Tag Archives: lgbt marriage

As marriage equality spreads across the nation in fits and starts, LGBT couples are slowly gaining access to the rights and privileges their straight counterparts enjoy, including divorce. But how can spouses get a divorce if they reside in a state that doesn’t recognize their marriage to begin with? Maryland will grant LGBT divorces, but other states without gay marriage won’t Repeal of Defense of Marriage Act wouldn’t resolve recognition problem LGBT spouses living in states that don’t recognize gay …

When President Obama announced his support for gay marriage earlier this month, he was echoing a sentiment that more and more Americans have come to believe– that LGBT citizens have the same right to formalize their love in law as any other couple. More than just a symbolic gesture, marriage can grant partners important social and legal rights they might otherwise be excluded from. LGBT marriage can bring benefits for taxes, insurance, wills and more State laws vary on LGBT …

The knot of contradictory laws governing same-sex marriages in the U.S. may become even more tangled in the months ahead, thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision to wait at least another year before reviewing challenges to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA.) The portion of the law which prohibits the federal government from recognizing gay marriage has been found unconstitutional by federal courts in California and Massachusetts, and challenges are under way in Connecticut, New York, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. …

There is no disputing that the tide of public opinion on same-sex marriage has turned in favor of allowing federal marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples. On the heels of the landmark decision in California and the legislative initiative in Washington State, both Maryland and New Jersey are also paving the way to allow same-sex marriage. “This is further evidence that Americans are changing their minds as they think about why marriage matters and who gay families are,” says …

In a landmark victory for same-sex parents, a judge in New Jersey granted custody of twin girls to their biological father following a trial that spanned more than a year. The fathers, a gay, interracial couple who were married in California and joined in a civil union in New Jersey, had long desired to be parents and created embryos using the eggs of an anonymous donor. The case arose out of a 2005 agreement between Angelia Robinson and her brother, …