Having technical problems? Visit our support page to report an issue!
Equality On Trial
SIGN UP FOR BREAKING NEWS
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.
17 Comments
1.
VIRick | January 3, 2022 at 2:04 pm
Antofagasta, Chile: Same-Sex Couple Adoptions Already Taking Place
Per LGBT Marriage News:
Antofagasta avanza en la adopción homoparental: Al menos dos familias del mismo sexo han logrado concretar adopciones.
En Chile, adoptar es posible gracias a la Ley 19.620, vigente desde el 5 de agosto de 1999, la cual permite que matrimonios, solteros/as, y divorciados/as o viudos/as pueden postularse para iniciar los trámites de adopción. Sin embargo, esta no considera a parejas homoparentales que tampoco han podido optar al matrimonio. Por lo que, para poder lograr una adopción, han tenido que postular como solteros/as, quedando con la custodia legal solo un miembro de la pareja.
https://www.diarioantofagasta.cl/regional/antofag…
Antofagasta advances in homoparental adoption: At least two same-sex families have managed to finalize adoptions.
In Chile, adopting is possible thanks to Law 19.620, in force since 5 August 1999, which allows married couples, single individuals, and divorcees or widowers to apply to initiate adoption procedures. However, it does not consider homoparental couples who have also not been able to opt for marriage, either. Therefore, in order to achieve an adoption, they have had to apply as single individuals, leaving only one member of the couple with legal custody.
Still, given the progressive leanings of Antofagasta, the regional adoption service there, Mejor Niñez, has already processed several same-sex couples adoption requests.
2.
VIRick | January 3, 2022 at 4:49 pm
Lithuania to Allow Transgender Individuals to Change Name/Gender without Surgery
Per LGBT Marriage News:
Transgender individuals in Lithuania will finally be allowed to change their legal name/gender without undergoing gender-reassignment surgery. Justice minister Evelina Dobrovolska signed the order permitting legal name/gender changes on 31 December 2021.
However, trans individuals who wish to change their name/gender on official documents will still have to obtain a certificate from a Lithuanian or EU healthcare establishment of “diagnosed transgenderism." The new regulation comes into force on 2 February and will be “an important step that will help Lithuania to ensure partial implementation of the ruling the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued more than a decade ago, as well as the consolidation of human rights standards," the justice ministry said.
In 2007, a 28-year-old trans man won his case against Lithuania in the ECHR over the state’s failure to provide him with legal documents in his correct gender. The seven judges ruled that Lithuania had to implement new legislation on gender reassignment within three months or pay damages.
During the 2007 case, the Court observed that Lithuanian law had recognized trans people’s right to change not only their gender but also their civil status. However, there was a gap in the relevant legislation: the law regulating gender-reassignment surgery, although drafted, had yet to be adopted. In the meantime, no suitable medical facilities were reasonably accessible in Lithuania.
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/lithuania-finall…
This order finally allowing the implementation of transgender rights is due to an ECHR ruling that had been issued against Lithuania more than 14 years ago.
3.
VIRick | January 3, 2022 at 6:15 pm
South Carolina Man Convicted of Sodomy Sues over Sex Offender Status
A man in South Carolina who was convicted 20 years ago under the state’s anti-sodomy law filed a federal lawsuit on 22 December 2021, "Doe v. Wilson," challenging the now-invalid law’s requirement that made him register as a sex offender. The man, identified as John Doe in the suit, was found guilty in 2001 of having had consensual sex with another adult male, according to the ACLU of South Carolina. In the suit, Doe alleges that the requirement forcing him to register as a sex offender violates his Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process and equal protection under the law.
In 2003, the US Supreme Court found existing state anti-sodomy laws in the country unconstitutional. Before that decision in "Lawrence v. Texas," these laws were often used to persecute gay men with “buggery” laws that punished them with hefty penalties and time in jail. Those found guilty under South Carolina’s anti-sodomy law before 2003 had to register as sex offenders. While Doe’s conviction was pardoned in 2006, he remains on the sex offender registry.
“South Carolina, Mississippi, and Idaho are the last states in the country to require sex offender registration for pre-Lawrence sodomy convictions,” Allen Chaney, ACLU-SC’s legal director, said in a statement. “This practice needlessly subjects law abiding citizens to the horrors of the sex offender registry and demonstrates a deeply troubling animosity by the State toward the gay community.” Due to reciprocity laws, someone convicted of sodomy in one of those states is still required to register as a sex offender, even if they move to another state.
https://www.advocate.com/news/2022/1/03/south-car…
4.
VIRick | January 4, 2022 at 10:31 am
Morelos Has Legalized Gender Identity Via Self-Declaration
This is primarily a reminder notice to the Wikipedia editors that the page regarding LGBT Rights in the Americas needs further up-dating to complete 2021.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_the_…
Some months ago, the Morelos state congress passed the legislation allowing transgender individuals to self-declare their name/gender marker on official documents. All told, for 2021, there were 4 additional states in Mexico that did so: Baja California Sur, Estado de Mexico, Morelos, and Puebla.
However, Morelos is still missing from the Gender Identity listing. See reference #10 here:
https://agenciapresentes.org/2021/12/30/2021-las-…
At the same time and on the same page, in the Marriage Equality listing, the most-recent state, Guanajuato, is also still missing. Again, see #9 in the same reference (but ignore the claim for Yucatán, as they are not yet finished). All told, in 2021, there were 6 states in Mexico that approved marriage equality, with Guanajuato having just done so by governmental decree on 20 December 2021. Originally, on 3 November 2017, so did Baja California. But earlier in 2021, Baja California then also did so both by law and by state constitutional amendment. Thus, there are actually only 5 new, additional states with marriage equality first enacted or decreed in 2021: Sinaloa, Sonora, Querétaro, Zacatecas, and Guanajuato.
5.
VIRick | January 4, 2022 at 2:36 pm
Israel: Surrogacy Regulations Expanded to Include Same-Sex Couples
Per LGBT Marriage News:
On Tuesday, 4 January 2022, Israel's health minister said that same-sex couples will be able to have children through surrogate mothers in Israel, starting from 11 January, following a Supreme Court decision made last year.
In July 2021, the Israeli court annulled parts of a surrogacy law that had prevented gay couples from having children through a surrogate. That move came after the court ruled in 2020 that the law, which had expanded access to single women but excluded gay couples, “disproportionately harmed the right to equality and the right to parenthood” and was unlawful. At that time, it gave the government of then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a year to draw up a new law, but parliament failed to meet the deadline.
Thus, in the July 2021 ruling, the court said that the change in the law would now take effect in six months, that is, from 11 January 2022, in order to allow for the formation of professional guidelines.
“Full equality. That is the simple demand and it is the goal of the LGBT struggle, the long struggle of my community,” said Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, who is openly gay. “Equality before the law and equality of parenthood.” Horowitz said the change in the law would also expand surrogacy to include single men and transgender people.
Under the previous regulations, Israeli same-sex couples looking to become parents could not engage a surrogate within Israel, and were often deterred by the additional costs of finding one abroad.
https://www.westport-news.com/news/article/Israel…
6.
VIRick | January 4, 2022 at 3:45 pm
Venezuela: After a 5-Year Wait, TSJ Finally Accepts an LGBT Military Law Case
Per LGBT Marriage News:
El 26 de noviembre de 2021, la Sala Constitucional del Tribunal Supremo de Justicia admite demanda contra un artículo de la ley militar que penaliza la homosexualidad. El TSJ admitió la competencia de la demanda interpuesta por Venezuela Igualitaria. Sin embargo, aún falta esperar si decide anular el artículo.
Luego de cinco años, el TSJ admitió una demanda de nulidad contra un artículo del Código Orgánico de Justicia Militar (COJM) que condena como delito las relaciones (sexuales) entre personas del mismo sexo si alguno de los que participe sea un miembro activo de la Fuerza Armada venezolana.
https://eldiario.com/2021/12/11/derechos-lgtbi-ts…
On 26 November 2021, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice accepted a lawsuit against an article of military law that criminalizes homosexuality. The TSJ admitted the jurisdiction of the lawsuit filed by Venezuela Igualitaria. However, we still need to await whether it is decided to annul the article.
After five years, the Supreme Court admitted a request for annulment against an article of the Organic Code of Military Justice (COJM) that condemns as a crime the (sexual) relations between persons of the same sex if anyone who participates is an active-duty member of the Venezuelan Armed Forces.
There must be 5 or 6 separate LGBT lawsuits already filed with the TSJ, with the oldest dating back to 2014. All have now been accepted, but none have yet to be ruled upon.
Typically, in Latin America, if the Justices can not agree on a ruling, the matter simply sits there and waits,– and waits and waits. No doubt, too, the TSJ has been further distracted by the spiraling dysfunctional chaos that has engulfed Venezuela during the last number of years, as the overall situation there continues to deteriorate, while millions of its citizens continue to flee.
7.
ianbirmingham | January 4, 2022 at 5:10 pm
Israeli same-sex couples, trans, single fathers approved for surrogacy
https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/parenti…
8.
VIRick | January 5, 2022 at 3:22 pm
Taiwan: First Same-Sex Couple to Legally Adopt
Per LGBT Marriage News:
On 4 January 2022, a Taiwan court has ruled that a gay man can legally adopt his spouse's adopted daughter.
Although same-sex marriage became legal in Taiwan in May 2019, there are still some differences in terms of adoption rights. According to current adoption regulations, any individual can adopt a child who is not biologically related to them, but a married same-sex couple cannot. Instead, a spouse in a same-sex marriage can only adopt the biological child of their partner, not an adopted child.
In the instant case, one individual in the couple adopted the girl when he was still single. He then married his same-sex partner. The couple subsequently sued to allow his spouse to also adopt the same child, and the court has now ruled in their favor. However, this ruling only applies to the litigants and does not set a legal precedent for future cases.
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4398800
9.
scream4ever | January 5, 2022 at 7:46 pm
A ruling in the plaintiffs' favor would effectively legalize same-sex marriage in American Samoa.
10.
ianbirmingham | January 6, 2022 at 5:00 pm
Germany appoints first 'commissioner for queer affairs'
For the first time in the country's history, Germany has appointed a commissioner for the acceptance of sexual and gender diversity. Green Party lawmaker Sven Lehmann will oversee a LGBTQ national action plan.
https://www.dw.com/en/lgbtq-rights-germany-appoin…
11.
VIRick | January 6, 2022 at 5:05 pm
Zacatecas Up-Date: An Atrocity, an Absurdity, and a Heavy Dose of Sarcasm
Today, 6 January 2022, officials said that a Mazda SUV filled with 10 bodies was left outside the office of a Mexican state governor in a public square lit up with Christmas tree and holiday decorations. David Monreal Ávila (Morena), governor of the central state of Zacatecas, said in a video filmed at the plaza that the car contained bodies of people with apparent signs of beating and bruising (apparently, the result of one gang attempting to wipe out a rival).
"They came to leave them here in front of the palace," he said, referring to his offices in a centuries-old building at the Plaza de Armas in the state capital, Ciudad Zacatecas.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ten-bodies-l…
The Zacatecas State Congress passed marriage equality legislation on 14 December 2021, legislation that is still pending publication in the official state gazette before it can come into statewide effect. Today, in an absolutely absurd, tone-deaf message, ranting against dreadful societal consequences, the diocese of Zacatecas issued a statement condemning the passage of the marriage equality legislation, while remaining perfectly silent about the other event, the actual atrocity, that had just transpired.
Per Arturo López:
Hoy la Diocesis de Zacatecas NO sacó comunicado de la violencia en Zacatecas. Claro para ellos, afecta más a la sociedad el matrimonio igualitario.
https://twitter.com/ArturoLpez/status/14791920181…
Today, the Diocese of Zacatecas did NOT release a statement concerning the violence in Zacatecas. Clearly for them, marriage equality affects society more.
12.
ianbirmingham | January 7, 2022 at 1:44 am
Father and son who posted on social media about 'being one of the first ones inside' during the January 6 Capitol insurrection plead guilty to felony charges
The father-son pair joins over 725 people arrested and charged with crimes related to the January 6 insurrection, 165 of whom have pleaded guilty. Twenty-two individuals have pleaded guilty to felony charges.
https://www.businessinsider.com/jan-6-capitol-rio…
13.
ianbirmingham | January 7, 2022 at 1:49 am
10th Circuit decision reversing lower court's ruling here:
https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/sites/ca10/files/op…
10th Circuit decision denying en banc review (with 'lengthy and scholarly dissent') here:
https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/sites/ca10/files/op…
14.
VIRick | January 7, 2022 at 1:35 pm
South Korea: Same Sex Couple Loses Suit against State Health Insurer
Per LGBT Marriage News:
On Friday, 7 January 2022, a Seoul court ruled against a same sex couple demanding the same spousal health insurance coverage as heterosexual couples, saying marriage in South Korea is still considered a union between a man and a woman. In February 2021, So Seong-wook filed the administrative lawsuit against the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) after the agency canceled So's coverage under the insurance program of his male partner's employer.
"The union of a man and a woman is still understood as the core element of marriage based on existing civic law, Supreme Court, and Constitutional Court ruling precedent," the Seoul Administrative Court said in the ruling. It said there was no legal grounds to expand the concept of marriage to that of homosexual unions. The court also said it did not find the NHIS in violation of the principle of equality under the Constitution, saying the union of a man and a woman and that of homosexuals "fundamentally cannot be seen as equal."
According to So, in February 2020, the NHIS first granted him coverage under Kim's employer-based health insurance program as a dependent, but later reversed the decision, citing their same-sex marriage. So claimed that he and his partner were discriminated against, as the NHIS grants spousal coverage to common-law partners.
By law, South Korea does not legally recognize same-sex marriages. So and his partner said they will appeal the ruling.
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=2022010700…
15.
VIRick | January 8, 2022 at 4:08 pm
Poland: A Warsaw Symbol Is Illuminated in Rainbow Colors
Per Enrique Tena (TV reporter from Valencia, Spain, in Warsaw):
El 8 de enero 2022, durante un par de minutos, el Palacio de Cultura de Varsovia, símbolo del comunismo, se ha iluminado con la bandera LGTBI, una imagen que NO representa este país. Aún falta mucho por hacer. Por cierto, pronto.
https://twitter.com/EnriqueTenaTV/status/14799382…
On 8 January 2022, for a short interval, the Warsaw Palace of Culture, the symbol of communism, has been illuminated with the LGTBI colors, an image that does NOT represent this country. It still needs much work to be done. For certain, soon.
16.
VIRick | January 10, 2022 at 9:17 am
Canada: Law Banning "Conversion Therapy" Now In Effect
The law that bans so-called "conversion therapy" in Canada took effect from 7 January 2022. Canadian lawmakers late last year approved the law that amended the country’s Criminal Code. Said law took effect 30 days after it had received the Royal Assent on 8 December.
“As of today, it’s official: Conversion therapy is banned in Canada,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a 7 January tweet. “Our government’s legislation has come into force — which means it is now illegal to promote, advertise, benefit from, or subject someone to this hateful and harmful practice. LGBTQ2 rights are human rights.”
https://www.washingtonblade.com/2022/01/10/law-ba…
17.
VIRick | January 10, 2022 at 3:16 pm
New Jersey: Governor Signs Bill Enshrining Marriage Equality into State Law
Per Office of the Governor:
Today, 10 January 2022, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law S3416, which codifies marriage equality in New Jersey law by providing that all laws concerning marriage and civil unions are to be read with gender neutral intent. (Until now,) marriage equality currently exists in New Jersey based on state and federal court decisions. This new law demonstrates the Governor and Legislature’s commitment to protecting marriage equality by codifying it into New Jersey law.
“Despite the progress we have made as a country, there is still much work to be done to protect the LGBTQ community from intolerance and injustice. New Jersey is stronger and fairer when every member of our LGBTQ family is valued and given equal protection under the law,” said Governor Murphy. “I am honored to sign legislation that represents our New Jersey values and codifies marriage equality into state law.”
This legislation brings New Jersey statutory law into conformance with the 2013 New Jersey state court decision in "Garden State Equality v. Dow," as well as with the 2015 US Supreme Court decision in "Obergefell v. Hodges," which held that same-sex marriage is a fundamental right and that all states are required to allow same-sex couples to marry. Enacting S3416 into law ensures that the right to same-sex marriage will continue to exist in New Jersey even if these state and federal court precedents were to be overturned.
https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/562022/2022…
Over half of the states in the USA need to follow New Jersey's lead on this matter, and do the same by enacting the intent of the "Obergefell" decision into state law.