Press Release
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State legislation
Press Release
NCLR Responds to North Carolina Constitutional Amendment Measure that Would Ban Marriage Equality
Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (San Francisco, CA, September 13, 2011)—Today, the North Carolina Senate voted 30-16 to put a sweeping constitutional amendment before voters that would not only bar same-sex couples from marriage, but also deprive them of any type of legal recognition. On Monday, the bill, SB 514, cleared the House Rules Committee before it immediately moved to the full House, where legislators voted 75-42 to move it forward. The measure will go before...Press Release
California Legislation Addressing Inequality in Treatment of Same-sex Spouses and Partners of Nursing Home Residents Moves to Governor
Assembly Bill 641 Extends Financial Protections for Medi-Cal’s Long Term Care Benefit to Same Sex Spouses and Registered Domestic Partners (Sacramento, CA, September 9, 2011)—The Legislature has given final approval to legislation authored by Assembly Member Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) that would provide same sex spouses and registered domestic partners of nursing home residents the same financial protections available to opposite sex married couples. Without these protections, Californians in...Press Release
FAQ: Federal Hospital Visitation Rules
On April 15, 2010, President Barack Obama issued a memo directing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to adopt new regulations that would require nearly all hospitals to grant equal visitation rights to all families, not just those based on marriage or biological ties. In the memo, President Obama specifically talked about same-sex couples as an example of families that have been unfairly kept apart when one partner is hospitalized. Open pdfPress Release
NCLR Responds to California Supreme Court Hearing on Proposition 8
Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (San Francisco, CA, September 6, 2011)—Today, the California Supreme Court heard arguments on an important question of California law that has arisen in Perry v. Brown, the ongoing federal challenge to Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot measure that stripped the fundamental right to marry from same-sex couples in California. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals asked the California Supreme Court to decide whether state law gives the sponsors of...Press Release
U.S District Court Hears Arguments on Motion to Release Videotape of Historic Prop 8 Trial
Statement by NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter (San Francisco, CA, August 29, 2011)—Today, U.S. District Court Judge James Ware heard oral arguments about whether to unseal the video recording of the historic trial in Perry v. Brown, the challenge to Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that stripped the freedom to marry from same-sex couples in California. In August 2010, after a three-week trial in January, now-retired Chief District Judge Vaughan Walker held that Prop 8 is...Press Release
NCLR Calls on Rhode Island Governor to Veto Discriminatory Civil Union Bill
Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (San Francisco, CA, June 29, 2011)—Today, the Rhode Island legislature approved a bill that would permit same-sex couples to enter into civil unions in the state. Unlike similar legislation passed in other states, however, the Rhode Island bill creates a sweeping exemption that would permit individuals and organizations, such as hospitals, schools and adoption agencies, to completely disregard the validity of a civil union because of...Press Release
NCLR Responds to New York State Marriage Equality Vote
Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (San Francisco, CA, June 24, 2011)—Today, the New York Senate passed a bill establishing full marriage equality for same-sex couples. When Gov. Andrew Cuomo signs the bill into law, New York will become the seventh and largest jurisdiction in the country in which same-sex couples are able to legally marry. The New York Assembly passed the bill last week, marking the third time the Assembly passed marriage equality legislation. When signed...Press Release
NCLR Responds to Judge Ware’s Denial of the Motion to Vacate the Proposition 8 Ruling
Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (San Francisco, CA, June 14, 2011)—Today, Chief Judge James Ware of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California resoundingly denied Proposition 8 supporters’ motion to invalidate former U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker’s landmark ruling striking down Proposition 8. After a three-week trial last year, Judge Walker ruled in a 135-page decision that Prop 8, the 2008 amendment to the California Constitution...Press Release