News
Court: Tenn. must recognize gay couples’ marriages
Judge predicts bans on gay nuptials will become ‘footnote’ in history
A federal court has ordered Tennessee to recognize the same-sex marriages of six gay couples (Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons).
A federal judge in Tennessee issued a preliminary injunction ordering the state to recognize same-sex marriages performed out-of-state — but only for the six plaintiff couples named in the lawsuit.
In a 20-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger, a Clinton appointee, handed down the decision without making a final determination on whether the state’s anti-recognition laws are constitutional, but says they likely won’t stand up in court.
“The plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction will be granted, and the court will issue an injunction against the defendants, prohibiting them from enforcing the Anti-Recognition Laws against the six plaintiffs in this case,” Trauger writes.
Trauger suggests she’ll wait to issue a final determination after more courts in her circuit issue rulings on same-sex marriage, but adds the trajectory of recent decisions in other jurisdictions bodes well for same-sex couples.
“At some point in the future, likely with the benefit of additional precedent from circuit courts and, perhaps, the Supreme Court, the court will be asked to make a final ruling on the plaintiffs’ claims,” Trauger said. “At this point, all signs indicate that, in the eyes of the United States Constitution, the plaintiffs’ marriages will be placed on an equal footing with those of heterosexual couples and that proscriptions against same-sex marriage will soon become a footnote in the annals of American history.”
The lawsuit, known as Tanco v. Haslam, was filed in October by private attorneys and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Three same-sex couples are named in the lawsuit; each lived and were legally married in another state before moving to Tennessee. The couples filed a motion for preliminary injunction in November 2013 seeking immediate protection while their case proceeds.
The three couples are Dr. Valeria Tanco and Dr. Sophy Jesty of Knoxville; Army Reserve Sergeant First Class Ijpe DeKoe and Thom Kostura of Memphis; and Matthew Mansell and Johno Espejo of Franklin. Although the case was originally filed on behalf of four couples, Erik Olvera, an NCLR spokesperson, said one couple dropped out for personal reasons.
Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said the decision “marks yet another recognition” in a string of decisions that determined laws barring same-sex couples from marriage have no reasonable justification.
“The courts’ decisions also reflect a broader societal movement toward respect for same-sex couples and their families,” Minter said. “As people have gotten to know the same-sex couples who are their neighbors, co-workers, relatives, and friends, they have come to see the unfairness of laws that deny protection to loving, stable relationships and stigmatize children being raised by same-sex parents.”
In her decision, Trauger reflects on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision against the Defense of Marriage Act, saying the overwhelming case law following the ruling has led courts to determine state laws barring same-sex marriage are unconstitutional.
“In light of this rising tide of persuasive post-Windsor federal caselaw, it is no leap to conclude that the plaintiffs here are likely to succeed in their challenge to Tennessee’s Anti- Recognition Laws,” Trauger said.
Dave Smith, a spokesperson for Gov. Bill Haslem, said the opinion is “under review” when asked if the decision will be appealed, but conveyed the sense that his boss isn’t happy with the decision.
“The opinion is under review,” Smith said. “The governor is disappointed that the court has stepped in when Tennesseans have voted clearly on this issue. It’s inappropriate to comment further due to the continuing litigation.”
Sharon Curtis-Flair, a spokesperson for Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper, Jr., expressed a similar sentiment.
“We are reviewing the decision and intend to take all necessary steps to defend the law,” Curtis-Flair said.
Although courts in the Second Circuit and Ninth Circuit have issued rulings saying laws related to sexual orientation should be subject to heightened scrutiny, or a greater assumption they’re unconstitutional, Trauger doesn’t apply that standard because she suspects Tennessee’s marriage ban fails the lower standard of “rational basis” review.
“The court finds that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their equal protection challenge, even under a ‘rational basis’ standard of review,” Trauger writes. “For this reason, the court need not address at this stage whether sexual orientation discrimination merits a heightened standard of constitutional review or whether the plaintiffs are likely to prevail on their additional due process and right to travel challenges.”
Jesty, one of the plaintiffs in the case, said she and her spouse are “overjoyed with the ruling” because it will enable them to receive protections afforded to other opposite-sex couples in similar situations.
“As a result of this order, our daughter will never know a time when her bonds with her loving parents were not protected or the state saw her family as less worthy than other families,” Jesty said. “We look forward to the resolution of this case so that all married same-sex couples in Tennessee can have the protections that we were granted today.”
Kenya
Kenyan advocacy groups launch LGBTQ voter mobilization campaign
As Kenya prepares for next year’s August general election, local queer rights groups have joined Gen Zers in also mobilizing their members to register as voters.
The groups’ drive began ahead of the electoral commission’s official launch of a one-month nationwide mass voter registration on March 30, targeting 6.5 million new voters to bring the total to more than 28 million.
The groups — led by the Initiative for Equality and Non-Discrimination (INEND) and Galck+ — note that politics is not optional, but rather it is “our responsibility” to use the ballot to put an end to bad leadership and discriminatory laws against them.
“Voting is one of the most powerful ways we exercise our autonomy and remind the State that our human rights are not ‘Western imports’; our struggles for housing, employment, safety, and dignity are fundamentally Kenyan issues,” INEND states.
It reminds queer individuals that the nation entrusts them with an identity card at age 18 as a recognition of their ability to make decisions, follow laws, and take responsibility for the country’s future.
INEND also notes that despite this honor, LGBTQ people get kicked out of their homes due to homophobia, are discriminated against at work, and face violence in public places due to the punitive laws that the same State legislates.
“As queer Kenyans, our vote matters,” INEND states. “Our voice belongs in the democratic and governance conversations, and true democracy includes everyone.”
Some voter mobilization initiatives the queer lobby groups have been using include ‘Queering the Ballot’ Podcasts on civic participation, dubbed ‘Your Vote is Your Future’. The topics explored include how laws shape their lives, the relationship between lived experiences of common citizens, discrimination fatigue, distrust in government systems, and voter apathy.
The groups through the mobilization drive hope to create a queer voting bloc to actively participate in restructuring and reconstructing the existing governance system they argue has been a problem for them. They maintain the queer community navigates a system that was not built for them from its questioning of their right to exist, yet the Kenyan Constitution clearly states that no citizen should be discriminated against based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Court of Appeal next month will hear a case challenging the constitutionality of provisions in Kenya’s Penal Code that criminalize consensual same-sex relationships among adults. The appeals court postponed the case after adjourning on Feb. 4, its first substantive hearing since the High Court judgement in 2019.
“Change requires more than pointing fingers. It requires reflection, action, and showing up, especially at the ballot box as LGBTQ Kenyan citizens and declaring that this is our country, our business, and we can no longer watch from the sidelines,” INEND states.
The group notes that they want a governance system that embraces queer people as they go about their daily lives without any form of homophobic discrimination, harassment, or arrests. Queer people are therefore urged to pick the right leaders who listen to them in Kenya’s six elective positions, from the president down to the local government representatives, as their decisions while in power affect them.
“It is very irresponsible for any human being, even around the world, to assume that they don’t have political responsibility. It is easy and sounds fancy to say ‘I don’t like politics,’ but it does not make one good as it makes one abandon their political responsibility as a citizen,” INEND states.
The groups are also concerned with the existing homophobia among Kenyans, especially whenever they join them in street protests against the government’s punitive measures or advocating for change. However, they maintain that the LGBTQ community won’t be left behind despite being marginalized in society, yet they are the most affected group when the government raids people’s pockets for taxes.
“Now we are moving from the margins to the centre of this political conversation early enough to ensure that our community sees the sense because if we live in a country that doesn’t work, we will be the most affected,” INEND states.
INEND, with the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and Galck+, last November launched the second Queering the Ballot Campaign and the 2024 Situation Report on queer participation in Kenya’s democracy.
The report surveyed 14 of the country’s 47 local governments, whose key findings affirm that queer Kenyans are not outsiders to democracy but its heartbeat.
“The title ‘Our Vote, Our Future: LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Democratic and Governance Processes’ in Kenya is an ode to the spirit of the queer movement in Kenya; unshaken in the face of adversity, determined in its pursuit of justice, and unrelenting in demand to be seen, heard and counted in democratic and political processes,” reads the report forwarded by former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga.
The report calls on Parliament, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the County Assemblies, and every Kenyan to make inclusion not symbolic but systemic.
District of Columbia
Mayor Bowser signs bill requiring insurers to cover PrEP
‘This is a win in the fight against HIV/AIDS’
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on March 20 signed a bill approved by the D.C. Council that requires health insurance companies to cover the costs of HIV prevention or PrEP drugs for D.C. residents at risk for HIV infection.
Like all legislation approved by the Council and signed by the mayor, the bill, called the PrEP D.C. Amendment Act, was sent to Capitol Hill for a required 30-day congressional review period before it takes effect as D.C. law.
Gay D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5) last year introduced the bill.
Insurance coverage for PrEP drugs has been provided through coverage standards included in the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. But AIDS advocacy organizations have called on states and D.C. to pass their own legislation requiring insurance coverage of PrEP as a safeguard in case federal policies are weakened or removed by the Trump administration, which has already reduced federal funding for HIV/AIDS-related programs.
Like legislation passed by other states, the PrEP D.C. Amendment Act requires insurers to cover all PrEP drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Studies have shown that PrEP drugs, which can be taken as pills or by injection just twice a year, are highly effective in preventing HIV infection.
“I think this is a win for our community,” Parker said after the D.C. Council voted unanimously to approve the bill on its first vote on the measure in February. “And this is a win in the fight against HIV/AIDS.”
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, will visit Hungary next week.
An announcement the White House released on Thursday said the Vances will be in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, from April 7-8.
JD Vance “will hold bilateral meetings with” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The announcement further indicates the vice president “will also deliver remarks on the rich partnership between the United States and Hungary.”
The Vances will travel to Hungary less than a week before the country’s parliamentary elections take place on April 12.
Orbán, who has been in office since 2010, and his Fidesz-KDNP coalition government have faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.
The Associated Press notes polls indicate Orbán is trailing Péter Magyar and his center-right Tisza party.
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