Beams of light > Guiding lights > Support groups
User Rating: 5 / 5
Mexico's Supreme Court ruled on August 11, 2015, that a 2013 law in the southeastern state of Campeche that forbids same-sex couples from adopting children is unconstitutional and struck it down. The challenge to the ban was filed by the state's human rights commission. Supreme Court Judge Margarita Luna announced her intention to present the motion on a federal level in early July. Gay marriages and adoption laws are largely legal in the country's heartland, though several far-flung states witness more opposition.
The state law was struck down in a 9-1 ruling. Presiding Judge Luis Maria Aguila said the decision was made keeping in mind the protection of adopted children.
User Rating: 5 / 5
Same-sex marriage is legally recognized nationwide in 21 countries as of June 26, 2015: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, Sweden and Uruguay.
User Rating: 5 / 5
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, June 26, 2015 made marriage for same-sex couples legal nationwide, declaring that refusing to grant marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples violates the Constitution. The landmark ruling will produce the most significant change in laws governing matrimony since the court struck down state bans on inter-racial marriage almost 50 years ago.
A total of 36 states now permit gay couples to get married, covering roughly 70 percent of the US population. Today's ruling means the bans must end in the other 14 states -- Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.
The decision capped a remarkably quick turnaround in public and judicial acceptance of same-sex marraige. In the past 18 months, court rulings struck down marriage bans in rapid succession -- nearly 60 separate decisions in more than half the states.
User Rating: 5 / 5
The grand festival, which opened Israel's Pride Month, took place all across the city with parties and colorful gatherings. The actual parade started in Gan Meir, continued onto the streets of Tel Aviv and ended with a concert by drag queen Conchita Wurst, the Austrian singer who won the 2014 Eurovision.
User Rating: 5 / 5
Mexico's supreme court has ruled it is unconstitutional for Mexican states to bar same-sex marriages. But the court's ruling is considered a "jurisprudential thesis" and does not invalidate any state laws, meaning gay couples denied the right to wed would have to turn to the courts individually. Given the ruling, judges and courts would have to approve same-sex marriages.
The high court ruled that any state law which considers the ultimate purpose of marriage to be "procreation, and or defines (marriage) as celebrated between a man and a woman, is unconstitutional."
