Hawaiian Civil Unions Will Be Same as Marriage for State Income Taxes

All provisions of the Internal Revenue Code referred to in this chapter that apply to a husband and wife, spouses, or person i in a legal marital relationship shall be deemed to apply in this chapter to partners in a civil union with the same force and effect as if they were "husband and wife", "spouses", or other terms that describe persons in a legal marital relationship....

Forbes • Dec 8, 2011

Seventy Major Employers Line Up Against DOMA

Seventy employers, including giants such as Microsoft and Starbucks, have signed on as amici in the case of Gill v OPM which challenges the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Also included in the amici are the cities of Boston, New York and Cambridge and Trillium Asset Managemet, a socially responsible investment manager. There are several prestigious law firms...

Forbes • Nov 4, 2011

Judge mulls unsealing videos of gay marriage trial

The legal sparring over California's same-sex marriage ban returned to a San Francisco courtroom Monday with a federal judge hearing arguments on whether he should unseal video recordings of last year's landmark trial on the constitutionality of the voter-approved measure....

Forbes • Aug 29, 2011

Backers of CA gay marriage ban dismiss Obama stand

Lawyers for sponsors of California's gay marriage ban say the Obama administration's refusal to defend a federal law prohibiting government recognition of same-sex marriages has no bearing on a California case. As a result, the attorneys are urging a federal appeals court to keep blocking same-sex unions while it considers the constitutionality of the ballot measure known as Proposition 8. Articl...

Forbes • Mar 8, 2011

The $9.5 Billion Gay Marriage Windfall

To estimate the financial impact of gay couples were they legalized nationally, we multiplied the number of gay couples marrying by 34% of the amount straight couples would spend on such items as engagement rings, banquet halls, wedding dresses and honeymoons. Add it all up, and it comes to $9.5 billion....

Forbes • Jun 16, 2009

Marriage Equality Is Inevitable

he explanation for such a dramatic shift is actually quite simple: Americans began to come out--in droves. Suddenly, it seemed, gays and lesbians were everywhere: friends, family members, co-workers, characters on TV and in the movies, celebrities. Seven in 10 Americans know someone who is gay, and nearly half say they have a gay friend, colleague or family member, up from less than 40% only a dec...

Forbes • Apr 29, 2009