Same-Sex Marriage Update

[MsTinkerbelly]

SLDN To Sue Over DOMA

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network will file a federal lawsuit on behalf of married gay military members impacted by DOMA.
The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network will argue that the federal Defense of Marriage Act violates the Fifth Amendment right to due process, in what the group says will be the first case of its kind. "That has never been done before," Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of SLDN, told The Huffington Post. Sarvis, who spoke about his group's plans at the OutServe Armed Forces Leadership summit here over the weekend, said the case would be brought by several currently serving members of the military who were married in the seven jurisdictions where same-sex marriages are legal. He declined to identify the plaintiffs. "We're looking at all the legal remedies available," Sarvis said, noting that the group also is working to change Title 10 of the U.S. Code, which governs the armed forces and defines marriage as between two individuals of the opposite sex.

[iamkeri1]

Due Process - that is an interesting take on it. Can't see how it would help with any long term legal precedent, but DOMA is fairly new, so it might have some application there. Blessings to them. Knock on every door. Maybe one will open (or fall over from the pressure) Worksfor me either way.

Thanks MsT!
Smooches,
Keri

[MsTinkerbelly]

DOMA: New lawsuit filed on behalf of gay and lesbian servicemembers
By Adam Bink

As noted in the comments by Greg in SLC, today a new lawsuit was filed on behalf of gay and lesbian servicemembers, challenging the Defense of Marriage Act. The lawsuit is being filed in district court in Boston (the same court that handed down the successful decision in Gill v. OPM). Michael Lavers from EDGE Media Network:

A group of gay and lesbian servicemembers and veterans filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act in a federal court in Boston on Thursday, Oct. 27.

The eight plaintiffs, who have 159 years of military service between them, maintain that DOMA specifically prohibits the military from offering their spouses the same family support and benefits that married heterosexual servicemembers automatically receive. These include on-base housing, health care, survivor benefits and burial rights at national cemeteries.

“The case we are bringing today is about one thing, plain and simple: It’s about justice for gay and lesbian servicemembers and their families,” said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, at a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Oct. 27. “These couples are in long-term, committed and legally recognized marriages and the military shouldn’t be forced to turn their back on them because the federal government refuses to recognize their families.”

Among the plaintiffs is Capt. Steve Hill, an Army reservist who is stationed in Iraq who submitted a YouTube question about the end of the military’s ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers during a Republican presidential candidate debate in Florida last month.

Chief Warrant Officer Charlie Morgan returned to New Hampshire from Kuwait in August where she lives with her wife Karen Morgan and their four-year-old daughter. A full-time officer with the New Hampshire National Guard, Charlie Morgan was recently diagnosed with breast cancer after a recurrence. She pointed out that her inability to obtain a military identification card prevents her from taking her daughter on base to take advantage of the facilities and other services other married couples receive.

“We’re just looking to receive the same benefits and opportunities as our married heterosexual counterparts,” said Charlie Morgan as her wife stood by her side. “Time may not be on our side.”
The repeal of ’don’t ask, don’t tell’ became official on Sept. 20, but SLDN and other groups continue to stress that the end of the Clinton-era law is an important first step towards remedying long-standing inequalities against gay and lesbian servicemembers.

The plaintiffs filed their lawsuit a week before the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to debate a bill that would repeal DOMA. The White House announced earlier this year that it would no longer defend the Clinton-era statute, but House Republicans continue to back the law.

Retired Capt. Joan Darrah of Alexandria, Va., was a naval intelligence officer until she retired from the Navy in 2002. Seven of her colleagues died in the room in which she had been working in the Pentagon moments before American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the building on Sept. 11, 2001. Under DADT, Darrah said her partner of nearly 20 years, Lynne Kennedy, would not have been notified of her death.

[MsTinkerbelly]

By Kat Giantis MSN

That sound you hear? It's the institution of marriage banging its head against the wall and asking for mercy. A little more than two months after tying the knot in a ridiculously ostentatious, E!-sponsored ceremony, Kim Kardashian is giving Kris Humphries the heave-ho.


Following weeks of rift rumors, Kim, 31, filed for divorce on Monday, citing the usual "irreconcilable differences," according to legal papers obtained by TMZ.

Kim has retained go-to celebrity divorce attorney Laura Wasser to get her out of the 72-day-old marriage (and presumably enforce the ironclad prenup). In the divorce docs, she requests that no spousal support be awarded to the NBA player.

The date of separation is listed as Oct. 31, 2011.

"She wanted the fairy tale, and she got caught up in it all," a Kardashian konfidante tells People. "She felt like the pressure of the TV show just isn't what they could have handled."

According to TMZ, Kris thought they could work through their problems, and he didn't know Kim planned to pull the plug until Monday morning.

The reality starlet, whose first union to music producer Damon Thomas also ended in divorce, flew solo at a Halloween bash on Saturday, explaining to Us Weekly that Humphries, 26, was back home in Minnesota.

"It's always tough when you're apart," she said. "But we do what we can to try and spend time together and make that time for each other."

Last week, Kim admitted to People that married life hasn't been "ideal."


I suppose that this will be the "queers fault"...I mean, if it weren't for us, idiots like this might stay married longer than 2 months! Nah, probably not...

Cindy

[Gráinne]

Only in America, where most of the couples here on this site cannot legally marry, after only being together for a million years. And "they" say we ruin the institution of marriage?!

[Soon]

20 Couples That Put Kim Kardashian's Marriage To Shame

[MsTinkerbelly]

DOMA: Senate Judiciary Committee markup on Respect for Marriage Act begins today
By Adam Bink

Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin the markup process on the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. All 10 committee Democrats publicly pledge support for the bill, though it’s not clear what amendments will be offered and whether that calculus could be changed.

Republicans are expected to exercise their prerogative to hold over the bill one week, which they have done on every committee bill this year. That means that today’s meeting will likely be about other business and Senators will make only brief remarks on the Respect for Marriage Act. Actual votes, including amendments if offered, are therefore expected to take place on Thursday, November 10th. Sen. Grassley, the ranking Republican, is expected to offer an amendment to strike Section 2 of the bill, which provides for the ability to retain federal rights for same-sex married couples no matter which state they reside in. There may be other amendments introduced shortly before the 10th. In short, no fireworks expected today, though I’ll update if that changes. Courage Campaign and our members are working with our allies in and outside of the Senate to ensure anti-LGBT amendments are not adopted by the committee and that we have a successful vote on the overall bill.

Whenever the vote happens, it will make headlines around the nation and serve as a chance to again move people’s hearts and mind on this issue, as well as educate the public, so the committee consideration should not be dismissed as a non-starter simply because we are short on the votes in the full Senate. As I wrote in this essay, we have a long way to go and every moment builds a majority for DOMA repeal