Respect for Marriage Act

07/27/2012

Happy Anniversary, New York! A Look Back on an Important Year for the Freedom to Marry

By Amanda Feinman, Intern, ACLU LGBT Project at 1:03pm

On July 24th, 2011, Phyllis Siegal, 77, and Connie Kopelov, 85, became the first same-sex couple to be married in New York City, 23 years into their relationship. The experience was “just so amazing,” Siegal explained to CNN reporters at the time. “It's the only way I can describe it." On that first day, New York City’s clerk office was overwhelmed with 2,600 requests for marriage licenses.

08/13/2012

LGBT News

Working Towards an LGBT-Inclusive Platform

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:28pm

On Thursday evening, BuzzFeed reported that the draft 2012 Democratic National Platform includes, as part of an overall endorsement of the freedom to marry for same-sex couples, a call for passage of the Respect for Marriage Act in Congress. This important legislation would completely repeal the discriminatory so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and provide married gay and lesbian couples with certainty that, regardless of where they travel or move in the country, they will not be treated as legal strangers under federal law.

07/03/2012

Defense of Marriage Act

New Legislation Addresses Need for Equal Treatment of Military Spouses

By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 2:41pm

Just in time for Independence Day, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the senior Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, has introduced the Military Spouses Equal Treatment Act (H.R. 6046). This important legislation would ensure equality in military and veteran benefits for all military spouses. It has already garnered the support of 11 additional Democratic members of the Armed Services Committee, as well as Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.), the senior Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

American Civil Liberties Union