The suspense is killing us

Lambda Legal's suit on behalf of sixteen lesbian or gay Nevadans seeking the right to marry or to have their existing marriages recognized in that state suffered a setback on November 26, when U.S. District Judge Robert C. Jones, concluding that the state had a rational basis for maintaining a distinction between domestic partnerships and marriage, entered judgment against the plaintiffs and ordered the Clerk to close the case.  Lambda promptly announced that it would … <Read More>

An employee who objected to being called "Big Gay Al" by a manager in the workplace suffered summary dismissal of his lawsuit on October 23 in Davis v. Fred's Appliance, Inc., 2012 WL 5208505 (Washington Court of Appeals, Div. 3).  Most significantly, the court found, in line with evolving precedent, that the plaintiff's failure to plead special damages doomed his claim for defamation.

According to the opinion for the court by Judge Sweeney, Albert Davis was … <Read More>

U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove ruled on October 15 that the federal hate crime prosecution of two Kentucky men who kidnapped and beat a gay man because of his sexual orientation does not violate the defendants' constitutional rights.  Although the Matthew Shepherd and James Bird Hate Crime Prevention Act (HCPA), which added "sexual orientation" to the federal hate crimes law, has previously been upheld in other contexts, this is the first time it … <Read More>

A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in Manhattan ruled on October 18 that Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which provides that the federal government will not recognize same-sex marriages, violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection of the laws.  Writing for the majority of the 2-1 panel, 2nd Circuit Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs said, "DOMA's classification of same-sex spouses was not substantially related to … <Read More>

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Fall 2012 Term, which began on October 1, may go down in history for the largest number of important decisions on LGBT issues in a single term, but the Court’s first actions were to clear the decks by denying review in two pending cases of gay interest, National Organization for Marriage v. McKee and Pinter v. City of New York.  The Court has yet to announced whether or when it will … <Read More>

Although I've had some "pre-season" concert experiences – the recital at DiMenna Center by Jesse Blumberg and Joceyln Dueck, and the Schubert program at Central Presbyterian – I consider the "official" launch of the season my first concerts at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.  Thus, my season really got well under way last Saturday when I attended a performance of the New York Philharmonic's first subscription program of the new season.

Music Director Alan Gilbert led … <Read More>

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled by a 5-2 vote on September 26 that the juvenile court had authority to issue a temporary visitation order to a mother's former same-sex partner while they were embroiled in a custody dispute over the child they had been raising together.  Reversing a ruling by the Ohio court of appeals, the court reinstated findings by the juvenile court that the mother was in contempt of court for refusing to comply … <Read More>

For the first time, a federal court has ordered a state prison system to provide gender reassignment surgery for a transgender inmate.  Chief District Judge Mark Wolf of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts issued an order on September 4 directing Commissioner Luis S. Spencer to "take forthwith all of the actions reasonably necessary to provide [Michelle] Kosilek sex reassignment surgery as promptly as possible."  Judge Wolf found that denial of the surgery violated Kosilek's right as a prisoner … <Read More>

New York Supreme Court Justice Louis B. York ruled on August 30 that the 2001 amendments to New York City's zoning law dealing with adult businesses violates the 1st Amendment rights of those businesses.  Changing course from some prior rulings he had issued in the case, Justice York found that the City failed to show that the additional restrictions on adult businesses enacted in 2001 to supplement the restrictions first enacted in 1995 were supported … <Read More>