Tag Archives: gay marriage

Trib overview of the same sex marriage appeal

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Less than three weeks till the appeal is heard by the Fifth Circuit. Fourteen states allowed same-sex marriage when Cleopatra De Leon and Nicole Dimetman filed a lawsuit late last year challenging Texas’ constitutional ban on marriages that are not … Continue reading →

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Working for progress on LGBT issues

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’m always a little wary when I see a phrase like “chipping away” in a story about LGBT issues, but in this case it refers to obstacles, not hard-won victories, so it’s OK. The rights and interests of homosexual Texans … Continue reading →

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Fixing birth certificates

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Trying again, with some hope for progress. The Texas Legislature added a provision to the Health & Safety Code in 1997 requiring supplemental birth certificates issued to adoptive parents to contain the name of one female, the mother, and one … Continue reading →

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Promote equality, promote the economy

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a simple enough formula. When the courts finally declare Texas’ ban on same-sex marriage illegal, which most people think they will, it could mean a boost for the wedding and hospitality industry as 23,200 couples tie the knot, according … Continue reading →

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Same sex marriage will have to wait for the Fifth Circuit

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Bummer. A federal judge has refused to permit immediate same-sex marriages in Texas, saying he expects they will be allowed some day but he doesn’t want to act precipitously. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia on Friday rebuffed a request by … Continue reading →

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Texas’ first same-sex marriage

Posted on December 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Fascinating story. More than 40 years ago in a small chapel off the Gulf Freeway, a hulking ex-tackle from Brownsville slid a ring onto the finger of his partner, transforming the slight man wearing a blond bouffant wig standing opposite … Continue reading →

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There will be charter referenda next year

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Details are pending, but one way or another we’ll get to vote on some charter changes next November. City Council members on Thursday agreed that any city charter reforms, including changes to term limits, should go to voters in November … Continue reading →

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What will the clerks do?

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Some of Texas’ county clerks are making plans to accommodate same-sex marriage license applicants in the event that federal judge Orlando Garcia lifts the stay on his ruling that tossed out the state’s ban on same-sex nuptials. Some other clerks … Continue reading →

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Abbott responds to motion to lift same-sex marriage ruling

Posted on November 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

He’s against it. Try not to be surprised. Texas officials want a federal judge to uphold the state’s same-sex marriage ban, calling a request by gay couples to be allowed to immediately marry “untimely” and “out of order.” “The plaintiffs … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit sets their schedule

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Mark your calendars. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments about the constitutionality of Texas’ tough new abortion restrictions on Jan. 7. The law passed in 2013, known as House Bill 2, banned abortions after 20 weeks … Continue reading →

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Texas same-sex marriage plaintiffs ask for stay to be lifted

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I wish them luck. Two same-sex couples have asked U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia of San Antonio to allow gay marriages to begin taking place immediately in Texas. On Monday, couples Mark Phariss and Victor Holmes of Plano and Nicole … Continue reading →

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Yet another lawsuit against Texas’ ban on same sex marriage

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

And then there were ten. Texas now has at least 10 pending lawsuits challenging the state’s bans on same-sex marriage — believed to be the most of any state. An Austin lesbian widow is the latest to challenge the marriage … Continue reading →

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Texas For Marriage

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This. Law enforcement officials, state legislators, faith leaders and a great-grandmother are among those lending their voices to a new campaign to bring marriage equality to Texas. The national group Freedom to Marry plans to spend $200,000 on the campaign … Continue reading →

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Legislation to overturn same sex marriage ban filed

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Someone’s gotta do it, and you know it won’t be Republicans. Kriselda Hinojosa recalls how she unintentionally came out to her father in sixth grade. “He actually saw me kissing my girlfriend at the time,” Hinojosa said. “So he caught … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit to hear HB2 appeal in January

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Gird your loins. A federal appeals court has scheduled oral arguments about the constitutionality of Texas’ tough new abortion law for the first week of January, setting up a rapid timeline that may accelerate the case’s expected trip to the … Continue reading →

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Sixth Circuit stands up for inequality

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It was bound to happen eventually. Remember the big no-decision decision the Supreme Court issued on same-sex marriage just a month ago? The justices were asked — in five separate cases no less — to weigh in on whether same-sex … Continue reading →

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Woodfill gets another injunction

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

WTF? A state district judge on Wednesday ordered the city of Houston to stop offering health and life insurance benefits to the same-sex spouses of married employees, but city attorneys say they plan an immediate appeal that, once filed, could … Continue reading →

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UT/Trib poll says Texans would be fine with same sex marriage

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A result of interest from the most recent UT/Trib poll: Registered Texas voters narrowly oppose same-sex marriage, but a large majority is open to allowing either marriage or civil unions to gays and lesbians, according to the latest University of … Continue reading →

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Jared Woodfill sues again

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Dude is obsessed. Former Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill isn’t giving up on his fight to block the city of Houston from providing benefits to the same-sex spouses of employees. After Mayor Annise Parker extended benefits to same-sex spouses … Continue reading →

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The Fifth Circuit is in no hurry to rule on same sex marriage

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Such a show of courage on their part. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals tentatively has scheduled oral arguments in the Texas and Louisiana gay marriage cases for early January, disappointing local advocates and possibly delaying until 2016 a hearing … Continue reading →

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Mayor Parker for pot reform

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The list of people who think it’s time to talk about reforming our drug laws keeps growing. Add Houston Mayor Annise Parker to the growing list of officials calling for a new approach to the nation’s drug laws, especially when … Continue reading →

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It shouldn’t be this hard to get a driver’s license

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

And for most people it isn’t that hard. But for some people, it is. Daniela Parker has two mothers, a circumstance that turned a typically routine matter – scheduling a road test for a Texas driver’s license – into a … Continue reading →

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Suing for same-sex death benefits

Posted on October 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Married people receive death benefits when their spouses die. Unless your marriage isn’t recognized as legal by the state you live in. That’s the basis of this lawsuit. An Austin woman filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday seeking to halt the … Continue reading →

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On Greg Abbott and who gets to get married

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As you may have heard, Peggy Fikac got to ask Greg Abbott the obvious question about how exactly the state’s law against same-sex marriage, which Abbott is diligently defending in court, differs from the old laws that once banned interracial … Continue reading →

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Abbott’s appellate response brief is the same old junk

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Pathetic. Attorney General Greg Abbott says Texas’ same-sex marriage ban should remain in place because legalizing it would do little or nothing to encourage heterosexual couples to get married and have children. Writing in a brief filed to the 5th … Continue reading →

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Other AGs for same sex marriage

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone like one of these 15 Attorneys General representing Texas? A majority of the states that have legalized same-sex marriage are throwing their support behind two couples fighting Texas’ ban, arguing their own experiences … Continue reading →

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Texas same sex marriage plaintiffs want the get oral arguments scheduled

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

They would like to get on with their lives, if it’s not too much trouble to Greg Abbott and the Fifth Circuit. Austin lawyer Nicole Dimetman is pregnant and expects to give birth for the first time on March 15, … Continue reading →

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Law enforcement for same sex marriage

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Bravo, y’all. The Democratic sheriffs of Texas’ two most populous counties have signed on with more than 60 other Texas law enforcement officials and first responders saying the state’s ban on same sex marriage not only disrespects but endangers front-line … Continue reading →

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Texas woman denied driver’s license over same-sex marriage

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the headline of this Observer story, and it’s just as infuriating as you think it is. A woman who recently relocated from California says the Texas Department of Public Safety refused to issue her an accurate driver’s license because … Continue reading →

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The LGBT Wedding Expo

Posted on September 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I love stories like this. The Houston LGBT Wedding Expo at the Galleria-area JW Marriott, which was hosted by the North Carolina-based Rainbow Wedding Network, showcased venues and companies marketing to the growing number of same-sex couples. With the LGBT … Continue reading →

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Steven Hotze in his own words

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Media Matters sat in on a conference call of professional haters, and, well, see for yourself. Fox News hero and prominent Texas conservative Dr. Steven Hotze warned supporters during a conference call that gay activists want to overturn laws prohibiting … Continue reading →

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Plaintiffs respond to Abbott’s brief in same sex marriage appeal

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

They give it the respect it deserves. Lawyers for two same-sex couples who are trying to overturn Texas’ gay marriage ban said Tuesday that the state’s attempt to defend its prohibition has defied both logic and a stream of recent … Continue reading →

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Louisiana breaks the streak

Posted on September 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

One in every crowd, I guess. A federal judge [in New Orleans] upheld the state’s ban on same-sex marriage on Wednesday, going against what had been a unanimous trend of federal court decisions striking down such bans since the Supreme … Continue reading →

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All married city employees may continue to receive spousal benefits for now

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. Married same-sex couples will continue to receive health and life insurance benefits from the city of Houston, a federal judge ruled Friday, pending the outcome of an appeal in a separate lawsuit. […] [Mayor Annise] Parker’s policy change … Continue reading →

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