Wyo. House passes ban on marriage recognition
Advocate.com reports the Wyoming House of Representatives passed a bill Jan. 24 that would ban recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages and civil unions. The bill now heads to the state Senate, where prospects for passage appear strong.
State Rep. Owen Petersen (R-Mountain View), the bill’s sponsor, said the legislation is needed to resolve a conflict in Wyoming law, which defines marriage as a contract “between a male and a female person” but also recognizes any valid marriage performed outside the state. Other supporters said the bill will hold back government intrusion into Wyoming culture.
Judge rules for gay-rights backers in health suit
The San Francisco Chronicle reports a federal judge has issued a favorable ruling for gay rights involving state employees and long-term health care.
U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland ruled California state employees can sue for discrimination over the federal government’s exclusion of same-sex spouses from a long-term-care program.
In the Jan. 18 ruling, the judge turned down an Obama administration request to dismiss the suit.
The suit was filed over the California Public Employees’ Retirement System’s refusal to enroll spouses in a federally approved long-term-care plan.
CPERS said it doesn’t enroll same-sex spouses because of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Couple who fought adoption ban adopts 2
The Miami Herald reports a gay Miami man has officially adopted two brothers after he fought to overturn Florida’s three-decades-old ban on gay adoptions.
Martin Gill and his partner fostered the boys for six years before the adoption was finalized Jan. 19.
Gill and the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the state, calling the ban unconstitutional. The Third District Court of Appeal agreed in a ruling last year. The state did not appeal.
The adoption prohibition was enacted in 1977 and court records indicate it’s the only law of its kind in the U.S. n
— Larry Nichols