In New Jersey, an appeals court began hearing arguments in a case in which the appellants want same-sex marriage legalized, KYW.com reported. The Appellate Division is likely to be just a legal stop for the case on the way to New Jersey's Supreme Court. The state Attorney General's Office supported moving the case directly to the Supreme Court, but the justices said in October that they wanted the appeals court to hear it first. The state's argument against the gay couples has been that the state constitution does not allow gay and lesbian unions and that the issue should be taken up with the legislature, which can change the law. A Superior Court judge agreed with the state last year and threw out the lawsuit. This latest hearing is an appeal of that ruling.
In Wisconsin, more than 150 religious leaders met to discuss a proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman—and how to fight its passage, the Associated Press reported. Religious leaders and activists on both sides of the issue are organizing to have a role in the coming debate as Wisconsin lawmakers consider amending the state constitution to ban same-sex marriages. Religious leaders say it is almost impossible to separate religion from the issue of marriage, since most marriages are based on an exchange of religious vows and religious leaders become agents of the government when they perform wedding ceremonies.
The Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) denounced the decision to strip domestic-partner benefits from state workers' contracts in Michigan due to the passage of Proposal 2, an amendment to the constitution that denies marriage to same-sex couples. In a press release, HRC National Field Director Seth Kilbourn said that Michigan residents 'did not vote to take healthcare away from their neighbors. We're deeply disappointed about this decision.' Gov. Jennifer Granholm's office will strip the benefits due to the passage of this amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman and banning 'similar unions for any purpose.'
The Michigan Federation of Teachers & School Related Personnel ( MFT&SRP ) , in a press release, joined the United Auto Workers in their efforts to preserve the domestic-partner language in their negotiated contract for their state employee members. 'As similar language appears in several of our locals' contracts, we feel strongly that healthcare benefits for all our members, their partners, and families is a priority,' said MFT&SRP President David Hecker.
In California, a lawsuit filed against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services alleges the agency discriminated against a Filipino couple when it denied the husband's legal residency because his wife had a sex-change operation nearly 24 years ago, reported the Associated Press. Jiffy Javenella, 27, entered the country as a legal resident in 2001 as Donita Ganzon's fiance and applied for permanent resident status after marrying Ganzon later that year. However, during interviews with immigration agents earlier this year, Ganzon, 58, revealed that she had undergone a male-to-female sex change operation in 1981.
Attorneys for a woman seeking to nullify her former lesbian partner's adoption of her daughter have submitted the case to the Texas Supreme Court, the Galveston County Daily News reported. The case appears to pit two portions of the state's family law code against each other. One provision requires an adoptive parent of a child with another custodial parent to be a stepparent of the child, which is only possible through marriage, which is illegal for gay and lesbian couples. Under the apparently conflicting part of the law, the deadline to challenge the adoption passed more than two years ago. Julie Hobbs and Kathleen Van Stavern were living together as a couple when Hobbs was artificially inseminated and gave birth in 1998. Three years later, Van Stavern successfully adopted the child. Family Court Judge Jan Yarbrough's ruling upheld the parental rights of Van Stavern, who is seeking joint custody of the child.
Many American youngsters participating in federally funded abstinence-only programs have been taught erroneous items over the past three years, according to the Washington Post. A congressional staff analysis has found that among the wrong lessons taught are that abortion can lead to sterility and suicide; that half the gay male teenagers in the U.S. have tested positive for HIV; and that touching a person's genitals 'can result in pregnancy.' In providing nearly $170 million next year to fund groups that teach abstinence only, the Bush administration, with backing from the mostly Republican Congress, is investing in a 'just say no' strategy for teenagers and sex. In a press release, Lambda Legal announced that it is launching an investigation into the education programs because they may be violating state medical accuracy laws. In a statement, Human Rights Campaign political director Winnie Stachelberg said that ' [ t ] hese programs fail to deliver young people life-saving prevention education. It's shameful that tax dollars are being spent to dangerously mislead our adolescents.'
The Louisiana Supreme Court must decide if Baton Rouge Judge William Morvant overstepped his authority in October when he ruled that the 'Defense of Marriage' Amendment put to voters was too broad and violated a provision that a constitutional amendment have only one purpose, NOLA.com reported. Morvant concluded that the amendment not only defines legal marriage as the union of a man and a woman but also prevents the state from recognizing 'a legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for any unmarried individuals,' which would be two different purposes. Before the Supreme Court, attorneys for the gay-rights group Forum for Equality said that allowing the amendment to stand would imperil the ability of gay couples to jointly own property, pass their estates on to each other, or designate a partner to make life-and-death decisions in emergencies.
