Members of the Legislative Committee on Culture and Justice gathered yesterday at the Guam Congress Building in Hagåtña for a public hearing on a bill that would offer protection against discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identification and gender expression.
US: Guam becomes first US territory to recognize gay marriage after judge strikes down ban
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood issued the decision and gay couples can begin applying for marriage licenses, the Pacific Daily News reported. Attorneys representing the government of Guam said in a May 18 court document that "should a court strike current Guam law, they would respect and follow such a decision."
Loretta M. Pangelinan and Kathleen M. Aguero filed the lawsuit in April after the 28-year-old women were denied a marriage license. They based their lawsuit on a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision last year in favor of same-sex marriage.
Attorneys for the Guam plaintiffs had argued the territory must fall in line with the 9th Circuit decision and accept marriage license applications unless the U.S. Supreme Court rules otherwise. Currently, gay couples can marry in 36 states, the District of Columbia and now, Guam. Read More
Guam: Half of university students support gay marriage, according to poll
A poll of students at the University of Guam found 55% of students support same-sex marriage while 29% oppose it. About 16% had no opinion.
"Almost everybody you talk to on Guam has an uncle or an aunt or a cousin or a sister ror brother who is gay, and so this is a readily understandable sort of issue. So one of the things, when we focus group people on this particular topic, having gay people in stable relationships is preferable to having them in unstable relationships, so this may be an extension of that kind of view," said the researcher. Read More