Defense of Marriage Act

“The bill does two things,” says Colorado State Senator Pat Steadman. “It changes last year’s civil unions law to remove the prohibition against civil union partners filling joint returns… And it removes language from the state income tax law that talks about married couples or makes reference to husbands and wives. Basically, it makes the language gender neutral.”

The Texas National Guard will immediately begin letting same-sex couples register for benefits after the Defense Department approved a new procedure for enrolling National Guard members and their dependents for benefits.

A California school district settled a discrimination suit against a transgender student. The agreement ensures the school will take positive steps to guarantee equality for all transgender students.

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.

Uruguayan lawmakers have voted to legalize gay marriage, making the South American country the third in the Americas to do so.

Captain Phelps will marry Schock in May in Seattle, Washington and he will subsequently be transferred to Japan this summer for a minimum of two years. But because of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Schock will not be allowed to join him on base.

Tuesday, Illinois Republican Mark Kirk became the 50th U.S. Senator to support marriage for same-sex couples. Sen. Kirk is the second sitting Republican Senator to support the freedom to marry, following Ohio Republican Rob Portman's announcement last month.

A lesbian couple seeking marriage equality will have to wait a little longer for the judge to issue an opinion in their case until after the SCOTUS DOMA cases.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced Monday that same-sex spouses of active members of the military will begin receiving protections that were previously denied to them. Panetta noted that the Pentagon was doing what it could, within the constraints imposed by the discriminatory so-called Defense of Marriage Act.

House Republicans authorized the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group Wednesday night to continue paying outside counsel to defend the so-called Defense of Marriage Act DOMA, which discriminates against legally married same-sex couples.