THEGAYUK

Tag: Gay Marriage

All the latest breaking news on gay and same-sex marriage. Browse The THEGAYUK’s complete collection of features, articles and updates on gay and same-sex marriage.

  • Wal-Mart Sued After Failing To Insure Gay Employees After DOMA Ruling

    The US’s biggest grocery retailer is being sued for discriminating against a same-sex couple.

    A woman is suing Wal-Mart, a company, which owns the UK Asda brand, after failing to offer health insurance to her wife after DOMA was struck down.

    Jacqueline Cote, 52, is suing her employer, Wal-Mart after failing to extend its insurance benefits to its gay employees after the Defence of Marriage Act, DOMA, was struck down in June 2013. Wal-Mart only started including same-sex couples in January 2014.

    Cotes is alleging that her wife, Diana “Dee” Smithson had spent, according to a complaint filed on Tuesday in Boston federal court, in excess of $150,000 (£95,913) on medical treatments fighting ovarian cancer, which were uninsured. She claims it is in violation of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964.

    Wal-Mart did extend insurance benefits to gay couples in January 2014.

    In an email to Bloomberg who originally reported the story, Brian Nick, a spokesman for Wal-Mart said, “[Walmart’s] benefits coverage previous to the 2014 update was consistent with the law.”

    Ms. Cote’s class action suit will be the first of its kind since the United States Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal across all of the USA.

     

     

  • ANGELA MERKEL: Marriage Between A Man A Woman

    The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel does not believe that gay couples should have the right to marry.

    ◉ Said that marriage is between a man and woman living together

    ◉ Chancellor is out of touch with the German people on the issue of same-sex marriage

    Angela Merkel revealed her thoughts on same-sex marriage yesterday in an interview posted on YouTube and while she supports LGBT equality, it stops at civil partnerships.

    Speaking to YouTuber Florian Mundt, who has over 2.6 million subscribers, Huffington Post reports she said,

    “We have come a long way; when I remember, 25 years ago, many people didn’t dare to say that they are gay or lesbian.

    “Luckily we overcame this; you can enter a partnership, a civil partnership.

    The Chancellor reiterated that she wanted to end discrimination and she wanted equality and was questioned about how she could end discrimination whilst differentiated between straight and gay couple’s rights to marriage.

    Merkel replied, “No discrimination,”

    “Marriage as a man and a woman living together.”

    “For me, personally, marriage is a man and a woman living together. That is my concept, but I support civil partnerships.”

     

    OUT OF TOUCH?

    Statistics show that Merkel is out of touch with the German people on the issue. A survey undertaken in 2013 by RTL Television and Stern magazine revealed that nearly three-quarters of Germans are in favour of same-sex marriage.

     

  • TV Star Matt Dallas Marries Long Term Boyfriend Blue Hamilton

    Former KYLE XY star Matt Dallas has married his long-term musician boyfriend.

    TV Star Matt Dallas has married his long-term boyfriend and musician Blue Hamilton after announcing their engagement in January 2013.

    The tweet in which Matt announced his engagement was also the announcement that the actor was in fact gay. He became the first in a long list of celebrities who came out as gay or bisexual in 2013.

    Posing for a photo outside a court centre the smiling pair held up their marriage certificate, with the caption, “Introducing Mr. & Mr. Dallas. The post on Instagram has had over 6.2K likes.

    Since the 26th June, gay couples have been allowed to get married in the US when the United States’ Supreme Court legalised same-sex marriage nationwide.

  • ISLE OF MAN is Still Holding Out On Same-Sex Marriage Rights

    Despite a huge shift of opinion across the UK and Ireland, the Isle of Man is still holding out on its LGBT+ population.

    The Isle of Man’s, Chief Minister has signalled that laws surrounding same-sex marriage are to change, but how long will same-sex couples have to wait?

    Situated in the northern Irish Sea, the Isle of Man is home to around 85,000 people and is a Crown Dependency, allowing it to make its own laws over domestic matters and with regards to same-sex marriage.

    The Chief Minister, Alan Bell has signalled his support for same-sex marriage, however, the island still remains one of the few places that have not equalised the laws with regards to same-sex marriage. Northern Ireland, Jersey and Guernsey authorities have continued to block progress in equality for the LGBT community. Mr Bell announced his intention to repeal the law that bars same-sex marriage on the island.

    In the past Mr Bell has spoken out at the inequality for LGBTs on the Island. Speaking out about how one couple was forced out of their rented home by their landlord because of their sexuality he said,

    “I am extremely disappointed that this type of ugly, out-dated prejudice survives after all the work that has been done over the past 20 years or so to make the island a more tolerant place”

    Consultation on the Isle of Man’s Equality Bill 2015 ended in November.

    Speaking to 3FM the Chief Minister said,

    “I believe in same-sex marriage.” Mr Bell added “equality and human rights must prevail.”

  • MICHAEL MOORE: No Longer “Gay Marriage” It Is Just Now Marriage

    US documentary maker and director Michael Moore has taken to social media to celebrate the legal change in the USA that now allows gay couples to marry.

    Celebrated documentary maker Michael Moore has taken to Twitter to celebrate the news that marriage between same-sex couples is now legal in the United States.

    “VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!! #SCOTUSMarriage

    “Court overturns the bigoted Michigan constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage in 2004. Now legal in all 50 states! Hate loses!

    “NEVER AGAIN will it be referred to as “gay marriage”. It’s now called “marriage.” #SCOTUSMarriage

    “How far we’ve come since the Pres Obama & Sen. Clinton ran against gay marriage in 2008! People can change. Never give up. #SCOTUSMarriage.”

    Justices at the Supreme Court Of The United States have voted 5-4 in favour of legalising gay marriage across all states in the US. This means that marriage between same-sex couples is now legal in the 14 states in which a ban was still in place.

    The vote has been described as the biggest shake in civil rights in fifty years.

  • SAME-SEX MARRIAGE Legal Across The US

    BREAKING: SCOTUS legalises gay marriage nationwide.

    Justices at the Supreme Court Of The United States have voted 5-4 in favour of legalising gay marriage across all states in the US, remarking that there was no legitimate reason to deny same-sex couples the right to marry.

    The ruling is the biggest civil rights movement in over 50 years. The vote equalises the law in all states, including the 14 in which same-sex marriage was still blocked.

    Writing about marriage, Justice Anthony Kennedy said,

    “No union is more profound than marriage for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family,”

    The news has caused #SCOTUS, #LOVEWINS US Supreme Court and Congratulations America to trend worldwide on Twitter.

    President Obama declared the ruling as a “Big Step” in the march towards equality, adding, “Gay and lesbian couples now have the right to marry, just like anyone else. #LoveWins”

  • The Smallest Country In The World Legalises Gay Marriage

    The Pitcairn Islands, a British Overseas Territory, in the South Pacific has legalised same-sex marriage in a small but significant victory for gay rights. (more…)

  • Anti-Gay Marriage Cake Baker Outlines Appeal Grounds

    Anti-Gay Marriage Cake Baker Outlines Appeal Grounds

    The Christian-run bakery which refused to bake a pro-marriage cake has outlined its appeal to the judgement that found it had acted unlawfully in refusing the cake order.

    The bakery, in Northern Ireland, was found to have acted unlawfully when it refused to make a cake that bore a pro-gay marriage slogan for Gareth Lee, by a court last month. It was ordered to pay £500 in compensation to Mr Lee.

    In a statement released by the Christian Institute, an organisation that has funded many appeals against legal matters surrounding gay issues, has raised three questions to support their appeal.

    1. Whether the judge was correct, as a matter of law, to hold that Ashers had discriminated against Mr Lee directly on grounds of sexual orientation.
    2. Whether the judge was correct, as a matter of law, to hold that Ashers had discriminated against Mr Lee directly on grounds of religious belief or political opinion.
    3. Whether the judge was correct, as a matter of law, to hold that Ashers was not entitled to protection as a result of the rights under Articles 9 and/or 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

    A spokesperson for the Christian Institute, Simon Calvert, believes that “most people” would support an overturning of the ruling that found that the business had acted unlawfully, this despite a poll undertaken in 2014 which showed that the majority supported same-sex marriage.

    The Christian Institute is a registered charity that has sought to retain section 28, to raise the age of consent for gay people and opposed the Civil Partnership Act and same-sex marriage act.

    The Christian Institute has backed many legal actions in the past, but has been unsuccessful in many attempts, most notably the Christian Institute backed Hotel owners Mr and Mrs Ball, who infamously denied lodgings to a gay couple. Numerous attempts of appeal have all subsequently failed.

     

  • Sir Patrick Stewart Supports Anti-Gay Marriage Bakers

    Long time very vocal ally of the gay community Sir Patrick Stewart shocked many of his fans the other night during an interview on BBC’s Newsnight by publicly supporting the Northern Ireland anti-gay marriage bakers.

    Gay rights activist Gareth Lee had commissioned Ashers Baking Co., a Christian-owned bakery in Northern Ireland, to make a cake that was decorated with “Support Gay Marriage’ which they refused to do, quoting their religious beliefs. So Lee sued them and won the case, and the bakery now plans to appeal the decision.

    Later on Facebook Sir Patrick wrote:

    “As part of my advocacy for Amnesty International, I gave an interview on a number of subjects related to human rights, civil rights and freedom of speech. During the interview, I was asked about the Irish bakers who refused to put a message on a cake which supported marriage equality, because of their beliefs. In my view, this particular matter was not about discrimination, but rather personal freedoms and what constitutes them, including the freedom to object. Both equality and freedom of speech are fundamental rights—and this case underscores how we need to ensure one isn’t compromised in the pursuit of the other.

    “I know many disagree with my sentiments, including the courts. I respect and understand their position, especially in this important climate where the tides of prejudices and inequality are (thankfully) turning. What I cannot respect is that some have conflated my position on this single matter to assume I’m anti-equality or that I share the personal beliefs of the bakers. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could be further from the truth. I have long championed the rights of the LGBT community, because equality should not only be, as the people of Ireland powerfully showed the world, universally embraced, but treasured.”

    Sir Patrick’s last movie role was in Match when he played a gay dance professor.

  • Jennifer Hudson Celebrates Marriage Equality

    We always love us some Jennifer Hudson but even more so today after catching sight of her new music video called “I Still Love You.”

    It is a heartwarming celebration of marriage equality which opens with a young gay man calling his father and getting only his answering machine.

    He’s calling to remind him that today is his wedding day, and he’s marrying a man. But will he show up? In the father’s home, we see memorabilia from his military service and reminders of his son’s all-American upbringing.

    Meanwhile, the young man, played by Brandon Crowder, gets ready for the big day with his fiancee, sharing snuggles and writing love messages on shower doors.

    At the end, the video concludes with a caption that reads, “Jennifer Hudson, W Hotels [where the video was filmed] and the Human Rights Campaign ask you to join your fellow Americans in support of marriage equality.”

  • GAY MARRIAGE: Greenland Says Yes, Germany Says Not Yet

    Following hot on the heels of Ireland’s historic Referendum, Greenland yesterday became the latest country to legalise same-sex marriage.

    In a unanimous vote in its Parliament Greenland, which is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, extended marriage and adoption rights to LGBT couples. This arctic wonderland with a population of only 57,000 became the 20th country in the world where same-sex marriage is now legal.

    However despite the fact that recent polls have shown that 75% of the German population is in favour of same sex marriage, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday quashed all rumours that they may be next saying that they were not a goal of her government. Her spokesman Steffen Seiber added somewhat tersely “In Germany we’ll take a path that suits Germany.”