Gay partners of New York state government workers married in Canada are entitled to the same public pension benefits as married heterosexuals, state Comptroller Alan Hevesi has determined in a landmark ruling. The decision touched off an immediate furor among conservative groups. Hevesi, a Democrat, issued the ruling after receiving a letter last month from Mark Daigneault, a state Insurance Department employee, who asked how getting married in Canada would affect retirement benefits for him, his male partner, and their two adopted children. Hevesi said a 1980 ruling by the state's highest court, coupled with an advisory opinion issued in March 2004 by state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, dictates that validly performed marriages of same-sex couples in Canada must be recognized as valid for retirement benefit purposes in New York.
Singer Barry Manilow said that he's sorry he offended some gay people and others in the audience during his Oct. 7 concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. As he was introducing a love-song duet he was about to sing with a male star of his upcoming Broadway musical about a 1930s German boy band, Manilow said, 'Of course, we're not going to sing it to each other—that would be creepy.' Manilow has never discussed his sexual orientation publicly, or been outed as gay.
A man convicted of kidnapping and killing a gay man 11 years ago was executed in Huntsville, Texas, after apologizing to his victim's family and his own. Donald Aldrich, who had admitted the kidnapping but denied taking part in the murder, was considered the leader of a gang that preyed on gay men.
PlanetOut Inc. made history by becoming the first gay-directed business to trade its stock on a major exchange. The company made an initial public stock offering of 4.65 million shares on NASDAQ. They adopted 'LGBT' as their ticker symbol.
Ohio governor Bob Taft has joined some fellow Republican elected officials in opposing a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and benefits for unmarried couples. Calling it unnecessary, overly broad, and potentially harmful to the state's economy, Taft said Ohio is already protected against recognizing gay marriages performed anywhere in the country.
Georgia voters soon will be getting conflicting advice in the mail and online about how to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The League of Women Voters will urge a vote against the measure, arguing that the summary language which voters will see on the ballot presents an incomplete picture of what the measure actually would do. The Christian Coalition will urge the amendment's passage.
Also in Georgia, the state's attorney general's office has filed court papers asking the state Supreme Court not to stop a Nov. 2 vote on gay marriage. The state filed a brief in response to an appeal filed by the Georgia American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and Atlanta law firm of Alston and Bird. That appeal was in response to a lower court's ruling that refused to stop the statewide vote.
A legal fight over the recently passed constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage and civil unions in Louisiana has been sent to the state Supreme Court. A five-judge panel of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal heard arguments in the case, but sent the case to the high court without ruling on any issues. The previous week, State District Judge William Morvant ruled that the legislature's approval of the amendment was constitutionally flawed and the statewide vote on it should be set aside. The Louisiana Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for Dec. 1.
An Ohio appeals court unanimously ruled that lesbian and gay couples must be allowed to protect their relationships with children they are raising together. The case involved Cheryl and Jennifer McKetrick who were denied a shared custody agreement for their child, 'Baby J,' by a Warren County court last year.
The lone political issue committee campaigning against Kentucky's constitutional amendment No. 1, which would ban same-sex marriages and civil unions, raised three times as much money as the five groups campaigning for the amendment combined. Kentucky Families for Fairness, also known as No on the Amendment, raised $326,000 in cash and other contributions between May 1 and Oct. 1. The anti-gays raised $103,000.
The Log Cabin Republicans sued in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, asking for an injunction that would prevent the Pentagon from enforcing 'don't ask, don't tell'. The suit names the U.S. and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld as defendants.
The bishops of Michigan's four Episcopal dioceses are speaking out against Proposal 2, a measure aimed at changing the state constitution to ban gay marriage.
The candidates for Colorado's tightly contested open Senate seat, beer heir Peter Coors and state attorney general Ken Salazar, have clashed over same-sex marriage. Salazar has criticized Coors for being inconsistent in opposing gay marriages and adoption while his company offers benefits to gay couples.
About 100 supporters joined a lunchtime crowd in Atlanta as the Indigo Girls joined the debate over a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in the state. The folk rock duo urged voters to reject an effort to add a same-sex marriage ban to the state constitution.
An anti-polygamy group came out in opposition Monday to Utah's gay marriage amendment, saying polygamists could use it to avoid prosecution. Opponents of the amendment argue it could endanger Utah's common-law marriage statute and say it makes it impossible for a couple to visit each other in the hospital, throws into question automatic inheritance benefits, and invalidates health insurance benefits.
Supporters of gay marriage pleaded and sang out for equal rights in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 11. Washington was the final stop for the eight-day bus tour, organized by Marriage Equality California, that traveled from Oakland, Calif., stopping in 10 cities. About 200 people gathered for the D.C. rally.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg filed suit to block a new law that would force contractors who do business with the city to offer domestic-partner benefits to their employees. Bloomberg believes companies would leave the city if the law took effect.
Two high-level officials with the Republican National Committee acknowledged they are gay after becoming the latest GOP targets in an outing campaign by D.C. gay activist Michael Rogers. The Washington Blade reports that Jay Banning, the RNC's chief financial officer and director of administration, and Daniel Gurley, the RNC's national field director and deputy political director, each confirmed they are gay in telephone conversations that Rogers recorded. See Blogactive.com .
Tens of thousands of conservative Christians gathered in Washington, D.C., for a demonstration against same-sex marriage that doubled as a rally to turn out conservative Christian voters on Election Day.
The ACLU and Lambda Legal filed their opening trial brief in federal court urging the court to strike down a Nebraska constitutional amendment that bars the state and cities from ever granting any type of legal recognition for same-sex couples.
New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey made his first appearances at gay events since publicly acknowledging he is 'a gay American.' He was at the annual Empire State Pride Agenda dinner and the Human Rights Campaign national dinner in D.C.
