Poland Rejects Proposed Gay Civil Unions

Poland's legislators rejected three pieces of draft legislation that would have recognized same-sex civil unions, a defeat for the country's prime minister who had thrown his weight behind the proposed laws but was outvoted by those citing Catholic teaching. ...

Wall Street Journal • Jan 29, 2013

NYC's Bloomberg: $500K to gay marriage campaigns

Bloomberg already had established himself as an outspoken, and generous, supporter of same-sex marriage. He unveiled a $250,000 contribution to a Maryland gay marriage effort earlier this month and has backed four New York Republican senators who crossed party lines to vote for legalizing gay marriage in the state last year. Monday's move deepened Bloomberg's involvement in the issue outside New Y...

Wall Street Journal • Oct 22, 2012

NY court to hear arguments in gay marriage case

The Defense of Marriage Act is set for a showdown in a federal appeals court later this month between those who say it is right for the government to speak of marriage only in heterosexual terms and those who say doing so discriminates against same-sex unions. In June, U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones in Manhattan declared the 1996 law unconstitutional, prompting former Attorney General John Ash...

Wall Street Journal • Sep 19, 2012

Supreme Court sends domestic partner case back to appeals court

In July, the 4th District Court of Appeals asked the Supreme Court to determine whether the legislation violated the amendment by creating a legal status substantially similar to marriage for unmarried individuals. The appeals court asked the high court to take up the case directly, since it creates a novel constitutional issue and that a decision would have statewide significance. But a majority...

Wall Street Journal • Sep 18, 2012

Survey: 7 out of 10 Con Law Profs Think DOMA Is Unconstitutional

Eighty-seven percent of constitutional law professors back marriage for same-sex couples, and 7 out of 10 believe the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, but only a slight majority of 54% think the federal Constitution requires states to recognize same-sex marriages. ...

Wall Street Journal • Sep 7, 2012

Poland's Parliament Blocks Civil Unions Debate

Poland's parliament Tuesday rejected, without reading, proposed legislation to introduce civil unions, an indication that conservatives still dominate society here and a reflection of deeply-rooted skepticism towards same-sex partnerships. The decision was backed by more than 70% of members of the Sejm, lower house of parliament, mirroring wider trends in the nation....

Wall Street Journal • Jul 24, 2012

WSJ/NBC Poll on Gay Marriage: 2012 vs. 2009 vs. 2004

According to the March 2012 Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll (the most WSJ/NBC News poll recent to include a question on gay marriage) currently 49% of Americans favor gay marriage, with 40% opposed. That represents a flip from October 2009, when 49% were opposed and 41% were in favor. Go back to March 2004, and 62% were opposed, vs. only 30% in favor. ...

Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2012

Education Secretary Backs Gay Marriage

Another one of President Barack Obama's cabinet secretaries has endorsed gay marriage, a development that could increase the pressure on the president to clarify his own position before the November election. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Monday that he supports same-sex marriage and that he had not publicly expressed his support before. Mr. Duncan was asked the...

Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2012

N.J. Lawmaker: Gay Marriage Nears Veto-Proof Support

New Jersey Democrats believe they are within spitting distance of securing enough support to override a veto of same-sex marriage legislation if Gov. Chris Christie chooses not support it. State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, one of the bill's sponsors, estimated the chamber had between 24 and 27 supporters for legislation to allow for same-sex marriage in New Jersey. It takes 27 votes in the 40-member st...

Wall Street Journal • Jan 19, 2012

Big-City Mayors Press for Same-Sex Marriage Rights

The mayors planning to attend Friday's news conference include Annise Parker of Houston, Thomas Menino of Boston, Antonio R. Villaraigosa of Los Angeles and Marilyn Strickland of Tacoma, Wash. Michael Bloomberg of New York and Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, Mr. Obama's first White House chief of staff, have also joined the effort. ...

Wall Street Journal • Jan 18, 2012

Town clerk in NY same-sex marriage flap re-elected

A town clerk in the Finger Lakes who refuses to personally issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because of her religious beliefs has won her re-election race....

Wall Street Journal • Nov 9, 2011

Blocking Tax Breaks for Same-Sex Married Couples

Even as more states move to legalize same-sex marriage, the financial effect of those changes is limited for same-sex couples because the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 prohibits the federal government from recognizing them as legally married. ...

Wall Street Journal • Nov 9, 2011

Hearings on DOMA-Repeal Bill Slated for Next Week

This just in from the office of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.): The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to begin debate on legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act on Nov. 3....

Wall Street Journal • Oct 25, 2011

Play about Prop 8 makes its Broadway debut

A play based on last year's federal court fight over California's gay marriage ban made its Broadway debut on Monday night with an all-star cast, only hours after a federal judge decided to unseal the trial's video recordings. Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black's play "8'' was born, in part, by frustration that Proposition 8 backers had succeeded in getting the U.S. Supreme Court to bar broadcast of...

Wall Street Journal • Sep 21, 2011

Whitford, Lithgow in play reading on Broadway

A new play about the legal battle over same-sex marriage in California keeps attracting big-name talent....

Wall Street Journal • Sep 8, 2011

Couple Asks Ninth Circuit to Rule on Gay-Marriage Ban

Just days after the Justice Department filed an appeal of a ruling declaring the federal ban on gay marriage unconstitutional, lawyers for a same-sex couple at the center of a bankruptcy dispute upped the ante by asking the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to take the case. The Justice Department appealed the bankruptcy-court ruling Monday that declared the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstit...

Wall Street Journal • Jul 3, 2011

Gay-Marriage Law Won't Stop the Legal Fights

New York's legalization of gay marriage simplifies one major issue: In that state, same-sex couples have the same marital rights as opposite-sex couples. But the passage last week of the state's Marriage Equality Act also opens up a host of complications, brought on by differences between New York's law and both federal law and those of other states, most of which don't recognize same-sex marriag...

Wall Street Journal • Jun 29, 2011

New York Gay Marriage Vote Alters Political Battle Lines

"The progressive Democratic community is looking at Andrew Cuomo and seeing Bobby Kennedy and the president is not looking very politically astute by comparison," said Richard Socarides, who advised President Bill Clinton on gay-rights issues. "People remember that when he ran for president he said, 'I want to change the country.' Now he's saying to gay people, 'If you want change, look to your st...

Wall Street Journal • Jun 27, 2011

Q&A with Lambda Legal's Susan Sommer about New York Gay Marriage Bill

What marital rights do out-of-state couples still lack in New York? Estate taxes are one example. Typically, when a spouse dies, the surviving spouse does not incur estate taxes. But in New York, because of a statutory anomaly, a survivor spouse in a same-sex couple, who was legally married out of state, would have to pay estate taxes. These taxes can be significant. Also, I should note that even...

Wall Street Journal • Jun 25, 2011

NY Senate leader: Still no gay marriage decision

State Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos says there's still no decision on the bill to legalize gay marriage in New York that passed the Assembly on Wednesday....

Wall Street Journal • Jun 16, 2011

NYC clerk readies gender-neutral marriage forms

City Clerk Michael McSweeney says he is proof-reading new, gender-neutral forms for marriage license applications. The current form asks for one bride's name and one groom's name. The gender-neutral versions would allow each person to choose whether he or she is a bride, groom or spouse....

Wall Street Journal • Jun 16, 2011

New York: Mayor Urges Gay Marriage

Mayor Michael Bloomberg forcefully championed marriage equality as a "fundamental civil right" during a sweeping speech in Manhattan on Thursday, urging the state Legislature to vote on the issue before the session ends next month. Introduced by his niece, Rachel Tiven, who is gay, Mr. Bloomberg spoke in personal terms about why he is an advocate for gay marriage, declaring that he sees the "pain...

Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2011

House Files to Intervene in DOMA Case

The Republican-led House Monday launched its defense of a federal law banning recognition of gay marriages, with former Bush administration Solicitor General Paul Clement leading the effort. In a filing in federal court in New York, House lawmakers asked to be allowed to intervene in a case that challenged the legality of the law since the Justice Department had withdrawn its defense....

Wall Street Journal • Apr 20, 2011

With Latest Ruling, Prop. 8 Case Now Officially on Slow Track

The wheels of justice don't always move quickly. But at least in regard to the litigation surrounding Proposition 8, you can be sure that when the dust settles, it'll have been given a good hard look by not one, not two, but possibly dozens of judges. The latest: the California Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to decide whether backers of Proposition 8 have a legal right to defend the law....

Wall Street Journal • Feb 17, 2011

Scalia on 'Controverisal Stuff': 'I Don't Even Have to Read the Briefs'

It's widely expected that Proposition 8, the measure passed by California voters in 2008 outlawing same-sex marriage, will ultimately land in the lap of the U.S. Supreme Court. If and when it does, LBers, don't look for Justice Antonin Scalia to strike down the law as violating the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. Scalia made that pretty darn clear in a recent interview with UC Hastings ...

Wall Street Journal • Jan 6, 2011

On the Prop. 8 Arguments and the Cameras-in-the-Court Debate

In our minds, the parade of potential horribles that Supreme Court justices and others trot out whenever the cameras-in-the-court issue gets raised failed to materialize. The judges didn't grandstand (or at least didn't grandstand any more than they typically do). The lawyers didn't ham it up. Rather, on Monday, the American people got to take a look at what they pay for....

Wall Street Journal • Dec 9, 2010

Are Gay-Rights Rulings Spurring Change or Frustrating Public Opinion?

Judges, of course, are not in the public polling business. They're generally not encouraged to calibrate their rulings to ensure they are line with the prevailing views of the day. On hot button issues, judges operate in the more rarefied air of deciding whether conduct comports with the Constitution. But the Time piece is focused on a narrower issue -- can courts, as a practical matter, give ris...

Wall Street Journal • Nov 26, 2010

Closing Arguments Due in Gay-Marriage Case

Should he decide to overturn Prop 8, Judge Walker could allow gay couples to begin marrying immediately or wait until appellate court has reviewed the case. Defenders of the ban could also request that an appellate court stay any ruling. The case is widely expected to be appealed to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and possibly the Supreme Court. How any ruling is framed could affect wheth...

Wall Street Journal • Jun 15, 2010

Prop 8 Trial Testimony Gets a Marisa Tomei Makeover

Today the Courage Campaign, an online organizing network for progressive causes, launched a Web site dedicated to re-enactments of the ongoing trial. At equalityontrial.org, they've posted videos of a handful of celebrities -- including Oscar winner Marisa Tomei -- giving dramatic readings of the court proceedings. Acting in a West Hollywood park Tomei portrays Kristin Perry, one of the lesbian p...

Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2010

Witness Assails Gay Marriages

David Boies, a lawyer representing gay couples, began questioning Mr. Blankenhorn in a cross-examination that had the two men raising their voices at each other. They accomplished little as Mr. Boies pressed the witness to give succinct answers, which Mr. Blankenhorn often refused to do. Their bickering prompted the judge to end the trial for the day. He asked lawyers from both sides to finish pre...

Wall Street Journal • Jan 27, 2010

Gay-Marriage Backers Split on 2010 Ballot Effort

At the core is a debate over strategy: Is it more effective to mount a relentless offensive at the ballot box? Or is it better to take the time to build a war chest of cash and clout before going back to voters?...

Wall Street Journal • Dec 15, 2009

Prop. 8 Supporters Get Boost From Three Clinton Appointees

A panel comprised of Clinton appointees Kim Wardlaw, Raymond Fisher and Marsha Berzo ruled that the Proposition 8 sponsors "have made a strong showing that they are likely to succeed in their arguments" that the discussions were constitutionally protected and that an order like Walker's would discourage candid communications in political campaigns. The court, which for now only ruled on whether ...

Wall Street Journal • Dec 5, 2009

Equal Marriage and the Constitution

Gays and lesbians are our brothers and sisters, our teachers and doctors, our friends and neighbors, our parents and children. It is time, indeed past time, that we accord them the basic human right to marry the person they love. It is time, indeed past time, that our Constitution fulfill its promise of equal protection and due process for all citizens by now eliminating the last remnant of centur...

Wall Street Journal • Jul 20, 2009

Gay Group Slams Policies of President

As a candidate for president, Mr. Obama said he would try to repeal the law known as DOMA. It prevents same-sex couples married in states where gay unions are legal from benefiting from federal benefits of marriage, such as Social Security spousal benefits. But on Friday, the Obama administration filed a brief seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer, a California...

Wall Street Journal • Jun 17, 2009

Genetic Marker Tied to Civil-Rights Support

The best indicators of someone's opinion on the subject may be if they have openly gay friends or relatives and whether they think homosexuality is a choice or a genetic trait over which people have no control....

Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2009

Gay-Rights Outreach Grows in California

Last month, 200 gay-rights activists gathered at a Holiday Inn in this city at the heart of California's conservative Central Valley for a two-day training course on how to pair Internet-based social networking with old-fashioned canvassing to promote a gay-friendly agenda. It is part of a wider effort to reach out to the state's more conservative precincts, with polls showing Californians are eve...

Wall Street Journal • Apr 13, 2009

Why Gay Marriage Matters

Here's to marriage, a "supremely important civil institution." And here's to including, not excluding, kind-hearted people like my brother David, who want nothing more than to find the right person, settle down, and one day perhaps get married....

Wall Street Journal • Apr 7, 2009

Gay Pride on Valentine's Day in Beijing

Reactions to the protest were divided; while many onlookers expressed support, saying they were aware there are many openly gay men and women in China now, others were not sympathetic to the cause....

Wall Street Journal • Feb 16, 2009

On March 5, Set Your Tivos to the California Channel

So how is the court divvying up its three hours? In Tuesday's order scheduling the hearing, the court allotted 30 minutes to California AG Jerry Brown; 30 minutes each to the two groups of same-sex couples; 30 minutes to the local governments and 60 minutes to Protect Marriage, the ballot measure's official sponsor. Protect Marriage is represented by Ken Starr....

Wall Street Journal • Feb 5, 2009

Donor Disclosure Has Its Downsides

The question is not whether Prop. 8 should have passed, but whether its supporters (or opponents) should have their political preferences protected in the same way that voters are protected....

Wall Street Journal • Dec 26, 2008