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April 23, 2013
Nevada Senate passes gay marriage

Nevada state Senate repealed a ban on gay marriage and passed a marriage equality resolution during which the impassioned debate Senator Kelvin Atkinson came out as a gay man

The Nevada state Senate passed a same-sex marriage resolution, by a vote of 12-9.

The resolution passed today (23 April) repeals the state text defining marriage as between a man and a woman, replacing it with ‘the state shall recognize marriages and issue marriage licenses, regardless of gender’.

Same-sex marriage was banned in 2002 when voters passed a constitutional amendment, Nevada Question 2.

April 11, 2013
Gay man arrested in Missouri after refusing to leave the hospital room of his partner

Roger Gorley: 'I was not recognized as being the husband'

Despite being in a civil union for five years, a gay man was asked to leave his partner's hospital room in Kansas City, Missouri, when one of the patient's family members objected to his presence.

Roger Gorley refused to leave so the security staff at Research Medical Center ordered him off of hospital grounds and the police were called.

April 10, 2013
New Mexico Governor grants benefits to straight veterans’ spouses then denies them to gay spouses

New Mexico Republican Governor Susana Martinez has signed a law giving the heterosexual spouses of veterans special treatment in applying for occupational licenses and then vetoed a bill which would have given the same-sex spouses of veterans the same treatment

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez has vetoed a bill that would have given all spouses of military veterans special treatment in applying for occupational licenses to work in the state directly after she signed a bill that gave that same special treatment to heterosexual spouses only.

February 26, 2013
Texas Republicans want to cut funding to schools with pro-gay policies

Lawmakers in Texas introduce two bills which aim to cut funding to educational facilities which have pro LGBT policies

Texas Republican lawmakers have introduced two anti-gay bills, one which would cut funding for schools and universities that have pro LGBT policies for students, faculty, or staff, and another measure allowing discrimination based on religious beliefs.

State representative, Drew Springer filed a bill aiming to reduce a school district’s healthcare funding by 7.5 percent if they offer domestic partner benefits to anyone other than an employee or a dependent of an employee.

January 28, 2013
Gay marrigage bill defeated by committee in Wyoming legislature

But domestic partnership bill manages to advance

Wyoming will not be in the running to become the 10th state in the US to legalize gay marriage.

A marriage equality bill was rejected Monday (28 January) by the Wyoming House Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Committee in a 5-4 vote.

Think Progress reports that testimony against the bill included threats that gays are pedophiles and that same-sex activity damages colons.

January 25, 2013
The seven ways civil partnership isn't the same as marriage

GSN compares civil partnership and marriage as the UK government publishes its gay marriage bill for England and Wales

Britain is moving towards equal marriage but gay and lesbian couples already have access to civil partnerships. So is it really the case that 'separate but equal' is not truly equal?

As Conservative equality minister Maria Miller introduces The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill for England and Wales today (25 January), we examine the differences and see what impact the new bill will have, if it becomes law.

October 10, 2012
Elton John no longer satisfied with civil unions - he wants gay marriage

'There's a world of difference between calling someone your 'partner' and calling them your 'husband'

Elton John used to say the civil unions were enough and that same-sex couples didn't really need marriage.

He doesn't feel that way anymore.

The singer and David Furnish became domestic partners on December 25, 2005, the very first day gay couples in Britain were allowed to obtain a civil partnership.

July 11, 2012
Arizona governor demands removal of gay couple benefits

Jan Brewer is requesting the Supreme Court reverse a ruling that gave benefits, including health insurance, to same-sex partners of state employees
 

Arizona's governor wants to do away with same-sex partner benefits.

Republican lawmaker Jan Brewer filed a petition on 2 July (Monday) to the Supreme Court to reverse a September 2011 ruling that gave health benefits to same-sex partners who are state employees.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in Diaz vs Brewers that benefits could not be refused based on sexual orientation.

May 25, 2012
Brazil takes first steps to legalizing gay marriage

Politicians in Brazil have made a small step to recognizing same-sex partnerships but the courts are still far ahead of them

Brazil’s politicians have made a small step to catching up with their judges and legalizing same-sex marriage.

A proposal to allow same-sex civil unions has been before Brazil’s Congress for 16 years.

But yesterday (24 May) the human rights committee in Brazil’s Senate approved a change in the law to say a civil union is between two people, without saying they have to be opposite genders.

However even that stops short of full gay marriage. And the bill still has to pass through other senate committees before it can get to a full vote and become law.

May 4, 2012
Why same-sex marriage is spreading in Europe

With Britain vowing to have same-sex marriages, Italy likely to be pushed into making the leap and France also set to tie the knot under a new president, are gay marriages now unstoppable in Europe?

Italian MP Anna Paola Concia is in a German civil union with her partner Ricarda. But her rights are not recognized in Rome.

It happens to hundreds of couples in the Mediterranean country, who got married and are not recognized by the state.

But Concia is confident Italy will soon change its mind and allow same-sex unions. She told Gay Star News: ‘It will happen in four or five years, marriage equality is an idea that has spread and that now is unstoppable. And the European Union can make a difference.’

May 1, 2012
New adverts dispute North Carolina ban on gay marriage

The proposed Amendment One could also take away straight couples' rights  

Two new adverts challenge North Carolina's gay marriage ban a week before the measure goes to polls.

The proposed Amendment One provides 'that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized' in the US state.

The new adverts from the coalition Protect All NC Families explain the vague wording of Amendment One could also have implications for unmarried straight couples.

March 19, 2012
South Australia intensifies gay marriage reform campaigns

South Australian equality advocates single out high profile politicians to ensure same-sex marriage

Australian Marriage Equality (AME) has identified South Australia is a key battleground in the fight for same-sex marriage after a poll showed that most people in the state support equality.

Now AME wants to engage and educate politicians from South Australia to help them secure gay and lesbian marriages in the state and across the country.

December 23, 2011
No more health care in Michigan for some partners

GOP governor Rick Snyder signs a bill that ends coverage in Michigan for domestic partners of many public workers

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law today [22 December] a bill that will prevent many government employers in the state from providing health care coverage to the domestic partners of public employees.

The bill was narrowly passed by both the state's House of Representatives and Senate which have Republican majorities.

But there is some confusion over how far-reaching the new law will be since it does not extend to state government employees or employees at state public universities.