http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/civilunion/ en-us Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:45:22 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2187771/posts RUTLAND, Vt. — First-grader Isabella doesn’t yet understand all the big decisions that judges here in Vermont and Virginia have made about her life.But her mother, Lisa Miller, knows how profoundly those court orders will affect her 6-year-old. Miller’s attorneys even petitioned this landmark custody case she’s fighting with her former lesbian partner to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the court declined to hear it.Isabella has been the subject of a five-year battle that has pitted conflicting state marriage statutes and drawn competing claims from federal laws.“It’s rather like the two women claiming one baby before Solomon. One is the... NCR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2187771/posts#comment Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:45:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032913/posts Where the Boys Are by: Emily Ham, June 18, 2008 After the state Supreme Court’s June 5 decision to discard the requests of attorneys general from some ten states to stay the May 15 ruling allowing gay marriage within the state, thousands of homosexual couples are expected to tie the knot in California as soon as the new legislation takes effect. But many people are seeing confusion in the horizon as questions are beginning to arise about how long the state’s new court ruling will be in place.This uncertainty began with the June 2 ruling in which the California Supreme... Campus Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032913/posts#comment Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:58:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015337/posts How to Commit Marriage by: Malcolm A. Kline, May 13, 2008 A couple of professors from the University of Chicago think they have found a way out of what they see as a national impasse over state marriage laws. “To respect the liberty of religious groups while protecting individual freedom in general, we propose that marriage, as such, should be completely privatized,” Richard A. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein write in Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness. “Under our proposal, the word marriage would no longer appear in any laws, and marriage licenses would no longer be offered... Campus Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2015337/posts#comment Tue, 13 May 2008 17:35:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1900856/posts U.S. Christian Camp Loses Tax-Exempt Status over Same-Sex Civil-Union Ceremony By John Jalsevac OCEAN GROVE, N.J., September 19, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced on Monday that it was stripping the Methodist Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association of its tax-exempt status for part of its property. The Methodist camp made the news earlier this year after it refused, for religious reasons, to allow a lesbian couple to hold a "civil-union" ceremony at a pavilion on the camp's property. The pavilion, said Scott Hoffman, the camp's chief administrative officer to LifeSiteNews, "is a facility we... LifeSiteNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1900856/posts#comment Sun, 23 Sep 2007 03:35:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1893762/posts Prominent UK Tory Politician Says Support for Civil Unions "Insults Intelligence" of British Critical of Tory leader Cameron's attempt to shift party to left and re-brand it as "heirs to Blair" LONDON,  September 5, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - One of the most senior MP's in the UK's Tory party, Michael Ancram, Member of Parliament for Devizes, has criticized the government's policy of treating homosexual partnerings as the equivalent to marriage. In a pamphlet published by the Daily Telegraph, Ancram calls on the party to remember its "conservative soul." With the possibility of a snap general election still being discussed, the Conservatives... LifeSiteNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1893762/posts#comment Mon, 10 Sep 2007 03:10:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1888042/posts Malawi Officials to Challenge Appointment of Pro-Gay British High Commissioner Say pro-gay history "dangerous" to Malawi, where homosexuality still considered felony By Meg Jalsevac Malawi, August 28, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The appointment of the next British High Commissioner to Malawi has provoked government officials of the African nation to speak out against his suitability for the job in the conservative nation considering his record as a proponent of gay rights in his previous position in the Scottish Government.  Former Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell was tapped to assume the position beginning in 2011 but opposition to his appointment is already... LifeSiteNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1888042/posts#comment Wed, 29 Aug 2007 02:02:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1885775/posts Methodists Sue New Jersey over Attempt to Force Gay “Marriage” at Church Owned Camp By Hilary White TRENTON, August 21, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In another case of a clash between Christian traditional values and the new secular sexual morality, the United Methodist Church group that owns a private campground retreat are suing the New Jersey government, saying its rights of religious freedom are being violated. The state is investigating a discrimination charge brought against the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association by a pair of lesbians who wanted to use the private retreat campground for a “civil union” ceremony. The federal... LifeSiteNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1885775/posts#comment Fri, 24 Aug 2007 06:19:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1864000/posts OCEAN GROVE, New Jersey (LifeSiteNews.com) - A New Jersey lesbian couple has filed a civil rights complaint against a Christian seaside retreat association that refused to facilitate their "civil union."Harriet Bernstein and Luisa Paster filed the complaint June 19 with the state attorney general's office on the grounds of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation after the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association declined the use of their Boardwalk Pavilion for their civil union ceremony, planned for September. Bernstein and Paster demanded "whatever relief is provided by law" including unspecified "compensatory damages for economic loss, humiliation, [and] mental pain." New... LifeSiteNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1864000/posts#comment Wed, 11 Jul 2007 03:27:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1767550/posts The northern state of Coahuila, a mining and ranching region south of Texas, approved gay civil union Thursday, becoming the second area in Mexico to give legal status to homosexual partnerships. Legislators in the state Congress voted 20-13 for a bill that gives gays greater rights than a similar law backed by Mexico City last November. “It is more like a civil marriage,” said Silvia Solis, a gay rights activist in the capital. She said Coahuila would grant social security benefits to both members of a homosexual union, an important demand of gay campaigners. The law was promoted by Coahuila's... Union-Tribune Publishing http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1767550/posts#comment Sun, 14 Jan 2007 21:17:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1689248/posts BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — A lesbian couple who entered into the nation's first same-sex civil union officially split up Wednesday. Carolyn Conrad and Kathleen Peterson, both of Brattleboro, had entered a civil union shortly after midnight on July 1, 2000, the day Vermont's first-in-the-nation law went into effect. Conrad, 35, filed to end the union in October and later obtained a restraining order against her partner, saying Peterson punched a hole in the wall during an argument and threatened to harm a friend. A judge granted the request for a dissolution Wednesday. "It's a heartbreaking situation for any couple," Conrad told... FOXNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1689248/posts#comment Thu, 24 Aug 2006 14:52:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1569919/posts A LESBIAN couple has become the first in the British army to tie the knot under the country's new civil partnership laws. Sonya Gould, 19, and Vanessa Haydock, 18, both privates in the Royal Logistics Corps, exchanged vows before friends and family at the register office in Chippenham, Wiltshire in the west of England, The Sun newspaper reported today. "It was wonderful to get married and being the first was the icing on the cake. We want to be together forever," said Haydock, pictured in The Sun kissing Gould in uniform – albeit not smack on the lips. While they... news.com.au http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1569919/posts#comment Thu, 2 Feb 2006 04:53:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1504210/posts TROUTDALE (AP) - This quiet, tourism-oriented town east of Portland could become a battleground as gay rights activists prepare a campaign to topple a Republican legislative leader who thwarted a move to allow civil unions for same-sex couples. Troutdale is in the heart of the district represented by GOP House Speaker Karen Minnis, who enraged gay rights backers this summer by refusing to let the House vote on a civil unions bill that had been passed by the state Senate with the blessing of the Democratic governor. State and national gay rights groups are targeting Minnis for defeat in 2006... The World Link.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1504210/posts#comment Mon, 17 Oct 2005 23:43:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1488387/posts Homosexual civil-union, divorce and a 3-year-old LES KINSOLVING 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Those members of the Vermont state Legislature who voted to approve same-sex civil unions are now faced with a consequence that should merit every one of them being voted into retirement. The New York Times devoted half a page to reporting from Vermont's state capital of Montpelier: Judges in Vermont and Virginia have different ideas about what is best for Isabella Miller-Jenkins, 3, born to a woman who had a civil union with another woman in Vermont. The relationship ended two years ago. Now each woman... Worldnetdaily.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1488387/posts#comment Wed, 21 Sep 2005 03:34:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1348404/posts From combined dispatches LONDON -- Same-sex partners in Britain will be able to enter into civil unions beginning in December, joining homosexuals in parts of Europe and the United States in obtaining many of the rights enjoyed by married couples, the government said yesterday. The Civil Partnerships Bill passed by Parliament last year gives same-sex couples the right to form legally binding partnerships and entitles them to some of the same tax and pension rights that married couples have. Starting Dec. 5, couples will be able to notify the register office at their local council that they intend to form... Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1348404/posts#comment Tue, 22 Feb 2005 08:03:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1309936/posts The judge who will decide the constitutionality of California's ban on same-sex marriage has refused to let San Francisco submit expert studies to counter their opponents' authorities, who contend that children need opposite- sex parents and that homosexuals can be cured. snip... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1309936/posts#comment Wed, 29 Dec 2004 04:26:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1289831/posts LOS ANGELES — A new state law in California allows gay and lesbian couples nearly all the same rights and benefits of married spouses if they choose to sign up with a state domestic partner registry. For thousands of same-sex couples in the state, that means legal recognitions they have long dreamed about having. California Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, author of the Domestic Partnership and Responsibilities Act (search), calls the measure historic. It grants same-sex couples everything from insurance benefits to adoption rights, but also adds responsibilities like their partner's debt. foxnews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1289831/posts#comment Sun, 28 Nov 2004 17:21:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1285093/posts Was Lincoln Gay? By W. Scott Thompson Mr. Thompson is a professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. What drives our great to greatness? We search, and find hope and humanity, unassuageably-remembered hunger, driving fear; but sometimes the mystery goes deeper to presiding emotions unmistakable in their power but strangely indeterminate in their form. In the present case Abe Lincoln passed from death into a demigod of national might and righteousness, and now makes him the canonic hero of liveliest sympathy and spiritual growth. And neither depiction--better still a union of the two--rings false. We examine... History News Network http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1285093/posts#comment Sun, 21 Nov 2004 05:46:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1280977/posts During the recent election, voters in 11 states approved amendments opposing same-sex marriage.So it is no surprise that Texas Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, rushed to prefile a bill proposing a constitutional amendment defining marriage in Texas as only between a man and a woman.Even though state law already defines marriage that way, Chisum's bill calls for a vote on the amendment in the November 2005 election.The measure is both unnecessary and divisive. The state should establish rules for civil unions that define legal relationships and leave the issue of who can marry to religious institutions, where it belongs.This uproar began... San Antonio Express-News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1280977/posts#comment Tue, 16 Nov 2004 08:00:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1275941/posts I just might have the answer to the questions surrounding gay marriage. And I promise, it's very different from anything you've heard before. To agree upon a solution, we must first agree upon a problem, so let's start from the beginning. Once upon a time, homosexual couples asked for the same rights which married heterosexual couples enjoy. And you're hard-pressed to find someone who will deny that they ought to have these rights. And I agree - everyone should have the rights of contract and benefits that come with marriage, regardless of sexual orientation. CollegeConservative.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1275941/posts#comment Wed, 10 Nov 2004 02:51:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1272186/posts Despite having passed a referendum banning gay marriage in 2000, it looks like California has managed to establish the equivalent. A little-noticed provision of the recent expansion of California's domestic partnership laws will see the California Family Code Amended as of January to grant ALL rights and obligations of a spouse to any registered domestic partner. [Cal. Family Code Section 297.5] What does this mean? It means that by merely registering as domestic partners under the law, a gay couple in California will be considered the legal equivalent of a spouse in every way. This has completely been slipped under... Hank All-American http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1272186/posts#comment Fri, 5 Nov 2004 23:05:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1272132/posts The Texas Board of Education approved new health textbooks for the state's high school and middle school students Friday after the publishers agreed to change the wording to depict marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The board decision could affect books sold in dozens of states because of Texas' market clout as the nation's second-largest buyer of textbooks. AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1272132/posts#comment Fri, 5 Nov 2004 22:29:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1226263/posts September 24, 2004 — Democratic U-S Senate candidate Barack Obama says he's opposed to gay marriage because of tradition and his Christian beliefs. But Obama says he supports civil unions for gays and lesbians and would oppose a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Obama made his comments today during a taping of W-B-B-M Radio's "At Issue" program. His Republican opponent, Alan Keyes, has said repeatedly that Obama supports gay marriage. But Obama says he personally believes marriage should be between a man and a woman. The Democratic candidate also says the issue of gay marriage should be left to the... ABC7Chicago.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1226263/posts#comment Fri, 24 Sep 2004 21:13:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1197262/posts A debate over recognizing "civil unions" for same-sex couples in New Zealand has turned ugly, with opponents of the move being likened to hate-groups. Advocates of civil unions -- including the government minister responsible for the legislation -- have sought to link their opponents to extremists by appealing to current public worries about anti-Semitic activity and a planned visit to New Zealand by a controversial historian and Holocaust-skeptic. The Civil Union Bill, which passed its first reading in parliament last June and was sent to a select committee for public feedback, will give legal recognition to same-sex couples as well... CNSNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1197262/posts#comment Mon, 23 Aug 2004 07:45:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1190210/posts Breaking News from NewsMax.com Civil Union Leads to Battle Over Child Janet Miller-Jenkins, 39, is asking a family court in Vermont, the only state where civil unions are recognized, to award her custody of the child, claiming that Lisa has barred her from seeing Isabella even though under Vermont law she is a co-equal parent," the Washington Post reported. "The dispute has mobilized activists on both sides of the gay-marriage issue. Lambda Legal, a prominent gay rights advocacy group in New York, is advising Janet, while Florida-based Liberty Counsel, which opposes gay marriage, is consulting with Lisa." Stephen Cable, president... e-mail http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1190210/posts#comment Thu, 12 Aug 2004 16:13:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1166903/posts BY STEVENSON SWANSON Chicago Tribune NEW YORK - (KRT) - First comes love, then comes marriage. Then comes divorce. With the first legalized same-sex marriages barely 1 month old, pondering gay divorce might seem premature. But according to attorneys and legal experts, it's already here. Gay and lesbian couples have been struggling with the legal fallout of breaking up for years. Without state recognition of their relationships, partners who are splitting up can find themselves cast adrift by the courts, with few provisions for equitable division of property, parental visitation rights or child support. If anything, the advent of same-sex... Kansas City Star http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1166903/posts#comment Wed, 7 Jul 2004 16:20:17 GMT