This Week in Gay News Roundup: 4/26 - 4/30

 Thursday April 30, 2009  | News

Rainbow NewspaperSo much has happened on the gay rights front this week. Here is a review in case you missed anything:

  • Florida's anti-gay adoption laws are being challenged in both the legislature and the court. Though the legislation is expected to die without a vote next week, the court will soon hold hearings on the issue. The case is an appeal from a lower court ruling that permitted a gay man, Martin Gill, to adopt two abused and neglected brothers. Florida's statute states that no homosexual is permitted to adopt, and is the only state law in the country that completely prohibits an individual from adopting on the basis of his or her sexuality. Via The Miami Herald.
  • The New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee has recommended tabling a bill that would expand marriage rights to same-sex couples by a vote of 3-2. At least 12 of the state's 24 senators must now support the bill in order for a motion to pass to be entertained. Governor John Lynch, who prefers civil unions, has previously expressed opposition to same-sex marriage, but has not given an official statement on whether or not he intends to veto the bill if it survives the Senate. Via Reuters.
    • Update: The Senate has passed the bill 13-11 after an amendment prohibiting polygamy and incestuous marriages was added. It now heads to the governor's desk.
  • Iowa began distributing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples on Monday, 24 days after the Supreme Court's ruling that approved same-sex marriage. 380 couples took advantage of the law on the first day it was available, including 25 out-of-state couples. Because Iowa law requires a three day waiting period between application and receipt of a marriage license, today is the first day that these 380 couples can officially say that they are legally married. Congratulations!
  • The American Constitution Society has begun distributing a new issue brief [pdf] with a novel explanation as to why California's Proposition 8 — the constitutional amendment that re-restricted marriage in the state — is unconstitutional:

    [T]o the extent the rights to liberty, privacy, due process and equal protection have not themselves been changed, then the pre-existing interpretation of those rights in Marriage Cases [the suit in which the Supreme Court previously found the right to marriage] must control. Thus, even if Proposition 8 is construed as a permissible amendment (as opposed to a revision), it would necessarily violate separation of powers principles because it purports to dictate a specific interpretation of certain other — indisputably unchanged — constitutional provisions.

    Essentially, ACS argues that Proposition 8 cannot simply change marriage law without also changing the fundamental basis upon which the Court found the right to marriage. To do so would unconstitutionally rob the Court of their power to interpret the constitution.

  • On the heels of the Designated Beneficiary Agreement Act, Colorado's legislature has now also passed a bill allowing partners of gay and lesbian state employees to gain access to their partner's health insurance plan. The law would require that same-sex couples be in a committed relationship for at least one year before qualifying for the benefits.
  • The Maine Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a bill that would open marriage to same-sex couples in the state by a vote of 11-2. The bill now moves to the full state Senate for their vote.

Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments.



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