BREAKING: U.S District Court holds DOMA "violates principles of equal protection."

GLAD just Tweeted that the U.S District Court has held that DOMA "violates... principles of equal protection". The decision hasn't been posted yet, but check glad.org for developing details. In the meantime, you can read up on the history of the case and learn more about the plaintiffs involved.

Gov. Linda Lingle (R) of Hawaii vetoes civil union bill

From the NY Daily News

"Hawaii is supposed to be paradise. But maybe not for everyone.

Republican Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed a controversial civil unions bill on Tuesday that would have granted gay, lesbian and opposite-sex couples the same rights and benefits as married couples.

The legislation, which was approved by the Legislature in April, would have made Hawaii one of six states – in addition to California, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington – to give the rights of marriage to same-sex couples without sanctioning marriage itself.

Lingle argued that voters, not politicians, should decide on the future of same-sex civil unions.

"The subject of this legislation has touched the hearts and minds of our citizens as no other social issue of our day," she said. "It would be a mistake to allow a decision of this magnitude to be made by one individual or a small group of elected officials."

The American Civil Liberties Union and other pro-civil unions groups said they will file a lawsuit in state court within the next month.

"We are standing ready to file that lawsuit in short order to ensure that LGBT families in Hawaii are provided equal rights and benefits," Lois Perrin, legal director of ACLU Hawaii told KITV4 News in Honolulu. "To be sure, the Hawaii Constitution already provides that and we're going to make sure that the courts agree with us."

Perrin said the lawsuit could take months and perhaps even years to work its way through he legal system.

Shortly after Lingle's announcement, many opponents of the civil unions bill applauded, dropped to their knees, cried and prayed.

"What she did was very just, and I'm very happy about it," said Jay Amina, 50, of Waianae. "It sends a good message throughout the state of Hawaii — that our people here on the islands are standing for traditional marriage."

Supporters of the civil unions were outraged, shouting "We'll keep fighting!" and sang "We Shall Overcome."

"We had hoped the governor would do the right thing for civil rights and equality," Lee Yarbrough of Honolulu said while standing with his partner. "This battle is far from over." "

Congratulations to incoming 1Ls!

Congratulations to all the 1Ls who will be attending WNEC Law beginning in August! WNEC is a tight-knit community and those of us at OUTlaw are looking forward to meeting you. Please feel free to email us with any questions, concerns, or comments at outlaw.wnec@gmail.com. We will be sure to keep you updated as we start planning events for the upcoming academic year.

Iceland legalizes same-sex marriage; Prime Minister weds

From the Associated Press:

"REYKJAVIK, Iceland — Iceland's prime minister has married her partner under a new law legalizing same-sex marriage in the country.

One of her advisers, Hrannar B. Arnarsson, said Monday Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir and writer Jonina Leosdottir were officially married Sunday, the day the law came into force.

The pair has been in a registered partnership since 2002 and had applied to have it converted into a marriage under the new law. No ceremony was held.

The law was passed without a dissenting vote in Iceland's parliament June 11.

Social Democrat Sigurdardottir, 68, became Iceland's prime minister last year, after the previous center-right government was ousted by a wave of protest triggered by the country's economic crisis."

Pride: Why we celebrate

As the Pride season draws to a close, let's take a moment to remember why we celebrate.
Stonewall: 1969

2010-2011 Academic Year

Course schedules have been posted for the 2010-2011 academic year. Registration starts July 7th at noon on ASAP.
Fall 2010
Spring 2011

Reuters: U.S. court won't keep secret gay marriage opponents

Reuters reports:

"The high court's 8-1 ruling was a defeat for a group called Protect Marriage Washington. It had argued that public disclosure could lead to threats, harassment or reprisal.

More than 138,000 individuals signed a petition in 2009 to put a referendum on the state ballot that would have overturned a new state law extending the benefits of marriage to couples registered as domestic partners. The referendum failed.

Some supporters of gay rights had vowed to put the names of those who signed the petition on the Internet.

Lawyers for the group argued that the signers' constitutional right to political free-speech under the First Amendment trumped the state's public records law.

A federal judge initially agreed with the group that disclosure of the names and addresses violated constitutional protections of anonymous political speech.

But a U.S. appeals court ruled the names could be made public and said the signatures had been gathered in public with no promise of confidentiality.

In the majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court ruled that disclosure of referendum petitions generally does not violate any free-speech rights.

Only Justice Clarence Thomas dissented.

The Supreme Court case is Doe v. Reed, 09-559."

Closing Arguments: Prop. 8 Trial in San Francisco

Howard Mintz maintained a live blog throughout the Prop. 8 trial and is now doing the same for closing arguments. Check this link throughout the day for updates.

DOMA challenge heard in Federal District Court in Boston yesterday

This note was posted on GLAD's Facebook page today:

An Argument for Equality: Recapping DOMA Hearing Day

Today at 4:04pm

It was sunny and warm as we headed to the Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse on Boston’s waterfront. Eight married couples, three widowers, and as many attorneys marched into the courtroom of Federal District Judge Joseph L. Tauro. The plaintiffs – all harmed by DOMA in various ways – sat in the jury box, and in an overflow courtroom next door, spectators could see them on two large flat-screen TVs.

In the main courtroom, we squished together on the benches. There was a lot of buzz as reporters and spectators waited for Judge Tauro’s entrance at 10:30. The 78-year-old jurist (whose father had been the chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court) entered with his robes open at the front. He greeted us with a bright “good morning” and chided the audience for its meek response, which got a laugh.

But we were soon down to serious business. Mary Bonauto, GLAD’s Civil Rights Project Director and the woman who argued and won the historic Goodridge case, was on her feet.

“This is a classic equal protection issue. The Constitution applies to gay and lesbian citizens, and married ones, too,” Mary told the Court. “What governmental purpose does the US have as an employer in treating some of its married employees, retirees and surviving annuitants differently from other married persons, such that Nancy Gill pays for a self and family plan like some of her married colleagues, but the plan doesn’t cover her own spouse?”

Mary presented a three-pronged legal argument: 1) by singling out only the marriages of same-sex couples, DOMA violates the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution; 2) DOMA represents an unprecedented intrusion of the federal government into marriage law, which for 230 years has been legislated by states; and 3) by denying federal protections to families, DOMA burdens the marriages of same-sex couples and their right to maintain family integrity.

Judge Tauro was attentive, thoughtful, and fully engaged. He questioned Mary about rational basis vs. heightened scrutiny, but never caught her unprepared.

Then it was the federal government’s turn. W. Scott Simpson of the Department of Justice started and ended his argument by emphasizing the Obama administration’s opposition to DOMA, but said their policy position “does not affect the statutes’ constitutionality.” A fire alarm briefly interrupted his argument. On the return of everyone to the courtroom, Mr. Simpson said that “individual states may experiment in the area of marriage” and that DOMA does not stop them from doing that. No one in the room envied him having to make what seemed a fairly strained argument.

We don’t know when to expect a decision, and with our terrible office record of prognostication, I wouldn’t even guess. But we all left the courthouse feeling pretty good, pretty strong, and pretty hopeful. Visit our website for a round up of news coverage, and stay tuned to www.glad.org/doma for more news.

Plaintiffs Marcelle Letourneau and Nancy Gill with Mary Bonauto at the press conference.

Quick Links

Here are some links to a few interesting stories. Apologies for the laziness... lots of studying to do for finals!

The Advocate: Teens Charged in Murder of Gay D.C Middle School Principal

Bay Windows: Deval Patrick signs MA anti-bullying legislation

Bay Windows: Lt. Dan Choi speaks at Harvard re: DADT

The Advocate: NY Affirms Gay Parental Rights

The Advocate: ACLU says civil unions are unequal to marriage