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NEW YORK -- These are frustrating, tantalizing days for many of the same-sex couples who seized the chance to marry in recent years. The law that prohibits federal recognition of their unions in under assault in the courts. The Obama administration has repudiated it and taken piecemeal steps to weaken its effects. AP This September 2010 picture provided by the family shows Tim Smulian, left, a South African citizen, and American Edwin Blesch outside the Au Petit Poucet restaurant in Val David, Quebec, Canada. They married in 2007 in South Africa. Because of the U.S. law barring ...
WORCESTER, Mass. -- The NAACP's newly revived Worcester chapter elected a 28-year-old openly gay black man as its president this month. In New Jersey, a branch of the organization outside Atlantic City chose a Honduran immigrant to lead it last year. And in Mississippi, the Jackson State University chapter recently turned to a 30-something white man. Founded more than a century ago to promote black equality, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is seeing remarkable diversity in its leadership ranks - the result of an aggressive effort over the past four or five years ...
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration will introduce its first statement calling for the United Nations' top human rights body to combat discrimination against gays and lesbians around the world, completing a U.S. reversal from years of ambiguity on the subject during the presidency of George W. Bush. The U.S. declaration will be made Tuesday at the Geneva-based Human Rights Council and has the support of more than 80 countries. Although it is not in the form of binding resolution, the American push for U.N. action has helped win over a handful of new countries to the cause. A resolution ...
The Defense of Marriage Act -- the federal law defining marriage as being between a man and a woman -- has plenty of defenders, but they are up on Capitol Hill, not in the White House. Less than a week after the Obama administration said it would no longer argue in court for a key section of the 1996 law, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Republicans would likely enter the legal fray. "I do believe that this case is distinguishable on its merits, and to have . . . the president take the position that he's not defending the law of the land is something very troubling, I think, to most ...
The White House announced today that Jeremy Bernard will serve as special assistant to the president. The decision makes Bernard not only the first man, but also the first openly gay man, to serve as White House social secretary. "Jeremy shares our vision for the White House as the People's House, one that celebrates our history and culture in dynamic and inclusive ways. We look forward to Jeremy continuing to showcase America's arts and culture to our nation and the world through the many events at the White House," President Barack Obama said in a statement. Surge Desk did some digging on ...
ANALYSIS WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration's stunning announcement that it now considers the Defense of Marriage Act indefensible because it discriminates against gay couples was more than a sign of the times. It was yet one more reason Barack Obama is the un-Bill Clinton. From gay rights to Wall Street reform, Obama has taken actions his fellow Democrat wished he could have during his presidency or which, a decade after leaving office, he regrets he didn't: Jim Watson, AFP/Getty Images Former President Bill Clinton, right, said he "didn't like" signing the Defense of ...
WASHINGTON - In a major policy reversal, the Obama administration said Wednesday that it will no longer defend the constitutionality of a federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriage. Attorney General Eric Holder said President Barack Obama has concluded that the administration cannot defend the federal law that defines marriage as only between a man and a woman. He noted that the congressional debate during passage of the Defense of Marriage Act "contains numerous expressions reflecting moral disapproval of gays and lesbians and their intimate and family relationships - precisely the ...
HONOLULU - The Hawaii Legislature approved a bill on Wednesday allowing civil unions for same-sex couples, sending the measure to the governor, who has said he will sign it into law. Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie's office said he intends to sign the bill within 10 days, and civil unions would begin Jan. 1, 2012. Eugene Tanner, AP Siobhan Ni Dhonacha, left, gives her partner, Kristin Bacon, right, a kiss on the cheek after Hawaii's Legislature voted to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples. "I have always believed that civil unions respect our diversity, protect people's ...
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