AUSTRALIA
In a setback to gay marriage rights, Australian Supreme Court, heeding to the appeal from the federal government, on December 11, 2013 annulled all the marriages accorded to gay couples since December 7, 2013 in the Australian Capital Territory and surrounding areas. The federal government opposed the gay marriage law in the Australian Capital Territory on the ground that the similar laws were absent in other parts of country.
In a setback to gay marriage rights, Australian Supreme Court, heeding to the appeal from the federal government, on December 11, 2013 annulled all the marriages accorded to gay couples since December 7, 2013 in the Australian Capital Territory and surrounding areas. The federal government opposed the gay marriage law in the Australian Capital Territory on the ground that the similar laws were absent in other parts of country.
CHILI
First Gay Marriage in Chile
The first ever gay marriage happened on March 10, 2022 as two men formally wedded under a Chilean law allowing the same-sex marriage after years of fighting for the quest of marriage equality.
COLOMBIA
Same-Sex Marriage Legalized in Colombia
Colombia's highest court on April 28, 2016 paved the way for legalization of gay marriage, helping the nation join other Latin American nations such as Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay in legalizing the same-sex marriage.
COLOMBIA
Same-Sex Marriage Legalized in Colombia
Colombia's highest court on April 28, 2016 paved the way for legalization of gay marriage, helping the nation join other Latin American nations such as Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay in legalizing the same-sex marriage.
GREECE
Greece to Legalize Same-sex Civil Marriage
In a leap for marriage equality, Greek parliament on February 15, 2024 approved a bill pushed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that would legalize the same-sex civil marriage, making Greece the first Orthodox Christian nation and 16th European country to do so. The cross-party support helped the bill to receive 176 votes in the 300-member parliament.
GUATEMALA
Guatemala Ups Its Ante against Abortion, Gay Marriage
Breaking from the trend in Latin America, Guatemala increased punishment on women who would seek abortion as well as prohibited the same-sex marriage. Guatemalan Congress on late March 8, 2022 passed the "Protection of Life and Family" law that would increase jail term to a maximum of 10 years, up from the current maximum of 3 years. Abortion is now legal in Guatemala only when mother's life is at stake. The law also prohibits the same-sex marriage, which is anyway illegal in Guatemala now. The law bars schools from teaching any content that deviates from traditional definition of "identity according to the birth gender". Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on March 9, 2022 said that the law "is an invitation to unite as Guatemalans to protect life from conception".
ITALY
International Surrogacy Banned by Italy
It was a precision strike by the conservative and right-wing groups against gay couples. The chief enabler of this institutional discrimination was Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. Domestic surrogacy in Italy is already banned. Now is the turn of the international surrogacy, hitherto legal in Italy that has helped Italian couples, including many gay couples, enjoy the flavor of a full family. Thanks to the current regime's anti-LGBTQ policy, Italian gay couples are now banned to have children through international surrogacy. On October 16, 2024, Italian Senate voted 84-58 to this effect. Lower house passed the measure in 2023.
LUXEMBOURG
Lawmakers in Luxembourg on June 18, 2014 overwhelmingly approved a measure to legalize gay marriage and allow homosexual couples to adopt children. Luxembourg already has been receptive to gay marriage and its premier is openly gay. The law, passed by 56-4 vote, will make a significant rewrite to a 1804 law that dictates the legal framework of marriage.
Premier Marries his Partner
Nearly eleven months after same-sex marriage was legalized, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel tied the knots with his Belgian partner Gauthier Destany on May 15, 2015.
MEXICO
Mexican Supreme Court Ruling Paves the Way for Gay Marriage to Become Legal
Mexican Supreme Court on January 26, 2016 struck down the language in Jalisco state constitution that defined marriage as between a man and a woman, making the state fourth jurisdictions to allow gay marriage. In 2015, Supreme Court ruled that Mexican states couldn't bar gay marriage, and afterward, Mexico City and two other states, Coahuila and Quintana Roo, legalized gay marriage.
Mexican President Backs Gay Marriage
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on May 17, 2016 submitted to Congress a proposal to legalize gay marriage so that a patchwork of local laws on gay marriage would be replaced by a uniform nationwide law. If passed and signed into law, Mexico will join other notable South American nations such as Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil to allow same-sex marriage. Ecuador has approved civil unions, and Colombia grants all the benefits to same-sex couples.
LUXEMBOURG
Lawmakers in Luxembourg on June 18, 2014 overwhelmingly approved a measure to legalize gay marriage and allow homosexual couples to adopt children. Luxembourg already has been receptive to gay marriage and its premier is openly gay. The law, passed by 56-4 vote, will make a significant rewrite to a 1804 law that dictates the legal framework of marriage.
Premier Marries his Partner
Nearly eleven months after same-sex marriage was legalized, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel tied the knots with his Belgian partner Gauthier Destany on May 15, 2015.
MEXICO
Mexican Supreme Court Ruling Paves the Way for Gay Marriage to Become Legal
Mexican Supreme Court on January 26, 2016 struck down the language in Jalisco state constitution that defined marriage as between a man and a woman, making the state fourth jurisdictions to allow gay marriage. In 2015, Supreme Court ruled that Mexican states couldn't bar gay marriage, and afterward, Mexico City and two other states, Coahuila and Quintana Roo, legalized gay marriage.
Mexican President Backs Gay Marriage
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on May 17, 2016 submitted to Congress a proposal to legalize gay marriage so that a patchwork of local laws on gay marriage would be replaced by a uniform nationwide law. If passed and signed into law, Mexico will join other notable South American nations such as Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil to allow same-sex marriage. Ecuador has approved civil unions, and Colombia grants all the benefits to same-sex couples.
NEPAL
Nepal’s First Gay Marriage a Landmark of Himalayan Nation
In a landmark accomplishment after a hard-fought journey of 23 years of
struggles, Nepal’s first gay marriage took place on November 30, 2023 as
Surendra Pandey and Maya Gurung registered their marriage at the
Dorje village council office.
NIGERIA
US Secretary of State John Kerry on January 13, 2014 took strong exception to a recently signed Nigerian law, Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, that criminalized same sex marriage or relationship or socializing or assembly with up to 14 years of imprisonment. The measure criticized by the west was signed by President Goodluck Jonathan on January 7, 2014.
PORTUGAL
Portugal's Parliament Approves Adoption of Same-Sex Couples
One of the first measures country's new Left wing coalition of Socialists, Communists and Left Bloc passed through the parliament was aimed at easing the adoption process for children by same-sex couples and for lesbians to obtain medically assisted fertilization. The measure was approved on November 20, 2015.
RUSSIA
Duma Passes Final Version of anti-LGBTQ Bill
The lower house of the Russian parliament, Duma, has passed a bill against any normalization effort for LGBTQ causes, expanding on what is already a stiff anti-LGBTQ law passed in 2013, according to the November 24, 2022, edition of The Washington Post.
SINGAPORE
Singapore to Repeal Gay Sex Ban Law
Singapore's prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, said on August 21, 2022 during a speech at the annual National Day Rally that the city-state would repeal a colonial-era law that criminalized gay sex. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong added that it was the "right thing to do now", but stressed that Singapore would continue to (a) honor the traditional definition of marriage as between a man and a woman, (b) scrutinize the content that could be taught at school, and (c) regulate TV shows. Section 377A of the Penal Code has been around since 1930s, but parliament has never repealed the British-era rule. In 2008, Singaporean parliament last debated on the law, and since then, it was an undeclared norm that authorities won't enforce the law. LGBTQ activists decried Singapore's laissez faire attitude toward Section 377A of the Penal Code. On August 21, 2022, at last, the city-state authorities acquiesced to the growing demand to abrogate the Section 377A of the Penal Code.
SLOVENIA
Slovenia Rejects Same-Sex Marriage
Slovenian voters on December 20, 2015 defeated a referendum to allow gay marriage by a wide margin. The lopsided margin of 63.5 percent vs. 36.5 percent was a surprise to many outside political analysts and political establishment in Ljubljana as the country's left-leaning parliament voted in March 2015 for marriage equality. However, a group formed under the auspices of "Children Are at Stake" launched a ferocious public relations campaign against the law, and gathered 40,000 signatures to force the measure into a referendum before it could take effect. In the run-up to the referendum, Catholic Church threw its gauntlet in favor of anti-gay marriage movement.
UGANDA
Another tragic turn of the events with respect to gay rights in Africa as Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni called the homosexuals as abnormal although he sent a letter to parliamentary speaker Helen Kawesa on January 17, 2014 explaining why he couldn't sign a recently passed law that aimed to punish people for homosexual behaviors.
President Museveni Signs the Tough Anti-Gay Bill
Defying the international appeal, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed a tough, anti-gay bill into law on February 24, 2014. The law calls for up to life in prison for gay sex.
A Judge Puts on Hold the Tough Anti-Gay Measure
A Kampala judge, Judge Stephen Kavuma, reading a verdict on behalf of a five-judge panel, said that the bench decided to put Anti-Homosexuality Act on hold because the act had been approved by parliament without quorum. However, the August 1, 2014, verdict by the court should not be seen as a victory for gay rights supporters in Uganda. Instead it was a more of a procedural move that would delay enforcing the law.
UNITED KINGDOM
On the international front, British government announced on December 10, 2013 that England and Wales would start gay marriage on March 29, 2014 after a landmark gay marriage law was passed by the parliament in July 2013.
USA
On June 26, 2013, the US Supreme Court issued pair of rulings that brought cheers to gay rights activists. The first one is related to Defense of Marriage Act of 1996, and the court in a 5-4 ruling (Kagan, Sotomayor, Kennedy, Ginsburg and Breyer forming the majoriy vs. Roberts, Scalia, Thomas and Alito dissenting) struck down DOMA. Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority, authored: "DOMA instructs all federal officials, and indeed all persons with whom same-sex couples interact, including their own children, that their marriage is less worthy than the marriages of the others". The ruling clearly found problems with DOMA that extends some family benefits to one set of couples while discriminates against another set of couples, thus violating the Fifth Amendment. Although the ruling didn't take any position on the legalization of same-sex marriage.
The second ruling is related to California's Proposition 8, and a 5-4 ruling (Kagan, Scalia, Roberts, Ginsburg and Breyer forming the majoriy vs. Kennedy, Sotomayor, Thomas and Alito dissenting) clearly stated that enforcement of Proposition 8 didn't fall under the responsibility of petitioners, thus freeing the state of California to start re-issuing marriage licenses and become the 13th state in the nation to make gay marriage legal. Responding to the Supreme Court's ruling in respect to Proposition 8 a day earlier, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on June 27, 2013 voided the ban on same-sex marriage in California, paving the way of re-starting the marriage of same-sex couples immediately in the state.
Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie on November 13, 2013 signed a bill into law that would make the state fifteenth in the nation to allow gay marriage.
November 18, 2013 marks a decade of progress in gay rights movement as ten years ago on this date--November 18, 2003--Massachusetts' highest court, Supreme Judicial Court, ruled that the ban on gay marriage was illegal. Since then, 38 percent of USA's population have come or are about to come under jurisdiction where gay marriage was made legal after the Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signs a landmark gay marriage bill on November 20, 2013 as planned. Excluding Illinois, 14 other states and District of Columbia allow gay marriage.
On December 19, 2013, New Mexico became the latest state to legalize the gay marriage as the state's supreme court found it illegal to deny marriage license to gay and lesbian couples. New Mexico joins the 16 other states and DC to recognize the same-sex marriage.
In a remarkable twist in gay marriage issue, nation's one of the most conservative states that is home to the Mormon Church became the eighteenth state (excluding DC) to allow gay marriage on December 20, 2013, and the Salt Lake County already started to issue the marriage license to gay couples. Earlier in the day, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby issued a 53-page ruling saying the constitutional amendment passed by the Utah voters in 2004 was unconstitutional as it violated the rights of gay couples to due process and contravened with the 14th Amendment. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican, was scrambling at the end of the day to appeal Judge Shelby's decision and stench the flow of gay marriages in the state.
On December 24, 2013, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a state petition asking the appellate body to issue an injunction on Judge Shelby's order as the case was meandering through the legal process. As of December 24, at least 700 gay couples obtained marriage license in Utah.
On December 31, 2013, Utah officials appealed the December 24, 2013, ruling of 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to the US Supreme Court.
On January 6, 2014, the US Supreme Court put a hold on the issuance of marriage certificate to the gay couples in Utah. However, country's apex court is mum on the status of about 1,000 gay couples who wed since a landmark ruling issued by the U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby on December 20, 2013 that stated the Utah ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional.
Interpreting the January 6, 2014, the US Supreme Court ruling also as a mandate to strike down the marriages between 1,000 or so gay couples, the administration of Utah Governor Gary Herbert on January 8, 2014 voided all the gay marriages took place in Utah since December 20, 2013.
The U.S. Justice Department weighed in Utah's gay marriage debate on January 10, 2014 as the AG Eric Holder said that the federal government would uphold the privilege of marriage such as joint tax returns of 1,000 or so married gay couples of the state.
In an evolving trend for the pro-gay rights groups, a federal judge on January 14, 2014 ruled that the gay marriage ban approved by voters of Oklahoma in 2004 was unconstitutional, second such verdict from a conservative state after Utah. The US District Judge Terrence Kern of Tulsa, ruling that the ban constituted "an arbitrary, irrational exclusion of just one class of Oklahoma citizens from a governmental benefit", however, put a hold gay marriage anytime soon as the case wound its way through the legal process.
Kentucky Judge Strikes down Parts of State's Gay Marriage Ban
In another swipe at the gay marriage ban in the so-called conservative states, another federal judge in Kentucky, U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II, a George H. W. Bush appointee, on February 12, 2014 struck down part of the gay marriage ban approved by Kentuckians in 2004, saying that it was unconstitutional for the state not to recognize the marriage performed by gay couples in states where such marriage was legal.
Virginia Judge Rules Same Sex Marriage Ban Illegal
A day after a federal judge ruled parts of Kentucky's ban on gay marriage illegal, a federal judge in Virginia, U.S. District Judge Andrea Wright Allen on February 13, 2014 ruled the state's ban on gay marriage illegal as it violates constitution's guarantee of equal protection. However, Judge Wright Allen stayed her order so that appeal process could go forward and gay marriages won't happen during the time of appeal process. At the beginning of her ruling, Judge Wright Allen cited the 1967 historic ruling, involving a Virginian, Mildred Loving, by the U.S. Supreme Court that found Virginia's ban on interracial marriage illegal.
Texas Judge Calls Anti-Gay Measures Illegal
In another shot in the arm of the gay rights movement, the U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia of San Antonio ruled on February 26, 2014 that a 2003 law not recognizing the gay marriage performed in other states and a 2005 voter approved measure to ban gay marriage were both unconstitutional. However, Judge Garcia kept his ruling abeyance to allow appeals process to go forward. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said that the state would appeal immediately. The ruling brought tears of joy to Plano residents Mark Phariss and Victor Holmes, who were seeking marriage license, and two Austin lesbian couples, Cleopatra De Leon and Nicole Dimetman, who were demanding that their out-of-state marriage be recognized.
Arizona Governor Vetoes Anti-Gay Measure
In what was a political brinkmanship and legislative disaster, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on February 26, 2014 vetoed the so-called Senate Bill 1062 that calls for allowing businesses to refuse services to gays based on their religious belief. The bill was one of a kind in the nation as it justified the discrimination of people based on sexual orientation and religious belief.
Michigan to Issue Same-Sex Marriage License
A federal judge, US District Judge Bernard Friedman, on March 21, 2014 struck down Michigan's law banning same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. However, the ruling issued by Friedman differed from recent rulings by other judges that he didn't put any hold on issuing marriage license for same-sex couples that would start as early as March 24, 2014. At present, 17 states and District of Columbia issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples.
An Appeals Court Put Hold on Lower Court Ruling in Michigan Case
A day after the US District Judge Bernard Friedman struck down the Michigan voter-approved ban on gay marriage, an appeals court, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, on March 22, 2014 put a temporary injunction through March 26, 2014 on the lower court order, but not before hundreds of same-sex couples already obtaining the marriage licenses and tying the nuptials.
Michigan not to Immediately Recognize the Same-Sex Marriages already Performed
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's office on March 23, 2014 said that it won't recognize dozens of same-sex marriages that took place after a federal judge struck a state ban on gay marriage and before an appeals court stepped in to put a hold on any new same-sex marriage.
Appeals Court Puts Hold on Same-Sex Marriages in Michigan
The Sixth U.S. Court of Appeals based in Cincinnati on March 25, 2014 made the temporary injunction on a Michigan judge's ruling to strike down the state's gay marriage ban, set to expire on March 26, effective through the hearing process.
Ohio Judge to Order Recognition of Gay Marriage Performed in Other States
A Ohio Judge said on April 4, 2014 that he would order the state to recognize the gay marriage performed in other states, partially overturning the state's ban on same-sex marriage. Judge Timothy Black will issue his ruling on April 14, 2014. As of April 4, 2014, 17 states and District of Columbia allow gay marriages.
Ohio Judge Orders State to Recognize Gay Marriages Performed in Other States
US District Judge Timothy Black issued his ruling on April 14, 2014, ordering Ohio to recognize the gay marriages performed legally in other states in a partial victory to "marriage equality".
Gay Marriage Arrives at Arkansas
On May 9, 2014, an Arkansas judge, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza, called a 10-year ban on gay marriage "an unconstitutional attempt to narrow the definition of equality". The ban was passed overwhelmingly in a 2004 referendum. The judge also overturned a 1997 state law that banned gay marriage. Since Judge Piazza didn't put his ruling on hold, first gay marriage in Arkansas took place on May 10, 2014. Arkansas became the 18th state to allow the gay marriage.
Arkansas appeals for Hold on Gay Marriage
On May 12, 2014, Arkansas Attorney-General Dustin McDaniel, who had recently expressed his personal support for gay marriage, filed papers with the state Supreme Court to restore the ban on gay marriage. Meanwhile, at least 200 gay couples tied the knots in handful of the state's 75 counties.
Arkansas's Highest Court Put Hold on Gay Marriage
Arkansas' apex court on May 16, 2014 halted the gay marriage after Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza overturned on May 9, 2014 a 2004 referendum that voters overwhelmingly approved to ban gay marriage and a 1997 state law that also banned gay marriage. On May 15, 2014, Judge Chris Piazza expanded his ruling to cover all state laws that had prevented gay marriages.
Oregon Judge Overturns Same-sex Mrriage Ban
A federal judge in Oregon on May 19, 2014 tossed out the state's ban on gay marriage, thus likely making it the eighteenth state in the nation where same-sex couple may marry legally.
Judge Overturns Pennsylvania's Ban on Same-Sex Marriage
U.S. District Judge John Jones II on May 20, 2014 ruled a 1996 law passed by Pennsylvania's lawmakers banning same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. Many gay couples rushed to obtain the marriage license in the aftermath of the judge's ruling as Jodge Jones II didn't put any hold on gay marriage pending a likely appeal by Republican Governor Tom Corbett.
Pennsylvanian Governor not to Pursue Legal Route to Stop Gay Marriage
A pragmatic Republican Governor Tom Corbett on May 21, 2014 called it quits from further pursuing legal proceedings to block U.S. District Judge John Jones II 's ruling to toss out the same-sex marriage ban.
Same-Sex Couples Rush to Marry after a Judge Overturns Wisconsin's Gay Marriage Ban
Hours after the U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb overturned the Wisconsin's ban on gay marriage on June 6, 2014, same-sex couples rushed to the courthouses in Milwaukee and Madison counties to get marriage licenses as the state's AG, J.B. Van Hollen, planned to appeal Judge Crabb's ruling and request to put a hold on gay marriage while the appeal process would meander though the legal proceeding.
An Indiana Judge Strikes down Gay Marriage Ban
On June 25, 2014, U.S. District Judge Richard Young ruled that the state ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional, handing out another victory to gay rights movement. Indiana became the latest state to symbolize successful legal challenge to the same-sex marriage ban.
Appeals Court Rejects Utah's Case against A Lower Court Ruling Striking Down Same Sex Marriage Ban
In the first such involvement by an appeals court, a three-member panel of 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on June 25, 2104 by a 2-1 verdict that same-sex marriage ban in Utah was unconstitutional. The appeals court had jurisdiction over Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming, Oklahoma and New Mexico. However, Denver-based appellate court held its ruling on hold.
Appeals Court Tosses out Oklahoma Gay Marriage Ban
Nearly a month after the 10th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Denver issued a ruling upholding a lower court ruling against Utah's ban on gay marriage, the same appeals court by 2-1 majority on July 18, 2014 upheld the ruling of the US District Judge Terrence Kern of Tulsa that had overturned a 2004 voter-approved ban on gay marriage in Oklahoma.
A Federal Judge Tosses Out Colorado Gay Marriage Ban
A Denver-based federal judge, U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore, on July 23 called Colorado's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional, but put his ruling on hold pending appeals.
A Federal Judge in Florida Tosses out Gay Marriage Ban
US District Judge Robert L. Hinkle on August 21, 2014 sided with state's four counties--Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach--where local judges had already tossed out the ban on gay marriages. According to Judge Hinkle of Tallahassee, the ban added to the state constitution in 2008 violated the Fourteenth Amendment of equal protection and due process. However, Judge Hinkle stayed his ruling pending appeals.
First Court Reversal in Gay Marriage Rulings
After a streak of wins, gay marriage supporters received their first jolt in Louisiana on September 3, 2014 as a federal judge, U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman, ruled that the ban on gay marriage and recognition of the gay marriage that took place in other states was not unconstitutional as marriage pertained to a state issue.
Federal Appeals Court Throws out Gay Marriage Ban in Indiana and Wisconsin
The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago on September 4, 2014 issued a 40-page ruling tossing out the gay marriage ban in Indiana and Wisconsin. On the day of this historic ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, 32 states, including 15 states where the gay marriage is legal, have filed a brief requesting the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in the issue.
Gay Marriage Ban in Missouri Partly Tossed out
A county judge in Missouri on October 3, 2014 ruled that state must recognize the marriage between gays performed in other states. Jackson County Circuit Judge J. Dale Youngs also called the state's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional.
U.S. Supreme Court Gives its Implicit Blessing to Gay Marriage
By turning down the challenge to a federal appeals court ruling tossing out gay marriage ban in five states--Utah, Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin and Oklahoma--country's apex court on October 6, 2014 might have taken a far-fetching action that would be hard to reverse in future. The U.S. Supreme Court's action, rather inaction to take the case in its docket, immediately made gay marriage legal in 24 states and District of Columbia. However, it's impact was beyond these 24 states and would make it possible for gays to wed in six other states--Colorado, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming--that fall under the purview of the same federal appeals court, 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Gay Marriage Supporters Score Victories in Two Other States
A day after the U.S. Supreme Court indirectly handed out a defeat to anti-gay marriage groups, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on October 7, 2014 tossed out the ban on gay marriage in Idaho and Nevada.
Gays in Wyoming May Now Marry
As a natural extension of the October 7, 2014, ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that had allowed Idaho and Nevada to issue marriage license to gay couples, Wyoming, a state that had come to symbolize as the catalyst for the modern day gay rights activism after the slaying of Mathew Shepard, on October 21, 2014 became the latest state to allow gay marriage.
Missouri Judge Strikes Down Gay Marriage Ban
Following the nationwide trend, St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison on November 5, 2014 tossed out Missouri's ban on gay marriage, by ruling that the ban violated due process and equal rights protection enshrined by the U.S. Constitution. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster immediately appealed the ruling to the Missouri Supreme Court.
First Setback for Gay Marriage Advocates
A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that has jurisdiction over Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and Tennessee on November 6, 2014 upheld the rights of the states to ban gay marriage. This marked the first setback to the gay marriage movement after scores of judicial victories.
On November 14, 2014, gay rights groups filed a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in the gay marriage issue in the light of contradictory ruling by the 6th Circuit.
Montana Judge Overturns Gay Marriage Ban
U.S. District Judge Brian Morris on November 19, 2014 ruled that Montana's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Judge Morris also cited recent ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that have jurisdiction over Montana. Before November 19, 2014, same-sex couples can marry in 32 states, parts of Kansas and Missouri, and the D.C.
Gay Marriage Ban Overturned at Arkansas, Mississippi
In a sign of changing time even in Deep South, two federal judges on November 25, 2014 tossed out ban on gay marriage in Arkansas and Mississippi. In Arkansas, the U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker ruled that the voter-approved "Amendment 83" okayed in 2004 didn't "immunize it from federal constitutional scrutiny".
In Mississippi, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves tossed out the ban that was imposed as a results of a 1997 state law that had defined marriage as between man and woman and a 2004 voter-approved amendment that had explicitly prohibited gay wedding. Both judges put hold on their rulings until states got chance to review and appeal.
Appeals Court Put a Hold on Gay Marriage Licenses in Mississippi
The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on December 4, 2014 put a hold on issuing marriage licenses to gay couples in Mississippi as the appeals process moved through the court.
Gay Couples Flock to Florida to Marry
As gay marriage became legal in Florida on January 6, 2015, gay couples from Deep South rushed to the Sun Shine state to obtain marriage license and wed.
South Dakota Judge Tosses out Gay Marriage Ban
In another rebuke to the opponents of same-sex marriage, a South Dakota federal court judge, U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier, on January 12, 2015 sided with six gay couples who had brought a lawsuit against the state's gay marriage ban. However, Judge Schreier put her order on hold pending appeals process.
Alabama Joins the States which Toss out Gay Marriage Ban
An Alabama federal judge on January 23, 2015 ruled in favor of two Mobile women--Cari Searcy and Kimberly McKeand--who had wedded in California and sought recognition of their marriage in Alabama. The U.S. District Court Judge Callie V.S. Granade's ruling may not take hold as Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange appealed the judge to put a hold on her ruling.
Appeals Court Refuses to Delay Gay Marriage in Alabama
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on February 3, 2015 denied Alabama's appeal to put a hold on the ruling of a federal judge, who, on January 23, 2015, tossed out the state's ban on gay marriage. Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange immediately appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court asking for a hold on issuing gay marriage licenses in the state.
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Alabama Case, State Begins Issuing Gay Marriage License Amid Confusion
As the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange to put a hold on issuing gay marriage licenses in the state, some of the state's 68 probate judges on February 9, 2015 began to issue marriage licenses as scheduled. Many of the probate judges in this deeply conservative Bible Belt state were reluctant to issue the marriage license for gays amid a February 8, 2015, letter written to state's all probate judges by Alabama's state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore that probate judges were under no compulsion of complying with the ruling of a federal judge, U.S. District Court Judge Callie V.S. Granade, and asked them to defy the order. Justice Moore earned national notoriety for refusing to remove Ten Commandment monument from the courthouse in 2003, and subsequently was removed from the court. He was re-elected in 2012, and remained a symbol of divisiveness in this state. Many of the Alabama counties, including Mobile County, on February 9, 2015 stopped issuing all marriage licenses altogether in order to block issuing marriage license for gays.
Alabama Judge Orders to Issue Marriage License to Gay Couples
In a stern order, the U.S. District Court Judge Callie V.S. Granade on February 12, 2015 ordered the Mobile County probate judge to open the county office and issue marriage license to gay couples. The judge issued the order in response to a filing from a gay couple who waited at the county office since February 9, 2015 when an earlier gay marriage ruling went into effect in Alabama and some counties in the state began to issue marriage licenses to gays, but found the (Mobile County) office closed.
First Gay Marriage in Texas
At a lightning speed, two lesbian couples wed on February 19, 2015 hours after obtaining marriage license from the Travis County clerk. Hours earlier the state District Judge David Wahlberg sided with the couple, Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant, and also waived a 72-hour waiting period for wedding. State's Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a suit to the state Supreme Court, appealing to void the marriage.
This case was different from the one that was handled by the U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia of San Antonio. His February 26, 2014, ruling is now under appeal.
Supreme Court Rules for Nationwide Marriage Equality
In a historic, once-in-a lifetime ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26, 2015 legalized same-sex marriage across the nation, giving a deserved victory to a long-fought, tortuous struggle in gay rights movement that had started almost fifty years ago in New York City's Stonewall Inn, but caught fire only in recent years. The verdict was on a 5-to-4 vote, with Justice Anthony Kennedy joining the court's four liberal justices, Justice Stephen Breyer, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Justice Elena Kagan. Writing for the majority, Justice Kennedy eloquently referred to constitution's 14th amendment as one of the key rationales for the majority's decision. Court's four conservative justices--Justice John Roberts, Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas--formed the opposition bloc.
Supreme Court Upends Alabama Supreme Court Ruling on Lesbian Adoption
An adoption case involving a Lesbian couple got unnecessarily complicated when Alabama Supreme Court invalidated the adoption of one partner's children by the second partner as they had separated and the birth mother asked to cancel the visitation rights of her ex-same sex partner. The U.S. Supreme Court in an unsigned petition on March 7, 2016 overturned the Alabama Supreme Court's verdict.
U.S. Supreme Court Protects LGBTQ from Job Discrimination
In a landmark case, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a severe jolt to conservative efforts against LGBTQ community, and in 6-3 ruling on June 15, 2020, extended a key federal employment protection act to include "sex orientation". Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch has justified the extension of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as to prevent discrimination on the ground of sex because, if allowed to fire an employee because of sexual orientation, that is tantamount to discriminating based on sex as it will not be applicable to opposite sex and thus violate Title VII. Gorsuch was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and four liberal justices of the court. The verdict, though, has limitation. For example, it applies only to employment, and it doesn't cover bathroom battle and exempts religious institutions.
SLOVENIA
Slovenia Rejects Same-Sex Marriage
Slovenian voters on December 20, 2015 defeated a referendum to allow gay marriage by a wide margin. The lopsided margin of 63.5 percent vs. 36.5 percent was a surprise to many outside political analysts and political establishment in Ljubljana as the country's left-leaning parliament voted in March 2015 for marriage equality. However, a group formed under the auspices of "Children Are at Stake" launched a ferocious public relations campaign against the law, and gathered 40,000 signatures to force the measure into a referendum before it could take effect. In the run-up to the referendum, Catholic Church threw its gauntlet in favor of anti-gay marriage movement.
UGANDA
Another tragic turn of the events with respect to gay rights in Africa as Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni called the homosexuals as abnormal although he sent a letter to parliamentary speaker Helen Kawesa on January 17, 2014 explaining why he couldn't sign a recently passed law that aimed to punish people for homosexual behaviors.
President Museveni Signs the Tough Anti-Gay Bill
Defying the international appeal, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed a tough, anti-gay bill into law on February 24, 2014. The law calls for up to life in prison for gay sex.
A Judge Puts on Hold the Tough Anti-Gay Measure
A Kampala judge, Judge Stephen Kavuma, reading a verdict on behalf of a five-judge panel, said that the bench decided to put Anti-Homosexuality Act on hold because the act had been approved by parliament without quorum. However, the August 1, 2014, verdict by the court should not be seen as a victory for gay rights supporters in Uganda. Instead it was a more of a procedural move that would delay enforcing the law.
UNITED KINGDOM
On the international front, British government announced on December 10, 2013 that England and Wales would start gay marriage on March 29, 2014 after a landmark gay marriage law was passed by the parliament in July 2013.
USA
On June 26, 2013, the US Supreme Court issued pair of rulings that brought cheers to gay rights activists. The first one is related to Defense of Marriage Act of 1996, and the court in a 5-4 ruling (Kagan, Sotomayor, Kennedy, Ginsburg and Breyer forming the majoriy vs. Roberts, Scalia, Thomas and Alito dissenting) struck down DOMA. Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority, authored: "DOMA instructs all federal officials, and indeed all persons with whom same-sex couples interact, including their own children, that their marriage is less worthy than the marriages of the others". The ruling clearly found problems with DOMA that extends some family benefits to one set of couples while discriminates against another set of couples, thus violating the Fifth Amendment. Although the ruling didn't take any position on the legalization of same-sex marriage.
The second ruling is related to California's Proposition 8, and a 5-4 ruling (Kagan, Scalia, Roberts, Ginsburg and Breyer forming the majoriy vs. Kennedy, Sotomayor, Thomas and Alito dissenting) clearly stated that enforcement of Proposition 8 didn't fall under the responsibility of petitioners, thus freeing the state of California to start re-issuing marriage licenses and become the 13th state in the nation to make gay marriage legal. Responding to the Supreme Court's ruling in respect to Proposition 8 a day earlier, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on June 27, 2013 voided the ban on same-sex marriage in California, paving the way of re-starting the marriage of same-sex couples immediately in the state.
Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie on November 13, 2013 signed a bill into law that would make the state fifteenth in the nation to allow gay marriage.
November 18, 2013 marks a decade of progress in gay rights movement as ten years ago on this date--November 18, 2003--Massachusetts' highest court, Supreme Judicial Court, ruled that the ban on gay marriage was illegal. Since then, 38 percent of USA's population have come or are about to come under jurisdiction where gay marriage was made legal after the Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signs a landmark gay marriage bill on November 20, 2013 as planned. Excluding Illinois, 14 other states and District of Columbia allow gay marriage.
On December 19, 2013, New Mexico became the latest state to legalize the gay marriage as the state's supreme court found it illegal to deny marriage license to gay and lesbian couples. New Mexico joins the 16 other states and DC to recognize the same-sex marriage.
In a remarkable twist in gay marriage issue, nation's one of the most conservative states that is home to the Mormon Church became the eighteenth state (excluding DC) to allow gay marriage on December 20, 2013, and the Salt Lake County already started to issue the marriage license to gay couples. Earlier in the day, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby issued a 53-page ruling saying the constitutional amendment passed by the Utah voters in 2004 was unconstitutional as it violated the rights of gay couples to due process and contravened with the 14th Amendment. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican, was scrambling at the end of the day to appeal Judge Shelby's decision and stench the flow of gay marriages in the state.
On December 24, 2013, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a state petition asking the appellate body to issue an injunction on Judge Shelby's order as the case was meandering through the legal process. As of December 24, at least 700 gay couples obtained marriage license in Utah.
On December 31, 2013, Utah officials appealed the December 24, 2013, ruling of 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to the US Supreme Court.
On January 6, 2014, the US Supreme Court put a hold on the issuance of marriage certificate to the gay couples in Utah. However, country's apex court is mum on the status of about 1,000 gay couples who wed since a landmark ruling issued by the U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby on December 20, 2013 that stated the Utah ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional.
Interpreting the January 6, 2014, the US Supreme Court ruling also as a mandate to strike down the marriages between 1,000 or so gay couples, the administration of Utah Governor Gary Herbert on January 8, 2014 voided all the gay marriages took place in Utah since December 20, 2013.
The U.S. Justice Department weighed in Utah's gay marriage debate on January 10, 2014 as the AG Eric Holder said that the federal government would uphold the privilege of marriage such as joint tax returns of 1,000 or so married gay couples of the state.
In an evolving trend for the pro-gay rights groups, a federal judge on January 14, 2014 ruled that the gay marriage ban approved by voters of Oklahoma in 2004 was unconstitutional, second such verdict from a conservative state after Utah. The US District Judge Terrence Kern of Tulsa, ruling that the ban constituted "an arbitrary, irrational exclusion of just one class of Oklahoma citizens from a governmental benefit", however, put a hold gay marriage anytime soon as the case wound its way through the legal process.
Kentucky Judge Strikes down Parts of State's Gay Marriage Ban
In another swipe at the gay marriage ban in the so-called conservative states, another federal judge in Kentucky, U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II, a George H. W. Bush appointee, on February 12, 2014 struck down part of the gay marriage ban approved by Kentuckians in 2004, saying that it was unconstitutional for the state not to recognize the marriage performed by gay couples in states where such marriage was legal.
Virginia Judge Rules Same Sex Marriage Ban Illegal
A day after a federal judge ruled parts of Kentucky's ban on gay marriage illegal, a federal judge in Virginia, U.S. District Judge Andrea Wright Allen on February 13, 2014 ruled the state's ban on gay marriage illegal as it violates constitution's guarantee of equal protection. However, Judge Wright Allen stayed her order so that appeal process could go forward and gay marriages won't happen during the time of appeal process. At the beginning of her ruling, Judge Wright Allen cited the 1967 historic ruling, involving a Virginian, Mildred Loving, by the U.S. Supreme Court that found Virginia's ban on interracial marriage illegal.
Texas Judge Calls Anti-Gay Measures Illegal
In another shot in the arm of the gay rights movement, the U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia of San Antonio ruled on February 26, 2014 that a 2003 law not recognizing the gay marriage performed in other states and a 2005 voter approved measure to ban gay marriage were both unconstitutional. However, Judge Garcia kept his ruling abeyance to allow appeals process to go forward. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said that the state would appeal immediately. The ruling brought tears of joy to Plano residents Mark Phariss and Victor Holmes, who were seeking marriage license, and two Austin lesbian couples, Cleopatra De Leon and Nicole Dimetman, who were demanding that their out-of-state marriage be recognized.
Arizona Governor Vetoes Anti-Gay Measure
In what was a political brinkmanship and legislative disaster, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on February 26, 2014 vetoed the so-called Senate Bill 1062 that calls for allowing businesses to refuse services to gays based on their religious belief. The bill was one of a kind in the nation as it justified the discrimination of people based on sexual orientation and religious belief.
Michigan to Issue Same-Sex Marriage License
A federal judge, US District Judge Bernard Friedman, on March 21, 2014 struck down Michigan's law banning same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. However, the ruling issued by Friedman differed from recent rulings by other judges that he didn't put any hold on issuing marriage license for same-sex couples that would start as early as March 24, 2014. At present, 17 states and District of Columbia issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples.
An Appeals Court Put Hold on Lower Court Ruling in Michigan Case
A day after the US District Judge Bernard Friedman struck down the Michigan voter-approved ban on gay marriage, an appeals court, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, on March 22, 2014 put a temporary injunction through March 26, 2014 on the lower court order, but not before hundreds of same-sex couples already obtaining the marriage licenses and tying the nuptials.
Michigan not to Immediately Recognize the Same-Sex Marriages already Performed
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's office on March 23, 2014 said that it won't recognize dozens of same-sex marriages that took place after a federal judge struck a state ban on gay marriage and before an appeals court stepped in to put a hold on any new same-sex marriage.
Appeals Court Puts Hold on Same-Sex Marriages in Michigan
The Sixth U.S. Court of Appeals based in Cincinnati on March 25, 2014 made the temporary injunction on a Michigan judge's ruling to strike down the state's gay marriage ban, set to expire on March 26, effective through the hearing process.
Ohio Judge to Order Recognition of Gay Marriage Performed in Other States
A Ohio Judge said on April 4, 2014 that he would order the state to recognize the gay marriage performed in other states, partially overturning the state's ban on same-sex marriage. Judge Timothy Black will issue his ruling on April 14, 2014. As of April 4, 2014, 17 states and District of Columbia allow gay marriages.
Ohio Judge Orders State to Recognize Gay Marriages Performed in Other States
US District Judge Timothy Black issued his ruling on April 14, 2014, ordering Ohio to recognize the gay marriages performed legally in other states in a partial victory to "marriage equality".
Gay Marriage Arrives at Arkansas
On May 9, 2014, an Arkansas judge, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza, called a 10-year ban on gay marriage "an unconstitutional attempt to narrow the definition of equality". The ban was passed overwhelmingly in a 2004 referendum. The judge also overturned a 1997 state law that banned gay marriage. Since Judge Piazza didn't put his ruling on hold, first gay marriage in Arkansas took place on May 10, 2014. Arkansas became the 18th state to allow the gay marriage.
Arkansas appeals for Hold on Gay Marriage
On May 12, 2014, Arkansas Attorney-General Dustin McDaniel, who had recently expressed his personal support for gay marriage, filed papers with the state Supreme Court to restore the ban on gay marriage. Meanwhile, at least 200 gay couples tied the knots in handful of the state's 75 counties.
Arkansas's Highest Court Put Hold on Gay Marriage
Arkansas' apex court on May 16, 2014 halted the gay marriage after Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza overturned on May 9, 2014 a 2004 referendum that voters overwhelmingly approved to ban gay marriage and a 1997 state law that also banned gay marriage. On May 15, 2014, Judge Chris Piazza expanded his ruling to cover all state laws that had prevented gay marriages.
Oregon Judge Overturns Same-sex Mrriage Ban
A federal judge in Oregon on May 19, 2014 tossed out the state's ban on gay marriage, thus likely making it the eighteenth state in the nation where same-sex couple may marry legally.
Judge Overturns Pennsylvania's Ban on Same-Sex Marriage
U.S. District Judge John Jones II on May 20, 2014 ruled a 1996 law passed by Pennsylvania's lawmakers banning same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. Many gay couples rushed to obtain the marriage license in the aftermath of the judge's ruling as Jodge Jones II didn't put any hold on gay marriage pending a likely appeal by Republican Governor Tom Corbett.
Pennsylvanian Governor not to Pursue Legal Route to Stop Gay Marriage
A pragmatic Republican Governor Tom Corbett on May 21, 2014 called it quits from further pursuing legal proceedings to block U.S. District Judge John Jones II 's ruling to toss out the same-sex marriage ban.
Same-Sex Couples Rush to Marry after a Judge Overturns Wisconsin's Gay Marriage Ban
Hours after the U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb overturned the Wisconsin's ban on gay marriage on June 6, 2014, same-sex couples rushed to the courthouses in Milwaukee and Madison counties to get marriage licenses as the state's AG, J.B. Van Hollen, planned to appeal Judge Crabb's ruling and request to put a hold on gay marriage while the appeal process would meander though the legal proceeding.
An Indiana Judge Strikes down Gay Marriage Ban
On June 25, 2014, U.S. District Judge Richard Young ruled that the state ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional, handing out another victory to gay rights movement. Indiana became the latest state to symbolize successful legal challenge to the same-sex marriage ban.
Appeals Court Rejects Utah's Case against A Lower Court Ruling Striking Down Same Sex Marriage Ban
In the first such involvement by an appeals court, a three-member panel of 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on June 25, 2104 by a 2-1 verdict that same-sex marriage ban in Utah was unconstitutional. The appeals court had jurisdiction over Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming, Oklahoma and New Mexico. However, Denver-based appellate court held its ruling on hold.
Appeals Court Tosses out Oklahoma Gay Marriage Ban
Nearly a month after the 10th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Denver issued a ruling upholding a lower court ruling against Utah's ban on gay marriage, the same appeals court by 2-1 majority on July 18, 2014 upheld the ruling of the US District Judge Terrence Kern of Tulsa that had overturned a 2004 voter-approved ban on gay marriage in Oklahoma.
A Federal Judge Tosses Out Colorado Gay Marriage Ban
A Denver-based federal judge, U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore, on July 23 called Colorado's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional, but put his ruling on hold pending appeals.
A Federal Judge in Florida Tosses out Gay Marriage Ban
US District Judge Robert L. Hinkle on August 21, 2014 sided with state's four counties--Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach--where local judges had already tossed out the ban on gay marriages. According to Judge Hinkle of Tallahassee, the ban added to the state constitution in 2008 violated the Fourteenth Amendment of equal protection and due process. However, Judge Hinkle stayed his ruling pending appeals.
First Court Reversal in Gay Marriage Rulings
After a streak of wins, gay marriage supporters received their first jolt in Louisiana on September 3, 2014 as a federal judge, U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman, ruled that the ban on gay marriage and recognition of the gay marriage that took place in other states was not unconstitutional as marriage pertained to a state issue.
Federal Appeals Court Throws out Gay Marriage Ban in Indiana and Wisconsin
The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago on September 4, 2014 issued a 40-page ruling tossing out the gay marriage ban in Indiana and Wisconsin. On the day of this historic ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, 32 states, including 15 states where the gay marriage is legal, have filed a brief requesting the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in the issue.
Gay Marriage Ban in Missouri Partly Tossed out
A county judge in Missouri on October 3, 2014 ruled that state must recognize the marriage between gays performed in other states. Jackson County Circuit Judge J. Dale Youngs also called the state's ban on gay marriage unconstitutional.
U.S. Supreme Court Gives its Implicit Blessing to Gay Marriage
By turning down the challenge to a federal appeals court ruling tossing out gay marriage ban in five states--Utah, Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin and Oklahoma--country's apex court on October 6, 2014 might have taken a far-fetching action that would be hard to reverse in future. The U.S. Supreme Court's action, rather inaction to take the case in its docket, immediately made gay marriage legal in 24 states and District of Columbia. However, it's impact was beyond these 24 states and would make it possible for gays to wed in six other states--Colorado, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming--that fall under the purview of the same federal appeals court, 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Gay Marriage Supporters Score Victories in Two Other States
A day after the U.S. Supreme Court indirectly handed out a defeat to anti-gay marriage groups, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on October 7, 2014 tossed out the ban on gay marriage in Idaho and Nevada.
Gays in Wyoming May Now Marry
As a natural extension of the October 7, 2014, ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that had allowed Idaho and Nevada to issue marriage license to gay couples, Wyoming, a state that had come to symbolize as the catalyst for the modern day gay rights activism after the slaying of Mathew Shepard, on October 21, 2014 became the latest state to allow gay marriage.
Missouri Judge Strikes Down Gay Marriage Ban
Following the nationwide trend, St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison on November 5, 2014 tossed out Missouri's ban on gay marriage, by ruling that the ban violated due process and equal rights protection enshrined by the U.S. Constitution. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster immediately appealed the ruling to the Missouri Supreme Court.
First Setback for Gay Marriage Advocates
A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that has jurisdiction over Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and Tennessee on November 6, 2014 upheld the rights of the states to ban gay marriage. This marked the first setback to the gay marriage movement after scores of judicial victories.
On November 14, 2014, gay rights groups filed a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in the gay marriage issue in the light of contradictory ruling by the 6th Circuit.
Montana Judge Overturns Gay Marriage Ban
U.S. District Judge Brian Morris on November 19, 2014 ruled that Montana's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Judge Morris also cited recent ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that have jurisdiction over Montana. Before November 19, 2014, same-sex couples can marry in 32 states, parts of Kansas and Missouri, and the D.C.
Gay Marriage Ban Overturned at Arkansas, Mississippi
In a sign of changing time even in Deep South, two federal judges on November 25, 2014 tossed out ban on gay marriage in Arkansas and Mississippi. In Arkansas, the U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker ruled that the voter-approved "Amendment 83" okayed in 2004 didn't "immunize it from federal constitutional scrutiny".
In Mississippi, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves tossed out the ban that was imposed as a results of a 1997 state law that had defined marriage as between man and woman and a 2004 voter-approved amendment that had explicitly prohibited gay wedding. Both judges put hold on their rulings until states got chance to review and appeal.
Appeals Court Put a Hold on Gay Marriage Licenses in Mississippi
The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on December 4, 2014 put a hold on issuing marriage licenses to gay couples in Mississippi as the appeals process moved through the court.
Gay Couples Flock to Florida to Marry
As gay marriage became legal in Florida on January 6, 2015, gay couples from Deep South rushed to the Sun Shine state to obtain marriage license and wed.
South Dakota Judge Tosses out Gay Marriage Ban
In another rebuke to the opponents of same-sex marriage, a South Dakota federal court judge, U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier, on January 12, 2015 sided with six gay couples who had brought a lawsuit against the state's gay marriage ban. However, Judge Schreier put her order on hold pending appeals process.
Alabama Joins the States which Toss out Gay Marriage Ban
An Alabama federal judge on January 23, 2015 ruled in favor of two Mobile women--Cari Searcy and Kimberly McKeand--who had wedded in California and sought recognition of their marriage in Alabama. The U.S. District Court Judge Callie V.S. Granade's ruling may not take hold as Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange appealed the judge to put a hold on her ruling.
Appeals Court Refuses to Delay Gay Marriage in Alabama
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on February 3, 2015 denied Alabama's appeal to put a hold on the ruling of a federal judge, who, on January 23, 2015, tossed out the state's ban on gay marriage. Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange immediately appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court asking for a hold on issuing gay marriage licenses in the state.
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Alabama Case, State Begins Issuing Gay Marriage License Amid Confusion
As the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange to put a hold on issuing gay marriage licenses in the state, some of the state's 68 probate judges on February 9, 2015 began to issue marriage licenses as scheduled. Many of the probate judges in this deeply conservative Bible Belt state were reluctant to issue the marriage license for gays amid a February 8, 2015, letter written to state's all probate judges by Alabama's state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore that probate judges were under no compulsion of complying with the ruling of a federal judge, U.S. District Court Judge Callie V.S. Granade, and asked them to defy the order. Justice Moore earned national notoriety for refusing to remove Ten Commandment monument from the courthouse in 2003, and subsequently was removed from the court. He was re-elected in 2012, and remained a symbol of divisiveness in this state. Many of the Alabama counties, including Mobile County, on February 9, 2015 stopped issuing all marriage licenses altogether in order to block issuing marriage license for gays.
Alabama Judge Orders to Issue Marriage License to Gay Couples
In a stern order, the U.S. District Court Judge Callie V.S. Granade on February 12, 2015 ordered the Mobile County probate judge to open the county office and issue marriage license to gay couples. The judge issued the order in response to a filing from a gay couple who waited at the county office since February 9, 2015 when an earlier gay marriage ruling went into effect in Alabama and some counties in the state began to issue marriage licenses to gays, but found the (Mobile County) office closed.
First Gay Marriage in Texas
At a lightning speed, two lesbian couples wed on February 19, 2015 hours after obtaining marriage license from the Travis County clerk. Hours earlier the state District Judge David Wahlberg sided with the couple, Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant, and also waived a 72-hour waiting period for wedding. State's Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a suit to the state Supreme Court, appealing to void the marriage.
This case was different from the one that was handled by the U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia of San Antonio. His February 26, 2014, ruling is now under appeal.
Supreme Court Rules for Nationwide Marriage Equality
In a historic, once-in-a lifetime ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26, 2015 legalized same-sex marriage across the nation, giving a deserved victory to a long-fought, tortuous struggle in gay rights movement that had started almost fifty years ago in New York City's Stonewall Inn, but caught fire only in recent years. The verdict was on a 5-to-4 vote, with Justice Anthony Kennedy joining the court's four liberal justices, Justice Stephen Breyer, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Justice Elena Kagan. Writing for the majority, Justice Kennedy eloquently referred to constitution's 14th amendment as one of the key rationales for the majority's decision. Court's four conservative justices--Justice John Roberts, Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas--formed the opposition bloc.
Supreme Court Upends Alabama Supreme Court Ruling on Lesbian Adoption
An adoption case involving a Lesbian couple got unnecessarily complicated when Alabama Supreme Court invalidated the adoption of one partner's children by the second partner as they had separated and the birth mother asked to cancel the visitation rights of her ex-same sex partner. The U.S. Supreme Court in an unsigned petition on March 7, 2016 overturned the Alabama Supreme Court's verdict.
U.S. Supreme Court Protects LGBTQ from Job Discrimination
In a landmark case, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a severe jolt to conservative efforts against LGBTQ community, and in 6-3 ruling on June 15, 2020, extended a key federal employment protection act to include "sex orientation". Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch has justified the extension of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as to prevent discrimination on the ground of sex because, if allowed to fire an employee because of sexual orientation, that is tantamount to discriminating based on sex as it will not be applicable to opposite sex and thus violate Title VII. Gorsuch was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and four liberal justices of the court. The verdict, though, has limitation. For example, it applies only to employment, and it doesn't cover bathroom battle and exempts religious institutions.
Former Virginia Transgender Student Wins at Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 28, 2021 refused to take up a case that had been entangled in the federal court system for the past seven years and drew intense attention from Conservatives and LGBTQ rights advocates. Gavin Grimm filed a lawsuit against the Gloucester County School Board in Virginia as he had been barred from using the bathroom aligned with his gender and had been forced to use nurse's bathroom. The genesis of the case went back to 2014. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals eventually sided with Grimm, referring to a June 15, 2020, U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld the LGBTQ rights as part of compliance with a federal employment protection act. Grimm, now 22, has since won a court order to change his sex to male, and on June 28, 2021, has issued a statement, saying that "my years-long fight to have my school to see me who I am is over".
Tennessee Judge Blocks Biden Admin's Bid to Protect LGBTQ Rights in Workplaces, Schools
A June 15, 2020, verdict by the U.S. Supreme Court to expand Title VII to protect the rights of LGBTQ employees at the workplace paved the way for Biden administration's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to issue guidance in June 2021 on protection of LGBTQ employees from discrimination and how to file discrimination complaints. In the same month (June 2021), Department of Education issued guidance for schools to protect the rights of LGBTQ students from discrimination under the Title IX, a 1972 landmark law that had been designed as guardrails against sex discrimination. In August 2021, attorneys general from 20 states--Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and West Virginia--filed a lawsuit against EEOC and DOE guidance, complaining that the federal action encroached in states' rights. On July 15, 2022, U.S. District Judge Charles Atchley Jr. of Tennessee blocked Biden administration's rules, saying that the "harm alleged by the Plaintiff States is already occurring".
****** SAME-SEX AND INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE PROTECTION CODIFICATION *****
Senate A Step Closer to Approving Same-sex Marriage
After the U.S. Senate voted 62-37 on November 16, 2022 to limit the scope for filibuster of the Respect for Marriage Act, there was a concerted drive on the Conservative side to change the votes of at least 3 of 12 Senators who had voted with Democrats in the procedural vote to codify the same-sex and interracial marriage protection in the law. On November 28, 2022, when the cloture vote took place on the Senate floor, the bill passed by 61-35 vote. The bill is now headed for the final passage this week.
Senate Passes the Same-sex and Interracial Marriage Law
In a step toward bringing the nation to marriage equity, U.S. Senate on November 29, 2022 passed the Respect for Marriage Act by 61-36 votes. Three Republican-led amendments failed to pass during the day. The law repeals the Defense of Marriage Act that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The law strengthens the pillars of marriage, especially the same-sex marriage, by requiring states to recognize the legal marriage performed in other states. The Respect for Marriage Act strikes a balance by respecting the prerogatives of churches, religious schools and other institutions not to embrace the same-sex marriage. A bipartisan amendment proposed by Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine ensures that, among others:
* Churches are not required to provide same-sex marriage services
* Federal government is not allowed to recognize polygamous marriage
* Institutions don't lose their tax exempt status because of their stand on same-sex marriage
A slightly different version was passed by the House in July 2022. The Senate-passed bill, thus, will now go to House.
House Passes the "Respect for Marriage" Bill
U.S. House of Representatives on December 8, 2022 passed the Respect for Marriage Act by an overwhelming margin of 258-169, with 39 Republicans joining Democrats to codify protection of marriages for same-sex and interracial couples.
Biden Signs Respect for Marriage Act
President Joe Biden's lifelong dream for codifying marriage equality came to fruition on December 13, 2022 as he signed the landmark Respect for Marriage Act. More than 5,000 people, including many LGBTQ+ activists, attended the signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.
****** SAME-SEX AND INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE PROTECTION CODIFICATION *****
Human Rights Campaign Declares Emergency for LGBTQ People
U.S.' premium LGBTQ rights organization, Human Rights Campaign, on June 6, 2023 declared national emergency for the LGBTQ population as many GOP-ruled states have launched legislative efforts to restrict access to transgender care.
Trump's EO Targets Transgender Care
In another attack on the rights of transgender community, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order on January 28, 2025, limiting the federal insurance to cover the sex-transition treatment for transgender people younger than 19. President Trump's latest E.O. doubles down his attack on the LGBTQ community. Assuming presidency for the second term, one of plethora of E.O.s that he had signed was geared towards streamlining the sex classification for federal employees into two categories: male or female. Trump's January 28, 2025, E.O. will impact among others, federal Tricare insurance for the military. As per the E.O., the federal government may cut Medicare and Medicaid payments to hospitals, clinics and other medical providers if they provide sex-transition treatment to patients younger than 19. The executive order applies to medical colleges and hospitals too if they receive federal grants.
LGBTQ Groups Sues against Trump's E.O.
On January 4, 2025, Lambda Legal and American Civil Rights Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of PFLAG, an LGBTQ advocacy group, and GLMA, a support group for medical providers, to block the presidential executive order banning sex-affirming treatment for people younger than 19. The suit was filed in Maryland.
ALABAMA
Appeals Court Overturn A Lower Court Injunction on Trans Care Ban
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on August 21, 2023 overturned a lower court ruling that had suspended a 2022 Alabama law banning gender-conforming care for transgender minors.
ARKANSAS
Federal Judge Strikes down a Trans Care Law as Unconstitutional
Although courts earlier rejected gender-conforming care bans instituted by Republican legislatures, U.S. District Judge Jay Moody rejected an Arkansas law that banned such care for minors as "unconstitutional". The June 23, 2023, verdict by the Arkansas judge marked the first time that a judge ruled such a ban "unconstitutional".
CALIFORNIA
Newsom Signs Law to Protect Child's Gender Identity
California Governor Gavin Newsom on July 15, 2024 signed a bill that would prohibit the schools from sharing a student's gender identity without receiving permission from the child, becoming the first state in the Republic to enact such a sweeping law to protect LGBTQ community.
FLORIDA
Judge Tosses out a Florida Transgender Law
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle on June 6, 2023 issued a preliminary injunction on a Florida law that barred any gender-conforming medical treatment for transgender minors. The measure was signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis days before he had announced his candidacy for the 2024 Presidential Election. The suit was filed by the parents of three transgender youths. Although Judge Hinkle's TRO relief covers only those three transgender minors, Simone Chriss, a lawyer for the families, said that it would extend, most likely, to other cases too. Florida is one of 19 states that have restricted transgender care.
GEORGIA
Georgia's Trans Law Blocked
A law that became effective July 1, 2023 was blocked temporarily by a federal judge. U.S. District Judge Sarah Geraghty issued a TRO relief on August 20, 2023, blocking the ban on new hormone therapy and gender-conforming surgery for children ages 18 and below.
Georgia Asks Judge to Reconsider Ruling as per Appeals Court Verdict
A day after a federal judge ruled against a Georgia law that banned gender-conforming care for the minors, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on August 21, 2023 set aside a lower court ruling that had imposed an injunction on the trans care ban on minors in Alabama. In the light of the appeals court ruling, Georgia officials asked the federal judge to reinstate their ban. Georgia is also part of the same appeals court that has overturned the lower court ruling in Alabama.
Georgia Settles Suit on Transgender Care with State Employees
Georgia Department of Community Health that oversees the State Health Benefit Plan has settled with plaintiffs on October 19, 2023 in a case filed in December 2022. As part of the settlement, employees and their adult dependents will have access to transgender care such as hormone therapy, surgical procedures and other medical interventions.
For minors, the state health plan will cover the necessary costs for the out-of-state treatment as a state law effective July 1, 2023 prohibits hormone therapy and gender-conforming surgery for the children ages 18 and under. That state law allows puberty blocker medications and continuation of gender-affirming treatments for the minors who are already part of them.
IDAHO
Governor Little Signs Gender-affirming Care Ban Law
Idaho's governor, Brad Little, on April 4, 2023 has signed a law that bans procedures involving puberty blockers, hormone therapy and transition surgeries. The law set to take effect on January 1, 2024 targets the providers of gender-affirming care to people under 18 years old with felony counts.
INDIANA
Governor Holcomb Signs anti-LGBTQ Measure
As part of the growing trend in GOP-ruled states, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb on April 5, 2023 signed a law banning gender transition surgeries or medication effective July 1, 2023.
KENTUCKY
Judge Blocks Parts States' Ban
U.S. District Judge David Hale on June 28, 2023 sided with the seven minor plaintiffs and their families, and temporarily blocked portions of Kentucky's and Tennessee's transgender care ban for minors from going into effect on June 29, 2023. Seven minor plaintiffs and their families filed the lawsuit against portions of the ban, including treatment related to puberty blockers and hormones. At least 20 states have passed laws banning gender-conforming care for minors, and most of these measures are now facing lawsuits, with some of them now on hold by the courts, including measures passed in Florida, Arkansas, Indiana and Alabama.
Kentucky's Ban Back after the Appeals Court Ruling
After the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals July 8, 2023, ruling, the ban on the transgender care for minors was back in Kentucky.
MISSOURI
Missouri Ban on Transgender Care for Youth to go into Effect
After a state court has ruled on August 25, 2023, upholding a state law, the ban on transgender care for the youth will go into effect on August 28, 2023.
MONTANA
Transgender Law for Minors Blocked
Four days before a controversial state law goes into effect banning the gender-affirming care for transgender minors, a judge on September 27, 2023 blocked the law, giving a significant victory to families with transgender kids, LGBTQ activists and other rights activists. District Court Judge Jason Marks ruled that the law passed by Montana legislature might be "unconstitutional".
OHIO
Governor Signs Trans Bathroom Bill
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on November 27, 2024 signed a far-reaching bill deemed as discriminatory to transgender students. The Protect All Students Act envisages all K-12 schools and colleges to ban transgender students from using the bathrooms and locker rooms not aligned with the gender at the time of birth. The measure, also known as the Senate Bill 104, was approved by the State House of Representatives by 60-31 votes in June 2024 and Senate by 24-7 votes in this month.
Ohio also instituted a ban on gender-conforming treatment such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy for the minors. Lawmakers passed the measure to this effect in January 2024. A court upheld the law in August 2024.
TENNESSEE
Tennessee Can Enforce Ban on Transgender Care, Appeals Court Rules
The 6th U.S. Court of Appeals on July 8, 2023 ruled 2-1 to let Tennessee enforce the transgender health care ban for minors, at least for now, as the case was being heard by the full appeals court. On June 28, 2023, U.S. District Judge David Hale ruled against the ban in the case that challenged both the Kentucky and Tennessee laws to ban transgender medical care for minors.
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Ken Paxton Likens Transgender Healthcare to "Abuse"
In one of the most shameful opinions issued by any attorney general in the United States, Ken Paxton has said that gender-affirming healthcare is an "abuse" and needs to to be stopped. Ken Paxton's opinion issued on February 21, 2022 coincides with the opening day of the early vote in a contested primary. Although attorney general's opinion may not hold the power of a law, it's still a significant guidance that undercuts the access to healthcare by transgender kids who are experiencing gender dysphoria. Last year, Republicans in the Texas legislature tried to ban gender-affirming healthcare services, but eventually failed. In August 2021, under Governor Gregg Abbott's pressure, the Department of Family Protective Services' Child Protective Services issued a directive to include "gender-assignment surgery" for minors in the list of child abuse. The American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association and American Academy of Pediatrics do support age-appropriate "gender-affirming" medical care. After the Child Protective Services included "assignment surgery" for minors in the child abuse list, Texas Pediatrics Society sent a letter to DFPS Commissioner Jaime Masters. The letter, written by the then-president of the Society, Dr. Seth Kaplan, on behalf of more than 4,600 pediatrics, vouched for the gender-affirming care as "evidence-based". In November 2021, a landmark DFW area program for transgender kids, Genecis, has been shut down for new enrollees.
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Abbott Asks Agency to Investigate Transgender Care as Child Abuse
In a letter sent to the Department of Family Protective Services on February 22, 2022, Governor Gregg Abbott asked the agency to investigate transgender care as "child abuse". Governor Abbott's letter came a day after Attorney-General Ken Paxton issued a non-binding opinion, making certain surgical and non-surgical gender-affirming procedures such as puberty blocking and hormone therapy for minors as "child abuse". It's not clear how the reporting requirement of such newly minted "child abuse" will affect parents, teachers and care givers.
Judge Puts a Halt on Abbott's Transgender Child Care Instruction; Biden Admin Rebuts Abbott
A state judge on March 2, 2022 issued a temporary injunction order on Governor Gregg Abbott's recent instruction to the Child Protective Services to investigate any gender affirming services as a child abuse case. Although Travis County District Court Judge Amy Clark Meacham's TRO (temporary restraining order) pertains to a single plaintiff, the judge has said that she will consider to extend the TRO across the state.
On another salvo at the federal level, underlining that the issue is not going to be a smooth ride for Abbott or Ken Paxton, Biden administration on March 2, 2022 stepped in this volatile issue, calling for parents or families of the transgender children to look up to the federal government for help if they are subjected to harassment by the state of Texas. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra issued a statement during the day to this effect: "HHS will take immediate action if needed". Biden administration vowed, according to the HHS statement, to "use every tool at our disposal to keep Texans safe".
Appeals Court Rules against Abbott
After Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton filed an appeal to Travis County Judge Amy Clerk Meacham's March 2, 2022, TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) to Governor Gregg Abbott's directive to CPS to pursue gender-affirming health care as a child abuse case, the temporary relief was on hold. On March 10, 2022, 3rd Court of Appeals ruled to uphold Judge Meacham's ruling. The three-judge appeals panel's verdict will lead to one of the two outcomes: (1) a TRO to be accorded to the plaintiff, a state employee who has filed a lawsuit on behalf of their 16-year-old transgender child, or (2) expanding the TRO to a statewide coverage.
Judge Extends Moratorium on Texas' Abuse Investigation into Trans Kids Care
Travis County Judge Amy Clerk Meacham on March 11, 2022 extended statewide the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against state's effort to open child abuse investigation for gender-affirming health services provided to transgender adolescents. Initially, Judge Meacham issued the TRO in a specific case related to a lawsuit filed by an anonymous state employee after a CPS investigation had opened into what critics had called the gender-affirming health services that the employee's 16-year-old trans daughter had sought. The March 11, 2022, TRO extends the injunction on Governor Gregg Abbott's transgender adolescent abuse investigation directive to cover all transgender kids.
*************** GENECIS PROGRAM
Chief Doc of the Genecis Program Files Court Petition against U.T. Southwestern
The doctor who led the 7-year Genecis program, an innovative program created jointly by the U.T. Southwestern and Children's Health to provide gender-affirming health services to transgender kids, filed a court petition against the U.T. Southwestern and Children's Health for shuttering the program in November 2021 for new enrollees. Dr. Ximena Lopez on March 16, 2022 has filed the petition in Dallas County as a 202 petition that allows the future plaintiff and their lawyers to investigate the wrongdoing before filing formal lawsuit. Although Genecis remains operational and functioning for the existing participants, its closure to new patients has rankled the medical community in North Texas and beyond. They have written an open letter against its shuttering of gender-affirming health services for new enrollees, and described the action as a sheer capitulation to political pressure. Dr. Lopez, in her petition, requests for opportunity to question Dr. Daniel Podolosky, U.T. Southwestern president, and U.T. Southwestern University Hospitals CEO Dr. John Warner.
Dallas County Judge Okays Transgender Care Services
In response to a lawsuit filed by Dr. Ximena Lopez, who had led the Genecis program and filed the suit after the program's services were stopped for new enrollees, a Dallas County judge on May 12, 2022 issued a two-week temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Children's Medical Center Dallas. Children's Medical along with the U.T. Southwestern designed the innovative Genecis program to serve the needs of transgender children. Dallas County Judge Melissa Bellan's TRO relief pushes the battle for another day, but still marks a significant win for the transgender rights.
More than 70 Additional Patients Treated Since Moratorium Lifted in May 2022
The Dallas Morning News reported in a December 13, 2022, front-page article that Dr. Ximena Lopez had seen an additional 72 patients since May 2022 when a Dallas judge ordered the resumption of gender-affirming treatment. Children's Medical Center agreed with the Dallas County Judge Melissa Bellan's order, allowing Dr. Ximena Lopez's program to continue admitting new patients until the beginning of a trial, most likely in April 2023. Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton chimed in in this case, with his office pushing to block gender-affirming treatment. In June 2022, Judge Melissa Bellan ruled against Ken Paxton in another victory for Dr. Lopez. Paxton appealed the verdict to the Dallas-based 5th State Court of the Appeals. On September 23, 2022, the 5th State Court of Appeals upheld the verdict of Judge Melissa Bellan.
*************** GENECIS PROGRAM
Texas Supreme Court Lifts Statewide Injunction on Investigation into Trans Medical Services
Texas Supreme Court handed partial victory to A.G. Ken Paxton and Governor Gregg Abbott on May 13, 2022 as it vacated a statewide moratorium on CPS' authority to investigate whether gender-affirming care of trans kids constituted child abuse. However, the state Supreme Court left the Travis County Judge Amy Clerk Meacham's TRO intact related to a single family that had sued the state. The spilt verdict is not a full victory for GOP leadership of Texas as the state's apex court said, in no uncertain terms, that it's neither the governor nor the attorney general who has "statutory authority to directly control DFPS' investigative decisions". They can seek to influence the DFPS' investigative decision, the Texas Supreme Court has opined, but the sole authority resides only in DFPS.
State Appeals Court Blocks Child Abuse Investigation
The Third State Court of Appeals on March 29, 2024 upheld a lower court ruling that had put a hold on the Department of Family Protective Services from opening any new and conducting any existing investigations into potential abuse if hormone therapy and puberty blocking medical services are sought to treat gender dysphoria for minors.
Trans care has become a lightning political rod in the Republican-led states, including Texas. In the 2023 legislative session, a state law, Senate Bill 14, was enacted to bar gender-affirming care for transgender children. The SB 14 is being challenged in the state court system.
************************* CHILD ABUSE INVESTIGATION FOR SEEKING TRANSCARE
Abbott Signs Bill to Bann Transgender Participation in College Sports
In another shameful chapter of discrimination, Governor Gregg Abbott signed a bill on June 15, 2023 that would build upon a similar legislation passed in 2021 to expand the transgender ban in women's sports to the state's public colleges and universities. The measure will be effective on September 1, 2023.
Judge Imposes a Temporary Injunction on a Texas Trans Care Ban Law
A law signed by Governor Gregg Abbott in June 2023 and slated to go into effect on September 1, 2023 was temporarily blocked by a state judge on August 25, 2023. State District Court Judge Maria Cantu Hexsel said in ruling that the plaintiffs--transgender children and their physicians--would "suffer probable, imminent, and irreparable injury" if the law went into effect. The plaintiffs in Texas case constitute of five families, three doctors and advocacy organization PFLAG.
Supreme Court Lets the Trans Ban Law Stand
Texas Supreme Court on August 31, 2023 lifted a lower court injunction on gender conforming care for minors, paving the way for the transgender treatment ban for minors to go into effect on September 1, 2023 along with about 750 new laws.
Paxton Crosses Border to Pursue Transgender Care
In a bone-chilling action, Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton sent letter in November 2023, asking Seattle Children's Hospital to share records related to the gender-affirming care that it had provided to transgender children from Texas. The Associated Press reported on December 22, 2023 that Seattle Children's Hospital had filed a lawsuit in Austin, saying that Texas attorney general had no authority in encroaching in the domain of hospital-patient relationship.
Texas Supreme Court Upholds State Law to Restrict Gender-Conforming Treatments
In 8-1 margin, Texas Supreme Court on June 28, 2024 upheld the Senate Bill 14 that restricted certain medical treatments to address the gender dysphoria, including gender conforming treatment, for minors.
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UTAH
Court Lifts the State Blockade on Transgender Participation in Girls' Sports
On August 19, 2022, a Utah court lifted an injunction on transgender student participation in girls' sports. Utah is one of the at least 12 states that have passed sweeping laws banning transgender participation in girls' sports. However, Utah legislature also passed a fallback plan in case any court overturned the blanket ban on transgender student participation in girls' sports. Under the fallback plan, a state-appointed panel will take up the individual transgender athlete's case and assess various conditions before letting the athlete participate with other girls. There was only one recorded transgender case among 80,000 students participating in girls' sports last year.
THAILAND
Marriage Equality to Become Law on January 23, 2025
January 23, 2025 marks a historic day for the marriage equality in Thailand as the law passed by the House and Senate will go into effect on that day, bringing parity on marriage, property rights, medical decisions and myriad other areas to hitherto neglected LGBTQ community. Thailand becomes the third Asian nation to recognize the same-sex marriage after Thailand and Nepal.
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