National
Marriage lawsuits filed in three more states
Cases brought this week in Arizona, Florida and Indiana
Sandra Newson and Denise Hueso of Miami are among the eight same-sex couples who are seeking legal recognition of their out-of-state marriages in Florida. (Photo courtesy of the ACLU of Florida)
Lambda Legal on Thursday filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Arizona on behalf of seven same-sex couples and two surviving spouses who are challenging the Grand Canyon State’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The same group on March 10 filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on behalf of three gay couples seeking the ability to tie the knot in the Hoosier State.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Florida on Thursday also filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of eight same-sex couples seeking state recognition of their marriages legally performed in other jurisdictions. SAVE, a Miami-based LGBT advocacy group, is a plaintiff in the case.
Sandra Newsom of Miami, who married her partner of nearly 17 years, Denise Hueso, in Massachusetts in 2009, is among those who spoke at a Miami Beach press conference.
“When we moved back to Florida we knew we would be sacrificing some of the rights that we’d enjoyed when we lived in Massachusetts,” said Newsom. “Most families don’t have to choose between being in the place they call home and having equal treatment under the law, and they shouldn’t have to. If Florida would recognize our marriage, we wouldn’t have to either.”
Nelda Majors and Karen Bailey of Scottsdale, Ariz., who have been together for more than 55 years, are the lead plaintiffs in the Arizona case.
“We’re a committed, loving family, have raised two amazing girls together, have seen each other through thick and thin, in sickness and in health,” said Majors. “After five decades together, we want to celebrate and affirm our deep love for each other as other couples do, before our friends and family, through marriage.”
18 states and D.C. have extended marriage rights to same-sex couples.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver next month is scheduled to hold oral arguments in two cases challenging the constitutionality of state constitutional amendments that ban same-sex marriage in Oklahoma and Utah. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., in May is slated to hear a case that challenges Virginia’s gay nuptials ban.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in the coming months is expected to hear oral arguments in a challenge to Nevada’s same-sex marriage ban. A federal appeals court in New Orleans will likely hear a similar case that challenges Texas’ gay nuptials prohibition after U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia last month ruled the state’s same-sex marriage ban violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clauses.
A federal judge on Feb. 27 ordered Kentucky to begin recognizing same-sex marriages legally performed in other jurisdictions.
The Southern Poverty Law Center last month filed a lawsuit against Alabama’s same-sex marriage ban on behalf of a gay widower who lost his spouse less than three months after they exchanged vows in Massachusetts in 2011. Same-sex couples in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Missouri, Oregon and other states have also filed lawsuits seeking marriage rights after the U.S. Supreme Court last June struck down a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder last month announced the Justice Department will now recognize same-sex marriages in civil and criminal cases and extend full benefits to gay spouses of police offices and other public safety personnel – even in states that have yet to allow nuptials for gays and lesbians. Holder a few weeks later said state attorneys general do not have to defend same-sex marriage bans.
“I believe we must be suspicious of legal classifications based solely on sexual orientation,” he said during a Feb. 26 speech during the winter meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General in D.C. “We must endeavor – in all of our efforts – to uphold and advance the values that once led our forebears to declare unequivocally that all are created equal and entitled to equal opportunity.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) last month introduced a bill that would prohibit the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages in states where gays and lesbians cannot tie the knot.
National
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
Designer/activist wins for work on ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
It was a historic night at the 79th annual Tony Awards on Sunday as Queen Jean won the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical, making her the first out transgender person to win a Tony.
“This experience has been monumental. We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people,” she said. “We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm. So I just want to say, thank you all so much for this incredible honor. The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change.”
She won the award for her work on “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and was also nominated for best costume design of a play for “Liberation.”
In addition to her stage work, Queen Jean is the founder of Black Trans Liberation, an organization that supports trans and gender-nonconforming people in New York City.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.
National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.
The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
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