Recent news and commentary

Perry v. Schwarzenneger

Theodore Olson addressed a group of law students and answered their questions about the case. He said that the Supreme Court didn't tip its hand when it decided to disallow a televised broadcast of the trial. He appears to take it for granted that the case will ultimately reach the Supreme Court. The legal team will not target specific Supreme Court judges (like Anthony Kennedy!) for their arguments. He repeated his reasons for bringing the case last year rather than wait on an incremental strategy. He faulted the Prop. 8 proponents for failing to demonstrate any harm from marriage equality to the institution of marriage. And he told a reporter that the case "will affect the rest of the world." (The Blog of Legal Times)

Gill v. OPM

"On Thursday, May 6, 2010, the Federal District Court in Boston will hear oral arguments on the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), in the case of Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, brought by GLAD in March 2009." (GLAD press release)

Adoption - Cole v. Arkansas

"The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Arkansas will ask a Pulaski County circut court to rule in its favor in its challege to Act One, a 2008 law that bans any unmarried person who lives with a partner from serving as an adopting foster parent in Arkansas." (KTHV, Little Rock, cross-posted by ADF Alliance Alert) The ACLU makes its selected filings available here, and the Alliance Defense Fund links its briefs to this press release. Lamda Legal also has a press release.

Divorce

"So why are we talking about a same-sex couple married in Massachusetts and now divorced in Texas? It's a new area of law and divorce attorneys in Chicago and all across the country likely are taking cues from this case and ones in other states." (Steven Tanner for the Chicago Family Law Blog)

Civil Unions

"Bill in NH" writes a powerful, eloquent reply to an article on civil unions legislation, which a state Pennslvania Representative recently introduced. Bill uses his experience to defend the legislation and marriage equality laws, like the one in Massachusetts that allowed him to marry his husband before he passed away. He describes how his marriage spared him the risks of many legal conflicts at a vulnerable time. He also describes the emotional and legal problems survivors still encounter even if they enjoy the protections of their status as spouses or civil-union partners.