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Jimmy Carter on LGBT rights: Jesus didn’t discriminate
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter drew cheers Monday for his remarks supporting human rights and the LGBT community. Carter, 89, speaking to a packed house at Grand Rapids Community College, responded to one particular question about LGBT rights, and had this response: “I never knew of any word or action of…
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Marriage News Watch: More states waiting for Supreme Court on marriage rulings
A surprising reveal this week from Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg about the court’s plans for taking up a marriage case — or maybe not taking up any. An Arkansas clerk breaks ranks with top state officials, declaring for the first time that the state’s marriage ban is unconstitutional. Plus: numerous states freeze their marriage lawsuits…
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Macomb County, Mich., passes LGBT anti-discrimination policy
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. — Macomb County authorities have passed a policy protecting county employees from discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. The county Board of Commissioners voted 8-5 for the change on Thursday. Commissioner Fred Miller spearheaded the policy initiative and says it will ensure county employees are …
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Lesbian teacher says pregnancy got her fired from Catholic school
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — A former chemistry teacher at a suburban Detroit Catholic high school said she was fired for becoming pregnant after marrying her same-sex partner. Barbara Webb, 33, of Madison Heights said she was fired from the all-girls Marian High School in August after working there for nine years. She notified employers of her pregnancy in July.
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Detroit police arrest man accused of shooting partner, burning down house
DETROIT – Police in Detroit, Mich., have arrested a man who allegedly shot his partner and burned down their house to hide the evidence. The suspect, identified by police as Edwardo Ross, allegedly shot his 42-year-old partner, James Foxhall, in their Detroit home on Aug. 15, then dumped Foxhall’s body in the city’s Palmer Park.
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Detroit police investigating three shootings against LGBT residents
DETROIT — Police in Detroit, Mich., are investigating three potentially related violent crimes against LGBT people in the city’s sprawling Palmer Park. The attacks have left one victim dead and two others injured after a series of shootings in recent weeks.
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Mich. same-sex couples seek state recognition of their marriages
DETROIT — A lawyer urged a judge Thursday to order Michigan to recognize hundreds of same-sex marriages performed during a brief window in March, saying the unions were valid even if a higher court eventually reinstates the state’s ban on gay marriage. “The state cannot mandatorily divorce you,” University of Michigan law professor Julian Mortenson said during a…
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Report: Marriage equality would add $53 million, new jobs to Mich. economy
Extending marriage to same-sex couples in Michigan would generate an estimated $53.2 million in spending to the state’s economy and generate over 500 new jobs over three years, according to a new study. Researchers at the Williams Institute, an independent think tank at UCLA’s School of Law, estimates that — based on 2010 U.S. Census data…
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Marriage News Watch: Sixth Circuit recap, 3 states head to Supreme Court
This week’s Marriage News Watch report from Matt Baume at the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) recaps last week’s hearings in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in the challenges to four states’ same-sex marriage bans, while appeals from three other states land at the U.S. Supreme Court. Plus, Wisconsin organizers have formed a new group called …
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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 …