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Equality Case Timeline
Equality on Trial's Case Timeline is the go-to place to find thorough, up-to-date information on the myriad of marriage equality lawsuits taking place across the US.
16 Comments
1.
VIRick | August 30, 2021 at 5:57 pm
Mexico: Chief Justice's Observation on Marriage Equality in Yucatán
Per Arturo Zaldívar, Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Mexico, 25 August 2021:
Celebro que se siga avanzando en el reconocimiento, garantía, y protección de los DDHH de todas las personas, hasta que la igualdad se vuelva costumbre.
Todos los derechos para todas las personas. Matrimonio igualitario en Yucatán. https://twitter.com/ArturoZaldivarL/status/143067….
I celebrate the continuing advancement of the recognition, guarantee, and protection of the human rights of all persons, until equality becomes customary.
All rights for all people. Marriage equality in Yucatán.
2.
VIRick | September 1, 2021 at 3:02 pm
4th Circuit Court of Appeals: No "Sovereign Immunity" If Accepting Federal Funds
Per Equality Case Files:
On 1 September 2021, in "Kadel v. North Carolina State Health Plan for Teachers and Sate Employees," the challenge to the state health plan's categorical exclusion of transition-related healthcare, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals panel, 2-1, affirms the ruling that the self-funded plan waived sovereign immunity by accepting federal funds.
The Opinion, written by Chief Judge Gregory, is here:
http://files.eqcf.org/cases/20-1409-64/
By attempting to claim "sovereign immunity," NCSHP was asserting that it could do whatever it wanted and not be required to abide by the ACA.
One suspects that this "sovereign immunity" ruling will soon be utilized in the same manner against South Carolina adoption agencies that accept federal funding under a state-based "exemption," while simultaneously refusing to place children with LGBT couples or with those whose "religious practices," or lack thereof, do not coincide with that of the agency.
3.
VIRick | September 1, 2021 at 3:53 pm
Coahuila: 7th Anniversary of Marriage Equality
Per Héctor R. Herrera S.:
Hoy, el 1 de septiembre 2021, se conmemoran 7 años de la legalización del matrimonio igualitario en Coahuila.
Coahuila fue el primer estado de México en legislar al respecto. Desde su aprobación hasta mayo de 2019, al menos 1,100 parejas LGBT ejercieron su derecho a casarse.
https://twitter.com/hectorherreramx
Today, 1 September 2021, Coahuila commemorates 7 years since the legalization of marriage equality.
Coahuila was the first state in Mexico to legislate in this respect. From its approval until May 2019, at least 1,100 LGBT couples have exercised their right to marry.
4.
ianbirmingham | September 1, 2021 at 6:54 pm
LGBTQIA+ Sex Workers Lead #AcceptanceMatters Campaign Against Banking Discrimination
A group of national and local sex worker collectives, led by LGBTQIA+ activists in the community, have launched the #AcceptanceMatters campaign “to demand an immediate pause on Mastercard's new planned adult content policies pending the creation of stakeholder advisory councils, and to protest ongoing discrimination from the banking industry.”
The campaign’s name appropriates Mastercard’s own slogan — originally meant to convey the number of establishments that accept their credit card products — and refocuses it on the plight of sex workers who have been targeted by the company after pressure from religious anti-porn groups and their allies in mainstream media and politics.
The campaign urges supporters to raise awareness about the situation on social media under the unified hashtag #AcceptanceMatters, and also provides a website to coordinate action: https://www.acceptancematters.org/
As XBIZ reported yesterday, the groups had called for protests today in several cities at 10 a.m. (EDT), with a main event in New York City at the Bank of NY Mellon Headquarters, 240 Greenwich Street, organized by SWOP Brooklyn.
Additional protests were organized for Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Houston.
https://www.xbiz.com/news/261434/lgbtqia-sex-work…
5.
VIRick | September 1, 2021 at 8:36 pm
Zacatecas Bans "Conversion Therapy;" Passes Hate-Crimes Law, 27 August 2021
Zacatecas Prohíbe las "Terapias de Conversión;" Tipificación de Crímenes de Odio
Las "terapias de conversión" o ECOSIG serán penadas en Zacatecas hasta con tres años de prisión y una multa de 50 a 200 veces el valor de la UMA vigente.
Las personas que provoquen o inciten al odio o la violencia por razones de etnia, raza, color, idioma, preferencia u orientación sexual, serán sancionados de uno a tres años de prisión o hasta 300 días de trabajo comunitario y una multa de 50 a 200 veces el valor diario de la Unidad de Medida y Actualización (UMA) vigente.
https://www.adn40.mx/mexico/zacatecas-terapias-de…
"Conversion therapy" will be punished in Zacatecas with up to three years in prison and a fine of 50 to 200 times the value of the current UMA.
Persons who provoke or incite hatred or violence by reason of ethnicity, race, color, language, sexual orientation or preference will be punished with one to three years in prison or up to 300 days of community work and a fine of 50 to 200 times the daily value of the current UMA.
Esfuerzos por Corregir la Orientación Sexual e Identidad de Género (ECOSIG)
UMA es la referencia económica en pesos para determinar la cuantía del pago.
UMA is the economic reference in pesos used to determine the amount of the payment.
6.
ianbirmingham | September 2, 2021 at 1:12 pm
China bans 'sissy men' from TV
China has banned 'sissy men' from TV, demanded masculine role models and ordered broadcasters to stop promoting internet stars as President Xi expands his war on fame and capitalism.
The government banned effeminate men on TV and told broadcasters on Thursday to promote 'revolutionary culture,' broadening a campaign to tighten control over business and society and enforce official morality.
Broadcasters must 'resolutely put an end to sissy men and other abnormal esthetics,' the TV regulator said.
They used an insulting slang term for effeminate men – 'niang pao,' or literally, 'girlie guns.'
That reflects official concern that Chinese pop stars, influenced by the sleek, girlish look of some South Korean and Japanese singers and actors, are failing to encourage China's young men to be masculine enough.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9951089/…
7.
VIRick | September 2, 2021 at 7:07 pm
Yucatán: The Secondary Laws That Need Revision to Permit Marriage Equality
Con base en el dictamen aprobado, el Congreso del Estado tendrá un plazo de 180 días para aprobar las leyes secundarias en materia de matrimonio igualitario, a partir de la fecha de la publicación de la reforma (constitucional) en el Diario Oficial del Gobierno del Estado.
En este contexto, hay que precisar que en este momento no hay un número definitivo de leyes secundarias a analizar toda vez que el tema del matrimonio y el concubinato es referido en diversas disposiciones legales del Estado, pero entre las normatividades a modificar figuran el Código de Familia; la Ley del Registro Civil del Estado; así como legislaciones en materia de pensión, salud, y herencias, entre otras disposiciones que actualmente consideran el precepto de unión civil entre un hombre y una mujer, en lugar de establecer el nuevo precepto que es entre dos personas.
https://anodis.com/analizara-congreso-de-yucatan-…
Based on the approved draft, the State Congress will then have a period of 180 days to approve the secondary laws on marriage equality, starting from the date of publication of the (constitutional) reform in the Official Gazette of the State Government.
In this context, it must be specified at this time that there is no definitive number of secondary laws to analyze since the issue of marriage and cohabitation is referenced in diverse legal provisions of the State, but among the regulations to be modified are the Family Code; the State Civil Registry Law; as well as legislation on matters of pension, health, and inheritance, among other provisions that currently consider the precept of civil union to be between a man and a woman, instead of establishing the new precept that it be between two persons.
8.
VIRick | September 2, 2021 at 9:51 pm
Washington State: Federal Judge Upholds State Ban on "Conversion Therapy"
Per LGBT Marriage News:
On Monday, 30 August 2021, a federal judge in Tacoma rejected an effort to block Washington state's law banning conversion therapy on minors.
The measure was signed into law in 2018 and bans licensed therapists from trying to change a minor's sexual orientation. It was challenged by a licensed marriage and family therapist, with legal backing and support from the ADF. They now claim that they intend to appeal the ruling.
https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/tacoma/c…
9.
Randolph_Finder | September 3, 2021 at 6:53 am
Has the 9th Circuit weighed in on this (I figure California and Oregon may have similar laws)
10.
VIRick | September 3, 2021 at 10:08 pm
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld California's "Conversion Therapy" Ban in "Pickup v. Brown."
https://www.collegesoflaw.edu/blog/2020/05/27/the…
In addition, in 2017, the US Supreme Court denied certiorari, refusing to hear any further appeal from Pickup.
https://www.jurist.org/news/2017/05/supreme-court…
11.
VIRick | September 3, 2021 at 5:58 pm
Sinaloa: First Same-Sex Couple Marries in Guasave
Sinaloa: Carlos y Misael Son los Primeros en Casarse en Guasave
Carlos y Misael son la primera pareja del mismo sexo que hace uso de su derecho a casarse legalmente en el municipio de Guasave. Lo hicieron el 3 de septiembre 2021 en la sindicatura (del registro civil) de Bamoa, porque de allá es Misael, señala Carlos.
https://losnoticieristas.com/post/51037/entrevist…
Carlos and Misael are the first same-sex couple to exercise their right to legally marry within the municipality of Guasave. They did so on 3 September 2021 in the Bamoa pueblo sub-office (of the civil registry) because Misael is from there, says Carlos.
Located on the coast in the northern part of the state, Guasave is the fourth-most-populous municipality in Sinaloa, and covers a large expanse of territory. Estación Bamoa is where the main north-south railway line of the Ferrocarril del Pacifico crosses the Río Sinaloa, some 19 km. further inland from the city of Guasave.
The next municipality north, Los Mochis, is where it all began, as that is where a federal judge issued the very first amparo in Sinaloa state, allowing a same-sex couple to marry, an historic event that spurred me to begin keeping the (now out-of-date) state-by-state amparo count, and which, in addition, eventually made Sinaloa the second state of the five upon which the Supreme Court's marriage equality jurisprudence is grounded.
12.
VIRick | September 4, 2021 at 5:01 pm
Afghanistan: Ancient Tradition of "Bacha Posh:" Girls Living as Boys
For some girls, there has historically been a path to live, before puberty, as a boy. "Bacha posh," which in Dari means girl "dressed up as a boy," is an ancient tradition that pre-dates the Taliban, one in which a family designates a girl to live as a boy. That could either allow her a boy's freedoms — like education, athletics and the right to be outside alone — or impose a boy's duties on her, like working.
Some parents designate a bacha posh if the family has no sons, to alleviate what a family might consider its shame and vulnerability from not having a male child to protect the family or make money for it, with the hope that the shift will cause the next baby born to be a boy. The girls are expected to return at puberty, to become wives and mothers, whether they want to or not — and many don't, according to Jenny Nordberg, author of a book about the bacha posh, "The Underground Girls of Kabul."
It is, argues Nordberg, a tradition rooted in inequality. Yet, it is one of the only ways some girls get even a taste of freedom — a practice that will be much riskier, but at the same time perhaps even more relevant, she says, as we are already seeing women facing discrimination when the Taliban promised they wouldn't.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/tradition-of…
In addition to the minority languages of the north, Uzbek and Tajik, Afghanistan has two primary languages. Dari, the most widespread (about 50%), is a Persian-based language similar to Farsi, and is primarily spoken in western, central, and northeastern Afghanistan, while Pashto (about 35%) is spoken in eastern and southern areas bordering Pakistan, as well as into large swaths of neighboring Pakistan. Pashto is the language of the Taliban.
13.
VIRick | September 4, 2021 at 9:54 pm
Japan: More Prefectures/Municipalities Issuing LGBT Partnership Certificates
Per LGBT Marriage News:
In the Tokyo Metro area, Saga prefecture has become the latest to recognize LGBT partnerships, the 5th such prefecture to do so out of a total of 43. Consultations are ongoing to expand the partnership recognition program to cover the entire metro region.
Plus, on 1 September 2021, partnership certificates for LGBT couples began being issued in five more municipalities throughout Japan: Miyoshi, Iruma, Nikko, Shintomi, and Ube. For the moment, that brings the total to 113. However, 10 additional municipalities have also announced plans to soon launch LGBT partnership certificates, as the concept continues to spread nationwide.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/bd8c3c8d6b11a32…
For the Tokyo Metro area, a prefecture is equivalent to a municipality in the rest of Japan.
14.
VIRick | September 4, 2021 at 10:31 pm
City of Puebla Hosts Its First LGBT Collective Wedding Ceremony at the Municipal Palace
Per El Ayuntamiento de Puebla:
Por primera vez en la historia del Gobierno Local, el 4 de septiembre 2021, las personas integrantes de la comunidad LGBTTTIQ pueden ejercer sus derechos civiles y celebrar un momento significativo en espacios públicos como Palacio Municipal, la casa de todas y todos.
https://twitter.com/PueblaAyto/status/14343120073…
https://twitter.com/urbano_noticias/status/143419…
For the first time in the history of the local government, on 4 September 2021, persons from the LGBTTTIQ community were able to exercise their civil rights and celebrate a significant moment in the public spaces of the Municipal Palace, everyone's house.
15.
ianbirmingham | September 6, 2021 at 12:07 pm
Gay Teacher Wins Sex Discrimination Case Against Catholic School That Fired Him
Billard, a substitute English and drama teacher, wasn’t being paid to teach Catholic doctrine or prepare students “for participation in Catholic worship services.” That means the school can’t hold him to the same religious standards they expect from other teachers:
… Plaintiff is a lay employee, who comes onto the campus of a religious school for the limited purpose of teaching secular classes, with no mandate to inculcate students with Catholic teachings. Indeed, Defendants do not require Plaintiff to be Catholic, and they even explicitly encourage him and other teachers of non-religious subjects to refrain from teaching religious topics in their classrooms… When students had emotional or spiritual questions outside his disciplines of drama and English, Plaintiff was required to refer those students to the proper individual to handle them, such as by referring a student having a hard time at home to the counseling department… As such, while retaining Plaintiff implicates Defendants’ expressive mission, it does not significantly do so.
An ACLU attorney added that while Catholic schools have every right to set religious rules for employees performing religious functions, those who perform secular jobs aren’t bound by those same limitations.
U.S. District Judge's Opinion here: https://www.acluofnorthcarolina.org/sites/default…
https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2021/09/06/ga…
16.
VIRick | September 6, 2021 at 6:24 pm
North Carolina: Catholic High School Can Not Fire Teacher for Just Being Gay
A federal court has ruled that a North Carolina Catholic high school wrongfully fired a teacher in 2014 just because he was gay. On 3 September 2021, US District Judge Max Cogburn ruled that the Charlotte Catholic High School and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Charlotte NC wrongfully fired gay substitute drama and English teacher Lonnie Billard in 2014.
Cogburn ruled that the school violated federal protections against sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The judge wrote that the school’s actions were not protected by constitutional rights to religious freedom. He also ruled that “the school’s action did not fit into exemptions to labor law that give religious institutions leeway to require certain employees to adhere to religious teachings,” the EDGE Media Network reported.
“Plaintiff is a lay employee, who comes onto the campus of a religious school for the limited purpose of teaching secular classes, with no mandate to inculcate students with Catholic teachings,” Cogburn wrote. The school and diocese are considering whether to appeal the ruling.
In 2014, the school fired Billard after he announced his wedding to a man on Facebook. He posted about his upcoming wedding in October 2014, and was informed by an assistant principal several weeks later that he no longer had a job with the school.
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2021/09/catholic-scho…
Judge Cogburn's Findings and Conclusions in "Billard v. Charlotte Catholic High School" is here, ordering that Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment be granted:
http://files.eqcf.org/cases/317-cv-00011-69/