gay marriage ban

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Texas Lets Lone 'Medically Fragile' Gay Couple Wed

Court orders county clerk to issue one marriage license

(Newser) - Texas has its first legally married same-sex couple as of this morning, reports the Austin American-Statesman —despite the Lone Star State's current ban on gay marriage. Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant, who live in Austin and have been together 30 years, got a one-time court-ordered marriage license in...

Courts Dump Anti-Gay Marriage Laws in Arkansas, Mississippi

Both orders on hold, though, as states consider appeals

(Newser) - Arkansas and Mississippi became the latest two states yesterday to have their gay marriage bans overturned by federal judges, but both orders are on hold for possible appeals. Both states had voter-approved constitutional amendments passed in 2004 that defined marriage as being between one man and one woman. In Arkansas,...

Kennedy Screw-Up Blocked Gay Marriage in Nevada, Too

Supreme Court confirms the accident, says it's fixed

(Newser) - Anthony Kennedy stepped in yesterday and blocked same-sex marriage from going forward in Idaho —but in issuing his order, he accidentally stepped in it and blocked same-sex marriage in Nevada. The cause of confusion? Though Idaho asked the court for a stay, Nevada did not; but Idaho included case...

Court Dumps Virginia's Gay Marriage Ban

US circuit court says state ban is unconstitutional

(Newser) - A federal appeals court has struck down Virginia's same-sex marriage ban. A three-judge panel of the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond ruled today that state constitutional and statutory provisions barring gay marriage and denying recognition of such unions performed in other states violate the US Constitution....

Florida Court Clears Way for Gay Marriage in Keys

Overturns ban, applies only to Monroe County

(Newser) - A judge in the Florida Keys overturned the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage today after a legal challenge by gay couples said it effectively made them second-class citizens. The ruling by Circuit Judge Luis M. Garcia applies only to Monroe County, which primarily consists of the Keys, and...

Clergy Sue for Right to Perform Gay Weddings

Their argument focuses on religious freedom

(Newser) - North Carolina's gay marriage ban is being challenged—by a group of clergymen. The United Church of Christ, Lutheran, Baptist, and Unitarian Universalist ministers, plus two rabbis, filed a lawsuit yesterday claiming that the ban infringes upon their religious freedom, and that because of the separation of church and...

Nevada Won't Defend Gay Marriage Ban

It won't hold up in federal court, state decides

(Newser) - A step forward for gay rights in Nevada, though same-sex weddings in Las Vegas may still be some time off: The state has a constitutional ban on gay marriage that was approved by voters in 2002 but it has decided that it won't defend it before a federal appeals...

Virginia's AG: I Won't Defend Ban on Gay Marriage

Herring says law is unconstitutional

(Newser) - Virginia's brand new attorney general is wasting no time backing away from his controversial predecessor, telling NPR this morning that his office will no longer defend the state's ban on gay marriage. "As attorney general, I cannot and will not defend laws that violate Virginians' rights,"...

Gay Marriage 'Odd Couple' Takes Fight to Virginia

Theodore Olson, David Boies join lawsuit

(Newser) - The "odd couple" legal team that got California's gay marriage ban overturned is setting its sights on Virginia, the Washington Post reports. Conservative Republican Theodore Olson and liberal Democrat David Boies, the lawyers on opposite sides of the 2000 Bush vs. Gore Supreme Court case, are joining a...

Pennsylvania AG Won't Defend Gay Marriage Ban
Pennsylvania AG Won't Defend Gay Marriage Ban
sources say
Jul 11, 2013 8:53 AM CDT

Pennsylvania AG Won't Defend Gay Marriage Ban

Sources say Kathleen Kane will make announcement today

(Newser) - Pennsylvania's own attorney general won't defend the state's gay marriage ban, which is being challenged in a federal lawsuit , according to multiple sources, including lawyers involved in the case, who talked to the Philadelphia Daily News and the Washington Post . Kathleen Kane, the state's first Democrat...

Prop 8 Is Dead: Gay Marriage Legal in California (but Not Nationwide)

Supreme Court avoids sweeping decision on pivotal case

(Newser) - After issuing a sweeping decision on the Defense of Marriage Act , the court effectively punted on its other major same-sex marriage case on the validity of Proposition 8. In another 5-4 decision, the court said that the defenders of Prop 8 didn't have the standing to step in and...

Charlotte Looking Like Worse and Worse DNC Pick

It's home to Bank of America and a high unemployment rate

(Newser) - The Democratic National Convention could be meeting on enemy territory come September. The state that flipped for Barack Obama last election, making him the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state in more than 30 years, is increasingly at odds with the White House. North Carolina just banned gay...

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