One Step Backward, Two Steps Forward?

[New Pagodi]

Minnesota.

I know that was mentioned above, but the process is now complete.

[heyzeus]

http://jalopnik.com/minneapolis-bridge- ... -506568192


I-35 bridge in Minneapolis

"It looks like the final stage of Mario Kart"

[Mary1966]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/2 ... r=Politics

A judge has ruled that a North Texas lesbian couple can't live together because of a morality clause in one of the women's divorce papers.

The clause is common in divorce cases in Texas and other states. It prevents a divorced parent from having a romantic partner spend the night while children are in the home. If the couple marries, they can get out from under the legal provision – but that is not an option for gay couples in Texas, where such marriages aren't recognized.

The Dallas Morning News (http://dallasne.ws/16MlSUQ) reported that in a divorce hearing last month for Carolyn and Joshua Compton, Collin County District Judge John Roach Jr. enforced the terms detailed in their 2011 divorce papers. He ordered Carolyn Compton's partner, Page Price, to move out of the home they shared with the Comptons' two daughters, ages 10 and 13. The judge gave Price 30 days to find another place to live.

I've never heard of any such "morality clause" in a divorce decree. Is it common? I think the husband is petty enough to have gone to court if the wife had a boyfriend living in the house, so I don't think he's motivated by anti-gay sentiments, but the fact that the two women can't get married is has certainly closed off one solution for them.

[Mary1966]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/24/justice/f ... ?hpt=hp_t1

In Florida, an 18-year-old girl is charged with "lewd and lascivious battery" for having lesbian relationship with 14-year-old girl. They offered her a plea deal for child abuse, but she declined. If convicted, she faces 15 years in prison.

From the comments section:

LGBT want to be treated as equals. Well, if this were an 18 year old male with at 14 year old female, no questions he'd go to jail.

Welcome to Equality. It cuts both ways.

Actually, an 18-year-old male would be charged with statutory rape. I find it interesting that here the charge is not statutory rape, which implies that lesbian sex is not really sex (according to Florida state law at least).

[stlouie_lipp]

Russia’s parliament will debate a controversial law on Tuesday that could see people arrested for behaviour that is deemed to promote homosexuality.

The bill provides for Russian citizens engaged in the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual orientation” to be fined, while foreigners could be arrested and immediately deported.

A number of regions have already adopted a similar law, and now MPs from President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party want to implement a nationwide ban on “gay propaganda”.

The law defines the rather nebulous concept as “spreading information aimed at forming non- traditional sexual behaviour among children, suggesting this behaviour is attractive, and making a false statement about the socially equal nature of traditional and non-traditional relationships”.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 52840.html

[heyzeus]

DOMA is unconstitutional.

[Mary1966]

DOMA is unconstitutional.

5-4 decision: Kennedy (writing the majority decision), Sotomayor, Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan. Scalia writes the dissent, joined by Roberts, Thomas, and Alito. Language in this suggests that the Prop 8 case may be dismissed on standing, leaving the lower court ruling against it in effect.

EDIT: Just announced, Prop 8 case dismissed on standing. Now gay marriage is legal in California.

[ghostrunner]

DOMA is unconstitutional.

Cool. Busy day.

[Jocephus]

gay marriage in cali is back on

[Mary1966]

5-4 decision in Prop 8 case: Roberts, Ginsburg, Scalia, Breyer, and Kagan.

From the opinion: We have never before upheld the standing of a private party to defend the constitutionality of a state statute when state officials have chosen not to. We decline to do so for the first time here.

Interesting that Roberts and Scalia would go along with this, while Kennedy and Sotomayor wouldn't.