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State legislation

Press Release

NCLR Responds to Minnesota Lawmakers’ Decision to Put Marriage Equality Ban on 2012 Ballot

Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (San Francisco, CA, May 23, 2011)—On May 21, 2011, the Minnesota House passed a proposal to put a constitutional amendment excluding same-sex couples from marriage on the state’s 2012 ballot, following Senate approval the previous week Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell: “In a stunning betrayal of the promises that got them elected, Republicans in the Minnesota House voted late Saturday to place on the November 2012...

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NCLR Applauds Delaware’s Passage of Civil Unions Bill

Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq. (San Francisco, CA, April 14, 2011)—Today, the Delaware General Assembly passed a bill to establish a system of civil unions—available to both same-sex and different-sex couples—that grants partners in civil unions virtually all of the rights, benefits, and obligations granted to married couples in that state. Today’s 26 to 15 vote by the Delaware House of Representatives sends the bill to Governor Jack Markell, who has indicated he will...

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NCLR Responds to Ninth Circuit Decision to Deny the Motion to Lift the Stay of Decision Striking Down Proposition 8

Statement by NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter (San Francisco, CA, March 23, 2011)—Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the plaintiffs’ motion to lift the stay in the case challenging Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that stripped the freedom to marry from same-sex couples in California. That ruling means that the district’s court decision striking down Prop 8 remains on hold, and same-sex couples in California will be denied the right to marry while the litigation...

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NCLR Praises Powerful Ninth Circuit Arguments by Plaintiffs in Prop 8 Oral Argument

Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell (San Francisco, CA, December 6, 2010)—Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the federal court challenge to Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that stripped the freedom to marry from same-sex couples in California. U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled in August that the measure violated the U.S. Constitution, and Proposition 8’s proponents appealed that ruling to the Ninth Circuit....

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(UPDATED 8.17.10) What the Ninth Circuit’s Latest Ruling in the Prop 8 Case Means

On August 16, 2010, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Proposition 8 proponents’ motion to stay U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision, which means that same-sex couples in California will not be able to marry while the case is on appeal. However, the Ninth Circuit put the appeal on a fast track and specifically directed the Prop 8 proponents to address “why the appeal should not be dismissed for lack of Article III standing” in their opening brief. That means that the...

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Judge Walker Rules Marriages Can Begin Aug. 18 Unless Court of Appeals Intervenes

A statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell (San Francisco, CA, August 12, 2010)—Today, U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that there was no basis to stay his Aug. 4 ruling that Proposition 8 violates the United States Constitution’s guarantees of due process and equal protection of the laws. However, Walker also ordered that marriages cannot begin until Aug. 18 at 5 p.m. in order to give the United States Court of Appeals time to review his decision to deny the stay. A...

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Federal Judge: Prop 8 Unconstitutional

A statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell (San Francisco, CA, August 6, 2010)—Today, both California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown filed separate motions opposing a stay of U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision to overturn Prop. 8. A Statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell: “We salute Attorney General Brown and Governor Schwarzenegger for their leadership in opposing any further delay in implementing Judge Walker’s...

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NCLR Applauds District of Columbia Court of Appeals Decision to Uphold Marriage Equality

(Washington, D.C., July 15, 2010) —Today, in a 5-4 decision, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals – D.C.’s highest court – upheld marriage equality in the District by reaffirming earlier decisions of the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics and the D.C. Superior Court. The appeals court held that the Board was correct to reject repeated petitions by anti-LGBTQ groups to put marriage equality to a citywide referendum. In today’s ruling, the District Columbia Court of Appeals...

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Federal Judge: Prop 8 Unconstitutional

A statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell (San Francisco, CA, August 4, 2010)—Today in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, a federal lawsuit challenging California’s Proposition 8, Judge Vaughn R. Walker of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco ruled that Proposition 8 violates the United States Constitution’s guarantees of due process and equal protection of the laws. In his ruling, Judge Walker states: “Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and...

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