(San Francisco, CA, June 19, 2009)—The California Supreme Court has issued a modified version of its opinion in the cases challenging Proposition 8, to correct a factual error pointed out in a petition filed by NCLR and our co-counsel (Lambda Legal, the ACLU, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, and David Codell) and joined by the City and County of San Francisco. The revised opinion clarifies that the racially discriminatory initiative amendment that was challenged on federal constitutional...
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freedom to marry
(San Francisco, CA, May 26, 2009)—Today, following the ruling of the California Supreme Court in Strauss v. Horton, the LGBTQ community’s challenge to Proposition 8 brought by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal and the ACLU, lead petitioners Karen Strauss and Ruth Borenstein released the following statement: Karen Strauss: “I would give anything to be in different circumstances that would allow me to be with you today. Instead, I am at my mother’s bedside in Florida. Her poor...
On May 22, 2009, two same-sex couples filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, challenging California’s Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to prohibit marriage by same-sex couples. California’s Governor and Attorney General agreed with the plaintiffs that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional. Judge Vaughn Walker permitted Proposition 8’s supporters to intervene as defendants, and also permitted the City and County of...
A Statement from NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter (San Francisco, CA, May 6, 2009)—Today, John Baldacci, Governor of Maine, signed a law that ended the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage in Maine. The bill sailed through the state’s Senate and House of Representatives with overwhelming support, and made Maine the fifth state to provide full legal equality to same-sex couples. A statement from Shannon Minter, Legal Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights: “We commend...
A Statement from NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter (San Francisco, CA, April 7, 2009)—The Vermont legislature today overrode a veto by the governor and passed a bill to eliminate the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage, thereby making Vermont the first state to do so prior to a court decision requiring full marriage equality. A statement from Shannon Minter, Legal Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights: “We are thrilled that the Vermont Legislature has taken decisive...
On April 3, 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously struck down the 1998 state ban on marriage for same-sex couples. The case was brought by Lambda Legal on behalf of six same-sex couples. NCLR submitted an amicus brief with co-counsel McGuire Woods LLP and Joseph Barron, Esq. on behalf of several professors of family law in support of the couples, addressing the use of social science research in constitutional cases. This is the fourth state supreme court to rule that same-sex couples must...
A Statement from NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter (San Francisco, CA, April 3, 2009)—“Today, the Iowa Supreme Court recognized that the constitutional guarantee of equal protection requires that same- sex couples have ‘full access to the institution of civil marriage.’ The ruling makes clear that civil unions or domestic partnerships cannot meet the demands of full constitutional equality. “We hope the California Supreme Court will uphold the essential principle of equality regardless of...
The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that the state cannot exclude same-sex couples from marriage. The Court held that preventing same-sex couples from marrying is unconstitutional discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The Court also held that the state’s civil union system for same-sex couples was inherently unequal because civil unions do not provide the same dignity, stature, and respect as marriage. The plaintiff couples were represented by Gay and Lesbian Advocates and...