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February 27th, 2019
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Cuba legalizes same-sex marriage
Cuba has legalized marriage equality after Cubans voted in favor of a family code that increased protections for minorities on the island, CNN reported. With 94% of the votes counted as of 8 a.m. CT on ...
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Family Equality discussion at Center on Halsted on Sept. 9
On Friday, Sept. 9, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Center on Halsted will host a special Family Equality educational panel discussion about issues facing LGBTQ+ people and families. According to Family Equality, at least 11.3 million U.S. adults identify ...
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Singapore to decriminalize same-sex relations, but will ban marriage equality
Singapore will decriminalize sex between men by repealing a colonial-era statute but will amend the constitution to ensure same-sex marriage is not allowed, ABC News reported. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he believed repealing the ...
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Senate vote on marriage bill pushed back to September
Hope for a quick vote on the Respect for Marriage Act in the U.S. Senate this week has faded, but U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin said over the weekend that she has 10 Republican senators willing to ...
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Andorra passes civil marriage for same-sex couples
On July 21, lawmakers in the tiny European country of Andorra voted unanimously to extend civil marriage rights to same-sex couples, The Los Angeles Blade reported. Andorra is a small country known for its ski areas ...
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U.S. House passes Respect for Marriage Act
On July 19, almost 50 House Republicans joined Democrats to pass legislation that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enshrine marriage equality into federal law, Axios reported. The legislation, approved 267-157, is part of ...
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Ted Cruz wants marriage equality revoked
To the surprise of few, a leading Republican figure would like marriage equality overturned. On July 16, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the U.S. Supreme Court was "clearly wrong" and "overreaching" when it legalized same-sex ...
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Supreme Court justice says marriage-equality ruling should be reconsidered
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas argued in a concurring opinion regarding the revocation of the constitutional right to abortion that the U.S. Supreme Court "should reconsider" its past rulings codifying rights to contraception access, same-sex ...
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Clela Rorex, first County Clerk to issue same-sex marriage licences, has died
-- From a press release
BOULDER, CO - Out Boulder County and the family of Clela Rorex are saddened to announce the death of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer pioneering ally, Clela Rorex. On March 27,1975 Clela issued the first ...
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Church of Scotland votes to allow same-sex marriages
The Church of Scotland has voted to allow same-sex marriages after recent warnings that its historical opposition had increased the church's decline toward irrelevance, The Guardian reported. The church's general assembly voted 274-136 to allow it ...
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Same-sex couple have historic wedding in Antarctica
RRS Sir David Attenborough crew members Eric Bourne and Stephen Carpenter are now the first same-sex couple ever married in the British Antarctic Territory on April 24, The Maritime Executive noted. The Maritime Executive noted that ...
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Judge: Former clerk Kim Davis violated same-sex couples' rights
A federal judge found that Kim Davis—the former Kentucky clerk whose refusal to sign marriage certificates for same-sex couples made national headlines in 2015—violated their constitutional rights, NPR reported. Now it has to be determined if ...
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Top UK court upholds Cayman Islands marriage-equality ban
On March 14, the UK Privy Council ruled that the Cayman Islands Constitution does not provide a right for same-sex marriage and ruled in favor of the Cayman Islands government by dismissing the case of lesbian ...
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Skydeck Chicago announces Valentine's Day 'Love on The Ledge' contest
Skydeck Chicago has announced its annual "Love on The Ledge" social media contest. The event at the Willis Tower observation deck gives adventurous couples of all backgrounds the chance to tie the knot or renew their ...
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Israel allows surrogacy for same-sex couples, trans people and single men
Israel Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz announced that, starting next week, same-sex couples, single men and transgender people will be able to parent children through surrogacy, an option that was previously banned for them in the country, ...
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New Jersey legislature votes to codify marriage equality
On Dec. 20, New Jersey lawmakers took steps to protect marriage equality, with both houses of the state legislature voting to enshrine the right to same-sex marriage into state law, PhillyVoice.com reported. Sponsors of the legislation ...
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WORLD Chile's marriage law, Tokyo's move, Iran arrest, Mr. Gay World resigns
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera signed a historic bill legalizing same-sex marriage into law, days after the measure was approved by Congress, Al-Jazeera reported. The law "puts all love relationships between two people on an equal footing," ...
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Chile's political houses approve marriage equality by landslide margin
Chile approved marriage-equality legislation in a landslide vote on Dec. 7, NPR reported. Both houses of Chile's Congress authorized the measure with overwhelming majorities, making it the eighth Latin American country to allow same-sex marriage, as ...
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Thailand, Switzerland go in opposite directions regarding marriage equality
Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled a law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman in the country is constitutional, The Washington Blade reported. The Foundation for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Rights and Justice, ...
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Same-sex partners can now access Social Security survivor's benefits
--From a press release
[New York, NY] This week, Lambda Legal has announced that the Social Security Administration (SSA) has withdrawn its appeals in two cases on behalf of surviving same-sex partners and spouses whom SSA had previously denied from ...
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Departments dismiss appeals of same-sex Social Security survivor case
On Nov. 1, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Social Security Administration (SSA) dismissed their Ninth Circuit appeals of two nationwide class-action suits that Lambda Legal won. The original ruling was in favor of surviving ...
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Nearly two-thirds of Swiss residents vote for marriage equality
Almost two-thirds of Switzerland's voters backed the government's plan to introduce same-sex marriage in a referendum held Sept. 26, with campaigners calling it a historic day for gay rights in Switzerland, Yahoo! News reported, citing AFP. ...
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WORLD Marches, world leaders, Swiss marriage, soccer match
Thousands of people including soldiers and diplomats marched peacefully through the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in an annual Pride parade despite some opposition to an event called off last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters ...
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Pope again refuses to bless same-sex marriages
Pope Francis told reporters recently on a return flight from Hungary that the Catholic Church is unable to bless same-sex marriages because marriage is a divine sacrament between a man and a woman, per The Advocate. ...
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Polis marriage marks first same-sex wedding of sitting governor
On Sept. 15, Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis wed longtime partner Marlon Reis marking the first same-sex marriage of a sitting U.S. governor, NPR reported. Polis keeps making history. In 2018, Polis became the first openly gay ...
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LGBTQ advocates celebrate two Illinois marriage certificate modernization bills
--From a press release
Trans and non-binary people who were married in Illinois will now be able to obtain marriage certificates that reflect their authentic selves thanks to legislation signed today by Governor JB Pritzker, according to Equality Illinois and ...
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LGBTQ advocates celebrate passage of Illinois marriage certificate name change legislation
--From a press release
LGBTQ advocates are celebrating passage of state legislation that will provide certainty for individuals requesting that their Illinois marriage certificates reflect a legal name change. HB 2590 is an initiative of Equality Illinois and Chicago House ...
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Simmons, family advocates argue for $600-per-child state tax credit before Senate committee
--From a press release
SPRINGFIELD Speaking alongside other advocates for Illinois children and families, Illinois state Sen. Mike Simmons (D-Chicago) argued the necessity of his plan to institute a $600-per-child income tax credit at the state level before the ...
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Starting May 3, ceremonies in Cook County's downtown Marriage Court can be performed by Zoom
CHICAGO (April 30) Marriage and civil union ceremonies at Cook County's downtown Marriage and Civil Union Court (Marriage Court) may be performed via Zoom videoconference, as well as in person, starting next week, according to ...
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Illinois Senate passes proposal removing gendered language from marriage certificates
--From a press release
On April 21, on its third reading, the Illinois Senate passed (by a bipartisan vote of 44-13) a proposal that amends the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act to allow the removal of gendered language ...
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Russian leader Putin officially bans same-sex marriage
On April 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a series of constitutional amendments that, among other things, formally defines marriage as between a man and a woman in the country, The Washington Blade reported. ...
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Michigan Court recognizes same-sex parents have parental rights
--From a NCLR press release
DETROIT, MI Yesterday, the Michigan Court of Appeals recognized two unmarried women as parents where one parent is a genetic parent and the other parent gave birth. LaNesha Matthews and Kyresha LeFever were a same-sex ...
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Global momentum for marriage equality surges,"Freedom to Marry Global" website created
--From a freedomtomarry.org press release
April 1st marks twenty years since the Netherlands ended the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage, becoming the first of so far 30 countries worldwide to affirm the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. Now, two ...
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LETTER The Vatican's words and actions do not echo love
The LGBTQA community is responding with shock, anger and frustration at the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith statement concerning same-sex unions. Many in our community can't understand why Pope Francis would allow such a ...
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DignityUSA: Vatican denying same-sex blessings "Exacerbates pain and anger"
--From a press release
March 15, 2021. DignityUSA, the organization of Catholics working for justice, equality, and full inclusion of LGBTQI people in the church and society, is deeply disappointed by the Vatican's statement unequivocally denying blessings to same-sex coupl ...
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Vatican won't bless same-sex unions
The Catholic Church said it cannot bless same-sex unions, adding that it is "not licit" to bless relationships that involve sexual activity outside of marriage, according to an NBC News item. The Congregation for the Doctrine ...
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Commission: Jamaica should repeal same-sex ban
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the top rights body of the Americas, said in a symbolic landmark ruling on Feb. 17 that Jamaica should repeal its colonial-era gay sex ban, Reuters reported. Two Jamaicans ...
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Leading groups submit amicus briefs against discrimination against LGBT surviving spouses
--From a press release
WASHINGTON D.C. AARP, AARP Foundation, SAGE and the American Society on Aging (ASA) filed amicus briefs today in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit arguing that the ...
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Switzerland's parliament okays marriage equality,
residents to have final say
On Dec. 18, the Swiss parliament approved a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry, finally bringing the nation in line with much of Europe on LGBTQ rights, TheLocal.ch reported. However, the Swiss residents themselves will have ...
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WORLD Canada museum, gay NZ leader, marriage items, 'Drag Race'
The embattled Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) said it's planning sweeping changes to rebuild the organization more than four months after staff came forward with shocking allegations of racism and LGBT censorship, CBC.ca reported. The ...
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Jennifer N. Pritzker, Erin E. Solaro wed
--From a press release
Jennifer N. Pritzker and Erin E. Solaro were married in a private ceremony in Chicago on Oct. 31, 2020. Ms. Pritzker is President & CEO of TAWANI Enterprises Inc., Lieutenant Colonel U.S. Army, Retired, and Founder ...
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WORLD Taiwan marriages, Nigeria court, protests, GQ Awards
Two women became the first military officers to marry their same-sex civilian partners at a mass military wedding in Taiwan—marking another landmark for LGBTQ+ rights in Asia, CNN.com reported. The island's defense ministry called it an ...
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LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus co-chairs bring resolution affirming court's marriage ruling
--From a press release
Washington, D.C. - Tomorrow the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus Co-Chairs, Chris Pappas (NH-01), David Cicilline (RI-01), Angie Craig (MN-02), Sharice L. Davids (KS-03), Sean Patrick Maloney ...
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LGBT HISTORY: The Intersection Of LGBTQ History And Disability
Disabled people have long been hidden from history, and unsurprisingly, disabled LGBTQ historical figures too have been hidden. The LGBTQ community itself has been slow to address disability as an issue, yet some of the most ...
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NATIONAL Marriage support, GLSEN, LGBTQ voting campaigns
Seventy percent of Americans support same-sex marriage, according to the 11th annual American Values Survey—the highest percentage recorded by a major national poll, NBC News reported. The results found just 28 percent of respondents oppose the ...
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Pope calls for same-sex civil unions in documentary (UPDATED)
In a departure from the position held by the Vatican's doctrinal office, Pope Francis called for the passage of civil union laws for same-sex couples in a documentary that aired in Rome, NBC News noted. "Homosexuals ...
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Threat to marriage equality looms at Supreme Court, Lambda Legal responds
--From a press release
(Washington, D.C., October 5, 2020) — Today, in a statement in Davis v. Ermold, authored by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and joined by Justice Samuel Alito, the Justices indicated a desire to overturn Obergefell v. ...
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WORLD Vancouver protest, dating apps, Budapest Pride, N. Ireland marriages
In Canada, protesters held a beach dance party in Vancouver's West End night in a bid to disrupt an event by a Toronto preacher who has been accused of anti-LGBTQ hate speech, CBC.ca reported. David Lynn, ...
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NATIONAL Bakery situation, tribal marriage, anti-LGBTQ crimes, Penn. lawmakers
Extreme right-wing organization the Church Militant requested that Detroit bakery Good Cakes and Bakes co-owner April Anderson (who's LGBTQ) put on a cake, "Homosexual acts are gravely evil. (Catholic Catechism ...
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Ken Ilio, one of the first gay men to marry in Illinois, dies at 63
Keneth Yerro Ilio—who became one of the first gay men to wed in Illinois when he married Ron Dorfman in December 2013—has died in Chicago. He was 63. Windy City Times reported that on Dec. 16, ...
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Chicago church that hosted historic same-sex event demolished
Following an extended effort to save the building, Misericordia Homes recently demolished the former Chicago Town and Tennis Club/Unity Church building at 1925 W. Thome Ave., in the West Ridge area of the city. Originally designed ...
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Consulates holding Pride talk June 30
On Tuesday, June 30, at 12 p.m., the Australian and Irish consulates of Chicago will hold a Pride virtual panel. Participants will celebrate the marriage equality campaigns of both countries and discuss the ongoing work to ...
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NCLR celebrates five-year anniversary of Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality
WASHINGTON, DC — The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) today joins with millions of LGBTQ people and allies in celebrating the five-year anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling establishing marriage equality in all ...
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Study says LGBT emotional well-being improved post marriage equality ruling
A new study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which extended marriage equality nationwide in June 2015, had a positive impact on ...
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Report: Same-sex weddings boost state economies $3.8 B since marriage equality ruling
More than half of all married same-sex couples in the United States married after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which extended marriage equality nationwide in June 2015. Wedding spending by these 293,000 ...
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Costa Rica celebrates marriage equality
As of midnight on May 26, Costa Rica became the first country in Central America (and the 28th United Nations member state) to legalize same-sex marriage after a groundbreaking court ruling came into effect. Reuters reported ...
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WORLD Mass wedding, 100-year-old gay actor, Kenyan archive, Russian activist
Earlier this month, more than 140 LGBTQ couples tied the knot in a collective wedding organized by Rainbow Caravan, a Mexico City government campaign aimed at eliminating discrimination against LGBTQ people, NBC News reported. On the ...
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Yarbrough officiates special Valentine's Day wedding
On Valentine's Day, Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough officiated the wedding of Bronzeville couple Ivan Bujan, 34, and Charles Long, 40, in the Cook County Clerk's Vital Records Bureau office downtown. Their marriage date fells on ...
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WORLD Marriage in Mexico, European report, arrests in journalist's murder
The Congress in the Mexican state of Sonora is now getting pressure from federal legislators to approve a measure allowing for same-sex marriages, Fronteras reported. More than six months have passed since that measure was introduced ...
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Talks on Feb. 16, March 1 about issues in 'The Cake'
Buffalo Theatre Ensemble presents The Cake, written by Bekah Brunstetter and directed by Steve Scott, now through Sunday, March 1, in the Playhouse Theatre at the McAninch Arts Center (MAC), 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. The ...
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WORLD Swiss vote, Northern Ireland wedding, Tanzania report, bishops convene
In Switzerland, voters backed a referendum to extending anti-racism legislation to cover sexual orientation—defying critics who had claimed such a move would be an infringement of free speech, The Guardian reported. Unlike many of its western ...
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Judge rules for same-sex partners in Social Security case
On Jan. 31, federal magistrate judge recommended striking down as unconstitutional the U.S. Social Security Administration's (SSA's) denial of survivor's benefits to surviving same-sex partners who were barred from marrying ...
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Federal court ruling benefits same-sex couples
A federal appeals panel of Republican appointees ruled Jan. 17 that the state of Indiana must treat same-sex married couples the same as male-female married couples when determining who to list on a child's birth certificate. ...
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Indiana same-sex parents can list both names on children's birth certificates
On Jan. 17—after more than two and a half years—the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that married same-sex couples in Indiana can list both parents on their children's birth certificates, CNN.com reported. In so ...
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2019 global roundup, from Toronto to Taiwan
There was no shortage of the good, the bad and ugly regarding global LGBTQ developments. Below are just a few of media reports (highlights and lowlights): —Bus attack: In London in late May, a group of ...
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NATIONAL Anti-LGBTQ crimes, Richard Grenell, two-spirit marriage, Adam Rippon
A transgender man driving a taxi in McAlester, Oklahoma, was fatally shot early New Year's Day, Advocate.com reported. Dustin Parker, 25, leaves a wife, Regina, and four children, was a founding member of the McAlester chapter ...
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UMC may split over same-sex marriage, inclusion
A schism is expected within the United Methodist Church (UMC) over same-sex marriage and LGBTQ inclusion, media outlets reported. UMC leaders signed a proposal that outlines the separation, and this could be approved at a general ...
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WORLD Marriage status in Cuba, Shigella outbreak, anti-LGBTQ crime
Cuba Justice Minister Oscar Silvera Martinez announced the Family Code—the law that could establish marriage equality in the country—will not be introduced in the National Assembly until December 2021, when ...
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Memoir profiles lesser-known sides of Edie Windsor
Mention the name Edie Windsor, and many LGBT residents would correctly associate her with the landmark litigation that ultimately paved the way for the United States Supreme Court declaring marriage equality to be the law of ...
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WORLD Marriages in Brazil, chemsex, couple attacked, Gus Kenworthy
The state Institute Brazilian Geography and Statistics said that same-sex marriages in Brazil grew 61.7 percent in 2018—a trend that grew from October, after President Jair Bolsonaro's victory in the last elections, Vanugardia reported. At the ...
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Cook County Clerk's office celebrates marriage equality milestones
To commemorate the upcoming 15,000th marriage license for same-sex couples in Cook County—and the sixth anniversary of then Gov. Pat Quinn signing marriage equality into law—Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough hosted an event Nov. 19 at ...
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Center for Law and Social Work gives LGBTQ families equal footing
According to the Equality Illinois publication Growing Your Family: A Guide for Prospective LGBT Adoptive Parents, there are more than "34,000 same-sex couples in long-term relationships living across the state, and 21 percent of these couples ...
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Same-sex marriage overturned in Caymans
The Cayman Islands Court of Appeal has ruled in favor of the government, overturning Chief Justice Anthony Smellie's previous ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Compass reported. ...
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WORLD Marriage news, Oscar Wilde, Ugandan activist dies, Iris Prize
People of the same sex are now allowed to get married in Northern Ireland, the BBC reported. It's been legal in England, Wales and Scotland since 2014; now the rules have changed for Northern Ireland, too. ...
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NATIONAL Marriage advocate divorcing, Black gay couple, trans death
A Utah state lawmaker who filed a lawsuit that successfully overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriage is separating from his husband, U.S. News & World Report noted. State Sen. Derek Kitchen announced in an Instagram ...
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