Topics: Gay and Lesbian issues - 1500 results

The Puerto Rico Supreme Court last week upheld the island’s ban on same-sex couples adopting children, noting that the legislature could change the law if it wished.   ‘The state … has not criminalized their sentimental relationship, but it does not have a constitutional obligation to award this relationship the same rights that other relationships have when it comes to adoption procedures,’’ the majority opinion said. The ruling quashed the efforts of a woman to adopt her 12-year-old child, who was …

  Some words of wisdom for the Day of Hearts and those that follow. Lawyers.com Editor-in-Chief Larry Bodine speaks with Nina Pineda of WABC-TV in New York City in a special Valentine’s Day report, “The Legalities of Love.” Larry tells the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about your Feb. 14 promises — and the law. He also shares an interesting and little known fact about which couples tend to stay married and which ones are more …

Federal law clearly prohibits employers from discriminating against workers based on sex, race, age, and disability, but did you know employers are basically free to discriminate against you based on your sexual orientation? President Barack Obama is being asked to change that, but any large-scale extension of federal law to include gay workers as a protected class is not likely anytime soon.   Federal Action? The executive order Obama is being asked to sign would prohibit discrimination by federal contractors …

Former service members who were honorably discharged from the military under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy are now eligible for full separation pay, thanks to a recent court settlement. The American Civil Liberties Union had instigated a class action lawsuit against the government for troops who only received half the separation pay they would have otherwise been eligible for because they were discharged under the discriminatory former policy. Under the settlement, $2.4 million will be available for around 181 …

The state of Kansas is demanding child support from a man who donated his sperm to a lesbian couple who posted an ad on Craigslist in 2009. The couple later broke up and one of the women applied to the state for aid. Kansas now says William Marotta owes child support to the mother of his three-year-old daughter, even though he says he never agreed to do anything except provide the sperm, for free.   Worthless Contract? Marotta signed a …