Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell (San Francisco, CA, December 3, 2010)—Today, Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors announced that he will step down from his position on March 31, 2011, after nine years with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality organization that he shaped into one of the most effective political advocacy organizations in the country. Under his leadership, Equality California was able to work with the dedicated pro-equality members...
Tag
freedom to marry
A Statement from NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter (San Francisco, CA, July 8, 2010)—Today, in the cases Gill v. Office of Personnel Management and Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Department of Health and Human Services, which challenge the constitutionality of the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA), Judge Joseph Tauro of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that the denial of federal rights and benefits to lawfully married same-sex couples is...
A Statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell (San Francisco, CA, March 4, 2010) — Today Mexico City’s marriage equality bill takes effect, granting same-sex couples the rights, responsibilities and protections guaranteed by marriage, in addition to the right to adopt. The bill passed Mexico City’s legislature with a vote of 39-20 on December 21, 2009 and was upheld by Mexico’s highest court, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. Mexico City is the second municipality after...
NCLR was a member of the Campaign for All D.C. Families, a diverse coalition working to achieve and preserve marriage equality for same-sex couples in the District of Columbia. Since July 6, 2009, D.C. has recognized the marriages of same- sex couples performed in other jurisdictions. On December 15, 2009, the D.C. City Council passed “The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009,” which permits same-sex couples to marry. Mayor Adrian Fenty signed the...
A Statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell (San Francisco, CA, January 29, 2010) —Today, the Department of Justice once again filed a brief defending the so called “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA) in Gill v. Office of Personnel Development, a federal lawsuit challenging Section 3 of DOMA, which excludes same-sex couples from all federal benefits and protections given to heterosexual married couples. A statement from Kate Kendell, Executive Director of the National Center for Lesbian...
(Washington, D.C., October 16, 2009) — The following statement was issued today by a coalition of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality advocates in response to the refusal by a Louisiana justice of the peace to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple in the southeastern part of the state. Keith Bardwell, a justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, refused to marry Beth Humphrey, who is white, and Terence McKay, who is black, because they are an interracial couple. The...
(San Francisco, CA, September 18, 2009)— Today, the Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss in Gill v. Office of Personnel Development, a federal lawsuit challenging Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which excludes same-sex couples from all federal benefits and protections given to heterosexual married couples. A statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. “We are disappointed that the Justice Department continues to advance what we believe are...
(San Francisco, California, September 15, 2009) — The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) applaud lawmakers for introducing legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a law that discriminates against lawfully married same-sex couples. Through DOMA, the federal government selectively denies same-sex couples more than 1,100 federal protections and responsibilities, including Social Security and immigration benefits, that apply...
(San Francisco, CA, August 17, 2009)— The Department of Justice filed its reply brief today in Smelt v. United States, a federal lawsuit challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which excludes same-sex couples from all federal benefits and protections given to heterosexual married couples. A statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. “We appreciate that the Department of Justice has acknowledged that DOMA is a blatantly discriminatory measure that must be...
(San Francisco, California, July 9, 2009)—Yesterday, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts filed suit against the federal government challenging the constitutionality of the anti-gay federal so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA). The suit targets DOMA Section 3, the section that denies federal benefits to married same- sex couples, charging that Congress overstepped its authority in enacting the measure. The Commonwealth argues in the case that DOMA undermines states’ efforts to recognize...