Massachusetts Sues Federal Government Challenging DOMA

The Massachusetts Attorney General, Martha Coakley, filed a lawsuit this morning against the federal government arguing that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional under the 10th Amendment of the US Constitution. The Boston Globe first broke the story shortly after noon today. AG Coakley will be giving a press conference at 2pm today.

AP article regarding the lawsuit.

"State of the Nation" for Same-Sex Marriage

FindLaw is featuring a series of articles on same-sex marriage... From the article:

In this three-part series, we will deliver a "state of the nation" report on the rights of same-sex couples in the United States. In this column, we offer a brief history of the battle over the same-sex marriage -- from the first wave of cases in the 1970s in which the idea of same-sex marriage was broached and roundly rejected, through the most recent legislative and judicial developments that have made same-sex marriage a legal reality.

In Part Two, we will describe the current legal landscape for same-sex couples, which features a sliding scale of recognition rights in some states, alongside statutory and constitutional bans on such rights in others. Part Three will explore the state of the law regarding interstate recognition of same-sex marriage, focusing on the widespread adoption of anti-same-sex-marriage statutes and constitutional amendments at the state level. It will also consider some special legal problems for same-sex couples that are posed by this unique legal landscape.

Quick Update

• OnTopMag.com reminds us that DC will start recognizing gay marriages tomorrow.
• USA Today has an article about gay marriage and census challenges. Here is the post where I originally raised the issue

Louisiana Couple Sues for Marriage License

A gay couple in New Orleans filed a lawsuit in federal court, arguing that they have a fundamental federal right to marry. The New Orleans Real-Time Metro News reports that the complaint argues that the state "permanently deprived them of the ability to sanctify their committed relationship and to exercise all of the rights and benefits attendant to marriage."

India Decriminalizes Homosexuality

Today, an Indian court in Delhi overturned a 148-year-old law left over from colonial law that described a same-sex relationship as an "unnatural offence" and made homosexual acts punishable by up to ten years in prison. The BBC reports that the court held that the law was discriminatory and a "violation of fundamental rights." Indian activists are calling the ruling "India's Stonewall,"but expecting a challenge to the ruling. Here is a link to the court's opinion.

County Council of Alleghency County, PA Debates Passage of Anti-Discrimination Law that Includes Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression and Identity

The Allegheny County Council is considering a law that would create a Human Relations Commission to investigate and prosecute employment and housing discrimination for a variety of protected classes, including gender identity and expression, and sexual orientation.

A drafting snafu relating to a religious exemption appears to be endangering the passage of the bill, however. Although religious exemptions for LGBT classes are common, the particular way this one is drafted is very concerning.

The problem is an exception that the Act carves out in its definition of an "Employer," which provides:

For the purposes of this Article, the definition of "employer" shall not include any
religious organization, regardless of number of employees or County funding,
provided that such religious organization provides documentary evidence of its
religious nature to the Human Relations Commission of the County of Allegheny,
and avers in writing to the Commission that gender, sexual orientation, or gender
identity constitute grounds for employment decisions under the fundamental
tenets of the religion in question.

The problem with this definition is that it appears to permit religious organizations to discriminate against all classes (sex, race, color, etc.) just because its religious tenants conflict with hiring an LGBT person.

The Post-Gazette has an article and the Council's website has the full text of the law.

The Council's debate for the law is tonight at 5:00 pm, and has a live-webcast here.

Wisconsin Governor Signs (limited) Domestic Partnership Law

Same-sex couples in Wisconsin will soon be able to obtain domestic partnerships, giving them some of the rights of opposite-sex married couples. The passage of this law, however, is particularly interesting because Wisconsin has a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman and barring any relationship that is "substantially similar to marriage."

The Domestic Parntership provisions are in 09 Wisconsin Act Act 28, starting on page 604.

[Via Volokh Conspiracy]