Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-09-06
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Obama's DOJ stepping back on 2 DOMA cases
From a GLAD News Release
2011-02-25

This article shared 5724 times since Fri Feb 25, 2011
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


The Department of Justice followed Wednesday's withdrawal from two DOMA cases in the Second Circuit, including GLAD's Pedersen v. OPM www.glad.org/work/cases/pedersen-v-opm/ by notifying the clerk of the First Circuit that they will also "cease to defend" the two consolidated DOMA cases, Gill v. Office of Personnel Management www.glad.org/work/cases/gill-v-office-of-personnel-management/ and Massachusetts v. HHS.

The DOJ has not sent a letter to the Congress declining to defend DOMA in toto in the Gill case, so its determination may only apply to the extent the court determines that heightened scrutiny is the proper standard of review for DOMA's constitutionality. No matter what happens, the case will proceed with DOJ as the attorneys for the government defendants.

"It is increasingly clear to everyone what has been clear to gay and lesbian families for years - that DOMA's denial of protections available to all other married families is discriminatory, harmful, and unjustifiable," said Mary L. Bonauto, GLAD's Civil Rights Project Director and lead attorney on both Gill and Pedersen. "DOJ's acknowledgement of this is momentous. At the same time, we know this isn't the end of the road."

In a letter to the court www.glad.org/uploads/docs/cases/gill-v-office-of-personnel-management/doj-letter-re-ma-doma-cases-02-2011.pdf Assistant Attorney General Tony West writes that "the Department will cease its defense of Section 3" in cases including Gill and Massachusetts. DOJ also "notifies the courts of our interest in providing Congress a full and fair opportunity to participate in the litigation of those cases", and that "we will remain parties to the case and continue to represent the interests of the United State throughout the litigation."

GLAD filed Gill, in which it represents 8 married couples and three widowers, in the U.S District Court in March 2009, and in July 2010, won a ruling that DOMA Section 3 is unconstitutional from U.S. District Court Judge Joseph L. Tauro. With the case now pending on appeal in the First Circuit, Congress will have an opportunity to decide whether it wants to have its voice heard in the appeal."

Consistent with their February 23 letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner, the DOJ seeks to provide Congress "a full and fair opportunity to participate" in the case. All of the parties, including GLAD, agree that Congress should be given this opportunity, and will request an extension from the court on the briefing schedule to accommodate Congress's decision-making.

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders is New England's leading legal organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status, and gender identity and expression.


This article shared 5724 times since Fri Feb 25, 2011
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

COMMENTARY Pope Francis permits blessings of same-gender couples on a case-by-case basis 2023-10-04
- Pope Francis affirms the spiritual value of blessings of same gender couples in Church sanctioned ceremonies on a case-by-case basis when judged pastorally appropriate. In a letter, released by the Vatican on Oct. 2, Francis states ...


Gay News

GLAAD responds to Pope Francis' statement allowing blessing for same-sex couples 2023-10-02
--From a press release - (Monday, October 2, 2023) GLAAD, the world's largest l LGBTQ media advocacy organization, is responding to Pope Francis' groundbreaking statement allowing blessings on same-sex unions. According to New Ways Ministry ...


Gay News

Support group for LGBT widows and widowers unites members in grief 2023-09-30
- In May of 2016, C. Russell Bond of Wilmette founded a Meetup.com monthly support group for LGBT widows and widowers. The group's most recent September meeting happened to fall one day after an anniversary date with ...


Gay News

In D.C., Black LGBTQ+ lawmakers protest Nigerian wedding arrests 2023-09-14
- On Sept. 12, Black LGBTQ+ lawmakers—led by Maryland state Del. Gabriel Acevero and D.C. Councilmember Zachary Parker, and alongside the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) and other advocacy groups—protested outside ...


Gay News

WORLD Couple's win, attack in Beirut, German military, gay ski week 2023-09-08
- In Strasbourg, France, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Bulgaria violated the rights of a same-sex couple (Darina Koilova and Lili Babulkova) by not recognizing their marriage abroad, RFE/RL reported. Rights groups lauded the ...


Gay News

Hong Kong court grants rights of same-sex couples, stops short of marriage 2023-09-06
- On Sept. 5, Hong Kong's top court ordered the city's government to legally recognize the rights of same-sex couples in a partial victory for LGBTQ+-rights activists, CNN reported. Five judges from Hong Kong's Court of Final ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Tyler Perry, marriages and splits, Beyonce, strikes, Sinead tribute 2023-08-04
Videos below - Tyler Perry has offered $100,000 to anyone with information that leads to a conviction in the murder of 24-year-old Black queer musician Josiah "Jonty" Robinson, according to Out. An autopsy concluded that the cause of Robinson's ...


Gay News

'We've had a ball': Prominent activists Jim Darby and Patrick Bova celebrate 60th anniversary 2023-09-07
- One of the first couples to be legally married in Illinois is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year. Jim Darby and Patrick Bova fell in love decades before they became the lead plaintiffs in Lambda Legal's ...


Gay News

WORLD Greece and marriage, Latvia, Japan ruling, Tanzania, soccer news 2023-07-14
- Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced in a Bloomberg interview that the legalization of same-sex marriage is part of his government's strategy, per The Pappas Post. "Same-sex marriage will happen at some point and it's part ...


Gay News

Calif. Senate passes constitutional amendment protecting marriage equality 2023-07-13
- On July 13, the California Senate unanimously passed a proposed state constitutional amendment to secure marriage equality, per an Equality California press release. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5 (ACA 5), authored ...


Gay News

Huge schism in United Methodist churches emerges over LGBTQ+ issues 2023-07-07
- Approximately one-fifth of United Methodist congregations in the country have received permission to leave the denomination over disagreements regarding same-sex marriage as well as gay and lesbian preachers, USA Today ...


Gay News

Nepal's Supreme Court orders marriage registration for same-sex couples 2023-06-29
- The Supreme Court of Nepal recently issued an interim order directing the office of the prime minister and council of ministers as well as other relevant ministries to establish a "transitional mechanism" to ensure the registration ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Rufus Wainwright, Taylor Swift, Diana Ross, lesbian film, marriage items 2023-06-09
- Queer Grammy-nominated singer Rufus Wainwright has released the new album Folkocracy, a press item announced. The star-studded collection of folk-music reinventions ...


Gay News

Second Japanese court finds marriage equality ban unconstitutional 2023-05-31
- On May 30 in Japan, the Nagoya District Court ruled that prohibiting same-sex marriage was unconstitutional—a decision activists welcomed as a step toward marriage equality, Reuters reported. Japan is the only Group of Seven (G-7) nation ...


Gay News

WORLD Spain, South Korea festival, Eurovision, marriage items, Sri Lanka 2023-05-19
- Spain became the latest country to join a U.S. initiative that seeks to promote LGBTQI+ rights around the world, The Washington Blade reported. "Promoting and protecting the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and ...


 


Copyright © 2023 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS






Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.