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News (USA)
Neb. holds to one of the nation’s most restrictive same-sex marriage bans
OMAHA, Neb. — As state bans on same-sex marriages fall across the country, some Nebraska officials are holding strong to that state’s status of having one of the nation’s most restrictive laws, which affects some of the most basic aspects of gay couples’ lives – from driver’s licenses to parenting rights.
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News (USA)
Va. AG asks U.S. Supreme Court to review same-sex marriage ruling
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision that struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, giving the high court its third such case to choose from when justices return in October. Herring, who declined to defend the ban in federal court and who said he supports the lower court’s decision …
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News (USA)
Bridal shop won’t serve lesbian couples because it ‘would break God’s law’
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. — A bridal store’s refusal to sell wedding gowns to a same-sex couple is stirring debate in a central Pennsylvania town. The Press Enterprise reports two women — who wish to remain anonymous — tried to schedule an appointment at W.W. Bridal Boutique in Bloomsburg, Pa., but were turned down after the shop owner learned they were a lesbian couple…
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News (USA)
Tenn. judge upholds gay marriage ban in same-sex couple’s divorce case
KINGSTON, Tenn. — A Tennessee judge has ruled that two men who married in Iowa and later moved to Tennessee cannot be granted a divorce because the state doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage. In his ruling, Roane County, Tenn., Circuit Court Judge Russell E. Simmons Jr., upheld Tennessee’s ban on same-sex marriage and said state laws now in effect …
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News (USA)
Anti-gay groups call for Target boycott over retailer’s support for gay marriage
A number of anti-gay groups are calling for nationwide boycotts of Target after the chain signed on to a legal brief supporting marriage equality. The National Organization for Marriage, the Liberty Counsel and American Decency Association say the company’s public support for same-sex marriage is a “slap in the face to millions of pro-family customers.”
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News (USA)
Fla. church abruptly cancels funeral after learning deceased man was gay
TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida woman says her Tampa church cancelled her son’s funeral after the pastor learned the deceased was gay and his obituary listed a surviving “husband.” Julie Atwood says she was told by New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Tampa, Fla., that it would be “blasphemous” to hold the services at the church because her son, Julion Evans, 42, was gay…
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News (USA)
Fla. AG wants U.S. Supreme Court to decide if states can ban gay marriage
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s attorney general is asking state courts to stop considering same-sex marriage cases until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether states have the right to ban gay marriage. Attorney General Pam Bondi filed two motions on Friday in a state appeals court, requesting a freeze on appeals of cases concerning the state’s constitutional …
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News (USA)
Anti-gay Tenn. lawmaker behind ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill defeated in reelection bid
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — An anti-gay Tennessee state lawmaker who has spent much of his legislative career sponsoring anti-LGBT bills, and who once blamed AIDS on a gay airline pilot having sex with monkeys, was soundly defeated Thursday in his bid for a second Senate term.
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News (USA)
Chattanooga voters reject benefits for same-sex domestic partners
CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee — Voters in Chattanooga have rejected a proposal to allow health benefits for domestic partners of city employees. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports the measure was rejected in Thursday’s referendum election by 5,501 votes. In November, Chattanooga became the third city in Tennessee to vote to expand benefits to same-sex couples…
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Life
‘Please Like Me’ lets its comic creator Josh Thomas be himself
NEW YORK — “I float around,” says Josh Thomas, “and I’ve just been very lucky.” The 27-year-old openly gay Australian comedian is trying to account for his success in what he’d argue is the absence of ambition or strategy. Still, look at him: a star Down Under and the leading man, writer and executive producer of his own half-hour comedy-drama, “Please Like Me” …
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News (USA)
Ark. AG: Justices do not need to recuse themselves in same-sex marriage case
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas officials say a resolution passed by the Legislature and suggestions to allow recall of judges aren’t enough of a reason for Arkansas Supreme Court justices to recuse themselves from the case challenging the state’s same-sex marriage ban.
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Life
America’s Heartland hosts Gay Games, visitors from around the globe
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Participants and spectators from 46 countries are coming to the Heartland for Gay Games 9, a quadrennial event that for the first time is taking place outside one of the world’s gay capitals. In choosing Cleveland and Akron, organizers said they wanted to stage the Games in a place where they could have an impact in boosting acceptance and support …
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News (USA)
Utah same-sex couples ask Supreme Court to hear appeal
SALT LAKE CITY — Even though they scored a key victory in federal appellate court, attorneys for three Utah gay and lesbian couples said Thursday they plan to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take Utah’s appeal of a favorable gay marriage ruling. It is vital that the justices weigh in about whether state same-sex marriage bans violate the Constitution to settle the matter…
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News (USA)
New campaign launched to build support for marriage equality in Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. — Gay rights advocates have launched a new website to build support for same-sex marriage in Wisconsin. The American Civil Liberties Union’s Wisconsin chapter along with Fair Wisconsin, a gay rights organization, and Freedom to Marry, a national organization pushing for gay marriage…
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News (USA)
Missouri same-sex marriage case moved to federal court
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A lawsuit challenging Missouri’s ban on same-sex marriage has been moved to federal court instead of state court. The lawsuit was originally filed in Jackson County by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses. Attorney General Chris Koster’s office intervened in the case…
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Life
Rick Wiles: ‘Ebola could solve America’s problems with atheism, homosexuality’
Right before chatting with a Republican congressman on his on “Trunews” program Tuesday, “End Times” radio host Rick Wiles said that an outbreak of Ebola in the U.S. might actually be a good thing if it ends up giving an “attitude adjustment” to all the gays and atheists, along with people who use pornography or have had an abortion, who will die if they aren’t “protected by God.”
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News (USA)
Federal appeals court weighs four states’ same-sex marriage cases
CINCINNATI –A federal appeals court judge hearing arguments in six gay marriage fights in a landmark hearing Wednesday expressed deep skepticism about whether the courts are the ideal setting for such major change, saying that the best way to win the hearts and minds of Americans on the issue would be the democratic process. The judge, Jeffrey S. Sutton of the …
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News (USA)
AUDIO: Tennessee same-sex marriage ban faces federal appeals court
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A three-judge panel is now considering whether Tennessee’s law barring recognition of same-sex marriages is constitutional. Attorneys representing multiple gay couples told judges from the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati on Wednesday that’s there’s no rational reason for barring same-sex marriage. Lawyers from the…
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News (USA)
AUDIO: Ohio same-sex marriage ban faces federal appeals court
CINCINNATI — A state official says that Ohio has traditionally defined marriage as between a man and woman, and that same-sex marriage is too new to be considered a deeply rooted, fundamental right. State solicitor Eric Murphy argued Wednesday in favor of the ban on same-sex marriage passed by Ohio voters a decade ago. A three-judge panel of the…
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News (USA)
AUDIO: Kentucky same-sex marriage ban faces federal appeals court
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A three-judge panel is now considering whether Kentucky’s laws barring same-sex marriage are constitutional. Attorneys representing multiple gay couples told judges from the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati on Wednesday that’s there’s no rational reason for barring same-sex couples from getting married. Lawyers hired by …