LGBT rights

Despite the many lawsuits pending to strike at state-level bans on same-sex marriage--and success in some of those lawsuits, the Associated Press reports that the 30-plus mini-Defense of Marriage Act laws aren't going anywhere just quite yet. "'The thing that I would not do is confidently predict that now all of these ‘mini’ DOMAs are going to be declared unconstitutional. That would be a mistake,' ... Andrew M. Koppelman, a Northwestern University School of Law professor and author of “Same Sex, Different States: When Same-Sex Marriages Cross State Lines,”' told the AP. '“There is wiggle room here for judges to do what comports with their sense of what’s right.'" For example, some judges could find that the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the federal DOMA left the decision on authorizing same-sex marriage up to individual states. 

Bloomberg reports on the plans of Utah governmental officials to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to block same-sex marriages. A federal district court has ruled that Utah's ban on same-sex nuptials violates constitutional rights to equal protection and due process, but the Tenth Circuit ruled against holding the trial court in abeyance while Utah appeals the decision.

The Associated Press reports that U.S. District Judge Timothy Black ruled today that Ohio's 9-year-old ban on same-sex marriage cannot extend to refusing to recognize valid same-sex marriages from other states on death certificates. The ruling is likely to have a broader impact than just on death certificates because of the judge's sweeping language. According to the AP, the judge reasoned: "'The question presented is whether a state can do what the federal government cannot — i.e., discriminate against same-sex couples ... simply because the majority of the voters don't like homosexuality (or at least didn't in 2004). Under the Constitution of the United States, the answer is no."'

A federal judge struck down Utah's ban on same-sex marriage as violative of LGBT couples' rights to due process and equal protection, the AP reports. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby's ruling could prime the issue for the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, while ruling this year that a ban on federal benefits for gay couples is unconstitutional, did not address whether there is a fundamental right for same-sex couples to get married in the United States.

Republican-red Indiana is seeking to ban same-sex marriage in its constitution; lawmakers must approve the proposed constitutional amendment a second time before sending it to voters, the Associated Press reports. But "polls have shown increasing numbers of Indiana voters oppose a constitutional ban even though most still oppose gay marriage," the AP reports. Moreover, at least two lawmakers who voted for the amendment in 2011 now say they won't vote for it again.

 Opponents cite the amendment for a proposed ban on civil unions and employee benefits for same-sex couples.

In a ruling today, the New Mexico Supreme Court has made that state the 17th in the state to allow same-sax marriage.  “'All rights, protections, and responsibilities that result from the marital relationship shall apply equally to both same-gender and opposite-gender married couples,"' the court said, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

Judge Timothy Black, a federal district judge in Ohio, questioned the authority of state officials to refuse to recognize same-sex unions entered in other states, the Associated Press reports. Black heard arguments this week on a narrower question than other same-sex marriage lawsuits: not on whether Ohio's ban on same-sex marriage ban can stand, but on whether same-sex marriages from other states must be recognized on Ohio death certificates.

A Texas judge blocked the city of Houston from providing benefits to the same-sex spouses of Houston city employees---but it's pending another court hearing next month, LGBTQ Nation reports. The lawsuit was filed by Harris County Republican chair Jared Woodfill. Houston Mayor Annise Parker decided to extend benefits to the same-sex spouses of city employees. The plaintiffs claims that Parker violated the Houston city-charter ban on domestic partner benefits, the state Defense of Marriage Act and the Texas Constitution, LGBTQ Nation further reports.

The Associated Press reports that, while gay and lesbian Americans are racking up success after success in the fight for same-sex marriage, that the picture is not as rosy for transgender Americans: '“My sense is that we are 20 years behind the mainstream gay and lesbian movement in terms of public understanding,' said Michael Silverman, executive director of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund," according to the AP.

While New Jersey has authorized same-sex marriage through court action, Democrats in the New Jersey Senate were hoping to codify same-sex marriage by statute. But The Newark Star-Ledger reports "Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg said Sunday that she decided to follow the advice of Lambda Legal, a gay rights law group, to take the bill off the agenda." Lambda Legal disfavored the religious exemptions in the now-pulled legislation.