A New Year Brings A New Law for Lesbian & Gay Couples in NH

In New Hampshire, Gay and Lesbian couples were lined up outside the state's capital building to marry at midnight on Jan. 2, 2010, when New Hampshire became the fifth US state to allow same-sex marriage.

At midnight on Thursday, same-sex couples in New Hampshire joined Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts and Iowa in their right to marry.

Couples already in civil unions have three options to convert their statuses to marriages. They can have marriage ceremonies, file marriage paperwork with their town clerks to convert their statuses during 2010 or wait until the unions are automatically converted in 2011.

Democratic Gov. John Lynch, who personally opposes gay marriage, signed the legislation after lawmakers passed key language affirming religious rights. The law spells out that churches and religious groups can't be forced to officiate at gay marriages or provide other services.he New Year brought a new law to New Hampshire, where midnight ceremonies took advantage of the fact that gay marriage is now legal in the state. As 2010 dawned, a bill signed last June became law, and the Granite State joined Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, and Vermont in recognizing same-sex unions. "I’m really glad it happened in our lifetimes," a 38-year-old bride told the Nashua Telegraph. "I didn’t know if it would."

"For all of us, it’s pretty significant,” said one of the new mothers-in-law. “I think it’s the final bridge they have to cross to feel like a family."

Source: Reuters

Almost 150,000 GLBT Couples Report Being Married

The Associated Press announced yesterday that almost 150,000 same-sex couples reported being in married relationships last year, much more than the number of actual weddings and civil unions, according to the first U.S. census figures released on same-sex marriages.

About 27 percent of the estimated 564,743 total gay and lesbian couples in the United States said they were in a relationship similar to that of straight couples' husband and wife, according to the Census Bureau tally. That's compared with 91 percent of the 61.3 million total opposite-sex couples who reported being married.

A consultant to the Census Bureau estimated there were about 100,000 official same-sex weddings, civil unions and domestic partnerships in 2008.

Analysts said the disparities are likely a reflection of same-sex couples in committed relationships who would get married if they could in their states. The numbers are also an indicator of the count to come in the 2010 census, a tally that could stir a state-by-state fight over same-sex marriage, gay adoption and other legal rights.

Nationwide, about 56 percent of the 149,956 total same-sex marriages in the census survey last year were lesbian couples. Same-sex spouses were reported in every state; specific breakdowns weren't immediately available.

The numbers come as the Census Bureau prepares to make an official count of same-sex marriages, unions and partnerships for the first time in the 2010 head count, after the Obama administration's decision to provide the numbers under pressure from gay rights groups.

Source: Associated Press

Lesbian Couples Given Equal Birth Rights in the UK

BBC news just announced that women in same-sex relationships can now register both their names on the birth certificate of a child conceived as a result of fertility treatment.

Female couples not in a civil partnership but receiving fertility treatment may also both be registered.

The law change applies to female couples in England and Wales who were having fertility treatment on or after 6 April 2009.

However critics say the change would be detrimental to family values.

Previously, the mother's female partner could not be registered as a parent.
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But the change in the law confers legal parenthood on the mother's female partner.

According to the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, there were 728 lesbians who underwent invitro fertilization (IVF) between 1999 and 2006.

And in the same period, there were 5,211 lesbian females who received donor insemination (DI) treatment.
“ Now lesbian couples in the UK who make a considered decision to start a loving family will finally be afforded equal access to services they help fund as taxpayers ”
Ruth Hunt, Stonewall

The changes to the Registration of Births and Deaths Regulations 1987 were approved by Registrar General James Hall earlier this year, following Royal Assent for new parenthood provisions contained in the Human Fertilization and Embryology Act 2008.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office said that there will be provision for a birth certificate to be used that will have two "parent" sections, rather than mother and father.

Also, sperm donors will continue to be able to opt in or out of having their name on the birth certificate, but if both mothers wish to have their name on the document, the donor cannot be registered in that way.

'Fair treatment'

Home Office Minister Lord Brett said: "This positive change means that, for the first time, female couples who have a child using fertility treatment have the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts to be shown as parents in the birth registration.

"It is vital that we afford equality wherever we can in society, especially as family circumstances continue to change. This is an important step forward in that process."

Conservative MP Nadine Dorries told the BBC that the move undermined the traditional family model.

She said: "If we want to build a stable society, a mother and father and children works as the best model.

"We should be striving towards repairing and reinforcing marriage. I think this move sends out the exact opposite message."

'Legal fiction'

Dr Peter Saunders, of the Christian Medical Fellowship, criticised the move, telling the Daily Mail that the change would "create a legal fiction around the parentage of the children" which would then result in a "legal minefield" when it came to issues of maintenance and inheritance.

He was supported by Labour MP Geraldine Smith, who said: 'To have a birth certificate with two mothers and no father is just madness."

Stonewall's Head of Policy and Research Ruth Hunt said that as a result of the law change, life for lesbian families "isn't only fairer, it's also much easier".

She added: "As the law improves to provide further equality, knowing your new rights will help people make full use of the services they're entitled to. And, if discrimination occurs, the same knowledge can help them demand fair treatment.

"Now lesbian couples in the UK who make a considered decision to start a loving family will finally be afforded equal access to services they help fund as taxpayers."

Story from BBC NEWS

Will New York be the 5th State to Allow Same-Sex Marriage?

Just this morning New York Governor David Paterson unveiled legislation that would allow same-sex couples to marry in New York. “Marriage equality is about basic civil rights and freedom. That is why we stand together today to embrace civil rights for every New Yorker.” stated Patterson at today's press conference.“The timing is always right. It’s just a matter of who is willing to take the step, and I am.”

Paterson’s bill would amend the domestic relations law allowing civil marriages between same-sex couples, and he called on the Legislature to approve the bill.

This new bill is similar to the one that the Democratic-controlled state Assembly had passed in 2007, but was later shot down by the Republican majority Senate. And although Democrats now control the Senate, the State Senate Majority Leader stated he did not have the votes to pass marriage equality legislation and will not bring the bill to a vote.

Gov. Paterson has said in recent days that the State Legislature should move ahead now with the bill even if it cannot produce enough votes. His reasoning, which some gay rights advocates have questioned, is that he believes New York should make a statement by showing that they are committed to treating same-sex couples as they do heterosexual couples.

Paterson, accompanied by his wife Michelle, City Council head Christine Quinn, state Sen. Tom Duane and other officials, compared the need for same-sex marriage to the struggle to abolish slavery. “Gay marriage is a crucial issue of equal rights in America that cannot be ignored.” He continued on to say, "For too long, gay and lesbian New Yorkers — we have pretended they have the same rights as their neighbors and friends. That is not the case. All have been the victims of what is a legal system that has systematically discriminated against them."

Both Republicans and religious conservatives have already vowed to defeat the new same-sex legislature. And while Paterson was announcing his new proposal, Sen. Ruben Diaz of the Bronx, also a Democrat, met with religious leaders to discuss how to block the bill.

Diaz, an evangelical pastor, stated that his meeting in the Bronx was to inform Hispanics, Catholics, evangelicals and others who are opposed to same-sex marriage of their options to prevent this bill's passage.

New York City’s new Roman Catholic Archbishop, Timothy Dolan, has already promised to work actively to ensure the same-sex bill never passes.

“You can bet I’ll be active, present and articulate,” said Dolan. “We bishops aren’t into politics, we’re into principles…I won’t shy away from the fact. I realize with gratitude and humility that the pulpit has prominence that takes some getting used to.”

Earlier this month a Quinnipiac University poll was released showing that approximately 41 percent of New York State voters support recognition of same-sex couples, while 33 percent favored civil unions.

So do you think it will be California or New York that becomes the 5th US state to legalize same-sex marriage...I am hoping for a tie!

Japan to Recognize Marriage Equality

Japan, which does not allow gay and lesbian citizens to marry, will now allow those citizens who legally marry foreigners abroad to have their marriages recognized in domestic law. The Japan Times reports:

The Justice Ministry plans to clear the path for Japanese nationals overseas to marry same-sex partners who are citizens of countries where such unions are legal, ministry sources said Thursday.

To marry foreigners abroad, all Japanese nationals, regardless of sexual orientation, must obtain certificates from the ministry by submitting documents that include their name, birth data, sex and nationality, and similar information about their marriage partner.

Under the latest decision, the ministry will issue a new type of certificate that only certifies that the person has reached legal marriage age and is single.

"We were not able to get (the ministry) to forgo the clarification of gender. But I want to hail the Justice Ministry's decision as a step forward (for gays)," said Taiga Ishikawa, who represents gay support group Peer Friends.

Ishikawa said Japanese gays were not able to marry even if their partner's country allowed same-sex marriage because the Justice Ministry would not issue the certificate.

"And without being married they were unable to obtain visas for their partners to live together," Ishikawa said.

Lesbian Couples in Poverty?

I was reading an article today about a study that was done at UCLA's Williams Institute attempting to analyze poverty among gay and lesbian couples.

The article, from usatoday.com, stated that "the report was an analysis of recent data about same-sex unmarried couples from the 2000 Census and also included two smaller surveys with questions on sexual orientation."

From the information they gathered, they were attempting to debunk "a popular stereotype (that) paints lesbians and gay men as an affluent elite," says co-author Lee Badgett, an economist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She continues on to state, "There are clearly many poor lesbian, gay and bisexual people."

The data Badgett used included the 2002 federal National Survey of Family Growth and the 2003 and 2005 California Health Interview surveys.

Badgett continues on to say, "Even though single mothers are most likely to be poor, the study did not focus on single lesbians and gay men because most population surveys don't ask about sexual orientation unless respondents volunteer that they are living with a same-sex partner."

Badgett believes that same-sex partners are more likely to be poor because they lack the safety nets of heterosexual couples, such as a spousal health insurance and Social Security survivor benefits.

It is interesting that this report is coming about just as the California Supreme Court is weighing the legality of Prop 8, as well as a bill, that is awaiting action in Congress, to outlaw job discrimination based on sexual orientation.

As to whether or not this report will help our cause is yet to be seen, but I thought the finding themselves were rather interesting, especially since I personally know very few lesbian couples that would be considered impoverished.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject...

Source: usatoday.com

Lesbian couple invited on Inaugural Whistle Stop Tour

15 other families join Obama, Biden on train to ceremony
From Washington Blade staff reports

Recently the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee announced the names of 16 families who will join President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden on their Whistle Stop Tour to D.C. the Saturday before the inauguration.

Lesbian couple Lisa Hazirjian and her partner Michelle have been invited to join the Whistle Stop Tour and appear onstage with Obama and Biden during events.

Hazirjian, who is from Ohio, serves as an at-large board member of Equality Ohio, as a member of the Cleveland Stonewall Democrats and as a volunteer for Cleveland Families Count, an organization formed to defend the new domestic partner registry in the city.

She is now establishing herself as a leader in our community at the grassroots level, serving as an at-large board member of Equality Ohio, a member of the incredibly effective Cleveland Stonewall Democrats, and a volunteer with Cleveland Families Count, the organization formed recently to defend the new domestic partnership registry in Cleveland.

The other invited guests include: The invited guests include the following: Mark Dowell, Crestwood, KY; Matt Kuntz, Helena, MT; Jim and Alicia Girardeau, Kansas City, MO; Juliana Sanchez, Albuquerque, NM; Rosa Mendoza, Las Vegas, NV; Kirsten Meehan, Dover, NH; Roy Gross, Taylor, MI; Shandra Jackson, Arlington, TX; Quincy Lucas, Dover, DE; Patricia Stiles, Parker, CO; Gregg Weaver, Fairless Hills, PA; Tony Fischer, Cinncinati, OH; Lilly Ledbetter, Jacksonville, AL; Mike and Cheryl Fisher, Beech Grove, IN; and Randy Wehrman, LeClair, IA.

Publisher Looking for Gay/Lesbian Marriage Stories

A call for submissions from Cleis Press for a new book about gay and lesbian couples:

"We at Cleis Press want to take positive action to raise awareness in the wake of the passage of Proposition 8. To that end, we are publishing a book (and quickly!) entitled My Gay Marriage, a collection of personal reflections by married gays and lesbian—regardless of whether those marriages are legally recognized. Our book will show many wonderful and moving examples of committed couples and enduring same-sex marriages and families. Both thoughtful and provocative, My Gay Marriage will educate and inspire readers about this basic civil right.

We hope to send a powerful message to the public about this movement based on love—and to further galvanize what we see as the chief civil rights movement of today. The proceeds from My Gay Marriage will go to activist organizations, such as Marriage Equality USA and Join the Impact.

We would love to include you in our book. We see you as an important voice for this cause and would welcome your participation. Here’s an opportunity to share the story of your relationship—in a loving and moving context. Would you consider writing a brief personal essay (3000 - 5000 words) about your experience of same-sex marriage? We’d so greatly appreciate your time and consideration of this.

Again, many thanks, and we hope to hear from you soon!"

To get more information, contact Brenda Knight at bknight@cleispress.com.

Lesbian Parent's Attacked at Child's School

Last week in Toronto Canada, a lesbian couple was physically attacked by another parent outside of their children's elementary school.

The local news reported, "Ms. Dimitriou, 30, and her lesbian partner Jane Currie, 37, said Friday they still can’t believe what happened. 'He [Mark Scott] clocked me right in the face, like right in the side of my face, and I hit my truck and I couldn’t see anything, like I blacked out,' Ms. Dimitriou said. 'I was awake but I could hear everything but I just couldn't see anything. Then I think he clocked me again right in the top of my head.'

Anji Dimitriou said she was helping her son put his backpack into the car when another child’s father came toward her and began yelling, "which of you two men spoke to my kid? Fucking dyke lesbians." Then "out of nowhere" he spit in her face and punched her."

Jane Currie saw what was happening to her partner and rushed over. “I had said to him, ‘you asshole what are you doing? You just beat a woman’ (then) bang I got it” she said.

To make matters worse, the attack occurred in front of the couple's three children, the attacker's children, and other kids at a school.

“Kids were screaming. Little kids. It happened right where kids go to get on the school bus. They were so afraid,” Jane said as she began to cry. “You try and explain that to your kids. They’re petrified. So scared they can’t sleep at night.”

Durham Regional Police Sgt. Paul McCurbin said Mark Scott, 43, of Oshawa faces two charges of assault causing bodily harm in connection with the incident.

School officials said a “no trespass” order has also been issued by the school.

Source:
Ontario News
newdurhamregion.com

Gay-nuptial market drives auto-club offer

Article written by Hannah Clay Wareham, The Advocate

A nationwide auto organization, The Better World Club, is offering free one-year memberships to same-sex couples who officially tie the knot between now and Sept. 20. The Portland, Ore., company is also honoring proof of domestic partnerships or civil unions for same-sex couples who are unable to marry in California or Massachusetts.

Mitch Rofsky, president of the Better World Club, told The Advocate that the company was trying to correct an oversight in the auto-club industry.

"We feel that the industry discriminated against gays by not recognizing them for spouse discounts," he said Thursday.

By faxing a copy of their marriage license or civil-union or domestic-partnership paperwork to the company, same-sex couples are eligible for all that the membership has to offer, including vehicle roadside assistance, lockout services and even bicycle assistance for a year. Basic service, including towing within five miles, usually costs $53.95 annually for one person and $20 more for a household.

The membership comes free of carbon-footprint guilt: One percent of the Better World Club's gross revenue goes to several different environmental cleanup and advocacy organizations each year, including the Sierra Club and carbon offset efforts, Rofsky said.

"We're a greener, and, we like to think, cooler, alternative to AAA and other auto clubs," Rofsky said.

While the company's new offer has made a few waves within their organization -- it's lost two members since beginning the free-membership offer early this summer -- Rofsky says the feedback has been positive overall.

California Gay Marriage Licenses will be available on June 17th

June 17th will be the day that California County Clerks can start issuing marriage license to gay & lesbian couples. The guidelines, which were emailed from the chief of California's office of vital records to the state's 58 county clerks, included copies of the new marriage forms, which now include lines for "Party A" and "Party B," instead of bride and groom. These new forms also contain a change to accommodate same-sex couples who already have registered as domestic partners

Now the only thing keeping California from issuing gay marriage licenses is a stay request from opponents of gay marriage. These anti gay marriage groups, which include the Proposition 22 Legal Defense Fund and the Alliance Defense Fund, have asked the court to stay its decision until after the November election, when voters will likely be deciding on a ballot initiative that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Passage of the initiative would overrule the Supreme Court.

The California court has until the end of the day on June 16th to rule on the stay request. Lawyers involved in the marriage cases have said that it is possible for the court to request an extra 60 days to consider the stay, if they feel it is necessary.

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera submitted a brief on Wednesday urging the court to refuse the request of a stay. "To deny this fundamental constitutional right to same-sex couples based on speculation about what might happen in November would not merely be inappropriate, it would be inhumane," Herrera's wrote in his brief.

A poll released on Wednesday found that for the first time about half of California voters would support same-sex marriage.

The Field Poll, which surveyed 1,052 registered voters and conducted over the phone from May 17 to May 26, found that 51 percent of respondents would vote for legalizing same-sex marriage and 42 percent opposed it. In 2006, a similar poll found that 44 percent supported same-sex marriage while 50 percent objected to it; in 1977, the first year Field posted the question to California voters, only 28 percent were in favor.

Calling all lesbian Couples who have been together for 5+ years

Felice Newman, author of The Whole Lesbian Sex Book, is looking for lesbian couples who would be interested in helping her with research for her new book, here are the details from Felice:

• Have you been together for 5+ years?
• Do you enjoy a satisfying sex life?
• I would like to hear from you: What makes your sexual relationship work?

Will you help me research a new sex guide for lesbian couples?

I am conducting confidential interviews (via telephone) with couples who enjoy a satisfying sexual relationship. I am interested in exploring the ways we grow our sexual partnerships.

I want to know what makes your sexual relationship work. How do you sustain erotic interest over the years? How do you face the sexual challenges that inevitably arise in a long-term relationship? How has your coupled sexuality evolved? How does your partnership support your sexual growth and pleasure? In short, what are the payoffs of an ongoing sexual relationship?

I want to hear from couples who have been together 5+ years, and who feel their sexual relationship "works," however you would define that. (Even if you wouldn't say you have the perfect sex life, if you are generally fulfilled in your sexual relationship, I want to hear from you.)

The Whole Lesbian Sex Book has informed, supported, and entertained many thousands of women in the nearly 10 years since it was published. Now I'm turning my attention to couples. As a somatic coach and sex educator, I help many couples who are quite unsatisfied with their sex lives. I'm doing this research so that I can better help them, and, of course, the many couples who will read the book.

There will be a reciprocal aspect to these interviews. In our telephone conversation, you'll have an opportunity to ask me questions, too.

All interviews will be strictly confidential, and interviewees will be quoted anonymously in my book.

If you'd like to participate, please if you'd like to participate, please paste the form below into an email, complete it, and send it to me:

felice@felicenewman.com
Thanks so much!

Best wishes,
Felice Newman
http://www.felicenewman.com/

Whether you identify as lesbian, bisexual, or queer; butch, femme or androgynous; polyamorous, monogamous; adventurous, sensual, kinky; boi, MTF, butch-in-transition, transmen, partner of an FTMs and MTFs, intersex, traditionally gendered or transgendered; sexually experienced or new to sexual exploration, I want to hear from you!

FELICE NEWMAN'S LESBIAN COUPLES RESEARCH PROJECT.
Please complete and send to: felice@felicenewman.com

NAMES (Age)
1._______________________________________________________________________________

2._______________________________________________________________________________

How long have you been a couple?

What is the best thing about your sexual relationship?

What has been the greatest challenge to your sexual relationship?

What interests you about participating in this research?

What city/state do you live in?

Phone #:

Best time(s) to schedule a conversation?

Psychoanalysts' Organization Backs Same-Sex Marriage

NEW YORK, March 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
The American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA) has issued a position statement supporting the legal recognition of same-sex civil marriage while opposing discrimination against same-sex couples. In recognition that gay and lesbian couples are raising children and possess the same potential and desire for life-long relationships as their heterosexual counterparts, the APsaA seeks to assist in ending the government-sanctioned discrimination against homosexual couples that denies them over 1,000 federal rights and benefits. For full text of the APsaA Marriage Resolution, please visit:

We want people to think about the broad impact the denial of same-sex marriage has on Americans today, says Ethan Grumbach, Ph.D., chair of APsaA's Committee on Gay and Lesbian Issues. Families exist in many different ways and it is important for same-sex couples to have legal and societal recognition of their unions for themselves, their children, and their extended families.

APsaAs Committee on Gay and Lesbian Issues reviewed extensive research on homosexual relationships and gay and lesbian parents and their children prior to issuing this statement in January 2008. Some relevant statistics and research results are:

-- The Kaiser Family Foundation Survey of 2001 found that 68 percent of lesbians and gays considered lesbian and gay marriage to be very important and 25 percent considered it to be somewhat important.

-- According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 34 percent of cohabitating female couples and 22 percent of male couples were raising children under the age of 18.

-- In a 2006 paper, Charlotte Patterson concluded, Results of the research (of various population samples of lesbian and gay families) suggest that qualities of family relationships are more tightly linked with child (development) outcomes than is parental sexual orientation.

Gay and lesbian couples are being denied the right to marry in this country on the basis of false scientific testimony, says Gary Grossman, Ph.D., member and former chair of APsaAs Committee on Gay and Lesbian Issues. As experts on emotional experience, the membership of the American Psychoanalytic Association has an obligation to clarify its position that same-sex marriage offers substantial mental health benefits for the nations gays and lesbians and their loved ones, and the denial of marriage has psychologically detrimental consequences.

In addition, APsaAs Committee on Gay and Lesbian Issues is currently developing a proposed position statement on the United States military policy of Dont Ask, Dont Tell.

The American Psychoanalytic Association is a professional organization of psychoanalysts throughout the United States and is comprised of approximately 3,500 members. Visit http://www.apsa.org for more information.

SOURCE American Psychoanalytic Association