Social Security

Washington's newly passed Domestic Partnership law went into effect July 23, 2007, and couples lined up by the dozens to register their relationships.

The registry offers some legal standing for same-sex and straight couples.

CONTINUED FROM A PREVIOUS STORY

A landmark gay rights bill passed by Colombia's Congress last week was thrown out when a group of senators used a procedural vote to change their minds.

The bill, backed by President Alvaro Uribe but opposed by the Roman Catholic Church, would grant gay couples living together for more than two years the same social security and estate inheritance guarantees as heterosexuals in common-law marriages.

It would have been the first nationwide law of its kind in Latin America.

A few months ago, a Washington state family with two moms was living a great life.

But after nearly 18 years together, one was stricken with a brain aneurysm and died. The family says the way they were treated by a Miami hospital compounded their shock and grief.