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 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Puerto Rico no longer defending marriage ban
2015-03-20

This article shared 3199 times since Fri Mar 20, 2015
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


The Puerto Rican government announced March 20 that it will no longer defend the U.S. commonwealth's same-sex marriage ban, The Washington Blade noted.

"Because of sexual orientation, Puerto Rico has denied rights that others enjoy," said Justice Minister Cesar Miranda during a press conference in San Juan. "This is not correct."

The announcement coincided with a brief Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla's administration will file with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, which is hearing a lawsuit against the island's same-sex marriage ban.

Marriage is legal in 37 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

The original article is at www.washingtonblade.com/2015/03/20/puerto-rican-government-to-no-longer-defend-marriage-ban/ .

From Lambda Legal:

( San Juan, PR, March 20, 2015 ) - Today, Puerto Rico's Secretary of Justice César Miranda announced that he will submit a brief saying he would no longer oppose the right of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Puerto Ricans to marry in support Lambda Legal's lawsuit seeking to end the discriminatory ban on marriage for LGBT people on the island, saying he agrees the ban is unconstitutional and should be lifted.

"In declining to further defend the Commonwealth's discriminatory marriage ban, Puerto Rico's government finally recognizes that denying marriage to LGBT people is harmful and cannot be justified. The marriage ban's sole purpose is to perpetuate discrimination, and it is just plain wrong," said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Staff Attorney for Lambda Legal. "Same-sex couples, LGBT people, and their families are part of Puerto Rico's rich social and cultural fabric. Today's actions fulfill the constitutional promises of justice and fairness for LGBT people in Puerto Rico. Simply put, discrimination is never in Puerto Rico's best interests."

In Conde-Vidal v. Rius-Armendariz, Lambda Legal, joined by pro bono co-counsel, represents four same-sex couples and Puerto Rico Para Tod@s in challenging Puerto Rico's law banning marriage for LGBT people. A fifth couple is represented separately. The lawsuit argues that barring LGBT people from marriage violates the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. A U.S. District Court judge granted Puerto Rico's motion to dismiss the lawsuit in October 2014, and Lambda Legal appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. In January, Lambda Legal filed a brief urging the First Circuit to overturn the lower court ruling. The Commonwealth had until today to file its response.

Today's actions follow the U.S. Supreme Court's granting review of the marriage equality cases decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, including two Ohio cases. The Ohio cases are Henry v. Hodges, where Lambda Legal joined Gerhardstein & Branch, and Obergefell v. Hodges, where the ACLU joined Gerhardstein & Branch. Oral argument for the marriage cases will take place at the Supreme Court on April 28, 2015.

Lambda Legal attorneys Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Hayley Gorenberg, Karen Loewy and Jael Humphrey are handling the case, joined by co-counsel Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP, as well as local counsel Celina Romany-Siaca. Ada Conde Vidal, who represents her wife, is represented by José L. Nieto.

Read about the case here: www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/cases/conde-v-rius-armendariz .

Read more about our plaintiff couples and their children here: www.lambdalegal.org/blog/20140625_puerto-rico-meet-the-families .

Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.


This article shared 3199 times since Fri Mar 20, 2015
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Greek legislature approves marriage equality 2024-02-15
- Greece has become the 36th country, and the first Christian Orthodox-majority one, to legalize same-sex marriage. The BBC reported that same-sex couples will now also be legally allowed to adopt children after the 176-76 vote that ...


Gay News

Tenn. legislators back bill that lets officials refuse to perform same-sex weddings 2024-02-15
- Defying a national ruling that authorized marriage equality, Tennessee lawmakers approved a measure that would allow public officials to refuse to perform weddings of same-sex couples, The Hill reported. Tennessee's House Bill 878/Senate Bill 596 says ...


Gay News

WORLD Marriage in Greece, UK politics, cruise death, HRC grants 2024-02-02
- The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece unanimously agreed at a recent meeting that it is "strongly opposed" to the Greek government's promised bill on same-sex marriage and adoption, Balkan Insight reported. The conservative New ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Marriage news, fighting fentanyl, anti-LGBTQ+ crimes, Grindr 2024-02-02
- The Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill that would affirm marriage equality in the state, The Washington Blade noted. House Bill 174, introduced by state Del. Rozia Henson (D-Prince William County), passed in the Democratic-controlled ...


Gay News

WORLD Activist honored, marriages in Estonia, Madrid law, trans sports item 2024-01-05
Video below - The National AIDS Commission (NAC) recently honored Caleb Orozco—a leading figure in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in Belize—for his instrumental contributions to the national HIV response, BNN reported. According ...


Gay News

Catholic Church allows priests to bless same-sex couples but reaffirms disapproval of gay marriage 2023-12-22
- LGBTQ+ couples can now receive blessings from priests, but the Catholic Church maintained its strict ban on gay marriage, according to a Vatican document approved by Pope Francis Dec. 18. This historic change in doctrine marks ...


Gay News

Greek government vows to back marriage equality 2023-12-22
- Despite opposition from the Church of Greece and within the ruling New Democracy, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' government said it will eventually move to legalize same-sex marriage, The National Herald reported. However, no timetable was ...


Gay News

Dignity/Chicago welcomes new rule on church blessings for same-sex marriages 2023-12-18
--From a press release - Dignity/Chicago, the advocacy organization for LGBTQI Catholics and friends, welcomed the news that the Vatican's doctrinal office has officially declared it possible for Catholic priests to bless same-sex unions and ...


Gay News

New Ways Ministry: Pope's blessings approval is Christmas gift to LGBTQ+ Catholics 2023-12-18
--From a press release - MOUNT RAINIER, Maryland—Statement by Francis DeBernardo, Executive Director, New Ways Ministry: Pope Francis gave LGBTQ+ Catholics an early Christmas gift this year by approving blessings for same-gender couples. The Vatican ...


Gay News

Pope Francis changes policy, allowing priests to bless same-sex unions; GLAAD responds 2023-12-18
--From a press release - GLAAD: "By removing barriers to priests blessing LGBTQ couples, the Pope accurately recognizes that LGBTQ people and our relationships are worthy of the same affirmation and support in the Church, and this strengthens couples in their ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ couple the first in South Asia to have marriage recognized 2023-11-30
- Transgender woman Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey became the first LGBTQ+ couple to have their marriage legally recognized in South Asia after they received a legal certificate in Nepal's Lamjung district on Nov. 29, The Guardian ...


Gay News

WORLD Thai marriage law, French bill, Miss Universe, IKEA, activist dies 2023-11-24
- Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said that the cabinet approved a draft law on marriage equality and that it would be brought to parliament during a session starting in December, Reuters reported. If the draft law ...


Gay News

Pope: Trans people can be baptized and act as godparents 2023-11-09
- Pope Francis has stated that trans people may be baptized and act as godparents or witnesses to marriage under the same conditions as any other adult—as long as a scandal does not result, according to PinkNews. ...


Gay News

Jamaica court upholds sodomy law; activist ends fight in that country 2023-11-01
- On Oct. 27, the Jamaica Supreme Court upheld the country's anti-sodomy law, claiming that only Parliament could repeal the statute—and the ruling has resulted in a longtime advocate/attorney ending his fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the ...


Gay News

Several dozen people arrested over 'gay wedding' in Nigeria 2023-10-25
- Nigerian security personnel arrested more than 70 young people after accusing them of organizing a same-sex wedding, The South China Morning Post reported. Same-sex marriage is illegal in Nigeria under a 2014 law. Gombe, where the ...


 


Copyright © 2024 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







Sponsor


 



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.