Breaking Marriage Equality News Headlines from Metro Weekly

	Anti-Gay Group Challenges Marriage Equality In New York An anti-gay group requested today that New York's highest court review a lower court's decision to dismiss their lawsuit against the state's marriage equality law. ... Metro Weekly • Aug 7, 2012

	House GOP Leaders Will Ask Supreme Court By the End of June to Take DOMA Appeal Lawyers for the House Republican leadership today told a federal court that the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group plans to ask the Supreme Court to overturn a federal appeals court ruling from May 31 striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act. Although the Supreme Court request had been expected, it was unclear when such a request, called a petition for a writ of certiorari, would be m... Metro Weekly • Jun 21, 2012

	Another Federal Judge Finds DOMA Marriage Definition Unconstitutional, Now in Widow's Case Echoing several other recent court opinions, U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Jones today ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act's federal definition of marriage is unconstitutional insofar as it forced Edie Windsor to pay estate taxes after the death of her wife, Thea Spyer, that would not have been owed had she been married to a man. ... Metro Weekly • Jun 7, 2012

	Lambda, ACLU Lawsuits Claim Same-Sex Couples' Marriage Inequality Violates Illinois Constitution Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and the ACLU each filed a lawsuit today seeking equal marriage rights for same-sex couples in Illinois, as Metro Weekly first reported last night. The lawsuits, which have been brought in the names of 25 couples altogether, both were filed in state court against Cook County Clerk David Orr and are based on alleged violations of the Illinois -- and not the Un... Metro Weekly • May 30, 2012

	Rep. Huelskamp Plans to Offer Amendment Barring DOJ From Opposing DOMA The Human Rights Campaign earlier in the evening had learned that Huelskamp was planning to offer such an amendment. Specifically, he plans to offer an amendment to a House spending bill for the Justice Department that would prohibit the agency from using any funds to oppose the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act in court, as it has done since President Obama decided the 1996 law was... Metro Weekly • May 9, 2012

	Obama Campaign Weighs in to Oppose Minnesota Marriage Amendment The Obama campaign has announced its opposition to the marriage amendment that will be on the November ballot in Minnesota that would restrict marriage only to opposite-sex couples there, echoing a theme from its earlier opposition to such an amendment in North Carolina that will appear on the May primary ballot. ... Metro Weekly • Apr 9, 2012

	Immigration Equality Files DOMA Challenge, Obama Administration Left Them "No Choice" The lawsuit, Blesch v. Holder, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on behalf of Edwin Blesch and Timothy Smulian, Frances Herbert and Takako Ueda, Santiago Ortiz and Pablo Garcia, and Heather Morgan and Maria del Mar Verdugo. Eric Stone, a partner at Paul Weiss, signed today's complaint. In the lawsuit, the couples' lawyers argue, "the five Plaintiff couples ... Metro Weekly • Apr 3, 2012

	Republican-Led New Hampshire House Overwhelmingly Rejects Marriage Equality Repeal With a 211 to 116 vote on Wednesday, March 21, the New Hampshire House of Representatives rejected a bill to repeal the state's marriage equality law. According to Reuters, about 100 Republicans voted against the bill. Although the bill was expected to be vetoed by Gov. John Lynch (D), supporters of repealing the 2009 legislation that Lynch had signed into law were hoping to secure the two-thirds... Metro Weekly • Mar 22, 2012

	Prop 8 Perry Plaintiffs Say Ninth Circuit Should Deny Full-Court Review Responding to the Feb. 21 decision by the proponents of Proposition 8 to seek expanded review from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the appeal of Perry v. Brown, the plaintiffs challenging California's Proposition 8 today told the court it should deny the proponents request because "the panel decision reflects a straightforward application of settled Supreme Court precedent and d... Metro Weekly • Mar 3, 2012

	BREAKING: Maryland Senate Passes Marriage Equality 25-22, Bill Heads to O'Malley for Signature O'Malley, who has made the bill part of his 2012 legislative agenda, has vowed to sign the bill. Opponents have vowed to collect the more than 55,000 signatures needed for a referendum seeking to overturn the law, which would be placed on the 2012 ballot. ... Metro Weekly • Feb 24, 2012

	BREAKING: DOMA's Federal Definition of Marriage Unconstitutional, Judge Rules in Golinski Case In part, U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey S. White today found that Section 3 of DOMA violates the equal protection rights of Golinski, finding that heightened scrutiny applies -- as urged by the DOJ -- and noting that it might not even pass rational basis -- the lowest -- legal scrutiny: ... Metro Weekly • Feb 22, 2012

	BREAKING: Proposition 8 Proponents to Seek Full Ninth Circuit Review Charles Cooper, the lead attorney for the proponents of Proposition 8, tells Metro Weekly that the proponents of the California marriage amendment will be asking the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to review the three-judge panel decision issued on Feb. 7 holding that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.... Metro Weekly • Feb 21, 2012

	Nancy Pelosi Supports 2012 Democratic Party Platform Including Marriage Equality House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) supports the 2012 Democratic Party platform including, for the first time, language in full support of marriage equality, her spokesman told Metro Weekly on Tuesday evening, Feb. 14. ... Metro Weekly • Feb 15, 2012

	News Analysis: Post Poll Shows Marylanders Split on Marriage Equality, Supporters Looking for Votes Just as a recent Washington Post poll shows for the first time that a majority of Marylanders support marriage equality, LGBT activists and their allies are scrambling to deliver the votes needed to pass the measure through the Maryland General Assembly. The Post poll found that 50 percent of Marylanders support marriage equality, while 44 percent are opposed. The poll was conducted by telephone... Metro Weekly • Feb 5, 2012

	News Analysis: Ninth Circuit Expects Prop 8 Trial Videotape Decision on Thursday The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit's public information office has announced that it "anticipates" issuing its decision on Thursday, Feb. 2, as to whether the tape recordings of the trial over the constitutionality of Proposition 8 should be released to the public. ... Metro Weekly • Feb 1, 2012

	Maryland Atty. Gen. Gansler warns gay couples: 'Marriage will go to referendum' Maryland's Attorney General, Doug Gansler, joined a standing-room only crowd at a church in Frederick on Sunday to support gay marriage. Gansler called Maryland's current ban against same-sex marriage "unconstitutional." He then explained his reasoning for supporting equality for gay and lesbian couples. Gansler also offered his take on the nature of negative feedback from Republicans and religio... Metro Weekly • Jan 30, 2012

	Gay Would-Be Documentarian's Viral Video A Success -- But Largely Excludes Female, Trans And Non-White People In just three days, Yezak's video gained more than a million views on YouTube and raised almost double his goal, securing more than $96,600 in donations by this afternoon. Shared more than 120,000 times on Facebook and reposted on many LGBT blogs nationwide, it was a viral "success." Yezak's video, however, also captured the attention of LGBT bloggers Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend and Karen O... Metro Weekly • Jan 19, 2012

	Maryland gay marriage survey reveals declining support? A new survey released by Patrick E. Gonzales' Research and Marketing Strategies, Inc. could indicate a small but important decline in support for same-sex marriages in Maryland over the past year. The company conducted three surveys over the past 12 months -- January 2011, October 2011, and the newly released January 2012. Some 800 registered Maryland voters were questioned by telephone each tim... Metro Weekly • Jan 19, 2012

	With the 90-day clock ticking down, Maryland's advocates say they are leaving 'no stone unturned' in the effort to pass marriage equality With the start of the Maryland General Assembly's 90-day legislative session Jan. 11, advocates are actively lobbying Free State legislators to pass a marriage-equality bill after a similar bill died in the General Assembly last year. ... Metro Weekly • Jan 18, 2012

	Golinski Has Her Day in Court, DOJ Sends Senior Lawyer To Argue DOMA's Unconstitutionality In White's questions, he not only appeared skeptical of BLAG's arguments but also appeared at least curious about BLAG's view of its constitutional basis to be there at all. In one question, he asked, "What is the statutory authority for and evidence of compliance with the role that the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group has assumed in this matter? Is this group actually bipartisan? Does BLAG have th... Metro Weekly • Dec 16, 2011

	HUD Secretary Supports Marriage Equality U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan became the first sitting cabinet secretary to announce support for marriage equality, saying on Nov. 15 that he ''absolutely'' supports marriage equality in an exclusive interview with Metro Weekly. Following his keynote speech at the eighth annual National Center for Transgender Equality Awards Ceremony, Donovan made his marriage comment... Metro Weekly • Nov 16, 2011

	New "Cap" on House DOMA Defense Set at $1.5 Million, Additional Change Alters Payment Liability On Oct. 1, the obligation of the federal government to pay for the House Republican leadership's defense of the Defense of Marriage Act increased from $500,000 to $750,000 -- with a new "cap" on the defense set at $1.5 million. Those new numbers are set by a modification of the original April contract between House General Counsel Kerry Kircher and Bancroft PLLC partner Paul Clement for Bancroft ... Metro Weekly • Oct 5, 2011

	Sen. Susan Collins Hasn't "Looked At" Federal Impact of DOMA on Same-Sex Couples But, speaking with Metro Weekly at LCR's Sept. 20 dinner, Collins had no view on the bill and claimed to be unaware of the impact of Section 3 of DOMA -- which defines "marriage" and "spouse" in federal law as referring only to marriages between one man and one woman. Asked about and given a brief description of the RMA, Collins said, "I was going to say, I'm not sure what the Respect for Marriag... Metro Weekly • Sep 29, 2011

	New California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu Expected to Participate in Prop 8 Arguments Goodwin Liu -- whose nomination for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit was stymied by Republican opposition -- was confirmed on Wednesday, Aug. 31, for his nomination to the California Supreme Court. He was sworn in by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) today. And, on Tuesday, Sept. 6, Justice Liu is expected to participate in the oral arguments relating to the Proposition 8 appeal.... Metro Weekly • Sep 2, 2011

	Maryland Governor Says Marriage Equality Bill Will Be an "Administration Priority" in 2012 What's changed since the bill stalled in this year's legislative session, O'Malley added, was the urgency of this type of legislation, saying that in 2012 it will be a priority and that he would make it an "administration priority."... Metro Weekly • Jul 22, 2011

	O'Malley to Talk About 2012 Maryland Marriage Bill Plans on Friday After days of speculation, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's (D) office announced today that he will be appearing at the Maryland State House Friday afternoon, July 22, to announce his decision on sponsorship regarding marriage equality legislation during the 2012 legislative session. ... Metro Weekly • Jul 21, 2011

	U.S. Trustee Withdraws Appeal of Gay Couple's Bankruptcy Court DOMA Victory Following consultation with the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG), the U.S. Trustee asked to withdraw its appeal in its challenge to the attempted joint bankruptcy petition filed by Gene Douglas Balas and Carlos Morales, a married gay couple who live in California -- a move a Department of Justice spokeswoman says represents the DOJ's new policy on all such bankruptcy filings.... Metro Weekly • Jul 8, 2011

	U.S. Trustee Withdraws Appeal of Gay Couple's Bankruptcy Court DOMA Victory Following consultation with the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG), the U.S. Trustee asked to withdraw its appeal in its challenge to the attempted joint bankruptcy petition filed by Gene Douglas Balas and Carlos Morales, a married gay couple who live in California -- a move a Department of Justice spokeswoman says represents the DOJ's new policy on all such bankruptcy filings.... Metro Weekly • Jul 7, 2011

	DOJ: Court Should Not Dismiss Karen Golinski's Health Benefits Claim, Should Instead Find DOMA Unconstitutional The summary of the DOJ argument that Golinski's case should not be dismissed begins simply: "Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, 1 U.S.C. Section 7 ('DOMA'), unconstitutionally discriminates." The filing signed by Christopher Hall, a trial attorney with DOJ, responds to the June 3 filing by the lawyers for the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group's Republican members asking the federal co... Metro Weekly • Jul 3, 2011

	Months after Obama announced he was ''evolving'' on marriage equality, the process has stalled When there is no evolution on that one remaining question, criticism is bound to follow - particularly if Obama wants to continue to be seen as a leader on LGBT equality issues. Although such criticism is well grounded, some have gone further, attacking Obama's recent comments agreeing with what some are calling a "states' rights" argument that they say was used by segregationists in the past. U... Metro Weekly • Jun 29, 2011

	CREW Files Complaint Over House DOMA Defense, Boehner Spokesman Calls It "Stupid" Congress appropriated $1,415,000 for the Office of General Counsel for fiscal year 2011. The $500,000 contract represents more than 35 percent ofthe office's total appropriation. With more than two-thirds of the fiscal year having passed, the office will not have sufficient funds to pay for both its remaining salaries and expenses and the DOMA defense as Mr. Kircher acknowledged in his testimony. ... Metro Weekly • Jun 16, 2011

	House GOP Leadership Defends "Traditional" Marriage From Being "Radically Redefined" On June 3, the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group -- the three Republican members -- filed a motion to dismiss Karen Golinski's lawsuit seeking equal health insurance benefits for her wife. A federal court employee in California, Golinski has spent the past couple years in a legal process that had at one point pitted the judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit against the Offi... Metro Weekly • Jun 12, 2011

	Maryland Money Woes Equality Maryland could shut down operations at the end of June if it does not collect $20,000 to $25,000 in donations to cover operating expenses, according to members of the statewide LGBT-advocacy organization's board. Those expenses include rent for its Baltimore office headquarters, as well as salary for current staff. Equality Maryland has two full-time staff members, while interim Executiv... Metro Weekly • May 28, 2011

	House Passes Defense Bill With DADT and DOMA Amendments This afternoon, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with three amendments opposed by LGBT advocates, including one that would add a step to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal process and two that reaffirm or expand the Defense of Marriage Act. On a 322-96 vote with substantial Democratic support and only token Republican opposition, t... Metro Weekly • May 27, 2011

	Judge Sets Schedule in Edith Windsor's DOMA Challenge Legal filings in Edith Windsor's challenge to the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act could be completed as early as August 19, according to an order filed today by the magistrate judge overseeing this part of the case. The discovery and briefing schedule in Windsor's case -- the first case in which the lawyers for the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) appeare... Metro Weekly • May 12, 2011

	King and Spalding Files Motion to Withdraw From DOMA Defense, Prompting Clement's Resignation Today, the law firm of King & Spalding announced -- only 11 days after taking on the representation of the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group in its defense of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act -- that it was dropping its representation because the vetting process had been "inadequate." The move prompted the lead King & Spalding lawyer in the case, Paul Clement, to resign from his positi... Metro Weekly • Apr 25, 2011

	Equality Maryland Executive Director Leaving, Says "Not My Choice to Leave" Morgan Meneses-Sheets, executive director of Equality Maryland, announced today, April 22, that she is it no longer with the organization. Shortly after her announcement, Equality Maryland's Director of Development Matt Thorn released a statement saying that Meneses-Sheets was fired after a vote by the Equality Maryland board, and that he is leaving the organization in protest. Meneses-Sheet's st... Metro Weekly • Apr 24, 2011

	The DOMA Gag Rule? All of King & Spalding's employees - lawyers and non-lawyers - are barred from advocating for the Respect for Marriage Act - the bill that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act - in the 112th Congress, according to the terms of the contract to defend DOMA that King & Spalding partner Paul Clement signed on the firm's behalf on April 14. The contract, which was entered into with U.S. House of R... Metro Weekly • Apr 21, 2011

	A Presidential Duty DOMA became law in 1996, defining marriage for all federal purposes as between a man and a woman before lesbian and gay couples could marry in any jurisdiction in this country. It now stands as the sole obstacle for married bi-national couples desperately seeking to resolve their immigration status. Since DOMA's passage, almost all efforts in the fight for immigration equality have avoided the iss... Metro Weekly • Apr 21, 2011

	Speaker Boehner's DOMA Defense Lawyer, Paul Clement, Is Announced -- and Faces Questions Boehner, in a letter to Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) referencing the Feb. 23 decision by the Justice Department that it would no longer defend Section 3 of DOMA in court, wrote, "The burden of defending DOMA, and the resulting costs associated with any litigation that would have otherwise been born by DOJ, has fallen to the House." Pelosi, however, shot back, writing, "Unfortunate... Metro Weekly • Apr 20, 2011

	DHS Official: Bi-National Immigration Case Abeyances Could End Within A Week Despite statements from leading organizations - most prominently, Immigration Equality - suggesting that the cases would be held in abeyance until DOMA's constitutionality is settled, a DHS official told Metro Weekly on Monday night that the abeyance could last for as little as a week. "[P]ursuant to CIS's routine practice when there's a new law or regulation that will potentially affect their re... Metro Weekly • Mar 30, 2011

	U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Asks Field Offices to Put Bi-National Immigration Cases on Hold Following up on reports from this weekend, Metro Weekly just received confirmation from Christopher Bentley, the spokesman for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, that cases of foreign partners who are married to a same-sex partner and would otherwise be eligible for a green card are on hold in light of questions about the continued validity of the Defense of Marriage Act.... Metro Weekly • Mar 29, 2011

	Policy Change, At Least Locally, Puts Bi-National Couples' Immigration Cases On Hold A growing body of evidence suggests that deportations of foreign partners who are married to a same-sex partner and would otherwise be eligible for a green card are on hold, at least in some parts of the country, until immigration officials in the departments of Justice and Homeland Security assess the impact of ongoing challenges to Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act or perhaps until the co... Metro Weekly • Mar 27, 2011

	Maryland House of Delegates Chairman Sends Marriage Bill Back to Committee Maryland House of Delegates Chairman Del. Joseph Vallario stunned supporters and opponents of Senate Bill 116, the Civil Marriage Protection Act, after a three-hour debate during the bill's final reading by sending it back to the House' Judiciary Committee for further debate. During the final moments of debate, discussions became religious from both sides of the argument.... Metro Weekly • Mar 11, 2011

	House Republicans Vote to Defend DOMA in Court on Party Line 3-2 Vote Rather than seeking to defend this law in court, House Republican Leaders should work with us to repeal DOMA. This action debunks House Republican Leadership's claim of being the so-called guarantor of states' rights. House Republican Leaders seem only to favor states' rights when it suits them ideologically. Rather than recognizing every states' married couples equally, Section 3 of DOMA refus... Metro Weekly • Mar 9, 2011

	Standing on principle and standing in the gaze of history, famed conservative attorney Ted Olson has become one of the nation's most powerful voices for marriage equality Saying that he expects the U.S. Supreme Court to agree with his arguments that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, Olson noted that the question of standing - whether there is an appropriate party appealing the case - may keep the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case from going forward. That won't stop him or AFER. ''If that doesn't happen in this case,'' he said, ''then the American Foundation for Equal... Metro Weekly • Mar 6, 2011

	More DOMA Fallout: DOJ Tackles How DOMA Decision Impacts Judicial Benefits Case In other words, the administration may have concluded that the law is unconstitutional but it will continue to enforce the law until the appellate process has completed itself and a final judgment is reached. Additionally, DOJ has including Golinski's case on its list of cases that have been or could be impacted by the Feb. 23 decision about Section 3 of DOMA and, accordingly, is notifying Congres... Metro Weekly • Mar 1, 2011

	The Fallout: DOJ Drops First Circuit DOMA Defense; Immigration and DADT Questions Raised The third DOMA Sec. 3 challenge, Golinski v. Office of Personnel Management, is pending before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. According to a news release from Lambda Legal, which represents Karen Golinski, the judge in that case has asked the government to "explain how the government plans to pursue its defense of the case following [the Feb. 23] announcement that... Metro Weekly • Feb 27, 2011

	Maryland Marriage Bill Passes Senate floor's final reading 25-21 After about an hour of discussions from opposing views, Maryland's State Senate voted 25-21 in favor of Senate Bill 116, The Civil Marriage Protection Act on Thursday, Feb. 24. A House version of the bill is expected to be introduced in House committee tomorrow.... Metro Weekly • Feb 25, 2011

	Maryland Marriage Vote Imminent Legislators in Maryland are scheduled to vote in committee on the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act on Thursday, Feb. 17, according to Judicial Proceedings Committee chairman Brian E. Frosh's office. ''It's going to happen on Thursday,'' Brenda Smith, appointment secretary for Frosh's office, told Metro Weekly regarding a committee vote on Senate Bill 116, on Tuesday, Feb. 15.... Metro Weekly • Feb 17, 2011

	Maryland Gets Marriage Bill ''It's time that we get full marriage equality and that we get it in 2011,'' Senate Majority Leader Rob Garagiola (D-Montgomery), who is straight, said after Darrell Carrington, of Equality Maryland's board of directors, introduced the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act. If passed, the bill, drafted by Sen. Rich Madaleno (D-Montgomery), the only openly gay member of Maryland's Se... Metro Weekly • Jan 26, 2011

	Eight Days in a Changed World: From marriage to the military, the next two weeks will highlight how far the movement for gay equality has come - and how far it has to go During the next eight days, efforts aimed at stopping discrimination in two of the most traditionally conservative (and heterosexual) of institutions - marriage and the military - will be front and center. What's more, the efforts have, in part, gotten where they have because of the leadership of two unexpected allies: a secretary of defense from the Bush administration and a top lawyer from the B... Metro Weekly • Nov 29, 2010

	AFER Co-Founder Goes From Fighting Prop 8 to Running Michelle Obama's Communications Office One of the co-founding board members of the organization bringing the historic challenge to California's Proposition 8, Kristina Schake, is resigning from the American Foundation for Equal Rights board at the end of the month to start a new job at the White House on Dec. 6 -- the same day that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is to hear the appeal in Perry v. Schwarzenegger. In a n... Metro Weekly • Nov 23, 2010

	Double Dose of DOMA Challenges The Defense of Marriage Act is due for a two-pronged attack on Tuesday, as two separate organizations and sets of lawyers, representing different plaintiffs, plan to file lawsuits in federal court challenging the federal definition of marriage. The Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) plans to file a lawsuit in Connecticut challenging DOMA's Section 3, which defines "marriage" and "spou... Metro Weekly • Nov 9, 2010

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