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State legislation
Press Release
Advocacy Groups Release FAQ Guide for Maryland Same-Sex Couples Married Out of State
(Washington, D.C., March 8, 2010) — Today, Lambda Legal, American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Equality Maryland, and the American Civil Liberties Union released a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) guide for same-sex couples in Maryland who married out of state. These leading advocacy groups have jointly released the following statement: “This FAQ follows a favorable opinion by Maryland Attorney Douglas Gansler that says recognition of out-of-state...Press Release
NCLR Celebrates Marriage Equality in the District of Columbia
A Statement from NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell (Washington, D.C., March 3, 2010) — Today the District of Columbia began accepting marriage applications for same-sex couples, after Chief Justice John Roberts denied a last-minute request to stop the District’s same sex marriage law from taking effect. Washington D.C. became the sixth U.S. jurisdiction to allow same-sex couples to marry after the D.C. Council overwhelmingly passed the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Act of...Press Release
NCLR Hails Maryland’s Marriage Recognition Opinion
A.G. says state law calls for recognition of marriages of same-sex couples (Washington, D.C., February 24, 2010) — The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) hails the opinion issued today by Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler that the marriages of same-sex couples validly entered into in other jurisdictions may be recognized by the state. The decision predicts that the Maryland high court likely would “recognize a same-sex marriage contracted validly in another jurisdiction.”...Press Release
NCLR Applauds District of Columbia Marriage Victory
A Statement from NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter (Washington, D.C., December 15, 2009) — Today, in a final vote of 11-2, the Washington, D.C. City Council passed legislation to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage. The bill, championed by City Councilmember David A. Catania, first sailed through the Council with overwhelming support on December 1. Mayor Adrian Fenty has pledged to sign the bill immediately. Next, the bill heads to Capitol Hill for a 30-day legislative review...Press Release
The National Center for Lesbian Rights Disappointed in New York Senate Vote Rejecting Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
A Statement from Executive Director Kate Kendell (San Francisco, California, December 2, 2009) — Today, in a 38-24 vote, the New York State Senate failed to pass a bill which would have extended the right to marry to same-sex couples. As Lisa Keen of Keen News Service reported in the Bay Area Reporter, Senator Bill Perkins, an African American Democrat from Harlem, addressed the bill’s openly gay sponsor, Tom Duane (D-Manhattan), by saying “Thank you, brother.” Then he turned to the galley...Press Release
National Center for Lesbian Rights Applauds Enactment of California Law to Clarify Rights of Same-Sex Couples Married Outside the State
(San Francisco, California, October 27, 2009) — The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) applauds the passage of California’s SB 54, a bill authored by Senator Mark Leno and signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on October 11, 2009. SB 54 clarifies the rights and responsibilities of same-sex couples who get married outside of California. NCLR worked closely with Equality California and Senator Leno’s office to support the measure throughout the legislative process, from...Press Release
LGBTQ Community Groups Seek to Intervene in Federal Challenge to Proposition 8
Motion filed in response to judge’s call for information to resolve ‘factual disputes’ (San Francisco, California, July 8, 2009)—Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) today asked the U.S. District Court in San Francisco to allow Our Family Coalition, Lavender Seniors of the East Bay, and Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays to intervene in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, a federal lawsuit challenging California’s...Press Release
Court Upholds Prop 8; State Continues to Recognize 18,000 Marriages
Advocacy Groups Vow to Return to Polls to Restore Marriage for Same-sex Couples (San Francisco, CA, May 26, 2009)—Today, in a 6 to 1 decision, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, the ballot measure that eliminated the right of same sex couples to marry. In the ruling authored by Chief Justice Ronald George, the Court stated “We emphasize only that among the various constitutional protections recognized in the Marriage Cases as available to same-sex couples, it is only the...Press Release