North Carolina House of Representatives overrode Gov. Pat McCrory’s veto of a new bill that allows magistrates to refuse to marry any couple if they have a “sincerely held religious objection.” The Senate already overrode the veto, meaning the bill is now law. In addition to exempting magistrates, the measure permits registers of deeds to refuse to issue marriage licenses to any couple on religious grounds. From now on, a magistrate or register of deeds need only assert that serving a gay couple (or interracial couple, or interfaith couple) violates her religious beliefs. As soon as she does, she will be allowed to refuse to do her job. Read More
Poland: Parliament drops civil partnership debate
The Sejm lower parliamentary house has voted against a debate on a bill which would regulate civil partnerships – both heterosexual and homosexual – in Poland. The proposed law – which was put forward by the Democratic Left Alliance – foresees the possibility of joint payment of income tax, the right to inheritance as well as social security benfits in the event of one of the partner’s deaths. However, the bill will likely now be shelved after MPs overwhelmingly voted against any discussion on the matter.
“We are lied to by politicians – mostly conservative – who say that Poland is not ready for civil partnerships, let alone [same-sex] marriage,” said head of the Campaign Against Homophobia, Agata Chaber. “That is a lie, Poland is ready,” she said. Read More
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
Greenland: Parliament unanimously passes same-sex marriage laws
The autonomous Arctic country of Greenland followed the lead of its former colonial master Denmark by legalizing same-sex marriage in a parliamentary vote that follows the Irish referendum on the same subject.
Greenland, which is three-quarters covered by sub-Arctic ice sheet and is the worlds most sparsely populated country, had gay marriage legalised by a 27-0 legislative vote yesterday.
Greenland’s proposal to allow same-sex marriage was first brought up in 2010 but because the issue was seen as something to be decided by the Kingdom of Denmark, the plans were put on the back burner until Denmark passed its same-sex marriage legislation in June 2012. Read More
Greece to grant gay couples right to civil union
Greece's radical-left government on Wednesday proposed a bill to grant same-sex couples the right to a civil union, two years after the European Court of Human Rights condemned the country's existing legislation as discriminatory. Read More
Italy: Gay civil unions measures passed
Italy's Lower House on Wednesday approved a motion on same-sex civil unions promoted by the Democratic Party. The motion commits the government "to promote the adoption of a law on civil unions, particularly with regard to the condition of the people of same sex". It also commits the government "to ensure equal treatment throughout the nation" of civil unions. Read More
Germany: Cabinet okays more rights for same-sex couples
Germany's cabinet on Wednesday approved a raft of draft measures to extend the rights of same-sex couples but faced criticism for allowing only civil unions, not full gay marriage.
Three days after Ireland voted "Yes" to gay marriage in a referendum, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert defended the moves that aim to ensure equal treatment for gay couples without granting them the right to legally wed.
"We will, in Germany, have to find our way," he told reporters. "Non-discrimination against civil partnerships is the clear goal of government policy. Read More
Costa Rica: Grants first gay common-law marriage in Central America
A Costa Rican judge has granted the first openly gay common-law marriage in Central America, said Francisco Madrigal, political affairs director for the Center for Research and Promotion of Human Rights in Central America.
Gerald Castro and Cristian Zamora, a gay couple in the city of Goicoechea, north of San José, were granted a common-law marriage by the Family Court. Along with being the first legal recognition of a same-sex relationship in Central America, the decision could set an example for judges elsewhere in the country to recognize gay relationships and even adoption. But both supporters and opponents of the decision expect a forthcoming legal battle over the landmark ruling.
Common-law marriage grants all the same benefits of a traditional marriage in Costa Rica, but requires the approval of a judge after the couple has been together for at least 3 years. It guarantees partners the rights to inheritance, to social security and public insurance benefits and to visit the other person in the hospital. Costa Rica does not currently recognize gay marriage but a bill is pending in the Legislative Assembly that would approve civil unions here. Read More
How Ireland's gay marriage referendum created a wave of hope for LGBT people
The Irish referendum on same-sex marriage has created a wave of hope for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans equality across Europe and indeed the rest of the world. Last weekend, 62% of Irish voters chose to back gay marriage in what the archbishop of Dublin described as "a social revolution."
The passing of the law in Ireland, a predominantly Catholic country, is already having a knock on effect all over the world, even in Italy, which has long been considered the home of the Catholic Church. Politicians in several countries are making renewed attempts to advance marriage equality legislation. German, Italian, and Australian lawmakers have all launched new efforts to allow same-sex couples to wed after an historic vote for marriage equality in Ireland. Read More
US: LGBT Envoy wants to get by with a little help from our friends
Newly appointed U.S. LGBT rights envoy Randy Berry doesn’t see his primary job as weighing in in countries where LGBT rights are most embattled. Instead, he’s targeting “the vast set of countries in the middle” on the question of embracing LGBT rights as a human rights concern.
Berry is beginning a 15-country swing through Latin America and Europe set to coincide with LGBT Pride Month. Though Berry is working on plans to head to Uganda in July, he is first visiting countries that have made rapid progress on LGBT rights over the past few years to get ideas on what strategies have been most effective.
“A great deal of leadership is coming out of several places in Latin America,” Berry said, adding that he hoped the trip would generate ideas on how to diffuse the attack often made by LGBT rights opponents that the U.S. is forcing acceptance of homosexuality on the rest of the world. Berry is kicking off his tenure by emphasizing his role as an international emissary, but he has also been charged by Secretary of State John Kerry with coordinating the U.S.’s response to anti-LGBT crackdowns when they occur. Read More
European Parliament votes for LGBTI rights in EU Gender equality strategy
In a landmark vote, the European Parliament has demanded to include LGBTI rights in a future EU gender equality strategy. Though the right parties of the EU, the European People’s Party (EPP) and European Conservative and Reformists Party (ECR), of which the UK Conservative Party is a member, attempted to delete all LGBTI content, the strategy passed with the LGBTI content in tact.
Specifically on LGBT issues, the parliament has made several changes to its strategy, including: ensuring the full legal recognition of a person’s preferred gender, demanding an inclusive definition of families in labour and family law, and tackling LGBT prejudice in schools. The Parliament also reiterated its call to adopt a separate strategy on LGBT rights. Read More
Kenya: MP makes a stink over Sh167m donated to Judiciary
Member of Parliament Irungu Kangata wants Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and Chief Registrar Anne Amadi to explain what Sh87 million from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and a further Sh80 million from the Ford Foundation was meant for. The two organizations, he said, have openly declared support for same sex rights.
The Sh167 million was allocated for “capacity building” for the Judicial Service Commission, with an extra Sh2 billion from the National Treasury set aside for the expansion of magistrates courts.
Mr Kangata also challenged the Judiciary to open up about a seminar organized by Ford Foundation and attended by a number of judges days before the High Court ruled that the Registrar of Societies should facilitate the registration of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender (LGBT) society.
“I want the Judiciary to come clean on this seminar and tell us the agenda… and who attended it. I am posing questions… so that (those of) us who are litigants in the appeal against the ruling can ask the said judges to disqualify themselves.” Read More