Defense of Marriage Act

Nate Silver's Forecast Is Very Optimistic About Same-Sex Marriage

Nate Silver is less than a god but more than a man. After November's presidential election, the bossman at the New York Times' FiveThirtyEight blog became best known for correctly predicting the electoral outcomes of all 50 states. His forecast models became legendary. Of course, he had previousl ... More >>

Pro-Gay Marriage Republicans Continue to Emerge

Based on your position on gay marriage, yesterday was either like watching the end of Spartacus or a clip of lemmings jumping off a cliff. More than two dozen Republicans added their names to a brief imploring the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that laws banning same-sex marriage are unconstitutional, ... More >>

Prop. 8: Supreme Court Sets Date to Hear Case on Gay Marriage

Consider this your very own "save the date." The U.S. Supreme Court this morning said that oral arguments will begin on March 26 for the much-anticipated Proposition 8 case, which will finally bring some closure to the gay marriage debate that started right here in California over four years ago. ... More >>

Proposition 8: U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Appeal on Gay Marriage (Update)

Update 2:10 p.m.: City Supervisors respond to U.S. Supreme Court decision on Prop. 8. Read at the bottom Original story 12:29 p.m.: The U.S. Supreme Court just announced that it will review the federal constitutional challenge to Proposition 8, California's ban on gay marriage, as well as the Def ... More >>

Proposition 8: Supreme Court Takes No Action on Gay Marriage

The LGBT community remained unresolved this morning when the Supreme Court didn't take any action on Proposition 8, California's ban on gay marriage. Since last week, San Francisco has been anxiously awaiting the court's decision on whether it will hear the Prop 8. appeal. But today, the court took ... More >>

Prop.8: U.S. Supreme Court Considers Whether to Hear Gay Marriage Case

Update 12:40 p.m.: No action on gay marriage from the court today. The justices did not pick up any of those cases at their meeting this morning, SCOTUSblog reported. So, for all those who are hosting a Supreme Court Gay Marriage Case Announcement party, you'll need more ice and maybe some sleeping ... More >>

A More Perfect Union: Prop. 8 May Lead to Gay-Marriage Rights

Nancy Pelosi, Fellow Dems Say Immigration Policy Should Recognize LGBT Couples

Undocumented immigrants in same-sex marriages are perhaps the most polarizing slice of the American populace right now (slightly ahead of NBC's gymnastics commentators).This week, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and scores of other Democrats signed a letter seeking to protect LGBT couples, urging the Oba ... More >>

The Pro-Gay Marriage Ruling Conservatives Should Love

Men with Confederate Flag decals reading "Never Forget" on their gun rack-equipped pickups and a fondness for "state's rights" don't seem like the likely demographic to support same-sex marriage. Following today's unanimous ruling by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston that the Defense of Mar ... More >>

DOMA Project: Meet Brian and Alfonso, Local Gay Couple Getting Screwed Over by DOMA

What better way to truly understand the effects DOMA has had on binational gay couples than to put a face to the names. Here's the story of San Francisco couple Brian Willingham and Alfonso Garcia featured on a video by the DOMA Project, a campaign launched in 2010 to fight help binational gay coupl ... More >>

San Francisco Gay Binational Couple to Appeal DOMA Visa Denial

Anthony Makk, left, with husband Bradford Wells in happier times.​Anthony John Makk -- the gay Australian national fighting separation from his San Francisco spouse after his marriage visa petition was denied last week -- is not giving up yet. Makk will now appeal the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrat ... More >>

Immigration Judge Delays Deportation for Alex Benshimol, S.F. Gay Man Married to American

Alex Benshimol, left, can stay in the country with his husband Alex Gentry.​In another victory for same-sex couples, a San Francisco immigration judge ignored the Defense of Marriage Act today when she delayed the deportation proceedings against a gay Venezuelan man who is married to an American c ... More >>

Feds Close Deportation Case Against Same-Sex Spouse of Gay American

Henry Velandia, right, and his American spouse, Josh Vandiver​The immigration woes of same-sex couples has finally reached a tipping point: The Immigration Court in Newark, New Jersey, has closed the deportation case against the foreign spouse of a gay American this week. The couple's attorney, La ... More >>

ICE Softens Its Stance on DREAM Act Kids, but Still Hazy On Gays

Can Anthony Makk, left, and Bradford Wells get a break? ​The DREAM Act kids seem to be getting a break, but what about gay couples? A memo sent on Friday from the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement appears to tell immigration officers to have a little heart when it comes to enforcing ... More >>

Federal Backruptcy Court Declares DOMA Unconstitutional

Gay couples go broke, too. ​The latest assault on the federal law that only recognizes straight spouses comes from an institution that's not exactly known for making rousing statements about civil rights: the federal bankruptcy court.According to news reports., the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Ce ... More >>

Anthony Makk, Gay Australian, to Stay in Country -- For Now

Anthony Makk, left, can stay for now​Anthony Makk, the gay San Franciscan who was in jeopardy of being deported back to his native Australia today, will be staying here a little longer. His attorneys are filing a spouse visa petition in a New York immigration court, which will buy Makk a little ex ... More >>

Bradford Wells, Gay San Franciscan, Fighting Against Husband's Deportation, Taken To Hospital

Anthony Makk, left, with husband Bradford Wells​Update, 2:30 p.m.: Steve Ralls from Immigration Equality e-mailed SF Weekly to say that Bradford Wells did not have a heart attack. "I just received an update, and Bradford is back home from the hospital, and resting.  He did not have a heart a ... More >>

Dustin Lance Black, Milk Screenwriter, Asks LGBT Community to Tell Their Stories

Tell your story​By all accounts, the "It Gets Better" video campaign was a raging success. Sex columnist Dan Savage asked LGBT folks and their supporters to make videos encouraging gay teens to hang in there -- that life does gets better. The concept went viral and thousands of people, including P ... More >>

Obama Fundraiser To Draw Protesters Advocating Green Cards For Gay Couples

Rallying at Obama's door. ​Protesters from all walks of life -- potheads, gays, and antiwar folks -- will be greeting President Obama upon his arrival to San Francisco tomorrow afternoon. While antiwar demonstrators recruit people for their cause, multiple organizations for gay rights are gatherin ... More >>

U.S. Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill To Help Same-Sex Couples Sponsor Foreign Partners

A new push to change the law for same-sex binational couples. ​U.S. lawmakers reintroduced a bill Thursday that would allow gay Americans to sponsor their same-sex partner for a visa, just as straight married couples can. At the same time, Congress members wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric H ... More >>

Gay Binational Couples to File Lawsuit Challenging DOMA

Gay couples are ready to rumble for equality in immigration law. ​Consider it the next major court battle against the Defense of Marriage Act: Gay Americans will file the first lawsuit to challenge DOMA on the grounds that it bars them from sponsoring a gay foreign spouse for a visa like straight ... More >>

Gay Binational Couples Fighting Deportations On Obama's New DOMA Stance

​Gay couples are already using President Obama's new stance against the Defense of Marriage Act as a weapon to fight deportations of their foreign spouses. The couples hope that the administration's declaration last week that the law that defines marriage as only between a man and a woman is uncon ... More >>

Obama's Stance On DOMA Could Benefit Binational Gay Couples

​Political calculations are aflutter in response to the Obama administration's claim that it would no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, the law that limits marriage between a man and a woman. Here's one more: What does this mean for gay immigrants who are married?As we explored in a 2010 ... More >>

State of the Union for Gays: Cannon Fodder Only!

Obama speaks from the heart, but what about the gays?​President Obama has a very special message for LGBT Americans: Sign up for military service. That is all.Actually, that message comes with a few asterisks. First, don't go to the recruitment office just yet. Don't Ask Don't Tell was repea ... More >>

The Year in Gay, 2010 Edition

What a year it was​Who Will Be The Uppity Fag Of The Year?Let's face it -- this was a messy, messy year for the gays. Much of the news was good, ultimately, but shit dragged on! There were three major federal trials (four, technically -- but two were sorta merged in Massachusetts), promises ... More >>

Human Rights Campaign To Move Into Harvey Milk's Camera Store

Harvey Milk has been enlisted by the HRC​In what some grassroots gay activists are calling an "insult," the Human Rights Campaign is about to move into the location of Harvey Milk's old camera store at 575 Castro Street. It will be the new San Francisco "action center" providing information on the ... More >>

Obama to DADT: Please Don't Go!

​The Week in GayThe week started with a federal judge in California pulling the plug on "Don't Ask Don't Tell" -- the military policy that bans open service by gay. It ended with the Obama administration asking for a stay on the decision.Let me repeat that summary: President Barack Obama -- who sa ... More >>

Cocktober Surprise: An Indecent Urinal Proposal

It's okay! Andrew Miller is married! ​The Week In GayThe biggest news this week is the new term I learned: Cocktober!  Isn't that terrific?  How have I lived on this planet for multiple decades without ever referring to this month as Cocktober??It's adorable, I tell you. And you'll never ... More >>

Lady Gaga Destroys DADT -- While Wearing Meat

Can Lady Gaga do away with DADT before this dress goes bad? ​In the last episode of the Week in Gay, a federal judge ruled that the military ban on gays serving in the military (Don't Ask Don't Tell) was unconstitutional. Since then, Lady Gaga won 101 Video Music Awards on MTV and then kicked some ... More >>

Appeal the Prop. 8 Decision!

It'd be a shame if the reversal of Prop. 8 didn't have national implications...​There was talk on Monday that a "group of conservative leaders" were chasing around Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado, begging him to file an appeal on the Proposition 8 decision, since he was acting as governor while ... More >>

What a Week in Gay it Was!

Photo illustration | Audrey FukumanJudge Vaughn Walker gave Prop. 8 the pimp slap​Seriously, this was one mother fu**ing gay week! Can I hear a what what?You may have heard that Vaughn Walker, the gayest judge in the world -- even gayer than Supreme Court's new softball coach, Justice Elena Ka ... More >>

The Week in Gay: Defense of Marriage Act Indefensible

Judge Joseph Tauro​The story of the week: A federal judge in Massachusetts declared that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) - passed by Congress in 1996 and signed into law by President Bill Clinton - violates the U.S. Constitution. In his decision, Judge Joseph Tauro (A fiery young radical aged ... More >>

Worlds Apart

Federal law gives gay citizens with foreign partners tough choices: Leave the U.S.A. Lose your love. Break the law.

Nancy Pelosi Pledges Repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell by Christmas. Hmmm.

I can't wait for Christmas. The holiday means nothing to me ordinarily, but this year I'm going to put my stockings on the mantle early. Does anyone know where I can get a blue spruce in May? Speaker Nancy Pelosi was the headlining act last Friday night at the Equality California fund raising e ... More >>

It's Your Friday Morning News Quiz!

Alameda PoliceSo, what's my story? ​Good news, readers! Since last week's winners took home surprise tickets to Oysterfest, you can still win THE CAR OF THE FUTURE! It's positively futuristic! Send us all the correct answers here; first one is the big winner. 1. Who is Richard Cochran? A. The form ... More >>

The Week in Gay: George Rekers, Another Secretly Queer Homophobe

Rekers: I hired him to carry my luggage, not be my man-whore!​ Unbelievable! Dr. George Rekers, a guy whose entire career was based on the notion that gay people don't have to be gay, is a closeted gay snorkeler. Surprise! With each passing day the story continued to grow increasingly so ... More >>

The Week in Gay: Why Can't Heterosexuality Be Cured?

They're totally on it...​On Tuesday, CNN presented a segment about an arcane law on California's books that one state legislator would like to have repealed. The law mandates homosexuality be cured. It was added to state law half a century ago. It's bullshit, of course, but I really don't under ... More >>

Obama Administration Fails In Attempt To Have Its Gay Wedding Cake and Eat It, Too

But does President Obama 'feel your pain'?​In the gay marriage wars, you can never make everybody happy. But a court filing by the Obama administration today may well piss off everyone.  Social conservatives surely have had their tighty-whiteys worked into a twist by the Department of Justice ... More >>

Beautiful Dreamers

John and Tom Henning hope to beat Sen. William "Pete" Knight at his own game, with a ballot initiative to legalize gay marriage in California

Beautiful Dreamers

The anti-Knight initiative

Letters

The Grid

Savage Love

Against All Odds

Fundamentalists want to ban same-sex marriage. All across California, people are mad as hell. So how come nobody's doing anything about it?