Lambda Legal

Iowa ended a four-year decline in the number of couples getting married last year - and experts say the turnaround could have been aided in part by an April 2009 court ruling that legalized marriage equality.

Susan Stewart, associate professor of sociology at Iowa State University, said marriage rates nationally “have never been lower” so there’s a good chance the new phenomenon of same-sex marriages weighs into Iowa’s increase. “It would seem like a big coincidence if the same-sex couples getting married weren’t part of this,” she said.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Louisiana Registrar of Vital Statistics must respect a New York adoption by a same-sex couple of a Louisiana-born baby boy.

The three-member panel voted unanimously to uphold a lower court ruling in favor of Lambda Legal clients Oren Adar and Mickey Ray Smith. Adar and Smith are a gay couple who adopted their Louisiana-born son in 2006 in New York, where a judge issued an adoption decree.

Despite Governor Paterson’s support - the New York State Senate denied marriage equality with a vote of 24 to 38.

From Family Equality Council Blog:

Statement of Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director, Family Equality Council:

The Oceanside, CA lesbian whose doctors denied her infertility treatment based on her sexual orientation has reached a settlement with her former physicians in her historic lawsuit against them.

U.S. Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) Jared Polis (D-CO), along with John Lewis (D-GA) and Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) introduced the 'Respect for Marriage Act', a measure that would repeal the 'Defense of Marriage Act' (DOMA).

Community leaders were at a Capitol Hill press conference announcing the introduction of the bill.

Janice Langbehn made national news two years ago when she wasn’t allowed to be with her dying partner of 18 years, Lisa Pond, at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital. Lambda Legal later sued JMH on behalf of Langbehn and the couple’s children.

The AP reports that Michigan courts can oversee a custody dispute between lesbian parents who adopted in Illinois even though Michigan doesn't formally recognize gay relationships.

The court ruled 2-1 that the U.S. Constitution requires Michigan courts to recognize Diane Giancaspro and Lisa Congleton as adoptive parents. It reversed a trial judge who said Michigan's 2004 voter-approved gay marriage ban kept her from enforcing the women's parental rights.