians enjoy." 05-08 -05-20-06 Gay and Lesbians Gradually Gaining Acceptance (ABC News) "In Mobile, Tuscaloosa and elsewhere, Alabama's gays and lesbians like their counterparts throughout the U.S. heartland are slowly, steadily gaining more confidence and finding more acceptance." 05-06 -06-08-09 High Court Rejects Lawsuit Over Gays in Military (CNN News) "A former Army captain who was dismissed under a federal law dealing with gays and lesbians in the military lost his appeal Monday at the U.S. Supreme Court." "The Obama administration had asked the high court not to take the case, and White House officials had said they would not object to homosexuals being kicked out of the armed services." 06-09 -06-09-09 Dismay over Obama's Position on Gays in the Military (Time.com) "When Barack Obama sought the presidency, he pledged to reverse the 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy preventing gays and lesbians from serving openly in the U.S. military. Yet on Monday, the Supreme Court rejected a gay Ohio soldier's challenge to the law — with the legal backing of none other than the Obama Administration." 06-09 -07-23-08 Congress Revisiting "Don't Ask, Don't Tell (Time.com) "Today Congress is holding its first hearing in 15 years on the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy barring bisexuals, gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military." 07-08 -08-12-08 A Gay Non-Issue Race for Congress (Time.com) "Jared Polis has a chance to make history on Tuesday as Colorado goes to the polls — and not just because he has poured more than $5 million of his own money into one of the country's costliest primary campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives. If he wins Tuesday's closely contested race for the seat Senate-contender Mark Udall is vacating in Colorado's second congressional district, the 33-year-old Internet mogul will almost assuredly join Tammy Baldwin and Barney Frank as just the third openly gay member of Congress — and become the first openly gay man elected to the House." 08-08 -10-25-07 Worms Hard-Wired for Sexual Orientation (MSNBC News) "Sexual orientation seems to be wired into the brains of nematode worms, and tweaking this sexual wiring can result in worms attracted to members of the same sex." 10-07 -11-09-06 Landscaping Business Rejected from Association for Refusing Services (MSNBC News) "Farber’s e-mail reached the Harrisburg, Pa., offices of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, which said that the Farbers were misrepresenting themselves as current members of the group and no longer belong." " 'It has come to our attention that a former member has declined a professional engagement on the grounds of the prospective clients’ sexual orientation. This conduct does not conform to the policy and practice of APLD,' the organization said." 11-06 -11-24-05 Britain's Same-Sex Partnerships to Begin (USA Today) "Beginning Dec. 5, same-sex couples older than 16 can give legal notice of their intention to form a partnership. Ceremonies can be held after a 15-day waiting period." 11-05 J. K. Rowling Announces that Dumbledore Is Gay (ABC News) "Harry Potter fans' favorite magical, wand-wielding headmaster is gay, says the series' author, and as it turns out, many bookworms don't love him any less because of it." 02-07 Papers -11-01-05 Cultural War Enters Kindergarten (ABC News) " 'My wife and I have religious beliefs that say to us it's a sin,' David Parker said. He's referring to four pages in a book his 5-year-old son was given by his Massachusetts kindergarten teachers." "The book 'Who's In a Family' — included in a 'diversity book bag' for students at Estabrook Elementary School — is about all kinds of families, including multi-racial, single parent and, to Parker's chagrin, same-sex parents." 6-05 -Iowa Court Rules Same-Sex Marriage Ban Unconstitutional (Christian Science Monitor) "Iowa's top court legalized same-sex marriage Friday, giving advocates a victory beyond the liberal coastal states into the more conservative American interior." "The supreme court justices drew explicit parallels to civil rights struggles by blacks and women, holding that the state's ban on same-sex marriage was a violation of the equality promised in the Iowa constitution." "This past week, legislators in both Vermont and New Hampshire have passed bills legalizing gay marriage, as did Sweden's parliament, making it the fifth European country to allow it." 04-09 -Maine Legalizes Same-Sex Marriages (MSNBC News) "In a banner day in New England for advocates of gay marriage, Maine legalized the practice Wednesday, and the New Hampshire Legislature voted to do the same." 05-09 -New Hampshire Legalizes Same-Sex Marriages (CBS News) "New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch signed into law a bill making the state the sixth in the nation to allow gay marriage." 06-09 -Vermont Legalizes Same-Sex Marriages (Time.com) "Vermont on Tuesday became the fourth state to legalize gay marriage — and the first to do so with a legislature's vote." 04-09 California AG: Majority Cannot Strip Minority of Constitutional Rights (ABC News) "ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports: California Attorney General Jerry Brown called on the state's Supreme Court on Friday to strike down a recently approved ballot measue [sic] which eliminated the state's court recognized right to same-sex marriage." Brown "now believes that all the residents of California enjoy an inalienable right to liberty and privacy that includes a right to marry that cannot be stripped away by majority vote." 12-08 Canada Considers a Same-Sex Law (CBC News) "The Liberal government introduced its same-sex marriage bill in the House of Commons Tuesday, kicking off the next stage of a fierce debate that will spur some MPs to vote against party lines." 2-05 Court Supports Same-Sex Marriage in Canada (MSNBC News) "The Supreme Court of Canada gave the federal government the go-ahead Thursday to legalize gay marriage, but stopped short of saying that this was required by the Constitution." 2-04 Dissent Among Episcopalians Over Gay Bishops Continues (CBS News) "Top British Anglican leaders are bringing new pressure on the Episcopal General Convention to enact a ban on electing gay bishops before the assembly ends next week." 06-06 Hollywood and 'Coming Out of the Closet' (CNN News) "There are still many performers and industry notables, he says, who threaten to sue if their sexuality is revealed. Others live gay social lives but don't talk about their sexuality -- the so-called 'glass closet.' And, as Bragman notes, gay stars are generally from the second tier: 'There are still no A-list movie stars out of the closet, there are still no superstar athletes,' he said." 09-08 Obama Signs Gay Benefits for Federal Employees (MSNBC News) "President Barack Obama signaled to gay rights activists Wednesday that he's listening to their priorities by extending some benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. But he didn't give them even close to everything they want, bringing growing anger against the president to the surface." "The president signed a memo giving the same-sex partners some benefits, but not not health care." 06-09 Oregon Marriage Law (Oregon Legislature) Provides the laws of Oregon governing marriage. "Marriage is a civil contract entered into in person by males at least 17 years of age and females at least 17 years of age, who are otherwise capable, and solemnized in accordance with ORS 106.150."  ORS 106.50 states "In the solemnization of a marriage no particular form is required except that the parties thereto shall assent or declare in the presence of the clergyperson, county clerk or judicial officer solemnizing the marriage and in the presence of at least two witnesses, that they take each other to be husband and wife." 3-04 Pope Benedict XVI Condemns Same-Sex Unions (CBS News) "Pope Benedict XVI condemned same-sex unions as anarchic 'pseudo-matrimony' Monday and reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church's opposition to abortion." 6-05 Pope: Same-Sex Marrriages Evil (CNN News) "Homosexual marriages are part of 'a new ideology of evil' that is insidiously threatening society, Pope John Paul says in his newly published book." 12-04 Same-Sex Civil Union Law Passed in New Zealand (Wikipedia.org) "On 9 December 2004 New Zealand Parliament passed the Civil Union Bill, establishing the new institution of civil union, available to same-sex and de facto couples." 12-04 Same-Sex Marriages - Comparing Marriage and Civil Unions (CNN News) "And while Vermont's civil union couples are eligible for state benefits, the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) excludes them [same-sex marriages] from many federal benefits." "That measure, signed into law by President Clinton, recognizes marriage only as the union of a man and a woman and defines a spouse as a husband or wife of the opposite sex." "A General Accounting Office report in 1997 identified 1,049 laws where federal benefits, rights or privileges were contingent on marital status. They include tax breaks, pensions and Social Security benefits, inheritance rights and loans." 2-04 Same-Sex Marriages - Global Views of Same-Sex Marriage (CBS News) Three years after Amsterdam's mayor officiated at the Netherlands' first gay wedding, the gay marriage rate is falling, the first divorces are being registered and the issue has disappeared from the political agenda." While the United States is engaged in debate on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, Canadians are discussing a federal law to legalize it and many European countries are adopting civil unions for gay couples." " 'It's an issue of separation of church and state. We don't have gay marriage here [Denmark]. We have civil marriage, and it's the same for everyone.' " 3-04 Same-Sex Marriages - Positions on a Constitutional Ban (CNN News) "Bush said such an amendment [to the U.S. Constitution] would 'prevent the meaning of marriage from being changed forever.' " "The four-term senator [John Kerry] has said he supports civil unions and equal protection for gays and lesbians but that he opposes marriage for them. He also said he believes the matter should be decided on the state level." "Civil unions grant couples most of the rights of state civil marriages, except the name, but provide none of the federal benefits of marriage, such as Social Security benefits." "The Constitution requires a two-thirds majority in each house of Congress to pass an amendment. Then it must be ratified by three-fourths, or 38, of the 50 states." 2-04

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