Marriage Act

This week, more than 250 major corporations, cities and employers declared that same-sex marriage ought to be recognized under federal law everywhere in the United States. What brought about this dramatic shift? And why do some of America’s leading conservative institutions today embrace marriage equality?

That story actually began over three decades ago.

For the owners of the Village Voice in 1982, it was a simple question. Should we consider same-sex couples equally with married opposite sex couples when it comes to offering health care and other workplace benefits?

Yes, they agreed. Read more »

BOULDER, Colo. -- Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Wednesday that she believes the Defense of Marriage Act will likely go to the U.S. Supreme Court within the next year.

Ginsburg spoke at the University of Colorado in Boulder. She was asked a student-submitted question about the equal-protection clause and whether the nation's high court would consider it applying to sexual orientation.

Ginsburg said with a smile that she couldn't answer the question. She said she could not talk about matters that would come to the court, and that the Defense of Marriage Act would probably be up soon.

"I think it's most likely that we will have that issue before the court toward the end of the current term," she said. Read more »

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) introduced an amendment on Thursday that would ban same-sex marriage on any military facility and prohibit any military chaplain from performing gay marriage ceremonies.

The Iowa Republican argued that President Barack Obama and the Secretary of Defense were “contravening” the Defense of Marriage Act by allowing military chaplains to perform same-sex marriages on bases. Read more »

An appeals court hears arguments on whether to nullify part of the 1996 law that denies certain rights and benefits to same-sex married couples. The case is likely to head to the Supreme Court.

WASHINGTON — A closely watched constitutional challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act went before a U.S. appeals court for the first time Wednesday, setting the stage for a possible Supreme Court decision next year on whether legally married same-sex couples are entitled to equal benefits under federal law.

At issue is not whether gays and lesbians have a right to marry, but whether the federal government can deny tax, health and pension benefits to same-sex couples in states where they can marry. Read more »