Prop. 8 judge lifts stay, but same-sex marriages still on hold

(08-12) 13:11 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Gay and lesbian couples in California who were breathlessly poised to get married this morning had their hopes dashed when the federal judge who struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage lifted his stay on those nuptials - but simultaneously ruled that his order not take effect for six more days.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker invalidated Proposition 8 last week, saying the ban was discriminatory and unconstitutional. At the time, he put a temporary stay on his ruling, meaning it could not be enforced.

He lifted that stay today, according a court announcement at 12:35 p.m. However, Walker said in today's order that the stay will not be canceled until 5 p.m. on Aug. 18.

That gives proponents of Prop. 8 time to ask the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for another stay.

Couples this morning gathered at San Francisco City Hall in hopes that they could tie the knot. Despite the uncertainty of that likelihood, they wanted to be ready to take advantage of whatever opportunity they could get in the long, tangled trail of legal rulings regarding same-sex marriage.

Proponents of Prop. 8 had argued that Walker's decision should not take effect while they seek a reversal in higher courts. That process could last a year or more; a decision by the appeals court may, in turn, be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Lawyers for Protect Marriage, the Prop. 8 campaign committee, had said that if Walker's ruling of last week is allowed to take effect, "same-sex marriages would be licensed under a cloud of uncertainty, and should (Protect Marriage) succeed on appeal, any such marriages would be invalid."

Lawyers for the two couples and a gay rights organization that challenged Prop. 8 have argued that maintaining the ban through a stay would further punish gay and lesbian couples. They said that in order for the stay to remain in place, Prop. 8 opponents have to prove they are being harmed by gay and lesbian marriages, and they have to show they are likely to prevail on appeal.

"They can't prove either of those," said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, one of the driving forces to overturn the same-sex ban. "Lifting this stay is the right thing to do."

Prop. 8 opponents were joined in their request that the stay be lifted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown.

Douglas Napier, an attorney who defended Prop. 8, said that contrary to Kors' contention, he is confident his side will win on appeal. After Walker's ruling, which was the result of a nonjury trial in January, he called the setback a legal "bump in the road."

Validos en todo México matrimonios gays de la capital

martes, 10 de agosto de 2010


Prensa Asociada

México.- Todos los estados de México están obligados a reconocer civilmente los matrimonios homosexuales que se realicen en la Ciudad de México, según acordaron hoy en votación 9-2 los miembros de la Corte Suprema.

La semana pasada el máximo tribunal declaró en votación 8-2 que los matrimonios entre personas del mismo sexo, aprobados por la legislatura local de la capital mexicana, son válidos constitucionalmente.

El gobierno impugnó ambas leyes con el argumento de que los matrimonios de parejas del mismo sexo rompen el pacto de la Federación, pues equivalen a introducir una nueva figura que no todos los estados reconocen.

Sin embargo, para la mayoría de los ministros el artículo 121 de la Constitución señala que el estado civil de las personas debe ser reconocido en todo el territorio nacional, independientemente de dónde se celebre.

La Ciudad de México es el único lugar del país donde se permiten los matrimonios gays. El gobierno capitalino informó la semana pasada que desde marzo se han celebrado 320 bodas de parejas del mismo sexo, de las cuales 173 han sido de hombres y 147 de mujeres.

Study: Female sexual fluidity

By Celeste Lavin, 365gay.com

08.09.2010

Many researchers who studied the concept of “late-life lesbianism” had previously concluded that these women had always been gay, but weren’t comfortable coming out until they were older, reports NPR.

A new study led University of Utah professor Lisa Diamond to suggest that this is not the case.

Diamond tracked a group of 79 women for 15 years; most of the women said they became attracted to women when they were in their late thirties.

From these women, Diamond has found that in fact these late-life lesbians had not in fact always been attracted to other women.

“It does appear to be that women’s erotic desires are pretty tightly linked to their emotional feelings. And so for some of these women, they authentically did not really feel attracted to women before they met one particular woman that they completely fell in love with,” said Diamond.

She added, “I think it’s hard to know whether that capacity actually becomes stronger over time. Probably what’s a safer conclusion to draw is that as time goes on, women have more opportunities to discover that capacity.”

Diamond said that in aging, women become more open-minded, meet more people and have a wider range of experiences, which can “create a context in which a woman might have always had that capacity to become attracted to women, but might never have had the opportunity until she reaches a certain stage in her life.”

Some opponents to same-sex marriage have sited Diamond’s research as evidence that sexuality is a choice, but Diamond said that is not the right conclusion to draw from her work.

“The problem there is the mistaken conflation of change with choice. The women that I have studied who have had these experiences did not experience them as chosen at all. So the idea that it’s chosen is really the mistake there,” said Diamond.

Diamond said the women were more confused than upset by their new feelings, and most of them said the experience was very satisfying. Diamond said, “Women would say, I don’t know what’s going on but, oh, I love this woman.”