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Sixth Circuit Upholds Same-Sex Marriage Bans
By a two-to-one vote, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the right of states to ban same-sex marriages yesterday , overturning rulings in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. Going forward, the challengers in the cases can either ask the full Sixth Circuit bench to reconsider their cases (en banc) or appeal directly to the Supreme Court.
Barriers to Forming Loving Families: Adoption Laws and Same-Sex Couples
After a historic summer for marriage quality and the decision by the Supreme Court to deny review of seven petitions challenging state bans on same-sex marriage, 32 states and the District of Columbia now allow same-sex couples to marry. Although these marriage equality victories helped remove some barriers to same-sex couples looking to start a family, many barriers still exist to same-sex couples—in both marriage equality and non-marriage equality states—that want to raise children.
An Alabama Synagogue Takes a Big Stand for Marriage Equality
As the much-anticipated oral argument approaches in the marriage equality cases coming out of the Sixth Circuit Court before the Supreme Court, the fight for marriage equality within states wages on.
Standing for Marriage Equality in Israel
I recently ended a three-week trip to the United States and returned home to Israel. This was a particularly emotional trip, as I was in Boston the day of Marathon. I saw firsthand how resilient the people of Boston are in a crisis.
What’s Happening in Alabama, and What it Means for the Bigger Picture of Marriage Equality
As we get closer to the much-anticipated oral argument in the marriage equality cases coming out of the Sixth Circuit Court before the Supreme Court, the fight for marriage equality within states wages on.
On January 23, Federal District Court Judge Callie V. S. Granade ruled that that Alabama’s ban on marriage equality was unconstitutional. Yet, in the weeks following the court ruling, many counties refused to offer marriage licenses to same-sex couples following a February 8 order by the chief justice of the Alabama State Supreme Court, Roy S. Moore who stated that state court probate judges are “not bound by any rulings of the Federal District Court.” On the same day (February 9) that counties started refusing to provide marriage licenses to same-sex couples, the Supreme Court refused to halt same-sex marriages from starting in Alabama.
LGBTQ Rights and Position of the Reform Movement
Position of the Reform Jewish Movement The Reform Movement has been an advocate of the LGBTQ community since 1965, when the Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ) passed a resolution calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality.
The Status of the States: LGBT Equality Across the US in 2014
Last month, the Human Rights Campaign and the Equality Federation Institute released their 2014 State Equality Index (SEI), which analyzes the state of LGBT rights in all fifty states and the District of Columbia. Although the fight for marriage equality is often in the headlines, this report highlights the many other laws that impact LGBT people, for better and for worse. Ultimately, while 2014 included many victories for LGBT people on the state level, there is clearly much more that needs to be done in order to achieve full equality.
LGBTQ Life in Israel
Israel has been called the "gay capital of the Middle East," which is no surprise to many of its supporters who have been touting its outstanding record on gay rights for years.
How LGBT Inclusion in Sports can Inform our Jewish Inclusion Work
I’ll be honest: I don’t normally read articles about sports. I usually skip over the entire sports section of the newspaper, but the other week, I found myself reading some exciting sports-related news: on November 14, the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) first openly gay male athlete will compete in one of the big four sports (basketball, baseball, football and hockey). Although I’m not a sports fan, as someone who cares deeply about building inclusive Jewish communities, I felt this story and the reaction of the team could inform our own inclusion work as a Jewish community.
Last April, Derrick Gordon came out publicly, becoming the first openly gay player in Division I men’s college basketball. Since coming out, Gordon’s relationship with his team has changed significantly. A recent profile by Outsports illustrates the transformation of his relationship with his teammates from one in which they made snide remarks and avoided showering with him when they suspected him of being gay to one in which they now ask him about his dating life and treat him just like any other teammate. Gordon’s story illustrates the impact coming out can have on transforming a homophobic atmosphere into one of acceptance and inclusion.