The Seattle Lesbian Posts

Despite a previous ruling from the Iowa Supreme Court, the Iowa Department of Public Health is still refusing to immediately issue accurate birth certificates for all children born to married lesbian parents. Same-sex married couples are being told by the Iowa Department of Public Health that they must follow an affidavit process and obtain certified copies of their marriage license before accurate birth certificates can be issued. These requirements do not apply to non-gay Iowa families.

In an effort to provide up-to-date information and guidance for same-sex couples and families in Washington State, and in response to the recent Supreme Court decisions surrounding marriage equality, McKinley Irvin, the leading Pacific Northwest family law firm, has published a Comprehensive Legal Guide to Same-Sex Marriage, Parenting and Divorce.

Two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Illinois filed papers asking the court for a swift end to the harm and indignity couples face without the freedom to marry — which now includes the inability to access many federal marriage benefits.

Lambda Legal, alongside the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), announced yesterday that it is in the planning stages of a new federal lawsuit seeking the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in Virginia.

An estimated 36,000 bi-national LGBT couples were forced to live in fear because DOMA prohibited them from sponsoring their spouses for green cards. After the Supreme Court's marriage equality rulings however, the mechanisms are in place to extend this American right to all couples.

"Many of our families have waited years, and in some cases decades, for the green card they need to keep their families together. Couples forced into exile will be coming home soon. Americans separated from their spouses are now able to prepare for their reunion."

In a day full of both celebration and contemplation, President Obama released a statement applauding the Supreme Court's decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act, in one of the day's two monumental rulings for marriage equality.

As the 15th anniversary of the murder of Matthew Shepard approaches, the American Bar Association is looking into a resolution that will ban the so-called Gay and Trans Panic Defense that first came to national light after its use in the Shepard case. The tactic explains and excuses the defense's crimes by blaming a perpetrator's violence on the victim's sexuality.

At the close of its legislative session, the Illinois House did not call for a floor vote or advance The Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act. While the momentum for marriage equality gains national steam, there are still local setbacks.

Over three-quarters of Americans say religion is losing its influence on American life, while 20 percent say religion’s influence is increasing. These represent Americans’ most negative evaluations of the impact of religion since 1970, although similar to the views measured in recent years. What does it all mean though?

Even though the Morgans were legally married in New Hampshire, the so-called Defense of Marriage Act doesn’t allow the military to recognize their marriage. Now, in the wake of her family’s loss, Karen Morgan faces financial uncertainty amid her grief, because she is not eligible for survivorship benefits she needs to care for their five-year-old daughter.