THE SPOUSAL COLLECTION PART TWO January 2000 - present selections from the newsclippings concerning spousal and

family status for lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario CLGRO, Box 822 Station A, Toronto M5W 1G3 416-405-8253 clgro@web.ca www.web.ca/clgro see also The Spousal Collection part one, October 1989 - December 1999 94pp, $15 plus $3 shipping, prepaid

THE SPOUSAL COLLECTION II

selections from the newsclippings concerning spousal and family status for lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals Compiled by C M Donald for the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario CLGRO, Box 822 Station A, Toronto M5W 1G3 416-405-8253

January 2000 - present

references to Canada unless otherwise specified. Early 2000 US: Coors beer pulls magazine ad showing two men imitating the American Early Gothicpainting - because the Art Institute (which holds rights to the painting) objects to its use to promote alcohol consumption. Parliament of European Union 265-125 (33 abst) adopts resolution for the 15 EU nations and the 13 applying for EU membership to guarantee one-parent families, unmarried couples, and same-sex couples rights equal to those enjoyed by traditional couples and families, particularly as regards tax law, pecuniary rights, and social rights. The resolution also deplores unequal age-of-consent provisions. Vatican denounces the resolution, pointing out that it is not binding. Colombia: family court 6 recognizes Harold as Dagobertos sole heir, a first in Colombia. Dagoberto died of HIV/AIDS after being nursed by Harold for over 5 years; then Ds family threw Harold out of the joint apartment. Australian Edward Young, 65, files suit with the United Nations human rights committee in Geneva for a war widowers pension after his lover of 38 years died in 1998; he was refused under the Veterans Entitlement Act because of his gender; a state equal opportunities commission rejected his appeal. Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, committee on migration, refugees and demography releases draft recommendations and report in which it calls for an end to discrimination against lesbians and gays in immigration, specifically countries should recognize homosexuality as a basis for refugee claims and provide residence rights to foreign same-sex partners. Superior court of Ontario judge Rivard rules in the case of Lee Vincent (see dec 99) to add a same-sex partner category to the marital status sections of the Ontario Human Rights Code, saying he is not prepared to strike the words of the opposite sex from the definitions of spouse or marital status, and pointing out that in any case he is covered under the new provincial same-sex partner law. Vincent met Eldon Parsons in 1993 and moved in with him to his one-bedroom apt; 1994 they were married in Christos MCC and upgraded to a two-bedroom apt in the same building; December 1996 they split up and Vincent was refused a bachelor apartment at 569 Broadview, Toronto, on the grounds that his former husband was still living in the building. August 1997 the OHRC said he wasnt covered under marital status in the Code. Vincent is awarded $5000 costs and his case against his former landlord S B Lipman and SBL Investments proceeds. Belgium: statutory cohabitation contract law takes effect, providing a mostly symbolic domestic partnership registration in a citys register of population; the couple will then be jointly responsible for expenses and debts and will jointly own property acquired during the relationship; contact does not cover income tax, adoption, medically assisted procreation, social security, pensions, inheritance, or immigration. 1

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Jan 2000 Denise Barbour is still waiting for a cash settlement after Gordon Carruthers, the Christian owner of a Stoney Creek banquet hall, refused to let arrangements made by his management staff stand. Barbour was to exchange vows with Christine Smith in a commercially used 18th-century church run by Cuisine Show Catering. Carruthers cited the bible; so did Barbour, who then filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Jun 99 Carruthers settled, agreeing to pay Barbour $2000 in two instalments, the first by November. Carruthers does not pay, Barbour now breaks the confidentiality agreement of the settlement and considers a civil suit. Carruthers says his business is seeing hard times; he says hes as gay-positive as anyone, has gay staff, and has hosted gay weddings. Reform Party holds rightwing alliance policy convention and confirm the heterosexual family is the essential building block for a healthy society. Delegates vote down even limited recognition of other relationships. Resolutions were passed that the family unit (where children learn values and develop a sense of responsibility) should be supported and respected by the government and no bills passed whose effect on the family is not positive, and the legislation and programs should be passed to strengthen the family. The new party must win 67% support of Reform members in a March mail-in referendum and might then be called the Can. Conservative Reform Alliance Party - CCRAP. The Supreme Court of Vermont rules that committed homosexual relationships should have the same rights and privileges afforded to married straight couples. Over 1,000 rights that come with marriage had been denied to gay couples including hospital visitation/medical decisions, rights of survivorship. The Vermont Governor's office was then bombarded with phone calls by anti-gay individuals, primarily fueled by the "Dr" Laura radio program which gave out the phone number. Netherlands: the independent, government-appointed Committee for Equal Treatment cites 4 of the countrys 13 in vitro fertilization clinics for refusing to inseminate lesbian couples; the CfETs rulings are not binding but usually are upheld by the courts. US: congressman Nadler introduces permanent partners immigration act 2000 (HR3650) giving same-sex couples equal rights in immigration. LGB lobbyists delivered 6500+ postcards to secretary of state Hedy Fry at a newsconference; the cards call for relationships recognition. Hedy Fry:It isnt a matter of whether [the government should recognize same-sex relationships], but it is a matter of when. We have moved forward steadily and surely to ensure that this last bastion of legislative discrimination against a group pf Canadians will end. Toronto Liberal MP Bill graham says he expects the caucus will deal with the issue by June. The Foundation for Equal Families says it will not withdraw its challenge to 58 federal laws until the government passes a bill that makes it unnecessary. The federal Liberal government introduces bill C-23, an act to modernize the statutes of Canada in relation to benefits and obligations, which would change 68 laws affecting unmarried couples, and gives same-sex couples common-law status (although it doesnt include marriage or immigration, or compelling spouses to testify against each other (which the government is considering repealing) or the marital exemption to a higher age of consent). The summary says: This enactment extends benefits and obligations to all couples who have been cohabiting in a conjugal relationship for at least one year ... Gay couples would 2

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II get: child-care tax breaks; pension benefits for a survivors partner; old age security supplement; income tax credit for dependant partner and children, also income-splitting; conjugal prison visits; etc. First reading Feb 11, 2nd reading a few days later, a whipped vote 161-61, sending the bill to committee stage March 2. All 32 Reformers voted against; all NDPers in the House voted for; Ian McClelland (has gay son) absent. BQ 28 for, 10 opposed. 14 Liberals voted against (incl Wappel), and 5 PCers. Some Liberal and Reform MPs refuse to support the bill unless benefits are extended to other, non-sexual, cohabiting relationships. Cost is likely to be minimal or nonexistent as some couples will gain, some lose. Not yet clear whether any part of the legislation will apply retroactively. For CPP, the bill will apply where a partner died after 1 January 1998 or where a claim had been filed before the bill was tabled on February 11. The committee then agrees to hear from the right wing group RealWomen, while refusing to hear a submission from NAC, the National Action Committee on the Status of Women. NAC president Joan Grant-Cummings: "The absurdity of this matter is beyond comprehension. At least 50% of our membership are lesbians and there are no lesbian groups appearing before the committee." Justice committee hears from Toronto District Muslim Education Assembly that gay relationships negate the higher societal duty of procreation ... and promote moral corruption and degradation of human beings what next, they ask will we approve incest? Gwen Landolt speaks for REALWomen, saying that if people can change from straight to gay (coming out) they can change from gay to straight and they should. Canadian budget, Chartered Accountants commentary, section on same-sex couples: - recognition of two persons regardless of sex who cohabit in a conjugal relationship and have done so for at least one year will be considered spouses for tax purposes, effective for 2001+ - same-sex couples may jointly elect to be considered spouses for 1998, 1999, 2000 - make spousal RRSP contributions; rollover RRSP plans on death; claim spousal credits - but affects GST credit, childtax benefits, claims for childcare expenses. For further info on the tax aspects of the bill: www.ccraadrc.gc.ca/tax/individuals/faq/same_sex-e.html UK: Barrie Drewitt 32 and Tony Barlow, gay millionaires, had arranged for the semen of one of them to fertilise an egg, then implanted in a second woman in California; the resulting twins arrive in Britain with US passports; both men are named as fathers on the birth certificates after a landmark US supreme court ruling; immigration allows temporary stay while deciding whether or not to let them stay because UK citizenship only passes through a father if he is married to the childrens mother; if the men had adopted the babies, they would have UK citizenship. UK: Gallup poll commissioned by Daily Telegraph on the repeal of 28 finds 51% against repeal, 43% for, 6% dont know. 13% find homosexual behaviour 3

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II morally wrong and not to be tolerated, 13% wrong but tolerable, 72% neither right nor wrong but simply a fact of life, 2% dont know. 40% think straight sexual relationships superior, 2% inferior, but 53% find straight and gay relationships of equal value, 4% dont know. UK: government asks the Equal Opportunities Commission to draw up a code of practice for employers with respect to equal treatment of lg employees and their partners: should include a positive environment, health insurance, travel benefits etc, but not pensions. Equal opportunity minister in the education and employment dept Margaret Hodge (former leftwing leader of Islington council) spearheads the move after receiving evidence of workplace discrimination. The code would be voluntary but breaches would be grounds for going to an industrial tribunal. This would preempt a European Commission proposal to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The Treasury is considering revising income tax guidelines. The government is considering extending the criminal injuries compensation scheme to pay a samesex lover 10,000 compensation after bereavement following crime, which hets get now. The Law Commission has recommended that gays should have the right to claim damages if they were dependant on a lover who died through someone elses negligent. The Ministry of Health is considering letting same-sex lovers be next of kin. Last year the Lords ruled a gay couple in a stable relationship could be defined as a family Feb 2000 Receiving an honorary degree at the U of T, Bishop Desmond Tutu speaks of the world as a giant and interconnected family, twice pointing out that gays and lesbians are part of that family. European parliament accepts report and resolution on respect for human rights in the EU 1998-99, calls for equal rights to be granted to same-sex couples, denounces continuing legal discrimination on all counts, mentioning specially Austria and its $209. Nepal: Maya Tamang 18 and Indira Rai 17, 9th grade classmates who had vowed their love and intention to live together are handed over by their relatives to the police in Pathari Village Development Committee; police did not charge them but detained them to discourage them; they were released only when they signed an agreement to separate; they are now threatened by neighbours. California passes proposition #22, also known as the Knight Initiative after the California senator who introduced it, would ban California from recognizing same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions should they come to occur.

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March 2000 California: Henry "Stuart" Matis of Los Altos, a 32-year old gay Mormon commits suicide by shooting himself in the head in church, blaming the pressures of churches recent aggressive antigay drive over Californias proposition #22; he had left church service two weeks before crying following a virulent anti-gay hate sermon; he leaves a note: "I hope my death will be a catalyst for change." March 2000 Svend Robinson sends round urgent notice: if you were living in a conjugal relationship with a same-sex partner who died after 1985 and you were together for at least one year after April 1985, you may be eligible under the new bill for benefits under the Canada Pension Plan Survivors Pension scheme. But unless you partner died after January 1998, you must put in a claim for this pension before the bill becomes law - so if you are eligible, act now. Contact your local CPP office and file a claim. 4

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II March 2000 Central Conference of American Rabbis, representing some 1800 rabbis and 1.5 m faithful in the US and Canada, votes to allow rabbis to perform same-sex commitment ceremonies, saying same-sex couples are worthy of affirmation. Orthodox rabbis in Jerusalem then denounce Reform Judaism as not authentic Jewish practice. There are some 10,000 Reformers in 24 congregations in Israel and some 7000 in 50 Conservative synagogues, as opposed to thousands of orthodox synagogues; in North America, Reform and Conservative Jews outnumber the orthodox. UK: London (Labour) mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone says if he is elected he will introduce human-rights contract compliance for the Greater London Authority and terminate contracts with, and end taxpayer support for, homophobic firms; he also support a civic register for same-sex couples. Following its supreme court decision, Vermonts House Judiciary Committee submits a bill for same-sex couple recognition, under the civil union rubric, called distinct [and] equal (to common-law status that is); bill now goes to House Ways and Means Committee. (see jan 00) Bill passes March 16, but must be okayed by state senate. Is signed into law by the governor May 2000. At their policy convention, federal Liberals call on the government to pass C-23 but vote 468-365 against a call to allow same-sex marriages, proposed by the partys youth wing. During March, groups speaking against include Canada Family Action Coalition (Peter Stock: there is no discernible good that these relationships contribute to society apparently meaning no children), Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, Focus on the Family. NAC takes over half NAWLs allotted time for presentation to speak for; Reformers complain but a committee majority vote allows the switch. March 2000 Liberals insert amendment inserted into C-23, an interpretative clause 1.1 reading: For greater certainty, the amendments made by this Act do not affect the meaning of the word 'marriage', that is, the lawful union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others (an act of supererogation since they passed a bill June 1999 to that effect). [and I really hope they plan to enforce the to the exclusion of all others part] For: all Reform MPs, all Liberals except Carolyn Bennett, PCs; against NDP, Bloc Q, C Bennett. Reform is expected to produce other amendments at 3rd reading with the intent of weakening the bill. Lisa Hitch, senior counsel for the Dept Justice says Noting could protect the definition of marriage a from Charter challenge, short of an amendment to the Charter. Alberta passes Marriage Protection Act 32-15, defining marriage as heterosexual and allowing the notwithstanding clause of the Charter to be invoked if this is threatened. Marriage is mostly under federal jurisdiction; premier Ralph Klein was absent for the vote. David Mitges sees his campaign of 8 years result in his lovers getting spectacles under his work spousal health benefits. In 1994 Mitges filed a complaint with the OHRC against Imperial Oil for benefits and has raised the issue at every AGM since. IO now concedes the issue. Canadian Human Rights Commission releases 1999 annual report: same-sex spousal cases referred to conciliation included a group of 18 complaints about the 5

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Income Tax Act and one against Immigration where complainant said he was denied the right to sponsor his same-sex partner's application for landed immigrant status as a Family Class member; the CHRC helped to resolve 23 complaints either at mediation, at conciliation, or in the course of investigation, including a group of 6 against Canadian Airlines, in which the company ultimately agreed to extend employment benefits to same-sex couples The CHRC commented unfavourably on the Ontarios governments bill 5: Regrettably, it [the Ont government] chose to bring its laws into line with the decision by creating a separate category for same-sex couples, prompting what is likely to be yet another round of litigation. Indeed, at the time the omnibus bill was introduced, the provincial government seemingly went out of its way to distance itself from the whole affair, with the Attorney General of Ontario observing that the bill was intended to satisfy the requirements of the high court while "preserving the traditional values of the family by protecting the definition of spouse." This grudging acceptance of the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling was in marked contrast to the approach taken by Quebec and British Columbia, when these provinces passed legislation to redefine the meaning of "spouse" in several provincial laws. Italian supreme court rules homosexuality is a "psychiatric illness or disorder" and agreed with the previous ruling that gays are "psychologically incapable of assuming their conjugal obligations" and have "a grave inability to carry out the duties of matrimony." The ruling in questions comes from an ecclesiastical court granting divorce to a woman from her husband of 25 years because he admitted he is gay; the ecclesiastical court ruled the woman not entitled to alimony because marriages in which one partner turns out to be gay are void "as if they had never taken place." Activists criticized the court for accepting church doctrine as equivalent to the law. Bill C-23 (see feb, mar) reaches 3rd reading and passes 174-72 with much argument about bigotry, the moral fibre of society, etc; the term common-law partners now covers gay and straight relationships alike. All but 17 Liberals, all NDP, all BQ and most PCs vote for; all Reformers against. 170 amendments filed by opponents. Reform asks for bill to be sent back to committee for further amendments to insert definition of marriage many times: motion defeated. CPP survivor pension provisions and ITA changes retroactive to Jan 1, 1998. New Zealands conference of Roman Catholic bishops supports same-sex registered partnerships; one bishop told TVNZ: Were not saying same-sex relationships are morally permissible but we are concerned about peoples human rights. Aberystwyth, Wales, pop. 16,000 (7000 of whom are students at the local uni), elects teacher and out lesbian Mrs Jaci Taylor, 55, as mayor and acknowledges her partner of 20 years, Mrs Felicity Roberts, 55, at official functions. Chair of the local conservative association is cross. Newly created Scottish parliament passes first progay law in including same-sex partner rights in the Adults With Incapacity Bill. Michael Leshner applies for a marriage licence at Toronto City Hall. The City Clerk, after conferring with the City Solicitor, announces "Under the Marriage Act (Ontario), the City Clerk is delegated a discretionary power to issue marriage licences. In light of the City Solicitor's view and based on his recommendations, I 6

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II have decided to refer this matter to the courts for an interpretation of the law with respect to same-sex marriage before I exercise my discretion. I will await a decision from the courts as to how to proceed with this matter." May 2000 Victoria, BC: EGALE board member Cynthia Callahan and her partner Judy Lightwater apply for a marriage licence. The case was sent for review to the BC AG Andrew Petter who says he is an favour of same-sex marriages (In a modern society, there is no justification for denying same-sex couples the same option to form marital bonds as are afforded to opposite-sex couples), promises to pursue a legal opinion, urges the federal government to legitimize. In Quebec, the case of Michael Hendricks and Rene LeBoeuf is under way (see sept 98). Supreme Court of Canada finds Ms challenge of Harris bill 5 as inconsistent with the decision in MvH invalid and orders M to pay costs. Australia: minister for defence says same-sex partners of gays in the defence forces have only one right: to be notified if their partner is killed; the ban on gays in the military was lifted in 1992 Jack Nesbit dies, age 72, survived by Jim Egan, his partner of 51 years. Navarra, Spain, an autonomous region passes a law allowing all registered couples (including same-sex couples) to adopt on the same terms as heterosexual married couples. During the debate, hateful views were expressed by members of the ruling party Union del Pueblo Navarro. Brazil: government issues decree granting same-sex couples equal rights in the areas of pensions, social-security benefits and income tax. In Brazil 77 municipalities ban discrimination, 54% support partnership law, but the nation also has the highest recorded rate of antigay murders in Latin America. Murray Warren and Peter Cook, together for 29 years, refused a marriage license in BC in 1998, file complaint with BC human rights commission.

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August 2000 Australian government blocks in vitro fertilization for single women, citing the need for a child to have a mother and father. August 2000 7 Ontario same-sex couples join Michael Leshner and Mike Stark in the ir case to be allowed to marry; case (likely to be heard next spring) reaches first level of court challenge; not settled whether to be heard in divisional or superior court; lawyer Mary McCarthy; other 7 couples include: 3 couples with children, two lesbian univ students in their 20s, an Ottawa nurse in a 5-year relationship; a retired teacher, MCC member; an older Windsor couple who had a commitment ceremony and honeymoon in May; two women in their 40s who had a commitment ceremony last year. August 2000 Slovak justice minister Jan Carnogursky says there will be no registered domestic partnership for same-sex couples in Slovakia as this would degrade heterosexual families and encourage people to be gay, which would be a bad thing, because they wouldnt have an easy life; fewer children would be born which would weaker the social system and pension funds; he adds the best thing is to classify gays as sick so the insurance companies will pay to treat them to get rid of their illness. August 2000 Two Jewish lesbians, Dutch Emma Hamer 45, Canadian Rahel Bailie (with three pre-teen grandchildren), choose a rabbis blessing in Vancouver instead of staying in Holland to marry; Reconstructionist rabbi David Mivasair, believed to be the 7

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II first official Jewish commitment ceremony in Vancouver; Its one of those use it or lose it situations. As Jewish lesbians, we feel morally obligate to use this privilege, says Bailie; Hamers 75-year-old mother flew in for the ceremony; the women have applied for a federal marriage license and been refused; with it, they would be entitled to full pension benefits in Holland when they retire in 20 years. August 2000 General council of United Church of Canada renounces its 1960 position that homosex is a sin. Oct 2000 US: Congress ends session; the permanent partners immigration act (bill HR3650) which now has 53 sponsors in Congress, will have to be reintroduced in 2001. Human rights case heard in BC: four lesbians claim the right to be named as parent on a birth certificate, arguing that heterosexual couples dont have to prove paternity and a child conceived by AI or another man can still have the spouse for a father; step/adoptive parents do not have all the rights of birth parents. Two lesbians in Alberta recently managed to get listed on the certificate as mother and father. The legal status of known and unknown sperm donors remains undefined. Svend Robinson tables federal bill C-501 to recognize same-sex marriage in Canada; the government then calls a general election, so the bill is shelved. A federal election is called for November. Stockwell Day, leader of the right wing Alliance, announces the Alliance will support equality for everyone and will also maintain marriage as a heterosexuals-only institution. PM Chre ' tien and PC leader Joe Clark refuse to talk to the gay press. NDP leader Mc Donough is in favour of recognizing gay marriage. The Bloc Quebecois has generally been supportive. Justice Minister Anne McLellan says Liberals will support an exclusively heterosexual definition of marriage. Dr Katherine Fethers, Australia, produces study showing lesbians are just as likely as heterosexual women to get sexually transmitted diseases, and more likely than them to get vaginal disease, hepatitis C, HIV risk behaviours - but though the heterosexual women in her study have never had sex with another woman, 93% of those in the lesbian category said they had had sex with men. US: Declaring that the doctrine could be considered an attack on homosexual couples, Robert Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, removes his name from a declaration rejecting same-sex marriages in Christian churches. Edgar says he should not have signed the "Christian Declaration of Marriage" at the U.S. Catholic bishops' fall conference without the approval of the council's 26 member communions. The declaration defines marriage as "a holy union of one man and one woman" and calls for "a stronger commitment to this holy union" and "practical ministries and influence for reversing the course of our culture." Reference was made by Land of the Southern Baptists to "broken marriages and counterfeit alternative relationships such as cohabitation and same-sex unions. NCC members ( mainline Protestant, black Protestant and Orthodox denominations) are divided on the issue of same-sex marriages and homosexuality, and the council has no official position on it. But the council supports civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons. Nebraska: passes initiative 416, a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. By August 2001, 34 states have "Defense of Marriage" laws, but Nebraska's is still one of the most restrictive. Not only does it bar gay marriage, but also same-sex relationships such as domestic partnerships and civil unions. 8

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Nov 2000 US: Anglican archbishops from overseas oppose the Episcopal Church USA's ordaining gay men and lesbians and allowing clergy members to bless same-sex unions; they challenge the leadership by staging their own confirmation (by Archbishop Maurice Sinclair of Argentina) service. The presiding bishops of Kenya, Uganda, Congo and Sydney, are expected to attend or send delegates. Scotland: After a newspaper reports colleagues discover downloaded gay porn images on his office computer, Father Jim Nicol, 46, a Catholic priest in Motherwell, resigns; the church had removed him from his job as official in charge of the National Marriage Tribunal but allowed him to continue in his role as an assistant priest. In a 77-page document of the Pontifical Council for the Family, the Vatican denounces laws recognizing unions of unmarried couples (a "conception of love detached from any responsibility" and inherently unstable), calls gay marriage contrary to common sense, opposes gay adoption. "De facto unions between homosexuals are a deplorable distortion of what should be a communion of love and life between a man and a woman in a reciprocal gift open to life." Germany recognizes same-sex domestic partnerships. South Africa passes Revenue Laws Amendment Bill which redefines spouse in the Estate Duties Act to include a permanent same-sex life relationship, implemented retrospectively to April 1994. Nova Scotia passes Bill 75 (opposed by two Tory backbenchers) which gives gay and common-law heterosexual couples some of the rights formerly reserved only for married heterosexuals. The legislation established three classifications for relationships: common-law, registered domestic partners, and married couples, with such entitlements as spousal support, protection under the Matrimonial Property Act and the right to see their partners' medical records and make medical decisions in an emergency; same-sex couples who have been living together for more than three years will automatically be considered common-law. The bill was prompted by a Nova Scotia Court of Appeal ruling last year and a Supreme Court of Canada decision in 1999 that gave same-sex couples the rights to pension benefits. The bill exempts marriage, medical consent, adoption, provision for sudden death in insurance. Metropolitan Community Church Toronto announces it will issue same-sex marriage licences through marriage banns (publishing banns, or publicly announcing for a set period of time - in church bulletins, for example - a couple's intention to marry) which is the old common law method of licensing a wedding and still on the books in a gender-free section 5 of the Ontario Marriage Act: Any person who is of the age of majority may obtain a licence or be married under the authority of the publication of banns, provided no lawful cause exists to hinder the solemnization." (One partner must be a regularly attending member of the congregation; neither can have been previously married; they cannot be too closely related, eg mother/daughter.) The church had been holding blessings or holy union ceremonies for gay couples and had only been allowed to legally marry heterosexual couples in the last year. (The province grants licences to marry after a church has been established 25 years.) Section 5 provides that the pastor is authorized to do the ceremony as long as there are no valid objections when banns are read; s/he issues a marriage licence 9

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II at the end of the ceremony and the couple are legally married; s/he then sends a copy of the licence to the registrar-general of Ontario, whose job is simply to register them. A jurisdiction battle ensues as fed and provs each try to make it the others responsibility. Ont. Premier Mike Harris says the province will have to look at it, because it believes marriage is a union between a man and a woman. "I wouldn't say it was legal or illegal," says Farah Mohamed, spokeswoman for the federal Minister of Justice, Anne McLellan. Barbara McDowall, 53, and Gail Donnelly, 34, plan to use section 5 of the Ontario Marriage Act to make their partnership legal. They first dated in 1998 and have lived together since 1999. June 2000 they had a commitment ceremony and applied for a marriage licence at City Hall (application in legal limbo, see may.00). MCCs Rev. Brent Hawkes proceeds to marry two couples and take their licences to Ontario's registrar-general; Consumer Minister Bob Runciman says the province will refuse to register the marriages because federal law defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Finland plans to legalize homosexual 'union,' giving gays many of the same rights and responsibilities (not adoption or shared last name), but not the same status as married couples. The Finnish government will now begin discussing the issue in parliament A similar bill was narrowly rejected by parliament in 1996 when it ran into conservative resistance. Finland follows Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland in legalizing gay partnerships. Denmark and Iceland also let gay couples adopt children in certain circumstances. The upper chamber of the German Parliament, the Bundesrat, is to debate proposals which would give same-sex relationships 90% of the rights of married couples: allowed to register at a town hall, share same name, file joint tax returns, have partner considered next-of-kin in medical matters, have obligation to support unemployed partner; adoption excluded. The key proposals have already passed through the lower chamber, the Bundestag and are certain to become law, but the Bundesrat (where the Red-Green govt has no majority) could reject some parts of the legislation. The rights have also been extended to foreign relationships. To head off the risk of total defeat, the backers have split the proposals into two bills as the Bundesrat can vote down matters relating to tax and finance. The debate will be fierce, but even if the second chamber rejects one bill, the legal status of gay and lesbian relationships will have been established. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University will allow students, staff, alumni and faculty to celebrate their same-sex commitment ceremonies in its famous gothic chapel, a change recommended by a committee of faculty, judges, staff, students, and trustees. Duke currently allows same-sex unions on other areas of the campus, including in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens and at the Freeman Center for Jewish Life. Duke is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, which prohibits same-sex ceremonies. But the school said the chapel is a "university facility" not tied to any particular denomination. The universitys report cited Emory, Harvard and Stanford universities, all of whom allow such ceremonies. Wake Forest University allowed a lesbian couple to hold a same-sex union in its chapel in September. Chicago: Methodist minister Rev. Gregory Dell suspended last year after 10

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II presiding over same-sex marriages said church law allows for such unions -if they take place outside the church. Couples at the Broadway United Methodist Church exchange vows at a ceremony with friends and family outside of church and then return to the church to celebrate their unions. All weddings at the church (both heterosexual and homosexual) now are conducted in the same manner under a policy adopted Sept. 12. Several ceremonies have been held since then, and more are planned. Bishop C. Joseph Sprague said the ceremony and service appear to satisfy church law. Dec 2000 Mexico City: legislators from the leftist Democratic Revolution Party (the party of Mexico City's mayor) working with gay and lesbian rights groups to draft a bill to legally recognize gay unions and allow gay couples to adopt. Mexico City is a federal district with its own 66-seat legislature in which no party has a majority: Democratic Revolution holds 19 seats, conservative PAN 17, PRI (institutional revolutionary party)16. Legislation doesn't refer to gay "marriage," but instead is modelled after European"civil solidarity," a legally recognized union. Australian Medicine publishes article by IVF pioneer Prof Carl Wood (who wants to renew the push for all lesbians to be granted rights to infertility treatment) detailing 12 American research studies of several years ago. Children of lesbians did not differ from other children in most aspects, including psychological health, social relationships, personality and maturity. were more tolerant of diversity and more socially skilled, also suffered far less parental sexual and physical abuse and incest. In Victorian, only lesbians who can prove they are infertile can use IVF, so most are still forced to travel to New South Wales for treatment. France: appeals court in Nancy denies a lesbian the right to adopt - rejecting an administrative tribunals recommendation, as well as the advice of its commissioner - because the lesbian involved has a partner and French law prevents gay and lesbian couples from adopting children. The commissioner stated the lesbian was a teacher and was therefore capable of raising a child; the Besancon tribunal recommended the adoption the womans relationship was stable. Senate votes in favour (takes effect in April 2001): Netherlands legalizes gay marriage, adoption; the Dutch parliament will begin sifting through laws to expunge phrases such as "father and mother" and "man and woman" after legalizing marriage and adoption by homosexuals. The legislation passed the Dutch lower house in September; domestic partnerships for same sex couples since 1998. US: BellSouth Corp. offering benefits to same-sex domestic partners of employees - but only management employees, who make up about 26,000 of BellSouth's 93,000 workers. Poll conducted November by Maclean's and Global Television shows 54% of Canadians would accept user fees as a way of offsetting increasing health care costs; 47%, said they would accept a private system, alongside the publicly funded system, as a solution to Canada's health care crisis; 55% support death penalty for first-degree murder; 71% say immigrants should adopt Canadian values; 60% do not agree with gay marriage. A state appeals court in Palm Beach, Florida, rules a woman can challenge the inheritance left by her uncle to the man he adopted three years before his death; Sylvia Rickard wants to inherit $660,000 from uncle, W. Donald Blackwell, who 11

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II died in 1997 aged 91, although Blackwells will gives the money to Gordon McKesson, whom he adopted in 1994. Rickard argues that the adoption was a fraud because the men were a gay couple and the adoption was a loophole used to cheat her out of her inheritance. McKessons lawyer says it doesnt matter if Blackwell was gay or not, he just wanted to leave the money to his friend. Michael Ingham, Anglican bishop for Vancouver has created a formal liturgy for the blessing of homosexual unions (a "covenanting" ceremony, not a marriage, though it resembles the marriage ceremony), making his the first Anglican diocese in the world outside the US to produce such a rite. In 1998, when Vancouver Anglicans voted by a slim majority to bless homosexual relationships, MI declined but set up a process to study the subject. He has not yet approved the liturgy for use. Both the Anglican Church of Canada and the worldwide Anglican Communion consider homosexuality a sin, and forbid the blessing of gay and lesbian relationships. Only the Canadian Church's governing body has the power to alter doctrine. US: John Hancock insurance company ad shows an adopted Cambodian infant being embraced by her two mothers, slogan: "We're a family." The first draft had one woman saying to the other "You'll make a great mom," and being answered"So will you." The American Family Association, led by Rev. Donald Wildmon, asked readers of its website to tell Hancock "to stop the promotion of homosexuality to our children ... [and] this fierce attack on the institution of the American family will weigh heavily upon your current and future choice of insurance provider." Eight years ago, furniture retailer Ikea, then new to the US, overestimated US acceptance with a short-lived TV spot of two men shopping together for a dining room table. Mitchell Gold furniture magazine ad shows a smiling, blond toddler with his two fathers, slogan "A kid deserves to feel at home." Paul Farrell, 35, and David Smagata, 36, become the first same-sex couple to adopt a child (nine-month old baby Jared) jointly from the Children's Aid Society in Toronto Brisbane, Australia: two gay men ejected from city-run South Bank Parklands for kissing in public; 100 protesters then pucker up to protest kissing restrictions. After challenging UK immigrations refusal to allow Renato Lozano, a Brazilian citizen, to enter the UK as his same-sex partner, Belfast-born Nigel McCollum loses his EU High Court battle to live in Britain as "a family" under European law;. Refusing their application for judicial review, the judge rules Mr Lozano has no legal right to be treated either as Mr McCollum's spouse or as a member of the family: "This is clear both in domestic as well as EC law." US: out gay senator Tom Duane (D-Manhattan) introduces state bill to make gay marriage legal in NY state. US: Washington Public Employees Benefits Board reports that, in the first year same-sex spousal health benefits were available to state employees, only 434 (294 women and 140 men - viz: under 0.5% of all state employees receiving insurance benefits) have enrolled, fewer than half of those anticipated. Washington was the 5th state to offer sss health coverage. Opponents are still campaigning. 12

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Jan 2001 After a two-year court battle, NY supreme court justice Marylin Diamond rules a 3-year old boy born to a gay man and his (graphic design company) boss, the surrogate mother, would be better off with his father, who has raised him since birth, and that the mother can visit twice a week, have overnight visits every other weekend, be consulted on major decisions, and pay child support (amount to be determined later). The parents had written a letter (which was used to shape the courts decision) agreeing that the men would take the baby home from hospital and adopt him after a respectable period of time. The men waived child support money; the woman waived visitation rights. The man agreed to pay $30,000 but never did. The woman said she had intended from the outset to be a full mother to the child, but her memo of April 1996, before she became pregnant, said she would "not meddle in baby's rearing," wanted "no strict scheduled visitation arrangements," and did not want the father to "hit me up for child support if I ever become rich and famous." Surrogacy contracts are illegal in New York, but the judge found the memo shed light on the parents' intentions. Macleans magazine publishes results of December poll: 40% are for, 44% against same-sex marriage. BC: Donald Brenner, chief justice of BC supreme court, allows the NDP government to make a Charter challenge against federal rules against same-sex marriage. Judge Brenner rejects the federal Attorney-General request to strike down the BC government's participation in the legal debate, which is already the subject of lawsuits. The action was started last year, continuing an NDP government campaign to assist same-sex couples that has seen the NDP change about 20 pieces of legislation since 1995 to eliminate discrimination based on sexual orientation. Two men invite Governor General Adrienne Clarkson to their wedding; Rideau Hall sends standard regrets and best wishes. The Roman Catholic Church, the Canadian Alliance and media satirists all read the riot act. Bishop Gerald Wiesner, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops blasts Rideau Hall "for failing to respect and uphold the basic values and laws of Canadians." Alberta Alliance MP Dr. Grant Hill: "It was a total blunder at best and social activism at worst." Rev Brent Hawkes of Toronto MCC apologizes for involving the GG. Australian: Morgan poll shows 54% oppose letting single women get sperm from sperm banks, 59% oppose lesbians ditto; younger people less disapproving; over50s most disapproving; Australian federal court cleared the way for access last July. Ireland: govts Equality Authority publishes report jointly with Parents Support, If Your Child is Gay or Lesbian. Mexico: 200 gay couples hold a mass commitment ceremony in front of Mexico Citys Palace of Fine Arts with 3000 attending. RC Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera denounces the event as a carnival stage by people who are confused about the sexuality god has given them. Two gay partnership measures are currently before MC city council, one on inheritance and social security, the other nearly equivalent to marital status. Colombia: 1st civil municipal court in Soacha find in favour of Carlos, a gay man fighting his late lover (Juan)s parents for the couples joint possessions. The parents say their boy had girlfriends and C was a servant. 13

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Feb 2001 Italy: Pope John Paul II says in a speech to the Roman Rota, the Vatican tribunal that can grant marriage annulments. "Marriage is not just any old union between human persons, susceptible to being configured according to a plurality of cultural models." There is no possibility for marriage to be re-defined according to different cultural models, he says, stressing again the Vatican's opposition to gay unions in which one negates, in fact, the natural character." Switzerland: Geneva cantons grand council passes Pact of Civil Solidarity law to give same-sex couples the same rights as married except for immigration, social security, taxes, inheritance, and adoption. Sweden: Advocate-General Mischo delivered his opinion in the case of D & Sweden v. Council. A Swedish gay man had moved from Sweden to work for the EU Council of Ministers in Brussels. In Sweden, he and his partner had a registered partnership and hence enjoyed many of the rights of a married couple. However, the EU Council decided he was single for the purpose of EU staff regulations and denied him employment benefits available to married partners. His challenge was rejected by the EU Court of First Instance in 1999, and he then appealed to the European Court of Justice. The Advocate-General's opinion is not binding on the Court but is often followed. The decision of the Court of Justice can be expected within months. British govt proposes legislation to let people claim compensation if a same-sex partner is killed; this is fall-out from the 1999 Admiral Duncan bombing when compensation was paid top straights who were affected. Svend Robinson introduces private members bill C-264 to recognize same-sex marriage; the bill has 3 clauses- one changes the title of the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees) Act to An Act respecting the capacity to marry; the second replaces 1 of the act with This Act may be cited as the Marriage Capacity Act; the third adds a 4.1 A marriage between two persons is not invalid by reason only that they are of the same sex; the bill does not cover churches that dont believe in gay marriages; supporters include Carolyn Bennett, Bill Graham, Re ' al Me ' nard; Dalton McGuinty (NDP leader Ont) says he is in favour. Liberals introduce C-11, pretty much the same immigration bill that died on the table with the 2000 election: LG Canadians would be able to sponsor commonlaw partners as family status; common-law is not defined; [?one-year] previous cohabitation requirement stays; definition will go not in the legislation but in the regulations (which of course can be changed eg by a future government - without going through parliament) married hets do not have this problem. Immigration spokesman says theres no discrimination because same-sex and opposite-sex common-law couples are treated the same. Namibia: Supreme court 2-1 reverses the June 1999 appeal ruling of the high court granting residency to German lesbian Liz Frank, who has lived in Namibia since 1990, because of her 11 year relationship with Namibian Elizabeth Khaxas and the fact that they are raising a son together. Sydney, Australia: over half a million turn out for the 24th gay mardi gras; the parades lead float highlighted families with L/G parents - Australia is still officially opposed to gay marriage and adoption. The community has been angered by negative comments on the subject by conservative PM John Howard. Lisbon, Portugal: law grants to same-sex couples who have lived together for more than two years the same legal rights and tax benefits as heterosexual couples 14

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II in common-law marriages. March 2001 South Africa: ruling comes in to effect: SABC extends marital TV license concession to same-sex couples (effectively one license per home rather than per set). Israel`s supreme court supports a lesbians right to live with her partner and children as a family, overruling a rabbinical court (Haifa District Rabbinical Court supported by the Chief Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem) decision that prevented the woman, a divorced lesbian, from introducing her three children to her girlfriend (which the ex-husband did not want). The rabbinical court ruled that the mothers behaviour immoral and severely detrimental to the children`s education and souls; the supreme court stood on the technicality that the rabbinical courts acted beyond their authority because the divorce had already been settled. At the end of March, Dutch same-sex marriage legislation passed last December comes into effect. Four marriages are celebrated in the City Hall of Amsterdam by couples who had previously registered their partnerships under Dutch law, but will now be able to convert those "registered partnerships" into full civil marriages. Over 6,000 same-sex couples have registered their partnerships in the Netherlands since 1998; surveys suggest that more than 60% of these couples would seek to convert their partnership into a marriage. UK: a mother-of-three from Surrey is having a surrogate baby for a gay American couple. Janie Davis, 26, is seven weeks pregnant, having been artificially inseminated with the sperm of one of the men (in their 30s, identified only as Kevin and Rob). Ms Davis says no money has changed hands. She met the men 13 years ago through a mutual friend; they had been trying to find lesbian couples or a surrogate mother in the US. Ms Davis long-term partner Steve is said to be happy with the arrangement; they are to be married in June. UK: Lieutenant-Commander Craig Jones, 31, the first out gay naval officer says his lover Adam has been made to feel welcome by the navy and is fully integrated into navy life, has attended formal dinners on board Jones ship HMS Northumberland as Jones spouse. The navys welfare service has provided support to Richard Young, a gay sailor beaten up in Portsmouth last month; the Navy news is about to advertise the Armed Forces Lesbian and Gay Assn. Helpline. Vermont legislators made a strong statement by voting to explicitly ban same-sex marriage - legally unnecessary, since the law that created civil unions defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Last November, more than 20 legislators who supported the progay law were voted out of office and the governor barely held his seat. Rhode Island considers gay unions: two bills are before the House Judiciary Committee, one to create civil unions and one to open marriage to same-sex couples. Rep. David Cicilline and two other openly gay lawmakers opened the hearing, speaking in favour. Sacramento CA: Assemblyman Paul Koretz, Democrat of West Hollywood, unveils his new "California Family Protection Act," a civil union bill designed to extend marriage-like protections to gay couples, reviving a notion which California voters rejected 60/40% last year after a bitter political fight. The bill is modelled on the civil union bill signed into law in Vermont last year which grants gay and lesbian couples the right to share title on a house, file joint tax returns, 15

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II sue for wrongful death and make decisions on behalf of their partner in the event of a medical emergency. Couples would also be able to apply for a license from their county clerk and have their union certified by a justice of the peace, a judge, or clergy member. Couples would not have the rights and responsibilities derived from federal law or the right to have their unions recognized in other states. Currently, some 36 U.S. states have banned same-sex unions. March 2001 US: 34 top Anglicans agree to ignore sexual tolerance of Episcopalians. At a strictly guarded secret conclave near Hendersonville, NC, they agree not to protest or block increasing tolerance in America's Episcopal Church, with especial reference to US dioceses that ordain actively gay clergy and allow blessing rituals for same-sex couples. In effect, while officially upholding teaching against same-sex relations, the church will let individual dioceses do what they wish. Also by March, 87 of the 173 regional legislatures, or presbyteries, of the US Presbyterian Church had refused to ratify the ban on same-sex unions proposed by the churchs 2000 general assembly. The proposal dies. Liberals work repeal the four-year-old prohibition on actively homosexual clergy and lay officers. The highest Presbyterian church court has ruled that clergy may perform same-sex union services so long as they are not confused with marriage. An internal survey shows 50% of pastors, 57% of members, and 61% of lay elders support a law against clergy giving same-sex blessings. Last May, the United Methodist Church decisively reaffirmed bans on both rituals and clergy, although dissenters plan to continue same-sex ceremonies. These three closely related denominations have with 14.3 million members and 54,215 local congregations. Larson US: custody battle over 10-year-old Miguel W takes place between his grandfather and the gay couple (his uncle, Paul Washington Jr. and his partner Timothy Forrester) who have raised him since infancy (his mother having been declared mentally incompetent). Counseling and mediation have been ordered; Judge Randall White now schedules a May 11 trial to decide guardianship, visitation and other issues Grandpa Paul Washington Sr. filed for temporary custody last Nov and left the area with the boy after saying they were going on a weekend fishing trip. Judge White denied the temporary custody bid and ordered the boy returned to Forrester and Washington who have had temporary joint custody since October. White also bars Paul Washington Sr. from contacting his son and Forrester, pending a March 16 hearing on the couples request for a restraining order. Pat Fiacco, mayor of Regina, will declare Heterosexual Family Day on June 18 this year at the request of Bill Whatcott (former Toronto resident and former Regina mayoral candidate who threatened to file a human rights complaint against the city) and the Christian Truth Activists. Last year, MacKenzie BC (200 km north of Prince George) declared Aug. 5 Heterosexual Pride Day at the request by a citizen upset the municipality had LGBT pride. Lawyers for the Alberta government told a judge yesterday the province will not contest a homosexual man's challenge of provincial inheritance laws, opening the door for same-sex couples to be considered spouses in cases involving wills and estates. The case of out gay Brent Johnson in Alberta Court of Queen's Bench is that provincial law violates the Charter by excluding same-sex couples. On the Intestate Succession Act, which governs the disbursement of estate property in 16

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II cases where there is no will, the provinces lawyer has been instructed to take no position. Johnson lived for 6 years with Larry Sand who died last spring, hit by a van while walking his dog. His $169,000 estate goes to his two daughters (17 and 19). Johnson asks to be considered a spouse and granted a $40,000 preferential share of the estate (if granted, Johnson would also get a of the estate remainder, the daughters each $43,000 of their late father's holdings, before costs). Justice Del Perras reserves judgment on the case, acknowledging he has concerns about his ability to decide the case. Last year, the Alberta government passed the Marriage Amendment Act, defining marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman. But Ralph Klein now says he opposes discrimination: These people are human beings and they have to be treated like human beings. April 2001 China: a member of the Chinese People's National Congress (parliament) proposes legalizing gay marriage, but parliament does not put up the proposal for debate because he could not find another 30 MPs to sign the petition. Belgium ministers says they are considering similar same-sex marriage legislation to that in the Netherlands - the first gay weddings took place in Amsterdam at the end of March after the December legislation permitting marriage and adoption London UK: In July, two homosexual couples will be the first to sign Londons same-sex partnership register (the official blessing will take place at the five-star Langham Hilton Hotel near Broadcasting House). Mike Ross, 30, the deputy general manager of a gay publishing company, and his partner of 12 months Simon Robson, 37, a former RAF chef who owns a public house in Canterbury, agreed to take the plunge before Christmas. They will be joined by Robsons business partner Andrew Halliday, 35, and Kevin Ede, 28, who works at the Tate Gallery (together for three years). London mayor Ken Livingstone has set aside 100,000 of public money to finance the register to give formal recognition to same-sex relationships. It will be open Wednesdays and Saturdays and at the Visitors Centre of the Greater London Authority and ceremonies will cost about 125. Tony and Cherie Blair and Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy have written to both couples to wish them luck. Both sets of grooms will be wed by a woman minister from MCC, will wear formal morning suits and have a best woman; they will exchange simple silver band wedding rings; flower girls not bridesmaids; rose petals not confetti; both wedding present lists are at Wedgwood in London; hotel provides luxury suites for the blessing night. Guests will be serenaded by a gospel choir and Nikki French, an unsuccessful British Eurovision Song Contest entrant who has become something of a gay icon. Mr Ross says We dont want it to be camp; we want it to be traditional. Toastmaster Christine Ackhurst, a Freeman of London, will proposing a toast to the Queen. New Massachusetts governor Jane Swift vows to keep gay marriages out of the state. Although she describes herself as not a real girl and says she never wore lipstick til she ran for senate, she says I dont believe in extending marriage benefits to same-sex couples. Im not even sure there are any civil union bills floating around. There wont be one coming from me. City of Philadelphia mayor Street (a 7th day adventist) appoints board and official to advise him in LG issues; he has supported antidiscrimination laws for LGBs; he is fence-mending after opposing spousal benefits for city employees in 1999 (they got them in 2000) and saying in 1997 he thinks a gay lifestyle is not appropriate. 17

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II April 2001 Connecticut: Love Makes a Family coalition, inspired by activists' success last year in Vermont, launches campaign for same-sex marriage but then, after a 5hour hearing, opts not to force a legislative vote this year saying they are willing to wait until lawmakers feel secure enough to grant them full equality rather than push for a vote now, and be forced to settle for less. Connecticut laws prohibit discrimination against gays and lesbians in employment, housing, education, and credit; the state provides medical benefits to same-sex partners of state employees. Last year, after one failed attempt and much lobbying, the state passed the Second Parent Adoption Act, which entitles unmarried couples to share parental custody of a child. US: Concord has becomes the first city in Contra Costa County to offer (unanimously) same-sex domestic partner benefits to employees, though a decade ago, the city denied gays and lesbians protection against discrimination. In 1985, Berkeley was the first city in the nation to offer benefits to same-sex domestic partners. Seattle: out lesbian Rev. Karen Dammann makes a groundbreaking request to be appointed pastor with the United Methodist Church, which last May in Cleveland decisively voted against ordaining, appointing or marrying homosexuals. Dammann has a partner, Meredith Savage, and adopted son. Dammann bases her request on a Methodist law that guarantees ordained elders in good standing the right to an appointment. In a February letter to the bishop, Dammann acknowledged she had accepted an appointment as pastor of Woodland Park United Methodist Church (1996) knowing it violated the denomination's discipline and hiding her sexual orientation and relationship. She feels that during her three years there it was an open secret Final say is not with the bishop but a system including church judicial review. A decision is needed before the July 1 deadline for pastoral appointments. Senator Anne Cools introduces a bill S-9, An Act to Remove Certain Doubt Regarding the Meaning of Marriage, which excludes same-sex couples and also those who cannot procreate or give birth. Saskatchewan is considering omnibus legislation to treat same-sex couples equally. Alberta: Del Perras in Court of Queens Bench rules Intestate Succession Act violates Charter in excluding gays, he refuses to read in same-sex couples, he suspends the law for nine months while the province changes it. AB govt says it will review family and property laws. Premier Ralph Klein says it will not lead to gay marriage. NSW Australia: Supreme court rules against Daniel Nourredine Dridi, 29, who sued his ex, Donald Russell Fillmore, 58, last year for half of two properties, two dogs and hundreds of thousands of dollars, the first suit under the Property Relationships Act 1984 since it was amended June 2000. Master Richard Macready found the legislation did not apply because the relationship ended before the amendments took effect. Jaya Verma and Tanuja Chauhan are married in a Hindu ceremony in Amikapur, Chattisgarh, north India; their landlord evicts them; local registrar refuses to issue marriage certificate because of the law. UK: London, Court of Appeal (Lords Justice Brown, Chadwick, and Longmore) 18

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II hears landmark test case on gay immigration rights and is asked to rule that same-sex partners be treated as a family under UK and EU law. Nigel McCollum (see jan 01) seeks to secure the right of his Brazilian partner Renato Lozano to live with him in the UK on the grounds that their relationship constitutes a family and that their family rights are protected under British and EU legislation. McCollum: 1) EU Community Law requires member states to facilitate the admission of a broad range of family members; 2) Community Law has never defined what constitutes a "family" therefore excluding gay partners is arbitrary and unjust; 3) Nigel McCollum is a UK citizen exercising his EU community rights; his family includes a de facto partner, and UK and Community Law should recognize same-sex de facto partners; 4) In UK domestic law, stable long-term same-sex relationships are already recognized in certain circumstances for the purposes of immigration and residence; 5) Based on the High Court's legal ruling in the Martin Fitzpatrick same-sex tenancy rights case, gay partners do constitute a family, and this recognition should be applied to UK and EU law concerning immigration and residence rights for same-sex partners. Home Office: Renato Lozano does not have entry clearance and therefore these arguments are academic and irrelevant [though the Home Secretary has discretionary power to waive this]; 2) there is no definition of family member in EU Community Law; 3) although Nigel McCollum believes he is exercising Community Law rights, the exercise of these rights remains a matter for national discretion. May 2001 Boston Mass: Holy Name Society sponsors Tom Duggan, a speaker from the Massachusetts Citizens Alliance, an organization opposed to changing the structure of traditional marriage. MCA has 18,000 signatures on a petition to support the Protection of Marriage bill. The Freedom to Marry Foundation (Boston) works for same-sex marriages. ED Joshua Friedus says: " Right now we have more invitations than speakers." Rev. Joan Saniuk, pastor of MCC Boston is one of 300 clergy members and congregations that are part of the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry. The coalition recently issued a statement supporting the lawsuit filed by Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders on behalf of seven same-sex couples who were denied civil marriages. May 2001 New Scientist publishes research of Jacques Cohen and Jason Barritt, Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science of St Barnabas, producing two children carrying the DNA from three parents, two mothers and a father, part of a fertility treatment, based on remedying cytoplasm defects, adding cytoplasm from a donor egg. Babies carry DNA from both female parents - is this genetic modification? Could it work for lesbian couples? US: national census bureau figures show only 23.5% of households consist of husband/wife/children under 18, the lowest number since records began, a drop of almost half from 1960, when 45% of households were traditional families. The number of cohabiting unmarried couples has jumped by 72% per cent in the past decade: 3.2m in 1990; 5.5m in 2000 (figures now include same-sex couples). 25.8% of households are people living alone (fewer than 9% in 1940). President George Bush has made promoting traditional family values a priority of his tax cut program he has agreed with congress a $1.35 trillion (900 billion) package expected to contain measures to abolish what Republicans call the 19

May 2001

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II "marriage penalty." May 2001 Texas senate gives preliminary approval (on a voice vote) to legislation not to recognize same-sex marriages and civil unions performed in other US states, a measure triggered by Vermont's allowing gay and lesbian civil unions which are not allowed in Texas. Author of the bill Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington:"If we don't put something on the books, then we have to give full faith and credit to any same-sex marriages [from other states] ..."It has horrendous implications for business and for state and local governments in Texas." US: Minnesota Senate 37-29 votes down Gov. Jesse Venturas groundbreaking new proposal in state employment policy (offering benefits to the same-sex partners of state workers) and limits state-paid benefits to state workers' spouses, children and grandchildren. I was just floored,'' said Julien Carter, Commissioner of Employee Relations, who had planned to offer benefits to same-sex partners in current negotiations with state employees' unions. Canadian government passes Bill S-4 in one day (it received royal assent three days later) to confirm a heterosexual definition of marriage and harmonize general federal legislation with Quebec civil law. Marriage requires the free and enlightened consent of a man and a woman to be the spouse of the other, which had been part of Quebec law since 1994 and is currently being challenged in Montreal. (CP S-9 see apr 2001) National Post releases Environics poll showing 55% in favour of same-sex marriage, 41% against; support highest in Quebec and BC, lowest in AB and Sask. Montreal: West Island suburb Point Claire sees 2000+ march in support of Theo Wouters and Roger Thibault who have lived there 23 years but faced recent extreme harassment by neighbours (one faces five harassment charges and on of assault with a weapon, a car). MP Re ' al Me ' nard pressured City Hall for a march permit but mayor Bill McMurchie insisted on a dress code (no drag queens, no one shirtless). BC lower house of parliament passes the bill introduced last year by AG Rob Hulls to give defacto homosexual and heterosexual partners the same rights as married couples regarding property transfers, superannuation entitlements, medical treatment and wills. State cabinet approved changes clarifying the definition of domestic relationships to mean situations where "there is a mutual commitment to an intimate personal relationship and shared life as a couple, irrespective of the gender of each partner". 65 amendments (43 introduced by Gippsland West independent MP Susan Davies on duration of relationships, degree of financial support, care and support of children, degree of mutual commitment to a shared life). The Statute Law Amendment (Relationships) Bill, included changes to 44 existing acts to amend the definition of "spouse" and establish the new term "domestic partner" to cover heterosexual and homosexual couples regardless of marital status. BC Liberal Party initially hostile, backed the bill after the many changes; bill due to be debated in upper house this month.. An overwhelming majority of the 80 congregation members who attend the AGM of the First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto votes to support legal recognition 20

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II of same-sex marriage, also approving the use of the banns to officiate gay and lesbian weddings. No such weddings are planned in the near future in this church. Co-rev (with his wife) Morrison-Reed estimates about 15% of the 440-member congregation is gay or lesbian. The church became a welcoming congregation in 1998, provided space for MCC in the 1970s. The Winnipeg Unitarian congregation called the banns and joined a same-sex couple in 1974. June 2001 June 2001 Switzerland: Swiss president Moritz Leuenberger attends pride parade in Zu " rich and promises to introduce a partnership measure. Tel Aviv: Gay Pride Parade with theme equal love (the natural rights that other couples have to establish legal partnerships, benefit from lower taxes and mortgages granted to married couples). This is the third year the city cosponsors the event. Last year 50,000+ gathered. Sydney: the theme of this years Pride March & Mardi Gras Festival is partnership rights. Australia: Perth Archbishop Peter Carnley, head of the Anglican Church in Australia, suggests the Church should consider publicly sanctioning same-sex partnerships based on life-long commitments so as to reject promiscuity by upholding faithfulness and loyalty in permanent, exclusive friendships. The Church could these relationships with not only "humane tolerance but with a positive sense of acceptance." Israel: The Knesset is due to hold a special discussion on the forthcoming civilian marriage law, which currently excludes same sex partners. Belgian government approves a bill to fully legalize same-sex weddings, a measure that, if approved by parliament, would make the country the second in the world to recognize gay marriages, after the Netherlands. The Dutch law applies to anyone who has lived there for four month, but Belgiums law will apply only to those whose home country also recognizes same-sex marriages. UK: Gay website, Queercompany.com publishes results of survey of attitudes of the top 20 life insurance companies in the UK showing most life insurance companies won't insure lesbians, gay men, same-sex couples or those living with HIV. None offers genuinely non-discriminatory life insurance to gay people and those with HIV. 40% of companies will not offer a joint policy to a same-sex couple. Zurich Life openly admits it will not offer life insurance to gay men and lesbians: "We do not quote on homosexuals. We have difficulty assessing the risk. We admit we are not good at it." Allied Dunba: "Our computers that were set up years ago can't cope with same sex couples - the systems do not allow it." Half the companies said they attached coverage exemptions or additional charges to policies for lesbians, gay men or same-sex couples. 60% insist gay men take an HIV test for any level of life insurance. Only Clerical Medical would offer life insurance to someone with HIV, and then only if attached to an investment bond. Queercompany is hoping for a deal with Travel Assist/CPP to offer nondiscriminatory life insurance. UK: the Rt Rev John Crowley RC Bishop of Middlesbrough will play a part in a service of "thanksgiving" for a 25-year gay relationship between two prominent Catholics, Kensington, London. Invitations are for a celebration service followed by a buffet lunch in the Catholic university, Heythrop College. The couple are well-known Catholic figures Julian Filochowski, 54, director of Cafod, the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development and Martin Pendegast, who leads the 21

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Catholic Caucus of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement. Crowley is the bishop for Cafod. Pendegast trained as a priest in Rome in the 70s and was ordained into the Carmelite order at Aylesford Priory, Kent. He left the priesthood shortly before he met and fell in love with Mr Filochowski in 1976. Holding the service flouts the teaching of the Church and defies the leadership of the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor who is still coping with fallout from a Channel 4 documentary on the gay underworld in English seminaries. Minutes before the service, Crowley is ordered by telephone by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, head of the church in England and Wales. to desist and is then put under investigation by the Vatican. The Archbishop of Wales the Most Revered Rowan Williams (widely expected to succeed Carey in Canterbury) is on record as saying recently that its wrong for churches to accept gay couples as parishioners while prohibiting gay priests from having partners: If the churchs mind is that homosexual behaviour is intrinsically sinful, then it is intrinsically sinful for everyone. It is that unwillingness to come clean that cant last. It is a contradiction. San Mateo YMCA publishes results of its survey of 300 LGB San Mateo County residents: 33% are parents; most gay families avoid visibility in favor of safety; over 75% were in a relationship, 87% of these monogamous and lasting at least 11 years. The Human Rights Campaign, the US largest lesbian and gay campaigning organization, calls for a boycott of ExxonMobil, the largest corporation in the world, which refuses to support domestic partnership benefits or reinstate a non-discrimination policy protecting its lesbian and gay employees. The companys competitors Shell, Chevron, Sunoco, Atlantic Richfield, BP Amoco and Texaco prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, while BP Amoco, Chevron and Shell offer domestic partner benefits. When Exxon merged with Mobil in 1999 it became the first US employer to withdraw a non-discrimination policy covering sexual orientation. SF rejects challenge to domestic partnership ordinance launched by evangelist Pat Robertson and the rightwing American Center for Law and Justice last November. The case reached the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld a lower court's decision in favour of the 1997 ordinance requiring businesses competing for municipal contracts to give the same benefits to committed gay and lesbian couples that the businesses gave to married couples. The law was the first of its kind. US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a San Francisco benefits law requiring companies with city contracts or leases to provide the same benefits to unmarried employees and their partners as they do to married couples. When S.D. Myers, a company that manufacturers and repairs electric transformers in Tallmadge, Ohio, 15,000 located 40 miles southeast of Cleveland, low bidder on a contract to maintain the transformers at Hetch Hetchy, refused to comply with the ordinance, and the city rejected the bid. S.D. Myers sued. President Dana Myers says he is a Christian fundamentalist. The court ruled San Francisco has a legitimate interest to promote equality for gays and lesbians. The ordinance was the first of its kind. Several cities have since passed similar laws, including Seattle, Los Angeles, Berkeley, CA., and San Mateo, CA., and the law has affected major market sectors, especially commercial airlines, banking, oil and gas. The HRC WorkNet 22

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II reports that more than 3,700 U.S. employers currently offer such benefits. June 2001 Florida law says gays can be foster parents but can't adopt. Conservatives say that's good for family values. Williams, 9, has been raised since he was 3 by Doug Houghton, who first met him at a Miami clinic where he worked as a nurse practitioner. He became Oscar's legal guardian in 1996, has helped the boy tackle health problems and learning disabilities, and he wants to adopt him. Oscar's relatives are amenable; the state of Florida says no. A 1977 state law prohibits adoption by any lesbian or gay man, the toughest anti-homosexual adoption measure in the country. A federal court trial in Key West will take place in September and could lead to the US Supreme Court. Two of Houghton's co-plaintiffs, Wayne Smith (45, a commercial lawyer) and Dan Skahen (35, a realestate broker) of Key West, have jointly cared for seven foster children during the past 16 months, with the support of Florida's Department of Children and Families, children ranging from infants to a 15-year-old, most traumatized by emotional abuse at their previous homes. Smith got involved in the lawsuit when he realized that his married sister, who lives in Nevada, could not stipulate in legal papers that Smith should adopt her two children if she and her husband died. In many states, adoptions by gays have become common; in others, they remain rare but are not barred by statute. Mississippi and Utah enacted laws last year prohibiting adoption by same-sex couples, but only Florida has an explicit ban extending to all gays and lesbians. The state will defend the law in court, but officials display little enthusiasm and the Department of Children and Families takes no public position. June 2001 US census bureau begins to release result of the 2000 census which had a category for recording the number of same-sex unmarried partner households. Besides unmarried partner, other ways to identify a relationship included housemate, boarder and other nonrelative. Vermont and Delaware are the first two states scheduled to receive new figures. All 50 states should get their data by late August. New study by two University of Southern California sociologists, Judith Stacey and Timothy Biblarz, published in the June issue of the American Sociological Review, shows children with lesbian or gay parents have more empathy for social diversity, are less confined by gender stereotypes, and are probably more likely to explore homosexual activity themselves. Stacey and Biblarz work is a survey and re-evaluation of 21 psychological studies conducted 1981-98. The thrust of those studies was that children raised by same-sex parents were no different from those reared by heterosexual parents. Stacey and Biblarz didn't try to quantify their findings with statistical projections, saying simply that children with same-sex parents "seem to grow up to be more open to homoerotic relations." Canada passes C-11, the new immigration and refugee bill, which strengthens family reunification; bill goes to senate. 12(2) of C-11 for the first time, recognizes same-sex relationships directly within the family class but the term "common-law partner" is not explicitly defined to include same-sex couples. The one year's cohabitation for couples will be recognized as common-law partners is also clearly out of the question for gays in many countries, though family class has an exemption for couples who cannot cohabit for fear of persecution. Humanitarian and compassionate grounds can still be used but, unlike the family class, they carry no right of appeal from a refusal, also exemption from the medical inadmissibility provisions is not necessarily available. 23

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II June 2001 Le ' ger Marketing national poll of 1507 shows 75% of Canadians feel gays should have the same rights as straights but only 65% are for marriage and 50% for adoption rights. Saskatchewan says it will change 24 acts via bills 47 and 48 to give same-sex couples recognition. Manitoba AG Gord Mackintosh introduces bill 41 (which passes within the month) to change 10 statutes to give same-sex couples coverage in superannuation, dependants' relief, family maintenance, survivor's benefits, pension benefits, and workers' compensation. Excluded are adoption, inheritance, property division, and conflict of interest. Govt strikes Review Panel on Common-Law Relationships to determine other amendments required to bring Manitoba's laws into conformity with the Charter, report due by the end of the year. More than 70 other Manitoba laws still discriminate. (4 provinces already have same-sex couple adoption: Ontario, Quebec, BC, and Saskatchewan) Nova Scotia: Kim Vance and partner Samantha Meehan (both 32), Russ Boutilier, and Brian Mombourquette, Nicky and Susan Perkins (partners for 18 years), and Bob Fougere and Sam Wilson (retired couple from Bedford, 10 years together with 4 grown children) are the first to register their relationships (currently for $15) with Nova Scotia's Department of Vital Statistics on the day Bill 75 (prompted by MvH), provincial legislation that recognizes same-sex relationships in Nova Scotia, has effect. Vance and Meehan get certificate 001, the first registered domestic partnership in Canada. Any two unmarried people who live together in a conjugal relationship in NS can register their relationship as a registered domestic partnership - the law provides three classifications for relationships: common-law (automatic after two years cohabitation), registered domestic partners (whenever you decide), and married (ditto). Same-sex couples count as common-law and now get spousal support, protection under the Matrimonial Property Act, pension provisions, life insurance, inheritance, and the right to see their partners' medical records and make medical decisions in an emergency - but not adoption. It folds same-sex unions into existing laws on marital property, alimony and even child support. Fougere comments, I still can't adopt my partner's child, but if we split up, I have to pay child support. Regina's first Heterosexual Family Pride Day is a sparsely attended parade in which Bill Whatcott, director of the Christian Truth Activists leads some 20 participants from the legislative buildings to city hall on Monday. promoting anti-gay and anti-abortion messages. Brazil: Legislative Assembly of the Santa Catarina State (requerimento #402-01) mandates its delegates at the federal level to oppose the Civil Partnership bill introduced by former federal MuP Ms. Marta Suplicy. Australian researchers (a team including Dr Orly Lacham-Kaplan from Monash University in Melbourne) believe they have discovered a way of fertilizing an egg with cells from any part of the body rather than sperm and have successfully used the method with mice. The research was intended to aid heterosexual couples to have a baby that is their own genetic offspring even when the man has no sperm or even sperm-making cells and women to "reprogram" donated eggs with their own genetic recipe. Maybe lesbian couples could soon be giving birth to babies that are genetically their own: the technique could allow one woman to contribute an egg and her partner to fertilize it with a cell. There might (or not) be a problem in combining the genes of two women because certain aspects of development are 24

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II controlled by male genes. Perhaps (an adaptation of the technique under development which enables donated eggs to be "reprogrammed" with the DNA from an infertile woman so she can have her own children) gay male couples could have their own children by creating a male egg by removing DNA from an egg donated by a woman and swopping it with that from sperm. Germanys constitutional court okays a new law giving legal recognition and certain inheritance and other rights to same-sex couples, to come into effect on 1 August, as planned when passed by German parliament earlier this year. The court rejected pleas for a delay from the conservative-run states of Bavaria and Saxony who felt the law broke provisions of the constitution protecting marriage and the family. The judges will still have to rule on the constitutionality of the legislation itself, with a result not expected for several months. Gay partners will not be entitled to married couples` tax breaks, neither will they be able to adopt children, but they will be able to use the name of their spouse, and will receive inheritance and residency benefits. UK: The Independent Television Commission dismissed the 117 complaints made by viewers against the staging of a gay wedding on Granada television have been thrown out by a television watchdog. Neil Morris married Mark Jinks in a ceremony broadcast live on This Morning on Valentines Day. The programs hosts, Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan, were guests of honour alongside the couples parents. The ceremony was officiated by Rev Jonathan Blake, of the Society for Independent Christian Ministry. London: The Royal Academy upsets members of its Friends organization after proposing to charge them 10 if they want to bring guests of the same sex or unmarried partners to exhibitions. Married couples will not be charged. Up until now, the annual 40 fee for Friends has allowed members to attend exhibitions with their same-sex partners and children. A spokesperson for the Royal Academy said that the new rules are being introduced so that they can take advantage of tax relief through the governments Gift Aid legislation. They will be able to claim 28p in every pound they receive from Friends. The Inland Revenue stipulates that only family members are eligible; they define family as a spouse, a parent, a child or a child`s spouse. The spokesperson said: A gay partner isn`t considered a family member; nor indeed is a sibling. The Academy asks people to write to the Inland Revenue and the Financial Secretary at the Treasury, Paul Boateng MP, in order to force a change in the definition of family. The Friends organization has 80,000 members and provides one-fifth of the Royal Academys funding. Lewes Crown Court jails Dominic Dalton for six years for strangling his elderly demented lover Bernard Murphy, 79, with the belt of a dressing gown at their home in Brighton. Dalton said he snapped under the strain of caring for Murphy, was cleared of murder, but admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Social historian Alan Bray, author of Homosexuality in Renaissance England, honorary research fellow at Birkbeck College, University of London, and a Catholic presents a controversial theory at Ireland's first gay studies conference at Newman House in Dublin He suggests homosexual relationships were once blessed by Church rites in a form of wedding service conducted by priests where the couples became sworn or "wedded" brothers. Couples received communion and they were often buried together. The custom was prevalent between the 11th and 16th centuries and involved vows made before witnesses that two men would 25

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II stand by each other until death. Wedded friendships had their heyday in the 15th century although the tradition continued in some cases until the 19th century. Mr Bray referred to tombs with "iconography equivalent to married relationships" including Cardinal Newman's near Birmingham, who is buried with his friend Fr Ambrose St John, although Mr Bray stressed this was a platonic relationship. The chapel of St John the Baptist in Westminster Abbey has the tomb of Mary Kendall dating from 1710 with an inscription recording: "That close Union and Friendship, In which she lived, with the Lady Catharine Jones; And in testimony of which she desired That even their Ashes, after Death, Might not be divided." The recently discovered diary of Anne Lister, mistress of Shibden Hall, Yorkshire - who had a lesbian relationship with Ann Walker - describes how they had their "marriage" solemnized at Holy Trinity church in Goodramgate, York, in 1834. New plans to amend the US constitution will damage legal protection for gay and lesbian families. The ACLU says will invalidate all state and local domestic partnership laws across the country and prohibit state and local governments from making their own decisions on providing benefits to their employees. It would undermine state adoption, foster care and kinship care laws. In many states, the ACLU said, unmarried persons - including unmarried relatives, heterosexual couples, gay and lesbian couples and even unrelated clergy members - have the same rights as married persons to jointly adopt or provide foster care or kinship care. ACLU spokesperson Anders says "With only a few exceptions, most of the anti-gay attacks in Congress are the legal equivalent of sticks and stones. This amendment is the legal equivalent of a nuclear bomb. It will wipe out every single law protecting gay and lesbian families and other unmarried couples." US census 2000. The census form was not allowed to include a box for gay spouses because that would violate the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. Last census was in 1990, when some questions about the relationship of individuals in households were sent just to a small percentage; this year, the questions appeared in every mailbox. In 1990, the bureau assumed that all people who checked spouse or married to someone of the same sex had made a mistake. The US has some 3,850,524 heterosexual unmarried couples and nearly 500,000 same-sex couples. California and Vermont rank first in same-sex partners; SF has nearly twice as many as any other county; there are 92,138 same-sex couples in California, including 8,902 in SF. In Vermont, 91,933 same-sex couples responded to the census. Gay couples represent 2.7% of SF's households More lesbian couples live in rural areas, more gay male pairs in urban areas. California, Nevada, Florida, and New York rank at the top for male couples, while Vermont, New Mexico, Oregon and Massachusetts have the most lesbian couples. Of the major cities, Seattle ranks behind only Washington, DC. In Seattle, 1 in 21 couples are same-sex; beyond the inner city, most of these are lesbians, who make up 52% of same-sex households statewide, even though surveys indicate more men than women identify themselves as gay. In Washington, 1 in 83 couples, married and unmarried, are same-sex. Of 15,900 same-sex pairs in Washington, about half reside in King County, and 2811 (nearly 20%) live downtown, within three miles of Lake Union. More men than women on Capitol Hill and in expensive Belltown, Alki Beach, and downtown Bellevue; more lesbians in Rainier Valley, Lake City, Vashon Island, and cheaper northern suburbs like Shoreline and Lynnwood. In Tacoma, 1 in 70 were same-sex; in 26

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Bellevue, 1 in 115; in Yakima, in 135 in Yakima. In Colorado, cohabiting unmarried pairs have doubled (81,179 households now, 48,445 in 1990); 4,640 gay male couples reported, a fourfold increase; 5,404 lesbian couples, a fivefold increase. Denver, Aurora, and Colorado Springs reported most gay households July 2001 One year after Vermont became the only state to offer legal status to same-sex couples, there have been 2,258 civil unions of which only 463 involved Vermont couples - none of the 1,795 out-of-state couples stayed in Vermont. The state averages about 6,000 marriage licenses a year. Vermont civil unions aren't recognized legally elsewhere, but some couples who travel to Vermont for a civil union certificate find it helps in gaining insurance coverage or hospital visitation privileges. In Georgia, a lesbian couple involved in a child-custody case used the certificate as proof of a solid relationship, a case that could bring the same-sex marriage issue to the US Supreme Court. Susan Freer challenges a consent decree with her ex-husband that only a spouse could stay overnight in their homes when their three children were present. Legislation proposing same-sex marriages or civil unions has been introduced in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, California and Washington, but has little chance of passing. In April, a lesbian couple filed a lawsuit against Massachusetts and used the same arguments presented in the original Vermont case. They claim same-sex couples are being denied equal legal protection that heterosexual couples receive. 34 states have passed forms of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as the exclusive union of a man and a woman - about 66% were passed before Vermont's civil unions law. Now a coalition called the Alliance for Marriage announces a campaign to amend the US Constitution to say marriage can exist only between a man and a woman (both houses of Congress and 38 states would have to ratify the amendment for it to become law). In the legislative session that ended in June, conservative lawmakers tried to dilute the civil union law by proposing to rename it "reciprocal partnerships" and extending some rights, such as health care coverage, to blood relatives. The bill passed by a single vote in the House, but the Democratic-controlled Senate refused to consider the measure. Recent polls show that while voters remain divided on civil unions, two-thirds want to move on from the controversy. July 2001 San Francisco Superior Court Judge A. James Robertson holds Sharon Smith has the right to sue the responsible person for the wrongful death of her partner of 7 years Diane Whipple, attacked and killed by two dogs in the hallway of her SF apartment building in January. Judge finds that, because same-sex couples cannot marry in California, this rights being restricted to the married violates the Equal Protection clause of the California Constitution. Doctors at the Centre for Womens Reproductive Care at a New York university give woman IVF (eggs from an anonymous donor) with brothers sperm. Doctors agreed because the womans mother was a Holocaust survivor and there were few remaining members of her family. The lesbian wanted a child who would have some genetic likeness to herself and her family. The American woman, who has not been named, is 51, in a long-term relationship and is described as a highly successful professional. The baby is six months old and healthy. The treatment cost $30,000 (21,000). 27

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II July 2001 Tampa, FL: After 19 years of public service, police officer Lois Marrero is killed in the line of duty - shot to death chasing a robbery suspect. Neither the state nor the city recognizes the legal rights of same-sex couples, so Marrero's longtime companion, Tampa police Detective Mickie Mashburn, is not eligible to receive her pension. No Tampa official in a position to make things happen -- not the mayor, the city council, the police chief, the union or officials at the pension board -- commits to right this wrong. The pension board's lawyer, Jim Loper, won't even explain the board's role in a controversy that has become of intense public interest. Software company Eidos launches lesbian couple Hana and Rain in Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix as the first gay couple to appear in a computerized video PlayStation game; they are the successors to Lara Croft, the original Tomb Raider. The game has a cinema-style 15-certificate and sells for 30; it is set in the 21st century when a deadly genetic disease called Einds afflicts 700m people around the world. Hana is given the mission of stealing a DNA sequence from the headquarters of a Hong Kong company. The booklet says Hana is"desired by many yet belonging only to one" and adds that she and Rain "became partners and more. A spokeswoman for Eidos said: "Yes, they are supposed to be gay. There are some risqu pictures of them draped over each other, but it is fairly harmless." (See jan 01.) Sacramento: Sharon Smith lost her "life partner and best friend" in a fatal dog mauling last winter, but because Smith and Diane Whipple were lesbians, Smith is having trouble suing Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel, the owners and handlers of the dogs. Smith argues she is entitled to pursue a claim as a surviving spouse or relative, but current California law allows spouses and other relatives to bring such lawsuits. Smith now testifies in favor of a bill introduced by Assemblywoman Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, to expand benefits available to gays and seniors who are registered with the state as domestic partners, including the right to seek economic and emotional damages in wrongful-death lawsuits.. The Assembly-passed bill is approved by a 4-2 vote of the Senate Judiciary Committee and advances to the Appropriations Committee. Since January 2000, 15,000 people have registered with the secretary of state as domestic partners, but the 1999 law creating the registry allows only limited benefits the right to visit a partner in a hospital and some health benefits for state workers. The new bill would require health insurers to offer coverage for domestic partners, although employers would not have to provide it. Partners would get decision-making authority in hospitals, inheritance without a will and unemployment benefits when a partner transfers a job. Pro: gay rights and senior groups, the California Nurses Association, labor unions, the California Teachers Association and the American Civil Liberties Union. Anti: religious groups, including the Committee on Moral Concerns and the Capitol Resource Center. July 2001 Foundation for Equal Families bills Ottawa for the cost of suing over same-sex spousal rights. Since they launched their challenge against 58 federal laws in 1999. Lawyer David Corbett reckons it cost him $165,000 which he has not billed the foundation. Some 15 months after the suit was launched, the government passed C-23 which changed many of the named statutes. Foundation president Michelle Douglas says We have been forced for more than 10 years to bring court challenge after court challenge. FEFs lawsuit is now technically dormant. BC: Judge Pitfield of BCs supreme court hears challenge to Canada's marriage 28

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II laws, brought by 3 same-sex couples and 5 further couples together with EGALE; in 1999 one couple and 2000 another couple sought to obtain marriage licences from the BC Director of Vital Statistics and were rejected. The BC Government issued legal proceedings against the federal government, seeking the right to marry same-sex couples, and claiming that the restriction of marriage to heterosexuals violates the Charter right to equality. EGALE and five same-sex couples (Melinda Roy & Tanya Chambers, Robin Roberts & Diana Denny, Tess Healy & Wendy Young, Shane McCloskey & David Shortt, and Bob Peacock & Lloyd Thornhill) and the BC Partners (Elizabeth & Dawn Barbeau, Murray Warren & Peter Cook, and Jane Hamilton & Joy Masuhara) also initiated petitions. The three BC partners have also issued a human rights complaint against the BC Government. November 2000, the BC Supreme Court ordered that the three sets of proceedings be heard together. Judith Bowers, the lawyer for the federal government, says heterosexual procreation is a "naturally-occurring phenomenon," "the survival of the human race depends upon" excluding same-sex couples from marriage, letting same-sex couples marry might "devalue heterosexual marriage," and legalizing same-sex marriage might lead to consequences"so profound that they cannot be foreseen." The new BC Liberal Government is withdrawing the legal action against the federal government but, because of the November order, all the evidence filed by the Attorney General can be used in the case. July 2001 Saskatchewan passes bills 47 and 48 changing 24 pieces of provincial legislation and giving most spousal rights to same-sex couples, including public pensions and adoption of partners children. Madam Justice Deborah Gass in the Nova Scotia supreme court rules unconstitutional the provincial Children and Family Services Act since it prevented unmarried (same-sex and heterosexual) couples from adopting. The Charter case was launched last October by a lesbian couple who have raised their children since birth, but could not legally both be recognized as parents. Children of unmarried common-law couples will now be able to register their relationships with both parents, inherit under the Intestate Succession Act, and receive maintenance from both parents. Madam Gass rules that families are an essential part of the democratic society and can't be restricted based on sexual orientation. Cambridge: a fundies January protest of a same-sex marriage ceremony in Toronto has led to criminal charges for disrupting a church service (Criminal Code 176, para 2). Erika Kubassek already faces charges [acquitted Jan 2002] for assaulting Reverend Brent Hawkes, senior pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, during the church's 11 a.m. worship service. Kubassek says she is being discriminated against because she is a Christian: "Having prophetic gifts, I have a perfect right to go into any church that claims to be Christian and set them right.'' Kubassek is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 5 on the disruption charge laid by Hawkes, Dec 19 on the assault charge laid by the police.

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August 2001 Africa: Judge Frans Kgomo, brought in from the Northern Cape to rule on the applications, says there are many similarities between the two cases currently before Pretoria High Court, both involving joint adoption of children by same-sex couples and pension and other benefits being extended to the same-sex partners of the lesbian judges who brought the cases Judge Anna-Marie de Vos seeks to co-adopt children with her lesbian partner (case postponed) and applies to have 29

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II sections of the Child Care Act declared unconstitutional, since it allowed only De Vos to adopt two children; Judge Kathy Satchwell from the Johannesburg High Court seeks to have sections of the Judges Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act declared unconstitutional, since it prevents her same-sex partner from sharing in benefits available to spouses of other judges. Satchwell's application is opposed by the state while no resistance is expected against De Vos's. August 2001 South Africa: the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project files court papers against Finance Minister Trevor Manuel to secure full pension benefits for surviving same-sex partners of state employees. The application seeks to declare invalid and unconstitutional certain sections of the Government Employees Pension Fund law (nb: private pension funds eliminated this discrimination with the Pension Funds Act 1999) and other legislation which prevents same-sex partners of state employees from securing equal benefits This follows two separate applications brought by two judges to the Pretoria High Court: Judge Anna-Marie de Vos seeking to co-adopt children with her lesbian partner and Judge Kathy Satchwell seeking to have sections of the Judges Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act declared unconstitutional for blocking same-sex spousal benefits August 2001 Australia: national Population and Housing census includes cohabiting same-sex couple question, first asked in 1996. The 1996 census counted 10,215 lesbian and gay couples in the country. August 2001 Buenos Aires: municipal bill to legalize same-sex unions presented by the Argentine Homosexual Community (CHA) who feel the majority of the political parties with legislative representation"agree in general terms" that the government should recognize same-sex unions. The bill would legalize unions without recognizing them as civil marriages and would allow either partner to receive social security benefits in the event that his or her partner dies. August 2001 Czechoslovakia: legislation on same-sex partnerships comes up for Cabinet debate, with lawmakers scheduled to vote in October. Czech Bishop Conference says over 62,000 have signed a petition against the legalization of homosexual partnerships organized by them. August 2001 At dozens of ceremonies across the country, German gays exchange vows at partnership ceremonies, gaining rights previously reserved for married couples as new law comes into effect. 1st couple was Heinz Harre and Reinhard Leuschow in Hanover. In Hamburg, 15 couples. In Berlin-Scho " neberg, vows are exchanged by dark-suited Gudrun Pannier, 36, and her identically dressed partner, Angelika Baldow, also 36, two members of the Green party, which campaigned hard for the legislation. The couple met after Angelika advertised in a lonely hearts' column; she has MS and needs a wheelchair. They had exchanged rings symbolically five years before. The law allows gay couples to register their unions at government offices and requires a court decision for divorce. Same-sex couples also will receive inheritance and health insurance rights given to married spouses, also immigration, name-change and alimony rights, but not all rights of adoption, pensions, and social-welfare benefits. (The domestic registered partnership in many countries gives you actually more rights than this.) The law was passed by the lower house of parliament last year, but the upper house - where Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's coalition of the Social Democrats and Greens lacks a majority - voted to withhold some tax privileges granted to married couples. Berlin's mayor sent congratulations to couples registering in Berlin. Couples in 30

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II three states - Bavaria, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and Hesse - will have to wait before they can officially seal their partnerships, as authorities there have delayed implementing the new law. Germany's highest court is considering an application to force conservative-led Bavaria to put the new law into effect immediately, but didn't rule in time. About 20 people protested Wednesday in front of city hall in Munich, the state capital. Federal Constitution Court rejects injunction sought by Bavaria and Saxony to prevent the law from taking effect Aug. 1 - arguing that the law violates constitutional provisions protecting marriage and the family. That complaint still awaits a decision by the court. August 2001 Sweden: Gallup poll for Expressen newspaper and TV4 news channel shows 53% opposed to the adoption of children by gay couples, 32% in favour, 15% without opinion. Men 59% negative, women 47%. Young people more positive. Sweden introduced partnership recognition in 1995 but still withholds legal adoption and access to AI. After two years studying, a parliamentary committee proposed in January that the law be changed, since it found gay parents able to provide a healthy childhood environment. The proposal should come before parliament next spring, including insemination of lesbians in a registered partnership and joint custody of a child. August 2001 Ireland: the news that a surrogate mother had given birth to triplets Max and Tom, and Connie (born in June in California and brought to Ireland last week) for two gay Irishmen, Dublin hair salon owners John MacMahon, 42, and Gerard Whelan, 37, who is the father, led to calls from Mary Henry, member of the Republic's Senate, for new legislation to regulate both surrogate births and adoptions by gay and lesbian couples. In the south, there is no law governing surrogate parenthood and any couple, heterosexual or homosexual, can avail of the services of a surrogate mother or agency. The men are thought to have paid 100,000 to a Californian agency to have the babies through a surrogate mother. Gay Senator David Norris:"I think it's a lovely thing to do. Studies in countries where this is more widespread have shown it has no effect on the children's sexual orientation. The problems arrive from attitudes of society. August 2001 Finland takes up process of implementing registered domestic partnership system on the lines of Denmark etc. August 2001 UK: Liberal Democrat peer Lord Lester of Herne Hill introduces a private member's bill in the Lords calling for registered unmarried partnerships (straight and gay) to be given legal status, while Labour MP Jane Griffiths brings in a similar motion in the Commons. Further weight will be added to the cause by MPs' recent decision to vote for pension rights for their own unmarried partners. London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, will launch his London Partnership Register for same-sex couples in September (the Greater London Authority already has a waiting list). August 2001 US census bureau releases final statistics for 2000 on unmarried, same-sex-partner households for all 50 states in the 2000 census: 601,209 same-sex, unmarried partner households, a 314% increase over the 145,130 from the 1990 census. Same-sex households showed in 99.3% of all counties - only 22 counties without. A 50-state breakdown shows the largest reporting increases came in rural, sparsely populated, more conservative states, the smallest in more populated and urban states. In order, Wyoming, South Dakota, Idaho, West Virginia and Delaware showed the largest increases. In order, California, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut showed the smallest increases. 31

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II August 2001 US: Big Three auto-makers announce they will offer the same-sex spousal benefits to as it is good business practice and a low-cost way of recruiting and retaining workers. Low cost partly because few employees come forward, partly because employees eligible for the coverage tend to be young and thus healthy, also because most partners already have coverage through their own employers also because any benefits offered to domestic partners are subject to federal income and FICA taxes. Any increased risk of AIDS among men be offset by a decreased risk among women. Very low chance of pregnancy. "Whether you think it's good or it's bad, it's here, and more and more companies are jumping on the bandwagon," says Peter Elinsky of KPMG and notes offering a benefits package that appeals to a diverse workforce lets them maintain a recruitment edge. In 1999, some 18% of US workers were employed by companies that offered the benefits. Services and high tech employers head the fields, manufacturers lag behind. August 2001 Indianapolis: more than 1,000 voting members of the Churchwide Assembly of the 5.1 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church's meet; on the agenda, blessing of same-sex unions. Retiring Bishop H. George Anderson, 69, calls the faithful to face disagreement with love. Members of Lutherans Concerned/North America and SoulForce, an ecumenical Christian group, are there. About 700 advocates for and against same-sex union blessings take in an official hearing about homosexuality to help leaders prepare for a vote. The meeting decides to begin its first major study on whether to endorse the morality of homosexual relationships and examine whether the church should accept gay and lesbian clergy who refuse a vow of celibacy. The project will involve the Chicago headquarters staff, the church's bishops, its 65 synods (regional units) and colleges and seminaries, open hearings and local focus groups. An interim report with possible recommendations is due in 2003; the final report, in 2005. Anita Hill of St. Paul, Minn. Hill, a lesbian living with a partner, was irregularly ordained as a pastor by one active bishop and three retired bishops. Hill's congregation was censured but not expelled by Bishop Mark S. Hanson of St. Paul, who is now elected as the denomination's presiding bishop, making him the leader of the fifth-largest U.S. Protestant church. August 2001 New York's tough, conservative mayor Rudolph Giuliani stays with gay couple after the collapse of his marriage two months, sometimes staying with his girlfriend, Judith Nathan. The gay couple is Howard Koeppel, 64, a car dealer, his 41-year-old boyfriend, Mark Hsiao August 2001 US: report shows 29% national increase of reported domestic violence in samesex relationships in 2000, a trend amplified in cities using more resources to combat the problem. SF-based CUAV, Community United Against Violence, and other groups across the country recorded 4,048 incidents, up from 3,120 in 1999. In LA, reported cases increased 58% from 1,356 in 1999 to 2,146 in 2000 (attributed to new funding the LA Gay and Lesbian Center received from the state Dept of Health Services for outreach and prevention). In SF, incidents recorded by CUAV dropped from 741 in 1999 to 691 last year. August 2001 Provincetown, Mass: Family Week, 6th annual camp hosted by two national nonprofit groups, Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere (COLAGE) and Family Pride Coalition, for gay and lesbian parents and their kids, has gown from the 20 families that attended to first camp to over 400 families with 560 children, more than half under age 5. An NGLTF analysis of the 1990 census says some 32

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II 20% of lesbian couples and 5% of gay male couples living together were raising kids 10 years ago. August 2001 US: Tampa City Council create a committee to investigate extending benefits to same-sex couples, because of Tampa police officer Lois Marrero killed in the line of duty (see jul 01) - remaining partner unrecognized. Tampa Tribune reports that nationwide, about 25% of companies offer benefits to domestic partners - for some this means only for same-sex couples, but many also include unmarried heterosexual couples. In the Tampa Bay area, the sssb companies are mostly the larger ones: Capital One Financial Corp., Holland & Knight, JPMorgan Chase, Tech Data, Time Warner and Verizon. Lindsay Bishop, consultant for Hewitt Associates in Lincolnshire, Ill., says companies began offering these benefits primarily as a recruiting tool, but as they become more mainstream, employees are start to request them. Surveys show about 1% of employees sign up for domestic partner benefits and insurance costs rise by 1% or less. Although insurance companies often witter on about costs, AIDS is what they mean, and treating HIV or AIDS is cheaper than a high-risk childbirth: 1999 stats show lifetime treatment for HIV costs about $120,000, about the same as a cancer patient or organ transplant recipient. Caring for a premature infant can cost as much as $1 million. August 2001 Miami: US District Judge James Lawrence King, senior judge of the US Southern District of Florida, upholds the 1977 state ban on adoptions by homosexuals, citing the stability of heterosexual families compared with gay couples. Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Department of Children and Families say in prepared statements they approved of the ruling. Case brought jointly by Doug Houghton of Coconut Grove, Fla., who has cared for Oscar Williams, 9, for six years and cannot adopt him, and Steven Lofton, a foster parent seeking adoption of a 10-year-old boy. August 2001 The day after the Boston Globe's front-page interview with her stepson Brian Hunt, New Mass gov. Jane Swift announces she will extend certain domestic partnership benefits to gay and lesbian state employees (see apr 01) . August 2001 Trenton NJ: Judge Donald G. Collester reverses lower court ruling and says Jill Bacharach, 33, can hyphenate her last name with her lovers last name, becoming Bacharach-Bordman; the lower court judge had ruled it would create the false impression they were married, but he must now sign the paper that will change the woman's surname. Those who filed briefs opposing recognition of the name change said it would provide a form of legitimacy'' to same-sex relationships that was contrary to the state's policy. J Collester says: The legitimacy of such relationships is well-established,'' citing the state's law against discrimination and court decisions giving parental rights to same-sex partners. August 2001 New York: Public Agenda poll shows 57% nationally oppose allowing gay men and lesbians to adopt children. August 2001 Canada Student Loans Program includes term common-law partner ( a person who is cohabiting with a borrower in a conjugal relationship, having so cohabited for a period of at least one year") to be consistent with the corresponding federal Act (the definition of spouse will remain the same: a person of the opposite sex who is married to a borrower); many will get a higher income assessment and a lower amount disbursed. August 2001 BC human rights tribunal headed by Carol Roberts of Victoria rules that, when a lesbian couple conceives a child using sperm from an anonymous donor, both 33

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II members of the couple are legally entitled to register as parents on a child's birth certificate. Before, the non-birth mother had to legally adopt the child before being officially recognized as a parent. Karen Popoff and Bren Murray of Vancouver and Peggy Maher and Michele Gill of Victoria had challenged the provinces Vital Statistics Act on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation and family status. Roberts: "Vital Statistics has denied same-sex couples the right to register a birth in the same way that opposite sex couples do, based on the director's definition of a 'father,' as well as its practice of allowing males to register as father without any inquiry into a biological relationship with a child." The agency must now register each child's non-biological parent and provide an option on birth registration forms for a "co-parent" to be listed as a mother or father. Roberts awards each couple $500, far lower than the $10,000 in general damages each was seeking. Sept 2001 Czech Republic cabinet approves and sends to parliament legislation to legalize same-sex partnerships (local authorities to unite two members of the same sex in a "cohabitation" arrangement giving them surviving-partner inheritance and other legal rights, but no adoption). Parliament rejected a similar measure in Spanish parliament votes to reject an opposition bill (five proposals to replace the words "a man and a woman" with "all individuals" made by five other political parties: socialist party PSOE, Izquierda Unida (IU), Iniciativa per Catalunya-Els Verds, Bloque Nacionalista Gallego (BNG) and Chunta Aragonesista) which would have given gay and lesbian couples similar rights as their heterosexual, married counterparts. The ruling conservative Peoples' Party (PP) of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has an absolute majority. PP says both Spanish civil law and the Constitution presume that a marriage must be between a man and a woman, even if this is not specifically said. Catalan group CiU and Coalicion Canaria also voted against. The Socialist Worker's Party (PSOE) of Felipe Gonzalez and the Left United Coalition (IU) accused the PP of "succumbing to the dictates of the catholic church" and failing to recognize social reality. Certain Spanish regions offer homosexual couples the chance to register a same-sex "partnership for life." Finland: annual youth opinion poll Nuorisobarometri (youth barometer), published by the state youth affairs department, shows most young people (15-29) approve of same-sex relationships. Approval varied not with age but with the size of the place where the youths live. Helsinki did best. Committee of Ministers (the executive arm of the Council of Europe) issues its first statement in support of LGB rights in its 50 year history, regretting that discrimination and violence against homosexuals still occur in Europe and acknowledging that progress in ending discrimination is still needed in member states' domestic law and practice. C of M members consist of the Foreign Ministers of 43 European countries (or their deputies) with a combined population of more than 800 million. The statement came in response to a Recommendation on the situation of lesbians and gays in Europe by the Council's Parliamentary Assembly that called upon the C of M to make 11 specific recommendations to member states, including the repeal of all discriminatory laws, an equal age of consent, anti-discrimination legislation, and registered partnership laws. The C of M says it agrees with several recommendations but does not state which (likely because member states disagree, particularly on registered partnership and the age of consent). The Committee emphasizes the need for measures in the areas of education and professional training "to combat homophobic attitudes in certain 34

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II specific circles." Sept 2001 London UK: Ian Burford, a retired actor, and Alexander Cannell, 62, a senior nursing manager at St George's hospital, Tooting., are the first gay couple in Britain to register their (38-year) partnership in a civil ceremony at the Greater London authority headquarters in Westminster. (Linda Wilkinson, 49, and Carol Budd, 48, of Bethnal Green, east London, are second.) GLA officials said Brighton, Manchester and Liverpool councils were planning to follow London's lead. This fall, Lord Lester and Jane Griffiths, Labour MP for Reading East, plan to introduce private members' bills on the subject. US Census Bureau now admits that a large part of the increase in the number of same-sex households is the result of alterations the Bureau made to same-sex couple data in 1990. Gregory Spencer, chief of the population projection branch at the Bureau, says officials routinely changed the reported sex of those counted "to preserve the married couple status. If they said they were 'married' to someone of the same sex, even if they were just living together, we simply changed the partner's sex and just made them a married [heterosexual] couple." At the American Psychological Association annual conference in San Francisco, Nanette Silverman of the Johnson and O'Connor National Survey of Gay and Lesbian Parents based at Dowling College in Oakdale, NY, presents results of study of 256 families in 34 states, including rural areas, and says sexual orientation is totally irrelevant to good child outcomes. Gay parents are more than usually reluctant to use physical punishment (under 15% do, compared over 60% of straight households) and tend to employ reasoning and conversation. Silverman says hers is the largest data sample to date on the long-term effects of gay parenting. US: Hamilton College national poll of 1,000 highschool seniors shows 66% support same-sex marriage, compared with 33% of all adults. California state assembly votes 42-29 to pass AB 25 conferring 13 marital rights and benefits on straight and gay domestic partners; bill now goes to Gov. Gray Davis, who has indicated that he would like to sign such a measure but has not committed to sign this one; opponents faulting assembly for ramming the bill through while people are still concentrating on the bombing of the World Trade Center and Pentagon. In 2000, California voters by 61% approved prop. 22, the Defense of Marriage Initiative. Massachusetts: Attorney General Thomas Reilly okays two initiative petitions that would ask voters in 2004 to limit marital rights and domestic partner benefits for gays and lesbians (perhaps because of intense lobbying by the Massachusetts Citizens Alliance, whose advisory board includes City Councilor James M. Kelly, former Mayor Raymond L. Flynn, and Rep. Michael J. Coppola, R-Foxboro). 57,100 signatures are required by law to put the petitions before the legislature; petitions must be approved by at least 25% of the legislature in 2002 and again in 2003 to appear on the 2004 ballot. A 1999 SJC ruling struck down domestic partner benefits that had been enacted by several communities, including Boston, Brookline, and Cambridge. The ruling pushed the issue back to the legislature, where several bills are pending. US, Spokane Valley: Russ Powell, 35, struck by a car on Interstate 90 near Coeur d'Alene, falls into a coma and is in the intensive care unit at Kootenai Medical Center. His partner Brian Millspaugh, 32, is not legally entitled to visit him or 35

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II participate in decisions as to his care. Hospital lets him visit (because Powells parents give him permission), but allows him only limited information. The couple have been together for a year and had registered as domestic partners when they lived in Seattle. Neither Idaho nor Washington state law recognizes them as a married couple. Powells parents have control over his well-being and his mother says Brian and I don't get along. He's turned Russ against his family. He (Russ) had a wife and two little children and he chose to walk off and join this life." Sept 2001 Quebec Coalition for Same-sex Relationship Recognition,* gains intervenor status same-sex civil marriage case of Michael Hendricks and Ren LeBoeuf; judge Nadeau, Quebec Superior Court. The Quebec Civil Code restricts marriage to opposite-sex couples, and the children of same-sex couples are denied the rights enjoyed by children in a heterosexual family. Opposing: Can govt, Quebec govt, Alliance francophone des protestants vangliques du Qubec, Catholic Civil Rights League. The case is expected to be heard form November 13 15, 2001 at the Montreal Courthouse. [*pro bono lawyer Me Nol St-Pierre; coordinator Irne Demczuk; Lesbian Mothers Association, la Centrale des syndicats du Qubec (CSQ), la Confdration des syndicats nationaux (CSN), le Conseil central de Montral mtropolitain de la CSN, GALE Canada, La Fdration des femmes du Qubec (FFQ), le Rseau des lesbiennes du Qubec/Qubec Lesbian Network, CUPE Quebec section, CPostiesWU Quebec section, and la Table de concertation des lesbiennes et des gais du Qubec].

October 2001 Brazil: judge Marcos Brant rules against the mother of a two-year- old girl who sought to gain custody of the child over the father, Jose Dias, 31, who has lived with his partner, a hairdresser, for 15 years - the first time in Brazil a judge recognizes a gay couple as having the right to be fathers. October 2001 Czechoslovakia: parliament turns down a bill to legalize same-sex partnerships and sends it back to the cabinet, which drafted and approved the legislation last month. It was the second time in two years that parliament refused to act on a gay rights bill. Deputy Premier Vladimir Spidla says likely nothing will happen now until after parliamentary elections next spring, but he remains in favour of the bill, which would legalize homosexual partnerships, allow same-sex marriages and clear the way for surviving-partner inheritance. Pressure against came from the Catholic Church, though a recent Czech poll found 41% in favour legalizing same-sex partnerships (up from 33% last year). October 2001 NZ: Waikato University students celebrate a Gay Pride Week same-sex marriage (Rebecca Kaukau and Chelsea Reardon) service as a bid to publicize the Civil Union Bill to an apathetic student body. Backed by PM Helen Clark, Labour MP Tim Barnett is working on the Civil Union Bill and hopes to present it to Parliament next year to allow gay and straight de facto couples to gain the rights of married couples by officially registering their relationships. October 2001 Finnish parliament passes law allowing same-sex couples to register and obtain some of the rights of married couples (no adoption, not even of each others children), much Christian opposition. October 2001 US: Attorney General John Ashcroft and US Justice Department face debate as they prepare rules and procedures (due by Dec 22) for a special federal compensation fund that may surpass $15 billion to compensate survivors of the Sept 11 attacks: should it include same-sex families? So far, nearly a dozen gay victims have been named including NY Fire Department chaplain Mychal Judge; 36

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II David Charlebois, the Washington DC co-pilot of American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon; San Francisco public relations executive Mark Bingham, a passenger who fought the hijackers aboard Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania. But same-sex families cannot prove themselves by producing marriage licenses, birth certificates, co-parent adoption paperwork, unless a homosexual partner or parent is named in a will. The American Red Cross does already include gays, lesbians, and their children among the survivors and some social policy experts say Congress and the courts ought to change or skirt marriage and adoption rules to recognize domestic partners and gay parents. Reverend Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition calls for denial of disaster relief to the families of LGBT victims because it will lead gay groups to ''redefine what marriage is and how marriage functions and who enters into marriage''; National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC) demands apology October 2001 US: new nationally syndicated talk show airing in Utah on KJZZ-TV and across America on Chicago WGN Superstation features Gayle Ruzicka, mother of 12 and grandmother of 18, who does needlepoint in the gallery of Utah's House of Representatives while reigning as self-appointed overseer of the state's moral climate and Cristy Gleave and Roni Wilcox, lesbian parents of a 2-year-old son, Yeager, who spearhead the fight over the Utah law that banning same-sex couple adoption. Not quite two years ago, Eagle Forum state President Ruzicka led her followers to Capitol Hill to successfully lobby for a law denying unmarried, sexually involved couples the right to adopt, she says about LGBs: "It's their choice if they choose to live an immoral, illegal lifestyle. October 2001 US: the conservative Family Research Council issues a blistering critique of the Bush administration, accusing the White House of giving an "implicit endorsement" to the "homosexual political agenda, evidenced most recently by a vote in Congress to lift the ban on domestic partner benefits for gay couples in DC (a vote they say was lost because 41 Republicans bolted to join 184 Democrats) Other offence include: letting openly gay Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., who led the effort to lift the DC ban, speak at the GOP convention; naming former Massachusetts GOP governor Paul Cellucci, a "militant advocate of homosexual rights," ambassador to Canada; picking "prominent gay activist" Scott Evertz to head the White House AIDS office; and putting activist Donald Cappoccia on the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts. The memo also criticized Secretary of State Colin Powell for presiding over the swearing in of "openly homosexual foreign service officer" Michael Guest to be ambassador to Romania and recognizing his "partner' of six years," Alex Nevarez , "who reportedly will live with the ambassador" in the official residence in Bucharest. Among others, the memo blames White House senior aide Mary Matalin ("a founder of the pro-homosexual Republican Unity Coalition") for the lapses and claimed she "worked behind the scenes at the Republican National Convention to remove the strong pro-family planks from the GOP platform." October 2001 California: Gov. Gray Davis signs legislation bringing California's domestic partnership law closer to marriage: adds healthcare, estate planning and adoption (domestic partner treated as a stepparent seeking adoption), sue for emotional distress if his or her partner is killed in a negligent way, unemployed person can relocate with a partner without losing benefits. When the law comes into effect, Jan 1 2002, California will be second to Vermont in granting legal rights to domestic partners. The initiative passed with 61 percent of the vote. The measure was written by Assemblywoman Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, and applies to 37

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II same-sex couples of any legal age and to male-female couples who include at least one partner older than 62 (to recognize senior citizens often want to live together for safety, comfort and economic reasons without the formality of marriage in their advancing years). California registry now lists 7,670 couples (state pop almost 34 million). October 2001 California: state appellate court in San Diego in the case of Annette Friskopp and Sharon Silverstein rules 2 to 1 that California law does not authorize second-parent adoptions, although over the past 15 years, an estimated 10-20,000 same-sex couples in California have adopted children this procedure, thought to be state-approved. The new decision could invalidate every such adoption in the state, unless the state Supreme Court overturns the ruling. Jan. 1 2002, when a law recently signed by Gov. Gray Davis takes effect, registered domestic partners will be able to adopt each other's children (as married couples do) through step-parent adoption, a streamlined procedure. Partners will be able to validate previously attempted adoptions, the Court of Appeal majority said, so the new law will have the effect of "minimizing the feared impact of this decision on those relationships." However the new law covers only existing domestic partnerships. Couples who have broken up or moved out of state since adopting a child, and those in which the biological parent has died, will not be able to revive the adoption without getting married, which same-sex couples cannot do. Friskop and Silverstein together since 1989: 1996, Silverstein bore a son by AI; Friskopp won Superior Court approval for a second-parent adoption; 1999, Silverstein had another son and the couple again petitioned for adoption, but when they broke up last year, Silverstein sought to withdraw her consent. A Superior Court judge said she had waited too long, but the appellate court ruled Thursday that there was no legal basis for the adoption. State law specifies that an unmarried birth parent who wants to give up a child for adoption must surrender parental rights permanently and cannot agree to a co-parenting arrangement, says Justice James McIntyre, adding state Department of Social Services policies allowing such adoptions in individual cases are illegal. October 2001 Ohio appellate court reverses lower court order granting custody of a toddler to an HIV-positive couple, saying the couple failed to go through proper adoption procedures. Linda Lowd had reneged on an agreement she made with her brother Robert Decker and his partner David Pope to bear a child through artificial insemination with donor sperm for the two men. They had had an oral agreement and put it in writing the week before Lowd gave birth to Lillian Andrea (July 1999). Lowd now says she did not understand because she was on medication for an abscessed tooth at the time. Decker had asked his sister to bear the child since he thought he and his partner would be denied adoption on account of being HIV+. Lowd refused to list Pope as the father of the child, but put Lowd as the baby's name on her birth certificate and her estranged boyfriend as father. The lower court had given Pope and Decker custody of the child and Lowd participation in her upbringing. Lowd now gets full custody. October 2001 US: Florida, Pinellas County circuit judge hears custody case of Michael and Linda Kantaras. Michael filed for divorce in 1998. Michael, 42, was born Margo, but 14 years ago he had a sex change. Now Linda says he shouldnt have the children because he is not really a man. The boy is Lindas from a prior relationship; Michael adopted him. They had a girl by AI in 1992. Michael is leaving Linda for another woman. Florida allows marriage only between a man and woman and does not allow people to change the gender on their birth 38

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II certificate after a sex change. October 2001 Nebraska Supreme Court hears arguments to overturn the Dec 2000 decision of Lancaster County Court Judge James Foster to deny AE the right to adopt her partner (BP)s 3-year-old biological son, Luke (conceived with anon. sperm from bank. Foster said AEs adopting Luke would terminate BP's parental rights, two unmarried people could not adopt a child; the adoption (recommended by family references and the Jewish Family Service) was not in Luke's best interests. Nebraska argues its law permits a person to adopt a biological parent's child only when he or she is married to the biological parent AE, 34, cares for Luke at home full time while BP, 31, works fulltime to support the family. AE and BP met eight years ago and were joined in a commitment ceremony in 1995. The family lives in Lincoln. Nebraska voters Nov 2000 overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment not to recognize same-sex relationships - the language goes farther than any other such ban in the country. Pro-gay intervenors: Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, American Psychological Association, National Association of Social Workers, 5 other Nebraska and national organizations. Anti: Colorado-based Family Research Institute, Nebraska Nonpartisan Family Coalition, Nebraska Catholic Conference, Family First (which led the campaign to ban same-sex relationships recognition, Initiative 416) October 2001 EGALE appears before Senate Social Affairs, Science and Technology Committee to seek equal immigration rights, after testifying before the commons committee on bill C-11, addressing the inclusion of same-sex families in the "family class", calling for stronger measures to protect refugees facing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and opposing proposals for mandatory testing and exclusion of HIV-positive immigrants. October 2001 Canada: House of Commons debates MP Svend Robinson's private-members bill on same-sex marriage; NDP MP Libby Davies comes out (first out woman in the parliament); Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett and Bloc Qubcois MP Pierre Paquette speak in favour. Two Liberal MPs speak against, one calling the issue premature pending a court decision. PC MP Norman Doyle says prohibiting same-sex marriage is necessary to protect children, and there have always been restrictions on who can get married, EG those lacking intellectual capacity. Alliance MP Ken Epp says allowing same-sex couples to marry would "demean" the institution for heterosexuals. At the conclusion of debate, no consent in the house to refer the bill to committee. October 2001 Judge Pitfield in BC supreme court dismisses marriage challenge brought by 3 same-sex couples (the BC Partners Elizabeth & Dawn Barbeau, Murray Warren & Peter Cook, and Jane Hamilton & Joy Masuhara.) and 5 further couples (Melinda Roy & Tanya Chambers, Robin Roberts & Diana Denny, Tess Healy & Wendy Young, Shane McCloskey & David Shortt, and Bob Peacock & Lloyd Thornhill) together with EGALE. Pitfield finds it discriminatory to restrict marriage to heterosexuals and contrary to Charter 15 but demonstrably justifiable and so ok for 1: same-sex couples still cannot marry. The court calls it common sense to restrict marriage to heterosexuals because marriage is the primary means by which humankind propagates itself in our society.. The judge finds marriage has the meaning assigned to it in a pre-confederation English case Hyde v Hyde, as being between one man and one woman. Hyde has been cited with approval by the BC Court of Appeal, but has not been relied on in Ontario and Quebec. BC partners file appeal. (see jul.01) 39

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II October 2001 Manitoba: four lesbian couples challenge Manitobas June 2001 relationships recognition law (bill 41, qv) for excluding adoption rights Nov 2001 Colombia: same-sex unions bill passes senate committee (9-1) but is substantially altered in the process, losing clauses to address discrimination, homophobia in school curricula; bill does allow cover inheritance rights, health, pensions, alimony; bill must pass full senate and, chamber of deputies, full chamber, and president. US: Salvation Army Commissioners Conference rescinds October 2001 decision allowing regional offices to set their own policies on employee benefits, deciding instead to limit them to spouses or dependent children and excluding domestic partners. Two weeks ago, the 13-state Western Territory officials announced they would begin offering benefits to "one legally domiciled adult" including registered domestic partners. In 1998, the SA severed ties with San Francisco over the citys contract compliance law, requiring companies to offer the same benefits to domestic partners as to spouses. Washington State Supreme Court rules the question of whether Frank Vasquez of Puyallup can inherit his partner's estate after Robert Schwerzler dies, aged 78, without a will should be decided by the evidence, not the "legality" of his relationship with Schwerzler or his sexual orientation but says there isn't enough evidence on the nature of the relationship and sends the case back to Pierce County for a trial to clarify the facts. Schwerzler's family say he wasn't gay and Vasquez was a boarder. Vasquez and Schwerzler lived together 1967-95 and worked together at a burlap-bag business that Schwerzler owned and operated in their home. Pierce County Superior Court Judge Vicki Hogan had ruled in Vasquez's favor in 1997 without going to trial.; estate valued at $230,000. In 2000, the state Court of Appeals Division II in Tacoma reversed Hogan's decision last year, saying legal protections for unmarried couples don't extend to same-sex couples. Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders , in his concurring opinion, makes it clear he was ready to uphold the appeals court's decision: "The majority opinion, which avoids meaningful discussion of this issue, provides somewhat less satisfaction than can be obtained from kissing one's sister." A state appeals court in Seattle rules a judge cannot force a King County woman to pay child support to her former lesbian partner because the woman doesn't meet the legal definition of a parent. In the first such appellate ruling in Washington state and nationally, the Court of Appeals Division I said someone can only be a legal parent through biological means or through adoption. Case of Tracy Wood and Kelly McDonald, who tried for 1 years to have a baby by AI and split up in 1996 before learning McDonald was pregnant. Wood never adopted the child, but agreed to help financially. McDonald severely limited visits, so Wood cut off financial support. In 1998, McDonald sought state welfare benefits for herself and the child and King County prosecutors filed a petition in King County Superior Court that asked a judge to order Wood to pay child support. In 1999, Superior Court Judge Stephen Scott concluded that Wood wasn't a legal parent and therefore couldn't be ordered to pay support. The county appealed. Judge Perras gives Alberta a five-month extension to change a law that discriminates against same-sex partners after last Aprils Court of Queen's Bench ruling that the Intestate Succession Act was unconstitutional and the province must change the law within nine months. A Justice Department memo says the government wants to hear from the public first before changing the law. 40

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Nov 2001 Vancouver: representative plaintiffs Gail Meredith and Eric Brogaard file a class action lawsuit on behalf of surviving lesbian and gay spouses for the denial of survivor benefits under the Canada Pension Plan if their partners died before January 1, 1998, a restriction which does not apply to heterosexual couples; related class action lawsuit is launched in Toronto (rep. plaintiff George Hislop, 74). Eric Brogaard and Orville Germack were together for 23 years; OG died in 1993 of HIV-related complications. Gail Meredith's partner of 15 years, Judy Lynn Paterson, died in 1992 of a dementia related illness at the age of 41. The provinces with class action laws are British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. Quebec has a separate pension scheme. Lawyers from Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax, Winnipeg, Melfort (Sask), and Edmonton are working together. Ontario's Superior Court of Justice hears two challenges to Canada's marriage laws. One challenges the refusal by the City Clerk of Toronto to issue a marriage licence to eight same-sex couples: Barbara McDowall & Gail Donnelly; Tom Allworth & Al Pittman; Hedy Halpern & Colleen Rogers; Michael Leshner & Michael Stark; Michelle Bradshaw & Rebekah Rooney; Dawn Onishenko & Julie Erbland; Carolyn Rowe & Carolyn Moffatt; Alison Kemper & Joyce Barnett. The second is a challenge by the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto (MCCT) who published banns and the married Kevin Bourassa & Joe Varnell, Elaine & Anne Vautour in January against the Ontario Government which refused to register the marriages (neither the provincial nor federal governments have been willing to recognize the legal validity of the marriages) - MCC feels this violates its constitutional rights to freedom of religion and equality. EGALE has intervenor status. Opposing intervenors: the Interfaith Coalition (Catholics, Evangelical Protestants, Orthodox Jews, and Muslims) and the Association for Marriage and the Family in Ontario (aka Focus on the Family) who feel we should be allowed to marry because Homosexuals' agenda is further recognition and acceptance." The Coalitions agenda is to manifest, teach, and disseminate beliefs, "not just to hold them in the privacy of their own homes." and it feels, if gays are accepted in society, it will be more difficult. Attorney General of Canada intend sending 8 lawyers. Brazil: city council of Recife, the capital of the northeastern state of Pernambuco, approves a statute stipulating that LGB municipal employees, in case of death, would leave their partners a pension. Recife Mayor Joao Paulo Lima e Silva, who sponsored the ordinance: The statute was based on Brazil's constitution, which ensures rights without discrimination and ''respect for homosexuals, without prejudice. Western Australian government announces it will pass new legislation, expected to be endorsed in early 2002, to lower the aged of consent to 16 and give same-sex couples nearly all the same rights as married heterosexual couples. Australian Family Association has called all out war on Labour MPs because the laws will encourage the promotion of homosexuality in schools and encourage older men to prey on young boys. Passes lower house after a heated all-night session. Liechenstein parliament passes gay partnership legislation including taxation, insurance, residency but not adoption or reprotech; awaits ratification. Sweden: county administrative court orders sperm donor to pay SEK 3,000 (USD265) per month to the woman that has custody of the three children after a 10-year lesbian couple splits up; man will appeal. Swedish law does not count an anonymous sperm donor as the legal parent of a child, but this man was a friend of 41

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II the lesbian couple. Dec 2001 Dec 2001 Between April 1, when Hollands gay marriagelaw took effect and Sept 1, 1050 male couples and 850 female couples have got married. UK: Barbara Roche, Cabinet Officer Equality Minister expected to introduce proposals for legislation prohibiting housing and workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; victims would be able to sue for damages. The bill is also expected to outline limited partner rights, notably in the area of pensions. The bill would bring Britain into line with most other European countries. UK: out lesbian playwright and activist Linda Wilkinson is new chair of UK Amnesty International; Wilkinson was part of the successful campaign to free Amnestys first lesbian prisoner of conscience Mariana Cetiner of Romani; Wilkinson, 49, and Carol Budd, 48, of Bethnal Green, east London, are first lesbians to sign Londons new partnership registry (qv) Sept 2001. US: Kenneth Feinberg, in charge of the Sept 11 victims fund says same-sex partners, fiance ' (e)s and members of "fractured" families, such as illegitimate children, may submit claims; charitable donations to victims' families will not be deducted from fund awards but life insurance benefits will; families of those who died will get minimum $250,000 (the flat rate for pain and suffering); further allowance will be made for economic loss. Kansas Supreme Court hears case of transsexual widow battling her stepson over her late husband's $2.5 million estate in Leavenworth County; the court takes the matter under advisement and is expected to issue a decision next January. J'Noel and Marshall Gardiner, who was a wealthy stockbroker and former state representative, were legally married in 1998, about four years after the bride had a sex-change operation in Wisconsin; Marshall Gardiner died in 1999 in his late 80s - without a will in 1999. J'Noel Gardiner, an assistant professor of finance at Park University in Parkville, is in her early 40s; the gender on her birth certificate was changed from male to female; but Joe Gardiner, Marshall's son from a previous marriage, says it was a same-sex marriage and invalid under Kansas law. In January 2000, a Leavenworth County District Court judge Gunnar A. Sundby agreed and awarded the estate to Joe, saying J'Noel "was born a male and remains a male for purposes of marriage under Kansas law." J'Noel Gardiner appealed to the Kansas Court of Appeals, who sent the case back to the district court along with a new set of guidelines to be used in determining J'Noel Gardiner's gender at the time of her marriage to Marshall Gardiner. Joe appealed to the Supreme Court. New England: Nicole Salisbury and Ashley Lagasse, both 17, will be listed as "class sweethearts" in their high school yearbook, voted overwhelmingly first in the annual "senior superlatives" survey; Principal Robert Pedersen then he declared the vote invalid because the ballot asked students to choose one male and one female. Supt. Armand LaSelva now says the original results will stand. Virginia: Episcopal priest Linda Kaufman asks an Arlington court to force Virginia to allow her to adopt a foster child from the District, contending that the state is stalling on her application because she is a lesbian though the District has more than 1,000 children awaiting placement and District officials and an adoption agency licensed in Virginia have found she is well qualified to care for a second child. In 1992, Virginia approved Kaufman's adoption of a boy, then 5 years old, from District foster care. 42

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Dec 2001 US, Houston: David Diehl (46) is told by the Garden Oaks Funeral Home that he has no right to make final arrangements for Bobbie Blanton, his late partner of 10 years, and its policy is to refuse potential customers who are gay. Although Blanton had designated in a will and a separate legal directive that Diehl should control the disposition of his remains. Although Texas law does not recognize gay partnerships and state law requires funeral homes to know they are dealing with next of kin or a designated representative, the Texas Health and Safety Code says just one of the legal documents would do. Massachusetts Citizens for Marriage says they have collected 110,000 signatures, almost double the required 57,100 and 80,000 have been certified by town clerks viz: enough signatures for the petition to force a vote to ban gay marriage and forbid same-sex partner benefits in Massachusetts. Because the question seeks to change the Commonwealth's Constitution, the proposal would have to be approved by 25% of lawmakers in two successive sessions before it can go to voters so the earliest it could appear on the ballot is 2004. Quebec Justice Minister Paul Begin tables a draft bill to change Quebec's Civil Code to create a civil-union status for same-sex couples; it would offer most of the legal benefits of marriage, including division of assets after a break-up, the right to see a partner's medical records, and automatic status as a beneficiary when a partner dies - but not adoption. (Single gay men or lesbians in Quebec can adopt.) Civil union could be contracted before a justice of the peace or in a religious ceremony and would be governed by the same rules that apply in marriage contracts. The bill would put Quebec second province (after NS) to authorize same-sex civil unions. A recent poll found 76.5% in favour Manitoba Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh. Announces his govt will introduce legislation granting gay and lesbian adoption in the spring. Earlier this year the province enacted limited partner rights laws for same-sex couples. A report dealing with property rights and conflict-of-interest legislation is due by Dec. 31. Brazil: rock star Cassia Eller, 39, died Dec 2001, leaving her partner of 14 years Mara Eugenia Vieira and an eight-year-old son, Francisco Ribeiro Eller; juvenile court Judge Leonardo Castro Gomes awards custody and administration of assets inherited by the boy to Vieira, the first court recognition of the right of a same-sex partner to custody; the sentence is under appeal. Brazil: federal court judge Simone Barbisan Fortes in Porto Alegre, S Brazil, orders social security system to pay a pension to the surviving partner of a deceased gay social security contributor saying stable same-sex partnerships based on ties of affection and a social presence ''constitute family communities that deserve the protection of the state. NZ: Family Planning Associations St Luke's clinic in Auckland sets up a fertility clinic for lesbians and gay men 15-minute consultation is free; specialized counselling costs (true for everybody). Practitioner Liz Harding says she has seen three lesbian women since the service began last December. The clinic does not provide AI but offers information and screening. At mainstream fertility clinics and insemination cycle costs about US$950, so many lesbians do "home inseminations". Australia: Family Court in Melbourne hears dispute over boy conceived after the mother responded to advertisements for sperm donors in a gay magazine; gay donor father wants to spend a day with his son every few weeks; lesbian mother, 43

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II who lives with partner, wants to limit visits to a few times a year. Judge found unbelievable that parenting had not been discussed during the 27-35 attempts at insemination. Prof Robert Jansen, medical director of Sydney IVF, ends the practice of anonymous sperm donation at his clinic, because of his increasing discomfort about the ethical and moral implications. The practice of sperm donation will change further if a proposal to set up a central registry of sperm donors in NSW is passed - it would end the concept of anonymous sperm donations by enabling people older than 18 to seek out their biological father. The proposal is part of a review of the Human Tissues Act due to go before Cabinet within weeks. Jan 2002 Africa gives same-sex partners of members of the SA National Defence Force the same benefits as other spouses, following a ruling by Judge Frans Kgomo in the Pretoria High Court last year that the partner of Judge Kathy Satchwell was entitled to the same benefits as those afforded to married judges' spouses. Regulations now state that "marital status" includes "the status or condition of being single, divorced, widowed or in a relationship, whether with a person of the same or the opposite sex, involving a reciprocal support in a relationship." Colombia: Congress decides to leave debate on gay rights bill (legal recognition for same-sex couples, inheritance rights, social security benefits, conjugal prison visits) already approved by the First Senate Commission for the next legislature this spring. The bill includes only 20% of the points proposed in the original bill, presented by Senator Piedad Crdoba, of the opposition Liberal Party. Justice Minister Rmulo Gonzlez Trujillo objects saying the bill violates 42 of the Constitution, which provides only for heterosexual families. Eduardo Cifuentes, the People's Defender (Ombudsman) - a governmental post - is for it. Norway: Conservative Finance Minister Per Kristian Foss and top media executive Jan Erik Knarbakk formalize their longtime relationship according to the 1993 partnership law which accords gay and lesbian couples all the rights and obligations of heterosexual marriage, except the right to a church wedding or to adopt children. The couples say it is a private matter. UK launches Civil Partnership bill, introduced by the Liberal Democrat peer Lord Lester of Herne Hill, to give major rights to same sex partners and unmarried heterosexual couples including property, inheritance, pensions, bereavement damages. UK: govt will not oppose Adoption and Children Bill which gives unmarried couples the right to adopt; to get more children adopted (though it will be a free vote); Dept of Health removes its long-standing opposition; a subsidiary amendment, being prepared by Tory backbenchers, will seek to restrict the definition to a man and a woman. There are about 60,000 children in care, but only 3,000 a year are adopted. Currently only married and singles can adopt, partners of single adoptive parents do not have full parental rights US: nationwide 2001 survey of college freshmen by researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles Higher Education Research Institute and the American Council on Education, based in Washington: 57.9% say legalize gay marriage; 32.2%. Reproductive Genetics Institute in Chicago is developing a new fertility technique to fertilize one woman with cells taken from another and turned into artificial sperm. It may be risky because two sets of chromosomes, one from each parent, 44

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II are forced to split in half which might result in illnesses or metabolic defects. Lori Andrews, Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois, examined the impact of a technique in which fertility drugs are used to make women produce eggs that are later re-implanted in their wombs and found the drugs can cause major complications and multiple births. California: author of AB 1338, the bill to legalize civil unions, says he will table the bill for future consideration. California state Supreme Court agrees (7-0) to decide validity of second-parent adoptions, declared illegal last fall by a lower court. A law allowing registered same-sex domestic partners to adopt each other's children took effect this month but was apparently invalidated by the appellate court ruling, if the couple have broken up or moved out of state or if the biological parent has died. San Diego Annette Friskops appeal is before the court; she had helped raise the boy, born June 1999, but the partner withdrew her consent to adoption when they broke up. US: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania rules 5-2 that a woman who helped raise a child with her former lesbian partner has legal standing to seek visitation rights with the child after the couple (TB and LRM) separates (though it does not grant visitation rights). The couple got together in the late 1980s; in 1992 LRM had a girl by artificial insemination; the couple broke up in 1996. In 1997, a trial court allowed the LRM sole custody with visitation rights for TB; LRM appealed, saying Pennsylvania does not recognize same-sex relationships. Alberta government announces it will bring in legislation this spring to recognize same-sex relationships. Justice Minister Dave Hancock: "Alberta Justice proposes that Alberta's legislation concerning personal relationships be amended to comply with the charter." Que ' bec government receiving submissions on a proposed bill to create civil unions which extends to same-sex couples many of the rights and responsibilities of married couples but: it creates a separate category for same-sex couples rather than having civil union provisions apply equally to same- and opposite-sex couples; it contains a provision that same-sex couples must be 18 to enter a civil union, although opposite-sex couples need only be 16 to marry (365 of the Que ' bec Civil Code restricts marriage to opposite-sex couples) Ontario: OHRC tribunal rules in the case of two employees of an urban municipality alleging their employer discriminates by not providing certain sssbs to same-sex couples: uninsured benefits (such as leave to care for ill dependents), insured benefits (such as extended benefits), and survivor pension entitlements. Since 1992, the municipality has provided insured benefits to people in same-sex relationships but only on an interim basis because the definition of "spouse" in the Municipal Act had not been changed; the council had asked the Ontario government to amend the definition of "spouse" to provide the proper authority to provide benefits to same-sex spouses. Various regulations for pension benefits (under OMERS, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, the federal Income Tax Act and the Ontario Pensions Benefit Act) only provide benefits to opposite-sex partners. The Board of Inquiry rules this contravenes the equality guarantees in Charter 15; the definitions of "spouse" and "marital status" are to be read down so as to eliminate the discriminatory effect of the words "of the opposite sex." The province of Ontario is to interpret and apply the Municipal Act definition of 45

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II spouse as it included same-sex spouses with respect to insured benefits and uninsured benefits, and to apply this to pension benefits as well, once the definition of spouse is changed in the Income Tax Act. The municipality and union are directed to enter into a Letter of Understanding which clarifies the entitlement of same-sex spouses to uninsured benefits under the collective agreement. The municipality must pay the male complainant $10,000 as general damages and $1,200 for expenses which he incurred because of the discrimination. The municipality is ordered to pay the female complainant $4,000 as general damages. The man had sought coverage for his partner since 1986, said his son from a previous marriage considers his spouse as a step-parent, has spent$1,200 on health care for his spouse for which he should have been reimbursed. The woman had tried to get insured benefits for her same-sex spouse; she was responsible for implementing human rights and employment equity with the municipality. Feb 200 South Africa: Advocate Ishmael Semenya, during an application for confirmation of a Pretoria High Court ruling extending the benefits to people in same-sex relationships, says the government is considering extending benefits enjoyed by judge's spouses to married people and longstanding same-sex relationships, but these changes would redress the situation of same-sex couples only and, would not address the position of heterosexuals in a similar position. Semenya represented government in the case of Judge K Satchwell (qv) who last year applied for and won the right for her partner to enjoy the same benefits as those previously reserved for spouses of heterosexual judges. Government legal representatives have accepted the word spouse is not inclusive enough. Poland: The parliamentary floor group of the ruling Democratic Left Alliance [SLD] prepares a registered domestic partnership bill for cohabiting partnerships, including same-sex ones. Lech Kaczynski, leader of the opposition right-wing Law and Order party: As far as homosexual cohabitation is concerned, I can only say that this is laughable. I have no intention to persecute homosexuals, some people happen to be like that, but, giving them legal rights is a road which leads to undermine our civilization. Registration would take place at a registry office through a joint statement of both parties but only one person would be needed to dissolve the a contract; that person would need to notify the other of his intention three months in advance. Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby publishes report Meet the Parents, summarizing the results of more than 30 studies undertaken in the past 24 years, covering more than 1000 children. Nearly three decades of research has consistently finds that the children of heterosexual and homosexual parents show no differences in levels of self esteem, happiness, psychiatric state, quality of friendships, popularity or social acceptance, sexual orientation, gender role or gender identity, or level of happiness with their family identity. Available surveys suggest that between 10 and 20 per cent of lesbians and gay men in Australia already have or live with children, and another 15 per cent of lesbians want to have children in the next five years. Research shows that, more than family structure, it is the happiness and quality of the relationship between the adults, and the openness of warmth and communication between the adults and the children which affects the wellbeing of the children. The Australian Family Association says gay people are child molesters, excessively promiscuous with other adults (and various animals),and their 46

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II children grow up gay, impoverished and deeply deprived. But the law is patchy. EG: Lesbian mothers cannot use the Child Support Agency, if their relationships break up and the partner does not provide child support. Gay men who form families with lesbian mums are caught between the legal status of donor (legally, nothing) and father (legally, a full parent, to the exclusion of the co-mother). In 1999, a number of areas of NSW law recognized same- sex relationship and the government asked the NSW Law Reform Commission to indicate where it should go next - 2 years later there are still no suggestions. Feb 2002 Finland: since Finland passed its domestic registered partnership law last October, only 30 couples have reserved an appointment for the registration of their partnership when the law comes into effect March 1. The interest is largest in the greater Helsinki area. Sweden: Oerebro district court in central Sweden rules a man, who donated sperm to a couple on three separate occasions, resulting in the birth of three children, is their legal father; he must now pay child maintenance of 3,000 kronor [$300] a month; he intends to appeal. European Court of Human Rights 4-3 rules French authorities not guilty of discrimination in refusing to deem a gay man, Philippe Frette of Paris, eligible to adopt a child, saying divisions within the scientific community about the possible consequences of children being brought up by one or more homosexual parents, wide differences of opinion both within and between individual countries, and the evolving nature of laws on the subject mean that a broad margin of appreciation has to be left to the authorities of each state, who are ... in principle better placed than an international court to evaluate local needs and conditions. But the curt does unanimously find the plaintiff, was denied a right to a fair hearing when a French appellate body set aside an earlier ruling in his favor and dismissed his request to be allowed to adopt because Frette had not been properly informed when the appeal was to be heard nor given the opportunity to examine or respond to the government's arguments ahead of the hearing. American Academy of Pediatrics endorses homosexual adoption, saying gay couples can provide the loving, stable and emotionally healthy family life children need. The new policy focuses specifically on gaining legally protected parental rights for gay "co-parents" whose partners have children, but it also could apply to gay couples who want to adopt a child, said Joseph Hagan Jr., chairman of the committee that wrote the policy. Citing estimates suggesting that as many as 9 million U.S. children have at least one gay parent, the academy urged its 55,000 members to take an active role in supporting measures that allow gay adoption. Alabama Supreme Court 9-0 overturns a court of appeals decision In the concurring opinion, awards custody of three teenagers (15, 17 and 18) to their Birmingham father over their lesbian mother who now lives with her partner in southern California. The father had held custody since 1996, but the mother petitioned for custody in June 2000, contending the father had been abusive. In the concurring opinion, Chief Justice Roy Moore writes that the mother's relationship made her an unfit parent and that homosexuality is ``abhorrent, immoral, detestable, a crime against nature, and a violation of the laws of nature, an inherent evil that shouldn't be tolerated. Moore is known for his decision to place washing machine-sized monuments of 47

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II the Ten Commandments in the state judicial building after he became chief justice last year. He also fought to keep a Ten Commandments plaque in his courtroom when he was a district judge. He is now accused of violating the Alabama Canon of Judicial Ethics and is the subject of calls for an investigation by the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission. American Civil Liberties Union files appeal in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to reverse a decision issued by U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King of Miami in August (qv) banning gay people from adopting. ACLU says this violates the right to equal protection of lesbians and gay men who seek to adopt, and of children raised by lesbian and gay caregivers who cannot be adopted by them. The appeal was filed on behalf of four gay men, who are either a foster parent or legal guardian to children placed in their South Florida homes by the state. The men are suing for the legal rights and security an adoption would give them and the children, who are all either developmentally disabled or HIV positive. One of the men is Steve Lofton, a registered nurse who gave up his career 10 years ago to care for several HIV positive children the state placed in his home. In 1998, the agency that placed the children on behalf of DCF created a foster parent of the year award and named it after Lofton and his partner Roger Croteau, the first to receive the honor. Last June, Lofton received a telephone call from someone at DCF informing him that his foster care is not supposed to be permanent. The state said it planned to take a boy that he wants to adopt from his home. The DCF worker asked whether he knew anyone who wanted to adopt the boy, since Lofton isn't allowed. Florida has some 3,400 children in foster care waiting to be adopted. Montana: psychology professor (University of Montana in Missoula) Carla Grayson and lover Adrianne Neff are named as plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Montana university system filed by the ACLU on behalf of gay and lesbian employees - the state university system denying them spousal health insurance and other benefits; within days, arsonists set their house on fire; they and their infant child escape through a window; other named plaintiffs received death threats by mail. Neff and Grayson then receive a threatening, powder-filled letter in the mail. US: Florida: Custody case of Linda Kantaras (see October 2001) heard but judge does not expect to have a ruling for months. Law Commission of Canada releases report, Beyond Conjugality: Recognizing and Supporting Close Personal Relationships, which incidentally (recommendation 33 of 33) calls on the federal government to give legal recognition to same-sex marriage: There is no justification for maintaining the current distinctions between same-sex and heterosexual conjugal unions in the light of current understandings of the state's interests in marriage." The Law Commission is an independent, government-funded group that advises Parliament on law reform. LC president Nathalie Des Rosiers says denying same-sex marriage "amounts to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation." Rec 2: Governments should review all their laws and policies to determine whether relationships are relevant to, or an effective means of accomplishing, each laws objectives. If not, legislation should be revised to remove the unnecessarily relational references. 48

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II In many cases the commission feels an interdependency test would be more relevant Feb 2002 Canada: Egale presents NDP MP Svend Robinson, Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett and Bloc Que ' be ' cois MP Re ' al Me ' nard or Caroline St-Hilaire with a petition in support of same-sex marriage, signed by 15,000 citizens from all across Canada. Quebec national assembly tables draft bill to amend 56 acts (including pension plan, automobile insurance act, mining duties act etc) and recognize same-sex civil unions (as NS has) - excluding couple adoption Manitoba: justice minister Gord Mackintosh announces upcoming legal change to permit same-sex couple adoption: see Oct 2001 challenge by 4 lesbian couples of Manitobas June 2001 relationships recognition law (bill 41, qv) for excluding adoption rights South China: wearing a bridal gown and tux respectively, Tommy Chen No'el, 27, and lesbian friend Yeo Wai-wai, 25, declared themselves husband and wife before registrar Sophia Law Siu- wai at a media-packed City Hall; they then exchanged rings and kisses with their respective same-sex lovers; part of gay group Rainbow Action's strategy to fight for social benefits for same-sex couples, who cannot get marriage certificates to claim public housing, tax allowances and adoption services. The couple then posted an application for public housing with the Housing Authority which the authority said it would approve it as long as the "couple" could provide a valid marriage certificate and passed regular checks to prove they lived together. Israel: court refuses to recognize a lesbian couple (united by a civil ceremony in Germany months ago after being together for seven years) as having a civil marriage under Israeli law, because the women are not recognized as a family under Israeli law South Africa: a settlement reached with the Government Employees' Pension Fund (GEPF) gives partners of gay and lesbian civil servants full pension benefits upon their death. This follows the out-of-court settlement of a class action suit against Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, filed with the Pretoria High Court by the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project. The matter was first presented to government in October 1999 when the Equality Project was approached by Mr Spies, a terminally ill state employee, who wanted to ensure that his life partner of 27 years would be able to access a widow's pension. Mr Spies died before an agreement could be reached, but his partner may now rightfully claim his pension benefits. Western Australia: parliament passes legislation granting same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples such as adoption, property transfer, medical treatment, in-vitro fertilization, inheritance, and death benefits; it also lowersthe legal age for gay sex from 21 to 16. Zagreb: Globus weekly survey finds 61% of Croats oppose same-sex marriage. Swedish government proposes new legislation to allow same-sex couples to adopt registered partners jointly or one partner adopts the others child(ren)) and lesbians to be artificially inseminated at public hospitals, following parliamentary research committee report saying homosexual couples have the same ability to care for children as heterosexual parents. Justice Minister Thomas Bodstroem: The proposal means that only the best interest of the child will determine when 49

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II an adoption will take place, not the sexual orientation of the parents. Although most parties support the government proposal, dissent within parties could make it a close parliamentary vote. Nordic countries Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland already recognize legal partnerships between gays, but only Denmark and Iceland allow gays to adopt children. Finland: for over-18s, registered same-sex union in a civil ceremony comparable to matrimony now in effect giving gay couples most of rights of marriage eg inheritance and divorce but not adoption or use of the same surname; the legislation, passed last September, does not address the rights of children in gay partnerships, but a government working group is looking into the issue. The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church, to which 85% of the 5.2 million population belongs, opposes giving gay partners the same rights as married couples. Last month, Archbishop Jukka Paarma said priests can visit and pray with gay couples in their homes but could not offer a blessing, adds the church will not publish an official stand on homosexual partnerships. France: both main presidential candidates, incumbent President Jacques Chirac, a conservative, and Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, say gay couples should not marry or adopt children but both promise to strengthen legislation against homophobia. UK: government-sponsored adoption bill currently before the house of parliament would allowing same-sex couples and unmarried heterosexual couples to register their relationship and give them the right to adopt children. Scotland: Glasgow Sheriff Court gives full parental rights to a 30 year-old gay man who acted as a sperm donor for a lesbian couple, saying the lesbian couple did not constitute a family by the law, and the mans name was written on the birth certificate as the father, giving him full parental rights. U.S. Department of Justice announces final rules for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and does not specifically entitle surviving partners of gay and lesbian victims of the terrorist attacks to receive financial benefits. Gays cannot marry, survivors of unmarried couples do not inherit automatically, in cases where there is no will, many same-sex partners' eligibility to receive money will be determined by individual state law, Los Angeles: San Francisco couple Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel whose dogs mauled a neighbor to death last year are convicted of involuntary manslaughter and owning a mischievous animal that caused a death; Knoller convicted of second-degree murder (faces 15 years to life); Noel not this charged because not present at the time of the attack. Question still remains (see jul 01) whether Diane Whipples partner can pursue a claim as a surviving spouse or relative. Pennsylvania Supreme Court is about to hear the case of Carole and Barbara Fryberger, a lesbian couple from New Providence, who ask the judges to allow Barbara to adopt Carole's twin sons. A male couple from Erie also is part of the legal case. The Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster and Erie counties and the Superior Court of Pennsylvania have ruled against the couples' request, saying the state Adoption Code does not allow for adoption of a child by two unrelated people. Christine Biancheria of Pittsburgh, attorney for the couples, says the wording of the adoption code allows a judge to make an exception if cause is shown. She may get support from a Dec. 28, 2001 Supreme Court decision that allowed a same-sex parent custody of the children she helped raise. Pennsylvania 50

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Family Institute, Focus on the Family, American Family Association, Family Research Council, and the Urban Family Council of Philadelphia file a briefs against. March 2002 Quebec: after eight years of judicial procedures, Quebec Court Of Appeal rules that four gay men have been discriminated against by the Quebec pension plan and declares them eligible to receive survivors pensions from the date of the death of their partners. The suit re Widows Pensions was against both Canadian and Quebec governments, and both will now pay pensions to gay and lesbian widows whose partners died after both federal and provincial governments amended the pension laws in 1998 to include surviving partners of same-sex relationships. UK: government-sponsored adoption bill currently before the house of parliament would allowing same-sex couples and unmarried heterosexual couples to register their relationship and give them the right to adopt children. Canada: Bill S-9, An Act to Remove Certain Doubt Regarding the Meaning of Marriage, which excludes same-sex couples and also those who cannot procreate or give birth, introduced by Senator Anne Cools April, receives 2nd reading. Laurier Lapierre speaks against. Cap-De-La-Madeleine: annual meeting of L'Association Des E ' vesques Du Que ' bec Quebec bishops comes out against same-sex marriage. Bishop Bertrand Blanchet of Rimouski: "We agree and respect people who love each other no matter their sexual orientation, church recognizes that people of same-sex can share their lives together and eventually marry under civil union, but we do not call it marriage." AEQ says a heterosexual family is the best thing for children but same-sex partners could adopt if a child has no biological parents. Australia: High Court upholds a ruling granting single women and lesbians access to in-vitro fertilization (IVF); Australian Catholic Bishops Conference had asked the court to reconsider an original ruling that found Victorian state laws restricting access to IVF as inconsistent with the Federal Sex Discrimination Act; the full bench dismissed the challenge. Case prompted by single heterosexual Victorian Leesa Meldrum, who was forced to travel interstate for IVF treatment because of her home state's laws. Australian: Victoria family court in Melbourne grants increased visiting rights to a sperm donor, against the wish of the lesbian parents (Victoria is one of the 2 Australian states where socially infertile (as opposed to medically infertile women are not allowed to use sperm banks; the women had made an informal arrangement with a gay man). Australian PM John Howard says children are more fulfilled when they grown up with a mother and father, :more likely to have happier, more fulfilled lives. Scotland: Archbishop Mario Conti, head of the Catholic church in Scotland, says gay couples who seek parental rights are selfish, and children will become the victims, and he criticized parents who lived out of wedlock, claiming that statistics showed they were more likely to split up than those who are married. Edinburgh sheriff Noel McPartlin recently granted parental rights to a lesbian couple over children they each had from previous relationships. In the second case in Glasgow, a natural father was granted parental rights despite the wishes of the child's lesbian mother. 51

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II April 200 UK: Manchester is the first British city to marry same-sex couples its registry office; the first two are Carl Howard, 39, a software writer, and Stephen Brayshaw, 33, a design office manager; the men sign a new Partnership Register, but their partnership agreement is not recognized in national law. The men exchange vows during a 15-minute ceremony in front of 80 family and friends. USA: ABCNEWS.com March poll shows 47% for 42% against gay couple adoption; opposition down 23 points since 1994, 15 points since 1998. Support higher among younger adults, women, and those with higher education, also higher in the East and Midwest, among Democrats and Independents. NYC: Larry Courtney and Bill Valentine sue their insurance providers for denying them spousal benefits after the work-related deaths of their same-sex partners (14 and 21 years respectively) in the Sept. 11 attacks and the Nov. 12 plane crash in Queens, NY (respectively). These are the first cases in which a gay or lesbian partner seeks coverage under New York's Workers' Compensation Law Both couples were registered as domestic partners in New York. USA: county councils in Montgomery County, Md. (just outside Washington) and San Jose, CA (though not Santa Clara County in which it is), move to pass bills exempting same-sex couples from paying when one partner passes property to the other (not necessarily on death). Currently, only a handful of locales in the US (incl. Philadelphia, San Francisco, Oakland, CA) recognize partnered same-sex relationships equally with married heterosexual couples in tax. Vermont conservative activist Rev. David Stertzbach, who heads the Vermont Defense of Marriage Committee, sends no-holds-barred letter to state Sen. Julius Canns, R-Caledonia and all members of the state Legislature demanding Canns revive a bill to repeal the same-sex marriage law, which is presently languishing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Canns recently decided not to push the repeal; Sterzbach: "Civil union was a moral Sept. 11 for both major parties". Ohio: 7 justices in the highest state court hear the case of Belinda Lou Priddy, 31, and her lover who both applied two years ago to have their last names changed to "Rylen"; usually this takes only a short time; their lawyer, Scott E. Knox, says Ohio law requires only a "reasonable and proper cause for the name change"; the American Family Association of Ohio asks the judges to uphold an appellate court's denial of the change which implies approval of "a relationship that has no validity." Ruling expected in some months. NY: Jeanne Newland, who quit her job to move out of state with her 4-year partner Natasha Doty, files appeal against Labor Dept decision with state unemployment review board for unemployment benefits normally afforded to married couples in the same situation; Labor Dept says, well, they don't give benefits to common-law heterosexuals couples; Newland says they can marry, after all, we cant. USA: Sharon Duchesneau and Candace McCullough, both deaf, specifically sought out a sperm donor with a history of deafness in his family to increase the chances of their son being deaf; the women's local sperm bank would not help them because congenital deafness is a trait that disqualifies a potential donor. Story hits headlines. Vermont stats show in 18 months (July 1, 2000 - Jan. 4, 2002), the state issued 3,471 civil union licenses: 2,291 lesbian couples, 1,180 male couples. 52

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II April 2002 Massachusetts: Phoenix-based Ballot Access Co., professional signature-gathering firm (hired by two groups: proponents of Petition E, the anti-marriage constitutional amendment, and proponents of Petition A, a measure to ban the slaughter of horses for food) are accused of duping voters into signing a petition to ban recognition of legal rights for same-sex couples substituting E for A when it came time to sign. Save Our Horses fell 2,574 names short of the 57,100 goal and has filed a lawsuit in an effort to qualify for the ballot. Equalmarriage.org is an arm of the Freedom to Marry Coalition of Massachusetts. On election day, some voters at the polls were told to sign "in order to vote"; others were given a clipboard with horse literature on the front and marriage petitions underneath. Massachusetts Citizens for Marriage did qualify with 76,607 names (enough to send the proposed amendments to the state legislature). The amendment, H4840, doesn't just ban marriage, it bans access by a same-sex couple "to any benefit exclusive to marriage." Rev. Gregory Dell, minister at Broadway Church in Chicago, suspended 1992001 from United Methodist Church for marrying a homosexual couple, says a loophole in the church's rule allows people marry each other and receive "affirmation that God's blessing is with them" though ministers can't administer vows to gay couples, so Dell steams ahead. Supreme Court of Canada hearing of GALE/Surrey schoolboard case involving library banning of One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dads, Blue Dads, Asha's Mums and Belinda's Bouquet slated for June. The fight started in 1997. Newfoundland legalizes gay-couple adoption.; law takes effect June. Brazil: President Fernando Henrique Cardoso announces the second edition of Programa Nacional dos Direitos Humanos, a comprehensive human rights plan that includes a proposal to legally recognize same-sex marriages, as well as plans for ending discrimination against minorities, women and physically disabled, 518 proposals in all. Scotland may be on the brink of legalizing gay marriage; Deputy Robin Harper says bill opposed by powerful Anglican church but cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh are in favour; alas, upcoming elections may weaken the government stand. UK: PM Tony Blair and his health ministers throw their weight behind backbench efforts to open adoption rights to unmarried couples - both straight and gay, judges and adoption agencies need only be persuaded that a child in care would be received into "an enduring family relationship" Health secretary Alan Milburn endorses amendments to the adoption and children bill put forward by David Hinchliffe, Labour chairman of the Commons health select committee and a former social worker. Government hopes that adoptions will increase by 40% by 2005; Secretary of State (Health) Alan Milburn says the amendment wasn't so much giving more rights to some citizens, but to children who could be adopted. UK: Commons vote 288-133 (Tories on a 3-line whip to oppose) for unmarried and gay couples adopting children; debate acrimonious; Lords expected to make difficulties. UK: Prison service gives partners of gay inmates in England and Wales the status of close relatives to allow them to visit their lovers in jail more easily. Gay prisoners in relationships with inmates in other prisons will be allowed "inter-prison visits" to encourage stability in their lives. 53

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II May 2002 USA: House of Representatives studies amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman and abolish benefits for single-parent families, the right for common-law couples to visit partners in hospital, and estate rights. A 2/3 vote in Congress is needed to pass the amendment, which would then take effect in all US states within 4-5 months. Indiana: 3-judge panel in Court of Appeals rules 3-0 gay parents who live with their partners should not lose visitation rights or custody because of their sexual orientation. Case of Venessa Downey vs husband, Todd Muffley; Downey initially had custody of the 2 children, then a Marshall County court forbade her to live with her lover. In 1999, the Indiana Courts of Appeals ruled that sexual orientation alone may not be used as the sole reason for denying parents visitation or custody in divorce cases. Florida: if elected Governor of Florida, Janet Reno vows to fight for gay adoption; presently, LGBs can be baby-sitters, pediatricians, and child-care workers but not adopt . NY: fund established last December by the Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) and the Stonewall Community Foundation to help offset compensations that would not be available to surviving same-sex partners, such as Social Security and Workers' Compensation benefits, distributes over $365,000 to 21 surviving gay and lesbian partners, each recipient getting approximately $17,315. NY: both houses of State Legislature unanimously pass the September 11th Victims and Families Relief Act which contains language specifying that surviving gay and lesbian partners be eligible for federal funds but stopping short of giving surviving partners equal status with married spouses of Sept. 11 victims. US Sept 11 fund: survivors of gay chaplain Mychal Judge and nine other public safety officers who died during the attacks on Sept. 11 will not receive federal death benefits. Hours after the House Judiciary Committee cleared a bill authorizing the benefits last Wednesday, House Majority Leader Dick Armey pulled it. The measure, named after Judge, was endorsed by organized labor and public safety groups and had passed through the Senate. Need for further study cited. Department of Justice opposed the legislation (too expensive). In Anaheim CA Traditional Values Coalition founder Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, says charitable organizations "should be giving priority to those widows who were home with their babies" and that government agencies should not be swayed by advocates "capitalizing on a national tragedy to promote their homosexual agenda." beration,'' Connecticut: House of Representatives 94-51 approves a compromise measure giving same-sex couples the right to enter into a range of binding contracts including medical decisions, death arrangements, visits in hospitals and nursing homes, and being treated as family under the crime victim statutes. The bill also directs the legislature's Judiciary Committee to complete a study on same-sex marriage and civil unions by January 2003, specifically "to determine if there are public policy reasons for the state to 1) prohibit marriage or civil unions between same-sex people, or 2) regulate domestic partnerships entered into by same-sex couples." Politicians from both parties tried to derail the policy study. Bill proceeds to state Senate. BC Supreme Court hears class action lawsuit re denial of survivor benefits under the Canada Pension Plan for surviving gay and lesbian spouses to determine 54

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II whether to certify the case so it may proceed as a class action. Similar $400 million national lawsuit launched Nov 2001. Both allege discrimination by denying partners a CPP survivor pension unless their partners died on or after Jan 1, 1998, a restriction which does not apply to opposite sex couples Alberta introduces bill 300, the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act, for those who have lived interdependently for three years; it sort of legalizes civil union for gays; Premier Ralph Klein says gay couples would have the same benefits as other cohabitating adult couples such as brother/sister or mother/son, and that they would have the same social and economic responsibilities; this will include government aid on a partners death, damages in the case of accidental death, taking partners name, but not pensions. Alberta to ensure his partner will be able to collect his pension upon his death, Robert Laurence, gay man from Edmonton, launches Charter challenge against Alberta pension laws; Laurence, a government worker, has lived with Ronald Siegmund for over 22 years. Hong Kong: Polytechnic U and Tongzhi Community release results of May survey: 80% think gays should be allowed to marry and adopt; but most think homosexuality a mental illness; women, younger people, more educated and single people score higher on gay-friendliness ratings. Tel Aviv: civil rights group The New Family asks Israel's High Court of Justice to order the government to register two men (names protected; the men have been in a domestic relationship for 13 years and hold dual American and Israeli citizenship) as the co-parents of a child they adopted from an East Asian country while living in the US where authorities registered both men as the fathers of the boy. Israels Interior Ministry has refused and also refused to grant the child Israeli citizenship. Court reserves judgement. Australia: 2001 census results show 19,596 same-sex couples (10,804 male and 8792 female couples), nearly twice as many as the 10,214 couples who came out in the 1996 census. In NSW, 1.5% of all couples without children came out; in the ACT, it was 1.9%. The state with most gay couples is NSW (8447 in 2001, 4635 in 1996). 2nd is Victorian, 3rd Queensland. The Northern Territory has the least (161 in 2001, 76 in 1996). 6986 same-sex couples in Sydney (4362 male, 2624 female); in Melbourne, 2429 out male and 1811 female couples). Brazil: Justice Leonardo Castro Gomes, of the 1st Child and Youth Court, Rio de Janeiro, rules Maria Eugenia Vieira Martins gets custody over out lesbian singer Cassia Eller's 8-year-old son Francisco Ribeiro Eller (Cassia died last December; she and Martins had lived together for the last 14 years); Francisco was conceived with and raised by the couple. Cassia's mother, her two sisters and one brother also signed a document affirming that Eugenia was the most suitable person to take care of Francisco, though her father initially expressed opposition. Brazilian tradition says an orphaned child goes to the grandparents. Brazilian laws do not recognize gay unions. Survey by a popular Rio de Janeiro newspaper has over 80% agreeing the decision. . Croatia's two gay groups demand that the Zagreb government amend the country's family law to define matrimony as a "union of two persons" instead as a "union of a man and a woman." 2001 census shows 88% Croatians are Catholic. Vecernji List daily publishes polls showing 57.6% think gays are "normal people with different sexual orientation" but 66.2% oppose gay marriage. 55

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II June 2002 Italians Antonio Garullo and Mario Ottocento marry at La Haye city hall in the Netherlands; Italian minister Franco Grillini participates in the ceremony, says: "Clearly, this marriage has political significance. It's a form of protest to show Italians that same-sex couples can get married. In Italy, we hope to pass two laws, one recognizing gay marriage and another for common law spouses." Germany: first gay divorce granted by a court in the western city of Oldenburg; the couple, 27 and 50, had registered a "life partnership"late last year before a notary public. In March this year they separated after repeated arguments over alleged infidelity. UK: major overhaul of the Civil Service Pension Scheme provides same-sex and common-law spousal benefits, plan effective October 1. CP EU directive in 2000 outlawing discrimination at work on grounds of sexual orientation which must be implemented in UK by December 2003. All pension funds must then recognize common-law straight and same-sex couples but a loophole permits pension schemes which now recognize only marital status for benefits to continue to do so. London: Man Not Included, sperm donor service specifically for lesbians, opens to match lesbian couples with anonymous sperm donors via an internet site; both donors and recipients will be screened; sperm sent for "home insemination". Liverpool: city's registry office will provide commitment ceremonies for same sex couples beginning July; unlike London, Liverpool will welcome couples from anywhere in the country. Registrar Neil McIntyre: "The ceremony is very similar to our civil marriage ceremony. Couples can exchange rings if they wish and afterwards they receive a certificate of their commitment to each other. Couples names will be recorded in the registry office; if British law is changed the registration could be used as proof of a lengthy relationship. British Petroleum CEO Lord Browne announces international initiative to recruit more gay and lesbian workers; company hopes to attract staff in UK and US by offering equal spousal benefits (pension rights, death benefit provisions, relocation allowances): "If we can get a disproportionate share of the most talented people in the world, we have a chance of holding a competitive edge." Browne supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and calls on US congress to support a GLBT civil rights package. We want to employ the best people, everywhere, on the single criteria of merit." In the UK and 38 US states it is currently legal to fire someone for being gay. US senators Mark Dayton and Paul Wellstone, both Minnesota Democrats, introduce a bill to extend health, retirement, and life insurance benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees. Dayton says: "Up to 40% of an employee's compensation these days is in the benefits." Tom Prichard, president, Minnesota Family Council, opposes:"Those are basically marriage benefits ... it's a major step toward granting marital status to homosexual partners. We shouldn't be using taxpayer dollars to subsidize homosexual relationships." President Bush signs legislation to give death benefits for public safety officers killed Sept. 11 to a beneficiary other than an immediate family member; this enables same-sex partners of gay and lesbian police, fire, and ambulance workers killed in the line of duty to receive federal benefits; the act is named for Fr Mychal Judge, the gay chaplain to the New York Fire Department killed when the second tower fell at the World Trade Centre. The legislation is the first to provide a federal benefit to a surviving partner in a gay relationship 56

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II June 2002 Population Today, published by the Population Reference Bureau, publishes research of Gary Gates (Urban Institute) and Seth Sanders (U of Maryland) that shows the San Francisco Bay area, followed by Miami, has the highest concentration of gay male couples in the country while Santa Fe, N.M., and Burlington, Vt., lead the list of communities with the largest proportion of lesbian twosomes. Gay guys generally like larger cities while gay women prefer smaller communities, particularly college towns. Two cities finished in the top 10 on both lists: Santa Fe, which finished third among gay male couples and first among lesbians, and Portland, Maine, which ranked third among lesbians and tenth among gay men. Los Angeles, Atlanta, Seattle and San Diego also made the list for men. The other areas were Orlando and Austin, San Francisco was the only big city metro area to finish in the women's top 10. In addition to Santa Fe, Burlington and Portland, the other cities were Springfield, Mass.; Madison, Wis.; Iowa City; Corvallis, Ore.; Eugene, Ore.; and Albuquerque. None of this is to suggest that homosexual households are particularly common anywhere in the country: In the greater San Francisco area, for example, gay male couples comprise about 0.62 percent of all households. Lesbian couples make up about 0.61 percent of the households around Santa Fe, according to 2000 census data. Colorado U will provide health benefits to the same-sex domestic partners and dependents next year; Board of Regents votes 5-4 for after voting 7-1 against in 1997 and tying 4-4 in 2001. Domestic partners must show that they've lived together for more than a year and have a certificate of domestic partnership from the cities of Boulder or Denver. The deciding vote was cast by Maureen Ediger, in her final meeting as the board's chairwoman. Kentucky, Lexington: (believed to be a world first) two gay men about to become the fathers of quadruplets (3 boys, 1 girl, due August); biological father Michael Meehan, 36; conception in vitro; surrogate mother a 23-year-old customer at the hair salon owned by Meehan and his partner, Thomas Dysarz. Los Angeles: Population Reference Bureau analyzes 2000 US census, finds gay couples lives more in major cities; lesbian couples prefer smaller communities, mainly university towns. Pop for men: 1 San Francisco, 2 Miami, 3 Los Angeles, 4 Atlanta, 5 Seattle, 6 San Diego, 7 Santa Fe, 8 Orlando, 9 Austin, 10 Portland, Maine. Pop for dykes: 1 Santa Fe, 2 San Francisco, 3 Burlington, 4 Portland, 5 Springfield, Mass.; 6 Madison, Wis.; 7 Iowa City; 8 Corvallis, OR, 9 Eugene, OR, 10 Albuquerque. Gay male couples make up about 0.62% of households in San Francisco; Lesbians about 0.61% of households around Santa Fe. Maryland's Supreme Court unanimously upholds a Montgomery County law extending benefits to domestic partners of public employees, challenged by the American Centre for Law and Justice, a group part-founded by Christian Coalition leader Pat Robertson in 1997. Massachusetts: state's highest court unanimously upholds the legality of a ballot initiative by Massachusetts Citizens for Marriage to make same-sex marriages unconstitutional in Massachusetts. If passed, the referendum would result in a change in the state constitution and would deny spousal benefits to same-sex couples. Massachusetts House and Senate will vote together next week in a special constitutional convention on whether to put the question to the voters in 2004 (requires approval from 50 of the 200 sitting legislators, both this year and next). In April, the Joint Committee on Public Service, a State House panel, 57

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II recommended that the membership reject the initiative, calling it discriminatory and unconstitutional. June 2002 Michigan: Washtenaw County Circuit Court Chief Judge Archie Brown rules against second-parent adoption. ACLU debates what steps to take. 1984, California judge granted the first second-parent adoption; now family courts in more than 20 states have followed suit (incl Vermont, Connecticut and California legislatures) Missouri: two teenage sisters, Nikki Green 15 & 17, run away from home because their mother is lesbian and say they will not return until she changes; God had helped show them the right way; mother says girls have been brainwashed by Body of Christ Ministry. Harris County Children's Protective Services investigates; but girls are too young to make the decision legally The Missouri City Police Department also investigating. New Jersey governor James E. McGreevey calls on the state courts to turn down attempts to legalize gay marriage. State superior court is considering a suit filed by Lambda Legal on behalf of seven same-sex couples denied marriage licenses, arguing excluding same-sex couples from benefits given to legally married people (including joint health insurance, spousal inheritance rights and Social Security benefits) violates the equal protection clause of the state constitution. Newark NJ: 7 gay and lesbian couples sue NJ state for violating their civil rights by denying them the opportunity to apply for marriage licenses; suit filed by Lambda Legal, names 9 defendants, including state Commissioner of Human Services Gwendolyn L. Harris. NJ Catholic Conference and NJ Family Policy Council announce they will seeks legislation to prohibit same-sex unions. Sacramento: Assemblywoman Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park, has proposed legislation, bill AB 2651, to require all foster parents to undergo sensitivity training on gay, lesbian and transgender issues. Former foster children testify in favor of the bill that they have been bullied and harassed by foster families, even forced to go to church to "cure" them. San Francisco: New York lesbian Janis plans new court battle to get visitation rights to the 6-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl she helped raise with her former partner. Oct 2000, Janis became the first person in the state to win child visitation in a same-sex partnership, with Westchester Family Court Judge Joan Cooney applying a legal principle called "equitable estoppel" in the best interest of the children. Sharon, birth mother, former partner, appealed. May 2002 state court's Appellate Division overturned the ruling, declaring, "Any extension of visitation rights to a same sex domestic partner who claims to be a 'parent by estoppel,' 'de-facto parent' or 'psychological parent' must come from the New York state Legislature or the Court of Appeals." Immigration Canada new policy no longer requires one-year cohabitation for conjugal partners (incl. same-sex relationships); if both partners are outside Canada, they do have to live together one year; CPs are exempted from medical inadmissability criteria (as are married couples and common-law partners); the new term conjugal partner does not match up with other part of Canadian law eg even though it worked for immigration, you would still be individuals for income tax; but CPs can appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division which samesex partners have not previously been able to do. Canada: polling firm Strategic Counsel conducts national survey for Focus on the 58

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Family on family issues including divorce, spanking, family finances, gay relationships and marriage. FOTC has submitted briefs to courts in BC, Ontario, and Quebec opposing civil union legislation for gay and lesbian families. Result: 46% believe same-sex couples should be allowed to legally marry; 44% dont. Of those under 40, 60% are in favour. 46% (55% of under-40s) think "children raised by same-sex couples are as likely as any other children to be happy and well-adjusted." 55% generally (68% of under-40s) think same-sex couples should be entitled to the same tax, pension, and other benefits as heterosexual couples." FoTC omitted the entire section from its mailings to the media, saying only that 78% of the public undervalues the importance of the family and 82% of families believe tax policies should be changed so that one parent could stay home with children and that most people believe divorce is too easy to attain. More than 400 clergy and lay people from 80 parishes in the diocese votes at one of Canada's largest Anglican diocese, New Westminster, in Vancouver, to create a special ritual for same-sex unions and permit priests to union services. (344 voted , 215 for, 129 against) Proposal put forward by bishop Michael Ingham who had overruled previous decisions in favour because the margins of support were too narrow; now over 60% in favour. 9 congregations walked out of the general synod.) 13 bishops condemn the Vancouver decision and ask Primate Michael Peers, to overturn the vote. Peers sends a message to his international counterparts saying the New Westminster diocese acted responsibly. Most Reverend Terence Finlay, Archbishop of Toronto, endorses special ceremonies blessing gay and lesbian unions and supports the Vancouver diocese decision to allow priests to bless gay couples, esp since it lets priests and congregations choose whether to bless gay and lesbian couples. Next national meeting for bishops in October. Dr. George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the world's 70m Anglicans, was "deeply saddened" by the Vancouver decision which threatens the unity of the world Anglican church, then writes to Anglican bishops worldwide homosexual relationships are incompatible with the Bible, warning parishes not to act alone in endorsing same-sex relationships, and calling Michael Inghams (and the synod of Greater Vancouver's Diocese of New Westminsters) decision a departure from the main thrust of Anglican moral tradition. NWT passes amendments to the Family Law and Adoption Acts giving same-sex couples the right to adopt, seek division of property, restraining orders and spousal support. Quebecs National Assembly passes bill 84, Canada's most comprehensive civil unions legislation, recognizing civil unions for gay couples and gives them the right to adopt, making Quebec the second Canadian province after Nova Scotia to pass such a law. The civil union law creates a separate category for gay and lesbian couples, establishes a civil unions registry, and allows for one partner to adopt the children of the other; it grants gay and lesbian couples the same rights and obligations as those of married couples, including adoption and artificial insemination rights, protection of the family residence, constitution of a familial heritage and mutual spousal support but the minimum age for civil unions for gay couples has been set at 18, compared to 16 for heterosexual couples. . According to a 1996 census, 20% of Quebec couples live as common law spouses, of whom 3% are same-sex couples. Manitoba tables omnibus bill that extends adoption and co-adoption rights to same-sex couples and makes it illegal to refuse to do business with someone because of sexual orientation. Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh said separate 59

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II legislation will soon be introduced to extend property rights to common-law and same-sex couples. July 2002 Johannesburg: full bench of the Constitutional Court (SAs highest court) rules high court judge Kathy Satchwell's partner should receive the same financial benefits as those in heterosexual marriages, same-sex couples should have the same right to government financial benefits as married couples. Australia: meeting of state attorneys-general claims the federal government's refusal to allow property disputes between same-sex couples to be heard in the Family Court is homophobic and a "1950s white picket fence view of the world," Federal Attorney-General Daryl Williams refuses to explain why his Government allows only heterosexual couples to have property disputes heard under federal jurisdiction. Victorian Attorney-general Rob Hulls: "Victoria has amended more than 40 pieces of legislation to end discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation and I find it abhorrent that the federal Government wants to continue the prejudice." Malta: Green party, Alternattiva Demokratika, calls for laws to protect gays and lesbians, first party in the country to put gay rights in its campaign platform: calls for constitutional amendment guaranteeing the rights of gays and lesbians; says homophobia and intolerance should become criminal acts; supports legal recognition of gay couples cohabiting for more than three years and equalizing of laws between gay and straight couples in social welfare and housing issues; no discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the education system. Italy: Dr Severino Antinori says the world's first human created by cloning will be born in December; embryo created by using tissue from the father and will be the man's exact genetic duplicate - his twin, if male. Antinori tells French newspaper Liberation: "I transferred 18 embryos created by cloning, and I obtained one pregnancy. The foetus has a good morphology." He refuses to name the parents but says the baby will be born in Italy. He then denies he gave an interview to Liberation. Cloning humans is illegal in Italy and carries a jail sentence Germany: conservative Christian Democrats break with 50 years RC tradition and appeal for the gay vote this September; Katherina Reiche, 28, a pregnant unmarried mother appointed shadow spokeswoman for family affairs, says gays have suffered discrimination, we have to sort out these problems now. CDs promise to give gays the right not to testify against a partner in court, the right to information if a partner is in hospital, visit a partner in jail, inherit in the case of a partners death. Initially CD leader Edmund Stoiber said he would seek to reverse Social Democrat legislation legalizing a form of homosexual marriage. Berlin: Constitutional Court, Germanys highest court rules against the challenge bu Bavaria Saxony and Thuringia to the law granting gays and lesbians partnership unions; the provinces sais the law put gay "life partnerships" on a par with marriage, which is granted special protection under Germany's constitution; the court found marriage was not compromised by the law, which went into force on August 1, 2001. Some 4,500 couples nationwide have registered their partnerships. German cardinal Karl Lehman "This law is a hard blow to marriage and the family ... Now the associations of homosexuals have a potent arm to obtain further concessions on the road toward full equalization with married couples even including the right of adoption which up to now has been excluded by law." 60

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II July 2002 Belgium: study presented at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Vienna by scientists at Dutch Speaking Brussels Free University of 41 preadolescent children brought up by lesbian couples (average age 10; children conceived through donor sperm) show them as well-adjusted as those brought up by heterosexual couples. Children, parents, and teachers were surveyed, as well as a straight control group. Most children were happy having two mothers; 46% (more boys than girls) would like to know more about the donor, although not who he is; very few said they felt discrimination from their peers. UK: Conservative Lord Campbell of Alloway in the House of Lords makes last bid to stop gay adoption, warns Lords must allow a full scale debate on the floor of the House rather than in a Grand Committee. Health Minister Lord Hunt rejects the challenge: "The Grand Committee process has allowed us to debate these issues with a great deal of scrutiny and care.'' London: Roman Catholic Church launches campaign against the gay adoption amendment; the bill has passed Commons and is now in the Lords. Church says it threatens the institution of marriage and anyway gays and lesbians are "too unstable to forge lasting relationships" so cannot commit to a child. Leeds will open a registry for same-sex registered partnerships (3rd UK city after London and Manchester) to do so); city will provide commitment ceremony conducted by a registrar or trained celebrant and signing of a Partnership Register, though it brings no legal status US national June survey by Witeck-Combs Communications/Harris Interactive shows that most Americans support gay and lesbian couples: 71% for hospital visit rights; 66% for emergency health care authority; 60% for joint property rights; 59% for estate inheritance laws; 48% for Social Security survivor benefits (34% against, 18% dk). Further 48% for including LGBs in the $2.3 billion raised for families affected by September 11, same-sex couples same as legally married couples (31% against, 21% neither). Support higher among the young, the better educated, women. Of the 2,050 surveyed, 6% self-identified as GLBT. IBM staff extends to LGBs the discretionary week off with pay for employees who get married the first time. Ted Childs, IBM's global vice-president of workforce diversity calls workplace diversity a "strategic imperative," says IBM should be a place where people feel comfortable being openly gay and where women and people from minority group backgrounds have equal opportunity for promotion and advancement ... And anyone who has a problem with that need not apply at IBM." Montpelier: Democratic presidential pre-candidate Gov. Howard Dean, 53, says he wont push for a federal law granting same-sex marriage rights, but believes each state has to come to grips with civil rights, though he thinks gay and lesbian people are entitled to the same legal and civil rights that everybody else has; because he is a physician, he feels abortion is a matter between a woman, her physician, and her family and none of the governments business; Dean has been Vermonts chief executive for 11 years and says the most important time of his political career was in 2000, when Vermont passed its civil unions law, becoming the first state in the country to offer the rights and responsibilities of marriage to gays and lesbians. Hartford: Connecticut appeals court (2nd highest court in CT) rejects Glen 61

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Rosengarten and Peter Downes plea to have their partnership union (Vermont, 2000) ended because unions between same-sex couples do not fall under the state's definitions of family relations matters. The superior curt had ruled that the Stamford CT where they first applied did not have jurisdiction. They wouldnt get the divorce in Vermont, either: in order to dissolve a union at least one partner must be a resident of the state. Since Vermont's civil union law was passed (2000), 4,222 couples have received licenses, over 80% from out of state; Vermont has granted six dissolutions. July 2002 Massachusetts: court rules lesbian must pay child support ($261 per week for two children) to her ex though she was neither related to nor the adoptive parent of the child; 1st Massachusetts judge to order a same-sex partner to pay child support; Grace A. Connolly and Annette Michell were raising two children when they split up; Connolly offered to support the child she had officially adopted, but not the other. Judge rules Conolly was a de facto parent of the boy, aged 5; says no support, no visits. Massachusetts: House and Senate meet as a Constitutional Convention to consider a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages and prohibit (remove) benefits for those in longstanding same-sex relationships. Only 25% support (50 of 200 votes) is needed to carry it forward to the Constitutional Convention in 2004; another 25% then would put it on the ballot in 2004. Massachusetts' all-Democratic congressional delegation urges state lawmakers to reject the proposed amendment. Legislature's Public Service Committee voted 5-0 to recommend convention reject the amendment, saying it would make a range of benefits unconstitutional for thousands of citizens. Senate President Thomas F. Birmingham, who last month refused to allow a vote on the measure, now refuses to rule out once again preventing a vote on the ballot question, but says he is seeking ways to defeat the "hateful" and "mean-spirited measure. Birmingham and gay rights groups appear to lack the votes to defeat the measure. Massachusetts Catholic Conference, the lobbying group for bishops in the state, encourages Catholics to contact their legislators. Out lesbian Sen. Cheryl Jacques says referendum not be the appropriate place for the issue to be decided - human rights shouldnt be decided on popularity. Legislators then vote 137-53 to adjourn without considering the referendum question, which dies. Massachusetts Citizens for Marriage, which had sponsored the ballot initiative, bussed hundreds of supporters to the Statehouse for the Constitutional Convention, a special joint session of the House and Senate. The case is expected to be decided by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. July 2002 District of Columbia issues certificates of registration to unmarried couples (straight and gay) who live together. Out gay Councilman David A. Catania, a Republican and one of two out gay men on the 13-member council, presents the first certificates to two couples who lobbied for support of the measure for several years. After paying a fee of $45, two adults can certify they are living together by mutual consent; notarized form will be kept on file at the health department's Vital Records Division; agreements terminated by the marriage of either partner or death or by paying a $10 fee and waiting six months. Ensure hospital visits as next of kin; allows city employees to take family leave to care for a partner, or make funeral arrangements. The measure, initially passed in June 1992, was allowed to become law only when 41 Republicans joined 184 Democrats to allow the district's 2002 fiscal year budget to pass without any social riders. When President Bush signed the D.C. appropriations bill last December it cleared the 62

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II way for the city to implement the certification program. July 2002 Milford, Conn.: after their commitment ceremony is announced, a lesbian couple is told to resign or be fired from Catholic Lauralton Hall, the girls school where they work; administration says church law demands this. Rev. John Gatzak, for the Archdiocese of Hartford, says the archdiocese does not directly oversee the private school, but "the administration of a school would not get involved unless something became public ... like the military's don't ask don't tell policy ... there is no absolute blanket policy. It will depend on the individuals involved." Atlanta: in federal appeals court, lawyers for Florida state fight a constitutional challenge to the state ban on gay adoption, saying the law serves to "further the public moral sense, and saying because Florida can limit the legal number of spouses and recognize only heterosexual marriages, they can also allow only heterosexuals to adopt; further the law cannot violate any fundamental rights because there is no fundamental right to adopt or to be adopted. Five gay foster parents/guardians seek to overturn the ban. The is the first time the state law has been challenged in federal court. At least three previous attempts to have it declared unconstitutional in state court failed. The ban was passed in 1977. Florida is the only US state with a blanket prohibition against adoptions by all gay people, married or single. Mississippi and Utah prohibit gay couples from adopting. Florida: Florida Voter statewide June survey shows 57% opposed to gays and lesbians adopting, 36% for. Florida the only US state with a blanket ban on gay and lesbian adoption. 65% opposed and 28% supported same-sex marriage. Florida, Miami: 21 members of the legislature file a friend-of-the-court brief saying banning gay adoption is in "the best interest of children". The ACLU is fighting the ban on behalf of four gay men, all of them foster parents or guardians. The Child Welfare League of America sent in a brief supporting gay adoption. The 21 claim the league's own data suggest "an increased likelihood of the child's developing a homosexual sexual orientation" which correlates with depression, substance abuse, and suicide. Florida: would-be governor Janet Reno: If you can be a perfectly wonderful parent, and take an unadoptable child and make them adoptable, you should be able to do that. Reno also says she will work for the passage of state and federal laws to prohibit job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Her Democratic opponent, Bill McBride, refuses to back gay adoption (leave it to the courts to decide). Her strongest opponent is Republican governor Jeb Bush Idaho Falls, Idaho: Theron McGriff, 38, divorced 1997, appeals to Idaho District Court the ruling of Bonneville County magistrate Mark Riddoch that he either stop living with his partner or lose visitation rights with his two girls; Riddoch awards custody to McGriffs ex-wife, Shawn. In his 23-page decision, Riddoch says there is no doubt about McGriff's parenting skills, praised by a court-appointed family counselor who recommended the custody agreement remain unchanged. Exwife Shawn McGriff challenged the agreement Dec 2000 when he came out. To comply with the court's ruling, McGriff and his partner buy a mobile home, park it outside the house they bought together. No law in Idaho bars gay people from having custody of their children Kansas: Rev. William Smalley announces Episcopal Diocese of Kansas will authorize limited blessings of unmarried couples (gay or straight) for whom 63

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II marriage would be a financial hardship; a limited blessing, not a substitute for matrimony, may not resemble it liturgically; decision based on 2000 Episcopal resolution in which the church "acknowledged" that some members were living in committed relationships outside marriage. Smalley thinks Kansas is the first diocese to offer blessings to unmarried heterosexuals, though not the first Episcopal diocese to bless gay and lesbian unions. July 2002 Kentucky, Lexington: (believed to be a world first) two gay men become fathers of quadruplets (3 boys, 1 girl, due August); biological father Michael Meehan, 36; conception in vitro; surrogate mother a 23-year-old customer at the hair salon owned by Meehan and his partner, Thomas Dysarz; babies nine weeks early and in good health. Nevada: recent Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Company poll conducted for the Las Vegas Review Journal shows fewer Nevadans support the anti-gay ballot question #2, known as the "Definition of Marriage Act." 55% agree with straightonly marriage, 38% oppose it, 7% dk New Jersey: national civil rights group, Lambda Legal, files right-to-marriage suit (Lewis et al.) in Hudson County Superior Court in Jersey City for seven couples The couples have been together 10-30 years; 5 of the 7 couples have children. Couples: Mark Lewis and Dennis Winslow (together 10 yrs, both Episcopalian pastors from Union City, Hudson County); children's speech therapist Sarah Lael, 39, and trainer of people who work with the developmentally disabled Suyin Lael, 42 (tog. 12 yrs, 4 yrs old daughter Zenzali); Karen and Marcye Nicholson-McFadden (tog. 12 years, 3-yr-old son); Saundra Heath and Alicia Toby (tog. 13 years, leaders in Newarks Liberation In Truth Unity Fellowship church); Craig Hutchison and Chris Lodewyks (tog. 30 years, live in Pompton Lakes; Marilyn Maneely and Diane Marini (tog. 11 yrs, 5 children); Maureen Killian and Cindy Meneghin (27 years , 9-year-old son, 7-year-old daughter). Intervenors pro: NJ chapter of NOW, ACLU,, clergy leaders from several religious denominations, other civil rights leaders. Suit is based solely on the NJ Constitution, so New Jersey Supreme Court will have the last word. New York city considers proposal by City Council Speaker Gifford Miller (co-sponsored by 14 council members) to recognize gay unions which are legal in other states; NY Human Rights commissioner Patricia Gaitling says administration has no problems with the goals of the bill. Ohio Supreme Court rules 6-1 a lesbian couple can share the same name: Belinda Lou Priddy, 31, and Jennifer Lane Bicknell, 33, can legally adopt a last name they created (Rylen); they had filed individual applications in 1999; couples together 11 years; one daughter. Court reverses a lower-court decision saying the new name would be fraudulent because it would give the public the misperception that same-sex marriages were lawful and therefore violate the state's public policy against such unions. In the past several years appeals NJ and PA courts have also ruled trial courts cannot arbitrarily deny requests for name changes by gay couples. Canada: government issues media materials for revised immigration regulations; old category "common law partner" kept and defined as someone who has cohabited in a conjugal relationship for at least one year; new category added in family class, called "conjugal partners" (not required to cohabit, but must have been in a conjugal relationship for a one-year); e ' fianc category eliminetd since radically underused; opposite-sex couples can qualify immediately in family class 64

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II by marrying (Canada doesnt recognize foreign same-sex marriages); simple adoptions (adoption that does not sever the pre-existing legal parent-child relationship) removed, will be dealt with as adoptions to be finalized in Canada. July 2002 Alberta: govt passes private members bill tabled by Tory MLA Victor Doerksen saying it will use the constitutional not-withstanding clause to opt out of any federal directive permitting gay marriages. The Alberta Marriage Act of 2000 defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Issuing marriage licences is in provincial jurisdiction. The Tory government has vowed that the issue of same-sex marriages is the only case in which it will use the notwithstanding clause without a referendum. Manitoba Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh introduces bill 53, a step towards fully recognizing equality among different kinds of families, to give common-law straight and same-sex partners property rights after being together for three years, rights that currently only apply to married couples; the bill amends 56 statutes, including The Family Property Act (formerly The Marital Property Act - possible to opt put of by written agreement though some pension plans require a special form), The Intestate Succession Act, Registered Domestic Partnerships. Couples can register as a registered domestic partnership the day they move in together and have the same rights apply. Manitoba (the 4th province to extend property rights to common-law couples) awaits a Supreme Court decision on family property rights before the new laws come into effect, likely a year from now, and is working on a public information campaign to encourage those in common-law relationships to register with the vital statistics office. The govt had originally hoped that the property bill would go to committee at the same time as the June bill on adoption, conflicts of interest, end-of-life issues, etc, but it looks like the earlier bill will go to committee very soon and bill 53 hearings be held later. If these two bills pass, Manitoba will have comprehensive laws that go about as far as a province can to ensure that all common law (same and opposite sex) relationships are treated equally to marital relationships. July 2002 Montreal: Roger Thibault, 56, and Theo Wouters, 60, are the first couple to take advantage of Quebec's new Civil Union Act passed June 7. Quebec City Court House, 10 days later: Daniel Piche ' and Normand Frenette are first gay couple in the city to take advantage of the new civil union law. Winnipeg: 30 rally outside the provincial legislature, asking the government to kill bill 34 to grant same-sex couples adoption rights. Family Services minister Tim Sale rejects demands that the bill be shelved. Ontario Superior Court: after hearing the cases Nov 2001, three-judge panel (Regional Senior Justice Blair, Associate Chief Justice Smith, and Justice Laforme) unanimously rules Ontario must register gay and lesbian marriages, chastises Toronto for refusing to issue marriage licences to gay couples, says denying gays and lesbians the right to marry is "creating second class citizens," rules federal law definition of marriage as "a union between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others violates the Charter, suspends ruling for up to two years to allow Parliament time to redefine the term marriage. Last Nov, the judges heard a lawsuit brought by 8 gay and lesbian couples (Bourassa and Varnell et al, (rep by Martha McCarthy and Joanna Radbord of Epstein Cole) who challenged the constitutionality of the ban. This suit combines two cases, six couples refused marriage licences in summer 2000 by the city clerk's office and two couples who were married Jan 2001 in a double ceremony at Metropolitan 65

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Community Church after banns read (a legal alternative to marriage licences) (rep by Douglas Elliott, Trent Morris, and Victoria Paris of McGowan, Elliott & Kim). Justice Harry Laforme: "The restriction against same-sex marriage is an offence to the dignity of lesbians and gays because it limits the range of relationship options available to them. The result is they are denied the autonomy to choose whether they wish to marry. This is turn conveys the ominous message that they are unworthy of marriage. For those same-sex couples who do wish to marry, impugned restriction represents a rejection of their personal aspirations and the denial of their dreams." The province has 15 days to appeal. Michael Leshner and Mike Stark immediately apply for a licence and are turned down by the city solicitor; city clerk says she cannot move until federal law is changed. Ontario Attorney General David Young says the province's only involvement is to argue that the issue is exclusively one of federal jurisdiction. Ontario premier Ernie Eves says the government will not appeal the court ruling, says If two people decide that they want to be in a union, why would I interfere with that?, calls the federal government to do as the court says, criticizes Alberta. Federal Dept Justice lead lawyer Roslyn Levine says, with similar cases in Quebec and BC, the federal government could refer the matter directly to the Supreme Court, but "that is not something the minister is considering at this moment, since the Supreme Court prefers cases be argued in the lower courts before hearing an appeal. Justice Minister Martin Cauchon is studying options: July 29th, the last possible day, he appeals, saying The government believes it is the responsible course to seek further clarity on these issues." Canadian Human Rights Commission endorses gay and lesbian marriage, calls on govt to "do what's right". Anne Adams, acting chief commissioner: There are many gay and lesbian Canadians living today in long-term committed relationships, caring for each other and raising families together. They are deserving of respect and dignity, including the recognition in law of their union." Law Commission of Canada, which advises the government on legal matters, also endorses gay marriage. James Clancy, president of the 325,000-member National Union of Public and General Employees, says decision long overdue, should be implemented now. PSAC (Public Service Alliance of Canada) condemns decision to appeal, seeks to re-open contract talks to make changes to four collective agreements that will eliminate discrimination against federal Treasury Board employees who wish to take leave for same-sex marriages. Toronto city council 28-6 called on federal government to abandon appeal (motion put forward by Councillor Kyle Rae, passed without debate). Alberta Justice spokesman Bart Johnson urges the federal government to appeal the Ontario ruling. Federal Liberal MP Tom Wappel urges government to appeal decision and, if unsuccessful, use the Charters notwithstanding clause, or face not getting re-elected: Who's going to vote for a government that destroys the traditional definition of marriage? Federal minister of justice Martin Cauchon says he is studying the decision but he speaks highly of the recent Quebec ruling removing an opposite-sex reference from its provincial code. 66

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Vancouver Pride Society warns Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham, Industry Minister Allan Rock, Secretary of State Stephen Owen (Vancouver-Quadra), and MP Hedy Fry (Vancouver Centre) who are scheduled to march in pride parade that they neednt show up unless they are ready to condemn their party's actions in appealing the gay-marriage decision. Ottawa: national Pollara poll sponsored by Liberals shows 48% for same-sex marriage, 43% against, 9% dk; 25-34-year-olds 65% for, 18-34-year-olds 61% for. Ottawa: Rev Canon Garth Bulmer, of St John the Evangelist church in Ottawa tables for Synod meeting in October a motion Be it resolved that this synod of the Diocese of Ottawa ask the Bishop of Ottawa to authorize requesting parishes to bless same sex unions(similar to that passed last month in BC); Ottawa could be the 2nd Anglican diocese in Canada to bless gay and lesbian unions. It would be up to the bishop to decide whether to implement the motion if passed. Churches that want to perform the ceremonies could, priests opposed neednt. Toronto, World Youth Day: Nigerian cardinal Francis Arinze, 69, a likely successor to Pope John Paul, tells 200 Catholic young people in a Toronto Parish it is their duty to prevent gays and lesbians from marrying: It is not progress, it is decadence, says if two men or two women had tried to marry in Old Testament times, the Earth would have opened and swallowed them without a trace but now "people do that sort of abomination and nothing happens to them immediately." Arinze is president of the Vatican's Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Boston's Bernard Cardinal Law tells 500 at a workshop that Catholics should boycott gay partnership union ceremonies because attending them " would lend support to unnatural relationships" - Law is at the centre of the American Catholic priest sex abuse scandal. August 2002 Perth: Anglican Archbishop of Perth and head of the church in Australia, Dr Peter Carnley, says he supports moves for gay couples to have the same property and next-of-kin rights as heterosexuals but opposes same-sex marriages and same-sex couple adoption, believes the Church should bless committed gay couples but not marry them. "If gay people get into lifelong committed relationships I want to say to them well, normally you would not be thinking of having children but nevertheless I'd want to say to you that your relationship is better than promiscuity." August 2002 Europe: Ikea launches a new ad campaign featuring a child with "two gay daddies." August 2002 Denmark (in 1989, the first country in the world to recognize gay couples), stills does not allowed couple adoption or AI; moves to reform the law have stalled. Radical Left Party which had supported gay adoption now says 'We are more concerned about the environment children are raised in, than the right of adults to have children.' August 2002 Germany: RC Church says it may dismiss employees of church institutions who get same-sex marriages under last years law since a married LGB would "lose credibility in fulfilling the tasks he has to perform in an ecclesiastical institution" and adds "Since entering a registered life partnership is considered a serious violation of loyalty obligations ... dismissal is in principle justified, and can only be disregarded in special cases"; Cardinal Karl Lehmann, leader of the German church, condemns the law as a serious blow to marriage and the family. German 67

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Bishops Conference says such partnerships are incompatible with employment by the church. France: new governments planned-parenthood-type committee Conseil supe ' rieur de l'information sexuelle, de la re ' gulation des naissances et de l'e ' ducation familiale (CCIS) ejects Association des parents et futurs parents gay et lesbiens (APGL) and Coordination des associations de de ' fense pour le droit a ` l'avortement (CADAC) from membership although they joined CSIS June 2001 for a 3 year mandate - via a notice published in the Journal officiel. They are replaced by Familles de France, an rightwing group opposed to pornography and the morningafter pill and Confe ' de ' ration des associations familiales catholiques. Minister in charge of file saus a technical change justifies the decision, which is in the best interests of everyone. August 2002 UK: Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada refuses request for a special meeting of the Canadian House of Bishops to discuss the decision by the Diocese of New Westminster to bless same-sex unions. Next regular bishops meeting scheduled for Oct. 25. Archbishop Michael Peers, who has supported the diocese's decision, said he wanted to give the issue time for bishops across the country to "listen in their own dioceses". August 2002 UK: gay and unmarried MPs to be given travel warrants, which entitle the partners/spouses of MPs to free first-class travel to and from London and their constituencies, under House of Commons equal-opportunity rules ordered by the Speaker. Part of a larger review. August 2002 UK: DC Comics, UK's largest publisher of comic books and the global brand name behind Superman and Batman, introduces gay superheroes; The Authority features two male superheroes - Apollo and the Midnighter - who marry and adopt a child. August 2002 Scotland: Scottish Law Commission report prepared for parliament says that gays and lesbians should be allowed to launch wrongful death suits if their partner should die as a result of murder or negligence, recommends the law be changed to allow surviving gay cohabiting partners to be classified as "immediate family" (but excluding mother-in-laws and father-in-laws); commission says family structures have changed significantly since the current law was passed in 1976. August 2002 Wales: in Llanelli, Debbie Rees, chairwoman of the Wales TUC's gay and lesbian steering committee, launches campaign for the town's register office to start offering civil "partnership services". Carmarthenshire County Council says it will consider the idea. August 2002 American Red Cross makes permanent the guidelines it put in place for 9-11 which provided gay domestic partners disaster relief; sends an Information Bulletin to all chapters "Guidance on "Family" Definition and Verification, says immediate family includes "regularly financially supported significant others, fiancs, housemates and/or other family members" (verifiable by joint house ownership, joint leases, joint back accounts, joint credit cards, utility bills with both names etc.) August 2002 US: Human Rights Campaign releases survey of US custody and visitation laws: 21 states and the District of Columbia have good records ( viz. courts mostly dont discriminate)or laws prohibiting discrimination.; among the best records: NJ, Delaware, Washington state; 9 have bad records, with Alabama, North Carolina and Utah ranking among the worst. www.hrc.org/familynet . 68 Aug 2002

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II August 2002 United Methodist Church appeals recent decision by regional investigating committee to drop church charges against out lesbian Rev. Karen Dammann; August 2002 Federal Court of Appeal rules gay prisoners from Arizona may kiss and hug their boyfriends during prison visits; case of Karl Whitmire, forbidden to hug his boyfriend, William Lyster, in the visiting room, because touching between same-sex persons prohibited except between relatives. August 2002 Arkansas: ACLU files in Pulaski County Circuit Court asking a judge to skip a trial (scheduled for November) and lift a ban on lesbian and gay foster parenting on behalf of four prospective foster parents, including a gay couple and a heterosexual man with a gay son, who are challenging the ban on gays and lesbians from becoming foster parents in Arkansas; 1999, the state Child Welfare Agency Review Board voted 6 - 1 to bar gays and lesbians, so Dept Human Services asks prospective foster parents if they are gay; August 2002 Boston: gay rights lawyer Joseph Barri, senior partner at Hale and Dorr, and partner of 20 years Jack Venzer break up; Venzer sues for monthly support; the pair renovated a suburban mansion together; Venzer says he gave up a business career to care for his and Barri's children from previous marriages; Barri, who last week publicly urged newspapers to print announcements of gay unions, says his former partner should not be treated as a spouse because Massachusetts law doesn't recognize gay marriages. August 2002 California: two key gay rights bills sent to Senate for vote: one bill by Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Fred Keeley (D-Santa Cruz) provides surviving registered domestic partners the right to inherit a specified share of a partner's estate if s/he died intestate, and this right would be added to benefits domestic partners began receiving last year; the other, by Assembly Member Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), prohibits discrimination and harassment in the foster care system based on sexual orientation and gender identity; both bills already approved by the California Assembly. August 2002 California Senate 23-12 approves bill (approved earlier this year by the State Assembly) to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth in foster care and prohibit discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity; bill protects youths in the system, foster parents, and other foster household members on grounds including sexual orientation, gender identity, and HIV/AIDS status.; bill provides funding for training foster parents in teenage sexual health, STD prevention, sensitivity to the challenges faced by LGBT youth, sensitivity to youth who have been sexually or physically abused; bill now goes back to the Assembly for vote on Senate amendments, then to Governor to sign. Rightwing Christian Campaign for California Families demonstrate against "brainwashing and indoctrinating" foster children into questioning their sexuality, "trampling on religious freedom" by preventing foster parents' ability to freely express their disapproval of GLBT people. August 2002 CA: majority of gay and straight teachers in two school districts vote to demand health benefits for same-sex partners and families of teachers; contract negotiations now in progress in Palm Springs Unified School District and Desert Sands Unified School District; teachers and other employees in both districts have been trying for two years to get domestic partner benefits to no avail. California's domestic partner law, which took effect Jan. 1, forced insurance companies to offer the benefits but doesnt require employers t purchase them. 69

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II August 2002 Orlando Sentinel will announce same-sex unions, still developing formal policy, aims to accept "celebrations of many different kinds." NY Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation says 99 of 1,600 daily newspapers accept such announcements. Floridas largest, the St. Petersburg Times, does not; Miami Herald says it will; South Florida Sun-Sentinel has for three years. August 2002 Idaho Supreme Court agrees to review a lower court ruling that a man could not see his two children as long as he lived with his same-sex partner in case of Theron McGriff (qv). This breaks from typical procedure, in which a lower appeals court would review the ruling first. It will be the first time the Idaho high court has heard a case involving the rights of gay parents. August 2002 Hawaii Supreme Court rules valid the 1998 amendment to the state constitution (overwhelmingly approved by voters) that gave lawmakers the authority to limit state-recognized marriages to opposite-sex couples; rejects appeal of a lower court ruling the state could not justify its 1994 ban on same-sex marriages (judge ordered the state to grant marriage licenses to gay couples, but delayed the order pending the appeal); lawmakers then drafted amendment giving them the authority to pass the ban; 2001 voters approve it 2-1. August 2002 Illinois.: Indiana Civil Liberties Union files suit in Marion County Superior Court on behalf of three same-sex couples (Ruth Morrison 42 and Teresa Stephens 45, Dave Wene and David Squire, Charlotte Egler and Dawn Egler, all of whom have entered into civil unions in the state of Vermont) to have civil unions recognized by state; suit names Gov. Frank O'Bannon and the clerks of Marion and Hendricks counties as defendants; 1997 Indiana law prohibits the state from recognizing same-sex unions performed in other states; state law already had banned same-sex marriage. August 2002 Greater Louisville YMCA will give family membership rates as of next year to''up to two adults with or without dependent children residing at the same address.'' August 2002 NJ: two gay Episcopalian priests fight for the right to marry: Dennis Winslow, 52, who preaches at St. Peter's at Chelsea, NYC and his partner of 10 years, Mark Lewis, of the Church of Our Saviour in Secaucus, NJ; bishops in the Episcopal Church are split but the two congregations are positive. See marriage suit filed July 2002 August 2002 New York Times becomes the first major US newspaper to publish announcements of gay and lesbian unions and will change the pages currently headed "Weddings," to "Weddings/Celebrations". Articles and pictures will be same style as for weddings; editors of the Styles Section, where the announcements are printed, will decide which unions will be covered; criteria are newsworthiness and accomplishments of couples and their families, the same as those that have traditionally applied to weddings. Howell Raines, exec ed of The NY Times, said: "In making this change, we acknowledge the newsworthiness of a growing and visible trend in society toward public celebrations of commitment by gay and lesbian couples celebrations important to many of our readers, their families and their friends." August 2002 New York Daily News science editor and ornithologist Linda Olle reports 50% of urban pigeons live in same-sex marriages, often for life; male and female pigeons not easy to distinguish; when they meet both act unaggressive (what Ollie calls feminine), groom each other, share food (mostly chewing it and regurgitating it into each others' beaks), mate freely with either sex 70

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II August 2002 New York Aquarium in Coney Island: black-footed penguins Wendell and Cass, both 14-years-old, who have been coupled, slept in the same nest, and had sex together for eight years, have blood tests and are both found to be male; Cass tends to be aggressive; Wendell is nervous; they're currently in a dispute with another couple over their nest which seems to be one of the most desirable places in the penguin enclosure; staff say they're one of the most dedicated couples in the penguin enclosure. August 2002 NY: an appellate court in Brooklyn overturn ruling that Janis can vist the two children she help their biological mother raise, says only the state's highest court or the legislature can establish such an extension of visiting rights; 2000, Westchester County family court judge Joan Cooney granted Janis weekly supervised visits with her Christine's son and daughter, then 4 and 2 (conceived by IVF during the relationship which broke up 1999), saying that in helping to raise the children, Janis had won the status of a "psychological parent." August 2002 New York City (voting 34 to 7, 4 abst.) becomes the 3rd area in the US (Vermont, California do) to recognize same-sex partnership unions solemnized in other jurisdiction. NY residents who travel outside the state to be united will have the union recognized at home; couples moving to NY will retain their status. But no registry in New York, no legal recognition of civil unions performed in the city. Orthodox Jewish Councilman Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn) objected strenuously on moral grounds to the use of the word marriage in connection with gays. August 2002 NYCITY: Yeshiva University (loosely affiliated with Orthodox Judaism) changes housing policy to allow same-sex couples in on-campus housing (but only at its medical school) after two lesbian medical students filed suit in 1998; the u said it was not biased - it barred all unmarried couples; a lower court agreed; 2001 NY state court of appeals reinstated case; both sides lawyers say trial now no longer needed; new policy allows married student housing consideration for any person with whom the student maintains a genuine, close and interdependent relationship that is or is intended to be long term - proof includes joint bank account or mutual designation as primary life insurance beneficiaries. August 2002 Ohio Supreme Court 5-2 rejects lesbian couple's petition to coparent each other's children; Teri Bonfield and Shelly Zachritz from Cincinnati have been together 14 years; Bonfield adopted two sons in 1996, had a son by AI in 1996 and twins in 1998; Zachritz later had a son by AI; Zachritz is primary caregiver and the children consider her their parent. Juvenile court said it didnt have jurisdixction because Ohio does not recognize same-sex parenting; appeals court agreed. Supreme Court now sends case back to juvenile court saying it does have jurisdiction over deciding the custody of any child who is not a ward of the court but majority opinion says women can't be considered parents of each other's children because under Ohio law, "parent" typically includes only the biological or adoptive parent. August 2002 Washington, DC: Human Rights Campaign publishes The Corporate Equality Index rating 319 large corporations on policies that affect their GLBTT employees, consumers and investors: most big corporations now include some GLBT protections in their non-discrimination policies; companies rated on seven factors incl: 1) written non-discrimination policy covering sexual orientation; (92% do) 2) written non-discrimination policy covering gender identity and/or expression; 3) health insurance coverage for same-sex domestic partners; 4) do not engage in activities that would undermine the goal of LGBTT equal rights; 13 71

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II corporations scored 100%: Aetna Inc.; AMR Corp./American Airlines; Apple Computer Inc.; Avaya Inc.; Eastman Kodak Co.; Intel Corp.; J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.; Lucent Technologies Inc.; NCR Corp.; Nike Inc.; Replacements Ltd.; Worldspan L.P.; and Xerox Corp. 25% scored 86% (met every criterion except gender identity non-discrimination policy); 3 companies scored 0%: CBRL Group Inc./Cracker Barrel; Emerson Electric Co.; and Lockheed Martin Corp. The index was not applied to colleges/universities, government employers, non-profits or companies with fewer than 500 employees. August 2002 Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Chief Justice Stephen A. Zappala and unanimous court overturns 2000 state superior court ruling, rules state's Adoption Act unequivocally allows a same-sex partner to adopt partner's child (gay couples can adopt); second-parent adoptions extended potential legal benefits to children including health insurance, social security coverage, inheritance from the adopting parent and the right to financial support from both parents; would-be secondparents must apply to their county courts for approval; cases of gay couple in Erie County (together since 1982, sought to adopt a boy and a girl who had already been adopted by one partner). and lesbian couple Carole and Barbara Fryberger (together 19 years - Carole, 41, a respiratory therapist, had twin boys, Robby and Reese, by IVF, Barbara, 47, a telephone-installation technician) of Lancaster County; before 2000 some counties (including Philadelphia) permitted second-parent adoptions, though most did not; Superior Court 2000 decision barred second-parent adoptions across the board. August 2002 Pennsylvania state court strikes down 1998 Philadelphia law giving benefits to same-sex partners of city workers which had amended the definition of "marital status" to include "life partner"; seven city taxpayers sued, charging that the city did not have the power " to create a new marital status."; Commonwealth Court panel agrees saying this runs counter to what the state legislature intended the definition of marriage to be. August 2002 Virginia: state reverses own position and will allow gays and lesbians to adopt; decision ends a lawsuit by an Arlington lesbian Linda Kaufman, a Washington Episcopal priest who adopted a 5-year-old DC foster child in 1992, and has been trying to adopt a sibling for him since 1999; Kaufman works in DC but lives in Arlington with partner Liane Rozzell; a Virginia adoption agency and DC officials called her well qualified but Virginia state officials had refused to approve the adoption placement because Kaufman is a lesbian. August 2002 Ottawa: federal cabinet unable to reach a consensus on how to deal with gay marriage; justice min Cauchon reviewed options said to include turning jurisdiction of marriage over to the provinces, continue to appeal up to the Supreme Court of Canada, create a new category similar to Partnership Union, or enact legislation now granting gays full marriage rights; cabinet votes to refer issue to a parliamentary committee for study, hearing from pros and cons, possibly taking up to a year; consultations beginning Sept.; Cauchon says govt will table a discussion paper with the committee in September, outlining some policy directions. The federal government refuses to ask the Supreme Court for an immediate ruling, bypassing the provincial appeals process, and saving millions of taxpayer dollars, rejects fast tracking the issue, though this method was used in the Quebec secession case. PM Chretien refuses to state personal beliefs; Paul Martin, ousted Finance 72

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Minister and possible next PM, also declines to say. Industry Minister Allan Rock says he will press the cabinet to legalize same-sex marriages; Heritage Minister Sheila Copps, Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham also for; no other public support from cabinet though Secy State Stephen Owen expected to be for. Religious right targets Copps with hate mail, also Senator Laurier L. LaPierre, the only out member of the Upper House, who says the attacks have become personal and insulting. Backbencher Carolyn Bennet (Toronto St Pauls) is for Liberal backbencher Dan McTeague (Pickering-Ajax-Uxbridge) calls for Rock's resignation, saying endorsement of same-sex marriage breaks cabinet solidarity, is at odds with the Liberal caucus position and demonstrates his "dishonesty'' because he promised such unions would not happen when he was justice minister. August 2002 Charlottetown: retired civil servant, James Matheson, denied having his employee pension benefits go to his same sex partner when he dies because of law in PEI, launches human rights complaint against PEI; Greg Howard of the PEI HRC says court rulings in other provinces have made it clear the province's position is unconstitutional. After Matheson goes to the HRC, PEI says it will follow his wishes, but as a "special case." HRC says not good enough. August 2002 BC Supreme Court Justice Marion Allan certified $380-million class action suit against the federal government by gay and lesbian spouses once denied survivor benefits; suit filed in Vancouver, national in scope, charges govt was obliged to extend full survivor benefits to gay and lesbian spouses under the Canada Pension Plan; Ottawa extended the benefits to LGBs a few years ago, but did not pay compensation for past exclusion. A similar suit in Ontario also has judicial sanction to proceed. August 2002 Manitoba: gay-adoption bill 34 passes 31-22 in the face of united Tory opposition; gay-rights advocates and government politicians slam a failed attempt by Manitoba Conservatives to block the bill as flip-flopping Premier Gary Doer's New Democrats and opposition Liberals banded together to ensure the legislation. Last April , PC party leader Stuart Murray was for the bills: "We don't support discriminatory legislation because we govern for all people," but then he gave his caucus a free vote, and all 22 there voted against. August 2002 Manitoba legislature after all-nighter overwhelmingly passes legislation extending the property rights of married couples to their common-law straight and gay counterparts (who have been together for three or more years). Further common-law spouses can share property rights from the moment they move in together if they register with the government. Quebec, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia already have similar laws. Govt won't proclaim legislation until pending Supreme Court decision is rendered on the issue of common-law rights, expected later this year. August 2002 Treasury Board employee Loree-Ann Huard denied marriage leave for a commitment ceremony with her partner because board's policy states: "A legal marriage must take place in order for an employee to be eligible for marriage leave." She files complaint with the Human Rights Commission. August 2002 Halifax: Canadian Human Rights Commission will hear case of Rick Boutilier who in July 1994 asked Natural Resources Canada for five days partnership leave for a commitment ceremony with his partner, Brian Mombourquette. The government allows heterosexual couples up to a week off to marry. His immediate supervisor agreed, but federal bureaucrats in Ottawa rejected the 73

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II application. Boutilier grieved the decision, in 2000 filed a complaint with the commission against Natural Resources Canada, in 2001 filed another against the federal Treasury Board in 2001. August 200 Ontario: Chris Eby, spokesman for the consumer and business services ministry says they may revoke marriage certificate received by Paula Barrero and Blanca Mejias, married by banns last Sept. at Emmanuel-Howard Park United Church by Rev. Dr. Cheri DiNovo. Barrero and Mejias sent paperwork to province's central registry office and received a marriage certificate.

August 2002 Leger poll in Metro Toronto area (for Toronto Sun) finds 43% against same-sex marriage, 34% for, 23% don't care; women 40% for, 34% against; men 25% for, 50% against; university-educated 43% for; high-school ed 26% for; over-65 11% for; under 65 45%.for; support higher in city than suburbs; support overall slightly lower than recent national polls. Leger Marketing poll last spring found 65% for. Sept 2002 Hong Kong: In his final speech as head of the worldwide Anglican Church, George Carey, outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury, attacks Vancouver bishop Michael Ingham for endorsing the blessing of gay and lesbian unions, placing the church in danger of a breakup. Carey says the "unilateral" decision in June by Ingham and his diocese to bless same-sex unions is "steadily driving us towards serious fragmentation and the real possibility of two or, more likely, many more distinct Anglican bodies emerging." Carey also slams the conservative Anglican group American Mission in America (incl. the primates and bishops from Asia and Africa who visited Vancouver in August to see about setting up separate arrangements for dissidents from Inghams policy). Israeli State Prosecutor's Office files brief will High Court saying adopted son of gay couple will not be registered, cannot be granted citizenship, the government "does not recognize a family unit comprised of parents of the same sex." (See June 2002 - names protected; men together 13 years, hold dual American and Israeli citizenship, adopted in US infant son born in east Asia). Couples lawyer Irit Rosenblum says state's response has no legal basis, Israeli law contains no definition of what constitutes a family unit. Judge Lewis Skweyiya in South Africa's highest rules laws preventing gay and lesbian couples from adopting are unconstitutional, says people in permanent same-sex partnerships can provide children with the same stability, support and affection as in heterosexual homes; case of judges Anne-Marie de Vos and Suzanne du Toit, together since 1989 who went to the high court when du Toit was prevented from adopting de Vos's two children. Pretoria: at conference on homosexuality and the church, a minister says he would like to take gay relationships seriously but is angry that gays seem to walk out of relationships quite easily; gay Cape Town church minister Reverend Pieter Oberholzer says gay relationships often end because the church and society do not allow gay people to enter into relationships. Australia: NSW government announces amendments to the Miscellaneous Acts Amendment (Relationships) Bill to change the definition to include same-sex and de-facto couples, changing 23 acts and giving them the same property rights as married couples on separation or death. Mark Payne, secretary of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, says the church will lobby all MPs and Archbishop Peter Jensen will seek a meeting with the premier. Payne says the church has no objections to the policy but the definition changes will devalue the traditional. 74

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II RCs chime in. NSW AG says the govt will go ahead anyway. Anne Hollonds, NSW chief executive of Relationships Australia: the stability of relationships and the benefits of that for children of greater importance. Sept 2002 Tasmania: state government says it will recognize domestic partnerships, will amend 120 pieces of legislation covering property rights child maintenance, organ donation, guardianship, access to a partner in hospital, pensions, funerals, wills, and various parenting, family and work leave entitlements. Tasmania only decriminalize gay sex in 1997. Attorney-General Judy Jackson: "This is not about morality. It's about human rights and the respect for the equal dignity of all persons without discrimination." Switzerland: Zurich, largest Sw canton, votes 63-37 to direct the government to create a registry for civil unions, grant gay families the same tax, inheritance and social security benefits as other married couples; partners must live in Zurich canton, have cohabited for at least six months, and show they are providing each other with mutual support and aid. Germany: Bundeswehr decrees policy banning sexual relations while on active duty, either with spouses or fellow service personnel, regardless of sex, because it hinders morale, mutual trust and co-operation. Policy also forbids military personnel from hanging up pornographic images. London: Reform group, rightwing evangelical wing of the Anglican Church (1,500 members incl 500+ clergy and a bishop) says unless Rowan Williams is prepared say all sex outside marriage is sinful, support "appropriate discipline," and ordain only those who uphold and live by this teaching, he should withdraw from the post of Archb of C. Williams writes to Reform that he abides by the Church of England's "majority teaching" regarding homosexuality, will not affirm the traditional Christian teaching that church members should abstain from sex outside of marriage:"My personal views are on record and I have not found reason to change them. Somehow I have to try to discern the will of God in all this, knowing all too well the risks to the unity of the Church. ... [will] "exercise the discipline of the Church as I am bound to do. But I can't go beyond this and say that I believe what I do not believe". Dr Williams invites to lunch leaders of the Church Society, founded 1835, who object to knowingly ordaining practising homosexual, and other sins including attending a "pagan" ceremony - the Welsh eisteddfod, his reported heresy on issues such as the uniqueness of the Christian gospel. English Churchman: It is not enough to tell [Dr Williams] that he should be silent about his views ... he must be told he is in error. He must be told he is a false shepherd of his sheep; he must be told to repent his views." Anglican Consultative Council (70 representatives from 38 world regions), one of three bodies that oversees the Anglican Church community, asserts its power over local churches that have gone against its views on same-sex unions and gay priests; asks dioceses and individual bishops not to "go it alone", but to seek advice from higher consulting authorities on the issues of same-sex unions and gay priests. Sept 2002 UK: chairman of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority Suzi Leather says women should not be ruled out for IVF because lesbian or single, nor because of age. London: Mannotincluded Women's New Life Centre, Europe's first fertility centre 75

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II solely for lesbians and single women, opens in Harley Street today, three months after it set up the first Internet site dedicated to helping lesbians find sperm donors. Centre will be run by psychologist Dr Andejelka Stones-Abassi. Founder John Gonzales. Centre has applied for a licence from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to be able carry out inseminations and store frozen sperm on the premises. Hopes to open two more centres (Manchester, Edinburgh) soon. Sept 2002 London: registry for gay and lesbian unions (no validity in law) celebrates first anniversary; number of divorces remarkably small; of 314 unions, 5 divorces (1.6%, about the same as for heterosexual couples in the first year of marriage). Coventry: Police, gay rights advocates, and domestic violence professionals from across the UK meet in ground-breaking training session focusing on gay spousal abuse, a first in the UK; one of the organizers, PC Jane Smith said the conference had come about as a result of work done by police with the Gay and Lesbian Forum in Coventry. From April 2001 to March this year, 4,500 incidents of domestic violence in heterosexual relationships were reported to police and 14 same-sex ones US National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (26 nationally) issues report: reported incidences of domestic violence within LGB community rose 25% overall in 2001 to a total of 5,046 (6 including death); two groups in the SF area reported 694 cases, compared with 691 cases in 2000; LA reports biggest increase (3,208 in 2001, 2,146 in 2000); much of this increase attributed to a closer working relationship between the community organization that collects the reports and the LAPD. US: Support grows for binational same-sex couples rights at an alltime high: co-sponsors for a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives reach 100; Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, who co-sponsored the Permanent Partners Immigration Act writes to chair of the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims asking for immediate hearings. Bill defines PP as an individual 18+ in a committed, intimate relationship in which both parties intend a lifelong commitment, are financially interdependent, not married, unable to contract a marriage, not blood relations, and adds "or permanent partner" to sections of the Immigration and Naturalization Act that apply to legally married couples, gives same rights and penalties as legal marriages to binational gay and lesbian partnerships; US citizens could sponsor partners for immigration. Boston: Boston Globe will publish announcements of same-sex commitment ceremonies and civil unions. California governor Gray Davis signs family leave bill: paid leave (up to 6 weeks at 55% of salary) for workers who need to care for new/adopted baby, sick domestic partner, spouse, or other family member; program funded through contributions from employees @ less than three dollars a month per employee. California Alliance for Pride and Equality (CAPE) expresses disappointment with Governor Gray Davis veto of a bill which would have protected lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth in the states foster care system, banned discrimination and harassment against foster youth, foster parents, other foster household members and staff based on a number of factors including sexual orientation, gender identity and HIV/AIDS status, allowed optional training for foster parents to include education on teenage sexual health and STD prevention, sensitivity to the challenges faced by LGBT youth, and sensitivity to youth who 76

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II have been sexually or physically abused, directed the Department of Social Services to expand its recruitment activities to specifically include LGBT individuals who might be interested in caring for LGBT youth. Davis, in the midst of a re-election campaign, leads Republican opponent by only 10% Charlotte: Charlotte Observer will accept paid announcements of same-sex commitments; publisher Peter Ridder says it is "simple justice and equal access ... We accept advertising from things we don't necessarily agree with. How do I, in good conscience, reject a different lifestyle?" He does not see it as an endorsement, citing ads from political candidates of all stripes. Same-sex unions will not appear on the Celebrations pages with weddings, engagements, anniversaries and births in the Sunday Carolina Living section. Ridder: "Gay and lesbian unions aren't the same as weddings, since they aren't legally recognized in North Carolina. When the paper said it was considering including same-sex unions, 70+% of 1000 responses hostile, many reading like part of an organized protest. Charlotte, N Carolina: head of YMCA youth program Steve Mendieta fired after using the organization's official email list to urge parents to protest Charlotte Observer's decision to print announcements of same-sex unions; Y says fired for inappropriate use of YMCA property, not for views, Y has no official position. Colorado: Denver lesbian ex-couple fighting for custody in Colorado Court of Appeals; women were together 11 years, wanted to adopt a baby from China together, but only one could legally adopt the girl under Colorado law; Denver District Court judge grants request to share rights and responsibilities for their daughter; couple broke up February 2001; magistrate Diane Dupree ruled both were mothers of the child and gave each woman equal parenting time and joint decision-making responsibilities; adoptive mother appealed; appeal denied by District Court Judge Michael Mullins; adoptive mother appeals to Court of Appeals, wants sole decision-making powers and the majority of the now-7-year-old's time. ACLU and National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Center's Legal Initiatives Project intervenor for partner (psychological mother)> Colorado: Senate committee kills HB1356 (measure to prevent same-sex parents from putting both their names on a birth certificate) on a party line vote after it passed the House; supporters said law was needed to guarantee the accuracy of state records; opponents said it was antigay and would hurt children of committed couples, both names needed on birth certificates to protect children's rights of inheritance and access to health insurance, Social Security and other benefits and to avoid placing children in foster care if the biological mother dies. Some lawmakers say killing the bill doesn't solve anything because the existing law remains unclear and is subject to various interpretations. Georgia: U of Georgia Council (composed of faculty, administrators, and students) sends resolution to Board of Regents, which governs all 34 institutions in the University System, asking it to "adopt policies and procedures which treat married couples and domestic partnership couples in an equal manner and ensure that systemwide benefits are available to both married couples and domestic partnership couples," also to include sexual orientation in its non-discrimination policy; Georgia President Michael Adams says he will sign the resolution and pass it on to the proper authorities. A survey by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, a nonprofit organization with 1,750 member colleges and universities, shows 37.2% of public and private 77

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II universities offer domestic partnership benefits. Sept 2002 Sept 2002 Idaho: Boise residents hold march and rally to support Theron McGriff (lost custody of his children, qv); no date set yet for Idaho supreme court hearing. Chicago: Cook County judge Susan McDunn cleared of bias charges.; she had voided adoption orders for lesbian couples in two separate cases and sent private information about the couples and the children to a rightwing Washington DC group that opposes adoption by gays; in both adoption cases, lesbian couples sought to have one partner legally adopt the other partner's biological child; court-appointed guardian for both children had signed off on the adoptions, Cook County Department of Supportive Services had declared both sets of parents "stable, loving and nurturing"; Cook County and Illinois practice is to grant such uncontested adoptions as routine; Judge Susan McDunn instead ordered hearings where asked about women's coming-out and early sexual experiences and the nature of their relationship, then refused to grant the adoptions; McDunns presiding judge voided the orders and granted the adoptions; McDunn signed new orders reinstating her orders; earlier this year, Illinois Appellate Court Justice Mort Zwick, in scathing language, rebuked McDunn for bias and voided all her orders, finalizing the lesbian couples' adoptions; Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board called for sanctions against McDunn and brought the case before the Illinois Courts Commission, which oversees judges in the state; commission now dismisses bias complaint because McDunn never made any explicit statements of bias against gays. Long Island community of East Hampton votes unanimously to create domestic partnership registry for straights and gays, first town on Long Island to do so. California has a domestic registry, as do three cities in New York State. Maryland: Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Democratic nominee for governor, supports extending benefits to same-sex partners, though she wants to wait until the state's economic outlook improves before taking the step and does not endorse homosexual unions. Maryland pass non-discrimination law in 2001. Conservative Nevada politicians push "Protection of Marriage" a constitutional amendment to ban gay and lesbian marriage in the state as well as banning recognition of marriages performed elsewhere; Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints makes substantial financial donation (so far over $525,000); the church donated over a half million dollars to a similar campaign in Hawaii and over $600,000 to one in Alaska (both successful) and has been involved in anti-gay campaigns in California. Amending Nevada's constitution requires approval in two consecutive elections (next: Nov. 5). In 2000, with Mormon help, the "Protection of Marriage" amendment passed with 70% support. Nevada: Catholic bishops support Question 2, an anti-gay-marriage measure on Nevada's November ballot; Bishops Phillip Straling of Reno and Joseph Pepe of Las Vegas say the proposal "would best preserve the definition of marriage held by the Catholic Church - a faithful, exclusive and lifelong union between one man and one woman." But the Nevada Catholic Conference will study legislation dealing with insurance, inheritance, hospital visiting rights and other matters involving same-sex unions and may offer its support where appropriate." Straling and Pepe: "We believe those issues can be considered without redefining the meaning of marriage." The bishops deplore any use of Question 2 to generate hatred against gays and lesbians or their families. Question 2 won in 2000 with 70% for, now needs to pass again this year to amend the Nevada Constitution. 78

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II July poll conducted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal and reviewjournal.com found 55% against gay marriage (down from 2000), 38% for, 7% dk Sept 2002 PEI considers a major review of its laws on marriage following court decisions in Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal; PEI's Family Law Act defines a couple as a man and a woman; other issues include family law, adoption, health law, benefits and entitlements law; province is expected to introduce an omnibus bill in the fall o change 42 pieces of legislation and legalize civil unions. Maritimes: Corporate Research Associates gay marriage poll for the Saint John's Newfoundland Telegram finds Newfoundland and Labrador residents 48% for, NS 45% for (44% against), PEI 43% for; numbers for are lower than most national polls. Madam Justice Louise Lemelin in Quebec Court rules the opposite-sex definition of marriage is discriminatory and cannot be justified under Charter 1, court recognized the 30-year relationship of Michael Hendricks & Rene ' LeBoeuf was already a marriage in everything but name; decision parallels the decision by the Ontario Superior Court earlier this year and gives the federal government two years to amend the law or it will be declared invalid. When Quebec created a civil union registry this spring, the justice minister said he would have preferred to give gays full marriage rights, but marriage is a federal responsibility. Third marriage challenge about to be heard in BC. Some quotes from the decision: Choosing with whom you will create a life is a fundamental characteristic of being an adult. "One cannot avoid the conclusion that offering benefits to gay and lesbian partners under a different scheme from heterosexual partners is a version of the separate but equal doctrine. That appalling doctrine must not be resuscitated in Canada four decades after its much heralded death in the United States." (on procreation) We don't deny marriage to elderly women! For the applicants, marriage represents the total and complete recognition of the deepest commitment that two members of a couple can have for one another. Marriage confers a social status." No-one would deny that religions have played an important role in marriage - indeed, their beliefs and their rites have framed the institution. The secularization of marriage, however, requires government to recognize that the institution is a civil one, and cannot be defined exclusively by religion. We are no longer living in the homogeneous society of a century ago. Multiculturalism, diverse religious beliefs, and the secularization of many societal institutions all testify to the openness of Canadian society. The State must ensure respect for each citizen, but no group has the right to impose its values on others or define a civil institution. The Hon. Judge Dickson in the Big M Drug Mart case wrote: "the Charter protects religious minorities against the threat of the 'tyranny of the majority'." Federal government appeals. Sept 2002 Canadian government files documents to support its appeal of the Ontario promarriage decision, says gays and lesbians fail to meet the "core opposite-sex requirements" for marriage: procreation, the "fundamental objective" of marriage. The provincial Court of Appeal has not indicated if it will hear the case. Conservative party leader Joe Clark says he supports the right of gays and lesbians to marry in principle, depending on the wording of the law, is surprised the Liberal government is fighting in the courts: "I wouldn't want the Parliament of Canada to be dictating to churches what they should respect or not respect. I think 79

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II that in terms of rights related to marriage -- those should be available to all individuals." Clark is scheduled to step down as party leader next year; party will allow a free vote. Sept 2002 Montreal presbytery (meeting of 100 people, 50% clergy) of United Church, Canada's largest Protestant denomination, overwhelming votes to approve civil-union ceremonies for same-sex couples (Quebec's civil union law lets notaries perform and dissolve civil-unions and considers ministers and priests notaries). South Africa: judge Pierre Roux in Pretoria High Court dismisses marriage application of Marie Fourie and Cecilia Bonthuys (for a declaratory order to allow them to receive a marriage license and have their union registered by the government); Roux says anyway ruling cannot change law because the wording in the couple's legal challenge ties his hands by referring only to the two women, not to gays and lesbians as a group; then rules matter of a constitutional nature, says he is not prepared to exercise his own discretion; says the law states marriage is a union between a man and a woman, and nothing that he is aware of has since changed. Roux was seen as unfriendly from the beginning of the case, frequently interrupting with questions about procreation being a necessary part of marriage, etc. Fourie and Bonthuys said that they will appeal. Tel Aviv: municipality approves new city regulations to grant gay couples the same benefits as other couples: now eligible for discounts and benefits at cultural facilities, libraries, swimming pools and various city events, follows decision earlier this year when the municipality approved in principle a proposal to grant unmarried couples the same benefits which are accorded to couples officially married by the rabbinate. Under the new regulations, "the Tel Aviv municipality will not discriminate against a person in the conferral of services due to his personal status. The municipality will treat couples known to the public, including single sex couples, as couples in every sense, and will confer to them the same discounts and benefits in public services which are provided to married couples." Persons seeking benefits under the new regulations will have to submit an affidavit, signed by an attorney, to the municipality. Israel: Knesset House Committee chair proposing rule change to allow benefits (gay widow/er would get state pension) for the partners of gay Knesset members; impetus arrival of Prof. Uzi Even, first out gay Knesset member; Chair Yossi Katz (Labor): "It is unacceptable that one member of the Knesset will be discriminated against compared to the other 119 members, simply because of his sexual orientation. Until now, we have not been forced to deal with this issue, since there has not been an open homosexual in the Knesset. The proposed changes are not significant, but hopefully they will serve as an example to other places of work in Israel - both in the public and private sectors." Rightwing fundies object. Australian Capital Territories: government considers introducing same-sex partnerships and adoption rights as part of an overhaul of ACT law to remove discrimination; ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope says govt aims to achieve equal legal status for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people by eliminating discriminatory references in legislation (currently in over 70 ACT Acts and regulations). The first part of the process: deal with 39 pieces of legislation that are relatively simple through non-controversial amendments, eg replacing spouse with domestic partner. A draft of these changes will be introduced to the Assembly in December, a final Bill presented next autumn. 80

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Phase 2: more controversial and complex matters, such as those involving children (eg recognizing the same-sex partner of a birth mother as a parent of a child, adoption by same-sex couples, and succession matters). Even when ACT laws are changed, same-sex couples will still be affected by Commonwealth laws on taxation, social security, superannuation and industrial relations, marriage Tasmanian legislated registered domestic partnership and the right to adopt for same-sex couples (from next summer, gay couples will be able to officially register their relationships with the Office of Births, Deaths and Marriages and gay couples adopt). Attorney-General Judy Jackson says the legislation will give same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples: "Same-sex couples should have the same access to register their relationships as heterosexual couples can through marriage." She adds the majority of adoptions in the state involve second-parent adoptions, also the number of adoptions in Tasmania was very low - under 10 a year. Swiss Catholic Bishops' Conference reaffirms no blessing for same-sex couples, but affirms it is not against gay rights. They maintain sacredness of marriage between men and women; regret past discrimination by the Church, say gays can be clergy if celibate. Spain: Socialist Party spokesperson Rafael Simancas announces intent to pass law granting same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples, including adoption. Italy considers Civil Union like the French PACS; at the Roman consulate, an Italian and a Frenchman with duel citizenship (Alessandro De Giorgi, 33, and Christian Panicucci, 37 - both activists who work for gay.it, the Italian version of gay.com) sign a French PACS agreement, witness is Franco Grillini, MP of the De ' mocrates de gauche (DS-opposition) who will file a draft bill in parliament to give Italy its own Pacte civil de Solidarite ' ; Antonio Garullo, 37, and Mario Ottocento, 30, entered into a civil union on June 1st in the Netherlands and wish to validate their union in Italy. Faroes: government fights over same-sex registered partnerships; Republican Party leader and MP for justice issues Hgni Hoydal promises to push the proposal: "We can't just export all our problems to Denmark. Hoydal says he will seek a legal takeover for the Faroe Islands of any legislation regarding personal, family, and hereditary rights (these legislative headings currently part of Danish jurisdiction); chairman for the Faroese parliament's Justice Committee, populist politician Jgvan Lakjuni says he will quit the regional coalition if a proposal on registered partnerships is introduced: "It is, first and foremost, a crime against nature for homosexuals to enter registered partnerships. adds it offends his Christian upbringing. 1988, Faroese government was dissolved; coalition disintegrated over plans to implement a new civil criminal code, including prohibiting discrimination against individuals due to skin colour, religious belief, etc; adding sexual orientation was so controversial it split the four-party coalition. Sweden: justice ministry announces law passed in June that gay couples who have entered into a legal partnership can legally adopt children will come into effect February 1 2003; also one partner will be able to adopt the biological child of the other. Belgium: Senate's Justice Commission votes 11-4 for a bill recognizing gay marriage (2 after Holland, 2000); bill must pass both houses of Parliament; 3 81

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II parties oppose (Francophone Liberals, Vlaams Blok, Francophone Christian Democrats) but is thought to have enough support to pass. Oct 2002 Wales: first gay and lesbian civil unions in Wales will take place in Swansea, following a 49-4 (1 abst) vote by city council who hope seaside location will make it a popular "gay honeymoon" spot; city clerk says seafront registry office ideally suited for mixing a holiday with a commitment ceremony Wales: unnamed gay priest and partner fostered boy, now 15, with severe learning and behavioural difficulties; press find out; ?diocese of Monmouth; couple together 22 years, have known the boy for 10 years; have been giving mother respite acre; in July, mother gave the boy up to social services; boy placed with couple; fostering is said to have approval of ABC Williams; Williams criticized for "endorsing immorality"; priest resigns, says two opp-sex parents is best for all. Daily Telegraph reports UK vicars bless hundreds of same-sex couples each year; in under a week, reporters posing as gay couples were offered blessings by 14 different vicars (clergy chosen at random) though they were strangers who had no connection with church or parish. Most of the vicars said they had performed similar ceremonies in the past; one said his church had an open policy and announced blessings in the parish notices; ; one in the diocese of Lincoln said that he blessed homosexual couples with the consent of his bishop; one said: "On average, I tend to perform about four same-sex blessings a year. Sometimes it seems like I do more homosexual blessings than ordinary church weddings." Parish priests Lincoln and Southwark provided dates for ceremonies to take place in their own churches. Lambeth Conference of 1998 reaffirmed blessing gay couples, either in church or in private, is forbidden by Canon Law. Telegraph did not name the priests. London: John Saxbee, the Bishop of Lincoln is 1st Anglican bishop in England to give formal approval for same-sex commitment services; supports a vicar in his diocese who offers the service; Saxbee says ok as long as they are made to look like marriages, which they're not. "They're about saying prayers in support of a couple who love each other." UK: High Court approves naming of same-sex partners as "nearest relatives" when people are treated for mental health problems. Case a woman with paranoid schizophrenia and depression against the Department of Health and her local health authority after being told her partner could not act as her nearest relative. UK: Lords coalition led by Baroness O'Cathain but including peers from all parties defeats 196-162 the bill that would have allowed gay and lesbian couples to adopt; bill now returns to the Commons and could be bounced back and forth between the elected and appointed houses of parliament until a compromise is reached; spokesperson for Tony Blair says the legislation will not be allowed to die. Coalition says bill would "undermine marriage and risk moving children from institutional care into unstable relationships." Before the vote, Christian Institute urges people to carry wallet cards saying that if anything happens to them they do not want their children to be given to gays; CI says recent poll shows nearly 66% of parents in Blair's own riding would make a legal declaration to stop their children being adopted by a gay male couple. British Association for Adoption and Fostering survey finds only 36% nationally oppose same-sex couples adopting. At present, only married couples or single people can adopt; cohabiting people cannot adopt as a couple. 82

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Oct 2002 UK: Conservative party hardliners reject motion for free vote on gay adoption when it comes back to the commons, which will prevent the government from overriding the Lords. UK: parliamentary select committee points out that banning gay couples from adopting children would contravene European human rights legislation on marital status and is fundamentally wrong; committee includes three Conservatives;"The risk that adoptive parents will abuse children sexually is no less present when a heterosexual couple adopt a child of either sex than when a bisexual couple adopt a child, or a same-sex homosexual couple adopt a child of the same sex." Brighton and Hove opens domestic registry; several LG couples already have put their names down; two weeks after London launched its register last year, Brighton and Hove City Council announced intention to set one up, but encountered legal problems and had to take on a specialist company Civil Ceremonies to run the registry. In July, city councillors gave the go ahead for the register. Bath offers commitment ceremony but no domestic registry for straight & gay couples offering commitment ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples continues to grow; Bath city registrar Judy Stone:"There have been quite a few responses which we're really pleased about. The services are not exclusively for single-sex couples but so far our only interest has been from them." Couples can choose readings, vows, and a statement of free will from a book put together especially for the occasions, and get a certificate. UK: Bradford's superintendent registrar Dorothy Jenkins announces gay couples will soon be able to book commitment services in register offices across the Bradford district, the first in West Yorkshire. Authority sets its own fees because the services not mandatory, credit cards now accepted Bournemouth: at Tory conference, John Bercow, Tory critic for work and pensions says there are powerful intellectual and ethical arguments for the civil registration of same-sex partnerships,. But he does not endorse gay marriage. "Gay marriage, as a term, emotionalizes the whole issue." Former chancellor Kenneth Clarke says he is "naturally onside" with a more gay-inclusive agenda but will vote to keep 28 and opposes gay marriage. UK: Derby now provides 15-35 min same-sex civil ceremony at registry office, patterned after the Ken Livingstone model, not recognized in law, providing no extra rights for people who undertake them, but could be used in civil court to challenge a will. NY: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute issues report, The 2000 Census and Same-Sex Households: A User's Guide: same-sex couples reported in more than 99% of all US counties (only 22 counties without at least one same-sex household; 25%+ of the reported 600,000 same-sex households live in five major metropolitan areas; several smaller cities have the highest densities of same-sex households; New York City has the highest number at 8.9%, then Los Angeles at 6.6%, then San Francisco 4.9 %, Washington, DC 3.3%, Chicago with 3.1%. With regard to concentration of same-sex households as a proportion of all households in a metropolitan area, San Francisco tops, then Santa Fe NM, Portland ME, and Burlington VT, Seattle WA, Miami FL, and Austin TX. Authors Judith Bradford, Kirsten Barrett, and Julie A. Honnold, co-published by The Survey Evaluation and Research Laboratory at Virginia Commonwealth 83

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II University, and The Fenway Institute in Boston. Download in PDF from http://www.ngltf.org/pi/census.htm Most states reported number of same-sex households doubled or tripled from 1990 to 2000. Many rural states showed remarkable increases in the numbers of same-sex couples self-reporting. Wyoming had the largest proportional increase of same-sex couples reporting (from 30 in 1990 to 800+ in 2000), then South Dakota with a 1,657 % increase, Idaho with a 952 % increase, West Virginia with an 850 % increase, and Delaware with a 781 % increase. Oct 2002 US, NYC: gay marketing company Witeck-Combs Communications releases results of survey showing 2 million gay and lesbian couples have children, by 2004 there will be 3.4 million children in gay homes. A recent survey found nearly half of childless gays and lesbians express strong interest in having children. Gay and lesbian parents are expected to spend over $22 billion on kiddie stuff in 2002. US: two liberal bishops go ahead with plans to introduce the Church's first officially sanctioned blessings of homosexual relationships: Bishop of Kansas, Rt Rev William Smalley, says his decision is backed by his diocese; Bishop of Delaware, Rt Rev Wayne Wright, also going ahead California: Family Pride Coalition second annual gathering for gay men and their families in Palm Springs, called Dads & Kids in the Desert: pool parties, a family dinner, water park activities, baseball, and other family activities. San Diego CA; at annual meeting Congress of Delegates (governing body) of American Academy of Family Physicians approves call from doctors to "establish policy and be supportive of legislation which promotes a safe and nurturing environment, including psychological and legal security, for all children, including those of adoptive parents, regardless of the parents' sexual orientation"; AAFP represents over 93,500 physicians and medical students; new policy defines family as "a group of individuals with a continuing legal, genetic, and/or emotional relationship. Society relies on the family group to provide for the economic and protective needs of individuals, especially the children and the elderly"; motion is similar to that endorsed by a committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics earlier this year. Family Research Council, a rightwing Christian lobbying group, mounts major campaign to oppose this abandoning children, discounting 49 studies of gay and lesbian parenting that showed children suffer no ill effects from growing up in gay homes, and often fare better than children in homes with heterosexual parents; FRC said all of the studies were flawed. Jewish Bulletin of Northern California will print gay unions alongside straight ones; since Sept 1994, JBNC has printed announcements of a commitment ceremonies but refused to call them weddings Lexington, Kentucky: at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Christ the King, Father Paul Prabell blesses Thomas Dysarz and his partner Michael Meehan, and then baptized their quads Michael, Jacob, Tristan, and Taylor (born July). In the blessing, Prabell avoided any mention of the words couple or partner. Montana Human Rights Commission dismisses partnership benefits discrimination claim by U of Montana asst prof Carla Grayson and partner Adrianne Neff and Carol Snetsinger (div biological sciences) and partner Nancy Siegel; couples will now go to District Court (see feb, aug 2002) Heterosexual 84

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II couples who are not officially married but file an affidavit of common-law marriage can qualify for benefits, but of course gay marriages are not recognized in Montana. Oct 2002 Nevada: religious leaders from at least 10 different denominations join members of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (statewide coalition of 45 organizations including labor unions, environmental groups, gay and lesbian groups and civil rights organizations) and speak out against anti-gay-marriage measure as bigoted and discriminatory; Rev. Phil Hausknecht, president of the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Nevada: "The measure is an abomination. It would be a racist decision to vote for it ... Voting for question 2 would be a meaningless moral decision to discriminate against gay people." Nevada: Washington-based Mason-Dixon Polling and Research for the Las Vegas Review-Journal poll results show 60% of voters will support a constitutional ban on gay marriage, 36% oppose the ban, 4% dk; issue will be on the ballot November 5, but 96% say they have already made up their minds. New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey supports bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg to give straight and gay unmarried couples the same legal benefits as married couples, only requiring them to sign a certificate saying they are in a committed relationship; would guarantee benefits including medical decisions, inheritance, pensions, life and health insurance; would make NJ third state after Vermont and California to grant spousal rights to same-sex partners. NJ gay marriage suit filed in state Superior Court in Hudson County on behalf of seven same-sex couples is expected to end up before the state Supreme Court; McGreevey says a court decision granting legal recognition to same-sex marriages would not be a good thing for New Jersey. Presbyterians nail their demands for gay ordination and gay marriage to the door of South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry, NY; demands are then removed and used as a Communion table for a worship service for 100s. Service sponsored by progressive groups from three of the most liberal regions of US Presbyterian Church: NY's Hudson Valley, NYC, and New England. The church in Dobbs Ferry has been actively dissenting for years from the teaching of the 2.6-million-member Presbyterian Church (USA). Its pastors' openness about conducting same-sex union ceremonies led to a national Presbyterian church trial, which ended with the denomination's highest court concluding in 2000 that such ceremonies are acceptable if different from traditional marriages. Now South Presbyterian Church says it wont distinguish, says also it will ignore a prohibition against ordaining sexually active gays and lesbians. New York State Crime Victims Board will recognize domestic partners of all homicide victims in the state, making them eligible for spousal benefits; this extends Governor George Patakians Executive Order (after 9-11); domestic partners of homicide victims are eligible to receive up to $600 per week to a total of $30,000. NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project sued in the early 90s to have the policy changed, but a court ruled that it had no authority to order the CVB to amend its rules. New policy makes permanent a uniform set of standards for all New Yorkers. Ashland, Oregon: 3 years after establishing registry for same-sex couples (first in Oregon), 39 pairs have declared long-lasting bonds that can pave the way for work and medical benefits; in 2002 so far, only four couples have signed up for the registry. 85

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Oct 2002 Statistics Canada's 2001 census figures released: 11 million households surveyed; 34,200 same-sex common-law couples counted (19,000 male couples 55% of gay total), 3% of all common-law couples, 0.5% of all couples in the country); gay couples found in all provinces and territories (12,500 couples in Ontario, 15 couples in Nunavut); 15% of the 15,200 female couples, 3% of male couples live with children; 81% live in Canada's 27 major metropolitan areas (tops: Vancouver 1.98%, Montreal 1.47%, Victoria 1.26%, Calgary came 5th. Of the 34,200 same-sex couples in Canada: 45% are female couples (15% of which have children) 55% are male couples (3% of which have children) Reported same-sex, common-law couples in Canada and by province: Canada Ontario Quebec British Columbia Alberta Manitoba Nova Scotia New Brunswick Saskatchewan Newfoundland Yukon 865 855 505 475 180 35 12,505 10,360 5,790 2,525 34,200

Prince Edward Island 55 Northwest Territories 30 Nunavut 15 In BC (#1), 5% of commonlaw relationships are same-sex (Vancouver, 15% of common-law couples same-sex); Ontario 4.2%; Nova Scotia reports 855 same-sex common-law couples; Newfoundland and Labrador come last. Ottawa ties with Vancouver with the highest percentage of declared gay and lesbian couples. In Ottawa-Gatineau, 2,170 couples reported More reported than the first time the question was asked in the US (1990: 0.3%) or New Zealand (1996: 0.4%). In the US, same-sex couple reporting went up 300% from 1st asking in 1990 to 2nd in 2000 (1% of couples). Quebec above the national average, with 10,360 homosexual couples; 61% male, i.e. 0.6 % of all couples (Montreal statistics almost identical to Quebecs). Married heterosexual families with kids represented 26 % of the population; married couples without kids represented 27 % of the population; single-parent families represented 23 % of the population; and homosexual families represented 1.47 % of the population (i.e. officially 3,735 couples). Altog, common-law partnerships 14% (more than double the 1981 number); Quebec has more common-law families than other provinces (33% of all couple 86

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II families); 29% of kids in Quebec live with common-law parents (nationally under 14%). Total number of households 11.5 million, up nearly 7% from 1996. Altog: families of four or more people are only 25% of all households (down from 33% in 1981). Now one-person households are also at 25%; 35% of women and 16% of men over the age of 65 live alone; 40% adults in theirs 20s are living with their parents; 64% children live with married parents, 18.8% with a single parent, 12.8% with common-law parents. Oct 2002 Oct 2002 Ottawa: Children's Aid Society, which has been accepting same-sex couples as foster parents for several years, now says it welcomes them. Ottawa: weekend meeting of the governing body of Anglican diocese orders executive committee to prepare report on blessing same-sex unions for the next annual synod; fall synod has conniptions and defers vote to fall 2003; many of the 300 lay people and clergy attending said they wanted more time to think about it. Toronto: Canadian Anglican bishops add blessing same-sex unions to agenda for House of Bishops but agree only to refer the matter to a 2004 meeting of their national governing body. "Until the time of resolution all bishops are asked to uphold the 1997 Guidelines of the House of Bishops on Human Sexuality." viz no blessings India: Police in India send two lesbians back to their families to protect them from public protests after they are discovered masquerading as a brother and sister; Manisha and Tarana, both in their early 20s, fled their homes in New Delhi and set up house together in Ambala; Manisha posed as a Mr Jeet, while Tarana posed as his sister; both got jobs in a leather garment exporting firm in the city. The firm asked police to investigate after their fellow workers became suspicious of Mr Jeet's feminine voice and the fact that he never used the urinal. Residents of the locality then protested against their illegitimate relationship. Colombia: Former President Julio Ce ' sar Turbay Ayala leading opposition to draft bill to recognize and protect same-sex marriage, says the sanctity of marriage and family and public health, culture and education are all at stake: "Gay sex facilitates and spreads STDs and especially AIDS. Senator Carlos Gaviria supports the draft bill: issue not one of opening marriage to gay couples, but rather recognizing a defacto situation. Philippine justice department (Justice secretary Hernando Perez) rules that a family visa cannot be granted to the same-sex spouse of a foreigner working in the country since the Philippine constitution and the family code do not recognize gay partnerships. The department earlier had revoked a non-immigrant visa given to the same-sex spouse of an American director of the Asian Development Bank, even though the women's partnership is recognized in the United States. Queensland State Parliament introduces legislation to amend anti-discrimination laws to protect LGB teachers; also to give gay couples in a de facto relationships the same legal rights as heterosexual couples. The laws were introduced by Attorney-General Rod Welford without community consultation, triggering Opposition claims the Government was trying to sneak in radical social reform. Mr Welford said the Government was simply bringing Queensland into line with anti-discrimination laws in other states. Premier Peter Beattie then waters down the proposed law after pressure from churches: non-government schools will be able to discriminate in favour of teachers who actively follow values integral to the religion espoused by the school; but the schools will still lose the right to 87

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II refuse employment to applicants solely because they are homosexuals or in a de facto relationship. Nov 2002 Queensland passes legislation giving gay and lesbians couples the same rights as heterosexual married partners, but drops provision to extend GLBT employment rights to cover gays teaching in church-run schools. Tasmania: at Liberal conference Liberal delegate and newly elected Meander Council alderman Michael Ferguson puts motion opposing gay couples adopting in any circumstance; Young Liberal president Mo Sultan argues gay couples should be allowed to adopt, if the child was the biological son or daughter of one of the partners; motion to allow gays to adopt was supported by about 60%of the delegates at the state Liberal conference. Last month, Attorney-General Judy Jackson said she would legislate by the middle of next year to allow gays to adopt children and to legally register their relationships. Lib leader Hidding says he will allow Liberals a conscience vote. Later, Deputy Premier Paul Lennon, Health Minister David Llewellyn and Cabinet Secretary Steve Kons commit to supporting the gay adoption bill. Switzerland: governing cabinet proposes law to give civil recognition (inheritance and social security equiv. to married status) to same-sex couples (no adoption rights); Zurich first canton to grant legal rights to gay couples (Sept) Spanish civil guard changes housing regulations to admit couples regardless of sexual orientation, after first request from a guardsman asking that his gay partner be allowed to live in his barracks; the unidentified guardsman from Palma de Mallorca has gone on sick leave for a nervous breakdown caused by the huge media attention. Gay rights organizations and the civil guard union had protested the old regulation, which they called discriminatory, and the low wages that force the civil guard to live in barracks. The guardsman and his partner are registered as a couple with the Balearic Islands government. The old rules governing barracks accommodations gave preference to spouses or families. With special authorization, a person who has "a stable emotional relationship analogous to marriage" with a guardsman could have been admitted. Denmark: two largest parties, Liberal Party and Social Democratic Party, say they are ready to discuss a Social Liberal Party proposal to let gay couples adopt; Liberal Party's Irene Simonsen: 'Were in a dilemma, because the only arguments against allowing homosexuals to adopt are emotional, and I can't stand up in Parliament and argue about emotions. Belgium: 46-15 (4 abst) senate approves legislation to recognize gay and lesbian marriage in the areas of inheritance and pensions but not permit adoption; bill must be approved by lower house. Frances Minister for the Family Christian Jacob tells Le Figaro he is opposed to gay adoptions. "Why should a child be adopted by a gay couple when children want more than anything not to be different from other children? but will not go back on previous adoptions by singles, whether straight or gay. "We are not impeding the family. Most gay adoptions are purely symbolic ... Every child needs a father and mother ... Gays just want to further their cause". UK: Commons pass The Children and Adoption Bill with amendment to allow gay and unmarried couples to adopt jointly with a majority of 199; in May the majority was 155 seats; Leader of the Opposition leader Iain Duncan Smith imposed a three-line whip on his MPs (which caused the resignation of shadow 88

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II cabinet minister John Bercow, saying it is an issue of conscience), but then sent MPs a private message saying the could defy the whip (8 MPs openly defied the whip and voted for the amendment; 35 (including six shadow cabinet ministers) chose to stay away and abstain). Lords then pass the bill 215-184; bill then receives royal assent; will not be fully implemented until 2004, although some parts expected to come into force next year. Nov 2002 UK: Telegraph reports Barbara Roche, the minister responsible for equality issues, has completed review of gay-couple recognition and concluded there should be a civil register bringing most of the rights of marriage; Roche is expected to announce a public consultation; is scheduled to speak at the Equal Before the Law: Partnership Rights conference sponsored by the city of London. UK: Mori September opinion poll finds 44% think gay and lesbian couples in stable, long term relationships should be allowed to adopt; 36% opposed, 20% dk. UK: gays and lesbians get tenancy rights when partners die; case of Antonio Mendoza who rented a Kensington flat in 1983 with Hugh Walwyn-Jones, who died; landlord Ahmad Ghaidan ordered Mendoza to leave since his name was not on the lease (London apts are under rent control until they fall, when landlords can charge current market value); three Court of Appeal judges rule if one partner is on the lease and dies, the surviving partner cannot be put out of the home, but although Ghaidan cannot throw Mendoza out, he can charge current rates for the unit. C of E report Hope for the Church shows: 1990 to 2000, church marriages fell 46%, baptisms 24%; adult church attendance fell 14%; attendance by children under 16 fell 28%. UK: In BBC2 doco An Archbishop Like This, new ABC Rowan Williams stops short of calling for gay marriage, but says"I can see a case for acknowledging faithful same-sex relationships." American Law Institute issues report calling for new rights for people in domestic partnerships. Including alimony for same-sex partners, also says "Homosexual conduct, like heterosexual extramarital conduct, should be disregarded unless shown to be harmful to an individual child."; judges should not be swayed by stereotypes or "prejudicial attitudes." Washington, DC: board of CBRL Group, parent company of Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores and Logan's Roadhouse restaurants, vote unanimously to add sexual orientation to the company's written non-discrimination policy (10th time resolution considered); Cracker Barrel instituted policy 1991 of terminating employees "whose sexual preferences fail to demonstrate normal heterosexual values which have been the foundation of families in our society," since when 11+ workers fired. US: Lockheed Martin, the biggest defense contractor in the US, reverses longstanding policy, emails all 125,000 employees it will give gay and lesbian workers civil rights protections (now) and their partners will receive health benefits (early next year). Decision made by company's executive council, spokes Meghan Mariman says because Lockheed worried it would lose valuable employees to competitors (Honeywell Intl, Boeing, Raytheon, IBM, Microsoft) wh have policies and benefits The gfn.com 50 is a comprehensive list of the most powerful and gay-friendly 89

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II publicly traded companies, compiled using the Fortune 500 and the gfn.com 500 as a starting ground, using also economic reports, analyst findings and corporate policies on LGB and HIV policies. 1.American Express; 2.Walt Disney; 3.Microsoft; 4.Lucent Technologies; IBM; 7.Hewlett-Packard; 8.Apple Computer; 9.AMR Corp.; 10.Citigroup Inc.; 11.Gap Inc. And so on. California: legislation to prohibit the state from doing business with companies that deny spousal benefits to same-sex employees is been reintroduced in the state Assembly; bill sponsored by Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Christine Kehoe; a version of the bill was introduced in 2002 and passed two committees and the Senate floor, but the 2002 session ended before it could be heard before the Assembly. Connecticut: Lawyers for a man already dead for a week say they want to press ahead with a suit to dissolve his partnership union; in 2000 Rosengarten, then 54, entered into a civil union in Vermont with his partner of 15 years Peter Downes of New York City; later Rosengarten filed a petition with the courts in Connecticut to have the union dissolved, but court ruled that it had no jurisdiction over civil union matters because Connecticut does not recognize same-sex marriages; Rosengarten then appealed to the state Supreme Court. Connecticut legislatures Judiciary Committee meets to hear staff report on the implications of either civil union or marriage legislation (they are required to study same-sex marriages etc. under legislation passed last session); they must report to the full General Assembly before Jan. 1. Connecticut: Hartford Archbishop Daniel A. Cronin has instructs priests to read a letter from the pulpit calling on all "good Catholics to oppose any efforts to give legal recognition to same-sex unions"; Knights of Columbus will collect names as people enter churches across the state for Sunday mass. Newark Del: family court commissioner John Carrow orders lesbian, who works at an automobile assembly plant, to pay child support payments ($501 a month, plus $41 a month to cover retroactive obligations) for her exs 5-year-old son; earlier this year, Carrow set a state precedent by ruling that the boy has two mothers, biological mother Karen Chambers (pregnant via IV) and Carol who was awarded permanent visitation rights two years ago; Karen has been unemployed for several years and receives stress-related disability payments. Atlanta, Georgia: Georgia Tech gives benefits to domestic partners of gay and lesbian employees (a limited benefits program - dental insurance and accidental death and dismemberment insurance); employees and partners must sign "Declaration of Domestic Partnership" that they reside together, are not married or related by blood, are 18 or over, also submit docs such as evidence of a joint checking account. Massachusetts: seven same-sex couples in who are seeking the right to marry in case Goodridge vs. the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which could be heard by the state supreme court as early as January; 67 major organizations in Massachusetts (ACLU, medical and legal groups), 88 profs from prestigious law schools around the country, have filed amicus briefs in support of the couples. Missoula, Montana: as U Montana regents begin two days of meetings, 100+ demonstrate for health benefits to the partners of gay and lesbian employees; regents first declined in 2000; suit by 2 faculty still pending in state District Court in Helena; discrimination claim with the state Human Rights Commission 90

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II dismissed last month. Nov 2002 Montana: Judge Thomas Honzel rules U of Montana within its rights to refuse health insurance benefits to same-sex partners of employees (unmarried heterosexual couples can file an affidavit of common law marriage to qualify); judge says marital status a "reasonable and objective standard" for determining who qualifies for employment benefits. Case of Carol Snetsinger (partner Nancy Siegel) and Carla Grayson (partner Adrienne Neff). NY: gay subway motorman James Reilly, 57, of Queens, sues Transit Authority and union for illegal discrimination based on sexual orientation to get same-sex partner health benefits TA last year denied his application for benefits for his ailing partner, George Brennan, 50, who he's lived with for more than 20 years. Brennan had been eligible for benefits when Reilly worked for the City Council and the public advocate's office, because the city's human rights law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. TA lawyer Aaron Schindel says city law does not apply because the TA is part of a state agency, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and state law does not specifically address sexual orientation, also 70% of domestic partners are heterosexual and dont get coverage. Union says it can't change the health plan but may ask for coverage for domestic partners in upcoming negotiations. New York Times includes same-sex commitment ceremonies in its Sunday Styles section with the others. NY: Westchester County opens domestic-partner registry for residents and people who work for the county; it recognizes same-sex couples for municipal services, guarantees hospital visiting rights, but no emolument partnership benefits; Board of Legislators voted 12-5 in Sept to create the registry. Oregon: Eugene provides domestic partnership registry for gay and lesbian couples as part of a series of revisions to Eugene's civil rights law; its symbolic, has no legal authority, makes Eugene the third city in the state (Portland, Ashland) to offer the service. Virginia: Virginia Tech. invites Karen DePauw, then in the same position at Washington State U to be new dean for its graduate school, offering to find a job for her partner, Shelli Fowler, who at the time was an English professor at Washington State. There was a perfect fit: Tech's English Department was in need of an African-American literature scholar, Fowlers partner's field. The school offer; DePauw and Fowler accept. Tech's Board of Visitors meet to approve new faculty hires and reject Fowler, approving another new faculty member's partner, along with 10 others. Fancy! Seattle WA: Superior Court Judge Heather Van Nuys rules in case of nurse Linda Gormley suing ex Dr. Julia Robertson for a share of home and assets; together for ten years; they split up; judge says relationship an "intimate domestic partnership" and "sufficiently marriage-like to provide equitable relief, " gives both parties the same property rights given to a husband and wife in a divorce. Opinion based on a May ruling by the state Supreme Court in Vasquez v. Hawthorne (30-year same-sex relationship enough like a marriage to get man a share of his deceased partner's estate). Canada: Justice Minister Martin Cauchon releases a document exploring the possibility of federal civil unions for same-sex couples; Cauchon will submit four options for gay marriage: 1) modifying the definition of marriage to include 91

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II same-sex couples; 2) maintaining the status quo; 3) eliminating the role of the federal government in marriage, transferring the responsibilities to religious authorities; 4) creating federal civil unions for gays only. Doc makes no recs. Cauchon thought to lean toward the civil union option. Currently, same-sex couples in Quebec and Nova Scotia only can enter into a union and be recognized in their province. Several Liberals MPs say there is far more important business to attend to than the issue of whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. Cauchon says legislation on whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry could be considered by Parliament as early as the spring Nov 2002 Ontario Court of Appeal agrees to hear the federal government's case against the July Ontario Divisional Court ruling that denying same-sex marriage is unconstitutional (case of 8 couples). Canadian branch of a Colorado-based Focus on the Family launches national campaign to stop the legalization of gay unions, calling it "unnecessary and redundant" since parliament had voted three times recently for a straight only definition of marriage. Canada: deal reached with federal government, court agrees in principal to the arrangement, but Ontario Superior Court Justice Maurice Cullity adjourned nationwide class-action lawsuit seeking $400 million from the Canada Pension Plan for outstanding same-sex survivor benefits (partner died before 1998) until Dec. 6, so lawyers can iron out the formal detail of the 2,000 British Columbians joining the 8000 already in the suit (aim: to deal with everyone now, thereby speeding up the whole thing). Quebec, the only province not represented in the lawsuit, operates a separate pension plan. Lead plaintiff George Hislop After telling court he "could see no problem with the motion to certify the action as a class proceeding," Cullity confirmed the suit was expected to be heard in June 2003 and last four weeks. Vancouver: New Westminster Bishop Michael Ingham announces blessing of same-sex unions by Anglican churches in Vancouver put on hold indefinitely; 8 dissident parishes have refused to pay the diocese almost $30,000 a month in assessments; bishops meeting in Toronto last month, while calling for a moratorium on the blessings by other dioceses, did not order New Westminster to abandon plans to begin offering the ceremonies this fall; 3 Greater Vancouver parishes have asked Ingham to proceed; Ingham says he will delay final approval in order to have a dialogue with the dissident priests. Alberta Justice Minister David Hancock says the govt will bring in legislation to recognize gay and lesbian relationships but will oppose any move by the federal government to legalize gay marriage. Alberta then passes The Adult Interdependent Relationships Act which covers gay and lesbian couples under common-law, removes word 'spouse' from dozens of laws but not specifically mentioning gays and lesbians; ref to any two people who live together "in a dependant situation", will also include heterosexuals and people in committed non-sexual relationships such as close friends or relatives who live together, will cover inheritance, will allow same-sex partners of government employees to share employment and pension benefits. The opposition NDP they will vote with the government. Alberta Human Rights Tribunal rules province discriminating by forcing same-sex couples to pay individual health-care premiums; challenge of 13 gays and lesbians; province ordered the province to treat gay and lesbian couples in the 92

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II same fashion as heterosexual couples. Dec 2002 New Delhi: in Indias first gay civil union ceremony (conducted by a senior consular official from the French government) fashion designer Wendel Rodricks and partner Jerome (French citizen) exchange vows in Goa; couple signed an official French partnership register flown in for the occasion; gay unions not legally recognized in India; gay sex punishable by imprisonment. Israel: seven-justice panel of the High Court of Justice unanimously rules single women may not use the services of a surrogate to bring children into the world but calls on legislators to address the distress of single women who have no other way of giving birth and find a way to make this possible. Case of a single woman in 40s, was ill, had hysterectomy, saved ova for extra-uterine fertilization, was rejected by the authorities when she asked for a surrogate; petition submitted by New Family (Mishpaha Hadasha). Law on surrogacy allows couples to use surrogate only when the father's sperm is used; surrogacy committee decision prevents the establishment of single-parent families using surrogacy, despite the fact that the state has recognized such families for a long time. Australia: ACT chief minister Jon Stanhope introduces the Legislation (Gay, Lesbian And Transgender) Amendment Bill to remove discriminatory language taken from 37 pieces of ACT law; similar to the missing pieces bill passed in NSW and Western Australia earlier this year, but omitting adoption rights and legal recognition of same-sex relationships; Stanhope promises consultation with community members and organizations. Buenos Aires extends some civil rights (same health insurance and pension rights as married spouses) to same-sex couples; first Latin American city to do so; the new law recognizes the civil union of same-sex couples but does not term the union a marriage. Sweden: Court of Appeal for western Sweden upholds a January lower court ruling, finding Igor Lehnberg the legal father of children born after he donated sperm to a lesbian couple in 1991 and later signed a document saying he was the biological father of three children raised by the couple; Anna Bjurling splits with partner, asks IL for child support; IL decides doc is not legally valid, signed only so the children would know their origin, not to accept any responsibility for them. Swedish law grants same-sex couples the right to adopt children but not to undergo artificial insemination,, so that was illegal too. Sweden: GLBT rights group RFSL announces plans to open adoption agency, says despite new legislation allowing gays and lesbians to adopt, most agencies will not accept them; gay adoption in Sweden becomes legal in February 2003. Scotland: Glasgow couple Gavin Cabrey and Steven Anderson, both 22, say they were physically thrown out of a rural train station by two ScotRail workers after kissing in the waiting room at Paisley Gilmour Street station; one employee said that kind of behavior was not tolerated in Paisley; incident captured on security cameras; ScotRail apologizes to the couple and sends them 20 rail travel voucher as compensation; Cabrey and Anderson want the workers to be disciplined; ScotRail says it will investigate. London: since Partnerships Register introduced in Sept 2001 over 350 gay, lesbian or unmarried heterosexual couples have signed; mayor Ken Livingstone says more initiatives needed to stress "same sex relationships should be treated on an equal par to heterosexual relationships'' and that all unmarried couples are 93

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II entitled to equal civil rights. Dec 2002 Manchester: Registry Office which allows gay lovers to sign a Partnership Register in ceremony, recognized by Manchester City Council but with no legal weight anywhere else, 22 gay couple married since April, now faces first gay divorce; two men given a three-month cooling-off period before their names are removed from the list. Partnership Registers available in London for longer but Manchester the first city to offer official wedding-style ceremonies, which can involve the exchange of vows and rings. US: American Psychiatric Association (APA) on Friday endorses the right of gay and lesbian couples to adopt; follows 2000 APA supporting for same-sex couples to have their unions legally recognized by the state. APA: "research over the past 30 years has consistently demonstrated that children raised by gay or lesbian parents exhibit the same level of emotional, cognitive, social and sexual functioning as children raised by heterosexual parents." Alaska Supreme Court hears case of 9 state and City of Anchorage employees suing for benefits for their same-sex partners; Alaska bans same-sex marriages; state says policy is aimed at encouraging marriage because that benefits society as a whole. U of Colorado plan to extend health coverage to the same-sex partners of employees approved by regents summer 2002 results in a two class system: support staff (considered state employees) will not be able to receive subsidies toward their premiums like faculty and administrators (univ. employees); projected monthly premium for support staff for one and partner will increase from $289 to $400 for medical and dental coverage. University officials will lobby legislature to fix. Washington, DC: 159-year-old, 600-congregation National City Christian Church, part of Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) board of elders unanimously decides to offer gay commitment ceremonies; decided to "include gay persons in the life of the church" about two years ago; 2 other DC churches offer commitment ceremonies: MCC Northwest Washington, Foundry Methodist Church downtown. Florida: Brigitte Boisselier, the CEO of Clonaid announces birth of the first cloned baby, says second cloned child will be born this month to a lesbian couple in an undisclosed location in northern Europe. 1st baby, named Eve, mother a 31-year-old American citizen; Eve created from DNA from the mother's skin cells and is a twin of her mother. Boisselier offered no proof of her claim, no photographs of baby. Boisselier and Clonaid are connected with Raelians who believe humans were created by extraterrestrials. Illinois: students at Crete-Monee High School voted two girls who have been a couple throughout highschool "cutest couple"; administration says it will withhold the girls' photo from the yearbook; 60 students walked out in protest; several are suspended for two days; with pressure from district school board and approval of girls' parents, picture goes in. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court refuses to provide ruling for Acting Governor Jane Swift on the legality of a procedural maneuver used by Senate President Thomas F. Birmingham to block the question of gay marriage, says Birmingham's not the final action on the matter; should she now recall legislators to a special session to consider a ballot question to ban gay marriage? If no action 94

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II taken by the Legislature to consider the question before the end of this year, the ballot initiative will die. Dec 2002 Massachusetts: bid to amend state constitution to ban gay marriage fails as Gov Jane Swift avoids showdown with senators by not recalling the upper chamber in time for last day of this years session, deadline for possible approval for Nov 2004 ballot. Massachusetts: state's highest court upholds ruling dismissing a lawsuit against outgoing Senate President Thomas Birmingham over a proposed constitutional amendment to outlaw gay marriage in Massachusetts; Massachusetts Citizens for Marriage sued Birmingham as a private citizen, claiming he acted unlawfully in failing to bring the amendment to a vote; single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court dismissed the lawsuit Oct; now full SJC upholds decision, ruling that as a private citizen, Birmingham had no official duties. Pennsylvania Superior Court 3-0 affirms trial court ruling ordering Helen Naumoff child to pay Lise Kove support for the 5 children they had in the relationship mid-80s-1997 (Kove bore and stayed at home with kids, N returned to work in a civilian job for the Navy, N sought and was awarded partial physical custody and joint legal custody); Kove sued for child support in 1998. Naumoff argued that she had no duty to pay child support because she was not a biological or adoptive parent; trial court rejected that; Superior Court says Naumoff could not argue that she had acted as a parent in order to seek custody, but then argue that she was not a parent in order to avoid paying child support. Nashville: YMCA of Middle Tennessee demands proof that people seeking family memberships are in heterosexual marriages after it found membership ''inconsistencies.'' Spokesman Phil Newman: ''The definition of the family is rooted in the YMCA's historical mission, our community's traditional definition of a family and the state's definition of a family.'' Excludes commonlaw straights also. Texas: in the 2003 session of legislature, Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, files bill specifically outlawing recognitions of same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions (already cannot be conducted in Texas); House Bill 194, from Rep. Robert Talton, R-Pasadena, requires Protective and Regulatory Service, which approves foster parents, ask applicants if they are homosexual; if yes, disqualified; if no, "reasonable investigation" conducted to ensure they are, indeed, heterosexual. Free Market Foundation staff attorney for Hiram Sasser: "Homosexual sodomy is against the law [in Texas] ... You wouldn't want to put children in homes where [the parents] break the law, would you?" Canada: Nov telephone survey of 1,400 adult Canadians conducted for CanWest Global Communications and Maclean's magazine by The Strategic Council, a Toronto-based polling firm: 75% say they had sex before marriage; nearly 50% support legally recognizing gay marriage and allowing gay couples to adopt. Vancouver: Bishop Michael Ingham will authorize a special rite early 2003; Rev Neil Gray at St Paul's will hold Anglicanism's first officially sanctioned blessing of a same-sex marriage, complete with rings and confetti. Clergy of St Paul's refer to God as "She"; parish host s gay line dancing evenings. Alberta human rights tribunal rules province discriminated against same-sex couples by forcing them to pay individual health-care premiums, orders province to stop denying family coverage to gays and lesbians, effective immediately. Law 95

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II challenged by 13 incl. Keith Purdy. Health Minister Gary Mar said he supports the tribunal's decision, province will not appeal. Dec 2002 PEI Attorney General Jeff Lantz introduces amendments to the Family Law Act to expand the rights of common law partners in such areas as child custody, property division and spousal support, also changes the definition of a common law relationship from a "man and a woman co-habitating outside of marriage" to "two persons co-habitating outside of marriage" for a period of not less than three years (requirements dropped if the couple are the natural or adoptive parents of a child). Lantz says the law essentially gives common law partners the same rights as married couples in the event of a break-up. First PEI legislation to recognize gay relationships; about 40 laws will actually have to be changed before the process is completed. New Zealand: gay Australian man who donated sperm to lesbian couple loses legal attempt to be involved in the child's life, despite a written contract he had with the women giving him access to the baby boy (now in Auckland) for at least two weeks a year; NZ family court rule Guardianship Act of 1968 says biological father has no rights when a child is conceived artificially; on appeal, Justices Paul Heath and John Priestly in the High Court uphold the lower court decision but say new legislation needed urgently to cover the rights of fathers and children in cases involving artificial insemination, appreciating adults who use AI could reach their own agreements with sperm donors over responsibilities for the child; this agreement said man to be named as the biological father on a birth certificate, the child's name was to be decided by the mother in consultation with the father, the child should have a hyphenated surname of both biological parents for formal use, that the father and his partner have access for not less than 14 days a year, and that the child was to live where the mother decided, father was under no daily financial obligation for the child but that he would set up a trust account which the child could access at the age of 18. And it said that the father would pay a third of the day-care costs incurred when the mother was working. Manila, Phil: 4th World Meeting of Catholic Families (6,000 attend); gays excluded; you have to be a spouse to get in; international women's group Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN) calls on the Catholic Church to recognize same-sex couples, says the Church cannot deny present circumstances in society have led to the emergence of other forms of family outside the traditional makeup; Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin says same-sex relationships can never fall within the concept of family under Church teaching. Rome: Pope John Paul II warns against "inauthentic" versions of the family, "a union between a man and woman is the only true one in God's eyes," comments made to coincide with the ending of the Church's world conference on families held in the Philippines and carried to the closing session of the Manila conference via satellite. Colombia: gay prison inmates now able to visit to have conjugal visits from their partners. European Parliament 277-269 (14 abst) approves report asking the 15 member states to give live-in couples, including homosexuals, the same legal rights that marriages enjoy though rejecting an article urging member states "to permit marriage between persons of the same sex." Vote not binding on the member states, but constitutes a legal point of reference for them. 96

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Jan 2003 EU: Civil Liberties committee in European Parliament votes to amend proposed legislation updating EU free movement rights so as to enshrine in EU law a definition of family broader than traditional marriage; drafting by Baroness Sarah Ludford, London MEP, agreed through the Gay & Lesbian Intergroup and sponsored by a cross-party coalition of Liberal Democrats, Socialists, Greens, United Left and Radicals; it would mean EG a British citizen moving to the Netherlands would have the right to take with them their foreign spouse, registered or unmarried partner of the same or opposite sex. Needs to be confirmed by the full Parliament in February, then negotiated with EU governments in the Council of Ministers. The EP has co-decision powers with the Council on this matter. Belgium Chamber of Deputies votes 91-22, Belgium joins Holland in giving gays and lesbians the right to marry (but no couple adoption), i.e. abolishes laws preventing gay marriage; at least one partner must be a Belgian citizen. New York City the only area outside of Belgium and Holland that will recognize a gay marriage from another jurisdiction. Vatican about to publish "Lexicon of the Family and Life," glossary of 90 words related to sexual and family issues (19 months in the making, 1,000 pages long, with input from 50 anthropologists, sociologists, physicians, psychologists and non-Catholics), to prevent cultural manipulation of the family; will also clarify the Catholic Church's teachings on birth control, sex education, assisted procreation, homosexuality, and "neologisms, ambiguous terms and difficult concepts in frequent use" including "voluntary interruption of pregnancy," "reproductive health," "matrimonial indissolubility," "sexual education," and "conjugal love," which, when bandied about in a global forum, can cause "grave moral confusion." William Donohue, president of the NY-based Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights says "The Orwellian use of language by the left for their own agendas has been going on for decades," certain "elastic" terms are used, specifically "gender" and "reproductive rights." which are simply code for feminist or homosexual issues and abortion. Cardinal Trujillo confirms the family has been threatened by "cultural manipulation": "Gender" no longer indicates a person's sex, "but in international debate is used to indicate radical ideological feminism," the cardinal said. Germany: Mayor Walter Lehner of Bad Alexandersbad in Bavaria refuses to meet gay Blind Date couple Markus Stork, 31, from Bielefeld and his date Patrick Schaefer, 25, from Wiesbaden, despite having agreed to act as host to a Herzblatt couple nine months before the show was made; mayor says he has nothing against gays but worries his spa town would become associated with gay couples, adds when he had agreed to receive the winners from the hit show he had been under the impression it would be a "normal couple." Gay version of Herzblatt produced by the conservative Bayerischer Rundfunk. Vatican sends directive to Catholic US politicians to oppose abortion and gay marriage; Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry says he will ignore a it, says to "represent all the people" he can't be bound by church doctrine. Clonaid says second (see Dec 2002) cloned baby born to a Dutch lesbian couple not resident in Holland; neither confirmed to be a clone by genetic testing California: Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act of 2003, bill AB 205 by Assemblymember Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles), introduced in legislature, sponsored by California Alliance for Pride and Equality (CAPE), to 97

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II grant registered domestic partners nearly all the rights, benefits, and obligations available to spouses under state law; bill announced at a press conference by CAPE and the recently formed Legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Caucus incl. Goldberg, Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego), Assemblymember John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), and Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica). Jan 2003 California: Birgit Koebke, a 46 year old marketing executive at KFMB-TV, a full member at Bernardo Heights Country Club, San Diego, sues club for not recognizing her and partner Kendall French (not a member) as a family; married couples at the club get free green fees for either spouse, also children or grandchildren; Koebke is restricted to only six rounds a year for her partner, then French must pay the $70 green fee each play. Club charges same dues for single member and full families. Suit first filed May 2001, Summer 2002 court ruled the club had the right to define its membership because it was a private organization; appeal now filed. Club says no discrimination, but sends letter to members saying if the women won "the club would have to accept the extension of Club privileges to significant others whether it be male/female, female/female or male/male. The Board of Directors [favours marriage and] ... believes that BHCC supports that policy as a family-oriented organization." CA: following the lead of its flagship paper, The Orange County Register, Freedom Communications Inc. becomes the first national newspaper chain to enact a policy prescribing all its papers to print same-sex union announcements; 35 newspapers in 11 states, including The [Alton, Ill.] Telegraph, the Brownsville [Texas] Herald, and The [Panama City, Fla.] News Herald. Over 180 US papers now print same-sex union announcements. Colorado: Rep. Tom Plant introduces bill to allow civil unions for gay and lesbian couples (500 legal rights straights have incl couple adoption, health-care benefits, inheritance rights). Focus on the Family (based in Colorado Springs) denounces, says civil unions between people of the same sex amounts to a "radical human experiment." Colorado Springs City Council extended family health benefits to same-sex partners of city employees; partner benefits now offered in six locales in Colorado and more than 140 cities nationwide. Metro Washington, DC: first baby of the year born to lesbian couple Helen Rubin (birth mother) and Joanna Bare, 5 lb 2 oz, one minute after midnight at Fair Oaks Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia; Ai baby, father a family friend whom the couple decline to identify; a week before the birth the couple moved from Virginia to Bethesda, Maryland, because Virginia does not permit second-parent adoption; baby delivered at Fair Oaks because their obstetrician practices there; Rubin and Bare together 12 years. Idaho: Theron McGriff who last May lost his custody rights to exwife Shawn (Judge L. Mark Riddoch also ordered children not visit him as he lives with his partner), is now ordered to pay all legal costs associated with the case ($30,000+), even though the state Supreme Court has agreed to hear his appeal. Indiana attorney general asks Marion superior court judge S.K. Reid to dismiss marriage lawsuit filed Indiana Civil Liberties Union on behalf of three same-sex couples saying Indiana's law banning same-sex marriage violates the state 98

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II constitution's guarantee of equal privileges for all its citizens. Ag says prohibition is constitutional because the state has a compelling interest in promoting traditional marriages and procreation. Couples ask court to require the state to recognize their civil unions (Vermont, 2000) Maryland: Outgoing Democrat Gov. Parris Glendening, who evoked the memory of his gay brother (died of AIDS) when he fought for a state LGB human rights protection law two years ago (passed only after intensive lobbying by Glendening), asks three newspapers to publish notices of same-sex commitment ceremonies alongside wedding announcements: The Capital (Annapolis), The Baltimore Sun and The Washington Post. Papers that do incl: The Charlotte Observer (N.C.) , The New York Times, The Oregonian of Portland, The Boston Globe and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Gov says gay marriage law "is not a big issue for me one way or the other," and the newspapers business is about fairness, not about changing laws. Massachusetts: several lawmakers propose civil union bills similar that passed in Vermont in 2000. The domestic-partner bill has won approval in the state senate at least three times but has never come up for a vote in the house. Pennsylvania: University of Pittsburgh files motion to permanently bar the human relations commission from hearing the case of former employee Deborah Henson filed 1996 a complaint with the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations when the school refused to grant partner benefits based on the city's 1990 gay-rights law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. Six others later joined her in the pending class-action lawsuit; in 2000, Pitt won an injunction from Allegheny County Judge Robert Gallo to bar the commission from hearing the suit on the basis that the city law exceeded the scope of the state's Human Relations Act. School says a state law exempts public universities from local laws that extend health benefits be extended to domestic partners. Utah: 400 demonstrate in state capitol against proposed state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages; resolution supports the Federal Marriage Amendment, cosponsored by US representative Chris Cannon (R-Utah) and 20 other members of Congress, defines marriage as solely between a man and a woman, prevents state and federal governments from conferring marital status "or the legal incidents thereof" on same-sex couples. USA: Peggy Neff, 18-year-partner of Sheila Hein, 51, civilian Army employee who worked as a management analyst, killed in the 9/11/01 terrorist attack on the Pentagon awarded $500,000+ from federal fund to compensate victims of the attack Unlike gay couples in NY, Neff not eligible for state aid from Virginia whose law limits the benefits to spouses, parents, grandparents, siblings and children. Canada: Heritage Minister Sheila Copps announces candidacy for Liberal leadership, describes equal marriage rights for same-sex couples as "an issue of fundamental human rights". Parliamentary committee holding hearings into same-sex marriage has three committee leaders all on record opposing gay marriage (Liberal chairman Andy Scott, vice-chairmen Liberal John McKay, and Alliance MP Chuck Cadman); groups representing more than a dozen gay couples who have challenged the constitutionality of the federal government's definition of marriage say the committee has already made up its mind. Former solicitor general Scott has said 99

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II there should be a "firewall" around the traditional definition of marriage. McKay says the committee needs funds for cross-Canada travel because they believe they will encounter more opposition in rural Canada than among the "chattering classes" in Ottawa. Report expected April. Canada: Tory leadership hopeful Peter MacKay (NS), member of committee hearing submissions on same-sex marriages, says homelessness is a much more pressing social issue:"In my mind, it comes down to a simple matter of priorities. I would suggest that homelessness is a bigger issue, as one example. I walked by four people in sub-zero temperatures on my way here this morning. ... In the minds of Canadians, when it comes down to priorities, there are issues that must register higher. I don't think this stuff even ranks in the Top 10." MacKay does not oppose registering same-sex relationships as "domestic partnerships" or civilregistration ceremonies for gay couples but says "The churches' view of marriage is sacrosanct." Maclean's Magazine and Canwest Global Communications poll (conducted by Toronto-based Strategic Counsel): overall 49% for gay marriage (women 55%, men 39% for; 65% for in Quebec, 54% in BC, 50% in Atlantic Canada, 42% in Saskatchewan-Manitoba, 41% AB, 40% Ont) ), 46% against, 5% dk; adoption: 48% for, 46% against, 6% dk. AB: NDP MLA Brian Mason introduces and Tory-dominated government services committee rejects motion to give people who work for MLAs same-sex partner benefits; govt has passed laws to extend some employment benefits, such as pensions, to same-sex couples, but they don't apply to those employed by the legislative assembly. Craig Stumph-Allen, who works in a constituency office filed a human rights complaint 2001. Ontario Association for Marriage & Family (700+ couple and family therapists; a division of the Registry of Marriage and Family Therapists in Canada, Inc., part of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy) supports same-sex marriage. Lithuania: Supreme Court judge Valentinas Mikelenas said Jan that after Lithuania joined the EU, it might be obliged to officially recognize same sex partnerships; when explaining proposed revisions in the Family Law Code (enacted July 2001);said ministry planning to activate a clause in the code allowing for the registration of long-term partnerships between unmarried persons; ministry spokesman Dainius Radzevicius said Mikelenas' comments not intended to be the focus of the ministry's message; Justice Ministry hopes to implement final amendments to the code by the end of 2003, when it is set to expire; European Values Study 2001 showed Lithuania scoring 2 out of 10 on a scale measuring tolerance toward LGBs, up from 1.9 in 1992 (cp Holland scores 8). Malta Gay Rights Movement deplores billboard at Malta Labour Party club in Naxxar:"The European Union believes in abortion, euthanasia and same sex marriage." MGRM says it is unfair to use gay rights as an argument against Malta's accession to the European Union and unjustly associates gay rights with the fundamental human right; billboard (not even written in correct Maltese) removed after Labour Party central administration informed of content. EU: European Parliament MEPs vote 269-225 (46 abst) to include same-sex spouses, registered partners and unmarried partners, irrespective of sex, in the definition of a family member, giving them rights to move and reside freely within 100

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II the territory of the member states; now member states must recognize gay marriages, give legal acceptance to partnership unions by those gay couples who want recognition without marrying, recognize the marriages/unions of other countries; only Holland and Belgium do gay marriage; limited civil union rights in France, Germany, some Scandinavian countries; but spousal rights cannot be carried from one country to another within the EU; Italy, Spain, Greece, Ireland Luxemburg, Austria do not recognize any form of gay civil union; EU member states are now required to adapt to the stance of the European Parliament, a lengthy process, beginning with member states harmonizing existing laws. Feb 2003 Finnish Parliament Legal Affairs Committee votes 11-6 for bill making it illegal to provide fertility treatment to single women or lesbian couples, punishment would be a fine or up to a years jail. Those opposing the bill were only for fertility treatment for single women and lesbian couples if the sperm donor had given his consent to letting the child know the identity of the biological father (but not conferring paternal obligations on the donor). UK: Blair govt says gay couples should be allowed to register partnerships and get some of the legal rights of married couples; will put out a position paper early next summer as a first step toward possible legislation; opposition parties support the concept but ion any case the Labour Party holds a majority in the Commons and can pass legislation on its own. Equality minister Roche: "We are not talking about marriage here. What we are talking about is the signing of a register." Unitarian Church in Rawtenstall, Lancashire, used for only two marriages since it was built 1971, opens doors to gay blessings in an attempt to entice young people to use it as a marriage venue; church secretary June Forshaw: "It would just be nice to see the facilities used. We can do the ceremony and we have a very nice function room upstair ... We decided that we have not had a marriage for such a long time, it would just be nice to celebrate something." Registration ceremonies by local councils in Swansea, London, Leeds, Bournemouth, Manchester, Liverpool, Brighton and Hove, Bath, Devon and Somerset, and soon in Caerphilly. Since London started 2001, 392 couples have registered their partnerships: 255 male couples, 123 female, and 14 heterosexual; 9 since deregistered, about the same rate as heterosexual marriage. Feb 2003 UK: Supermarket chain Tesco concedes its online Valentine's campaign discriminated against its gay customers, commits to make similar promotions open to all in future; a quiz to determine how 'hot or not' customers were in the romance had questions that excluded lesbians and gays. UK: more complaints against package-holiday-provider Sandals, this time for tube ads that their holidays are for mixed-sex couples only. Edinburgh: first survey (commissioned by Beyond Barriers) of LGBTs across Scotland released; of the 920 surveyed, 60% of respondents in a relationship say they would register it as a civil partnership; 20% of gays in Scotland have children, and a further 17% would like to have children in the future; only 10% of parents had used artificial insemination to conceive; most children born during a previous heterosexual relationship; 33% of parents, most female, have their children were living with them; LGBTs surveyed feel biggest issues facing them is equal partnership rights, discrimination and prejudice came 2nd. 101

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Feb 2003 USA: Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) reintroduces "The Permanent Partners Immigration Act which would allow Americans to sponsor their same-sex partners for immigration purposes, as heterosexuals can; "permanent partner" is "an individual 18 years of age and over who: is in a committed, intimate relationship with another individual 18 years of age and over in which both parties intend a lifelong commitment; is financially interdependent with that other individual; is not married or in a permanent partnership with anyone other than that other individual; is unable to contract with that other individual a marriage cognizable under [the Immigration and Naturalization Act]; and is not a first, second, or third degree blood relation of that other individual." Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Iceland, Israel, NZ, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, and the UK all allow people to sponsor their permanent partners for immigration purposes. Feb 2003 US: story hits media: when Conoco and Phillips Petroleum merged last August, gay workers lost civil rights protection; ConocoPhillips says will follow current federal law (which does not include sexual orientation), will not change unless the federal law changes; Conoco had previously included gays in its written nondiscrimination policy. Similar happened in the Exxon Mobil merge of 1999, when Exxon obliterated Mobil's non-discrimination policy covering sexual orientation and closed Mobil's domestic partner benefits program to any future employees. 307 of the Fortune 500 have non-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation, incl Amerada Hess; Shell Oil Co.; BP; ChevronTexaco Corp.; Marathon Oil Corp.; Occidental Petroleum; Sunoco Inc.; and Valero Energy Corp. After story breaks, ConocoPhillips, third largest US oil and gas company, agrees to implement a written nondiscrimination policy that includes gays and lesbians. 307 of the Fortune 500 have non-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation San Diego CA: state appeals court hears arguments Monday in the case of a Guadalupe Benitez whose health care providers North Coast Women's Care Medical Group and doctors Christine Brody and Douglas Fenton refused her medical treatment (infertility services) in summer 2000 because she is a lesbian, citing doctors' personal religious beliefs about gay people; Lambda Legal asks the court to overturn a ruling from last year that said's health care providers acted lawfully - they had provided infertility treatment for 11 months, then found out about her partner Joanne Clark; GB had to go outside her health plan to find another doctor, costing her several thousand dollars. San Diego trial court found a federal law regulating employee benefits plans bars a state civil rights claim against doctors whenever the doctors' services are paid for through an employerprovided health plan. Santa Cruz city council unanimously votes for new state bill to extend the rights and duties of marriage' to gays and lesbians; SF endorsed AB 205 even before it was introduced the CA Assembly by Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles; the bill would put California on par with Vermont; 1999 Californians passed a ballot measure that marriage should be between only a man and a woman. Sacramentobased Committee on Moral Concerns froths No society or religion has accepted homosexuality as anything but abnormal. Colorado House Information and Technology Committee rejects 8-3 bill proposed by state Rep. Tom Plant to recognize gay and lesbian relationships (inheritance rights, hospital visits, sue for the wrongful death of a partner and others - bill 102

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II modelled on Vermont). Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, Republican chair of the committee: "This bill will undermine marriage. My objection is to attempting to recreate the family and other forms and structures different from the way the human race has recognized it for all of existence." Colorado-based Focus on the Family campaigned heavily. Colorado: antigay Conservative Republican Sen. Bruce Cairns voucher bill makes it to Senate Appropriations Committee; Cairns apparently didnt notice the inclusive language but the bill applies to LGBs too; the bill gives a property-tax credit to individuals who donate money to entities that provide school vouchers and gives a higher credit to "two persons who own property as joint tenants with right of survivorship" than to single people. Maryland: Baltimore jury find against gay man Bill Flanigan prohibited from visiting his dying partner Robert Daniel in an intensive care unit at U of Maryland hospital facility, rules staff were just doing their jobs. Flanigan had power of attorney and control over Daniel's medical decisions and had promised not to let Daniel die alone or on life support. BF was not allowed into the room until RDs sister came by which time RD was already unconscious and on a respirator. An employee said visitation was limited to family members, which did not include partners; F later learned that his partner had been conscious during the four-hour period, and had struggled to try and remove his tube. U of Maryland acknowledges in legal documents that a lesbian or gay partner is considered a family member, and by the jury's conviction that Flanigan was a legal spouse in this context. The jury sent condolences to Flanigan, but agreed that the hospital was too busy to allow any family member access to the chaotic scene. Massachusetts: a group of Boston clergy, the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry (400+ members) calls on state legislature to provide protection to same-sex couples, says state's failure to legally recognize same-sex marriages stamps gay and lesbian couples with a brand of inferiority. One retired Methodist minister calls opposition to same-sex marriage cruel and abusive. A Unitarian minister, Rev. Fred Small, says he will follow his conscience and continue to marry people but will no longer sign their marriage license "unless and until the commonwealth of Massachusetts extends the freedom to marry to same-gender couples." Mass: Boston's top 10 law firms file amicus briefs supporting the case against the state by seven gay and lesbian couples who want to get married, argue the right to marry is a choice protected by the Mass. constitution. Supreme Judicial Court scheduled to hear oral arguments March 4 in the case. Minnesota: initial committees in both House and Senate clear compromise plan to ratify state labour contracts with raises for nearly 50,000 workers - it omits samesex partner benefits, in fact it strips about 85 same-sex partners of state employee health benefits at the end of the current budget period on June 30. New Jersey State attorney general asks lawsuit filed against the state by seven gay couples over gay marriage rights be removed as court is not the right place to talk about it; suit filed in June 2000 by Lambda Legal; NJ laws do not give a definition of what is a couple. Oregon: Eugene's Domestic Partner Registry opens February 14, for same- and opposite-sex couples; registration an official but largely symbolic act; Eugene does not require businesses or agencies to extend benefits or privileges on the 103

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II basis of a person's listing in the registry but adds "domestic registry status" to a list of categories protected by the city against housing and public accommodation discrimination. Eugene third Oregon community to create a partner registry: Ashland and Portland/Multnomah County. Pennsylvania: Temple and Drexel Universities announce they will provide domestic partnership benefits to their lesbian and gay employees. Texas House of Representatives considers bill to ban GLBs from becoming foster parents; House Bill 194 (author Rep. Robert Talton, R-Houston) is referred to the House Committee on Juvenile Justice and Family Issues; bill also calls for the removal of children already living with GLB foster parents; Texas does not have a state law preventing co-parent or single-parent adoptions by GLBs; bills hearing not yet scheduled. Canada: Committee considering gay marriage obsesses over polygamy; Committee member Liberal MP Pat O'Brien (London-Fanshawe) repeatedly raises the issue with baffled gay-marriage advocates; pastor Bruce Cleminger, Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, representing several evangelical organizations, including Baptists and Pentecostals:"If marriage is restructured, how broad will it become? Inevitably, polygamists are going to ask: 'What about our orientation?' " His argument that expanding the traditional definition of marriage would inevitably open the door to anybody -- including a brother and a sister -- was well received by several members of the committee, the majority of whom oppose gay marriage. Canadian Alliance MP Vic Toews, "very troubled" marriage will be reduced to a legal formula: "How could you deny a multiple partnership marriage?" Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops also froths: a change in marriage laws will lead to destruction of the social order, interfere with nature, and result in heterosexuals fleeing from the tainted institution. But the United Church of Canada urges the government do nothing less than include gays and lesbians in marriage. Canada: Canadian Unitarian Council urges "the federal government pass legislation to remove the opposite-sex restriction on legal marriage, thereby extending the freedom to marry to same-sex couples." CUC 1984 annual meeting supported "religious leaders in the performance of lesbian and gay partnership services and Unitarians have been officiating at same-sex services of union since the mid-70s Canada: NDP MP Svend Robinson tables his second private member's bill to give legal recognition to same-sex marriage; Robinson is party's Health Critic, also a member of the parliamentary committee considering whether to recognize gay families. BC: Court of Appeal Justices Kenneth Mackenzie, Jo-Ann Prowse, and Richard Low begin hearing appeal of BC Supreme Court Justice Ian Pitfield 2001 antimarriage judgement in case of 8 lesbian and gay couples seeking to marry; hears from law prof Kathleen Lahey (Queen's) University in Ontario on behalf of three BC couples, Cynthia Petersen for the other five; couples Murray Warren and Peter Cook, Elizabeth and Dawn Barbeau, Melinda Roy and Tanya Chambers, Robin Roberts and Diana Denny, Jane Hamilton and Joy Masuhara, Tess Healy and Wendy Young, Shane McCloskey and David Shortt, and Bob Peacock and Lloyd Thornhill, some have lived together for 30 years and have children; federal govt will argue against, also intervenors Focus on Family and a multi-faith religious coalition. 104

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Feb 2003 London, Ont: Family Court judge David Aston rules lesbian partner of boys biological mother a third legal parent, while maintaining the status of the biological mother and father believed to be the first judgement of its kind; father is a good friend of the couple (a lawyer and a professor who exchanged vows in 1992) and involved in parenting; judge Aston says he will need time to write his decision on the application; publication ban on parental identity; lawyer Grace Kerr based argument on requirements for parental declaration under the Children's Law Reform Act 4.3 that states when "the relationship of mother and child has been established, the court may make a declaratory order" but does not prevent two mothers from existing or state a mother must be biological in nature. South Africa: at the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg, Judge Kathy Satchwell, who has been in a relationship with her female partner since 1985, successfully challenges the Judges Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act; application not opposed by the state, because ruling clarifies law but lays down no new principles in ruling sections of the Judges' Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act were unconstitutional, because they conferred benefits on spouses only and not on same-sex partners; ruling was confirmed by the Constitutional Court in July 2002. Australian Capital Territory considers bill to recognize gay couples (some of the rights of heterosexual married couples but no civil union registry or couple adoption). ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope says the bill would remove discriminatory language in 37 laws and provide better legal protection for GLTs. Australia, Tasmania: Tasmanian Law Reform Institute solicits input and receives 600 submissions on same-sex couple adoption, of which about two-thirds of the submissions were against; a number of submissions were from one church group which had collected signatures against the proposed changes to legislation; Institute will present report and recommendations to the Attorney-General Judy Jackson by the end of April or early May. American Samoa: Representative Su'a Carl Shuster tables bill stipulating that for a marriage to be legal the marriage contract can only be between a man and a woman. Sweden authorizes its embassies around the world to perform civil union ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples as long as one partner is a Swedish national and the country in which the embassy is located recognizes gay couples. Scotland: Liberal Democrats at spring conference overwhelmingly vote to give same-sex couples the same rights as married couples, support plan to allow gay and lesbian couples who live together to register their relationships (getting same pension, insurance, inheritance and adoption rights as married couples - as unmarried cohabiting heterosexuals do), will support the Scottish Executive in legislation to give gay couples the same pension, insurance, inheritance and adoption rights as married couples. RC Church's parliamentary officer John Deighan: "We believe these plans will undermine the role of marriage . Ultimately, the focus of sexual relationships is within marriage as a stable building block for our society. Anything which damages marriage is damaging to society as a whole." Edinburgh: Gareth Evans, 29, of East Calder, West Lothian, sues Scottish Prison Service for 10,000 after wardens order him to stop kissing partner Callum Leitch, 30, at Saughton jail visits; Leitch, a security guard of Armadale, West Lothian, has 105

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II also complained and is considering taking the prison service to court for breach of human rights; Evans is serving a five-month sentence for assault; couple say they kissed after seeing another prisoner groping his female visitor; Evans, due for release in a fortnight, then put on closed visits, segregated from prisoners and separated by glass from partner." US Census Bureau released first report with 2000 data on families headed by same-sex partners, SSP households raising children, average age and racial makeup of same-sex couples. 594,391 reported same-sex households in the country, of which 301,026 are male partners, 293,365 female; gay and lesbian families reported in 99.3% of all US counties. New report shows 34.3% of female households and 22.3% of male are raising children (8 eight states and DC, as well as some counties guarantee same-sex couples access to second-parent adoption). Average age of male partners: 42.4-44.5; av age of female partners 42.2-43.4 (cp straight couples av age late 40s, unmarried opposite-sex households average age 30-35. 11.5% of male same-sex households have multi-racial partners, 10% of female (CP 5.7% of married couples, 12.2% of opposite-sex partners). US Census Bureau releases report families headed by same-sex partners (2000 census data): 594,391 reported same-sex households, of which 301,026 male partners, 293,365 female partners; gay and lesbian families live in 99.3% of all counties in the US. Unmarried heterosexual and same-sex couples are nearly as likely as their married counterparts to be raising children: 33% of cohabiting lesbian couples and 22% of cohabiting male couples have minor children at home, compared with 43% of cohabiting unmarried heterosexual couples and with 46% of married couples. Of the 594,391 households, 162,000 had children in the home. California: Community Care Licensing Division of the California Department of Social Services (which licenses private adoptions) now rules a privately owned adoption agency licensed by the state cannot deny its services to a couple just because they are gay or lesbian. Dr. Shannon Rose and her partner Jane Brooks had filed a successful complaint against Orange County Olive Crest Foster Family and Adoption Agency in Santa Ana, Calif. for slowing (stonewalling) process to prevent them adopting. Olive Crest said the delay was nothing more than a part of the agency's process in checking out prospective foster parents and appealed. State demands Olive Crest create a policy excluding sexual orientation as a factor in barring denying someone from adopting. California: 2 domestic partner bills have their first committee hearing: Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act (to give registered domestic partners and their families nearly all the rights and responsibilities currently available only to married couples under state law, including child custody and child support obligations, community property, mutual responsibility for debt, and the right to make funeral arrangements) and bill prohibiting state agencies from contracting with businesses that discriminate in the benefits offered between employees with spouses and employees with registered domestic partners. Florida: 3 federal appellate judges question ''rational basis'' for Floridas 26-yearold law banning gay men and lesbians from adopting children; appeal mounted by four gay men (with ACLU) who lost their 2001 lawsuit in the US District Court in Miami in 2001. State Dept of Children & Families says optimal place for adopted children is in a traditional household with a married mother and father though they allow gay men and lesbians to be foster parents and legal guardians. Plaintiffs 106

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Steven Lofton (Portland, Or), Douglas Houghton (Miami), Wayne Smith and Daniel Skahen (Key West) are either foster parents or guardians for four children they want to adopt. 3,400 children in state custody await adoption. 25% of child placements are in single-parent homes. Court expected to rule after Supreme Court rules in June on a challenge to a Texas sodomy law that criminalizes gay intercourse. March 2003 Florida: Palm Beach County couple Dr. Fred Sternbach, 47, and Stephen Miller, 41, sues Boca Raton apartment complex Royal Colonial Apartments for denying them housing in 2002 because they are gay. Property manager told them the complex only rents to married couples and refused to supply a copy of the complex's rental policy. County ordinance passed in 1990 protects gays from housing discrimination and forbids discrimination based on marital status. Kaiser Family Foundation 2001 survey shows 34% of LGBs have been turned away from buying or renting a home because of their sexual orientation or know someone who was denied housing. Iowa: legislation to ban gays and lesbians from adopting children or becoming foster parents dies in committee. Maryland: Baltimore jury find against gay man Bill Flanigan prohibited from visiting his dying partner Robert Daniel in an intensive care unit at U of Maryland hospital facility, rules staff were just doing their jobs. Flanigan had power of attorney and control over Daniel's medical decisions and had promised not to let Daniel die alone or on life support. BF was not allowed into the room until RDs sister came by which time RD was already unconscious and on a respirator. An employee said visitation was limited to family members, which did not include partners; F later learned that his partner had been conscious during the four-hour period, and had struggled to try and remove his tube. U of Maryland acknowledges in legal documents that a lesbian or gay partner is considered a family member, and by the jury's conviction that Flanigan was a legal spouse in this context. The jury sent condolences to Flanigan, but agreed that the hospital was too busy to allow any family member access to the chaotic scene. Massachusetts: Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies study says US Census 2000 count of same-sex couples undercounted by 16-19%, missed at least one-hundred thousand gay and lesbian couples, points to two surveys of LBGLTs (IGLSS survey of same-sex couples about their census responses, similar survey of online respondents by Harris Interactive/Witeck-Combs) which found that 66%+ of couples not using the "unmarried partner" category had listed themselves as "housemates/roommates" on the census forms citing confidentiality concerns and a lack of fit of census options for their own family configurations. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court hears gay marriage case appealing ruling that said the Legislature, not the courts, should decide whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. Justices questioned attorneys about whether the state's prohibition of gay marriage was comparable to past bans on interracial unions and how the laws could be changed without sanctioning other unions, such as polygamy. Case brought by seven same-sex couples after they were denied marriage licenses in 2001. May 2002 , Suffolk Superior Court Judge Thomas E. Connolly dismissed the suit, ruling nothing in state law gives same-sex couples a constitutional right to marry. Lawyers for the couples argue there is nothing to prevent same-sex couples from 107

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II marrying either. Massachusetts law does not define marriage. Mass. asst . Attorney General Judith S. Yogman defends state ban, basing her argument on the link between marriage and procreation: "The optimal setting for procreation and child-rearing is a family with a parent of each sex." New Jersey: Sussex County Family Court Judge James A. Farber rules lesbian couple can be listed as parents on the birth certificate of the baby they're expecting in May, since one partner is carrying the baby, the other provided the egg. Couple lives in northern New Jersey and has been together for seven years. Ohio University sets up administration taskforce after both the Ohio University Student and Graduate Student senates sent resolutions demanding a full-time LGBT programs coordinator and domestic partnership benefits for eligible OU employees; extent of campus homophobia shocks several taskforce members. Janice Edwards, associate vice president concerning intercultural matters, offers up her position and salary to enable OU to create the LGBT programs coordinator position. Provost Kopp says possibility of a partner benefits program at OU largely depends on the Ohio Legislature, which doesn't now provide for such programs. Texas: judge signs divorce papers for two men married in Vermont civil ceremony; under Vermont law at least one member of a gay couple wishing to end their union must reside in the state for a period of one year; case of Texas residents Russell Smith, 26, and John Anthony, 34, united in a civil union in Vermont in February 2002. Smith filed for the divorce saying it was for " financial reasons," said impossible to move to Vermont to officially end the relationship. Texas law does not recognize gay and lesbian couples, but because Texas law, though it refers to a husband and wife when talking about marriage, refers to ''parties'' when addressing dissolution, judge Tom Mulvaney signs the divorce papers. Canada: marriage hearings: Catholic Women's Leagues Ms. Rita Curley :"To redefine marriage to be more inclusive of homosexuality is to create a new morality in which homosexuality is not merely tolerated but is normalized and would branch out into sexual activity with babies, children of both sexes, and with animals." She then compares gays with alcoholics and says people become gay because "these people have been molested in their childhood and that's what gave them the habit. It started them off on the wrong foot. But they can change ... Do the homosexuals ever pray?" Asked by Svend Robinson why Jesus said nothing about homosexuality, Ms Curley says it wasnt an issue then because there were no homosexuals then. REAL Women of Canadas Gwendolyn Landolt says the fact that social science says children raised in same-sex families are not reflects the high cost paid by scholars for opposing and criticizing the politically correct pro-homosexual position." "They are not the same. They are different ... there are differences in the financial arrangement between heterosexual and same-sex couples; their skill compatibilities are different; and their lifestyle is totally different, in particular with the prevalence of drug use." Anyway homosexuality is acquired. Marital fidelity "is simply not present and almost unknown in homosexual relationships." Therefore if marriage laws included gays, all marriages would lose fidelity. Further , accepting same-sex marriage would lead to marriage between siblings and to polygamy. March 2003 CUPE, Canadas largest union, makes presentation to House of Commons Justice 108

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Committee in favour of same-sex marriage March 2003 Canada: Chaplains serving in the Canadian military may soon offer religious ceremonies for gay soldiers who want to formalize their unions with their same-sex partners. Some United Church chaplains have already decided they will perform the services if requested. A Defence Department official said there is nothing stopping a chaplain from officiating at the union of a gay or lesbian soldier. Lieutenant-Colonel Dave Kettle, spokesman for the Chaplain-General's office, says the Defence Department would certainly not stand in the way of a same-sex ceremony involving its personnel. Alberta: AB HRC awards 13 gay and lesbian couples (incl Keith Purdy) each $2000 in compensation after they were denied health benefits by the province of Alberta when they applied for a government health insurance plan as spouses; in all 13 cases, the partners' employers who play the premiums through payroll deductions were prepared to treat their workers as domestic partners. The provincial health care plan refused, saying gays and lesbians would be treated as individuals (paying a higher rate than couples) The province didn't contest the issue in front of the tribunal, which ordered that the couples be refunded the premiums paid. Fiji: report of the Joint Sector Committee on Justice, Law and Order and Social Services states recognizing same-sex marriage, defacto relationships, and polygamous marriages will still be "illegitimate and unacceptable" despite the optimism generated by the Family Law Bill, being outside the ambit of the Bill as it stands; the Bill does not purport to legally recognise such relationships, but recognises children born out of such relationships, makes provisions for fathers to claim for child and spousal maintenance, in cases where the other party is able to afford it, adds new provision on parental maintenance under which parents who are unable to support themselves can seek an order from the court for the children, who are reasonably able to, to maintain their parents. South Africa: SA Anglican Church releases"preliminary report" on same-sex marriages, ordered last month by Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane after a number of rulings by the Constitutional Court that instructed the government to recognize gay couples: report makes no specific recommendations but is meant to stimulate discussion on the issue gay marriage, urges the 10m-member church to set in motion a "pastoral process to help the church engage, at all levels, with homosexuality", points out same-sex marriage is now a recognized traditional institution in South Africa, that the present Rain Queen of the Lovedu has four wives, and that her mother was married to eleven women. South Australia passes bill giving same-sex couples equal access to superannuation; amendment by Shadow Attorney Robert Lawson to give all people in caring relationships the same access to superannuation defeated. Buenos Aires city area and Ro Negro province institute same- and opposite-sex civil unions (laws approved last Dec); civil union couples will be able to share social security services, claim leave when a partner is sick, and enter into agreements - such as buying a house - as if they were married but not marriages, adoption, inheritance rights without prior formalized agreement (three aspects not considered because they are included in the national Civil Code). European Parliament backs non-binding resolution giving non-EU nationals the right to bring spouses, parents, registered and unmarried partners, into the EU 109

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II irrespective of gender for family reunification. April 2003 UK: England's most senior family court judge Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss in a lecture at King's College, London: "We are failing the family," gay and lesbian relationships need to be recognized by law since couples who cannot marry have no recourse to a system of law that would protect them if they formed "partnerships, sometimes lifelong, which in their turn create a family structure". Milton Keynes council agrees Bletchley Register Office should be licensed to carry out non-statutory commitment ceremonies for gay couples or heterosexuals who choose to co-habit. California: Human Services Committee of the State Assembly 4-2 approve a bill to protect foster youth, foster parents, foster household members, and agency staff from discrimination in a number of areas, incl race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and HIV/AIDS; bill by Assemblymember Judy Chu (sponsored by CA chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, supported by CA Alliance for Pride and Equality) requires foster parents and other caregivers to receive training on the nondiscrimination requirements and is follow-up to a bill passed last year by the legislature which was vetoed by Governor Davis. N California: city of Davis passes resolution calling on the state to legalize gay marriage; Mayor Susie Boyd says its civil matter, not religious; speakers on both sides referred to the statewide March 2000 vote on the "California Defense of Marriage Act," proposition 22, which was successful statewide, but 66%+ of Davisites opposed it. N Carolina: Charlotte City Council member Nancy Carter requests city manager study extending domestic partner benefits to gay and lesbian city employees and to including gays and lesbians in the city's non-discrimination policy; Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham city already have same-sex partner benefits; Durham County is considering them. Colorado: Colorado Springs city council votes 8-1 to end same-sex partner benefits for city workers, four months after voting to give domestic partners of city workers the same benefits it gives the spouses of its heterosexual employees, council voted 8 - 1 to repeal the plan; annual expense for city would be $6,700 for seven employees. The change takes effect in January. Colorado Springs is HQ of Focus on the Family Denver, Aspen, Boulder and Glendale are the other Colorado cities offering such benefits. Connecticut legislature's judiciary committee 26-16 rejects proposed bill to legalize civil unions, giving almost all the rights of marriage to gay and lesbian couples by establishing a domestic partnership registry Connecticut: state Office of Legislative Research, an agency of the legislature, says same-sex marriage could boost tourism in Connecticut by bringing couples seeking to wed, finds same-sex civil unions helped tourism in Vermont, quotes figures from the Connecticut Office of Fiscal Analysis estimating a civil-union law would draw 8,000 tourists in the first year and generate $10m in lodging and related spending; effort to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples and establish a domestic registry system was rejected April 9 in the Connecticut General Assembly's Judiciary Committee. North Dakota Senate voted 26-21 to keep an 1890 law that makes it a crime for a 110

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II man and woman to live together "openly and notoriously" as if they were married; the offence is listed among other sex crimes, including rape and incest; violations carry a maximum 30 days in jail and a 600 fine. Senator John Andrist (Rep): "It stands as a reminder that there is right and there is wrong." Census data show N Dakota has over 11,000 unmarried couples living together, although the figure includes gay and lesbian couples.. April 2003 Tallahassee, Florida: Joy Lewis, 62, and her Sheila Ortiz-Taylor, 63 (together 13 yrs, 5 kids, 5 grandkids, married in Vermont) sue Westminster Oaks Retirement Community after it rejected them because of their sexuality, citing policy that unmarried, non-related couples may not live together in the facility. Illinois: Chicago judge rules a F to M transsexual cannot be granted parental rights because same-sex marriages are illegal in Illinois and therefore the man was never the boy's legitimate father. Cook County Public guardian Patrick Murphy, who represents the child, said the boy wants to live with his father; boy conceived through AI; both parents signed a contract, agreeing to raise the child; names of both parents were entered on the birth certificate; couple separated in the mid-1990s. Indiana: 3 Indianapolis same-sex couples (Ruth Morrison and Teresa Stephens, David Wene and David Squire and Charlotte Egler and Dawn Egler, all with civil unions in Vermont) launch lawsuit against Indiana's ban on gay marriage, rep by Indiana Civil Liberties Union, which tells a Marion Superior Court judge that the law violates their most basic rights -- and added there is no valid reason to exclude them from marriage. Indiana marriage law: "Only a female may marry a male. Only a male may marry a female." Massachusetts: Boston Globe/WBZ-TV poll shows Massachusetts residents 50% for legalizing gay and lesbian marriages, 44% against. Young people (18-39) 62% for, 33% against; those 40-64, 53% for, 42% against; over 65s 69% against, 21% for. Women 55% for, 38% against; men 45% for, 50% against. [A 2000 Kaiser Family Foundation survey found 55% of Americans opposed, 39% for. A 2001 Pew Center poll showed only 35 % for.] Poll found even stronger support for civil unions than for gay marriage. 58 % for civil unions, 35% against [Kaiser poll, 47% for, 42 % against] Mass. highest court is currently considering whether to permit gay couples to marry. Massachusetts: legislative committee hears submissions on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage; amendment sponsored by Rep Philip Travis, a Rehoboth Democrat, and drafted by the Massachusetts Family Institute; passing the amendment would make Massachusetts the 37th state to adopt a constitutional definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman; Judiciary Committee must vote to recommend the amendment; if approved by a majority of Senate and House members combined in two consecutive legislative sessions, it will be placed on the ballot for approval from the voters; the earliest the measure could appear on the ballot is 2006. Later: proposal will proceed through the legislative process with an automatic negative recommendation following the Judiciary Committee's failure to act on the constitutional amendment by April 30 deadline. Minnesota: House 121-7 and Senate 39-26 pass compromise plan to ratify state labour contracts with raises of 3-3.5% for nearly 50,000 workers won by unions after a two-week strike in fall 2001-- with controversial health benefits for gay and 111

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II lesbian domestic partners removed; the domestic-partner provisions were negotiated away in talks with Senate DFL and House Republican leaders and Gov. Tim Pawlenty. The law will strip health benefits from 70-80 same-sex partners of state employees on June 30, the end of the current budget period. As a compromise to speed a vote, both the House and Senate versions include paid leave for state workers in the event of death or illness of their same-sex domestic partners or anyone in the same household. April 2003 Missouri: Kansas City decides on domestic partner registry for straights and gays (would give couples eg the ability to make decisions on a partner's medical treatment in emergencies) and same-sex partner health benefits, votes unanimously to instruct City Manager to implement the program by May 1, 2004, and to provide within 45 days a plan discussing the logistics and costs. Mayor Kay Barnes: "It's an equity issue." Nebraska: state constitutional ban on same-sex marriages (adopted in 2000 after approval by 70% of voters) challenged by a federal court lawsuit that says the measure violates the rights of gay couples; currently state and U of Nebraska employees cannot share health insurance and other benefits with same-sex partners; 34 states have Defense of Marriage laws; Nebraska is the only state whose constitution bans same-sex couples from legal protections New Hampshire Supreme Court hears divorce case of Lebanon, NH, couple David and Sian Blanchflower in which the wife had an affair with another woman, Robin Mayer; adultery is grounds for divorce in NH; the women claim that means only if heterosexual; Mayer appealed to the Supreme Court after a family court judge granted the divorce and ruled that the legal definition of adultery should encompass same-gender sexual relations. New York City: Nassau County Supreme Court Justice John P. Dunne rules gay New York man John Langan a legal spouse and able to sue St. Vincent's Hospital, in the heart of Manhattan's Greenwich Village, for wrongful death and medical negligence in the death of his longtime partner Neal Conrad Spicehandler (run over), notes "common-law" spouses from other states are regularly recognized as spouses in NY, also that NY law does not define "spouses" as people of different sexes, adds, "It is impossible to justify, under equal protection principles, withholding the same recognition from a union which meets all the requirements of a marriage in New York but for the sexual orientation of its partners." Hospital had asked state court to block Langan from suing because his 15-year relationship should not be recognized legally. Langan and Spicehandler were joined in a civil union in Vermont and also had several legal documents reflecting their relationship, and the hospital treated Langan as Spicehandler's spouse throughout the medical ordeal. Ohio: USA Presbyterian Church officials convict Rev. Stephen Van Kuiken, 44, pastor of Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, of violating church law for marrying same-sex couples, issue rebuke but do not suspend him or remove him from ministry; court acquits Van Kuiken on another charge of ordaining gays who won't adhere to a Presbyterian requirement of chastity; VK says the church is facing a crisis of theological intolerance, he will appeal verdict, will continue to ordain gays and to marry same-sex couples. Puerto Rico Supreme Court 4-3 overturns gay and lesbian provisions in domestic violence laws as it sets aside criminal charges against Leandro Ruiz Martnez for beating his domestic partner, Juan J. del Valle, two years ago in the first same-sex 112

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II domestic-violence case the government prosecuted since it decided to apply the law to same-sex couples; the judges in the majority said the legislative intent was to "strengthen the institution of the family," defined as one of a "sentimental and legal union between a man and a woman"; the ruling comes as the Legislature revises the island's penal code for the first time in 30 years (including Puerto Rico's sodomy law, which has never been applied in P); one lawmaker, during hearings on the new code, said it should be; in order to pursue the case against his former partner, del Valle had had to get immunity from prosecution under the sodomy law, which criminalizes any sexual contact not traditionally used for procreation. After considering it a mistaken ruling, the Government of Puerto Rico files motion for reconsideration Texas: state District Judge Tom Mulvaney dismisses the divorce filing of Russell Smith and John Anthony, which he had granted in March, because AG Greg Abbott intervened and said the court could not grant a divorce where no marriage existed. Texas: legislation to bar Texas from recognizing same-sex civil unions or marriages passes a key committee and is slated for Senate vote. Bills sponsor Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio: "The bottom line purpose of the bill is to try to defend and shore up the institution of marriage, which is the fundamental basis on which this society is built and it's been under significant attack over the past couple of decades in particular." Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst: "This is simply ratifying what most Texans believe, that marriage is an honored institution between a man and a woman. April 30, House of Reps then passes Defense of Marriage Act 118-9; state Senate passed the same bill April 15; Gov. Perry happy to sign it in; Texas 37th state to ban the recognition of a same-sex marriage contracted beyond its borders. April 2003 Texas: House state affairs committee of the Texas legislature starts hearings on a bill tabled Feb to ban placing foster children in homes with someone who is unmarried; sponsor of the bill Rep. Robert Talton Pasadena) says putting children in homes with gay or bisexual adults " is child abuse" and children are better off in orphanages, homosexuality is a learned behaviour LGBs will try to teach their foster children to be gay, anyway gays are likely to be pedophiles (oneman rant, no evidence, no witnesses in favour); committee must vote before the bill can move to the House floor for a full vote; then it would need passage in the Senate and the governor's signature to become law. Talton later clarifies his intentions by suggesting unmarried individuals" be changed to "homosexual or bisexual individuals." House State Affairs Committee Chairman Ken Marchant (R-Carrollton) then decides not to bring the bill up for a vote because it lacks support from committee members; bill will not reach the Texas House floor for debate. Canada: govt committee re relationships recognition hears from Wayne Samuelson, the head of the Ontario Federation of Labour who accuses the committee of doing nothing to stop "insulting, dangerous and unnecessary" rhetoric from conservative Christian groups opposed to gay marriage. Committee hears from CLGRO: Take state out of marriage business Canada: Finance minister and Deputy PM John Manley comes out in favour of same-sex marriage, widely reported in papers as Deputy Prime Minister said 113

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II yesterday he favours legislation to legalize gay marriages and would support needle exchanges for street addicts. 3rd running candidate Sheila Copps is pro; Paul Martin, the leadership front-runner: "It's an issue I'm wrestling with, as I think are a great number of Canadians" but notes he would not appeal any court decision requiring Ottawa to include same-sex relationships under the definition of marriage. April 2003 London, Ont: an Ontario Superior Court of Justice David Aston rules a child cannot have three legal parents (lesbian couple and son's biological father); partner of the boy's biological mother wanted to be named co-parent without having the biological father lose his rights: Aston says woman plays the role of parent to the child in every sense imaginable and suggests allowing the trio to share equal rights as parents would be in the boy's best interests but provisions of the Children's Law Reform Act (Ontario) prohibit it. A coalition of right-wing, religious-based organizations had sought intervenor status but were rejected. Ontario Court of Appeal (three-judge panel: Chief Justice Roy McMurtry, Justice James MacPherson and Justice Eileen Gillese) hears arguments from the federal government appealing a ruling by the Ontario Divisional Court last summer which struck down the prohibition against gay marriages and gave the government two years to change the law before it is declared void; case of 8 gay and lesbian couples who filed the initial suit after being refused marriage licenses by the Toronto city clerk on the grounds the federal government does not recognize gay marriage; court papers also filed on behalf of two other couples, married in a ceremony at MCC arguing that by refusing to recognize the unions the government is violating the church's constitutional right to practice its religion; Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Canadian Coalition of Liberal Rabbis for Same-Sex Marriage submit amicus briefs in support of gay marriage; city of Toronto and government of Ontario tell court in legal documents they are prepared to issue licenses and register gay marriages if the federal government were to change the law. South Africa: Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein agrees to hear a case involving two women who want to marry: Marie Fourie and Cecilia Bonthuys who have been together since 1994; women say unfairly discriminated against because a marriage between them would have no legal power; local magistrate said she would marry them but would not be able to register the marriage; High Court in Pretoria dismissed case last year; because not married they cannot open a joint bank account, obtain a joint mortgage, adopt a child or take one in foster care. NZ: two gay men seek permission to father a surrogate baby; NZ has no clear legal guidelines covering a woman having a baby for another couple; people can enter into informal arrangements, then adopt; one of the few requirements is that people wishing to use a surrogate mother must first get permission from a national ethics committee which considers each request on a case-by-case basis; since 1997, 19 of 22 requests granted; application by the two men put on hold; committee seeks more info on the health of the proposed birth mother and the legal status of the child in light of the couple's intent to move out of the country. Committee cannot discriminate against the couple on the grounds they are gay but adoption law specifies joint application to adopt a child can only be made by two spouses. Same month, couple withdraws surrogacy bid, saying they are outraged at the prejudice against them and the way word of the proposal was made public. 114

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II May 2003 ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope introduces bill to remove discrimination in the Adoption Act: "The adoption law is quite explicit, it says that only a heterosexual couple may adopt children. That's discrimination." Australian Christian Lobby upset. Western Australia gave same-sex couples the right to adopt children. Tasmania: Law Reform Institute report tabled in Parliament today by Tasmania's Attorney-General, Judy Jackson recommends amending the Adoption Act to allow a couple to apply for adoption regardless of their gender or marital status; says that to deny same sex couples eligibility is not in the best interests of children and discriminates against gay couples, Spain: Basque parliament adopts legislation giving the same legal rights to all couples, whether married or unmarried, straight or gay, puts the Basque country in line with Catalonia, Navarra and Andalusia. Sweden will set up civil union registries (for straights and gays) at its embassies in Paris, Madrid and Lisbon, aimed at Swedish nationals who are unable to return home to sign the official register; ambassadors will be able to perform the civil union ceremony, couples (at least one of whom must be a Swedish citizen) sign an official register. Foreign Minister Anna Lindh: "It is natural for Sweden to be able to offer registration of partnership at embassies where the host country does not oppose it." Activists query why not all countries since embassies are considered Swedish soil? UK: a Tory backbench attempt to block gay couples adopting children scuppered when members of the shadow cabinet defied Iain Duncan Smith and refused to back the motion; the five modernisers were absent from the division lobbies when MPs voted on a Tory amendment which would have removed same-sex couples from the definition of those entitled to new adoption rights; amendment rejected 301-174. It was after Iain Duncan Smith said at the weekend that unmarried couples should not be allowed to adopt that the five revolted. The Church of England review commissioned by John Gladwin, Bishop of Guildford, for the archbishops' council, written by the social research unit at the University of Roehampton Surrey, says church must participate in a competitive market for weddings and should give equal support to 'adult relationships' outside marriage, including those of gays and lesbians; churches should regard marriage as a process rather than an event; cohabitation (including same-sex) might be considered part of that process. David Peck, chaplain to the Bishop of Guildford: "It is amazing that at a time when 70% of couples say they want a religious service, the C of E has seen its market share falling from three-quarters to a third by excluding itself from the game. We are now saying we want to fulfil our duty to the nation and be in the business of supporting relationships. It is about making marriage easier to access, and giving better support." UK: Rowan Williams, AB of C, and other church leaders issued a statement saying "the question of public rites for the blessing of same-sex unions is still a cause of potentially divisive controversy. ... There is no theological consensus. . .therefore we, as a body, cannot support the authorization of such rites." Follows discussion at Brazil meeting. C of E appoints Jeffrey John, Chancellor and Canon Theologian of Southwark Cathedral, new Suffragan Bishop of Reading; Dr. John, 50, has repeatedly called for the ordination of practising gays and for the blessings of gay unions. Dr John, 50, who has declined to comment on his own sexuality, last year contributed to a 115

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II collection of prayers for gays and lesbians. It included prayers for same-sex marriages, sex changes and "fantasy and fetish". May 2003 Scotland: Green party MP Patrick Harvie introduces a private member's bill to grant unmarried straight and gay couples the same rights as heterosexual married pairs (include tax affairs, welfare benefits, insurance, property and legacies as married couples), via a civil registration ceremony; Green Party, Liberal Democrats, the Socialists, and individual members from other parties are for; 14 MSPs supported a similar bill in the last parliament; needs 11 to ensure the bill reaches its first parliamentary stage; Scottish Conservatives accuse Harvie of trying to hijack parliament's agenda; UK Government is promising to consult on civil partnership proposals for England and Wales and the Scottish Executive said last year that it would examine those proposals. US: Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (one of the country's largest M-A political organizations) announces support for the Permanent Partners Immigration Act to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act by adding the term permanent partner. 65% of US immigration is family-based; 15 countries incl. UK, Canada, Australia, and South Africa recognize same-sex relationships for immigration purposes. USA: Gallop poll shows 60% believe homosex should not be illegal (up from 52% last year and 43% when Gallup first asked in 1977); 60% believe gay and lesbian couples should have the same rights as heterosexually married couples; 49% for and 49% against legal gay civil unions(last year 46% for, 51% opposed.); 90% agree that gays should have equal rights at work (though it is still legal to fire gays in 36 states). USA: legislation introduced in the House of Representatives to amend the Constitution to permanently deny marriage to same-sex couples; Federal Marriage Amendment sponsored by Republican Reps. Marilyn Musgrave (Colorado), Jo Ann Davis (Virginia), David Vitter (Louisiana), and Democratic Reps. Ralph M. Hall (Texas), Collin C. Peterson (Minnesota), Mike McIntyre (N Carolina), several of whom co-sponsored the bill last year. There is no Senate companion measure. Amendment: "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution nor the constitution of any state, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried coupled or groups." Passing a constitutional amendment requires amendment 1) must be introduced as a joint resolution in the House and Senate, 2) must pass both houses by a two-thirds majority vote, 3) must be ratified by three-quarters of states. USA: Urban Institute for the Human Rights Campaign releases report drawing on data from the Census Bureau, showing: GL couples slightly better educated than married people, earn 25% more (median wages earned by GL couples were $32,000, straight unmarried couples $24,000 - perhaps because GL couples tend to be more urban); 64% GL gay couples own their homes, 78% of married partners; median property value for gay couple with own home was $162,000, for straights $112,000 - perhaps because urban/rural diff; lesbian couples are more likely to have children than gays and are concentrated more in suburbs, where housing is cheaper. HRC says therefore GL couples are "a mirror image of the majority of families in the country" and should have the same benefits and protections as their straight counterparts. California Supreme Court hears arguments in coparenting case of Sharon S. who 116

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II gave birth via AI in 1999 and her ex (partner of 10 years) Annette F., who was to adopt the boy; couple split up while adoption pending; S withdrew consent to allow F. to adopt; 1986 California was first state to allow the same-sex partner of a child's biological parent to adopt and become a defacto coparent. [The first couple to be granted second-parent adoption rights were Donna Hitchens and Nancy Davis. Both are currently San Francisco Superior Court judges.] 2001 appeals court in San Diego ruled that the practice was illegal and said it was never the intent of the legislature to permit both parents in gay relationships to serve as parents of the same child, nullifying an estimated 10,000 second-parent adoptions, though parents could commence new adoption petitions under a law passed 2002 to allow same-sex partners to adopt their children. May 2003 California assembly passes bill to protect LGBTs in the foster care system; passed on mainly party lines. still has to pass Senate and be signed by Gov. Gray Davis Similar legislation was passed last year but vetoed by Davis over a provision that required the state to recruit gay foster care providers in the same way it recruits minority-group providers. Davis said the state's budget crisis prevented it from taking on a major new outreach effort. Currently 250,000 foster children in California. Connecticut: legislative session expires, killing domestic partner register bill. Indiana: Marion County Superior Court Judge S.K. Reid rules Indiana law banning gay marriage is not unconstitutional because it "promotes the state's interest in encouraging procreation to occur in a context where both biological parents are present to raise the child"; she also denies a petition to recognize civil unions performed outside the state, says it is up to the legislature to grant recognition to same-sex couples.37 states, including Indiana, have laws prohibiting same-sex marriages. Kentucky: Jessamine Circuit Court tells Brooke Verity, who delivered quadruplets to a gay couple in Lexington, it will rule that she may not sever her parental rights; Brooke Verity wants to terminate her rights so that the biological father and his partner can raise the children together; court report says babies need a mother and a father, names only the biological father, Michael Meehan failing to mention his partner Thomas Dysarz, says children should not be deprived of a mother's "comfort, love and support." Verity withdraws application, but will try again in another Central Kentucky court Massachusetts: bishops of the state's four dioceses send pastoral letter to be read from the pulpit in every Catholic church in Massachusetts, telling parishioners they must support a ban on same-sex unions and lobby their members of the State House to support the Marriage Affirmation and Protection Amendment (prohibits marriage, also domestic-partner benefits, like health insurance, pension and bereavement leave); the letter also condemns a sane-sex marriage lawsuit currently before the state's highest court. Massachusetts: 7 gay couples file a lawsuit with the state's highest court challenging the law that forbids gay marriage. Minnesota: Lutheran St. Paul congregation, Gloria Dei, votes by a wide margin to allow its pastors to bless same-sex unions (the ELCA has no official policy prohibiting such blessings, but church leaders have discouraged them) New Hampshire: U of NH poll shows 54% for, 42% against same-sex marriage; adults 17-29 70% support, over 70, 64% oppose; women 65% for, 30% against; 117

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II men 43% for, 54% against; Protestants and Catholics both evenly divided, half supporting, half opposing. May 2003 New Jersey: NJ City U conducts poll of Hudson County (municipalities of Jersey City, Union City, Bayonne, and Hoboken) residents for The Jersey Journal, finds 55.6% for, 34.2% against legalizing gay marriage; Hudson a working-class, blue-collar, heavily Catholic county; of Catholic respondents, 60.4% for; of Protestants 30%; youngest age group (18-29) 71% for; over-65s 20%; men 61% for, women 51% New York: Lance DAmico, Vice President of Element K (educational technology company) files brief in support of model employee Jeanne Newlands lawsuit against the state of New York for equal treatment of same-sex couples; she left his employ in Rochester to relocate to Virginia with her life partner Nov 2000 and was then denied unemployment benefits; after nine months of job hunting, she was urged by the local unemployment office to file for benefits from the state of New York, which regularly grants such benefits to married couples and occasionally to engaged couples; ACLUs Lesbian and Gay Rights Project began its appeal on Newlands behalf over a year ago. New York Gov. George E. Pataki also intervenes for Newland. Scientists in Pennsylvania scientist say they have turned ordinary mouse embryo cells into egg cells in laboratory dishes, which, if it works with human cells, opens the door to creating "designer" eggs from scratch and, if repeated with human cells, could blur the biological line between fathers and mothers or open the process to two men because the scientists made egg cells not only from female cells, but also from male cells. Canada: (leaked) internal Liberal party research branch memo distributed to Liberal members of the all-party justice committee, says government likely has little legal choice but to adopt same-sex marriage because of court rulings that "in all likelihood" would be upheld by the Supreme Court; "The legal recognition is a question of impartiality, equality, universality and justice, values which are espoused by our government"; says civil registry would not meet equality test; government two months to decide whether it will ask the Supreme Court of Canada to review the BC decision. Canada: EGALE holds press conference at which statements in favour of samesex marriage are read by party leaders and leadership candidates from four of the five federal parties (including all 3 Liberal leadership candidates): Gilles Duceppe, MP, BQ Party leader; Jack Layton, NDP Party leader; John Manley, PC, MP Liberal Deputy Prime Minister; Sheila Copps, PC, MP, Minister of Canadian Heritage; Paul Martin, PC, MP; Joe Clark, PC, MP, Cons. Party Leader. Canada: during debate on a motion by Alliance MP Vic Toews to limit the power of the courts in same-sex marriage, child pornography cases, and the rights of prisoners, veteran Tory New Brunswick MP Elsie Wayne says it is time for gays to get back in the closet "where they belong." and then says only she regrets people were offended: "If they are going to live together, they can go live together and shut up about it ... There is not any need for this nonsense [same-sex marriage] whatsoever and we should not have to tolerate it in Canada. Why do they have to be out there in the public always debating that they want to call it marriage? Why are they in parades? Why are they dressed up as women on floats? They do not see us getting up on the floats, for heaven's sake, to say we are husband and wife. We do not do that. Why do they have to go around trying to get 118

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II a whole lot of publicity? "It shouldn't be marriage. If they want a union, it's up to them. That's it. Glory be to God to live in Canada, marriage is man and woman." Rebuked by party leader Clark, Wayne: "I regret that some have been offended by my remarks because this was certainly not my intention." British Columbia Court of Appeal (2003 BCCA 251 Barbeau v. BC (AG)) 3-0 rules the federal government cannot prevent gays and lesbians from marrying; 3rd courts in Canada to say legal definition of marriage is unconstitutional; rules appropriate remedy is to declare the bar to same-sex marriage of no force and order parliament to reformulate the common law definition of marriage to mean: "the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others" - giving until July 12, 2004 to make the change; case of 8 BC couples. Madame Justice Prowse: "the equality rights of same-sex couples do not displace the rights of religious groups to refuse to solemnize same-sex marriages which do not accord with their religious beliefs. Similarly, the rights of religious groups to freely practise their religion cannot oust the rights of same-sex couples seeking equality, by insisting on maintaining the barriers in the way of that equality." Vancouver: New Westminster bishop Michael Ingham defies C of E ruling, approves same-sex couple blessing in six Anglican parishes; Rev. Margret Marquardt blesses Michael Kalmuk and Kelly Montfort at St. Margaret's Cedar Cottage Church in east Vancouver; Ingham says he acts on a vote by the majority of parishes in the diocese. "This is not a marriage ceremony, but a blessing of permanent and faithful commitments between persons of the same sex in order that they may have the support and encouragement of the church in their lives together under God." ABC Williams issues a rebuke from London expressing "sadness". Evangelical primates demand firm action against Ingham, but not Archbishop Michael Peers, Primate of Canada, Bishop Ingham's immediate superior. Primate of Uganda, Archbishop Livingstone Mpalanyi-Nkoyoyo:"He needs to repent. His teaching is heretical." Primate of the West Indies, Archbishop Drexel Gomez says Ingham should not be invited to the 2008 Lambeth Conference because he is now "outside the flock" and adds "There is no question that other people will follow the example if something is not done to show that the mind of the Church is firm in this matter." Chile (where divorce is still illegal) considers bill to grant civil unions and legal status to gay and lesbian couples who have lived together for at least two years (incl pension and inheritance rights). A provision in the law would permit heterosexual married couples to divorce and permit same-sex couples to end their partnerships on the grounds of family violence or by mutual agreement. It would not permit gay and lesbian couples to adopt. Australia: Sydney Anglican diocese widens its list of banned clergy to include celibate gays and those who have had pre-marital sex and failed to repent, says it will accept polygamists, argues the Bible's outright condemnation of homosexuality compared with its oblique disapproval of a man taking several wives. Tasmanian Govt table bill recognizing same-sex relationships, a watered-down version of what was promised; allows gays and lesbians to adopt only the biological child of their partner, does not allow gay couples to apply for general placement adoptions of unknown children, govt compromise to pressure from rightwing religious groups; but amends over 70 pieces of state law, establishing a domestic partnership registry (incl partner health decisions, guardianship when a 119

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II partner is incapacitated, partner's public sector pensions; a child born as a result of fertility treatment to two women will be deemed the child of both women). Australian Catholic Bishops Conference also began a media campaign Health Minister David Llewellyn points out Health Dept does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender or relationship status when making decisions about who was eligible to care for children under foster care arrangements, only criterion a background check to ensure a person was of good character. A same-sex couple in the south of the state was accepted as an appropriate foster-care family for children under guardianship orders; none currently in the North-West but children had previously been cared for by same-sex couples in that region; no same-sex couples have fostered children in the northern region. Greens justice spokesman Nick McKim moves an amendment to allow de facto couples -- same-sex and heterosexual -- to adopt children they have fostered for minimum three years. Government uses its numbers to defeat the amendment but four Liberal members vote with the Greens. June 2003 Tasmanian Government passes same- sex adoption legislation in House of Assembly after two days of passionate debate; gays and lesbians can now adopt the children of their partners and co-parent them; a provision to allow general adoption by same-sex couples dropped at the last minute. Bill heads to the Upper House where it faces opposition. Croatia: Pope John Paul (on tour) issues strongest yet condemnation of same-sex unions, devotes entire sermon to attacking gay families: Catholics must defend traditional family values against gay marriage. "God's authentic plan" for the family founded on "the stable and faithful union of a man and a woman, bound to each other with a bond that is publicly manifested and recognized." The traditional family needs "special consideration and concrete policies aimed at promoting and protecting its essential nature, its development and stability." "Society today is tragically fragmented and divided. This is the reason why it is so desperately unfulfilled." Italy: Eurispes poll of 2000 Italians, stratified by sex, age, and area, finds 49% think homosexuality as a form of love just like heterosexuality, though 33% can only tolerate it provided it is not practised, 10% say it is immoral, 8% had no view Norway: survey shows children with gay parents do not suffer more bullying because of their parents' sexual orientation; researcher Sigrun Saur Stiklestad, MA on children (13-25) with lesbian mums Belgium: June 1 marriage law comes into effect; June 6 1st gay wedding held: Marion Huibrechts, 43, and Christel Verswyvelen, 37, (already together for 14 years) in the town hall of Kapellen, near Antwerp. Now married (except for parental and adoption purposes). Government then challenged by Dutch Alain and Portuguese Sinval, married in Holland 2001 before Belgium recognized gay marriage, to recognize their marriage although Belgium only recognizes marriages performed in countries where marriage is legal and where both parties are citizens of Belgium, or the country where the marriage was performed. In Holland, foreign nationals can marry as longas they are Dutch residents. Ireland: Department of Health publishes new discussion document on "open adoption," allowing the adoption of children whose parents are married, and allowing people who are cohabiting to adopt (including gay couples); invites 120

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II submissions from the public; Junior Health Minister Brian Lenihan is reviewing the adoption laws, will hold open forum on the changes in the autumn. June 2003 UK: with the personal agreement of Tony Blair, the Queen's Speech will include a domestic registered partnership bill giving gay and lesbian partners almost the same legal rights as married couples (incl pension and property rights, survivingspouse pension, exemption from inheritance tax on a partner's home, next of kin rights in hospitals, a form of divorce through "dissolution" of a partnership). The scheme will not apply to heterosexual cohabitees on the grounds that they have the option of civil or religious marriage denied to homosexuals. No requirement for couples to spend a certain amount of time living together to prove their commitment prior to a partnership. The only difference from marriage will be technical provisions for break-ups of partnerships. UK: a group of synagogues introduces a blessing ceremony for same-sex couples, endorsed by the Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues; unions will have no status in Jewish or civil law, but the ULPS hopes it will encourage gay and lesbian couples in the UKs 270,000-strong Jewish community, back to the fold. Orthodox Rabbi Pini Dunner asks: Whats next? A blessing before eating bacon? Swansea is to be the first place in Wales where gay and lesbian couples can get "a divorce" after being joined in civil commitment ceremonies; couples can sign partnership register and later (if necessary), apply to the Supt of Registrars in Swansea to have their certificate de-registered. Civil partnership ceremonies in Swansea began last year and are being held at the rate of more than one a month. London Underground bans ads from Sandals popular Caribbean holiday resorts (after a 200,000 four-week poster campaign) because they specify destinations are for "romantic, mixed sex couples only"; firm was already told by Advertising Standards Authority that its promotions could be misleading; tube officials acted after complaints from the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. A spokeswoman for London Underground and its media contractors, Viacom, says the adverts broke their code of conduct. Last year complaints about discrimination by Sandals against gay and lesbian couples prompted Barclaycard to stop using the company in its promotions. Birmingham council announces it will create a same-sex civil partnership register, then says couples may not use the registry office for this purpose; council officials fear holding commitment ceremonies in the Register Office could mislead some couples into believing the ceremony has legal standing US: General Electric, one of the nation's largest and oldest manufacturing and financial services companies, reaches agreement on new contracts with its unions, International Union of Electrical Works and the Communications Workers of America, that will include health care coverage for employees' same-sex domestic partners, along with pay increases and other benefits USA: Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) and Senator Mark Dayton (D-MN) file bill to recognize domestic partnerships within the Federal Government workforce, bill jointly introduced in the House and Senate, Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2003; the same or opposite sex domestic partner of a federal employee would be eligible for the same benefits as the spouse of a federal employee (retirement benefits, life insurance, health insurance, and compensation for work injuries); the lawmakers filed similar legislation in the last Congress. 121

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Frank: "Its time for the federal government to follow the lead of 11 state governments, over 150 local governments, and more than five thousand private-sector employers and recognize that providing benefits to domestic partners is not just the fair thing to do, its good business." USA: Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry, an advocacy group for gay marriages, have a list of over 350 clergy statewide from a variety of faiths who support gay unions; coalition cochairwoman Rabbi Devon Lerner:: ''Everyone on this list is in agreement that the right of gay and lesbian couples is a matter of civil, and not religious, law. We see how harmful it is to gay and lesbian families not to have the rights of civil marriage.'' US: pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly will provide company benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of workers as from Jan 2004.; spokesperson says the move is designed to keep the company competitive with its rivals in the industry; Lilly was a holdout within the drug industry, with all but one of its major rivals, New Jersey-based Wyeth, already including domestic partners in its benefits programs. California 41-29 (mainly along party lines) passes Domestic Partners Rights and Responsibility Act of 2003 giving same-sex domestic partners nearly all the rights of marriage (legal and financial benefits ranging from the ability to file joint income taxes, through bereavement and family care leave, exemptions from estate and gift taxes, child custody and visitation hearings, and health coverage under a spouse's insurance plan, to the right to petition courts for child support and alimony). Bill now moves to the Senate. 1999, California allowed gay and lesbian couples to register as domestic partners; 2001 provided registered partners the right to make medical decisions for incapacitated partners, to sue for a partner's wrongful death and to adopt a partner's child. California: Campaign for California Families begins Project Marriage, a touring caravan of motor homes that intends to stop in 23 cities over the next two weeks to urge Gov. Davis to reject Assembly Bill 205, authored by Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg ( D-Los Angeles), which expands the rights of domestic partners, should the bill reach his desk. The bill passed the Assembly in early June and is in the Senate. Randy Thomasson, CCF ED, calls the bill "scandalous and an outrage," the "gay marriage" bill, says tour will not stop in areas with predominantly gay-friendly populations, as he does not want the negative response. California: LA city council votes unanimously to support a CA bill to give domestic partners and their families many of the same rights and benefits as married couples; mayor signs off. LA now 7th city in the state to endorse the bill (SF, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, West Hollywood and Santa Monica). DC: news study of census data done by Urban Institute demographer Gary Gates for the Human Rights Campaign Foundation shows most of the Washington area's gay male and lesbian couples are middle-aged suburban homeowners; half the area's men and women in gay couples are 39 or older, 60% of households own their own homes and 30% of couples have lived in the same house together for five years or more - couples are less settled than married couples but more than unmarried heterosexual couples. The trend holds true nationwide. Washingtonarea gay couples higher incomes, are more likely to be working, and are bettereducated than all same-sex couples nationwide, but somewhat less likely than married people to work for the government; locally, gay male couples own more expensive homes than married couples do, but not nationally. The 2000 Census 122

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II counted 15,000 same-sex couples in the region and 600,000 nationwide. The Washington area ranked 4th (behind SF, NY and LA) in the number of heavily gay neighbourhoods, with the District, Arlington and Alexandria ranking high. Nationwide, gay couples are more often from different racial or ethnic backgrounds than are married couples. Lesbians are four times as likely as married women to have served in the active-duty military, National Guard or reserves. A previous report based on the 2000 Census showed gay couples less likely than other couples to have children at home: 33% female couples have children, 20% male couples. Gay male couples have higher household incomes than married couples do but gay men earn less than married men - though the gap is smaller in states with laws prohibiting discrimination against gays, a finding that is especially true for men without a college degree. Lesbians who have partners earn more than married women, partly because they are more likely to work full time. June 2003 U of Florida trustees vote to add"sexual orientation" to its anti-discrimination rules but will not consider a move to provide same-sex partner benefits to univ employees after trustee Al Warrington IV, for whom UF's College of Business is named, says he supports expanding the anti-discrimination rules but adds "That's where I think we should draw the line," because offering domestic partner benefits would be "blessing that type of orientation ... I think the Bible is very clear on that issue." Since graduating in 1958 Warrington has given the school at least $5 million. Kentucky: Lexington mayor Teresa Isaac issues an administrative order granting benefits to the domestic partners of city workers; Isaac was advised by city lawyers that she could handle the changes without a council vote. Councilman Al Mitchell: "What if someone has AIDS," cancer or other costly diseases, "I have problems with unmarried folks getting benefits." To get benefits, employees and partners must sign a declaration that says they have lived together and been in the relationship for six months; they are at least 18 years old; they plan to live together indefinitely; and they "are engaged in a committed relationship of mutual caring and support." They also must show examples of interdependence, such as joint bank accounts or common ownership of a motor vehicle or property. A day later, council votes 11-4 to shelve the plan until October and then reexamine it. Mayor Isaac contends she had the power to make the executive order. City legal department will decide if the vote to block the plan holds up. June 2003 Montana: ACLU files brief asking the Montana Supreme Court to require the Montana University System to provide lesbian and gay employees an equal opportunity to purchase health insurance and other employee benefits for their partners. Married employees can get health insurance, disability coverage and other benefits for their spouses; unmarried, committed opposite-sex couples can get partner benefits by signing a statement of common-law marriage. 4 friend-of-the-court briefs in support filed by MEA-MFT, the Montana Women's Lobby, the Women's Law Section of the State Bar of Montana and others. Lawsuit was brought on behalf of two lesbian couples (incl Carol Snetsinger and Nancy Siegel) and PRIDE, Inc. New Jersey: State Superior Court judge hears arguments on gay marriage, case brought by 7 couples denied marriage licenses last year. New York State Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board agrees to reconsider its decision denying unemployment benefits to Jeanne Newland, a lesbian who left her job in Rochester to relocate with her life partner. 123

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II June 2003 New York City: Associated Press (AP), the world's largest news service, offers same-sex domestic partner benefits to employees worldwide (agreement worked out with union the Wire Service Guild as part of a new union contract between the Guild and the AP which must still be ratified by union members); AP has 3,700 employees working in 242 bureaus around the world. Vermont becomes 1st state in the US to actively seek gay and lesbian couples to become adoptive parents; Social and Rehabilitation Services says it has more children in the system than there are prospective 'traditional' families to adopt them; SRS officials believe same-sex couples are particularly good at parenting children who've been in the system, all of whom are considered "special needs" children. Canada: Ipsos-Reid survey done (after Ont App Ct decision) for The Globe and Mail and the CTV Television Network finds 54% for same-sex marriages, 44% against, 2% undecided. Quebec and BC 65% and 64% for; prairie voters most opposed; 51% in Alberta against; Ontario 49% for and 48% against; 18-34 year olds 71% for; over 55s 36% for; women 60% for, men 48% for; rural Canada 46% for, urban 56%; university graduates 65% for. Canada: government (after Ont App Ct decision) decides to adjourn parliament a week early, leaving the hate literature bill in limbo til Sept and dissent over marriage quietened by absence of MPs. All-party parliamentary committee 9-8 says the government should accept ruling (see below); Svend Robinson introduces a motion in the in the Commons Justice Committee to accept the ruling; followed four hours of often acrimonious debate, vote tied 8-8, ended only with the chair casting the deciding vote. In final cabinet meeting before summer break, Justice Minister Martin Cauchon says he does not want to appeal ruling, believes there is little chance of winning an appeal of the Ontario or the BC ruling; after meeting PM Chretien with all 40 cabinet ministers in support says the government will bring in legislation to change dozens of laws that refer to marriage as a union between one man and one woman, will seek direction from the Supreme Court to protect the rights of churches opposed to gay marriage and on implementation. PM: "We want to avoid counter appeals and the use of the Notwithstanding clause to block implementation of the law." PM will ask supreme court to rule marriage comes under federal jurisdiction, thus dodging Alberta challenge. Draft legislation expected soon for consideration in fall session; remaining 131 Liberal MPs split; free vote expected; to defeat the bill, half the Liberal caucus would have to vote against it, plus 63 Alliance MPs and most of the 15 Tory MPs who have said they oppose same-sex marriage; most of the 34 BQ MPs and all 14 NDPers should support. Canadian Christian College organizes demo of fundies outside Ontario Superior Court. Ken Campbell refers to Toronto's annual gay pride parade as the ''AIDS parade'' and adds ''We believe that SARS will cease when the AIDS parade is cancelled. Lord God have mercy on this city and upon this nation.'' 8 provinces says they are willing to accept gay marriage. Alberta's justice minister Dave Hancock says the federal government can pass all the legislation it wants to legalize gay marriage, but his province will refuse to issue marriage licenses because Alberta already has laws in place will prevent any gays or lesbians from marrying. Besides, he says, gays should be happy with the rights they have in the 124

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II province. Alberta recognizes same-sex domestic partners under a variety of family laws June 2003 British Columbia Court of Appeals agrees to review its ruling that the federal government was illegally preventing gays and lesbians from marrying when it gave the government until July 12, 2004 to amend the marriage laws or they would be struck down. The 3 couples who brought the case ask that the 2004 deadline be dropped making the ruling consistent with a similar decision by the Ontario Appeals Court. Partners are Joy Masuhara & Jane Hamilton, Peter Cook & Murray Warren, and Dawn & Elizabeth Barbeau.. Alberta: after govt announces it will not appeal Ontario decision, Keith Purdy and Rick Kennedy (13 years together) go to a downtown Calgary registry office to seek a marriage license, are refused, file a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission. NB: Moncton couple Wayne Toole and Art Vautour (just married in Ontario) will file human rights complaint against Service New Brunswick and the province for preventing them from having the same name after SNB denies Vautour permission to assume his partner's last name; provincial official says the Justice Department needed more time to figure out how to handle their request and study implications. Vautour says there is nothing on the government's books that says only a man and a woman can assume each others' names. Ontario Appeals Court (three-judge panel, Chief Justice Roy McMurtry and justices James MacPherson and Eileen Gillese) issues 61-page written ruling in favour of same-sex marriage: "The existing common law definition of marriage violates the couple's equality rights on the basis of sexual orientation under [the charter]," declares current definition invalid, substitutes "the voluntary union for life of two persons to the exclusion of all others" for "the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others", demands law be changed, orders clerk of the City of Toronto to issue marriage licences to the 7 same-sex couples involved in the case (Hedy Halpern & Colleen Rogers, Michael Leshner & Michael Stark, Aloysius Pittman & Thomas Allworth, Dawn Onishenko & Julie Erbland, Carolyn Rowe & Carolyn Moffatt, Barbara Mcdowall & Gail Donnelly, Alison Kemper & Joyce Barnett); also Anne & Elaine Vautour and Kevin Bourassa & Joe Varnell married January 2001 MCCT, ruling backdates licenses to Jan 2001. Leshner, 55, and Stark, 45, get first issued license the same afternoon; Leshners 90-year-old mother, Ethel, beams and sings from her wheelchair. Ontario Premier Ernie Eves said Ontario will continue to refuse to register same-sex marriages until the federal government passes new legislation adding he has no objection to same-sex marriages, but believes there are legal concerns about how children would be affected. A day later, Ont AG Norm Sterling: "I'm charged to follow the laws and will follow the laws with regards to this matter"; asked if Ontario would register the marriages, Sterling says "Absolutely." BC Court of Appeal said May that governments should recognize gay marriage (overturning BC Supreme Court ruling) and gave Ottawa until July 12, 2004 to change the law. Justice Minister Martin Cauchon still has until June 30 to ask the Supreme Court of Canada to review the BC ruling. Alberta Premier Ralph Klein says he will block any attempt to impose gay marriage in his province: "If there is any move to sanctify and legalize same-sex 125

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II marriages, we will use the notwithstanding clause. Period. End of story." Dennis Schuler, mayor of Banff, says gay weddings would provide a needed boost to Banff's struggling tourist economy. New Brunswick justice minister Brad Green says NB won't follow suit until the Supreme Court of Canada orders it to. Toronto Star editorializes in favour, Sun against. Federal Liberal caucus unable to come to agreement; statement expected from Justice Minister Martin Cauchon postponed a week Toronto's city clerk deluged with calls from gay and lesbian couples across the US and Canada inquiring about marriage since Ontario has no residency requirement for marriage, extends business hours at City Hall during "in recognition of Pride Week" for surge of marriages. By June 20, 175 gay marriage licenses issued (10 to Americans) in two weeks. Pride parade will have special wedding contingent. June 2003 Toronto: investigation expected following reports that a Toronto marriage commissioner refused to perform same-sex unions Saturday; by June 25, 225 marriage licenses for same-sex couples in Toronto but flood slacking off now. Pride Saturday morning only 2 marriages, afternoon gay couples who picked up licenses were told the chapel was not available for the rest of day. Global television news reports the presiding officiant refused to participate in same-sex marriages, citing religious reasons. 16 couples booked for Sunday, Ottawa: Patch, a white swan, the last of twelve donated to Ottawa by the Queen in 1967 has died, leaving behind his crestfallen male mate; keepers in charge of the royal swan collection say that if they look for a new partner for Buddy, Patch's life partner, they will try to accommodate his same-sex preference. The two swans stuck together in their own section of the Rideau River, and shared a pen in the swan collection's custom-built wintering facilities. They would often be seen grooming each other and engaging in customary swan mating rituals. "They face each other and move their heads back and forth in unison and make little vocalisations," Ms. Hartig said. South Africa: carpet technologist Marie Fourie and partner (local nurse) Cecilia Bonthuys (together since 1994) granted leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein against the Pretoria High Court's refusal last October to legalize their marriage. A local magistrate was prepared to marry them but said she would not be able to register the marriage; no bank was prepared to open a joint bank account for them and they could not obtain a joint mortgage, could only with difficulty become members of a medical aid fund and to adopt a child or take one in foster care. Mombasa: Christian and Muslim religious leaders unite to warn the govt against allowing gay marriages in Kenya, says homosexuality is unacceptable, accuse their British counterparts of sacrificing the spiritual well-being of their flock in order to "fit into popular culture and modern psychology". Sheikh Mohammed Dor, SecyGenl of the Council of Imam Preachers of Kenya (CIPK): "Both the Bible and Koran are clear on this matter. It was always meant to be an Adam and Eve affair and that is as it should be," says Britain's openness towards "unnatural sexual behaviour" due to lack of a sound religious system and what he termed the society's "misunderstanding of the places of God and man in a free society." Mombasa Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) Bishop Julius Kalu says UK Church has let the Government have its way " in a clearly wrong and heretical issue," adds "The Church in England is going astray. By and by, we keep getting the 126

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II impression that it is being influenced by the world in its decisions instead of matters being the other way round. It is totally wrong. I would suggest that they meet and reconsider their mission in this world." July 2003 NZ: Prime Minister Helen Clark says (in Britain) work is underway to enable gay and de facto straight couples to legalise their relationships via civil unions that have all the legal rights of married couples, Labour-led Coalition intends picking up a Civil Union Bill changing 100+ laws in line with its election pledge to end discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Unions would probably be certified by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, not religious ceremonies, couples able to dissolve the union after two years, as with divorce. Argentine: Buenos Aires begins to register civil unions for gay couples; last December, city council voted 29-10 for Civil Unions Law No. 1004 for "couples formed by two people regardless of their sex or sexual choice"; couples must have lived together for at least two years within the city limits; they get health and insurance benefits, hospital visit rights, but not inheritance or adoption; a poll conducted on an Argentine website shows 44% still oppose. Croatia passes law extending to gay couples living together for at least three years the same rights as unmarried heterosexual couples (incl. state recognition of shared assets, joint health coverage); Croatia hopes to join EU. EU: 7 judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg unanimously rule Siegmund Karner of Vienna, who lost his tenancy when his partner died in 1994 (partner the official tenant of the flat where they had lived for 5 years), was the victim of unlawful discrimination; ruling affects 45 countries; all benefits or rights granted by governments to opposite-sex cohabiting partners must now be granted to same-sex cohabiting partners too. Austrian Supreme Court ruled in 1996 that tenancy protection for a 'life companion' was only intended to apply to opposite-sex partners. Court says Austrian government justification for Mr Karner's treatment "protection of the family in the traditional sense" failed to provide "convincing and weighty reasons" showing that the exclusion of homosexuals was necessary. Madrid: European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference hears results of study from one of only two clinics in the UK to offer fertility treatment to lesbian women: 80% of the lesbian women they saw, but only 32% of straight women suffer either from polycystic ovary syndrome, or a less serious version with many of the same features but no external symptoms; 38% lesbians and 14% straight women had full-blown polycystic ovarian syndrome, a hormonerelated condition that 10% of women have,, which is linked to an excess of male sex hormones in the bloodstream; symptoms include excess hair, acne, obesity, and a heightened risk of more serious health problems such as diabetes, also often fertility problems. They find it hard to draw conclusions. Switzerland: 73-year-olds Ernst Ostertag and Robert Rapp, together nearly 50 years, swap rings and exchanged formal wedding vows under new law giving same-sex couples identical rights to heterosexual pairs. Eight other couples have ceremonies in Zurich to mark the first day of a local law approved by a 62% majority in a referendum last September. The state of Geneva also recognizes same sex couples, but doesn't grant full equality on inheritance tax. Swiss authorities are currently considering whether to introduce a national law to harmonize treatment throughout the country. 127

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II July 2003 Vatican releases biggest assault on evil of same-sex marriage/adoption, 12-page document available in seven languages Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons prepared by Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, directs the clergy to exert pressure on Catholic politicians, directs politicans to vote according to Chuirch doctrine, laws safeguarding marriage must be promoted and "in no way can other forms of cohabitation be placed on same level as marriage, nor can they receive legal recognition as such." Says gay unions "totally lacking in the biological and anthropological elements of marriage and family which would be the basis ... for granting them legal recognition." Says artificial reproduction medical practices involve "a grave lack of respect for human dignity." Adoption "creates obstacles to [their] normal development." Allowing children to be adopted by persons living in such unions would actually mean doing violence to these children, in the sense that their condition of dependency would be used to place them in an environment that is not conducive to their full human development. UK: government tables draft legislation for same-sex (only) relationships recognition in England and Wales, essentially a domestic partnership registry (15 days after applying), "registered civil partnerships", to be introduced in 2010, many of the rights and responsibilities of marriage. Tory party agrees on free vote. Get: inherit a partner's state pension (after 2010); treated as next of kin in hospitals; register death of partner and have a say over funeral arrangements; inherit partner's estate and tenancy; state bereavement benefits and criminal injuries compensation scheme; treated as "close family" for prison visits; exempted from testifying against each other in court; immigration rules changed to remove the two-year prior cohabitation requirement for gay couples before one partner can move with the other to Britain (but once in UK, 2-year probationary period as for heterosexual couples; same protection as married spouses from domestic violence; treated as a "single family unit" for state benefits; right to a partner's life insurance; partnership a factor when a couple want to adopt jointly; splitting up, a) allowed to apply to a court for a contact order to ensure they see their ex-partner's children, b) duty on one partner to provide alimony; c) property and pensions divided, d) courts can make orders to provide "reasonable maintenance" for children; registered names publicly available (unlike current confidentially run schemes) Partnerships registered earlier in London, Bath, Birmingham, Brighton, Darlington and Leeds, and in Devon and Dorset, not legally binding, nor transferable: this one has to be done again. Ministers predict up to a third of gays and lesbians get civil registration by 2050, maybe as many as hets get married; total annual cost to the govt may be around 75m in 2010 (incl. state pension, public service pension, and dissolution costs); annual cost to private employers could be up to 20m a year. The 25% of heterosexual people under 60 cohabiting in Britain are excluded; they are treated as married when cutting their benefits, but not when it comes to pension sharing. Scotland: government plans to recognize same-sex partnerships in England and Wales, but not in Scotland; publishes consultation paper which proposes establishing a registration scheme for civil partnerships of same-sex couples (incl pensions, benefits and maybe inheritance tax, though income may be treated jointly for a range of other benefits including the Minimum Income Guarantee in retirement). N Ireland: Belfast-based Institute for Conflict Research study An Acceptable Prejudice? finds 82% gay people in NI have suffered verbal or physical 128

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II harassment; over 50% have been the victims of violence; most perpetrators groups of young men in their teens or 20s; only 42% of the harassed reported to plice, believing police homophobic. In the past six years, five gay men have been murdered in Northern Ireland. Report calls on gov to initiate a campaign aimed at raising awareness about homophobic violence and to include homophobic harassment in any new hate crime legislation, also calls for increased training for police officers and people working in the public sector July 2003 USA: Gallup Poll for USA Today and CNN following US Supreme Court sodomy ruling and Canadian gay marriage ruling: 39% for same-sex marriages, 55% against (from March 1996, 27% for, 68% against); among 18029 year olds, 61% for; aged 30-49, 37% for; in the West, 53% for; in the East, 38% for; in the Midwest, 36% for; in the South, 32% for. USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll finds decreased support for homosex since Supreme Court decision on sex in Texas; levels drop to those of 1996; 48% said gay relations between consenting adults should be legal, and 46% said no (in May, it was 60-35%). Those making the biggest shifts in attitude included respondents who said they attended church almost every week (suuport dropped from 61% in May to 49%); among African-Americans, support fell from 58% to 36%. Opposition to state-recognized civil unions grew from 49% in May to 57%; support fell from 49% to 40% US: non partisan poll by Democratic polling firm Peter D. Hart Research Associates and Republican firm American Viewpoint finds 63% of registered voters support or would accept that gays and lesbians receive the same rights and protections as other Americans. 49% support or accept, 44% oppose "gays and lesbians would have the same right to marry as heterosexual couples with the same legal rights, responsibilities, and protections." 50% support or accept (47% oppose) granting civil marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples with the same rights, responsibilities and protections given to other married couples, as long as religious institutions do not have to recognize or perform these marriages. Critical groups to both parties are supportive or accepting of providing civil marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples in long-term, committed relationships - from women and suburban voters to Independents and Southern Democrats Wall Street Journal and NBC News polls finds 53% favour allowing gay and lesbian couples to enter into legal agreements with each other that are not marriages, but that would give them many of the same legal and financial relationships as married couples. US: Sept/Oct issue of Cond Nast's Bride's Magazine, 70 years old, has full-page article on same-sex weddings; first time that any of the five top-selling bridal magazines has published such a feature. US: President Bush says he is not ready to endorse legislation calling for a Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage ("I don't know if it's necessary yet. Let's let the lawyers look at the full ramifications of the recent Supreme Court hearing"), says also he is not ready to support gay marriage either (What I do support is a notion that marriage is between a man and a woman"). US president Bush says White House lawyers are looking at legislation for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, a formal definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Calling America a "welcoming country" Bush says the country should not become polarized on the issue of homosexuality. 129

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II "I am mindful that we're all sinners and I caution those who may try to take a speck out of the neighbor's eye when they got a log in their own. I think it is important for our society to respect each individual, to welcome those with good hearts. On the other hand, that does not mean that someone like me needs to compromise on the issue of marriage." Senate Judiciary Committee will consider whether a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage "is necessary" when it returns from its summer recess. "I believe that we must take care to do whatever it takes to ensure that the principles defined in the Defense of Marriage Act remain the law of land," said Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who will lead a subcommittee on gay marriage. Jerry Falwell drops everything to devote his time to passage of a constitutional ban on gay marriage. US: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press poll finds 53% against same-sex marriages, 38% for (in 1996, Pew found 65% against, 27% for): white evangelical Protestants 83% against (84% in 1996); blacks 64% against (65% in 1996); white Roman Catholics and white mainline Protestants like it better than they did in 1996. US: Sen. Patrick Leahy ( D-Vt). introduces Senate legislation to give same-sex couples equal immigration benefits under the law; The Permanent Partners Immigration Act would modify the federal Immigration and Nationality Act to provide same-sex partners of US citizens and lawful permanent residents the same immigration benefits that legal spouses of US residents currently enjoy. Sens. Mark Dayton, D-Minn.; Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.; John Kerry, D-Mass.; Jim Jeffords, I-Vt.; and Russell Feingold, D-Wis., joined Leahy as original sponsors of the measure, which has never before been introduced in the Senate. On Feb. 13, 2003, Rep. Jerrold Nadler re-introduced PPIA in the House, where the measure has the bipartisan support of 116 co-sponsors. USA: Wal-Mart Stores, the nation's largest private employer (3500 stores, 1m employees, no unions), expands its antidiscrimination policy to protect gay and lesbian employees, revises its policy on harassment and inappropriate conduct to include sexual orientation, and encourages employees to report discriminatory behaviour to management; decision disclosed by Pride Foundation, a Seattle gay rights foundation that had invested in Wal-Mart and then lobbied the company for two years to change its policy. Mona Williams, Wal-Mart's VP for communications:"It's the right thing to do for our employees. We want all of our associates to feel they are valued and treated with respect - no exceptions. And it's the right thing to do for our business." In recent months, WM has decided to stop selling three men's magazines it said were too racy and to partially obscure the covers of four women's magazines on sale in checkout lines because too provocative, also refuses to sell CD's with labels warning of explicit lyrics. 9 of the 10 largest Fortune 500 companies now have rules barring discrimination against gay employees, exception is Exxon Mobil. WalMart is denounced by Focus on the Family. Arizona: Phoenix couple Harold Donald Standhardt, 34, and Tod Alan Keltner, 36, appeal a decision by the Maricopa County Superior Court to refuse a marriage license based on the state's law banning same-sex marriage; appeal based on the June Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Texas sodomy law and a 2002 Arizona Supreme Court ruling on state funding for abortions for low-income women (state may not enact laws that grant any citizen privileges while denying 130

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II them to others). July 2003 California Board of Equalization says registered domestic partners may now take possession of a deceased partner's property without it being reassessed for property tax purposes; previously, there was an automatic reassessment of the property, sometimes costing the grieving partner their home or land. Board estimates the statewide tax cost at $737,000 the first year and $3.2 million after five years. California: Secretary of State Kevin Shelley says state offices in Fresno, LA, San Diego and SF will immediately begin processing new domestic partner registrations at the front counters; partners get a newly designed domestic partnership certificate, suitable for framing (previously only a copy of a government issue registration form). Colorado: a coalition of clergy from over 40 Protestant and Reformed Jewish congregations announces it will fight for equal marriage rights for same-sex couples and to repeal of the state's Defense of Marriage Act, which was signed in 2000 by Colorado governor Bill Owens. [It] is an expression of state-imposed discrimination at its worst," Rev. Phil Campbell, senior pastor of Park Hill United Church of Christ. Washington Post weddings section features its 1st wedding announcement, nationally syndicated columnist Deb Price and her partner of 10 years, Joyce Murdoch, both former Post editors, married in Toronto. Illinois: U of Illinois board of trustees extends partner benefits to same-sex partners of employees, health and dental plans. Chicago, Illinois: Cook County commissioners vote 13-3 to create a domestic partnership registry for gay and lesbian couples ($30 a pop); all three dissenting votes Republican; ordinance sponsored by Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley with the support of 10 other Democratic commissioners to make it easier for same-sex couples to take advantage of the domestic partner benefits offered by many employers and help couples secure health insurance or other benefits that many companies offer domestic partners; same-sex couples would file an affidavit that they are 18 years or older; competent to enter into a contract; share a household; and are loyal to only each other. Indiana Court of Appeals unanimously rules LGBs not entitled to bereavement leave when a partner or the parent of a partner; and the state's funeral leave policy (leave only for married people) does not discriminate against LGBs because it applied to straights too; Jana Cornell, who works for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, sued state officials in 1999 when denied paid time off on the death of her domestic partner's father Louisiana: 6 New Orleans residents launch a suit against the city for providing health care benefits to all domestic partners of city workers since 1999 when city council enacted legislation defining domestic partners as " people who live together and share one another's lives in an intimate and committed relationship of mutual caring." Workers' partners can get the benefits by filling out a form and paying a $35 fee. The suit claims that the law conflicts with state Defense of Marriage legislation; state constitution forbids the recognition of same-sex relationships. The lawyer for the six plaintiffs denies his clients are suing out of opposition to homosexuality. 131

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II July 2003 Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts misses its target date July 14 a ruling on the legality of same-sex marriage; court's own guidelines say issue decisions within 130 days of hearing oral arguments, non binding deadline which the court misses about 10% of the time. Case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, filed by seven same-sex couples who want to marry; justices received 3,500 pages of legal briefs from lawyers and groups on both sides. Nevada: although 67% voted January to ban same-sex marriage, state passes law this session (effective June) that extends hospital visitation rights to partners of gays and other unmarried people; any Nevada adult can designate who can visit them in a medical facility regardless of legal family status, individuals can decide who can take possession and decide the fate of their remains Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn signs in legislation giving same-sex couples limited partner rights, passed unanimously by the legislature; guarantees same-sex partners visitation rights in hospitals, and allows them to make decisions regarding their partners' funerals, but little else. Anyone can designate through a simple letter who should be granted the same hospital visitation rights as legally defined family members. The second half of the law lays out a series of affidavits that would allow an individual to appoint the person who will make decisions about burial, cremation and organ donation. Both sections of the deal with rights previously unavailable to unmarried couples in Nevada under any existing law. The new law also covers the elderly and unmarried heterosexual couples. New Jersey: Zogby Intl poll commissioned by four NJ PFLAG chapters shows 55% in favour of gay marriage and abolishing the states ban on it, 41% against. It is the first time in the US that a poll has indicated majority support for gay marriage. 61% in South Jersey, 52% in Central Jersey are for Dallas Morning News announce it will list same-sex unions in its pages. Utah: Salt Lake couple Sonja Kaufman,46, and Kari Fuller,38, (together 10 years), challenges Utahs ban on cohabiting straight of gay couples from adopting each other's children( or children in state foster care); they cite the supreme court ruling in the Texas sodomy case because it says gays and lesbians are entitled to Due Process and Equal Protection under the Constitution; Fuller is a stay-home mom with 7-month-old Karson and 6-year-old Angus; Kaufman adopted Angus, but in 2000 Utah changed the law and banned adoption by couples who are not married . If Kaufman died, the family would be split up and the kids put up for adoption; if the couple split, Fuller could seek visitation rights for Angus, but not Karson. Second-parent adoptions have been sanctioned by the highest courts of Vermont, Massachusetts, NY, and NJ. Courts in 21 other states have allowed second-parent adoptions for same-sex couples. Two other states, Florida and Mississippi, block gay couples from adopting. Arkansas restricts gays and lesbians from being foster parents. Virginia Housing Development Authority abolishes rule denying low-interest home-mortgage loans to gay couples, limiting them to joint applicants "related by blood, marriage or adoption or by legal custodial relationship." Canada: minister of justice presents draft same-sex marriage bill to federal cabinet; one page bill rewrites the definition of marriage to allow the "lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others"; clause says religious groups have the right to decide who they will, or will not, marry; bill goes to Supreme Court for legal opinion on a) does defining marriage fall under the exclusive 132

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II authority of Parliament, or do the provinces have a say? b) does the proposed definition conform to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? c) does the proposed law adequately protect freedoms of conscience and religion? Answer likely in Oct. Cauchon: "(This) does not take away any rights from opposite sex couples, nor does it erode the significance or sanctity of marriage. On the contrary, it provides more Canadians with access to the institution of marriage." Several Canadian faiths support giving same-sex couples the right to marry, incl the United Church of Canada (Cs largest Protestant faith), the Unitarian Church, and Reform Judaism. Govt then asks court to name an amicus curiae, to present the opposite view (paid for by taxpayers) just to be on the safe side, aslso asks the court to identify the groups that might be interested in intervening for or against same-sex marriages and invite them to seek intervenor status within four weeks. Canadians Against Same-Sex Marriage (rightwing churches, Family Research Council, and Real Women of Canada, etc) already has, calling gay marriage an "attack on the very nature of a nation - the family unit" that will lead to people trying to marry their pets. Justice Minister Martin Cauchon advises his provincial counterparts to follow Ontario and British Columbia and begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. 8 provinces say no, mostly arguing it would breaking the law to allow gay weddings before new federal legislation is in place. Jeff Lance, PEI AG: We won't be taking him up on his invitation. We said all along this was a federal jurisdiction matter and we'll wait to see what the federal government does on this." Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm "I found it rather strange request that Ottawa would be suggesting we start complying with a law that has not yet been passed by the Parliament of Canada." RC Archbishop of Ottawa Marcel Gervais warns Jean Chretien in a letter that if he continues to support same-sex marriage he could be denied the sacrament, excommunicated: "you have lost your way." PM wont discuss the letter (which he has not answered) but says through a spokesperson that he respects the Church's opinion but believes in the separation of church and state. In May Gervais berated Chretien for saying "I am Catholic and for abortion." Paul Martin, expected to succeed next year as PM, receives a similar warning from the church (but not from Gervais): "I am a practising Catholic and I have responsibilities as a legislator and those responsibilities must take in a wider perspective." But Monsignor Louis Dicaire of the Assembly of Quebec Bishops says Quebec churches won't mobilize their members against same-sex marriage: The Catholic Church is a faith community, not a pressure group." Canada: Statistics Canada considers counting gay married couples in the next census. 32,000 same-sex couples in 2001 census. BC Court of Appeal lifts one-year moratorium on gay marriage imposed in ruling earlier this year when it declared the federal definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman unconstitutional; the June 03 Ontario Court of Appeal was effective immediately; feds sent brief saying they had no objection; no interventions opposed. Rev. Tim Stevenson, first out gay ordained United Church minister, marries Anthony Porcino and Tom Graff outside the Vancouver courthouse as soon as the decision is released. 133

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II A right wing group of Christians and Muslims (Interfaith Coalition on Marriage, RC, evangelical Protestant, and Islamic) with Focus on the Family, Association for Marriage and the Family in Ontario, and Real Women of Canada announces it would appeal the rulings to the Supreme Court and ask the court to stay the rulings til heard. Alberta Human Rights Commission agrees to investigate a complaint from Keith Purdy and Rick Kennedy lodged June after being refused a licence at a Calgary registry office; decision could come in months NS: Raymond Lahey, new Roman Catholic bishop of Antigonish speaks put against same-sex marriage and urges Catholics in the diocese to write to the govt to express opposition to the proposed legalization of same-sex marriages. "This is not merely a legal matter, or a question of fairness, but something that overnight will change one of the basic institutions of our society." "It is important that we ourselves refrain from expressions of our views that are angry or hateful." Canon John Newton of St. Paul's Anglican Church in Halifax, agrees and urges parishioners to write to this newspaper expressing disapproval after the paper ran a front page picture of a kiss between two men who married in Toronto just after the court ruling. Toronto gay man wins monthly support of $2,500 from his common-law ex; Justice Ellen Macdonald recently orders CR, 47, to pay interim support to RR, 46, until the pair's dispute can be determined on a final basis at a trial. CR denies RR's claim that they were committed same-sex partners for almost 18 years until they broke up last year over CR's relationship with another man, says they were just friends, except for a three-year liaison that ended in 1988 after RR was found to be HIV+. Judge unconvinced. RR is a certified personal trainer who earns $26,000 working half the year in Florida, CR a $126,000-p.a. consultant who resides at his Muskoka cottage and says their jointly owned home in Key West is an investment. Judge Macdonald noted that 1994-2002 CR paid RR a monthly salary from his consulting business ($1,500-3,000). RR says he was not an employee of the firm.

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August 2003 South Africa: changes to the public servants' pension fund include changing definition of spouse from a legally married man or woman to include a "life partner" (also same sex partners) and more than one partner in common law marriages. Employees can now register more than one life partner with the fund who will be able to lay a claim to the pension when the employee dies; provision also made for a "child pension" so dependent children can claim part of the pension benefits when an employee without a spouse dies (one child can get 20% of the pension benefit, two can claim 30% and three or more children 40%). August 2003 South African Law Reform Commission draws up proposals to give unmarried couples in gay or straight committed relationships the right to domestic registered partnerships and the same legal privileges as marriage; now open to public comment; if endorsed, proposals could start making their way into law as soon as next year; expected to be redrafted early 2004 and submitted to Justice Minister Penuell Maduna. The move follows what have been termed a "patchwork" of cases, which have led to increased gay rights in the country. The commission feels existing laws need to be replaced by legislation that reflects a "coherent family policy". August 2003 Australian Prime Minister John Howard says no gay marriage for Oz: "It would do 134

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II nothing to ensure the survival of the species. ... This is not in any way an attack on gay people, quite the reverse, but it's just a strong statement in support of the central role of traditional marriage in our society. Traditional marriage is one of the bedrock institutions of our society, and I don't want anything to occur that further weakens it. Marriage as we understand it in our society is about children, having children, raising them, providing for the survival of the species." August 2003 Australia: South Sydney City Council votes 7-2 to create a domestic partner registry, first of its kind in any municipality in Australia, almost identical to that in London, UK; same-sex couples will be able to formally register their relationships but it will have no legal clout. Though it may be handy for proof of intent eg in immigration. August 2003 Australia: weekly Victorian gay publication The Melbourne Star carried ads from two adoption agencies, Share Care and Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services, for foster carers; Share Care spokesperson Janet Elefsiniotis says sexuality shouldnt be an issue in foster care placements and so far children have already been placed with seven gay and lesbian families. Marilyn Webster, the social policy manager for Good Shepherd Youth and Family Services, an agency with links to the Catholic Church, says the placements to date were emergency ones, not permanent. August 2003 Tasmania: Relationships Bill passes upper house 7-5, institutes a registry for same-sex couples (also carers and long-term companions), allows them to adopt their partner's children and have access to their partner's pension, guarantees inheritance rights, allows one partner the power to make medical decisions when the other partner is incapacitated. Adoption and relationships bills guaranteed passage after the five Labor members in the Upper House agreed to an amendment which took away the presumptive conclusion of parenthood for the female partners of women who conceived a child through artificial fertilisation techniques. Upper House agrees to suspend standing orders to allow debate and voting on the legislation to be fast-tracked. The reforms could be in place by January. August 2003 Colombia shelves legislation planned to give gay couples similar rights to heterosexual married couples, though supported by three previous presidents and expected to pass easily through the country's legal system; thought to be the effect of Vatican statement calling on Catholic politicians and members of the public to oppose laws recognizing gay relationships as similar to marriage. Europe: new penal code in Armenia (approved by National Assembly in April) comes into force; Europe now free of laws banning same-sex relationships for the first time in 1,500 years, probably since the enactment of Byzantine Emperor Justinian's legal code in the 6th C AD. August 2003 Poland: senator Maria Szyszkowska proposes civil union bill for same sex couples; bill supported by leaders of the ruling Democratic Left Alliance and the head of the populist Self-Defence Party, likely due to their wish to enter the European Union; recent poll finds 62% strongly oppose, 14% "somewhat" oppose, and 4% supports legalising of civil same-sex unions. August 2003 COC issues 60-page manual on lobbying for same-sex marriage; COC the group that successfully lobbied The Netherlands to pass the world's first same-sex marriage law. August 2003 Ireland: government warns priests and bishops they face charges if they distribute 135 Aug 2003

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II the Vatican's denouncement of gay marriage; Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) says priests who quote sections of the document, hand it out, or send it to politicians or other citizens could be prosecuted under Ireland's 1989 Incitement to Hatred Act (jail terms of up to six months). "The document itself may not violate the Act, but if you were to use the document to say that gays are evil, it is likely to give rise to hatred, which is against the Act. The wording is very strong and certainly goes against the spirit of the legislation." August 2003 Sinn Fin Dil spokesperson on Social and Family Affairs Sen Crowe calls Vatican on gay marriage "reactionary and "homophobic," calls on Church to end "its campaign of vilification" against homosexuals and same-sex marriages. Adds "Sinn Fin fully supports the right of same-sex couples to marry and adopt children and calls on the government to introduce legislation to this effect, which we would be happy to support." August 2003 American Bar Association at its annual convention in San Francisco does not take up a call to support gay marriage but votes to call on states to allow same-sex partners to adopt children together, will begin to lobby; already supports general right of gay people to adopt; about half the states do not permit adoptions giving both parents legal rights and allow children to qualify for inheritance and other benefits from both; 27 states already allow gays to adopt, but only California, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont guarantee joint adoption. Florida expressly bans adoption by any gay person. Mississippi bans adoption by gay couples, and Utah forbids adoption by any unmarried couple, including gay couples. August 2003 USA: F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., head of the House Judiciary Committee through which any bill to change the Constitution must pass, says there is no need for a constitutional amendment; he is opposed to gay marriage but says the 1996 Defence of Marriage Act, which he helped write, is sufficient.

August 2003 US: ICR-International Communications Research for the Associated Press poll finds 52% for 41% against a constitutional amendment banning gay marriages; 44% they would be less likely to support a presidential candidate who backs civil unions or gay marriage (49%); only 10% would be more likely. 66% Republicans, 40% Democrats support passing laws against gay marriage August 2003 Associated Press poll finds 54% for, 42% against constitutional amendment banning gay marriage; 53% (up from 46% in 2000) against, 41% for legalizing same-sex civil unions; 49% would be less likely, 10% more likely to support a presidential candidate who supports gay marriage; six top Democratic presidential contenders -- former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman and Florida Sen. Bob Graham -- have said they are not officially in favour of gay marriage, but also oppose attempts to ban it at the federal level. August 2003 US: Northrop Grumman Corp, a $25 billion defence company with 120,000 employees around the world, offers health insurance and other spousal benefits to same-sex partners of its employees; NG says it has acquired a number of smaller firms some of which already had domestic partner plans and now has decided to harmonize the various benefits into one company-wide package. Spokesman Gus Gulmert: We applied that as 'best practice' across the company. ... This will help us attract and retain employees. There is a talent war for a lot of employees that Northrop Grumman competes for, and this will increase our competitiveness." 136

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II August 2003 Arizona: 3-judge panel in state Appeals Court hears argument by Donald Standhardt, 34, and Tod Alan Keltner, 37, asking the court to overturn the Defence of Marriage Act and order a court clerk to issued a them marriage license. Assistant Attorney General Kathleen Sweeney: "I don't think there is a fundamental right to same-sex marriage," the state is trying to protect children and support procreation by limiting marriages among opposite-sex couples. August 2003 California state Senate 23-14 passes Domestic Partners Rights and Responsibilities Act of 2003, gives registered domestic partners most of the legal rights married couples have: seek child support and alimony, health coverage under a partner's plan, make funeral arrangements for a partner, file joint income tax returns, same tax exemptions enjoyed by married couples, acquisition, transfer and sharing of property, health insurance and pension coverage and collection of government benefits, including public assistance. Bill had passed the Assembly 41-29 in June; now returns to the Assembly for a concurrence vote Gov. Gray Davis says he will sign the bill August 2003 California Supreme Court 6-1 affirms the validity of second-parent adoptions, which permit both partners in a same-sex relationship to be legal parents of their children, reverses a 2001 California Court of Appeal decision that it was never the intent of the legislature to permit both partners in gay relationships to serve as parents of the same child. There have been as many as 10,000 "second-parent" adoptions in the state since courts began recognizing co-parenting in 1986. Case of Sharon S. who tried try to prevent her former partner Annette from adopting a child the two women had planned to raise together. Other states in which appellate courts have approved this procedure include: DC, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, NJ, NY, Pennsylvania, and Vermont; plus 3 state legislatures California, Connecticut, and Vermont - have enacted adoption statutes that explicitly permit same-sex partners to adopt, and second parent adoptions have been granted by trial courts in more than fifteen additional states. Altogether, second-parent adoptions are generally available in more than half the country. August 2003 California: Field poll finds California voters 50% against, 42% for legalizing gay marriage, while 42 percent approve; numbers are the closest in the 26 years the question has been asked; 1977 Field Poll had 28% for; 1985 had 30%; 1997 39%. 50% oppose a constitutional amendment to define marriage as only between a man and a woman. Democrats were 57% for, 33% against same-sex marriage; Republicans 74% against gannets, 21% for. 72% for granting legal recognition to gay couples for such areas as hospital visitation, medical powers of attorney and conservatorship. 60% of California voters agree with the US Supreme Court's ruling overturning state sodomy laws, 30% disagreed. August 2003 California: San Francisco supervisors vote unanimously to recognize civil unions from other jurisdictions; legislation requires one more vote and the signature of Mayor to take effect. August 2003 California: faced with discrimination suit, United Parcel Service decides Daniel Kline (employee 20 years+) his 27-year partner Frank Sori can be included in corporate policy allowing relocating married employees to take their family; in January, Sori was transferred from SF to Chicago by his employer, United Airlines; Kline applied for a transfer to UPS's Chicago branch under the company's "Management Initiated Transfer Request" policy; was rejected because the men are gay and therefore not legally married to each other. August 2003 Washington Post Poll finds 60% of those who rarely or never attend church and 137

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II 75% of weekly churchgoers oppose the Episcopal decision to recognize the blessing of same-sex unions; 33% were for and 7% didnt know; some 65% would object if their own faith did the same; 47% of those who regularly attend worship services say they would leave their current church if their minister blessed gay couples, even if their denomination officially approved those ceremonies. Evangelical Christians 80% rejected blessing gay unions, and 66% would abandon their home church if it began performing commitment ceremonies for gay couples. 37% overall support a law allowing gay men and lesbians to form civil unions that would provide some of the rights and legal protections of marriage, down 12% from the Gallup poll in May. August 2003 Missouri: Kansas city council votes 11-1 to give its municipal workers (gay and straight) domestic partner benefits, establishes a domestic partner registry for city residents, allows city employees to take family and medical leave for their domestic partners; vote postponed until spring on whether or not to allow unmarried city employees to cover their domestic partners on their health insurance plans. August 2003 Oregon: lesbian couple complains to the Eugene Human Rights Commission and the Oregon Child Care Division after O'Hara Catholic School refused admission to their 4-year-old daughter because of their sexual orientation; Lee Inkmann says O'Hara Principal Dianne Bert told her having a family with two mothers at the school would confuse other children, and that gay unions are in conflict with Vatican teachings. O'Hara issues statement that the school does not discriminate on the basis of "race, color, national and ethnic origin" in admissions, but "cannot comment on decisions of academic placement for any specific student." August 2003 Pennsylvania Social Services Union gets new labour contract (covering 13,000 employees, mainly nurses, social workers or counsellors) with family and sick leave benefits to the domestic partners of gay and lesbian state employees; SSU is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union which fought for the benefits in a new four-year contract with the state. Rules are the same as those for heterosexual married couples. Unmarried straight couples are not covered. Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell agreed to the proposal because gays cannot marry in the state and has agreed to extend the benefit to another 13,000 nonunion managers and supervisors employed by the state, meaning that the benefit would cover one-third of the state's workers. But it does not include the more expensive health-care benefits which LGBT civil servants had been pressing for. August 2003 Utah: bigamist Tom Green appeals 2002 conviction (four counts of bigamy and one of criminal nonsupport), claiming the Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Texas sodomy law allows him legally to have more than one wife, says it is now illegal to single out any one group on the basis of perceived immorality, argues Utah's laws against bigamy create "a prosecution based on the moral disapproval of the practice." Utah Civil Liberties Union files amicus brief agreeing, says law violates the First Amendment as applied to plural marriages based on religious beliefs. Utah says it does not single out any one group of people but rather it applies to all bigamous relationships. Green is serving up to 5 years in prison for the convictions; in a separate case he was convicted of child rape; one of the women he "married" was 13. August 2003 Canada: Supreme Court will not fast-track a decision on the same-sex marriage laws sitting with the court; Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin says the court has prepared its docket for the fall session of the court and the government request for 138

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II an opinion on the constitutionality of the draft will be considered when the other cases are dealt with which means late winter or early 2004. Immigration Canada says it will not recognize gay marriages from BC and Ontario until federal legislation is passed. August 2003 Canada: leader of PCs Peter MacKay proposed compromise over same-sex marriage: scrap marriage from the lawbooks and replace it with registered domestic partnerships that would be open to gay and heterosexual couples; leave marriage solely to churches. Idea backed only out PC MP (Nova Scotia) Scott Brison. Egale refuses idea. Prob: feds decide who gets married and provinces determine how they marry; with civil unions the federal government could guarantee equality only in areas where it has jurisdiction, like taxation and immigration. Everything else would be up to the provinces, and laws would vary from area to area. Globe and Mail poll finds, if marriage vote were held today, it would be defeated in the House of Commons. This would delay the legalization of gay marriage. The issue would then go to the Supreme Court, seen as likely to support the Ontario, BC, and Quebec pro-gay-marriage decisions. The only way Parliament could stop same-sex marriage would the "not withstanding" clause in the Constitution which allows Parliament to override court rulings; it has never been used in Parliament; Globe, poll finds almost all MPs opposed to same-sex marriage also loath to use the clause. August 2003 Canada's justice minister Martin Cauchon tells annual convention of the Canadian Bar Association "It is simply a question of equality, human dignity and respect for all. Gays and lesbians in Canada have long-term relationships. They belong to our families and in some cases raise children. They contribute to our communities and pay taxes. This government believes they should also have access to marriage. Anything less is discrimination." August 2003 Canada: Paul Martin backs down a bit and says, while he supports the federal government's proposed same-sex marriage bill, if he was PM he would listen to "other options" - EG dropping "marriage" from the proposed legislation and putting "civil unions" - as long as Canadian rights are still protected under the Charter, of course. Wouldnt invoke the notwithstanding clause to opt out of federal attempts to legalize same-sex marriages. Won't ask his backers to automatically support Jean Chrtien's same-sex marriage legislation, because MPs have the right to their own opinions. Says he wants to see a "civil" debate in the country without two sides ascribing blame. August 2003 Canadian Justice Department asks Supreme Court of Canada to reject suit seeking to overturn the Ontario ruling allowing same-sex marriage brought by the Interfaith Coalition on Marriage and the Family (Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, the Islamic Society of North America and the Catholic Civil Rights League), a coalition of religious groups that had intervenor status in the original cases; says the organization does not have a legal right to appeal because not a direct party in the Ontario Court of Appeal. Supreme Court of Canada announces it has tentatively set aside next April 16 to hear arguments. Alberta and Quebec, and BC file notices of intent to intervene in the federal government's reference to the top court of its draft bill to legalize gay marriage. Quebec is not opposed to same-sex marriages but wants to preserve civil unions in that province as well as its rights over marriage licences and 139

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II registries. August 2003 Globe and Mail survey of all Liberal MPs finds 60 for gay marriage, 48 against, 27 undecided; 29 refuse to answer, 7 cannot be reached. August 2003 Star survey finds, of 79 Liberal Mps, 36 backbenchers against gay marriage and 15 for; cabinet members are required to support government legislation but only 17 of them, so altog opponents outnumber supporters 36-32. Another 11 MPs undecided. August 2003 Canada: Environics Research new poll shows 57% of Roman Catholics support the right of same-sex couples to marry, though only 38% of Protestants (of home 58% oppose); of all Canadians, 53% for, 43% against, 3% dk. Women 58%, men 49% for. 18- to 29-year-olds 65% for, 33% opposed; over 60, 33% for, 64% opposed. Canadians with larger household incomes and higher education are more likely to support gay marriage. Canadians widely support separation of church and state. August 2003 Canada: Ipsos-Reid/CTV/Globe and Mail poll Catholic Church and other religious groups should issue directives telling politicians how to vote on public policy issues: overall 59% oppose, 44% strongly oppose; Roman Catholics 52% oppose. In Quebec 62% oppose; 62% in Ontario, 59% in Atlantic Canada, 59% in BC, 40% in Saskatchewan / Manitoba (the only region where a majority (59%) is for). Women 63% and men 55% oppose. Women 63%, men 55% oppose. Upper-income households 64%, middle income households 59%, lower income households 50% against.. In agreement: 38% support and 22% strongly support churhces telling politicians what to do. Politicians should vote according to wishes of constituents on the issue of samesex marriage: overall 54% agree; Alberta 66%, Saskatchewan/Manitoba 59%, BC 54%, Ontario 53%, Atlantic Canada 53%, Quebec 48% for [Quebec the only place where this is less than a majority]. Young adults 58%, middle-aged 57%, older 44% for. Highly educated 58%, high school diploma 47%, less education 37% agree. Upper income households 62%, middle 54%, lower 42% agree. 48% of those opposing same-sex marriage, 60% of gay marriage-supporters fall in this category. Catholics 48% agree. Politicians should vote according to own conscience on the issue of same-sex marriage: overall 39% agree; 45% in Quebec. Older 49%, young adults 35%, middle-aged 34% agree. Lower-income 44%, upper 34% agree. 40% of those opposing same-sex marriage, 37% of gay marriage-supporters fall in this category. Catholics 42% agree. Politicians should vote according to religious leaders: 6% agree; no regional differences. 10% of those opposing same-sex marriage, 2% of gay marriagesupporters fall in this category. Catholics 7% agree. Gay marriage: 49% for and 49% against gay marriage (support down from 54% in June). Quebec 60% for, BC 53%, Atlantic Canada 51%, Ontario 46%, Alberta 41%, Sask/Man 37% Half supporters live in Q, BC and AC.. Half opposition lives in S/M, AB, and Ont. Women 55%, 44% against; men 44% for, 54% against. Young adults 63% for, 34% against; middle-aged 50% for, 49% against; older 35% for, 63% against. High school ed plus 36% against, under-high-schooldiploma 66% against. High income 56% for, middle 48%, lower 44% for RC 50% for, 48% against. 140

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II The word marriage should apply to any two people, regardless of sexual orientation, who choose to make a life commitment: 38% agree. BC 45%, Q43%, AC 38%, Ont 37%, S/M 29%, AB 24%. Women 43%, men 32% for. Younger 52%, middle-aged 37%, older 24% for. High income 47%, middle 35%, lower 31%. Same-sex-marriage supporters 73%, opposers 3% The word marriage should apply exclusively to the union of a man and a women 37%. AB 49%, S/M 49%, AC 40%, Ont 37%, BC 33%, Q 32%. Men 43%, women 32%. Younger 28%, middle-aged 39%, older 45%. High income 27%, middle 39%, lower 46%. Under-highschool-diploma 55%, highschool diploma 48%, univ 25%.. Same-sex-marriage supporters 7%, opposers 68% Marriage should apply exclusively to the union of a man and a women, there should be some other legal term for the formal union of same-sex couples 24%. Older 30%, middle-aged 24%, younger 18%. Same-sex-marriage supporters 19%, opposers 28% August 2003 Canadian Psychological Association says the Vatican's 12 page condemnation of same-sex unions is riddled with misinformation and should not be taken seriously; is particularly concerned about statements contained in the document about gay parenting; president Dr. Patrick O'Neill "There's no basis in scientific literature for any perception that gays and lesbians make bad parents. ... The psychosocial research into lesbian and gay parenting indicates that there are essentially no differences in the psychosocial development, gender identity or sexual orientation between the children of gay or lesbian parents and the children of heterosexual parents. "If gay and lesbian parents encounter unique stress as parents, it is more likely the result of the public's beliefs and perceptions about their fitness to parent and obstacles created by social systems (such as the courts) than it is the result of any deficiencies in their actual fitness to parent.'' August 2003 Alberta government orders Edmonton Alliance MP Peter Goldring to remove official Alberta logo from his anti-gay marriage campaign; G had made buttons with a woman and man holding hands with the words "Marriage in Alberta." Goldring does not plan to change the buttons, saying he will wait for an official letter from the province. A similar button saying "Marriage in Canada," using letters for "Canada" similar to those used by the federal government on official documents has attracted no response. August 2003 Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary says Roman Catholic politicians who push ahead with same-sex marriage legislation will suffer eternal damnation August 2003 United Church of Canada annual meeting calls on the federal government to stop delaying and pass gay marriage legislation. In 1988, UCC was first major faith in the world to ordain out LGB ministers; in 1992 it created a liturgy for blessing same-sex unions; 2001 supported the rights of gays to marry. UCC has 3,700 congregations across the country. August 2003 Toronto polling firm Navigator (close ties to the Liberal Party) surveys voters in Ontario: 68% of Liberal voters in Ontario feel there are more important issues than same-sex marriage when it comes to deciding which party to support. Sept 2003 Durex Global Sex Survey of 34 nations: over 17% of Australians are involved in gay or lesbian relationships; Americans and Australians have the most same-sex relationships, Vietnam fewest (3%). United Nations condemns Australian government for discriminating against 141

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II same-sex couples in a case involving veterans' pensions, orders it to correct the situation, gives govt 90 days to respond with information about what measures it will take to end the discrimination; case of Sydney man who went to the UN Human Rights Committee in 1999 after losing appeal at Veteran's Review Board when told not eligible for the pension of his dead partner; Edward Young and Larry Cains had been together for 38 years. Cains, served in Borneo during World War II, and died in 1998 from a heart condition. Sept 2003 South Africa; advisory group to the government, South African Law Reform Commission recommends (in 7 proposals) changing relationships recognition for same-sex and hetero couples; prefers marriage rights for same-sex couples, but says domestic partnerships would accomplish many of the same things. Following public reaction, proposals will be redrafted early next year and submitted to Justice Minister Penuell Maduna who decides whether to bring the issue to legislation. South Africa: Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein rules Antonie Michael du Plessis entitled to an insurance claim in the death of his domestic partner of 11 years Albert Ernest Clack (1999 in car crash); insurance fund refused to pay because du Plessis was not a legal spouse; Judge Tom Cloete orders the Road Accident Fund to compensate Du Plessis for 75% of the damages he suffered for loss of Clack's financial support and pay Clack's funeral costs. Du Plessis unable to work because of a disability, so Clack was the sole breadwinner. Cloete says the main Constitutional rights relevant to the case are those to equality and human dignity. Nobody may unfairly discriminate against anyone on the grounds of sexual orientation, he said, overturning a lower court ruling that said because the legislature had not legalized same-sex marriage, the court could not find for du Plessis. Australian senate passes resolution calling on the federal government to introduce laws to legally recognise same-sex couples; motion a response to a United Nations finding that Australia breached the international covenant on civil and political rights by its refusal to give a gay man a widow's pension. Australian senate passes law under which members of same-sex couples entitled to each other's government pensions; move supported by Labour and Democrats as an add-on to a government bill reforming pension laws in the country; puts same-sex couples on a par with their married counterparts; bill now returns to the lower house where it is expected to meet with stiff opposition from the government. The superannuation Bill also sets up a scheme where the Government matches the superannuation contributions of people earning under $40,000 per year; the amendment means that if one member of a gay couple dies the other will have access to his or her superannuation. Russian Orthodox Church authorities in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, east of Moscow, defrock Father Vladimir for conducting the country's first reported gay wedding (Denis Gogolev and Misha Morozov); call ceremony blasphemous act, a gimmick to attract public attention to single-sex unions, call V a "black sheep". Diocese press service: "The Russian Orthodox Church is against single-sex marriages and condemns homosexual relations as a deadly sin. Gay relations were legalised in 1993, though a group of members of the Russian parliament last year tried to reverse this Union of Serbia and Montenegro: Belgrade lesbian human rights group gives Serbian Ministry of Social Issues a draft of suggested changes and additions to 142

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II the Family Code; draft made by the Ministry of Social Issues does not mention gay and lesbian relationships in the Code that regulates marriage and relations in marriage, relations in common law marriage, relations of child and parent, adoption, fostering, guardianship, alimony, relation of material assets within the family, protection from domestic violence, measures regarding family relations and personal name. Labris suggests either change definition of marriage to "legally regulated union of two persons" (instead of "man and woman") or creating new legal definition of "union of persons of the same sex" with all the same rights. Sept 2003 European Parliaments annual report on Fundamental Rights in the EU (for 2002) calls on the member states to "abolish all forms of discrimination -whether legislative or de facto - which are still suffered by homosexuals, in particular as regards the rights to marry and adopt children," explicitly mentions the current limitations of free movement rights and urges member states to take the necessary steps to extend these rights to all definitions of "family," condemns interference of the Catholic Church in political life; report is adopted on a 221-195 vote (23 abst) against the wishes of the main parliamentary group, the conservative European People's Party. EU council rejects news laws (proposal on rights of EU citizens working abroad) to give same-sex and unmarried straight couples will get the same rights as married couples everywhere in the EU by broadening the definition of the family to include gay and unmarried couples, extend time for expatriates to register with the authorities in any EU host country from 3 to 6 months, make EU citizens automatically be become permanent residents of other EU states simply by living there for four consecutive years, make it impossible to expel a permanent resident on any grounds other than those of national security. Germany, Ireland, Austria and Spain, challenge the changes, whilst the UK and the Netherlands support them. Member states agree that countries would only have to consider giving a right of residence to the non-EU partner of a European citizen, and could then refuse to do so, and reduce the range of reasons for refusing people residence or throwing them out of the country to public policy, security and public heath. EU Council of Ministers agrees on revised proposal for new directive on the right of citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the EU (COM (2001) 257); weakens European Parliament proposal which had recognised spouses ireespective of sex as family members; removes explicit mention of married same-sex couples, leaving the meaning of the term open to debate; text does explicitly mention registered partnership status but the actual rights conferred on it are minimal (free movement and residence in those countries that 'treat registered partners equivalent to married couples' - 7 of future 25 EU member states, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands and Belgium and possibly Germany and France). It does not extend to gay and lesbian EU citizens and their families the right to free movement and residence. Unmarried partners are excluded, though Council proposal asks member states to facilitate (undefined) their entry and residence. Both Parliament and Council have to agree for it to become law. Europe: EOS Gallup Europe surveyed 30 European countries January 2003: 57% for legalizing gay marriage (23% in the 13 candidate countries); 42% for gaycouple adoption (17% in candidate countries); countries having already adapted their laws, or in the stage of doing so, receive firm support from their citizens; women, younger people, and the highly educated more favourable, as are nonbelievers and left-wingers. 143

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Sept 2003 Finland: working group of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health recommends "in-family adoptions" for registered same-sex couples (2nd parent adoption) to solve problems in legal status of children living with parents in a same-sex relationship. Working group chair Matti Lhteinen of the Ministry for Social Affairs and Health: "Securing the interests of the child is what is most important. The living arrangements of the parents should not affect the child's position" In certain conditions, registered same-sex couples could adopt a child who is not the biological child of either of the two - only if the child is already well-acquainted with the couple in question - eg death of the child's own parents. Group also recommends extending other family benefits, eg family leave, to registered samesex couples. Holland: 2 years on, 7.5% of weddings are same-sex unions. Ireland: Department of Social and Family Affairs, which administers the Free Travel Scheme (pensioners and their spouses to travel free on buses), recognize a Dublin senior and his partner, but only after intervention by the Equality Authority, the country's human rights commission, which ruled that the couple were victims of discrimination. Department of Social and Family Affairs Thursday accepts it had violated the 2000 Equal Status Act. Pensioner and his partner get their bus passes plus $2000 in damages; Equality Authority has served notice on other government departments that they had better reexamine their regulations or be prosecuted. UK: military says it will consider same-sex and unmarried opposite-sex partners of service members eligible for 'widows' pensions. Scottish cabinet abandons plans to bring in legislation granting recognition to same-sex couples, nor will it support a private member's bill to accomplish the same thing; will use a clause in the Scottish constitution to leave the issue up to the Parliament in London. Scottish Executive proposes change to law to allow adoption by gay couples; follows publication of a discussion document on fostering and adoption; current legislation dates back to the 1970s and says only one half of an unmarried couple, whether same-sex or heterosexual, can adopt a child. Euan Robson, deputy minister for education and young people: "We want to ensure future legislation serves the best interests of individual children. We must also ensure we don t discriminate against any couple who can offer a child the opportunity to grow up in a nurturing family environment." Sept 2003 Scotland's new cardinal-elect Archbishop Keith OBrien, 65, one of the youngest priests to be made a cardinal, believes the church needs to ratchet down its opposition to same-sex unions, although he says he is still opposed to gay marriage. US/Canada: Roman Catholic bishops began a new attack on same-sex marriage; 50-member administrative committee of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops meets in private session, says gays in the church must be treated with respect, gays and lesbians must never be allowed to marry, give "general support" to a proposed amendment to the US Constitution; bishops concluding statement includes "strongly oppose any legislative and judicial attempts" at the federal or state levels "to grant same-sex unions the equivalent status and rights of marriage - by naming them marriage, civil unions or by other means" and "At a time when family life is under significant stress, the principled defense of marriage is an urgent necessity 144

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II to ensure the flourishing of persons, the well-being of children and the common good of society." Sept 2003 US: ABC news national survey finds 55% oppose, 37% support legal marriage rights for gays and lesbians; 20% support constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, much lower than before, perhaps because previous survey have combined the two questions. Younger people equally divided on legalized same-sex marriage; over-65s 73% against. Democrats 47%, Republicans 45% for. Married people 63% oppose gay marriage; non-marrieds 48% for 47% against. USA: Witeck-Combs/ Harris Interactive poll (for Out & Equal Workplace, released at 2003 Out & Equal Workplace Summit in Minneapolis) shows heterosexual adults 62% say that employees with same-sex partners should be equally eligible for key workplace benefits available to spouses of married employees; 74% for feel same-sex partners are entitled to the same leave benefits as straight married spouses receive when there is a loss of a partner or other close family member; 66% agree leave rights for family and medical emergencies as outlined in the Family and Medical Leave Act should be the same for same-sex employees as they are for heterosexual employees; 62% agree health insurance benefits for both partners of same-sex employees and spouses of heterosexual married couples should be tax-free; 61% agree health insurance coverage under COBRA should also be available to same sex partners of employees; 60% agree, when the same-sex partner of an employee accepts transfer to a new work location, same-sex partner should be treated with same attention and support as a heterosexual employee's married spouse; 50% believe adoption assistance (eg counselling, financial benefits) should be available to both same-sex employees and married heterosexual employees. Gays and lesbians feel significantly more comfortable being "out" in the workplace than last year; 48% say comfortable to display a photo of a same-sex spouse, partner or significant other (last year 24%); 48% very comfortable or extremely comfortable introducing their same-sex partner to co-workers as well as their boss or management (last year 32%); 54% very comfortable or extremely comfortable socializing with co-workers who are like themselves (last year 41%); 51% very or extremely comfortable introducing their spouse or partner to coworkers (last year 35%); 41% have faced some form of discrimination on the job, including being fired, harassed, pressured to quit or denied a promotion because of their sexual orientation or gender identity and expression (same as last year); heterosexuals 52% report hearing jokes about GLBT people in the workplace (last year 45%. Arizona: Tucson city council creates domestic partner registry giving gay and straight couples many of the rights of married couples, first in Arizona; ordinance defines a domestic partnership as two people over 18, not blood relatives or already married, who declare they are each other's sole domestic partner, share a primary residence, are in a relationship of mutual support and intend to remain in such for the indefinite future; registry maintained by city Finance Department; $50 to register; $10 to file a termination statement. California passes contract-compliance bill AB-17 preventing state from doing business with companies that do not provide domestic partner benefits to employees, final bill in the fall session of the state government, goes to governor Gray Davis for signature. California: Republican state senator Pete Knight, who spearheaded Prop 22 145

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II defining marriage as a union between a man and as woman, files court challenge to new partnership law. Sept 2003 N Carolina: Durham County councillors vote unanimously to provide health insurance benefits to all domestic partners of employees, in same-sex or heterosexual relationships. Couples must sign affidavits that a committed relationship has existed for at least six months and provide three documents that prove shared financial responsibilities (eg joint bank account, a joint mortgage or lease, a health care agreement, or an estate agreement). Scheduled to begin January 1, 2004 Florida: Royal Colonial Apartments in Boca Raton is required to post a nondiscrimination sign in their office and include a statement of nondiscrimination in rental applications under an agreement reached in the case of Fred Sternbach and Stephen Miller, denied housing as a gay couple; also they get $75,000 in damages and legal fees. Apts had said they only rent to married couples (though the county has an ordinance prohibiting discrimination against gays). Illinois: Cook County opens domestic partnership registry for same-sex couples; 44 registered by noon of first day; not recognized outside the county and the city of Chicago; couples must be Cook County residents, go in person to the Clerk's office, show valid photo ID and pay $30 Maryland: Baltimore's largest Conservative synagogues board of directors votes to allow its rabbis to perform same-sex commitment ceremonies in the sanctuary; two women united at Beth El Congregation on Park Heights Avenue, a 1,750family synagogue located in an area of the city known for its ultra-Orthodox seminaries and kosher; officiated by the congregation's religious leader, Rabbi Mark Loeb, and its assistant rabbi, Steven Schwartz. Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, reviewing its 1992 "consensus statement" banning such unions and the ordination of gay and lesbian rabbis on the grounds that homosexual behaviour violates Halacha, or rabbinic law. Clergy point to a law committee rule that affirms the right of pulpit rabbis to choose their own "halachic path" in most cases. Massachusetts state senator Senate President Robert E. Travaglini prepares civil unions bill modelled after the one in Vermont, will present it when Supreme Judicial Court case is concluded, hopefully this fall; Travaglini is a married RC with three children who opposes gay marriage. Michigan: (rightwing Christian) Thomas More Law Center files suit at the Washtenaw County Circuit Court law to block the Ann Arbor School District from extending benefits to the same-sex partners of school employees, says benefits plan " is an attempt to institutionalize same sex marriages contrary to Michigan law." New Jersey: Star-Ledger/Eagleton-Rutgers Poll finds 52% support reg domestic partnerships for LGBs (3% fewer than July); 60% think same-sex couples should be entitled to health insurance and Social Security benefits through their partners; on marriage, older people 36% for, 18-29 years 64% for; practising Catholics 43% for, Protestants 32% for (perhaps because Prots older). New York State Democrats unanimously pass a resolution supporting legislation to allow same-sex couples to marry in the Empire State. 146

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Sept 2003 Wisconsin: Badger Poll, taken for The Capital Times and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, shows state evenly divided on giving most of the rights that married couples enjoy to gay and lesbian partners and nearly 2-1 opposed to same-sex marriage; 60% support extending equal legal protections to gays and lesbians; 60% think homosex between consenting adults should be legal; 87% say gays should be allowed to serve in the military; 83% support laws banning discrimination in housing and employment; 73% see no reason to prevent gays from teaching in elementary schools; 72% know someone gay or lesbian; 84% say knowing that would not make a difference in their friendship. 58% say homosex is "basically wrong." Wisconsin state legislature Judiciary Committee 6-0 approves Defense of Marriage Act defining marriage as a contract between a man and a woman; bill now goes directly to the Assembly floor for vote. Committee voted without discussion for bill to make same-sex marriage illegal and prevent the state from recognizing gay marriages or civil unions performed elsewhere. Canadian government embarking on major campaign to sell same-sex marriage; Justice Minister will tour country; maybe also radio and TV ads appealing to "sense of fairness and fair play". Canada: Canadian Alliance Leader Stephen Harper says the federal government orchestrated court losses on same-sex marriage in order to legalize gay weddings "through the back door," feigned a legal battle against same-sex marriage for years while stacking the courts with liberal-minded judges and plotting to redefine matrimony, misled Canadians in the last election by proclaiming support for traditional marriage. says party will introduce a motion that calling on Parliament to "take all necessary steps" to deny same-sex couples access to civil marriage (presumably the notwithstanding clause, never yet used and good for only 5 years at a pop). Canada defeats 137-132 Alliance motion to re-affirm marriage as a union between one man and one woman, taking all necessary measures to see it stays so.. Alliance Leader Stephen Harper disgusted by attempts to paint gay marriage as a civil-rights issue:"[For] anyone in the Liberal party to equate the traditional definition of marriage with segregation and apartheid is vile and disgusting." Cauchon "I believe it is about equality, dignity and respect for all Canadians. 134-134 tie on a pivotal amendment forced Speaker Peter Milliken to cast the deciding kill vote 1999 vote on similar motion passed 216-55. Chrtien justified his change of opinion since the 1999 motion, saying "society has evolved. So things evolve." Sept 2003 Canadian Alliance Alberta MP Grant Hill ("Eventually we will get this passed") tables a private member's bill almost identical to one narrowly defeated in the House of Commons two days before; bill calls on Parliament to define marriage as the union of "one man and one woman" but attempts to garner support from some centrist politicians who voted against the original bill because it appeared "blatantly homophobic" by adding a clause saying it should be up to the provinces to legalize any other kinds of relationships. Quebec and Nova Scotia already have domestic partner registries. Canada: SES/Sun Media poll find 47% say same-sex marriage is ok; 44% say marriage should be between a man and a woman only; 9% dont know. Quebecers and BCers most likely to back changing definition of marriage, each 53% for; 147

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Manitoba and Saskatchewan 40% for. Alberta 28% for, 63 % against. 60% of those under 30 are for; 32% of those over 60 for. 60% of those who oppose samesex marriage would vote on that basis but 63% of those who support same-sex marriage would not take it out on their MP; 45% say there will be a political price to pay on election day; 55% say same-sex marriage will not affect their vote. 33% do not trust the opinion of the courts, their religious leaders, or their MPs on the issue, saying it's a personal decision; 31% do trust the Supreme Court, 23% trust their religious leaders. Only 7% say they trust their MP's opinion on the issue. Sept.2003 Canadian Council of Bishops denounces proposed changes to the legal definition of marriage, say traditional marriage doesn't discriminate, legislation would cause irrevocable damage to society, marriage pre-dates both government and church, state must protect the traditional definition of marriage to ensure the future of society. Canadian Oxford Dictionarys new edition, scheduled to be published fall 2004, has inclusive definition of marriage,"The legal or religious union of two people" ed: "Dictionaries just reflect what the actual reality is." Changed after June Ontario Court of Appeal ruling. Manitoba: Young Liberals of Canada - Manitoba (YLC-MB) Executive unanimously endorses a motion to not only call on all MPs to vote in favour of same-sex marriage, publicly endorse the legalization of same-sex unions as Liberal public policy. Quebec: Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte, archbishop of Montreal, tells reporters outside a meeting of the Canadian Bishops Conference that same-sex marriage is the first step toward legalized incest, purpose of marriage is to procreate, children need a mother and a father, proposed law confuses equality with uniformity: "I give the example of a brother and a sister. They love themselves very much. A father and his girl. He loves her very much. Does that constitute a marriage?" Taiwan government announces it will bring in legislation to legalize same-sex marriage; legislation being prepared jointly by the cabinet and the president ready for parliamentary review in December; same-sex couples will get all the rights of those in heterosexual marriages, including the right to adopt children. Under existing adoption rules, gays and lesbians are not considered as prospective parents. Australian government passes new pension laws, refuses to grant pension rights to the same-sex couples; new law delivers tax cuts for high income earners and extra pension money to the poor. Govt made deal with Australian Democrats party to ensure package, but Democrats refused to support bill without provisions treating same-sex couples equally. Same-sex partners cannot inherit each others pensions and death benefits. Spain: Three same-sex couples, supported by area politicians, apply for marriage licenses in Madrid and Valencia; judges who received the applications have 10 days to decide whether to accept them; in the past same-sex couples have been rejected. Spanish Constitution says ''a man and a woman have the right to marry, with full equality before the law,'' but it does not say that a man must marry a woman or a woman marry a man. Finland: committee of Evangelical Lutheran Church decides to allow gays and lesbians (incl those registered in gay relationships) to work and perform official duties within the church but rejects blessing or sanctioning gay relationships ; 148

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II follows advisory committee debate; committee chair Bishop Ilkka Kantola says same-sex relationships don't fit into the church's ideals but difference of opinions on homosexuality not a threat to the unity of the Church, since it is both expected and healthy to have a range of opinions. Matter will now be handled by a church synod in November. American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) vote to defeat efforts to rescind their Academy's policy, adopted in September 2002, supporting equal protections for same-sex parents and their children; policy calls on the AAFP and its members to "establish policy and be supportive of legislation which promotes a safe and nurturing environment, including psychological and legal security, for all children, including those of adoptive parents, regardless of the parents' sexual orientation." US President Bush signs proclamation for Marriage Protection Week October 12-18: "Marriage is a union between a man and a woman, and my Administration is working to support the institution of marriage by helping couples build successful marriages and be good parents. Marriage Protection Week provides an opportunity to focus our efforts on preserving the sanctity of marriage and on building strong and healthy marriages in America. ... Research has shown that, on average, children raised in households headed by married parents fare better than children who grow up in other family structures. Through education and counselling programs, faith-based, community, and government organizations promote healthy marriages and a better quality of life for children. By supporting responsible child-rearing and strong families, my Administration is seeking to ensure that every child can grow up in a safe and loving home." Marriage Protection Week was created by an alliance of conservative Christian lobby groups including the Southern Baptist Convention, Focus on the Family, the American Family Association and Real Women, along with fundamentalist ministers Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. Bush proclamation adds "And we must continue our work to create a compassionate, welcoming society, where all people are treated with dignity and respect." US: analysis was prepared by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute shows the organizations sponsoring "Marriage Protection Week" focus on homosexuality more than issues that do impact on marriage and family life, that their resources dwarf those of the gay lobby, that (contrary to Bushs official proclamation) planned activities have no focus on building strong and healthy marriages. A coalition of 29 rightwing political and religious organizations sponsors the week (incl National Religious Broadcasters, Focus on the Family [ann budget $126m], Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission [official ministry of the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention]). Analysis of website content of 9 of the groups found 2369 documents containing the word "homosexual," far more than those discussing topics such as divorce (1423), health care (952), domestic violence (190), child support (85) Concerned Women for America ($12m-a-year) has 602 documents that contain the word homosexual, more than double the number of documents that have the word "divorce," "health care," "poverty," "domestic violence," " or "child support" combined. The only issue with a greater number of references is "abortion." Task Force was able to obtain recent income information for 13 of the 29 groups and their combined income was $217 million; the 13 largest national gay advocacy organizations come to $54 million. All the publicly announced and suggested activities focus exclusively on the 149

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II supposed threat that the effort to win equal civil marriage rights for gay couples poses to the institution of marriage. Sponsors urge the use of two model sermons, both of which are replete with inflammatory anti-gay language but devoid of references to building strong marriages. Elected officials are being asked to sign a pledge not to support even the most basic forms of partner recognition, such as hospital visitation rights or health insurance coverage. Oct 2003 US: amendments arrive in the Senate to give gay and lesbian couples the same superannuation rights as heterosexuals; federal government says, if the Democrats, Labour, and Greens back them, it will endanger the $1.3 billion superannuation package about to be offered, which gives benefits for both high and low wage earners (a landmark deal between the Government and the Democrats to secure tax breaks for high-income earners and government-matched contributions for the low-paid). USA Today/CNN poll on gay marriage finds support up from last month: 50% say that same-sex marriage would have a positive impact or have no effect at all; 48% say gay unions "will change our society for the worse". Aged 18-29, 67% support gay unions; 30-49 53% for. Of weekly churchgoers, 67% think gay unions bad; of monthly churchgoers 51%. Of rare church goers, 47% say allowing same-sex marriages would have "no effect" on society; 14% say it would change society for the better. Among those who never go to church, 72% say there would be no ill effects. Should same-sex couples have legal parity with male-female couples nationally: 35% oppose, 32% support, 32% say it "doesn't matter" to them. Over50s are the most strongly opposed. Survey analysts point out more American couples generally choose civil wedding ceremonies over clergy-performed ones. Arizona appeals court (three-judge panel unanimous) rules the state's ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional, fundamental right to marry "does not encompass the right to marry a same-sex partner." Case of Donald Standhardt, 34, and Tod Alan Keltner, 37, a Phoenix gay couple. Writing for the court Judge Ann A. Scott Timmer says the prohibition "rationally furthers a legitimate state interest" and does not deprive the couple of their constitutional rights; adds it is up to the legislature, not the courts to decide whether to permit same-sex marriages. Arizona: N Arizona University's Social Research Laboratory statewide poll finds 53% of registered voters for and 43% against gay and lesbian unions that would give them the same rights and benefits as married heterosexual couples; 54% against, 42% for same-sex marriage. California: Gov. Gray Davis signs in contract compliance legislation, making CA first state in the nation to require businesses to offer domestic partner benefits if they want state contracts; Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger appeals D not to sign any new legislation during the transition period; bill passed the legislature last month; applies to contracts over $100,000. Connecticut: Quinnipiac University Poll finds 51% favour a civil union law similar to that offered gay couples in Vermont, 43% will not support domestic partnerships. 50% oppose, 44% support same-sex marriage DC; Episcopal bishop of Washington John B. Chane okays blessing same-sex couples in the 94 churches in his 40,000-member diocese, says he will form a committee to develop the rites; theologically orthodox clergy will not be forced to perform same-sex unions. DC: survey by Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute of public and private 150

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II adoption agencies across the country finds nearly 60% accept applications from gays and lesbians; strong resistance from some church-affiliated agencies; agencies most likely to place children with gay parents: public, secular private, Jewish- and Lutheran-affiliated agencies, and those focussing on special needs and international adoption; Florida: ACLU and advocacy group Children First sue the state in Federal court on behalf of several gays who are foster parents but want to adopt; Department of Children & Families new regulations make it easier for single people to adopt children; the department no longer expresses a preference for married couples adopt children and deletes a rule banning unmarried couples who are "sexually cohabitating" from adopting; state attorney says this is not meant to make things easier for gays. Ban on gay adoption was passed in 1977, although gays are permitted to be foster parents. Indiana; state files brief in Court of Appeals appeal of a lower court case brought by three same-sex couples in 2002 that said the state had violated their civil rights by not allowing them to marry; state says banning same-sex marriage is not discrimination., and anyway justified because the Indiana Constitution provides no right to state-recognized same-sex marriage, also state 1986 marriage law serves several important interests, including promotion of the traditional family as the foundation of society. May 2003, Marion Superior Court Judge S.K. Reid dismissed the suit, ruling that state legislators have the right to establish rules for marriage as they see fit. Couples represented by the Indiana Civil Liberties Union. Amicus briefs filed one jointly by Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council, the other by Indianapolis' Catholics Allied for the Faith Inc. Massachusetts Judiciary Committee hears testimony on two bills dealing with gay marriage and civil unions; still waiting for ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on the constitutionality of preventing gays and lesbians from getting marriage licenses. Massachusetts: Mass. RC bishops tell state committee hearing on a bills to legalize gay marriage and create civil unions that the church would support the benefits - if both pieces of legislation were dropped. Bishes of 4 dioceses (including Boston AB Sean O'Malley and Worcester Bishop Daniel P. Reilly) say benefits should be dealt with separately, without involving the institution of marriage. Bishops then say oh gosh they were misquoted, never meant to imply they supported granting benefits to same-sex couples. At the State House, Worcester Bishop Daniel P. Reilly, speaking for the state's four bishops, had said There should be a way for the state to provide the benefits they have a right to, like other citizens. But just to put the title of marriage on it, I think that's a wrong way to go.'' Oct 2003 Massachusetts: statewide poll by Decision Research for Freedom to Marry Coalition finds 77% support same-sex civil marriage, across the state and across covers virtually all key demographic groups including both men and women, Catholic voters, and those under 65; voters reject any attempt to amend the constitution to prohibit civil marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples. Michigan: state Sen. Alan Cropsey of DeWitt, Rep., and Rep. Triette Reeves of Detroit, Dem., announced plans to bring in Defense of Marriage legislation saying marriage in Michigan is exclusively between one man and one woman. Reeves: 151

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II "I'm not antigay. I'm not anti-anybody. I'm pro-marriage." Cropsey says amendment needed as a defence against gay-rights activism. If approved by two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate, the measure would be placed on the ballot in either August or November. NJ: administrative law judge in Voorhees reviews case of Nicolaj Sikes Caracappa, child of Eva Kadrey and Camille Caracappa, who had him together; lovers 7 years; Caracappa principal breadwinner, so Eva had the child 1998; Camille continued work fulltime as a freelance oncology nurse; Eva stayed at home with Nicolaj and parttime bookkept for Camille's business; before Camille finished the adoption process, she died suddenly of an undiagnosed brain aneurysm at 38; Eva filed for Social Security survivorship benefits for Nicolaj in November 2000; Social Security Administration refused because Camille and Eva weren't married and Camille wasn't Nicolaj's biological mother. ACLU files amicus brief urging the Social Security Administration to provide survivor benefits to the child of a lesbian mother. New Jersey: Trenton couple George DeCarlo and Ryan Reyes, united in a civil ceremony in Vermont three years ago, sues state for the right to file a joint income tax return. DeCarlo, 45, along with his partner, is running for the state Legislature this fall as a Green Party member. Washington: Washington State Court of Appeals gets gay divorce case although the state has legislation barring the recognition of same-sex couples; 10-year relationship between Julia Robertson, a physician, and Linda Gormley ended last year; Gormley went to court seeking a division of assets; Nov, Superior Court Judge Heather Van Nuys ruled that the couple's relationship was "sufficiently marriagelike to provide equitable relief," called the couple's relationship an "intimate domestic partnership," allowing both women the same property rights given to a husband and wife in a divorce, said the women must divide their assets equally Robertson asks Washington State Court of Appeals to overturn the ruling based on DOMA. Wisconsin state assembly 68-29 passes Defense of Marriage Act defining marriage as a contract between a man and a woman; state already had similar legislation saying marriage is a contract between a husband and wife; authors of new bill say judges could interpret that language loosely and redefine marriage to allow same-sex unions and the new version will make the definition indisputable. Legal opinion from Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager says bill is 'legally indistinguishable from current state law' and will 'add nothing of substance to existing statutes.' Nine of the co-sponsors of this bill have been divorced at least once. Bill now goes to the Senate. Canada: Supreme Court five-judge panel unanimously rules legal same-sex marriages permanent in Ontario and BC; says Ont and BC court rulings on same-sex marriage cannot be appealed; ends all judicial avenues to reverse legal same-sex marriages; upholds principle that only parties directly involved in a legal decision may launch an appeal; case of Association for Marriage and the Family in Ontario and the Interfaith Coalition on Marriage and Family whoo applied to appeal the rulings after the federal government didnt.. Toronto City Hall alone has issued 757 marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Canada: House of Commons Private Members' Business Subcommittee reports that private members bill C-447 introduced by Canadian Alliance MP Grant Hill in September to enshrine the opposite-sex restriction on civil marriage is 152

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II non-votable. Unlike other Parliamentary committees, the Liberals do not have a majority on this Subcommittee. Oct 2003 Canada: Parliament finalizes rejection of Alliance MP Grant Hill's private members' bill to exclude same-sex couples from legal marriage that violates two of the four Parliamentary prohibitions on private members' bills (not to violate the Constitution; not to concern questions that are substantially the same as ones already voted on by the House of Commons in the current session of Parliament). Canadian government submits legal arguments to the Supreme Court for granting same-sex couples via the draft legislation on which the justice minister wants a legal opinion from the court. Environics Research poll finds Canadians overall 56% support same-sex marriage (3% up from the summer, 10% up from last month); 32% strongly for, 24% somewhat for; 42% oppose (down 1%); 32% strongly oppose, 10% somewhat oppose; 3% dk. Support still strongest among women, those under 45, those with no religious affiliation, union members, those with higher education, higher income, and among residents of major urban centres. NPD supporters are overwhelmingly favourable; BQ and Liberals marginally more supportive than Canadians as a whole. Liberal supporters 60% for, 36% against; PC 57% for, 42% against; Canadian Alliance supporters 72% against, 27% for. Majority of people living in towns (pop. 5-100,000) for. Yukon: Bishop Terry Buckle, Anglican bishop for the Yukon, disciplined by the church for challenging the authority of Vancouver Bishop Michael Ingham over same-sex blessings; Metropolitan David Crawley, Archbishop for the Kootenays and top Anglican in BC and the Yukon, starts disciplinary proceedings for Buckles "unlawfully" claiming authority to represent 11 Vancouver-area dissident parishes that adamantly oppose same-sex blessings. Both the Canadian House of Bishops and Canada's Council of General Synod, the church's highest national governing bodies, have urged Buckle to withdraw his offer to oversee the disaffected parishes. BC: Bishop Michael Ingham puts on leave Rev. James Wagner, from the Church of the Holy Cross in Abbotsford, and tells parishioners church will be closed after the parish voted to defy their bishop and refused to support blessings for same-sex unions. Neale Adams, communications officer for the diocese, says Wagners position "disappeared" when it was decided not to continue funding to the parish. Africa: Anglican Church of Uganda joins Nigeria in severing ties with the Episcopal Church over the election of a gay bishop; Jackson Turyagyenda, spokesman for the church in East Africa:''any same sex relationship is a disorder of God's creation. The lone African Church not threatening to leave the faith is South Africa. Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Njongonkulu Ndungane, says he hopes Nigerian bishops will come to reconsider their action and await the outcome of the commission established by the worldwide Communion. Taiwan tables draft Human Rights Basic Law legalizing gay marriage (including couple adoption), abolishing the death penalty, banning cloning human beings, protecting equal rights for women and foreign workers, and granting asylum to foreign asylum seekers. Bill goes to cabinet for final revisions, then to Parliament. Brazil: Federal Judge Ana Morozowski overturns deportation order against a British David Ian Harrad, saying his domestic partnership with Brazilian Toni Reis tantamount to marriage; couple together since 1990, in Britain, then since 153

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II 1996 in a small town near Sao Paulo. Judge: "Although they are of the same sex, the authors of the petition live in a state of matrimony, a fact which extends, to Mr. Harrad, the right of permanent residence." Adds decision based on provision in 1988 Brazilian Constitution "prohibiting any form of discrimination, including discrimination as to sexual preference." Harrad may remain in the country and seek employment. Nov 2003 Australian Bureau of Statistics report shows under 55% people married in the country in the past 12 months had a civil ceremony (39% in 1983); more heterosexual couples are living together without marrying; one out of every eight Australian marriages has ended in divorce; 760,000 single parents in 2002 (from 670,000 in 1996). Australia does not recognize same-sex unions because the government says that would dilute the meaning of traditional marriage. Aus census figures show 37,700 people in same-sex relationships with virtually no legal standing; ABS says these numbers are probably low. Belgium: in the six months since Belgium legalized same-sex marriage, over 139 gay couples have married (figure complied by the Flemish LGBT group Holebi from number of registered weddings June-September in six Belgian cities), some 4.7% of weddings carried out in the six cities. UK: poll based on submissions to the government from citizens and corporations shows 84% of individuals and 74% of organisations support legislation recognizing same-sex domestic partnerships due to be unveiled this month during the Queen's Speech to Parliament. Of the 20 responses from individual religious groups or congregations, three supported the idea UK: Queen's Speech at the opening of the fall sitting of Parliament, official outline of what the Blair government intends to do in the session, includes recognition of same-sex couples in the Civil Partnerships Bill, will get to register their partnerships, inheritance, tax and next-of-kin rights, also"divorce" with maintenance claims, access to legal aid to sort out disputes over contact with children or finances. Queens Speech opening new session of parliament describes Civil Partnership Registration Scheme to recognize same-sex couples; no marriage; registered civil unions with most of the rights and responsibilities of married couples (visiting rights in hospitals, chance at parental responsibility for each other's children, claim compensation for fatal accidents or criminal injuries of partner, joint state pension benefits, and recognition under inheritance and intestacy rules, including the right to register their partner's death and continue tenancy of a property; requires partners to support each other financially); license fee, official document signed in front of registrar and two witnesses; no provision for a ceremony. Tories say Tory MPs will be allowed a free vote on the bill, virtually insuring its passage. UK: Lord George Carey, ex-ABC, says Christians should not assume there is necessarily anything "sinister" about same sex relationship, but they should not be blessed in church; there could be a case for same-sex civil partnerships as long as they were not called marriages which would alarm many faiths. He says he knows of a young man who had lived with an older man and had given up much of his life to look after him but there was nothing "improper" about the relationship. "I have been saying to American Christians 'hold in there, wait and see what the commission says, don't do anything rash until you know where you stand in this matter'. 154

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Nov 2003 UK: Senior Aircraftswoman Sam Wyatt, 26, about to marry partner, Christa McKay, in Canada, told by her base commander that the couple is not eligible for married quarters at the Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire, even though there are scores of empty married quarters at the base; Ministry of Defence refuses to recognize same-sex marriages. Senior RAF spokesman:The RAF has no issue whatsoever with SAC Wyatts personal life as lesbian relationships have been acknowledged since 2000. However, same sex marriages are not recognized in UK law and under current MoD regulations same sex couples are not entitled to family quarters. US: Southern Baptist Convention issues formal "declaration on marriage" and demands all candidates for office in 2004 sign a pledge to support a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Richard Land, heads of SBCs ethics and religious liberties commission:"We want to make sure there is no confusion about what the Bible says on this issue," says gays have forced the Church into a "cultural war and a spiritual war." "The homosexual activists are out to normalize and affirm their lifestyle and to marginalize those of us who believe it's unnatural and unholy." US: Federal Marriage Amendment bill to amend the Constitution to bar same-sex marriage introduced in Senate just as Senators preparing to leave for the Thanksgiving Holiday; sponsored by Colorado Republican Wayne Allard and Republicans Sam Brownback of Kansas and Alabama's Jeff Sessions; defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Senate bill differs from GOP bill in House; Senate version allows state legislatures to provide benefits for same-sex couples but blocks courts from requiring them to do so; House version denies civil unions and prevents states providing benefits to same-sex couples.. US: strike by Unitarian ministers refusing to sign marriage licenses until same-sex couples are allowed to marry, begun in Mass., spreads to Colorado. Ministers will mostly perform marriage ceremonies but couples have to get licenses signed by county officials. Colorado: Denver doctor Cheryl Clark battles with former partner over the religious education of their daughter, now 8, adopted as an infant; then partner, Elsey McLeod, given joint parenting rights; Clark converted to Christianity, declared herself straight, ended the relationship; in April she was awarded sole custody of the child, ex gets visitation rights; in awarding custody, Denver District Judge John Coughlin orders Clark to"make sure that there is nothing in the religious upbringing or teaching that the minor child is exposed to that can be considered homophobic." Clark appeals, with the help of Orlando rightwing lawfirm Liberty Counsel. Colorado Court of Appeals to hear oral arguments in early 2004 North Dakota Supreme Court has strikes down 1981 decision used to deny lesbian and gay parents custody of their children, unanimously agrees lesbian mother gets custody of her two children, 10, 4, says possible prejudice from others is not a valid reason to take children from lesbian and gay parents; case of Valerie Damron, represented by ACLU; Damron's two daughters have lived in Minot with their mother and partner Ann for two years; at divorce in 2001, she and ex agreed she should have primary custody; 2002 he sued for primary custody because children might suffer harassment, though produced no evidence, no witnesses; January 2001, a trial court agreed with him; VD appealed; 1981 case was Jacobson v. Jacobson; now only four states left (Alabama, Mississippi, N 155

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Carolina, and Virginia) where courts still deny custody based on sexual orientation alone. Nov 2003 Kentucky: Lexington Mayor Teresa Isaac vetoes a council resolution barring her from granting same-sex benefits to the domestic partners of municipal workers; she had issued an executive order granting the benefits in June. In October and Nov council voted to rescind the benefits package (two votes required). Isaac cites the city's 1999 Fairness Ordinance, which prohibits anti-gay discrimination in employment, as well as a Kentucky Constitution section that forbids "absolute and arbitrary power." The domestic-partner benefits are for same- and opposite-sex couples who have lived with each other for at least a year and are in a committed relationship. By mid-Nov, 9 employees signed up their partners. Maine's highest court rules both partners in same-sex relationships have equal rights over a child born to, or adopted by, one of the partners; one woman had the child using IV and they wanted the other partner to be officially recognized as a co-parent; both share parenting duties and have co-parenting and domestic partnership agreements; names withheld by the court; a Kennebec County judge referred the case seeking guardian status for the co-parent to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, saying the law is unclear when it comes to same-sex couples. Guardian status is routinely given to heterosexual couples in similar circumstances. High court justices wrote the answer "is not in doubt," gay and lesbian partners have the same rights as heterosexual partners to have full co-guardianship rights. Massachusetts: Senate President Robert E. Travaglini postpones debate on bill to amend state constitution to bar gay marriage put on hold while legislators wait for the state's highest court to rule on same-sex marriage. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's rules 4-3 state ban on gay marriage unconstitutional but does not allow marriage licenses to be issued to the couples who challenged the law, orders Legislature to come up with a solution within 180 days; closely matches the 1999 Vermont Supreme Court decision, which led to civil unions granted in 2000; case of 7 couples. Governor Mitt Romeny says he disagrees with the court's decision and supports a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Massachusetts: two polls show Mass voters support same-sex marriage; Boston Globe & WBZ-TV poll finds 50% for, 38% against Supreme Judicial Court ruling that said the state's ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional; Boston Herald poll finds 49% for, 38% against legalizing same-sex marriage. Both polls find voters oppose constitutional amendment to block gay marriage: Globe/WBZ poll 53% against, 36% for. Third poll, by Merrimack College, finds 75% of support either allowing gay marriage or civil unions. Massachusetts: Cambridge City Council officially puts all procedures in place to recognize same-sex marriages but waits for the legislature to pass enabling legislation before issuing licenses. Nebraska: US District Judge Joseph Bataillon refuses motion by Nebraska to dismiss the lawsuit filed April by ACLU, rules constitutional challenge to 2000 Nebraska law banning gay marriage and prohibiting the state from providing any benefits to same-sex couples may proceed to trial; 34 states have Defence of Marriage Acts; Nebraska's is the only one which prevents gay couples from receiving any benefits. 156

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Nov 2003 New Hampshire: Supreme Court rules 3-2 if a married woman has sex with another woman, it is not adultery; for adultery to occur there must be sexual intercourse; homosexuals are incapable of intercourse; divorce case between a Hanover, New Hampshire the Blanchflowers; David who sought to end his marriage after discovering Sian was having sex with another woman; family court judge granted divorce; Robin Mayer, "the other woman," went to court to have the divorce overturned. NH law makes adultery (sexual intercourse between a married person and someone who is not that person's spouse) a misdemeanour, "sexual intercourse" not defined; Mayer says it is heterosexual sexual intercourse: "While homosexuals should be liable for claims of adultery against them as well as heterosexuals ... until they have experienced equality under the law, they are vulnerable to attitudes and actions both overt and covert by some courts." Dissenting judges said adultery should be defined more broadly to include other extramarital sexual activity New Jersey superior court judge Linda Feinberg dismisses same-sex marriage lawsuit, says nothing in the NJ state Constitution guarantees same-sex unions as a right. Feinberg: "The right to marry has always been understood in law and tradition to apply only to couples of different genders. A change in that basic understanding would not lift a restriction on the right, but would work a fundamental transformation of marriage into an arrangement that could never have been within the intent of the Framers of the 1947 Constitution." But she urges state lawmakers to give gay couples some rights. The 7 plaintiff couples in the case have been together 11-32 years, 5 have children. Case goes to state appeals court, maybe to NJ Supreme Court, considered one of the more liberal courts in the country. Ohio: Cleveland Heights votes overwhelmingly for establishing a domestic partner registry for straights and gays. Over 60 such registries exist across the country; this is the first (registry - or any other pro-gay measure) adopted through a ballot initiative. Registry will provide a certified record of their relationship but no outright benefits Wisconsin Senate 22-10 passes second bill to bar same-sex couples from marrying, fearing the first was not worded strongly enough; Defence of Marriage Act defines marriage as a contract between one man and one woman; Wisconsin law already defines marriage as a contract between a husband and wife; Gov. Jim Doyle vetoes legislation, says state already has laws prohibiting same-sex marriage, calls new legislation "mean spirited." Republican-led effort in legislature fails by one vote to override Gov. Jim Doyle's veto. Canadian Psychological Association supports same-sex marriage, says studies show children raised by gay parents are no worse off psychologically, no more prone to be gay themselves. Pres. Dr. Patrick O'Neill: "All children deserve to feel that society accepts and recognizes their families. Canadian House of Bishops, in an effort to resolve heated controversy, call on Bishop Michael Ingham to suspend disciplinary hearings against seven conservative priests; Diocese of New Westminster voted last year to allow priests to perform the blessings; priests say they no longer accept Ingham as their bishop and withhold their parishes' financial contributions to the diocese. House of Bishops also asks BC Archbishop David Crawley to withdraw disciplinary proceedings against Yukon Bishop Terry Buckle, who has been taking care of the breakaway parishes, but Crawley says that depends on Buckle stopping his 157

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II "interference" in the Vancouver area. Nov 2003 Toronto: Anglican Diocese of Toronto embarks on year-long process to discuss the issue of same-gender blessings; process approved by Synod; info sessions for clergy and laity; special session of Synod fall 2004; parishioners encouraged to discuss the issue in their churches; AB Terence Finlay says its good to talk. Israel: parliament 24-16 passes 1st reading of amendment to the Damages Law (still needs approval of committee of the whole and a final vote); bill entitles each partner in a common-law couple to damages in the event of the death in an accident of one of the partners and redefines "spouse" to include same-sex couples. Australia: Melbourne gay couple granted co-parent status for a baby boy born to a surrogate mother in the US; family court judge Sally Brown: "I am satisfied it is in Mark's best interests for significant decisions relating to his welfare ... to be made by both of the people who treat him as their son, and that he can only benefit from their informed involvement in all aspects of his life"; says she believes spermdonor X is a parent in the ordinary meaning of the word but does not make a legal finding on that, since the issue uncontested; her comments contrast with an earlier court ruling that a sperm donor was not a parent under the terms of the Family Law Act. The birth mother and her husband do not wish to have any parental relationship with the boy, who has been in the care of X, 38, and Y, 41, since his birth on May 31, 2002. X and Y had sought court orders giving them joint responsibility for the long-term care, welfare and development of Mark and that he live with them. Switzerland: House of Representatives 111 to 72 approves legislation to grant gay couples the right to register their partnerships; bill goes to Senate; rights exclude adoption and access to fertility treatment, legal provision for a common surname. Italian Senate 169-90 passes legislation barring artifical insemination by a third party outside a heterosexual married couple, barring women from becoming pregnant using the sperm of a deceased partner, limiting a woman's chance of pregnancy through AI to three embryos, each of which must be implanted in the womb (elsewhere in Europe fertilized embryos can be kept in cold storage); Italy the only country in Europe to ban third-party insemination. Vatican blasts the "anti-clericalism, free-masonry, liberalism, bad faith, ignorance and economic interests" of the legislation's opponents. Legislation now goes back to the lower house Chamber of Deputies for minor adjustments. Belgium: PM says Liberal Party will table a bill in parliament to abolish laws preventing gay adoption:"Research and the practical experience of countries which already allow adoption by same-sex and bisexual couple, show that children raised by same-sex parents are not affected in a negative way." Holland: three largest Protestant denominations (Dutch Reformed Church, Calvinist Reformist Church, Lutheran Church) merge to form the Protestant Church of the Netherlands, tog rep about 2.2 million churchgoers - or about 14% of the population, agree to perform same-sex weddings (though no individual church will be forced to conduct the marriage ceremonies); new church will officially exist May 1, 2004, but many churches now hold joint services. Roman Catholicism is the country's single largest religion 30% of pop),Prots 2ns, Muslims 3rd at 5%. UK parliament considers Domestic Violence Crime and Victims' Bill, spousal 158

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II abuse law giving police and courts sweeping powers to deal with abusive spouses; same-sex partners specifically included in legislation; even if cleared in court, accused could be placed under a restriction warrant; police given power to arrest abusive partners without proof, even if victims refuse to talk; repeat attackers get five years jail; bill sets up a Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses. A spokesperson for Home Office Minister Baroness Scotland says the government believes the incidence rate for same-sex spousal abuse is about the same as for heterosexual relationships. Dec 2003 UK: National Trust allows some of its listed buildings to be used for same sex commitment ceremonies in the same way that non religious heterosexual ceremonies are held. Scotland: Professor Iain Torrance Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland says civil partnerships should be available for straight and gay couples "If here we see a mechanism which will enable people who lead very mobile lives to have greater faithfulness and greater structures in their lives - who are we to condemn it? "I do not believe it's talking about, as is sometimes said, gay marriages. What it is talking about is a justice matter and to do with civil partnerships." US: New York Times/CBS News poll finds 55% for, 40% against an amendment to the Constitution to prohibit gay marriage; even most of those traditionally supportive of gay rights (Democrats, women, and those who live on the East Coast) oppose same-sex marriage; 53% think marriage largely a religious matter and 71% of these are against; 33% think marriage largely a legal matter and 55% of these are for. The most positive feelings come from the under 30s and those with gay friends and acquaintance. Arizona: challenge to state's Defense of Marriage Act filed by Donald Standhardt, 34, and Tod Alan Keltner, 37, Phoenix; state has 30 days to respond to the appeal, but Assistant Attorney General Kathleen Sweeney said she will ask for a continuance because of the holidays. Arizona: Tucson's ordinance (enacted September 15) recognizing gay relationships goes into force, the first such registry in the state; also allows unmarried heterosexual couples to register. A couple must pay $50, provide ID, be over 18, not be related by blood closer than would bar marriage in Arizona, mentally competent to consent to contract, swear that they are responsible for one another's welfare and neither is in a marriage "expressly recognized" by the state or in any other domestic partnership or civil union. They also must share a primary residence and intend to do so indefinitely, state that they are each other's only domestic partner and agree to file a termination of partnership if their relationship ends. In return they receive a certificate of registration. California: study by Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies shows 3,000+ employers doing business with San Francisco now offer domestic partner benefits as a result of the contract-compliance ordinance so that 26,000+ additional people have health insurance coverage; costs businesses about 0.1%; costs passed through to the city 0.02% to 0.12%. California Superior Court in Sacramento denies preliminary injunction to state Sen. Pete Knight (R-Riverside) and the Campaign for California Families to block the Domestic Partners Rights and Responsibilities Act from going into effect in January when the California Secretary of state will begin sending out letters to the 159

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II registered domestic partners in the state notifying them of the new law which mandates child custody and child and spousal support obligations, gives the right to make funeral arrangements, community property and spousal support, access to family court, parenthood presumptions, state court testimonial privileges, access to married student housing, and mutual responsibility for debts; provisions do not kick in until 2005. 12 couples intervened in the lawsuit to defend the new domestic partnership law. Judge Thomas M. Cecil also rules that a suit challenging the constitutionality of the law could proceed. Dec 2003 California: San Francisco Superior Court hears complaint from Michael and Richard Butler against Adoption.com, the largest US adoption-related Internet business, that the company unlawfully discriminates by excluding all same-sex couples from using its services, one of which allows prospective adoptive parents, for a fee, to post personal information about themselves for birth mothers who are seeking adoptive parents for their children. California law prohibits businesses from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. Iowa: District Judge Jeffrey A. Neary without a hearing rules on stipulated agreement between two women breaking up after their Vermont civil, officially terminates union, although Iowa does not recognize same sex relationships, prevents benefits or recognition to gay couples united in civil unions, and bars same-sex couples from marrying under the Defense of Marriage Act. Neary signed the dissolution decree before realizing the relationship he was ending involved two women. I don't know if it would have changed my mind if I knew before I signed. My thought is treat it like a contract or partnership and dissolve it. I know that's a broad look at it. I don't know what's right or wrong here." Iowa: District Judge Jeffrey Neary who granted a divorce to Kimberly Jean Brown and Jennifer Sue Perez on Nov. 14 from their Vermont civil union ceremony amends his ruling to declare the couple's civil union was terminated. Iowa: six state lawmakers appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court divorce granted to a lesbian couple from Vermont civil union. Maine Judiciary Committee 6-4 approves legislation to provide straight and gay unmarried couples with some of the rights of married couples (settling estates, funeral arrangements, and stepping in when a partner is incapacitated, uses the same definition of partners as requirements that allow them to qualify for health insurance viz partners must live together and show joint financial responsibility; no domestic partner register); could be voted on in house next spring. Massachusetts Senate votes to ask the state's highest court if civil unions for same sex couples are as good as marriage; says Nov. ruling unclear on the option of civil unions. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court opens up question of civil unions vs marriage to all "interested persons", agrees to look at a bill submitted by the Massachusetts Senate to permit civil unions (rights of married couples without the title) to determine if it meets last month's ruling that the state cannot stop same-sex couples from marrying. Massachusetts: Supreme Judicial Court rejects appeal from a rightwing group to force the Legislature to vote on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage; state lawmakers shelved a vote on the proposed amendment to the state constitution until the high court rules on draft legislation submitted by the Senate that would create civil unions. 160

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Dec 2003 New Jersey Assembly passes legislation giving limited recognition to same-sex couples; Gov James E. McGreevey had said he favoured bill introduced in the Senate that limits domestic partnerships to same-sex couples and heterosexual couples 63 and older, who might jeopardize their pensions or other benefits by remarrying; people entering into a domestic partnership would have to be unmarried, living together, of legal age, and swear to be responsible for each other's basic living expenses; would get certain state tax advantages, including the right to inherit property on the same basis as a spouse, also next of kin status for hospital visits and medical decisions; spouses of state government employees would qualify for state health and retirement benefits; private employers could charge their employees for extending those benefits to their domestic partners; governor had opposed an Assembly version that would have allowed any two unmarried adults living together, straight or gay, to reap the benefits of domestic partnerships. Senate Judiciary Committee approves its bill; both pieces of legislation will be merged and sent on to Gov. to sign. US: New Mexico State U board of regents votes 3-2 to include employees same-sex partners in the school's health insurance plan; estimates it would cost the state an additional $105-192,000 per year on its $8 million. Ohio House passes Defense of Marriage Act which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman; House votes along largely partisan lines; bill was softened somewhat in the Committee on Juvenile and Family Law so that it no longer prevents benefits being granted to same-sex couples by local governments or private employers, though it still prevents domestic partners of state workers from receiving benefits; bill moves to the Senate; GOP Governor Bob Taft says he would sign the bill. 37 states other have passed their own Defense of Marriage Acts. Utah Supreme Court hears polygamy case based on US Supreme Court ruling on sodomy; Tom Green, who has five wives, appeals multiple convictions of polygamy; Green not affiliated with any church, also convicted of criminal nonsupport of his 30 children in August 2001; faces five-year sentence; also maybe life in prison for rape for having sex with one of his five wives when she was 13. Polygamy was renounced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1890 as part of a deal to grant Utah statehood, and the church now excommunicates those members who practice or advocate it. Nevertheless, polygamy has an estimated 30,000 practitioners in the West. Canada: Compas Group national survey finds 68% of Canadians believe same-sex relationships should be recognized; 31% in favour of marriage, 37% for civil unions; 30% against everything. First poll with choices rather than marriage or nothing Ontario Justice Ellen Macdonald rules federal government discriminated against same-sex couples by denying pension benefits to survivors whose partners died before 1998, a $100 million dollar issue affecting as ast 1500 people countrywide; when the govt passed gay common-law legislation in 2000, so gays got survivor benefits, it was dated back two years; this case is about those whose partners died before 1998 claiming the benefits should have been rolled back to April 17, 1985, when equality guarantees were included in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. United Nations: administrative order by Secretary-General Kofi Annan provides same-sex partners of UN employees with health and other benefits, but only if national policy of their home country allows; the UN would request permission 161

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II from the country of origin of the staff member "to confirm the existence and validity of the domestic partnership contracted by the staff member under the law of that country." Jan 2004 Australia: new leader of opposition Labour Party Latham endorses strong gay rights package in its election platform including rights for same-sex couples, voluntary system to allow same-sex couples to gain full access to the medical, pension, care giver, and parental entitlements of heterosexual couples, but not marriage. Tasmanian same-sex civil union registration becomes official Jan 1.; couples get full access to the medical, pension, care-giver and parental entitlements of heterosexual couples. Czech govt quietly drop from the agenda of cabinet meeting proposed legislation to allow for registered same-sex partnerships (some of the rights of marriage); a government spokesperson says no indication when or if it would come up in the future. An equal position for couples of the same sex is an EU demand; such laws now valid in 8 of the 15 EU countries. Bill is the fourth attempt to get legislation passed recognizing same-sex couples. Luxembourg: Council of State (Ls 2nd chamber) proposes same-sex marriage, in its reaction to the draft bill on the legal effects on certain partnerships submitted by the govt to the Council o State May 2002. Must be voted on by next election June 2004. Brighton and Hove Local Government Association survey finds 16% of all adoptive parents in the city are gay, among the highest in Britain; in its new report, Sexuality - The New Agenda, the LGA praises Brighton and Hove for its work in encouraging lesbian and gay parents to come forward and adopt and also mentions its firm commitment to "taking rigorous action against homophobia". USA TODAY / CNN / Gallup Poll finds 53% against 24% for a law to "allow homosexual couples to legally get married"; 41% against same-sex "civil unions," giving gay couples "some of the legal rights of married couples." 23% have no opinion on gay marriage and 25% none on civil unions. 46% for, 44% against legal gay sex. US: 2003-2004 Gay/Lesbian Consumer Online Census conducted last August by GLCensus Partners (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and advertising and public relations firm OpusComm Group) finds 52% GLs in committed relationships, 26% single, 15% single and dating, 5% percent were in a civil union or marriage, 2% widowed. Of those in a relationship, 31% had been in the relationship between one and three years, 15% had been in committed relationships for more than 12 years. US: St. Vincent's Hospital appeal heard in last Aprils ruling (Nassau County Supreme Court Justice John P. Dunne noted "common-law" spouses from other states are regularly recognized as spouses in New York and New York law does not define "spouses" as people of different sexes) that recognized a Vermont civil union couple as spouses outside that state; Lambda Legal for couple; Neal Conrad Spicehandler died in emergency (apparently of a broken leg), survivor John Langan seeks to sue as spouse for medical negligence leading to death. US: ABC Washington Post poll shows 38% for antigaymarriage constitutional amendment; 55% against 41% for same-sex marriage; 51% against, 46 % for gay 162

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II civil unions. Against gay marriage are 80% of evangelical white Protestants, 75% senior citizens, 75% conservatives, 70+% Republicans. Supporters: 56% of the under-40s, 66% of those who profess no religion, nearly 70% 10 liberals. Jan 2004 US: Bush delivers State of the Union address: marriage is the union of a man and a woman; stop short of endorsing a constitutional ban on gay marriage; speech also focuses on healthcare, homeland security, and the war on terrorism. US: Human Rights Campaign Foundation analyses 2000 Census data to see about same-sex senior couples; over 10% of couples have at least one partner over 65; another 10% have both percent of same-sex couples, both over 65 most senior couples found in LA and San Diego counties, CA, Cook County, Ill., Brooklyn and Queens, NY, and Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties, Fla; in Massachusetts, 8.5% couples have at least one partners over 64, 19.5% have one or more over 54; married senior couples earn 4.3% ($1,056) more in combined household retirement income on average each year than same-sex couples; samesex couples over 64 earn an average of $7,354 each in Social Security, while each spouse in a heterosexual couple earns an average $7,770; surviving partners in same-sex couples on average receive $5,528 less annually from Social Security than surviving spouses. Arizona: Arizona Republic poll finds 51% against, 39% for, 10%dk on constitutional ban to prohibit same-sex marriage; poll results did not vary significantly by age group, by gender, by county or by income, though more Democrats against, Reps for. Some respondents said they were against gays marrying but still didn't think the Constitution should be altered. Arizona: Sen. Mark Anderson (R-Mesa), chairs of Senate Family Services Committee, refuses to hold hearings on bill tabled by Sen. Jack Harper (R-Surprise) to amend state constitution to ban same-sex marriage and prevent the state from providing any benefits under any condition to gay couples. Harper says the existing law is not strong enough. Anderson: the state already has legislation on the books barring same-sex marriage, "so I don't see that this is going to necessarily bring any great benefit," Arizona: Senate Family Services Committee votes 4-3 along party lines for a so-called "postcard" calling on Congress to pass the proposed Family Marriage Amendment and submit it to the states for ratification; now moves to the rules committee where a vote by the full Senate will be scheduled; no legal weight but would put the chamber on record that it supports the proposed change in the US Constitution. California assembly member Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) tables legislation to allow same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses. Proposition 22, passed by California voters in 2000, prevents California from being forced to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples who were married outside of California. Colorado: legislation to allow civil unions introduced in Legislature, most of the same benefits and responsibilities granted to married couples (incl transfer property, survivor benefits, coverage under health plans, and the ability to refuse to testify against partners). Atlanta: 3-judge panel in 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals rules against 4 gay Florida foster parents seeking to adopt children in their care despite the 1977 Florida law passed in the heyday of Anita Bryant's anti-homosexual campaign. Gov. Jeb Bush says he is "pleased" by the ruling. Florida is the only state in the 163

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II nation with a complete ban on adoption by gays, whether married or single; judges said the issue was properly before the Legislature rather than the appeals court. Jan 2004 Georgia: Atlanta's Human Relations Commission finds Lee Kyser and Randy L. New and their partners victims of discrimination when Druid Hills Country Club ($40,000 initiation fee, $475 monthly dues) refused to grant their partners family memberships. Now goes to Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin for review; if she concurs, club will asked to change its policy; if it then refuses, the city could cancel its business and liquor licenses. Georgia: bill tabled in Senate to block same-sex couples from marrying, amending state constitution to define marriage only as a union between a man and a woman. Georgia already has legislation to stop gays from marrying. Illinois: 2 legislature members file bills to amend the state constitution to bar same-sex marriage; both define marriage as a union "between a man and a woman"; the bill filed by Rep. Bill Mitchell (R-Forsyth) adds any "civil union, domestic partnership, or other similar same sex relationship shall not be valid or recognized in Illinois." Would nullify Chicago's domestic partner registry which opened in October Indiana Court of Appeals hears arguments in challenge by 3 same-sex couples to the state's Defence of Marriage law; in May Marion County Superior Court Judge S.K. Reid ruled the law OK, "promotes the state's interest in encouraging procreation to occur in a context where both biological parents are present to raise the child" and denied a petition to recognize civil unions performed outside the state. The three couples had civil unions in Vermont but under the DOMA they are not recognized in the state. Indiana: Governor (R) Joseph Kernan and AG (D)Steve Carter both oppose same-sex marriage, but Carter wants and Kennon opposes a state constitutional amendment to define a marriage as between one man and one woman. The state already has a Defence of Marriage Act. A legislative hearing on the proposed amendment scheduled Senate chamber. Indiana: Rep. Scott Pelath (D-Michigan City) chairman of the House Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee announces that bill to amend state constitution to ban same-sex marriage; the measure will not make it to the floor even if it passes the Republican-controlled Senate:"With the multitude of issues we have to deal with that deal directly with people's lives, this just isn't a priority at this moment." Senate begins hearings on the bill. Indiana: Senate Judiciary Committee will not take up the bill to ban discrimination on the basis of sexuality; chair Sen. Richard D. Bray (R-Martinsville): "Frankly, it's not a bill I would put as a top priority. It's a bad time for it - if there ever is a good time." Mass: Supreme Judicial Court high court call for briefs on its initial ruling has netted 16 so far: incl. a group of 90 law professors and constitutional scholars from across the country, including 18 from Harvard Law School (HLS), are for gay marriage and against a proposed civil union law; a coalition of right-wing groups (incl Massachusetts Catholic Conference, Massachusetts Family Institute) asks the court to delay implementation of its landmark gay marriage decision until lawmakers and citizens have had the opportunity to vote on the issue; Massachusetts Bar Association (for marriage, against civil union bill); a group of law students at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Sexuality and Gender 164

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Equality at UNLV (for marriage, against civil unions); two private citizens; Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, which represent the seven same-sex couples who sued the state for the right to marry. Jan 2004 Jan 2004 Massachusetts: Labour unions representing nearly 200,000 workers across Massachusetts endorse same-sex civil marriage. Massachusetts Democratic Party leaders vote to back a resolution supporting same-sex civil marriage, just two weeks before lawmakers are scheduled to decide on a constitutional amendment to ban it; nonbinding voice vote by a majority of approximately 200 members Committee unanimously backs resolution opposing the constitutional amendment and any other attempt to amend the constitution to discriminate against same-sex couples. Mass: Republican former gov. William F. Weld and two former attorneys (Dem) James Shannon and Scott Harshbarger general write to tell legislature to stop trying to skirt the issue of same-sex marriage and obey the ruling of the state's highest court. Mass: Crimson poll finds 77% of Harvard students agree, 58% strongly agree with recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling for gay marriage; 16% disagree "somewhat" or "strongly." Republican-leaning students 49% for, 43% against. Massachusetts: leader Ron Crews of the Massachusetts Family Institute fighting same-sex marriage admits misrepresenting findings of Zogby statewide poll they sponsored to support his cause; cited 69% wanted vote on amending the state constitution to ban gay marriage, 52% said that "only marriage between one man and one woman should be legal," with 42%, but omitted most respondents opposed the constitutional amendment (49% against, 48% for) and 48% did not want lawmakers to prevent marriage licenses from being issued to same-sex couples though 46% said the Legislature should stop gays from marrying. Zogby released the information. Crews denounces Zogby for "unauthorized disclosure." Mississippi: state Sen. Alan gay marriage goes against everything society has ever stood for" Nunnelee (R-Tupelo) files bill to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman; the state already has a so-called Defence of Marriage Act that prevents gay and lesbian couples from marrying or having unions performed outside the state recognized in Mississippi. Nunnelee says the 1997 law may not be enough in the future. Missouri: resolution calling for amendment to state constitution banning same-sex marriage endorsed by House Children and Families Committee 8-6 on party line; now moves to a vote in the full House. Missouri already has a Defence of Marriage Act Nebraska: Douglas County district judge Joseph Troia awards two lesbian mothers joint custody of an 8-year-old boy; three-year custody case; boy will live mainly with Serenna Russell (Omaha), Joan Bridgens (Detroit) will pay child support. Russell and Bridgens were in a long-term relationship in 1997 when they jointly adopted the boy in Pennsylvania. New Jersey Senate votes 23-9 for bill extending many state benefits to gay and lesbian couples (collect the public pensions of deceased partners, guaranteed 165

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II hospital visits, receive health benefits in a partner's name) but not federal benefits of marriage, nor same property rights as married spouses, nor many child custody rights and obligations heterosexual couples have. Gov. James E. McGreevey signs it. NJ the 5th state to recognize domestic partners. NY: Rochester city reviews state marriage law and civil rights legislation to see whether it can legally deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples; so far no same-sex couples have attempted to obtain a marriage license in Rochester, which is viewed as one of the most gay-friendly cities in the state. NY: analysis of the latest census returns from Urban Institute, nonpartisan research organization in Washington, finds more gay dads (26% of male couples include a stay-at-home parent) are staying at home to raise children than heterosexual (25% for married couples) or lesbian (21%) parents; same-sex couples with a stay-at-home parent show that median household income at $35,000, lower than the $45,000 for a heterosexual married couple with a stay-at-home parent. Ohio Senate 18-15 passes one of the most severe anti-gay pieces of legislation in the country; bill has already passed the House; declares same-sex marriages are against the "strong public policy" of Ohio, prevents courts from recognizing marriages or civil unions from outside the state, prevents state from offering health and pension benefits to unmarried partners. Gov. Bob Taft says he will sign the bill as soon as it reached his desk. State already had one law to prevent same-sex marriage. Nebraska is the only other state that prohibits benefits for state employees' unmarried partners. 37 states bar same-sex marriage. Ohio: first same-sex couples register under Cleveland Heights's new Domestic Partner Registry, endorsed by city council and put to a referendum vote last November; no real legal status. $50 for residents, $65 for nonresidents; must register in person, but city hopes to offer online and mail registration; city will file copies of applications and mail certificates; to cancel the registration, couples must send a certified letter to the city. Oklahoma: state rep Bill Graves (R-Oklahoma City) representative says he will file two separate bills in the House to ban any recognition of same-sex couples in the state, one to amend a 1997 state law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a women to include a ban on civil unions (incl: same-sex relationships are "repugnant to the public policy'' of the state), the other to change the Oklahoma Constitution to guarantee that same-sex weddings performed outside the state cannot be legally recognized in Oklahoma. "They want more than just public acceptance of their lifestyle. They want approval. According to the Holy Bible, homosexuality is an abomination in God's eyes.'' Pennsylvania: Allegheny County Judge Robert Gallo makes permanent the injunction barring Pittsburgh's Commission on Human Relations from hearing a complaint against the University of Pittsburgh for refusing to offer health benefits to same-sex partners of its employees, ruling the city's commission has no jurisdiction to hear the dispute; case is an 8-year struggle by Deborah Henson to get benefits for her partner; she was later joined by six other gay and lesbian employees; ACLU for workers claimed school violated the city's 1990 gay-rights law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. 166

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Jan 2004 Tennessee Court of Appeals confirms Williamson County court ruling ordering Joe Hogue to ensure his son, 10, is not "subjected to the gay lifestyle" but overturns ruling sending him to jail for telling the boy he is gay, ''when someone is gay, they are born like that,'' his partner was in love with him.. Messy divorce with wife. Utah: Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Standing Committee unanimously rejects bill to reinforce Utah's prohibition on same-sex marriage rejected when legal experts (former chief justice of the Utah Supreme Court, two law professors from Brigham Young University, and lawyers for the ACLU) declare parts of it unconstitutional, poorly crafted, and likely to result in legal challenges. Section of the bill barring same-sex couples married or civilunioned elsewhere from going to court in Utah to resolve questions on matters ranging from child custody to inheritance rights and insurance benefits said to violated both the open-court and equal-protection clauses in the state constitution.

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Utah: bill slightly amended, clears Senate Judiciary Committee and heads to the floor of the Senate; bill defines marriage as between a man and a woman and prohibits recognition of same-sex marriages, common law marriage, or civil unions allowed in other states. Jan 2004 Vermont: bill to legalize same-sex marriage introduced in the Vermont legislature; would also allow people with civil unions to transfer them to marriage by filling out a simple form; bill would require the state to recognize same-sex marriages and civil unions conducted in other states and countries. Legislation introduced in Senate last month to ban same-sex marriage, affirm the "critical role of the married family as a fundamental building block of a stable society" and "help ensure that the democratic process is not overrun by judicial activism." Since civil unions were created in 2000, more than 5,800 same-sex couples have entered into the domestic partnership agreements. Virginia: bill by Delegate Robert G. Marshall (R-Manassas) to impeach judges if they were to rule in favour of same-sex marriage defeated 18-3 in Courts of Justice Committee as "clearly unconstitutional." Virginia: House Rules Committee of the House of Delegates, the 77-18 House of Delegates approves bill urging the US Congress to support an amendment to the Constitution barring same-sex marriage; now moves to a vote on the floor. Canadian government under PM Martin will hold hearings across the country to gauge public reaction to same-sex marriage (duplicates hearings of last year by the Justice Committee), which may delay Supreme Court hearing on draft legislation, may change draft bill submitted to the Supreme Court, adds civil-union q to supreme court also: "#4. Is the opposite-sex requirement of marriage consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?" Canada: justice dept appeals December ruling of Ontario Superior Court Justice Ellen Macdonald to make CPP survivor payments to those in same-sex couples widowed after April 1985 (expected to cost taxpayers $100-400 m in retroactive pension benefits); govt wants a higher court to clarify Parliament's ability to say when its laws take effect; case now moves to the Ontario Court of Appeal; govt says decision to appeal is strictly legal, concerns about precedent, nothing to do with the ongoing debate over same-sex marriage. 167

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Jan 2004 Jan 2004 Canada: Conservative leadership candidate Belinda Stronach publicly supports same-sex marriage. BC government orders officials who perform civil marriages to agree to marry same-sex couples or resign by the end of March; BC Court of Appeal in July ruled the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman was unconstitutional; the (provincially licensed) commissioners received a letter yesterday from the BC Vital Statistics Agency. Quebec Court of Appeal Monday hears appeal of lower court ruling that denying marriage to same-sex couples is unconstitutional. Israel: Reversing the decision of his predecessor Eli Yishai (Shas), Interior Minister Avraham Poraz (Shinui) allows same-sex couples to adopt children; his decision will positively affect the outcome of a controversial case which has been under discussion for several years in the High Court of Justice (Nicole and Ruthie Brenner-Kadish appealed to the High Court to instruct the Ministry of the Interior to register both women as the parents of a child born to one of them). EU: Citizens' Rights Committee of the European Parliament adopts without amendment a second-reading report that recommends accepting the Council's common position on the right to move and reside freely within the EU. Likely to pass through Plenary, the directive will come into force on 1 July 2005. Directive first read February 2003; final text falls significantly short of initial gains. Though symbolically important as the first official acknowledgment of the existence of registered same-sex couples it confers no substantive new rights to LGBT people and their families. Directive: right to free movement primarily remains limited to a "spouse" and the children of either the spouse or the sponsor. Whether or not this includes same-sex spouses is not clearly defined but will be ultimately for the European courts to resolve. Registered partners would only enjoy the right to free movement if the host country 'treats registered partners equivalent to married couples'. Currently this would cover a maximum of seven of the future twenty-five member states: Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and possibly Germany and France. Poland: joined senate commissions on health and justice vote 10-3 to work on the Draft of Registered Partnership Bill presented by Senator Maria Szyszkowska; draft will then go to Senate; thence if it passes to Sejm (lower chamber of Polish Parliament). Italian parliament 277-222 passes legislation restricting fertility treatments to heterosexual couples of childbearing age who live together and banning sperm donation and surrogate mothers. Senate approved it in December; needs only president to sign it. Adoption by gays is already illegal. New law carries fines of $363-726,000. Belgium widens same-sex marriage law to include foreigners, as long as one of the future partners is Belgian or resident in the country; 139 gay weddings in Belgium between June and November 2003. Belgium: amendment to gay marriage law goes into effect: non-Belgian same-sex couples can now be able to marry in Belgium provided at least one partner lives in or visits the country regularly. Previously, only gay couples from European countries where gay marriages are legal (Holland, Belgium) could get married in 168

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Belgium. Feb 2004 US: Center for Democracy & Citizenship at The Council for Excellence in Government and CIRCLE (the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) survey of 15-25 year olds finds 56% for, 39% against same-sex marriage; 63% for civil unions; 85% for equal rights in housing and employment; 85% say gays and lesbians should be protected from hate crimes; 50% know someone who is gay; sentiments held by all ideological, partisan, racial, geographic, and religious groups; African American and Latino youth more supportive of extending equal protections to gays on housing, employment, and hate crimes than whites. Majorities of Republican, conservative, and Born-Again Christian youth also support protections on housing, employment, and hate crimes, although they oppose gay civil unions, marriage, and adoption. US: Senate begins work on a bill to amend the Constitution to prevent same-sex marriages; Senate Judiciary Committee oversees legislation that affects the Constitution. Bush supports such an amendment. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, a firstterm Republican from Colorado, introduced a measure nearly a year ago. Bush did not specifically endorse Musgrave's amendment.

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University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey finds 48% oppose a constitutional amendment to prohibit states from enacting same-sex marriage laws, 41% support it; 64% oppose laws that would allow gay marriage in their states, 30% support such laws. Gallup Poll finds 53% favour an amendment, 44% oppose it; 48% say the federal government should determine laws on gay marriage, 46% would leave it to states. American Anthropological Association criticizes proposed constitutional ban: "The results of more than a century of anthropological research on households, kinship relationships and families, across cultures and through time, provide no support whatsoever for the view that either civilization or viable social orders depend upon marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution. Rather, anthropological research supports the conclusion that a vast array of family types, including families built upon same-sex partnerships, can contribute to stable and humane societies," AAA executive board "strongly opposes a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples." Coalition of the US largest rightwing "pro-family" organizations launches $2 million newspaper ad campaign to express their gratitude to President Bush Feb 2004 US poll, part of the National Annenberg Election Survey, finds 49% against, 42% for amending US Constitution to bar same-sex marriages; 60% against, 31% for law legalizing same-sex marriage in their states; nearly 40% of those against same-sex marriages are for state laws allowing same-sex civil unions (with inheritance rights, insurance, and pension coverage); overall 54% for either same-sex marriages or civil unions (up from Dec, down from Nov). Support for antigaymarriage constitutional amendment highest in the South (50% for, 42% against), lowest in the Midwest (37% for, 56% against). Amendment support strongest among Republicans (64% for, 32% against), people who attend church more than once a week (58% for, 38% against), conservatives (54% for, 40% against), and people 30-44 years old (48% for, 42% against). Strongest opposition to amendment from liberals (65% against, 24% for), Democrats (62% against, 169

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II 28% for), people 18-29 years old (58% against, 35% for), respondents with a college degree or higher (58% against, 36% for), and those who attend church a few times a year or never (56% against, 32% for). People married or living-asmarried 45% for, 47% against amendment. Those widowed, divorced, separated, never married 52% against, 38% for. American Bar Association votes to urge the federal government to stay out of the same-sex marriage debate; motion passed at annual winter convention says the ABA "opposes any federal enactment that would restrict the ability of a state or territory to prescribe the qualifications for civil marriage between two persons within its jurisdiction." California: San Diego appeals court hears from Bernardo Heights Country Club being sued by Birgit Koebke and Kendall French for discrimination; club says it refused to give the women a family membership because it might make the club look "gay friendly" and open a "floodgate" of applications from same-sex couples, but this is not discrimination because it does not bar gays or same-sex couples from joining; club has a policy of allowing spouses of members to play golf for free but does not consider same-sex partners to be spouses; former general manager testifies unmarried and divorced straight couples sometimes allowed spousal privileges; grandchildren also allowed to play for free. Gay couples cannot legally marry in California. Koebke and French have been domestic partners since 1993. A superior court judge ruled in favour of the country club in 2002 and the couple took the case to the 4th District Court of Appeal. California: State Assemblywoman Sally Lieber (D-San Jose) introduces a joint resolution in the Assembly 60 urging Congress and the President of the United States to adopt the Permanent Partners Immigration Act (PPIA) currently bottled up in committee; PPIA would allow US citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their same-sex partners for immigration. CA: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom instructs the county clerk Nancy Alfaro to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and make the necessary changes to the forms and documents for applications and licenses to marry same sex couples; after about 7 days, city begins to issue the licensees. Newsom: "A little more than a month ago I took the oath of office here at City Hall and swore to uphold California's Constitution which clearly outlaws all forms of discrimination. Denying basic rights to members of our community will not be tolerated." Campaign for California Families seeks a restraining order from Superior Court to prevent the city from issuing more licenses and to nullify those marriages already performed.

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San Francisco: demand for same-sex marriage licenses on Valentines Day weekend so great that officials turn away scores of couples, saying they don't have the time or resources; authorities calculate they can process 400 licenses during special weekend hours but had already given numbers to 320 couples who first came Saturday to get married, distributed another 80 numbers Sunday morning, asked more couples to return Monday. SF normally does about 20-30 couples a day; inks 1,000+ same-sex marriage licenses in 4 days. California will not recognise the marriage licences because the city created its own form removing such terms as "bride" and "groom"; SF files suit against the state of California, challenging its prohibitions on same-sex marriages on constitutional grounds. Gov. 170

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Schwarzenegger orders AG Bill Lockyer "to take immediate steps" to stop San Francisco from granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples. to stop the marriages. Lockyer declines: "The governor can direct the Highway Patrol. He can direct the next Terminator 4 movie if he chooses. But he can't direct the attorney general in the way he's attempted to do." Lockyer says he'll defend state law that restricts marriage to a man and a woman, but neither he nor the governor has the power to force the city to comply. Lockyer says he'll go to California Supreme Court and ask justices to decide whether marriages between gays violate the state's Constitution. David Binder Research poll of San Francisco voters finds 66% support Newsom's initiative; a statewide Public Policy Institute of California poll finds approval of gay marriage up 6 points to 43%, while 50% remain opposed. California Supreme Court declines request by state AG to shut down San Francisco's gay weddings and nullify the nearly 3,500 marriages already performed., Bushs Social Security Administration orders administrators nationwide to reject requests for name changes on Social Security accounts based on any marriage licenses - same-sex or opposite-sex - recently issued by the city, but does not address larger questions of eligibility for a spouse's Social Security benefits or other federal marriage rights. Feb 2004 South Carolina: bill (co-sponsored by 42 representatives, all Republicans) introduced to make it illegal to recognize or provide state benefits to same-sex couples who were married or entered into domestic partnerships outside the state; SC already has a law barring same-sex marriage in the state; bill would not limit any private agreements companies might have with their employees; bill sent to House Judiciary Committee where 6 of the 25 committee members are co-sponsors of the bill Feb 2004 Colorado: bill to give same-sex couples many of the benefits of marriage (transfer of property, survivor benefits, coverage under health plans, and the ability to refuse to testify against partners) defeated 7-3 in House Information and Technology committee Feb 2004 South Dakota: bill to bar recognition of civil unions and other "quasi-marital" relationships in South Dakota (one-sentence bill: "The uniting of persons of the same or opposite sex in a civil union, domestic partnership, or other similar quasi-marital relationship is not valid and does not confer any legal benefit or privilege of marriage allowed under state law") is killed in House State Affairs Committee because it would also have ended the recognition of opposite-sex couples in a common law marriage recognized by another state, barred employers from offering benefits to domestic partners, maybe hindered legal agreements unrelated to couples living under one roof. Florida: attorney files lawsuit on behalf of 170 people challenging the state law forbidding same-sex marriage after two men applied for a marriage licence from the court clerk, who declined to issue one, citing Florida law. Georgia: bill to amend state constitution to bar same-sex marriage approved by committee, heads to the Senate floor for a vote; needs a two-thirds vote to pass the full Senate floor and move to the House where it will also require a two-thirds votes; then would have to be ratified by voters at the polls in November. Georgia law already bans gay marriages in Georgia 171

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Feb 2004 Indiana Senate 42-7 approves proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, stating only marriage between one man and one woman is valid in Indiana; bill goes to House. Iowa Supreme Court agrees to review an uncontested divorce granted last year to Sioux City women Kimberly Brown and Jennifer Perez (civil union in Vermont in 2002); review sought by 7 Republican lawmakers and a conservative church leader. Maine: proposal to amend state constitution to ban gay marriage rejected 73-63 by state House of Representatives; state already has legislation preventing same-sex marriage; proposal would have required the Legislature's Judiciary Committee to develop a constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between a man and a woman. Maryland House Judiciary Committee holds hearings on proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between a man and a woman and a bill to prevent same-sex marriages performed elsewhere from being recognized in Maryland (under the US Constitution, Maryland is required to accept the laws of other states, unless those measures are deemed inconsistent with state policy). Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules civil unions will not suffice for the full right of marriage for same-sex couples: "The history of our nation has demonstrated that separate is seldom, if ever, equal"; says "The bill that would allow for civil unions, but falls short of marriage, is makes for "unconstitutional, inferior, and discriminatory status for same-sex couples" Ruling comes one week before members of both houses meet in a Constitutional Convention to consider an amendment that would legally define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. If approved by a majority of lawmakers, the amendment would then have to be approved again during the 2005-06 legislative session before going on the ballot in November 2006. Massachusetts: members of the House and Senate debating amending the commonwealth constitution to bar same-sex marriage arrange for cordon of Boston and state police round the legislature; same-sex marriage ban is near the bottom of a list of proposed amendments ranging from the election of judges, to extending the terms of legislators from two to four years, to abolishing the Governor's Council. Proposal from House Speaker Thomas Finneran (D-Boston) backed by Republican Gov. Mitt Romney to define marriage as a union of a man and a woman and let legislature to establish civil unions sometime is narrowly voted down. Bipartisan amendment to define marriage as between a man and woman and also establish civil unions (and reconstitute same-sex marriages being done now as civil unions) also rejected by narrow margin. Third proposal defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. No decision yet. Democrats hold 170 of Legislature's 200 seats. Adjourn and meet again March. Boston Globe poll finds opposition to same-sex marriage up 10 points to 53% after intense lobbying by the Catholic Church and conservative groups. Mass: Rev. Stephen Van Kuiken, 45, former pastor of the Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church, who lost his job last June over marrying same-sex couples (Presbytery of Cincinnati voted 119-45 to remove him), now reinstated as a minister in good standing with the Presbyterian Church USA; too late of course; 172

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II since he accepted a separation agreement from the church with a year's pay; VK appealed to Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of the Covenant which rules the presbytery erred in removing Van Kuiken while he was appealing a previous presbytery decision. The church permits holy union ceremonies but nothing that could confuse them with a real marriage, such as an exchange of rings; minister not allowed to imply that he's blessing sexual intimacy either. Feb 2004 New Mexico: Sandoval County, a community of about 90,000 people just north of Albuquerque will issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples; County Clerk Victoria Dunlap said she fears a lawsuit if she does not grant the licenses to gay couples. Sandoval County attorney David Mathews agrees there is potential same-sex couples could sue under New Mexico law if the licenses were refused. State law defines marriage as a civil contract between contracting parties, but does not mention gender. Dunlap says she has not been approached by any same-sex couple. Dozens then marry. NM AG Patricia Madrid says the licenses "would be invalid under current law", sends advisory letter to Sheriff John Paul Trujillo saying "until the laws are changed through the legislative process or declared unconstitutional by the judicial process, the statutes limit marriage in New Mexico to a man and a woman." After 66 marriage licenses are issued, the county sheriff and a deputy blocked 30 couples from obtaining licenses just 40 minutes before closing. New York State Labor Department reverses earlier ruling and will pay unemployment benefits to gays involved in long-term relationships who quit their jobs to follow their partners who obtain work out of state; case of Jeanne Newland, who left her job in Rochester to be with her partner in Virginia. UI Appeal Board still deciding whether to give Newland the benefits. Michigan: Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Michigan, states largest health insurer, will offer coverage to the partners of gays and lesbians who work for small businesses; says responding "to customer demand"; coverage mirrors that offered to married couples but does not cover heterosexual couples in nonmarried relationships; will affect 50,000 Blue Cross businesses with under 90 employees. Two smaller health insurers in the state, Health Alliance Plan and M-Care already offer the coverage to their small business customers. Blue Cross says it studied four years worth of records of large employers that offer domestic partner benefits and determined that those benefits cost the same as they did for heterosexual couples. Ohio passes law barring the state from recognizing same-sex marriages, civil unions, or domestic partner agreements legalized outside the state; barring state benefits for gay couples. Supposedly the law will not remove any existing benefits that same-sex or domestic partners currently have, including the ability to challenge a will. Senate approved the measure last month; bill goes to Gov. Bob Taft who signs it. Utah Legislature passes bill re-enforcing the ban on same-sex marriage, and intends to pass a resolution asking voters to amend the state constitution by defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman only. Virginia: Richmond Circuit Judge Randall G. Johnson rules requiring the state to issue new birth certificates with the names of the children's adoptive parents instead of their birth parents conflicts with Virginia's policy prohibiting joint adoption by unmarried couples; roadblock to co-adoption whereby partner of 173

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II person with a child is able to adopt the child and become its second parent; case of 3 gay couples filed 2002 against Virginia State Health Commission (children born in Virginia but adopted in other states). Feb 2004 Virginia: House of Delegates 77-18 with no debate passes legislation affirming the state's law that defines a marriage as a union between a man and a woman; Republican Del. Robert Marshall, the bill's sponsor, said the legislation was necessary to protect Virginia law from what he called "renegade judges" and "homosexual activists". The bill also blocks the state from recognizing gay marriages or civil unions from other states. The bill now moves to the Senate. Washington Court of Appeals upholds lower court ruling that same-sex couples are subject to the same principles as married couples in disputes over joint assets when they break up; case of Julia Robertson and Linda Gormley 2003; breakup of 10 year relationship; November, Superior Court Judge Heather Van Nuys ruled the couple's relationship was "sufficiently marriage-like to provide equitable relief." Wisconsin; bill to amend state constitution to ban same-sex marriage introduced in the Assembly (45 Republicans and one Democrat co-sponsor), "only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state." If the bill passes both houses of the Wisconsin legislature it would not be subject to a veto but would need to be approved by voters. Wisconsin: bill tabled to make same-sex marriage legal by amending references in current state law of husband and wife to spouse by Reps. Mark Pocan and Sen. Fred Risser, both Madison Democrats seeking co-sponsors for bill. Canada: Environics Research Group survey (prior to a major conference on Canadian cities held in Montreal) finds Montreal has the highest percentage of same-sex couples; 12 cities were ranked on 25 points incl socioeconomic indicators, average employment income, education, divorce rates; one of every 196 couples in Montreal are same-sex; Toronto has 1 in 227; Victoria1 in 243; Hamilton came last with 1 in 625. Canada: Supreme Court sets October date for thinking about gay marriage. Among the approved (by SC) intervenors, Can Coalition of Liberal Rabbis the only religious based pro group. Toronto: 6 months (June 10 2003 to Feb 13 2004) of gay marriage in Toronto have seen 1143 couples tie the knot (684 Canadian, 398 couples from the US, 61 from other countries; 12046 straight marriage in the same period. UN: Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), a bloc of 56 nations, and the Vatican join to demand UN General Assembly cancel plan (administrative order signed January) by the UN Sec Gen Kofi Annan to provide the partners of gay and lesbian staffers with benefits similar to those offered the spouses of heterosexual employees (though only those whose own countries provide similar benefit programs); say he acted illegally, needed the approval of the 191-member assembly; only a handful of UN employees have signed up. Bush administration has not yet decided whether to oppose the measure, nor whether it will allow the organization to recognize any qualifying American UN staff member. Not clear yet how spousal benefits are handled for applicants from Muslim countries that allow a man to have more than one wife. 174

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Irish rep Margaret Stanley, speaking on behalf of 25 EU and associate members, calls Annan's decision a "welcome step" that reflects his determination to modernize human resource management; says she sees no reason to challenge Annan's prerogative as chief administrative officer. Canadian envoy Jerry Kramer calls Annan's action "principled" in defining family status. March 2004 Saudi investigators grill 50 people, mostly expatriates, for allegedly attending a gay wedding in the city of Medina; suspects deny they were attending a gay marriage (prohibited in Saudi Arabia), say they took part in a ceremony to mark the wedding of a Chadian friend. Police, tipped off by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, or religious police, find it suspicious that guests fled the venue at the sight of police cars. One of the two Chadians involved told police that he was "rehearsing for his legal marriage", which was due to take place two days later. March 2004 Cambodia: King Norodom Sihanouk, 81, watches gay marriages in San Francisco on TV, decides that single sex weddings should be allowed in Cambodia too, says so in a hand written message on his website: as a "liberal democracy", Cambodia should allow "marriage between man and man... or between woman and woman," says he has respect for homosexuals and lesbians who are as they are because God loved a "wide range of tastes." King is a constitutional monarch with no executive powers. India: two youths marry, then are separated and beaten up before they could consummate their marriage; 22-year-old Mustafa acted as the bride and 28-yearold Harfan, a married man, as the bridegroom, say police in Garhmukteshwar (district Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh); friends and relatives thought the marriage a joke but were alarmed when the couple brought a flower-decorated bed., so they beat them up. Police refused to arrest the couple, as under the Indian Penal Code marriage between members of the same sex is not a crime. (Marriages are governed by the civil code). They could have been arrested if they had got as far as sodomy. The couple that plans to live together as man and wife. Brazil: a panel of judges in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul rules in favour of authorising same-sex marriages; ruling gives same-sex couples broad rights in areas like inheritance, child custody, insurance benefits and pensions; gay civil unions couples are not recognised officially in Brazil; bills to guarantee gay couples the same rights as heterosexuals has been debated in Congress for more than nine years. Tania Bampi, a spokeswoman for the state court administration: Technically, this is not going to be called 'gay marriage' by the justice of the peace, but it is the equivalent." Ruling binds all judges and justices-of-the-peace in the state to approve civil unions "between persons of sound mind and independent of sexual orientation"; result of request for an opinion on the issue by Rio Grande do Sul's Human Right Commission which was made by various gay rights groups in the state. Spain: new Socialist government; incoming prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero: "We are going to present a bill to set gay unions on the same footing as marriage," adds recognizing gay families a characteristic of a "modern and tolerant society" but the legislation may not use the term marriage; no timeline. Sweden: Parliament's Justice Committee considers three motions to replace the current law on same-sex civil unions (1995) with full marriage rights, changing 175

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II the marriage law to make it "gender neutral"; the three major opposition parties support the measure; government has not said how it will vote, but two of the three motions are by government members. March 2004 UK: Tories seek to extend the government's civil partnerships bill to cover other close dependent relationships "such as carers or spinster sisters" (Alan Duncan, party's constitutional affairs spokesman) but not straight couples since they can already gain legal partnership rights by getting married. Tory leader Michael Howard pledges his support for same-sex partnerships, conceding that "families are changing" and allowing Conservative MPs a free vote on the civil partnerships bill when it is introduced in the Commons later this year.

Tories choose first out lesbian parliamentary candidate, Margot James, 46, a millionaire businesswoman, who will challenge Labour's Frank Dobson in the London seat of Holborn and St Pancras. March 2004 UK govt presents Civil Partnerships Bill, almost same rights as marriage, for gays only but called equal; provides for registry office procedure; gives pensions rights slightly less than those of married couples (and not backdated as they are for married couples), no inheritance tax on property transferred when one dies, have access to hospital records similar to that allowed for a spouse, full recognition for the purposes of life assurance, the right to take over tenancy rights and pension benefits from a partner and an ability to gain parental responsibility for their civil partner's children. Local authorities not obliged to provide official ceremony such as heterosexual couples can have. Bill provides for dissolution in the courts, similar to divorce; if there are children, maintenance payments will have to agreed. Minister for women and equality, Jacqui Smith, says govt intends to have the legislation passed by the end of the year. Tory leader Michael Howard will give his MPs a free vote on the issue US: presidential-hopeful Sen. John Kerry says he remains opposed to same-sex marriage but would grant same-sex couples all 1,049 federal benefits married heterosexuals enjoy; accuses Bush of seeking to divide Americans by calling for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages. US: Washington Post/ABC News poll finds 51% for civil unions with the same basic legal rights as married couples (up 6% in less than a month), 59% oppose gay marriage; 53%oppose a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage. US: USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll finds 54% for, 42% against civil unions (last July, 57% against, 40% for); 61% oppose gay marriage (down 3% from three weeks earlier); 50% for constitutional ban (down from 53% last month). Asian American Federation of New York releases report analyzing 2000 Census data: most Asian-Americans living with same-sex partners are immigrants, and many are raising children; 19,213 Asian or Pacific Islander same-sex households; same-sex households account for 0.5% of Asian households and 0.9% of Pacific Islander households; most gay and lesbian Asian-Americans are immigrants, including 73% of Asians in same-sex households living in SF, 83% in LA and 81% in NY; children live in 44% of same-sex Asian households in LA and 43% in NY (CP: 32% in LA and 27% in NY for non-Asian same-sex couples). Median household income for Asians in same-sex households is higher than for Asian 176

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II opposite-sex households but lower than for non-Asian same-sex households: median household incomes $55,500 for Asian same-sex partners, $69,300 for nonAsian same-sex partners, $48,600 for Asian opposite-sex partners. March 2004 US: 85 Reconstructionist rabbis meeting for their annual convention in Deerfield Beach, Florida, unanimously vote for an end to laws that prevent gays from marrying and condemn as discriminatory all efforts to bar gays from benefits given other couples, such as health care coverage. Rabbi Richard Hirsch, ED of the Philadelphia-based Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, "We're endorsing the same values of stability that Jews have always upheld. Anything that supports committed relationships is a good thing. What matters is the quality of the relationship and the devotion of the people in it, not their gender." The Reconstructionist movement, begun in 1968, has 60,000 people in 104 synagogues, and is the smallest and most liberal of the four major American Jewish denominations, including the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform branches. Reconstructionist Rabbinical College has ordained gay and lesbian rabbis since 1984, expressed support in 1993 for rabbis who preside over samesex unions, included a ceremony for such weddings in its rabbinical manual in 1997. US: full Senate Judiciary Committee begins hearings on proposal to amend the US Constitution to ban gay marriage; proponents introduce new "softer" wording, sponsored by Senator Wayne Allard (R-Colorado), "technical changes'' (story) to make it clear that state legislatures can determine whether to allow civil unions or other domestic arrangements for same-sex couples, while reserving marriage for the union of one man and one woman. US: Quinnipiac University Polling Institute survey finds 51% against, 41% for amending the constitution to ban same-sex marriage, though 63% against, 31% for gay marriage; 53% against, 40% for civil unions. Aged 65+, opposition higher. Arkansas: in Little Rock, nonjury trial by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox hears ACLU on behalf of four prospective foster parents challenge state ban on gay foster parents imposed by the state Child Welfare Agency Review Board in March 1999 to protect children from disease, violence, sexual abuse, neglect and instability; the law does not prevent them from adopting; 2001 attempt to ban gay adoption refused by legislators; Michael Lamb, chief of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Developments section on Social and Emotional Development testified that there is no evidence to support the contention that gays cant be as good at parenting as heterosexuals, says children reared by gays are no more likely to become gay, says gays no more likely than straights to be paedophiles, says children dont necessarily require an adult male as one of their care givers. Its become clear that the absence of a male figure is really not important.

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March 2004 California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger turns 180 degrees, says he doesn't object to same-sex marriage, if the law were changed to permit it; says OK to remove Proposition 22 which is broadly interpreted as limiting marriage to a man and a woman, "If the people change their minds and they want to overrule that, that's fine with me." Says of Bush's call for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage "I think those issues should be left to the state, so I have no use for a constitutional amendment or change in that at all," he said. 177

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II March 2004 March 2004 San Francisco: nearly gay 4,000 couples have married since the city began issuing same-sex marriage licenses. California: David Binder Research poll finds 66% of San Franciscans support decision to issue the licenses, 25% oppose, 9% dk; African Americans, Asians, seniors and some white Republican voters more likely to oppose; sample size in each demographic group small. California: San Jose council votes 8-1 to recognize same-sex marriages performed in San Francisco and outside the state, including those performed in Canada, but it will only apply to city workers; motion drafted by SJ Mayor Ron Gonzales and openly gay council member Ken Yeager. Mayor: "We believe it is right and just that employee benefits provided to spouses of city employees should be applied evenhandedly in accordance with our firm and successful commitment to ending bias and discrimination in the workplace." Plan calls for comprehensive health and retirement benefits for the partners and family members of gay and lesbian city workers, but it is unclear whether health care providers will also agree to extend the benefits. California: 4th District Court of Appeal, a state appeals court, rules 3-0 3-0 decision, the ruled that the case filed by Birgit Koebke and Kendall French against the Bernardo Heights Country Club, a San Diego golf club, did not discriminate against gays and lesbians based on sexual orientation or gender when it refused to give the same-sex partner of one of its members a reduced membership reserved for married spouses, but says the couple might be able to show the club was discriminating by giving some privileges to unmarried heterosexual couples that it would not grant to an unmarried gay couple. Case of French and Koebke.

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California Supreme Court justices (asked by AG Bill Lockyer to take up the case without lower court review) rule unanimously Mayor Gavon Newsom must "refrain from issuing marriage licenses or certificates not authorized" by California's marriage codes, does not address whether Newsom has the legal power to authorize the marriages nor consider the issues around Proposition 22 and whether it contravenes the California Constitution; court will take up those issues in May or June; state of the gay marriages solemnized in SF will be addressed then. 4,037 same-sex couples obtained marriage licenses in SF before the state Supreme Court shut down the practice; 91% of whom came from California (according to a nonscientific analysis by County Assessor Mabel Teng's office); 9% from 45 other states and eight foreign countries (Washington 32, Oregon 32, Nevada 24, New York 20, Florida 16; couples from Canada, UK, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, and Thailand 188); 2,311 (57%) were female couples; 82 couples either chose not to go through with their weddings or did not return to City Hall in time to register their licenses March 2004 CA: Weeks later, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says she believes gay couples can marry and she approves of Mayor Gavin Newsom's decision to grant same-sex marriage licenses; has said all along she strongly opposes a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage California's attorney general Bill Lockyer moves to have suits challenging the constitutionality of banning same-sex marriage put on hold until the state Supreme Court rules on his own suit sometime in late May or June. 178

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II March 2004 CA: San Francisco Chronicle executive editor Phil Bronstein removes its lead City Hall reporter Rachel Gordon and photographer Liz Mangelsdorf from covering the city's same-sex marriage controversy after they marry each other; editors say there is a potential for the appearance of a conflict of interest. Bronstein memo: "Chronicle journalists directly and personally involved in a major news story - one in whose outcome they also have a personal stake - should not also cover that story. The issue is the integrity and credibility of the paper, as well as conflict and perception of conflict." Gordon and Mangelsdorf disagree but decline to comment; heterosexuals continue to cover stories about heterosexuals.

At public radio station KQED, Scott Shafer, host of the popular California Report program, has to stop reporting on gay marriage after he and his partner were wed. March 2004 Florida: "Marriage is safe in Florida," Gov. Jeb Bush declares, telling a travel industry conference that he will not support civil unions. Gay marriage is already illegal in the state. March 2004 Florida: Key West city council passes resolutions condemning President Bush for supporting the anti-gay-marriage amendment and calling on the county clerk to explore ways of issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Florida has a so-called Defense of Marriage law defining marriage as a union between a man and woman. California: Sebastopol city council passes motions urging the Sonoma County clerk to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples and asking the Board of Supervisors to support civil marriage for gay and lesbian couples, also stating Sebastopol's opposition to the anti-gay-marriage amendment to the US Constitution, calling it "discriminatory against gay and lesbian families." Florida: Tampa mayor Pam Iorio delivers on campaign promise and signs an executive order (does not need city council approval) extending health benefits to unmarried domestic partners of city employees, including same-sex couples; Iorio made the commitment after lesbian police officer killed in 2001 and her partner denied pension benefits; Iorio says the wording of the order is the result of months of fiscal and legal analysis; it does not include pension benefits, which are set by state law. Florida has a Defense of Marriage Act barring the recognition of same-sex couples. Enrollment will begin in October and the plan will take effect January 1. To qualify for health benefits for a domestic partner, an employee must prove that the relationship is his or her only one and that the couple intends to remain together indefinitely. The couple must have a common residence, and they must have lived together continuously for six months. The couple also must share responsibility for a significant measure of each others' "common welfare and financial obligations." And they must notify the city within 10 days if the relationship dissolves. Failure could result in disciplinary action. Tampa director of human resources Sarah Lang projects 25% of the city's 4,600 employees may use the benefit (based on private industry analysis of rates elsewhere), thinks it will cost less than $60,000 annually. Georgia: Savannah City Council votes unanimously to oppose amending the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage but cannot agree whether to call for legalized same-sex marriage. Georgia: after defeating by 3 votes in February a proposed anti-gay-marriage 179

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II amendment to state constitution, House takes up issue again; Rules Committee agrees to move the bill back to the floor for a full vote; amendment has already passed state Senate. Georgia already has legislation preventing same-sex marriage. House reverses its position and 122-52 passes legislation to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Measure heads to the ballot in November. March 2004 Idaho: state Senate defeats efforts to force a floor vote on a proposed constitutional amendment against gay marriage. an effort to bring the measure out of committee after opponents repeatedly emphasized in debate that Idaho already has a law banning gay marriage. Idaho Supreme Court agrees to hear an appeal from Theron McGriff who lost custody of his two children because he is gay and who was told the children could not visit him as long as he lived with his same-sex partner. Illinois: Cook County Clerk David Orr announces his office will not issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples despite his support for same-sex marriage. Last month Chicago mayor Richard Daley said he had no problem with gay and lesbian couples marrying, and Orr said he was willing to explore the legal implications of issuing licenses to same-sex couples. But, on the advice of county lawyers Orr now says that even though it is his strong belief that an Illinois law defining marriage as between a man and woman is "discriminatory and unconstitutional," his legal advisers agree that it would be best not to challenge the law at this time. Indiana: Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson issues an executive order prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation within city government (two months after a Senate committee refused to consider a bill that would have extended similar protection to all gays and lesbians in the state); SO added to list race, colour, disability, religion, sex, age, national origin or veteran status on matters such as employment decisions, contracts and business relations; order covers city employees, contractors and vendors. Iowa senate by one vote rejects amendment to state constitution to ban same-sex marriage. State already has a Defense of Marriage Act; o put proposed amendment to voters would have cost the state $1.4 m. Kansas: state House approved constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriages; Kansas law already says marriages are only valid between a man and woman; amendment adds similar statement to the constitution and prohibits granting marriage benefits to other relationships, effectively barring same-sex couples from civil union benefits; passed with a slim margin, goes to Senate; if Senate adopts the proposal with a two-thirds majority, the amendment will go on the November second general election ballot. Kansas: senate 17-16 (six senators abst) rejects bill to amend state constitution to ban same-sex marriage that had already passed the House earlier this month. Kansas already has a Defense of Marriage Act Kentucky: Senate passes amendment to the Kentucky constitution to ban same-sex marriage and override civil unions 33-4; amendment defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman and prevents the state from recognizing civil unions 180

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II wherever they were performed; debate consists of lawmakers quoting the Bible, reliving their own heterosexual family history, and vilifying "revisionist" judges; a handful of Senators speak against the amendment. House also approves a resolution that urges Congress to send the states a proposed amendment to the US Constitution on the matter. Kentucky: legislatures 12-member elections committee defeats by one vote a bill to amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage; Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who earlier had questioned the need for it, spoke in favour of bill; bill got six votes, but needed seven to advance to the floor of the House. When word reached the House minutes later that the bill had been defeated, amendment supporters attempted to have it forced out of the committee and sent directly to the floor for a vote. That too was defeated, but only after House leaders reopened the vote count and erased an initial one-vote victory by supporters of the bill. Maine: Senate votes 17-1 to defeat proposal to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriages; House last month rejected the plan; bill would have instructed the Judiciary Committee to develop an amendment defining marriage as being between a man and a woman. Maine already has legislation barring gays from marrying. Massachusetts approves constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage but allow civil unions; ban passes three key votes; must be approved by the Legislature again during the 2005-06 legislative session, then by voters (earliest in 2006); but, under last November's state Supreme Court ruling, same-sex couples will be legally able to wed this spring. House Speaker Thomas Finneran says he will seek to prevent the issuance of marriage licenses until the voters are able to weigh in on the amendment. Annual income of the "Coalition for Marriage" exceeds that of organizations advocating for equal marriage rights in Massachusetts by a margin of six to one ($168 million to $25 million). Massachusetts probate court judge John P. Cronin grants dissolution of a Vermont civil union of David B. Salucco and Patrick W. Alldredge (18 months ago), citing the state's landmark ruling on same-sex marriage, saying because they could not be legally married, divorce laws did not apply to them. "However, in accord with the decision [by the Supreme Judicial Court] and the public policy of Massachusetts, the Plaintiff and the Defendant in this matter should be afforded all of the responsibilities and rights that flow from a civil union, including a legal remedy for the dissolution of their legal relationship." Massachusetts Catholic Conference begins massive statewide drive to register voters in hopes of defeating Massachusetts lawmakers who support gay marriage, says there are tens of thousands of people who have never before registered to vote and they are "a formidable force". The drive will be made through parishes, in hope of reaching the recent immigrants who attend in large numbers and young parishioners who may not yet have registered to vote. Massachusetts: Dept Public Health tells town and city clerks they'll undergo training in early May on issuing marriage licenses which must be gender neutral; issues such as dealing with out of state couples must be decided; an old Massachusetts law allows clerks to refuse licenses to people who are not residents. Governor Mitt Romney has said he may ask the court for a delay. His spokesperson calls the clerks' training "premature." Massachusetts AG Tom Reilly 181

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II tells Gov. Mitt Romney he will not go to the Supreme Judicial Court to ask for a stay in the court ordered start of gay marriages. March 2004 Massachusetts: legislature 105-92 votes to approve proposed constitutional amendment ) banning same-sex marriage and permitting civil unions; measure must be approved a second time in the next session of the legislature before being put to voters; the earliest this could be done would be in 2006. Massachusetts AG Tom Reilly tells Gov. Mitt Romney he still will not go to the Supreme Judicial Court to ask for a stay in the court ordered start of gay marriages. Maryland: two anti-gay bills are defeated in committee and unlikely to be resurrected in this session of the legislature; one specified same-sex marriages from other states would not be recognized in Maryland; the other proposed amendment to the state constitution saying that same-sex marriages would not be legal in Maryland. State already has a so-called Defense of Marriage Act but it does not specify that the state would not recognize same-sex marriages from outside Maryland. Maryland: Health and Government Operations Committee 15-6 votes to approve bill creating The Medical Decision Making Act to grant same-sex couples the right to make medical decisions for each other; bill now goes to the full House of Delegates for consideration; must also pass the Senate before arriving on the governor's desk. Bill/act creates a registry with the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene specifically for same-sex couples 18+ and for seniors 62+. Older couples included because they can face tax penalties when they marry. To register, couples must prove they are "mutually interdependent"; then they can make medical decisions for each other, visit their partners' hospital rooms, share a room at nursing homes and make decisions about whether to bury or cremate after death. Bill includes careful language that declares it "neutral" on civil unions certified in other states and changed references of "domestic" partners to "life" partners. Legislation wins approval in committee to advance to the floor for a vote after being expanded to include any unmarried couple, regardless of sexual orientation. House of Delegates 103-30 passes legislation. Measure now moves to the Senate. Michigan: proposal to amend state constitution to ban same-sex marriage fails in the House; vote went 65-38, short of the 73 votes needed to send the resolution to the Senate. Minnesota House 88-42 approves motion to put a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage on the ballot this fall to avoid judicial activism from other states; a similar measure must pass the Senate before it goes to voters. Minnesota: senate committee rejects bill to amend state constitution to ban same-sex marriage New Hampshire: Senate votes 16-7 to preventing same-sex marriage after it hears that, without such a law, same-sex marriages from other states or countries could be legal in the state. Language of bill almost identical to the Defense of Marriage Act passed by Congress. Bill, supported by Republican Gov. Craig Benson, now goes to the House. New Jersey: first same-sex wedding takes place in Asbury Park, Louis Navarrete 42 and Ric Best 44, both local residents, wedding performed in the council 182

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II chamber by deputy Mayor James Bruno who says Mayor Kevin Sanders refused to perform the marriage. Laura Jewell, spokesperson for City Clerk Dawn Tomek, says city determined it could not refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because the state does not define who can and cannot marry. New Jersey: city council, meeting behind closed doors, bow to prosecution threats from the state AG Peter C. Harvey and end same-sex weddings at Asbury Park, but 5-0 agree to file a lawsuit. Only one marriage was performed, although 16 couples had their applications approved (NJ 72 hour waiting period between the time a license is issued and a marriage can be performed). State has passed a domestic partner law which goes into effect July 10. New Mexico: Sandoval County clerk Victoria Dunlap tries to resume issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples but is slapped with a restraining order before her office opens.

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New Mexico: NM Supreme Court denies a request from AG for a permanent injunction blocking the Sandoval County clerk from issuing any more same sex marriage licenses but rules temporary restraining order will remain in effect until a full hearing on the issue can be held in District Court . March 2004 New Mexico: Prudential Financial (HQ Newark NJ) accused of discrimination after refusing to provide benefits to the legally married spouse of lesbian retiree Laurel Awishus, who worked for PF for 20 years; she and 22-year partner Kathy Adelsheim( married in Toronto); rejected from medical benefits program offered to the company's retirees and spouses. PF says benefits only for those retired after January 1, 2000 when it implemented the program - though straight spouses entitled to benefits regardless of their retirement date. March 2004 New York: 13 same-sex couples married in New Paltz, despite statements by the village's mayor Jason West that he will not conduct marriages for two weeks (commitment to AG Elliot Spitzer. Ordered by Gov Pataki); weddings were performed by two Unitarian ministers, the Reverend Kay Greenleaf and her partner Reverend Dawn Sangrey; each couple given a notarized affidavit of marriage. More than 1,000 same-sex couples have registered with the village to marry since West performed the first wedding February 27. Village Trustee Robert Hebel (with the help of Christian law firm from Florida) got a restraining order against the mayor who pleaded not guilty to 19 charges that he violated New York State law; ACLU (representing Alice J. Muniz, 31 and Oneida Garcia, 34, together four years) seeks to enter lawsuit against mayor for marrying 25 same-sex couples and violating NY law. ACLU says NY marriage law has no requirement that the two people be a man and a woman and the part of the law that says who cannot get married does not mention same-sex couples. Jason West charged with 19 criminal counts for solemnizing marriages without a license (not 25 - the number of weddings performed - because police at the scene provided eyewitness accounts of only 19 ceremonies), a misdemeanour under the domestic relations law. March 2004 Ulster County District Attorney Donald Williams presses charges against Unitarian Universalist ministers Kay Greenleaf and Dawn Sangrey charged for marrying 13 gay couples, though the church has been marrying same-sex couples for 35+ years; ministers cite the Constitution's promise of religious freedom; DA 183

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II DW says gay marriage laws make no distinction between public officials and members of the clergy who preside over wedding ceremonies, says the marriages were "drastically different" from religious ceremonies since Greenleaf and Sangrey publicly said they considered them civil; charge is solemnizing a marriage without a license, carries a fine of $25-500 or up to a year in jail; ministers will plead not guilty; Greenleaf acknowledges performing the ceremonies in New Paltz knowing the couples did not have licenses, says she signed an affidavit for the couples and considers the ceremonies civil. March 2004 New York: AG Eliot Spitzer says he decided not to fight gay marriages being performed in a small village north of Manhattan because it is a case the state can't win, because it would have been unable to prove that there was any "irreparable harm" against any party - the standard needed to persuade a court to grant an injunction. Spitzer: "I have no problem with gay marriage. I think the law has moved to a point where people are comfortable that [marriage] can be extended to people of the same sex." New York: Nyack Mayor (gay) John Shields announces he will officiate at the marriages of same-sex couples, says same-sex marriage is an issue of basic civil rights protected under the New York State constitution, he and his partner plan to join other gay New Yorkers in visiting municipal clerks' offices seeking marriage licenses. New York: Rochester city council decides not to marry same-sex couples but to recognize same-sex marriages from areas where they are already legal; follows asking city attorney Linda Kingsley for a written opinion and acting in accordance with same; opinion says gay couples should be eligible for certain benefits, eg property tax exemptions and licensing law. NY State: Buffalo says it will recognize same-sex marriage performed in Canada. NY State: Ithaca Mayor Carolyn Peterson says the city will accept applications for marriage licenses from same sex couples but pass the applications on to the state for approval. The move opens the door for gay and lesbian couples to then sue the state if the licenses are not approved. Peterson says the city will join in any court battle on behalf of same-sex couples and will immediately begin to recognize all same-sex marriages legally performed in other jurisdictions. NY: Manhattan's district attorney Robert Morgenthau says he will not discipline clergy members who married three same-sex couples on the steps of City Hall, says his office will "take no action" regarding participants in gay-marriage ceremonies, but the unions won't be officially recognized because of the state's ban on gay marriages; courts have not ruled on the legal and constitutional issues surrounding same-sex marriages in New York. New York City: Lambda Legal on behalf of Daniel Hernandez, 46, and Nevin Cohen, 42, who have been together for over five years files in NY State Supreme Court; seeks to have state marriage laws which refer to "husband and wife" declared unconstitutional. NY AG Elliot Spitzer says a review of state law which bears the references has led him to conclude it is illegal to marry same-sex couples Portland, Oregon: Multnomah County and four of its five commissioners announce a review of state law by the county attorney and by an independent law firm led them to conclude the county cannot deny marriage license applications by 184

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II gay and lesbian couples; newly formed Oregon Defense of Marriage Coalition files suit challenging Multnomah County's new same-sex marriage policy, asks court for order preventing the county clerk from issuing any more marriage licenses to same-sex couples and to cancel those already given out, also asks for a clear definition that marriage is between a man and a woman. County has issued nearly 1,000 marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Oregon law defines marriage only as a civil contract entered into in person by males at least 17 years of age and females at least 17 years of age, who are otherwise capable. Multnomah County Presiding Judge Dale Koch denies request for preliminary injunction from Oregon Defense of Marriage Coalition to stop Portland issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. County has issued 1,200+ marriage licenses to same-sex couples in the first week. [March 2004 Oregon: state's attorney general Hardy Myers issues nonbinding legal opinion: state must allow same-sex couples to marry, under Oregon's constitution counties cannot prohibit or in any prevent gay and lesbian couples from obtaining marriage licenses.] March 2004 Oregon: states AG Hardy Myers advises county officials that issuing same-sex marriage licenses is "unquestionably" against state law although the law in question may be unconstitutional; then Gov. Ted Kulongoski urged officials in Multnomah County to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples until the state Supreme Court can decide. Myers says he believes it is likely the Supreme Court would conclude that the distinction violates a constitutional prohibition on granting "privileges and immunities" to one "class of citizens" while denying them to another. Kulongoski says he does not have the authority to order Multnomah County to stop issuing marriage licenses, and although prosecutors could bring misdemeanour charges against officials who persist, "If I were asked, I would say, don't do it," the governor says.

Multnomah County board of commissioners: "Multnomah County will continue to issue marriage licenses to all couples, consistent with the Oregon Constitution, until such time as the Supreme Court of Oregon or the citizens of Oregon dictate another course of action." Multnomah County has issued more than 2,000 marriage licenses to gay couples since March 3, when county commissioners said refusing to do so is unconstitutional. March 2004 Oregon: Benton County Commissioner Linda Modrell announces BC will follow Multnomah County in allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, says state constitution prohibits discrimination and takes precedence over laws preventing gay marriage; county commissioners vote 2-1 for. State takes position gay marriages are not recognized as valid marriages; marriage certs being kept in a drawer by Oregon officials until a court decision is made on their validity, viz state accepts the certificates but will not certify them, leaving 2,000 gay and lesbian couples in legal limbo. Jennifer Woodward, state registrar for vital records. "Until we have a legal decision that says otherwise, they won't become part of the vital records system." Woodward says the directive came from Gov. Ted Kulongoski's office. Kulogoski ordered all state agencies to comply with statutes that prohibit same-sex marriage. Benton County decides to err on the side of caution and ban all weddings, straight and gay, until the state decides who can and cannot wed 185

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II March 2004 Pennsylvania: New Hope council members (5-0, two council members absent) pass a resolution supporting same-sex marriages, reflects the opinion of council members and does not carry legal weight; council members can neither issue marriage licenses nor perform marriage ceremonies. A 1996 PA law defines marriage as between one man and one woman and doesn't recognize same-sex marriages even if they took place legally somewhere else. Pennsylvania: Republican House GOP leaders feel the governor overstepped bounds in extending domestic partner benefits to state workers last December but decide in a closed-door caucus meeting not to push any of the proposed anti-gay bills (incl one banning same-sex benefits, incl. sick or family leave to care for a partner; another putting the state in charge of regulating marriages so counties or towns couldn't attempt to marry same-sex couples; another tightening the definition of marriage as strictly heterosexual). Rep. Jerry Birmelin: Republicans concerned that to endorse any of the bills now could result in a voter backlash; but after the election the bills are likely to be resurrected. Gov. Ed Rendell opposes same-sex marriages but supports many other gay rights initiatives, threatens to veto any bill prohibiting the state from offering same-sex benefits: "I'll veto it simply because it flies in the face of what's happening all over America. Cities, major corporations, most of the Fortune 500 companies ... all extend these benefits to gay couples who are in long-term, loving relationships, and I believe it's fair and appropriate to extend those benefits to them here in Pennsylvania." Pennsylvania: federal magistrate Keith Pesto recommends a gay federal prison inmate Kerry Dean Shotsberger (bank fraud) continue to be barred from sending letters to his 18-year partner, who is also in Federal Correctional Institute-Loretto, because the men aren't immediate family; if challenged ruling goers to US District Judge Kim Gibson in Johnstown for a final decision. Pesto: "The legal question is not heterosexual versus homosexual, but family member versus family member," and they aren't legal family members under federal law any more than two heterosexuals with a long-term unmarried relationship. Tennessee: bill to prevent Tennessee from legally recognizing same-sex unions performed out of state killed by House Domestic Relations Subcommittee voting 5-4; Tennessee already has a Defense of Marriage law that bans gay marriage and prevents the state from accepting civil unions. Tennessee Court of Appeals strikes down court order that told Joseph Hogue not to do anything which "exposes" his son to "the gay lifestyle"; calls it unenforceable under state law, not valid because it did not follow state law which requires that restraining orders to be specific. Case began 2002 during divorce proceedings from wife when lower court issued a temporary restraining order that forbade Hogue "from taking the child around or otherwise exposing the child to his gay lover(s) and/or his gay lifestyle." Cher Lynn Hogue then filed a complaint that husband violated the restraining order by telling his son that he was gay; judge found Hogue in contempt of court, sentenced him to two days in Williamson County jail, and took away some of his visitation rights. In January, the state Court of Appeals cleared him of contempt but supported the restraining order was valid Utah House 58-14 passes legislation to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage; measure already approved in the Senate, goes to voters in 186

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II November. A law banning gay marriage and barring the state from recognizing civil unions has already been passed and is now signed into law by Gov. Olene Walker. March 2004 Virginia: senate (by a veto-proof margin of 27-10) approves bill to tighten state Affirmation of Marriage Act (1997), which now goes to Gov. Mark R. Warner; bill already passed House 79-18; Republicans worried old act too narrowly worded and did not cover civil unions or similar partnerships that are legal in other states; act now amended to ban civil unions and other partnership contracts "purporting to bestow the privileges and obligations of marriage." Virginia: Pat Link and Sheila Chambers (together 23 years, married in Canada 2003, civil unioned in Vermont in 2001) file suit to force Kanawha County Clerk's Office to issue same-sex marriage licenses; state law describes marriage as a union between a woman and a man; but neither is recognized in West Virginia. WA: Seattle mayor Greg Nichels signs executive order giving benefits to the married spouses of city employees, proposes council motion to protect the rights of all Seattle same-sex married couples no matter where they were married; ordinance to define "spouse" as a husband or wife in a same-sex or opposite-sex marriage; Seattle has offered domestic partnership benefits to its employees since 1989, but the process requires workers to fill out extensive paperwork; under the new order, married same-sex couples will be able to skip that process. Washington State: gay-marriage lawsuit filed in state court by Lambda Legal and the Northwest Women's Law Center on behalf of six same-sex couples denied marriage licenses at the King County Clerk's office argues denying marriage to same-sex couples violates the state Constitution's guarantees of equality, liberty and privacy for all Washingtonians. Washington has a defence of marriage act. Wisconsin Assembly 68-27 approves a amendment to the state Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriages and civil unions; state Senate then approves 20-13. Wisconsin statutes already define marriage as a contract between a husband and a wife Amendment must pass both houses of the Legislature in consecutive two-year sessions and be approved by voters in a statewide referendum before it can take effect; if passed this year, it could be on the ballot April 2005. Wisconsin: veteran Marilyn Riedel, 61, classified as 100% disabled with Parkinson's disease, depends on her domestic partner for everything; seeks a home to accommodate her special needs; applies with partner of eight years Connie Guardino, 58, for a low-interest VA home loan; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs declines because the state will only allow a spouse as co-applicant: "A spouse is an individual who enters a valid marriage contract. MR was not out when active in the forces. BC Liberal govt votes to take away right of same-sex couples to control remains of loved ones; replaces the Cemetery and Funeral Services Act 1996 with a new act repealing the right of same-sex couples to control the remains of a deceased partner. Quebec Court of Appeal upholds lower-court ruling that the traditional definition of marriage is discriminatory and unjustified; lifts suspension of the Superior Court's ruling (challenged by Feds and Catholic Civil Rights League); Quebec has a 20-day waiting period between the time a license is issued and a marriage can be 187

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II performed. Ruling puts over 70% of Canada's population in provinces which allow same-sex marriage. Case of Hendricks and LeBoeuf. March 2004 Ontario Superior Court of Justice judge Heidi Polowin awards Devona Sharrow, a Mohawk from the Akwesasne reserve near Cornwall, custody of her four children despite insistence of estranged husband alcoholic Stacey Boots they will face discrimination because their Mohawk community shuns homosexuality; Sharrow lives with a non-aboriginal woman from the US; Boots gets visitation rights. In a trial last fall, two of three Mohawk clan mothers, including the children's paternal grandmother, testified that homosexuals are ostracized in the Mohawk culture, in which the children have been raised in the traditional way, speak the language, participate in traditional ceremonies, and attend a Mohawk school, but the community also believes in the principle of the best interests of the children. Sharrow is committed to raising her children in the Mohawk tradition and her partner treats the children as her own. Art Zoccole, executive director of the TwoSpirited People of the First Nation in Toronto, says "two-spirited" people have more problems fitting in with their communities than do gays and lesbians in the general population. Toronto: RC Rev. Tim Ryan suspended from all duties after expressing his support for same-sex marriage in a sworn affidavit to the Supreme Court of Canada. UN budgetary committee asks Secy Genl Kofi Annan to review the new policy recognizing same-sex relationships among staff members provided the country to which they belong also does so, does not issue any directive to Annan, allows him to decide whether to continue, change, or discontinue the policy. US expresses concerns the order was "divisive" and urges reconsideration UN General Assembly votes against policy change to allows same-sex partners of some UN staffers to receive family benefits, asks Secretary-General Kofi Annan to review it. Rosemary McCreery, assistant secretary-general for human resources, says Annan will reissue the benefits plan after reviewing the assembly members' concerns but not change the policy's substance, maybe modify the language to satisfy some critics. Annan spokesman Farhan Haq: "The policy the secretarygeneral announced is the policy. At the same time, we are sensitive to concerns of member states." European Parliament adopts resolution focussing on human rights in the world, speaks out for the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and clearly spells out the importance of reproductive rights; explicitly mentions human rights violations of gay men in Egypt; in general though rather vague Comes only weeks after the parliament votes down (April 1) report on fundamental rights in the EU drafted by MEP Boumediene that spoke out in favour of sexual rights, including the right of gay and lesbian couples to adopt and marry and the fully equal rights to free movement in the EU of unmarried partnerships, straight or gay. New Zealand govt Civil Union Bills originally to have been tabled before Easter now likely to turn up in late May allowing gay and straight couples to enter into relationships with the status of marriage by legalising and registering civil unions. United Future party runs opposing newspaper ad for $4000 funded out of Parliamentary Service money given to political parties for promotion. 188

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II April 2004 New Zealand: two year old boy gets three gay parents: sperm donor, birth mother and her partner; disagreement started before birth in spite of contract (joint custody, sperm donor named as father on the birth certificate, men consulted on parenting decisions and get min. 14 days' access a year) drawn up between (now Auckland) lesbian couple and Sydney gay couple; women moved, refused men access; mother's partner applied to court to be named legal co-parent. Case went twice to high court; judges said moral and ethical issues should be addressed by parliament, not courts. Case returned to Family Court. Auckland Family Court judge Sarah Fleming awards joint custody to the lesbians but gives biological father shared guardianship and access of 7 days a month. New Zealand: Civil Union Bill. expected to be introduced to Parliament within weeks, creates a new form of relationship for straight and gay couples by legalising and registering civil unions. Australian Survey of Social Attitudes, by the Centre for Social Research at the Australian National U with Us Queensland, Western Australia and Sydney, find: 65% of under-35s, 56% of 35-49s, 14% of 65+s say a same-sex couple with children is a family; 50% of 18-34s, 19% of 65+s say law should recognise samesex relationships; 30% overall say they have no religion; 2% identify as LGT. Australia: Prime Minister John Howard says he is not targeting gay people by banning same-sex marriages, just saying what most people think; Howard wants to amend the Marriage Act to only between a man and woman, to stop courts recognising foreign gay unions, to defend traditional families. "This is not directed at gay people. It's directed at reaffirming a bedrock understanding of our society." Cabinet has decided to guard against legal recognition of same-sex marriages by inserting formally into the Commonwealth marriage act the common-law definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman.

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Federal cabinet backs away from intervening to overturn the ACT's new law allowing gay couples to adopt children - despite John Howard's strong condemnation of it. Partly due to legal complications: intervention would have put the ACT at odds with Western Australia, which allows gays to adopt. April 2004 Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero tells Parliament he intends to legalize gay marriage and grant equal rights to gay couples (no timetable); speaks during a debate which will end with a vote to confirm him in office. "Homosexuals and transsexuals deserve the same public consideration as heterosexuals. As a result we will modify the Civil Code to recognize their equal right to marriage with the resulting effects over inheritance, labour rights and social security protection." Denmark's opposition Socialist People's Party presents a bill to open the way for allowing gays and lesbians to marry in church by giving all churches the freedom to make their own decision on whether or not to wed homosexuals. Denmark approved registered partnerships 1989. German federal labour court rules civil service and all government agencies must pay benefits to the partners of same-sex couples equal to those they pay to the married spouses of heterosexuals; decision in effect expands the country's domestic partner laws without parliamentary approval; judges said that there is no difference between a registered life partnership and marriage when it comes to 189

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II remuneration in the public service and Eingetragene Lebensgemeinschaft (RDP) means family status; both are long-term relationships requiring judicial decision to dissolve; judgment follows case brought by a male nurse saying heterosexual married colleagues received higher benefits. France: (parliamentary deputy with the Greens Party) Mayor Noel Mamere of Begles, just outside Bordeaux, announces he will perform the country's first same-sex marriage in June, two local men; French law says non-religious weddings must be conducted by the mayor of a couple's local municipality for their union to be legal. NM says although French law does not specifically give same-sex couples the right to marry there is nothing to ban such unions. Civil unions between same-sex partners have been legal in France since 2000. Paris: gay mayor Bertrand Delanoe says he has no intention of letting same-sex couples marry in his city but wants to focus his attention of gay parenting rights. France: Justice Minister Dominique Perben: "This marriage will be entirely and simply null, since it is contrary to the state of law, says public prosecutors would seek to have the marriage blocked before the ceremony or annulled afterward, adds "To argue that sexual difference between spouses is not written into the civil code is to lie" since a public official celebrating a wedding hears from "the two parties, one after the other, the declaration that they want to take each other for husband and wife". Also argues the European Convention on Human Rights defined marriage as a union of a man and a woman. Green Party accuses government of homophobia, supports Mamere's "political, symbolic act". UK: Civil Partnership Bill reaches unopposed 2nd reading in House of Lords, bill now outlaws the registration of Civil Partnerships from religious buildings (only couples who are members of faith communities will be unable to register their partnerships in their place of meeting - couples who play golf will be able to have their partnership registered at their golf club, fans of horse racing on the course) faith communities are deprived of a civil right to host these registrations (?because these are the restrictions on Civil Registration of marriage to which gays have no access? - Civil Registrars already carry out the registration of weddings in many religious buildings). Bill will now goes to committee stage, maybe amendments, then Lords again by the summer, Commons by autumn, possibly royal assent as early as January. Ireland: Law Reform Commission recommends cohabiting couples, gay and straight, be given a wide range of legal rights and protections in areas such as property, pensions, inheritance law, healthcare, tax, maintenance and domestic violence; defines "qualified cohabitees" as people who live together in a "marriage-like" relationship for a continuous period of three years or - where there is a child of the relationship - for two years. 2002 Census showed 77,600 cohabiting couples, up from 46,300 in1996; number of same-sex cohabiting couples from150 in 1996 to 1,300 in 2002, two-thirds of them male.

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National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute study details economic disadvantages of gay couples unable to marry; pay more in taxes, get fewer protections and benefits; federal and state income tax, Social Security benefits, gift tax, estate tax, workers' compensation, and line-of-duty death benefits. One of the couples profiled, Donna Triggs and Donna Moore, both 54, pay $2,177 (13%) 190

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II more each year in state and federal income taxes than a married couple earning the same amount because they cannot file a joint return; . if Ms. Triggs died as a result of an injury at work, her spouse would receive $884 per week ($45,968 per year, up to a maximum of $207,722) in workers' Sean Cahill, director of the Task Force Policy Institute: "There are 1,138 federal protections associated with marriage, but civil unions will not give gay couples access to a single one." April 2004 US: poll of white evangelical Christians by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research for the PBS TV show Religion & Ethics News Weekly, and US News & World Report finds 52% support amending the US Constitution to ban same-sex marriage; nearly half do not; most believe the issue should be handled by the states; 48% would not vote for a candidate who supported gay marriage; 36% listed moral values as a top voting concern. Pollsters estimate 23% of US adults (50 million people) are evangelical. US: joint study by the Human Rights Campaign and the Urban Institute shows: gay family disadvantaged in payment of income tax; when a gay or lesbian parent dies leaving a young child, the loss of Social Security survivor benefits to the family ranges from $100,000 to $250,000 (depending on whether state laws permitted both parents to establish a legal relationship to the surviving child); same-sex couples with children are far less likely to have access to employer-sponsored health insurance for their families than married couples - and those who do are taxed hundreds for it. Census data finds same-sex couples with children in 96% of all counties; highest %age in the south, next the Midwest. US: Harris poll finds 57% against, 27% for same-sex marriage (2000 poll had 16% for; 1996 11%; given the choice of marriage, civil unions, or allowing nothing, the public is split into thirds; self-identified LGBs 71% for marriage as opposed to civil unions or no matrimonial rights; overall people asked how they would feel if their own sons or daughters were gay, 36% would want their child to be allowed to marry, 48% not; 41% think "not allowing same-sex couples to marry goes against a fundamental American right that all people should be treated equally," but 47% disagree; 40% say Washington, 41% the state should regulate marriage.

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US: progressive Alliance of Baptists AGM adopts a statement for same-sex marriage, members "decry the politicization of same-sex marriage in the current presidential contest and other races for public office... We specifically reject the proposed amendments to the Constitution of the United States and state constitutions that would enshrine discrimination against sexual minorities and define marriage in such a way as to deny same-sex couples a legal framework in which to provide for one another and those entrusted to their care."; affirms "the rights of all citizens to full marriage equality." April 2004 Alabama: gay Fountain-prison-inmates Darius Chambers and Jonathan Jones sue the state of Alabama for the right to marry, acting as their own attorneys, arguing violation of constitutional rights of due process and free speech. Chambers, 34, has a 10-year sentence for theft and a 15-year sentence for possession of a forged instrument; Jones, 27, 20 years for robbery and kidnapping. Both are eligible for parole or early release in 2005 but are now separated and not allowed conjugal visits (straight prisoners are allowed such visits by non-incarcerated partners). Shortly after filing suit, men file a second motion asking the judge to place their suit on 191

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II inactive status until they complete their sentences, because of media "frenzy" and fear of separation by the Department of Corrections. Jones writes state AG asking to be removed from the lawsuit, saying he isnt gay. Montgomery Circuit Judge Truman Hobbs Jr., dismisses lawsuit but leaves option of renewing the suit once they get out of prison. April 2004 California: Superior Court judge James L. Warren consolidates two constitutional challenges (couples, city of SF) to the state's ban on gay marriage and rules the combined case can go forward while the state Supreme Court decides related issues. April 2004 California Supreme Court says it will consider arguments on whether to annul the marriages of 4,000 same-sex couples married in SF under Gavin Newsoms decisions (3 Qs: should the marriages remain valid, be automatically voided, or voided later); court ordered a halt to the marriages last month while various legal challenges proceeded before the state Supreme Court and lower courts. California: 1st in the US: state legislative body votes for issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples; Judiciary Committee of the California State Assembly Tuesday votes 8-3 to approve the bill after less than a hour of debate; bill now moves on to the Assembly Appropriations Committee; it amends the state family code to define marriage as between "two persons" instead of between and man and a woman. California: Los Angeles Times survey finds:

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- 65% say they can accept gays and lesbians living together; 62% support gay couples; 72% oppose same-sex marriage; 24% overall for gay marriage; 38% for civil unions but not marriage; 34% against both for said same-sex couples should not be allowed to marry or form civil unions; most against gay marriage but 59% believe legal recognition of marriage for same-sex couples is inevitable; aged 18-to-29, 71% think it inevitable - for same-sex marriage:44% of 18--29s, 10% of 65+; liberals, just over half; conservatives 7%.; - adoption by same-sex couples: 52% oppose (1992, 63%); 40% are for it (1992, 23%); aged 18-to-29 54% for, 65+ 70% opposed; 65% of liberals and 56% of Catholics for; 73% of conservatives and 63% of non-Catholic Christians oppose - amending US Constitution to ban gay marriage: 51% for; 69% of conservatives for; 70% of liberals against April 2004 CA: Out gay bishop emeritus Otis Charles, 78, grandson in attendance, marries same-sex partner Felipe Sanchez Paris at St. Gregory's of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco; bishop says he is guided by his belief that all human beings are called upon to live as fully as they can; Charles served as bishop of Utah for 15 years, was president of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., was married for 42 years and has five children. He told his wife he was gay in 1976, but he didn't come out publicly until he retired 11 years ago in 1993 at 67. "I was ashamed of myself for remaining silent when the church was involved in an acrimonious debate about the whole question of gay people in the life of the church. I couldn't live with that any longer." Colorado: motion to support Colorado Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave's proposed amendment to the US Constitution to ban same-sex marriage has little support in the Colorado state legislature where she served before going to 192

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Washington. April 2004 U Connecticut survey finds Connecticut voters 74% for a law to allow same-sex couples to legally form civil unions; 49% for, 46% against gay marriages; 53% against passing a law to define marriage as being between a man and woman; 53% think society should not view gay marriages in the same way as a traditional marriage between a man and a woman. Kansas: last month Senate defeated an amendment bill to asked voters to approve same-sex marriage ban; defeat came from conservatives who wanted the proposal to include barring civil unions and any benefits to gay and lesbian couples; now House and Senate agree on a single wide-ranging ban to be put to the two chambers, an action that usually comes only after separate bills have already passed each house. State already has a Defense of Marriage Act Kentucky: senate 33-5 endorses anti-gay-marriage amendment to state Constitution, which will therefore be on the ballot in November; amendment defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman and also prevents the state from giving legal recognition to civil unions. State already has a Defense of Marriage Act. Maine's highest court unanimously upholds ruling that co-parenting rights continue even after parents break up; two women living together since 1992; one had baby through AI; took each other's names and signed a joint parenting agreement; boy; 1999 couple separated; women signed a second parenting agreement that covered the sharing of parental costs and decisions, and said that the boy's primary residence and visitations would be determined by the courts. Nov 2000, biological mother filed complaint in Superior Court arguing that the former partner, identified in court documents as CEW, should not be considered a parent to the boy, now aged 9, because under Maine law, an individual who is not related to a child by birth or adoption can never be eligible for parental rights unless the legal parent puts the child in jeopardy. Superior Court judge disagreed; biological mother appealed. Maine: House of Representatives 84-58 voted to expand bill giving unmarried straight and gay partners limited rights, adds domestic partner registry, also inherit property when a partner dies without leaving a will, have right in making medical decisions if the other partner is incapacitated, probate court can designate a domestic partner as the person in charge of taking care of the remains of a deceased partner, judge can designate healthy partner to make medical decisions for incapacitated one; partner registry requires couples to have lived together for at least a year and swear they are responsible for each other's common welfare. Similar bill has already passed the Senate. Both bills must now be "rationalized" into one piece of legislation and approved by both houses before going to the governor. Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat, has said he supports the measure.

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Maine Senate 18-14 passes domestic partnership registry bill: inheritance rights, next-of-kin status, victim's compensation, and guardian and conservator rights to domestic partners. Gov. John Baldacci signs bill Maine the fifth state to pass statewide laws that provide rights to unmarried couples. April 2004 U Massachusetts survey finds Mass voters 47% for, 47% against amending state constitution to preclude gay marriage; 40% are for gay marriage; 28% for banning 193

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II gay marriage but having civil unions; 17% against gay marriage and same-sex civil unions. April 2004 Massachusetts: Provincetowns Board of Selectmen votes to permit marriages for out-of-state residents who complete a form stating that their marriage doesn't break any laws; town officials will not investigate to verify the home states or backgrounds listed for gay couples on marriage license applications (though state law says people from outside Massachusetts whose marriages would be illegal in their home states may not wed in M); same-sex marriage becomes legal in Massachusetts May 17. Opinion by Provincetown attorney John W. Giorgio. Giorgio says marriage licenses can be issued to out-of-staters who sign the "Notice of Intent To Marry" form because municipal clerks can't be expected to keep track of states that ban gay marriage. Plymouth town clerk Laurence Pizer (past president of the Massachusetts Town Clerks Association) agrees and will accept signed "Notice of Intent" from gay couples after May 17 just as he accepts the word of heterosexual couples; he says town clerks are not investigators and ask for additional identification only when the couple appear to be under 18 years of age. Gov. Mitt Romney says licenses may not be issued to gay couples from 38 states where gay marriage is specifically banned: ``Clerks have the responsibility to fulfill the oaths of office.'' Neither Reilly nor Romney addresses issue of the 11 states that have not banned gay marriage. Romney says clerks most likely will receive training from the DPH.

In March, Mass Romney told AG Tom Reilly to appeal to the state Supreme Court to delay implementation until November 2006 of its ruling that opens up marriage on May 17; Reilly declined: "Whether the governor likes it or not, whether I agree with the decision, the plaintiffs have won. They are entitled to the rights they have won. I will not stand in their way." Romney next asked Reilly to appoint a special asst AG handle the appeal. Reilly declined Romney says he will seek emergency legislation to stop gay marriages from taking place, says bill is being drafted in his office and will allow him to appoint a special counsel (retired state Supreme Judicial Court Justice Joseph R. Nolan, who has called the court's November ruling legalizing gay marriage an "abomination") to ask the court stay its ruling until a constitutional referendum can be held. Seems unlikely upper chamber will pass the bill; last month 22 of the Senate's 40 members last month voted against the constitutional amendment but it passed because there were enough votes among House members. House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran has already said he does not intend to stop gay couples from marrying in Massachusetts next month. Romney says his opposition to same-sex marriage is not based on homophobia, but is an attempt to avoid the legal confusion caused if gay marriages are allowed to occur this spring and then banned in 2006. House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran says he does not intend to stop gay couples from marrying next month, leaving Governor Mitt Romney as the last Beacon Hill leader contemplating a legal strategy to block same-sex marriages. April 2004 Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney directs town clerks etc that (though they cannot refuse to marry same-sex couples from Massachusetts) they will be charged if they marry any out-of-state same-sex couples, based on a "strict interpretation" of a 1913 law which says that the state cannot marry an out-of-state couple if that marriage would be "void" in the couple's home state - not just couples from states 194

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II with specific laws banning gay marriage but those that do not have laws specifically granting gay marriage. Romney will send letters to the governors and attorneys general of every state in the union to "indicate to them that it's our understanding that same-sex marriage is prohibited in their state, but if that's wrong, please inform us." Office begins preparing new application forms necessary for a marriage license, requiring evidence of where a couple lives or plans to live, so jurisdictions that had not planned to ask will now have to. 1913 law created to bar interracial marriage; 1967 US Supreme Court struck down state laws preventing interracial marriage. April 2004 Massachusetts: three state lawmakers table bill to repeal 1913 law that bars non-residents from marrying in Massachusetts if the marriage would violate laws in their home state. Rep. Robert Spellane, the author of the bill:"When they give addresses to the clerks, they're not required to give proof of those addresses, and so it is not a part of the law that we are applying today, and it should not be a part of the law that we are applying solely to same-sex couples. Massachusetts: 13 lawmakers, Rep and Dem (rep by rightwing American Center for Law and Justice, which approached them) file suit with state Supreme Judicial Court claiming it does not have jurisdiction over marriage. Mass: Cambridge will begin offering premarital blood tests on May 5 to gay couples who plan to wed after the May 17 court-ordered legalization of same-sex marriages. Harold Cox, the city's chief public health officer: "It is our obligation to make these services available to gay and lesbian couples so they don't experience additional obstacles in exercising their right to marry." Minnesota: Star Tribune survey finds 58% of likely voters for, 35% against amending state Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman; split on "civil unions" giving some of the legal rights of married couples. Minnesota law already prohibits same-sex marriage; Minnesota House has passed a bill to let voters decide in November whether to change the stat Constitution; a similar bill has failed in the Senate but a variation has been proposed that would take the definition of marriage out of the jurisdiction of the courts and leave it exclusively in the hands of the Legislature. Mississippi Senate approves the wording of proposed amendment to the state constitution to ban same sex marriage; measure has already passed the House and goes on the November ballot: marriage is a union between a man and a woman; state may not recognize gay marriages or civil unions performed in other states or countries. Same-sex marriage is already illegal in Mississippi under a 1997 law Missouri: House passes amendment to state Constitution to ban same-sex unions, amended during debate to make it tougher by adding ban on any same-sex relationship "that is treated as a marriage" somewhere else, and prevents the state from giving any rights or claims arising from such a union. Senate has approved a simpler, one-sentence version of the proposed constitutional amendment. The two bills must now be combined and passed by both houses, then to Missouri voters. Missouri House 124-19 passes state constitutional amendment barring gay marriage; measure now moves to the Senate where a similar bill has already been passed, so committees will "harmonize" the two bills for a final vote in each house 195

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Senate version only bans same-sex marriages, lower house version promotes recognition of marriages from other places. Missouri already has a state law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman April 2004 Nebraska: at request of police union, Omaha police proposed new contract gives some same-sex partner benefits; would be first public employees in Nebraska to have benefits recognizing their domestic partners; not same health insurance and pension benefits married officers receive, but paid time off to care for a member of their partner's immediate family who became ill or was injured, or to attend the funeral of a partner or the partner's immediate family member (viz: no firstline extra costs to city). Mayor Mike Fahey, who negotiated the contract, would not discuss the agreement or the issue of benefits for same-sex couples. Contract does not include and are disappointed that the proposed contract does not include those items. Contract must be approved by the City Council and the union membership. New Hampshire House 213-140 passes SB 427, legislation to bar the state from recognizing same-sex marriages; similar bill passed by Senate last month; now both bills must be merged into a single piece of legislation to overcome differences in the wording, receive approval by the two houses, go to governor for signing. The House version allows for the possibility of civil unions. New Hampshire already defines marriage as being between a man and a woman, but makes no ref to out-of-state marriages New Jersey: City of Asbury Park votes 3-0 (2 absent) to join pro-gay-marriage suit Lewis v. Harris filed two years ago by seven couples (supported by Lambda Legal, rejected by Superior Court judge Linda Feinberg in Mercer County last November) and put its own court challenge on hold. New Mexico: Albuquerque Public Schools policy committee votes 2-1 to offer benefits to the legally married (wherever) same-sex partners of employees, currently provided only to married spouses, New Mexico law does not permit gay marriage Ohio: Columbus Dispatch poll finds 60% of voters for a constitutional amendment barring gay marriage; 57% against civil unions giving gays some rights of married people. Ohio Governor Bob Taft last month signed what is being called the nation's most repressive gay legislation. Oklahoma: Oklahoma Health Department refuses to issue birth cert with two dads Gregory Hampel and Edmund Swaya; dads and Vivian, 2, live in Seattle since shortly after she was born in Oklahoma; Oklahoma has a legal direction which permits co-adoption. Recently, Oklahoma State AG W.A. Drew Edmonson issued an advisory clarifying that under the federal Constitution and Oklahoma laws, the state is required to issue accurate birth certificates for children legally adopted outside of Oklahoma including to children adopted by same-sex couples. Faced with legal challenge, dept backs down, issues cert.

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Oklahoma Senate then passes legislation requiring birth certificates issued to children adopted by same-sex couples outside the state to carry only the name of one parent. State law prohibits same-sex adoptions but state adoption code recognized out-of-state adoption decrees involving gay couples. Measure goes to the House for final approval. April 2004 Oklahoma House votes 93-4 to ban co-parenting by same-sex couples, only one person in a gay household can be recognized as the legal parent of any child 196

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II adopted in Oklahoma; legislation tightens an existing law which prohibits same-sex couples from adopting in the state but did not cover people from outside Oklahoma who adopt children in the state. Bill must now be approved by the Senate. Oklahoma House votes 92-4 (proposal already okayed by Senate) for voters referendum this November on amending state constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman and prohibit the state from recognizing unions performed in other states. In the meantime, anyone issuing a marriage license to a same sex couple in Oklahoma could be charged with a misdemeanour. Nine similar anti-marriage measures - including six constitutional amendments - died in the Legislature earlier this month but this amendment was added to another bill, dodging the regular legislative process. Oregon: Judge Frank Bearden strikes down state law preventing same-sex marriage, orders Oregon to recognize the 3,000 same-sex marriages already performed since March, but orders Multnomah County not to issue any further licenses (can resume if the legislature does not come up with a remedy for the discrimination within 90 days of the next legislative session) until the courts and the legislature determine how to proceed, leaving open the possibilities of either marriage or civil unions. Gov. Ted Kulongoski and state Attorney General Hardy Myers insist that the issue must be decided by the courts. Legislature members show little enthusiasm for taking up the issue; its an election year. Next session is June (special session called to discuss tax reform); leaders on both sides of the aisle said they are reluctant to add it to the agenda. Straw poll finds legislators divided what to do: marriage, ban marriage, civil unions. House Speaker Karen Minnis, Republican, says she will agree to the issue coming up only if it involved sending an amendment banning gay marriage to voters this fall. Oregon: supreme court gets filed ACLU challenge of ballot initiative to amend state constitution to ban same-sex marriage as misleading, question framed in such a way that its wording doesn't convey the scope and effect of the measure (doesnt say the measure would "short-circuit" the legal proceedings already under way and eliminate the ability of same-sex couples to make their argument in court); ACLU asks court disallow the initiative or order it rewritten; ballot title should tell voters that the measure would Pennsylvania Supreme Court hears challenge to Philadelphia city ordinance 1998 to grant benefits to registered life partners of public employees; city sued by William T. Devlin, a Christian activist who heads the Urban Family Council, sued the city; law upheld in 2000 by the Common Pleas Court; Devlin appealed; Devlin argues the law redefines marriage. Before the hearing, Devlin led a prayer vigil to support traditional marriage, condemn abortion, and offer support for American soldiers in Iraq. Seattle city council 9-0 passes measure extending municipal employee and volunteer benefits to same-sex couples married in other states and countries; three measures proposed last month by Mayor Greg Nickels largely reduce the paperwork for couples who have been entitled to benefits under domesticpartnership provisions since 1989; now no longer have to complete domesticpartnership forms to qualify. Same-sex marriages are prohibited under a Washington State law, which six same-sex couples are challenging in a lawsuit. 197

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II April 2004 Virginia House and Senate reject amendment proposed by Gov. Mark R. Warner to soften the impact of legislation banning civil unions and other same-sex partnerships by denying the privileges of marriage to gay couples in "a civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement"; Warner had deleted partnership contract or other arrangement; the two votes together are more than enough to withstand a veto attempt by the governor. Virginia has Affirmation of Marriage Act 1997 denying same-sex couples the right to marry. West Virginia Supreme Court (Chief Justice Spike Maynard and Justices Warren McGraw and Joseph Albright con; Justices Robin Davis and Larry Starcher pro) 3-2 refuses to hear case brought by four gay and lesbian couples who were denied marriage licenses in Kanawha County, challenging the state's Defense of Marriage Act; couples' petition says refusal to give them licenses violated their right to equal protection under the West Virginia Constitution. Virginia has a 2000 DOMA specifically limiting marriage to a union between a man and a woman. Canada: govt submits 10-page brief to Supreme Court asking for direction in writing legislation to fully recognize gay unions, says prohibiting same-sex marriage can no longer be justified the Canadian government has told the Supreme Court in a brief, says gays and lesbians enjoy virtually every benefit attached to being married except for the right to be called married, notes large numbers of same-sex couples already live in long-term, caring, loving and conjugal relationships, many of which include children, says it is profoundly unfair and out of step with the times to deny their unions legal recognition, says the exclusion of gays and lesbians from the institution of marriage runs counter to the goal of promoting stable family units, says that the original objective of the opposite-sex requirement was rooted in "the physical sexual component" of the union, an aspect which has been long since thrust into the background as far as modern society is concerned. Asks three constitutional questions 1) that the government has the power to regulate marriage 2) that the draft bill does not infringe on those opposed to same-sex unions, 3) that churches have the right to refuse to perform gay marriages and 4) the constitutionality of the existing law, in essence seeking concurrence from the high court with the original rulings in Ontario and BC, and a third ruling last month in Quebec that the law forbidding gay marriage was illegal. NB no civil-union questioned as threatened. The court has yet to hear from 18 intervenors approved to make arguments in the case, many of them from conservative religious groups opposed to same-sex marriage, is expected to release its opinion sometime in 2005. Canada: United Church requests intervenor status in the supreme court same-sex marriage deliberations on 4 points: 1) it is within the exclusive legislative authority of the Parliament of Canada because the term "marriage" as used in s.91(26) was not "frozen in time" as of 1867 but, rather, must adapt to changing circumstances; 2) extending the right to marry to same-sex couples is consistent with the equality rights enshrined in 15 of the Charter and the UC can put a human face on the equality aspect of the arguments; 3) religious freedom guaranteed as long as legislation doesnt compel religious officials to perform marriages that do not conform to their religious beliefs; 4) the opposite-sex requirement for marriage for civil purposes discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation. In Vancouver Sun, Dalai Lama says Tibetan Buddhism frowns on marriage for 198

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II same-sex couples and "whether or not homosexual couples should be accorded a marriage status, should really be dealt within (a) particular community and country." CP Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, chair of the Vietnamese Buddhist Peace Delegation to the Paris Peace Talks, living in exile in France, writes in book Plum Village Chanting and Recitation Wedding Ceremony (adapt as appropriate for couples of the same gender. May 2004 Australian Prime Minister John Howard announces Marriage Act will be amended to exclude gay couples from marrying and bar the government from recognizing gay unions performed outside the country, will now include a clause defining marriage as "a union of a man and a woman to exclusion of all others, bar same-sex couples from adopting children in Australia and disallow gay couples from going abroad to adopt. Prime Minister: law will show that " marriage is something that should rest in the hands ultimately of the parliament of the nation," state governments and courts will have no jurisdiction to change the will of parliament on marriage, laws covering pensions and some other benefits will be amended to "introduce the concept of financial interdependency." Howard said the Govt will expand definition of dependant in regards to pension death benefits to include people in a financially interdependent relationship,. allow people to avoid paying taxes on the benefits they receive from a deceased partner. Belgium releases one-year stats on gay marriage: 300l; 1.2% of all marriages registered in Belgium over the past 12 months; about the same number male and female couples; 240 took place in Flanders, 38 in Wallonia, 22 in Brussels and suburbs. France: Justice Minister Dominique Perben calls on judicial authorities in the southwest city of Bordeaux to block a gay marriage planned for next month: "If such a marriage is organised there are two possibilities. Either the public prosecutor objects before it takes place and the parties concerned seek a decision from the courts. Or the prosecutor demands it (the marriage) be deemed null and void after it has taken place. I have already asked the prosecutor to object." Ireland: Social and Family Affairs Minister Mary Coughlan (Fianna Fil) says Ireland is not ready to accept a gay couple with children as a family unit: "In terms of official recognition, I don't think Ireland is ready to accept this family grouping as a social norm ... My personal view is that this country is not ready for that and may never, ever be ready for it"; but she concedes it is also important for her to accept the diversity of family life and families and it would be wrong to neglect one at the expense of the other "I would not do that because we have to be childcentred," Justice Minister Michael McDowell says the legal status of gay couples will have to be addressed: There will have to be some sort of recognition for civil partnerships" Fine Gael councillor Peter Kelly, who married his gay partner in Canada last December, says there are gay couples fostering children in Ireland and Ms Coughlan has "missed the boat" on that issue, also gay couples who had adopted children abroad and couples where one partner was the child's blood parent; adds "The minister will eventually relent, as she has on other controversial issues UK Green Party launches European Gay Manifesto in the run-up to the European elections on 10 June; it is the first UK political party to have a manifesto for "Europe-wide LGBT human rights". Launch led by GP MEP Caroline Lucas and 199

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II new GP member Peter Tatchell. EGM includes five key commitments: 1) ensure all EU member states comply with the EU directive outlawing discrimination against lesbians and gay men in the workplace; 2) ban homophobic and transphobic discrimination in access to goods and services, such as insurance and mortgages; 3) legalise same-sex marriages and registered partnerships across the EU; 4) extend the EU definition of 'family' to include LGBT partnerships; 5) adopt non-homophobic, gay-friendly policing policies throughout the EU. May 2004 UK: Catholic Church in England and Wales uses softer language than the Vatican for denouncing LGBs; 103-page document, Cherishing Life, approved by the Church's bishops, sets out most comprehensive moral guidelines for many years to the faithful on how they should live their lives; says homosexual orientation must never be considered sinful or evil in itself, just so long as it is not sexually expressed; insists sex should only take place within marriage, calls for self-control and chastity, and argues unmarried couples should not automatically receive the same privileges and benefits as married partners. Urban Institute Press publishes Gay and Lesbian Atlas by UI demographers Gary Gates and Jason Ost , analyzing data from the 2000 US Census: Vermont leads in number of same-sex couples, 2 California, 3 Washington, 4 Massachusetts, 5 Oregon; desert SW states New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona also in the top ten. In larger metropolitan areas, 1 SF, 2 Oakland, 3 Seattle, 4 Fort Lauderdale, 5 Austin for same-sex couples; in smaller metropolitan areas Portland, Maine; Asheville, N Carolina; Bloomington, IN; and Iowa City.

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Provincetown, ranked "gayest" town in America, has the neighbourhood with the country's highest concentration of same-sex couples; also in top 10 are neighbourhoods in SF, Guerneville CA, and W Hollywood, Ft Lauderdale, NY, Boston, and Houston. Top of metropolitan-areas list for gay male couples: Ft Lauderdale; Santa Rosa CA; Seattle; NY but for lesbian couples: Santa Rosa; Santa Cruz; Santa Fe; SF; and Oakland. Gay and lesbian couples more likely than straight couples to live in poorer and racially and ethnically diverse neighbourhoods with more college-educated residents, older housing stock, higher crime rates, and higher property values. Same-sex couples with children cluster in states and large metropolitan areas not known for large gay and lesbian communities. Mississippi, S Dakota, Alaska, S Carolina, and Louisiana. African-American same-sex couples mostly in the south; Texas metropolitan areas lots of Hispanic and straight couples. May 2004 California: federal district court judge Phyllis Hamilton rules lawsuit against Adoption.com for discriminating against same-sex couples can proceed to trial; San Jose gay couple Rich and Michael Butler sues for refused service; largest adoption-related internet business in US; among other for-profit services, it permits prospective adoptive parents (but not gay couples) to post their personal profiles in hopes of connecting with potential birth mothers US: 9-11 Compensation Fund recognizes same-sex partner Nancy Walsh who was not a legal heir; Carol Flyzik of New Hampshire, who worked for a pharmaceutical company, was aboard the Los Angeles-bound jet that was crashed into the World Trade Center, died intestate; never bothered to make wills. The 200

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II longer they were together the more they put it off. The women were nurses, raised three children, now adults. Walsh applied to the Fund for compensation, initially rejected. May 2004 US: House Judiciary Subcommittee gives 3rd hearing to constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage; author Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colorado) says it is a "biological fact that men and women are designed to complement one another, calls the proposed amendment a "measured and moderate response" aimed at curbing "activist judges" not homosexuality. Hispanic members of Congress, ACLU. the Japanese American Citizens League, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries condemn the amendment. US: Freedom to Marry Coalition and MassEquality informal survey of those on their mailing lists finds Bay State gay and lesbian couples will seek marriage licenses in at least 133 Massachusetts cities and towns in the weeks and months after same-gender matrimony becomes legal. 66 couples say they plan to marry in Boston, 39 in Cambridge, 19 in Somerville, 14 in Brookline, 12 in Newton, 11 in Arlington, and 9 in Watertown. Outside of the Boston area, 20 in Northampton, 12 in Worcester, 12 in Provincetown, and 9 in Springfield. Under 40% plan within a week of possibility; 51% intend to wed by month's end. 45% plan to have a member of the clergy marry them; 55 choose justices of the peace. USA: new national poll finds Americans 57% support legal status for gay and lesbian couples; 29% support civil unions; 28% support, 40% oppose same-sex marriage (support up from March); 60% for, 37% against constitutional amendment banning gay marriage; Republicans and Democrats mostly support amendment, Independents are divided; most likely to support same-sex marriage are under-30s, those living in the Northeast, and college graduates; Democrats and Independents more likely than Republicans; men and women about same. In Nov election, 56% could, 35% could not vote for someone who disagrees with their position on same-sex marriage (in March 45% could, 44% could not. Most voters said there were more pressing issues facing the nation than same-sex marriage. 70% say the issue should have no part in the campaign. 20% say a minor role, 9% a major role. Arizona Supreme Court gives no reasons and refuses to hear challenge to the state's Defense of Marriage Act brought by Donald Standhardt, 34, and Tod Alan Keltner, 37, a Phoenix gay couple refused a marriage license in Phoenix last year. A lower court ruled that there is no fundamental constitutional right to same-sex marriage and the state has a reason to prohibit same-sex marriage because of goals related to procreation and child-rearing. Appeals Court rejected claims and allowed the lower court ruling to stand. California: three-judge appellate panel upholds ruling that KM, who donated her eggs for her registered domestic partner EG's twin girls (1995), has no parental rights; KM and EG lived together and raised the girls for almost six years; separated in 2001; EG moved with the girls to Massachusetts; EG says, KM denies KM had voluntarily given up any rights; Marin County judge found KM had not shown her intention to be a parent at the time of conception and that the birth mother was the only natural mother; appellate court says it is not deciding whether it might be possible in other cases for a child to have two natural mothers. 201

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II May 2004 May 2004 California State Assembly Appropriations Committee begins hearings on same-sex marriage legislation. California: Williams Project (UCLA School of Law) and Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies study finds legalized same-sex marriage would bring $22.3-25.2 million net each year into the state budget: savings in means-tested public benefits programs, increases in sales tax revenues from tourism, additional dollars for same-sex wedding ceremonies, offsetting decrease in income tax revenues.. Main savings: decreasing the number of people eligible for means-tested state benefit programs, like Medi-Cal and CalWorks; business revenues would increase by over $100 million p.a., generating over $10 million in state sales tax revenues California: bill to allow same-sex marriage sails through committee but is pulled before reaching the floor of the Assembly; author Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) says little chance it would pass this session, vows to bring it back in the fall. Measure backed by California Teachers Association, California Council of Churches, and California State Employees Association. North Carolina: bill introduced in Senate to amend state constitution to ban same-sex marriage; North Carolina already has Defense of Marriage Act. Florida: 4 gay and lesbian couples file suit to contest 1995 federal Defense of Marriage Act; attorney Ellis Rubin, denied marriage licenses for the four couples at the Miami-Dade County clerk's office. Suit contends the federal law is a discriminatory violation of the equal protection clause of the US Constitution and violates the full faith and credit clause by allowing states to refuse to recognize gay marriages from other states; defendants Gov. Jeb Bush, state AG Charles Crist, Miami-Dade clerk Harvey Ruvin. Idaho Supreme Court hears case of Theron McGriff, who lost custody of his two daughters, ages 9 and 13, because he is gay and was denied visiting rights as long as he lived with his same-sex partner; divorced six years ago when he came out. Kansas: for 2nd time legislators reject proposed amendment to the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage; 1st time March - Senate defeated the same bill after it passed in the House; April House and Senate agreed to write a single wide-ranging ban; passed the Senate end April; now fails House by five votes. Kansas: House Speaker Doug Mays pronounces proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage dead after lower chamber fails to muster the two-thirds approval needed to put the measure on a statewide ballot. Senate had revived the controversial proposal, and House reversed its earlier vote in March advancing the ban. Louisiana: amendment to state constitution to ban same-sex marriage fails by one vote; would have prevented the state from recognizing civil unions or domestic partnerships. If amendment's sponsor, Sen. John Hainkel of New Orleans, can round up one more vote, he can ask for another vote. Louisiana law already bans same-sex marriages. Another proposed amendment has cleared committee and has yet to go to the floor for a vote. Louisiana: House and Senate pass separate versions of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage; Senate version calls for the proposal to be put to voters in 202

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II September; House bill calls for a November vote. Versions must be rolled together and go to a final vote in each house. State already has a Defense of Marriage law May 2004 Maine Senate approves legislation barring the state from recognizing out-of state gay marriages; bill has already passed the House; now goes to Gov. Elias Baldacci. Maine already has legislation barring same-sex marriage. Massachusetts: group of Massachusetts state senators back bid to repeal 1913 law that Governor Mitt Romney says prevents out-of-state gay couples from marrying in Massachusetts, have tacked the repeal onto a budget bill that comes up for a vote next week, just days before same-sex couples will be legally able to marry in the state; adding the repeal to an existing bill avoids lengthy hearings. Massachusetts: Daniel B. Winslow top legal adviser to Gov. Mitt Romney (R) says marriage licenses issued in Massachusetts to same-sex couples from other states will be "null and void" and could have serious legal consequences for the couples involved; adds couples need not provide evidence of residency and that those who "intend to reside" in the state are eligible to receive marriage licenses; sworn statement at the bottom of marriage forms is sufficient evidence, and no further proof is necessary. Massachusetts: Supreme Judicial Court unanimously rejects appeal by 13 state lawmakers to reverse its landmark ruling legalizing gay marriage on the grounds that the Supreme Judicial Court does not have jurisdiction over marriage, only the Legislature and governor do. Court adds, motion is untimely, because the case already decided and the same arguments rejected during the court process. Massachusetts: Gov. Mitt Romney writes to all governors and AGs saying unless they notify him gay marriage is legal in their states their same-sex couples would not be allowed to marry in Mass; in response NY AG Eliot L. Spitzer (D) notifies Romney of his March opinion that, although gay marriage is illegal in the New York, the state would recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states; Romney responds same-sex couples from New York will not be allowed to marry in his state and then calls NY Gov. George Pataki with whom he agrees because New York couples could not marry in New York state, they are not eligible to marry in Massachusetts. AGS in Rhode Island and Connecticut, which do not have laws explicitly banning gay marriage, said they will issue statements on whether gay marriages performed in Massachusetts would be legal in their jurisdictions.

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Same-sex couples, unlike heterosexual ones, will have to pay federal taxes on the value of their spouses' health care coverage, which can be up to $800 per month One by one the jurisdictions marrying out-of town gay couples cave in. Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone of Somerville, whose city clerk has defied Romneys order, asks AG Thomas Reilly on Monday for clarification on the issue. Curatone: "As matter of law and policy, I believe the Somerville City Clerk has acted correctly in issuing these licenses," Curtatone wrote. Springfield City Clerk William Metzger says he will comply with the ban if Reilly agrees with Romney's interpretation. Reilly agrees. Worcester, Somerville and Springfield cave in. Last of all, Provincetown Selectmen in a closed meeting with the town's lawyer vote to temporarily suspend issuing marriage license forms to out-of-state couples. 203

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II May 2004 Massachusetts Senate votes to repeal 1913 law that Gov. Mitt Romney is using to stop same-sex couples from outside the state from marrying; bill must now go to House, and then pass Romneys veto Massachusetts: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 103, a 6000- member labour union, amends its benefits plan to have "dependent spouse" mean "a person of the opposite sex" to exclude gay married couples.

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The Service Employees International Union advocates for extending benefits; 5 SEIU locals (representing about 75,000 members) vote to extend benefits packages to same-sex spouses. May 2004 Massachusetts: statistics from town clerks statewide show over 1000 same-sex couples obtained marriage licenses the first day they could; Boston Globe surveys 750 couples statewide, finds 66% lesbians, 40% of whom have children in their homes; overall half the couples have been together 10+ years; most 40-49 years old; median age 43; 90% live in Massachusetts (34% couples in Provincetown said neither applicant was a Massachusetts resident); women 30%, men 19% had been in a heterosexual marriage; 12% have been in a civil union together. Missouri: proposed amendment to state constitution to same-sex marriage will be placed on the November ballot; House votes 124-25 for it; had already passed the the Senate 26-6; amendment reads: "That to be valid and recognized in this state, a marriage shall exist only between a man and a woman." State already has a Defense of Marriage Act.

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Gov. Bob Holden tires to bring date forward to August when voters go to the polls in the primaries; Secretary of State Matt Blunt refuses to set a date until he receives the actual amendment from the legislature. Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan rules Secretary of State has the right to decide when the amendment proposal will be put to voters; Holden's office announces appeal. Holden is seeking reelection; Blunt is seeking the GOP nomination to unseat Holden. If the issue is put off until November it could bring out Republicans anxious to vote against gay marriage and at the same time provide Blunt with enough votes to become Missouri's next governor. Appeal now goes to state Supreme Court May 2004 New York City council 43-5 votes to require all city contractors (over $100,000) to provide equal employment benefits to all employees, married or domestic partners; Mayor Bloomberg is expected to veto the bill and force the Council into overriding the veto, which speaker Gifford Miller and lead sponsor Councilmember Christine Quinn have they will. Bill first introduced September 2002. Similar legislation is already in effect in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Oakland, and the State of California.

Salvation Army threatens to close soup kitchens for tens of thousands of New York's homeless and walk away from other projects if the city enacts legislation requiring firms that do business with New York to offer health benefits to the partners of gay staffers; is prepared to give up the $70m a year city funding and pull out of New York entirely. May 2004 Ohio: Presbyterian ecclesiastical court rules Ohio minister Stephen Van Kuiken (Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati) did not break church law when he married several same-sex couples, overturns decision last year by lower court which rebuked Van Kuiken but did not defrock him; synod court says constitution of the Presbyterian Church does not specifically prohibit ministers from marrying 204

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II same-sex couples; though faith's top court in 2000 ruled same-sex marriages impermissible, "it avoids an outright prohibition by using the words 'should' and 'should not' in guidance for sessions and ministers." May 2004 Ohio: Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Robert T. Glickman rejects challenge filed by Cleveland Heights councilman Rev. Jimmie Hicks Jr. to stop the Cleveland suburb from continuing to register gay and straight unmarried couples, judges says city does have the authority to create the registry; 85 registered since Jan.; initiative creating the registry passed with 55% of the vote last November in the community of 50,000. Oklahoma: Cherokee Nation tribal court grants marriage application to two women from the Tulsa area; gay Cherokee activist David Cornsilk in Tulsa says Cherokee law is genderless so no reason they should not marry; Cherokee Nation attorney Julian Fite says the law allows for marriages "only between a man and a woman"; Cherokee Nation Chief Justice Darrell Dowty issues moratorium on license applications. Federal Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 states that no "Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other State, territory, possession, or tribe, or a right or claim arising from such relationship." Oregon: state AG Hardy Myers asks Portland court judge (Circuit Judge Frank Bearden) to suspend his April ruling that the state was acting illegally in refusing to register gay marriages and must recognize them (now over 3,000); AG says while the courts and legislature decide the future of same-sex marriage in the state the licenses of those couples already married should remain sealed. Pennsylvania: Robert Seneca and Stephen Stahl, rejected when they applied for the license at the Bucks County Courthouse in New Hope last March, are now being sued by 12 lawmakers (11 Republican, 1 Democratic member of the state legislature) on the basis of the state Defense of Marriage law; group seeks to make a preemptive strike by getting a court to affirm the gay marriage ban: ''We want to establish the constitutionality of the law so that the register of wills does not have to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple. Group asks for injunction preventing the couple from challenging the state's DOMA. Pennsylvania House of Representatives considers measure to bolster heterosexist state marriage law, debates an hour, votes 96-94 to table the proposal until Nov. 8, nearly a week after the Nov. 2 general election. Measure would prohibit gay couples from obtaining marriage licenses, bar state from recognizing same-sex marriages sanctioned by other states, bar state from recognizing "spousal equivalent relationships" among unmarried couples who live together, regardless of their sexual orientation. Tennessee: bill to amend state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage passes House of Representatives 86-5 ; Tennessee already has legislation blocking gay marriage; bill must still be approved in three votes by the Senate in the current session, and then gain three approvals in both houses in the next session before going to voters; earliest it can be placed on the ballot is 2006. Utah Episcopal Diocese offers blessings of same-sex unions; 10th bishop of Utah, 205

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II the Right Most Reverend Carolyn Tanner Irish, announced in March her sanction of same-sex blessings in the diocese:"I believe it will be a blessing for the Church to embrace the full participation of all her people without discrimination." Bish currently reviewing three rituals to be offered to couples for use in their ceremonies. Priests may decline to perform the ceremonies if they wish. Virginia: Three same-sex couples denied birth certificates for their adoptive children appeal to state Supreme Court; co-adoption still illegal in Virginia, though single gays and lesbians may adopt. Virginia does not recognize same-sex unions. Children adopted in Virginia now live with their parents outside the state; parents asked for new birth certificates showing the names of the new same-sex parents; Virginia Department of Vital Records refused. Richmond judge upheld the Department's right to refuse to issue new birth certificates. University of Washington study, made late last year, finds same-sex couples are less negative when resolving conflicts than heterosexual couples, less belligerent and domineering, with more humour and affection. 12-year study, directed by John Gottman, professor emeritus at U Washington and head of Seattle's Relationship Research Institute; and Robert Levenson, psychology professor at the University of California, Berkeley, compared 20 gay couples and 20 lesbian couples (from SF) to 20 heterosexual married couples (from Indiana) of matching age, marital satisfaction level, education and income. Washington Court of Appeals orders new trial on co-parental rights; Mian Carvin and Page Britain got tog in 1989; 1994 Britain had daughter by AI; 2001 broke up; Britain took girl; 2003 King County Superior Court Judge dismissed petition by Carvin to be declared a parent saying that under the state's Uniform Parentage Act his hands were tied; appeals court agrees Carvin cannot be considered a parent but say apply were other sections of the law to seek status as a "de facto or psychological parent" by presenting evidence of a parent-child relationship or argue for "third party visitation" in the same way that a child's grandparents might. Washington: court dismisses rightwing Christian lawsuit accusing Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels of acting illegally in March in granting benefits to the spouses of gay city employees has been dismissed. Canada: federal Department of Citizenship and Immigration says - effective immediately - it will recognize Canadian same-sex marriages and process immigration applications as married couples. Canada: Lger Marketing poll on same-sex marriage: 43% for, 47% against; Quebeckers 51% for; Albertans at 36% the least favourable. Canada gets new Anglican leader, Montreal Archbishop Andrew Hutchison (on the fourth ballot). In 1998, C of E voted to oppose actively gay clergy and blessing rituals for same-sex couples; Hutchison joined 146 bishops in issuing dissent, apologizing to gays and lesbians, pledging to "work for your full inclusion in the life of the church." New Zealand: gay Labour MPs Chris Carter and Tim Barnett told to stay silent during debate on bill to give same-sex couples some of the rights of marriage. Associate Justice Minister David Benson-Pope: "I absolutely respect and understand how strongly they feel about this. But ... this is predominantly an issue about human rights, it's not about heterosexual rights or gay rights. It's helpful if 206

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II they're not identified as the main supporters of the bill ... because that lends fuel to the fire that this is pandering to the gay community, which it isn't." Prime Minister Helen Clark "The government is not - underline not - changing the Marriage Act. That will remain as an option only for heterosexual couples. ... Nobody should be disadvantaged. ... Marriage is only for heterosexuals.'' Bill creates registered civil unions for straights and gays, giving rights in child custody, property, tax, welfare, and retirement benefits, also partners can be buried in the same plot Bill lets straight and gay enter a civil union if they are 18+, or aged 16 or 17 with the consent of their guardians or the Family Court; licence must be obtained if the civil union is to be performed by a civil union celebrant, who is appointed by the registrar-general; ceremony must be performed before two witnesses; civil unions will be registered under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act, and can be dissolved under the Family Proceedings Act. June 2004 Australia: ABC's popular children's show Play School on Monday airs a story of a girl called Brenna going to a fair with her two mothers: "I'm Brenna. That's me in the blue. My mums are taking me and my friend Meryn to an amusement park." Federal Children's Minister Larry Anthony: "As a parent I am concerned that the ABC are putting on these types of programs. When it comes to my children, when I want to explain about same-sex couples, it should be up to parents, it should be up to me, not the Australian broadcaster." Australia: SBS news poll finds 38% for, 44% against legalising same-sex marriage, 18% uncommitted; younger Australians and women much more likely to support gay marriage: 55% aged 18-34 for; 35-49 43%.for, 0ver 49 23% for. Women 47% for, men 29% for. Australia: parliament's lower house passes govt bill Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill 2004 to ban gay marriage and gay-couple adoption; govt defeats a series of Labour amendments; bill goes to Senate. Labour strongly opposes ban on gay couples adopting children from overseas but backs bill's measures to changes the Marriage Act to confirm that marriage represents a union between a man and woman. Attorney-General Philip Ruddock says the bill is not designed to discriminate against gay couples but merely affirms what people understand to be the law. Swiss Parliament passes legislation allowing same-sex couples to register their partnerships, with pension and inheritance rights but not gay couples adoption or in vitro fertilization. German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries says govt will introduce legislation to ensure men and women in same-sex unions the same rights as married heterosexuals; bill will go to the Bundestag for approval before the summer recess and will not require consent from the upper house, opposition-controlled Bundesrat. Zypries:"Gay and lesbian couples are a social reality in Germany," should be allowed to refuse to testify in trials against their partners and to claim alimony if their partnership broke up, should have the same financial rights and responsibilities toward each other as married heterosexual couples and be able to adopt each others' children - the general ban on gays adopting children would remain in place. 207

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II June 2004 French Parliament get draft bill to legalize same-sex marriage tabled by Greens Party deputy Noel Mamere, mayor of the small town of Begles, who married a gay couple this month; Mamere says there is nothing in French law specifically forbidding gay marriages, but new legislation would put in place language permitting gay and lesbian couples to marry; bill supported by Greens and Socialist Party. Justice Minister, Dominique Perben is taking steps to have the Begles marriage annulled. Govt says it will oppose bill. Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin suspends Mamere from office for one month for performing wedding, not permitted inside the town hall for 30 days, can make no legal decisions involving the town, or in any way participate in the political life of Begles; based on a law allowing the suspension of mayors who "gravely misunderstand their duties". Mayors in France conduct civil marriages, the only ones with legal standing but they do so under the authority of the state prosecutor. Mamere faces a fine of up to $2,000 and may still be removed from office permanently. Prosecutor Bertrand de Loze moves to get the marriage annulled. June 2004 UK: 4 of 5 House of Lords tribunal reject appeal by landlord Ahamad Ghaidan that he had the right to throw our Antonio Mendoza when his lover Hugh Walwyn-Jones died; HWJ took out the lease (statutory tenancy with rent-rise restrictions) in 1983; it would have gone automatically to a heterosexual partner; judge in November 2002 found it should go to gay partner too; landlord appealed. Baroness Hale, in her ruling, says it was not long ago when people could be banned from a bar because of their sex or colour etc; this is now considered wrong, guarantee of equal treatment essential to democracy; homosexual relationships can have exactly the same qualities of intimacy, stability and interdependence that heterosexual relationships do. Lord Millett dissenting. UK: new guidelines on rights of same-sex partners in hospital visiting and treatment decisions compiled by UNISON and the Royal College of Nursing, endorsed by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, College of Occupational Therapists, Royal College of Midwives and the Society of Radiographers; guidelines contain detailed information on how healthcare workers can give confidence to lesbian, gay and bisexual service users. Karen Jennings, Head of Health for UNISON: "This guide is not about giving special treatment, it's designed to make healthcare workers think about changes in our society and family structures and apply an understanding of cultural diversity when delivering health care. UK: House of Lords rejects civil union bill, which has passed Commons and would have allowed same-sex couples to make a legal commitment to each other at a formal ceremony and have similar rights on pensions and property to heterosexual partners, full recognition for the purposes of life assurance, the right to take over tenancy rights and pension benefits from a partner and an ability to gain parental responsibility for their civil partner's children. Tory lords compromised the bills chances by voting 148-130 to add amendment supported by Lords Tebbit and Parkinson extending the law to include relationships such as long term caregivers though not heterosexual couples. US: Pope meets Bush, tells him same-sex marriage is nothing more than "self-centred demands" erroneously depicted as human rights, though he does 208

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II mention the Church's opposition to the war in Iraq, John Allen Jr., the most senior reporter at the Vatican, writes in the National Catholic Reporter, an independent journal for Catholics, that Bush implored the Pope and senior Vatican officials to increase Catholic condemnation of gay marriage in the weeks leading up to the election, "asked the Vatican to push the American Catholic bishops to be more aggressive politically on family and life issues, especially a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman," that in a private meeting "with Cardinal Angelo Sodano and other Vatican officials, Bush said, 'Not all the American bishops are with me' on the cultural issues. The implication was that he hoped the Vatican would nudge them toward more explicit activism." Allen reports that Sodano did not respond to the request. US: Congressional Budget Office releases economic analysis of same-sex marriage showing the federal government would see a $1 billion annual increase in revenue in each of the next 10 years by recognizing same-sex couples, even tough it would lose revenue in some circs. Analysis requested by Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) who chairs the House subcommittee on the Constitution, scheduled to hold hearing June 24 about bans on marriage between same-sex couples. (Senate Judiciary Committee already holding hearings on proposed amendment to the US Constitution to ban gay marriage.)

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Human Rights Campaign releases report showing most businesses will have no employees who will marry a same-sex partner, and the average business will see no noticeable increase in employee benefit costs. June 2004 USA: at the triennial meeting of the Episcopal Church (USA) laity and clergy for the first time vote that locally created blessings for same-sex unions are part of church doctrine but do vote not authorize creation of a uniform church-wide blessing; each bishop can approve or deny blessings in his or her diocese, though they will not have the same spiritual force as a marriage rite. Earlier this week, the convention approved the denomination's first openly gay bishop. Vote follow a complicated procedure that counts separately the clergy and laity delegations from 107 dioceses; almost 60 % approval for bother decisions. US: international human resources and consulting firm Aon polls large and small firms asking what "if an employee requested that a health benefit plan recognize a same-gender spouse." Poll finds 30% would provide health and 15% pension benefits 51% have not reviewed their benefit plans "to determine whether the term 'spouse' could include a same-gender spouse." US: US Conference of Mayors votes on resolution to oppose federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage; resolution approved unanimously by USCM Criminal and Social Justice Committee; resolution states that the amendment would restrict the ability of local governments to determine marriage policy, and may be interpreted as prohibiting local governments from granting domestic partner benefits; co-sponsored by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, SF Mayor Gavin Newsom and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. Gathering is unable to reach consensus and votes 46-44 to shelve the resolution; an attempt to revive the resolution is defeated 47-45. US: key committee of the Presbyterian Church approves compromise measure allowing individual churches to accept or abandon 1978 rule that prohibits gays 209

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II from being ordained as ministers, elders or deacons, but leaves in place 1977 church law banning gays and lesbians in relationships from serving; measure now goes to full national legislative assembly of the PC (USA) meeting in Richmond Virginia; a move by conservatives to defer the entire issue until 2006 was defeated. Rick Ufford-Chase, 40, a peace activist who supports the inclusion of gays in the ministry, is elected to lead the PC (USA) for the next two years. PC USA legislative assembly 259-255 rejects measure June 2004 California: State Judicial Council, which oversees courts, rules legal challenges statewide asking whether the state Constitution permits same-sex marriages will be consolidated into one case, tried in San Francisco, date not set. AG Bill Lockyer had asked a judge to consolidate the cases, the judge agreed, referring the issue to SJC. Whatever is decided will be reviewed by the California Supreme Court, which invited such challenges this spring. California: 100 gay and lesbian couples marry in West Hollywood in a mass ceremony conducted by mayor John Duran and seen around the world. A symbolic and not a legally valid event, though the city supports marriages for same-sex couples. California: Field poll finds 54% against, 43% for same-sex marriage (support 1% down); voters 5-4 opposed to amending the US Constitution to ban gay marriages California: 6 pieces of legislation affecting gays heard in legislative committees; 5 (on workplace harassment and discrimination, to create a California universal healthcare system that would guarantee LGBT people have access to quality affordable health care, to strengthen domestic partnership laws, and creating a veterans memorial commission to establish a monument to LGBT veterans) are approved in their respective committees; resolution in favour of the Federal Marriage Amendment dies.

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Omnibus Labour and Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2004 passes Senate Judiciary Committee 4-1; bill, authored by Assemblyman John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), standardizes 30 labour and employment non-discrimination provisions to make them consistent with the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA); bill goes to Senate Appropriations Committee. Bill (also Laird) to extend third-party harassment protections to the FEHA provisions passes Senate Judiciary Committee 4-1. Assembly Judiciary Committee voters 8-3 against resolution by Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy (R-Monrovia) encouraging Congress to pass the proposed constitutional amendment on marriage. California Assembly votes 42-27 to oppose a proposed amendment to the US Constitution to ban same-sex marriage (resolution by Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-SF)); measure goes to Senate; does not need the signature of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has said he has no use for the proposed federal amendment. June 2004 North Carolina: effort to force a vote on proposed amendment to the North Carolina Constitution fails - two signatures short of forcing the issue out of committee and onto the Senate floor; if passed in Senate, it would have gone to voters in November. North Carolina already has a Defense of Marriage Act. Colorado: meeting of America's RC bishops unable to reach national consensus on what penalties should be meted out to politicians who oppose the Church's stand 210

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II on gay marriage, decides 183-6 to leave it up to individual dioceses "in accord with established canonical and pastoral principles." June 2004 Illinois: tentative contract between state and its unionized workers provides health benefits to the same-sex partners of gay workers; union members begin voting on the contract; some angry because same benefits not provided to heterosexual unmarried couples; benefits include health, dental, and eye care and kick in only in third year in the four year contract. Indiana: Southern Baptist Convention ratifies executive committees February vote to leave the Baptist World Alliance because it is too liberal toward gays. Alliance in 2003 accepted as a member the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, a rival group to the SBC formed by moderates who are supportive of gays. SBC pullout means the loss of a third of the BWA's annual income. Meeting hears message from Bush via satellite urging them to support amendment to the Constitution banning gay marriage. Kentucky: Lexington gay couple who had quads in 2002 and another in 2004 have separated; Fayette Circuit Family Court Judge Kim Bunnell refuses (insufficient evidence) to grant restraining order sought by Michael Meehan for domestic violence by Thomas Dysarz. Lawyer Meehan is biological father of the quads; Dysarz of this years baby. Couple were besieged with legal problems and protests from Fred Phelps anti-gay church . In 2003, the mother, under the terms of her surrogacy agreement, tried to terminate her parental rights to the quadruplets so that Meehan and Dysarz would raise the children unencumbered. Massachusetts: federal appeals court 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals rejects an attempt by Florida-based Liberty Counsel on behalf of Robert Largess, VP of the Catholic Action League, and 11 state lawmakers to stop gay marriage in Massachusetts by arguing Mass high court had usurped the power of the Legislature and thereby violated the US Constitution when it ruled for gay marriage; court says appropriate way to contest the state court ruling is by amending the Massachusetts Constitution.

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New York mayor Michael Bloomberg vetoes legislation to require all city contractors to provide equal employment benefits to all employees, married and in domestic partner relationships; measure passed city council May 43-5 vote. Later in month, mayor holds annual Gay Pride reception. Gay group Empire State Pride Agenda calls for boycott. In March, Bloomberg told gay journalists he thought gay marriage should be legal, backtracked in straight press 24 hours later, though he had lobbied for state sexual orientation nondiscrimination act.

A day after mayor Michael Bloomberg is booed as he marched in the Gay Pride Parade, city council votes 41-4 to override the mayor's veto and pass the Equal Benefits Bill, contract compliance legislation that requires contractors that do more than $100,000 of business each year with NYC to offer equal benefits; original bill passed by council in May. Bloomberg has threatened to block implementation of the EBB by challenging its provisions in court. Pre-election in 2001, Bloomberg said in he supported the EBB. June 2004 NY: SAGE Conference "Expanding the Family Portrait: Gays and Lesbians Growing Older" hears new report "Caregiving Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender New Yorkers" by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute, the Fordham University School of Social Service, and Pride 211

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Senior Network at the SAGE National Conference on Aging in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Communities. Gays 50+ are heavily involved in the care (caregiving: "the extensive, time-consuming aid needed by people who are so sick or frail that they require hands-on help with the tasks of daily living.") of sick or frail family members and are often expected to shoulder more of the work; such caregivers are handicapped by policies that discriminate against same-sex relationships. In survey: 46% have been caregivers during the past five years (cp 44% of general pop); 33% say family members expected them to do more of the care of older relatives "precisely because they were gay" because perceived, often falsely, to have fewer of their own family responsibilities. Hospital appeals April 2003 NYC ruling where Nassau County Supreme Court ruled gay New York man John Langan a legal spouse and able to sue St. Vincent's Hospital, Greenwich Village, for wrongful death and medical negligence in the death of his longtime partner Neal Conrad Spicehandler (run over); case and appeal rest on recognition of out-of state same-sex marriages New York: court dismisses criminal charges against New Paltz mayor Jason West, 26, Green Party member, for marrying same-sex couples; New Paltz Town Court Justice Jonathan Katz rules that Ulster County DA Donald Williams who laid charges (19 counts of violating New York state law by performing weddings for couples who do not have valid marriage licenses) failed to show the state has a legitimate interest in banning gay marriage and that prosecution failed to prove that the law under which West had been charged was constitutional. .West currently barred from marrying same-sex couples by a temporary injunction imposed this spring and made permanent this month. DA Williams says he will not withdraw charges against two Unitarian ministers, Revs. Kay Greenleaf and Dawn Sangrey. Ohio: Miami U and U of Ohio announce they will provide health benefits to the same-sex partners of faculty and staff, plus some benefits previously only available to married spouses; Miami starts July 1; Ohio this summer; Oklahoma: Cherokee Nation Tribal Council unanimously passes law banning same-sex marriages two women were granted a marriage application by a tribal court last month. Todd Hembree, the attorney for the council, says same-sex marriage was banned all along because Indian tribes are governed directly by federal law and the US Defence of Marriage Act bars gays from marrying. Gay Cherokee activist David Cornsilk says because Cherokee law is genderless there was no reason they should not be allowed to marry. Two women applied and were granted the marriage application in May; then Cherokee Nation Chief Justice Darrell Dowty issued a moratorium on license applications. Later: Cherokee Nation tribal confirms agreement between Dawn McKinley and Kathy Reynolds' attorney and the tribal attorney to keep a temporary injunction of the marriage license in place until the judge holds another hearing. Oregon Court of Appeals puts hold on lower court order requiring the state to register the licenses of more than 3,000 same-sex couples married in Multnomah County in March and April. Pennsylvania: gay federal prison inmate Kerry Dean Shotsberger (bank fraud) 212

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II drops lawsuit to get prison officials to allow him to send letters to his 18-year partner, who is jailed in the same prison, Federal Correctional Institute-Loretto; federal prison rules ban inmates corresponding unless they are married or immediate family; 1st lawsuit against Warden Tracy Johns withdrawn after a federal magistrate ruled against him; 2nd naming Johns and the federal Bureau of Prisons, claiming he was being discriminated against because he is gay. US Magistrate Keith Pesto in March rejected 1st that his partner is immediate family and that he is being discriminated against, saying"The legal question is not heterosexual versus homosexual, but family member versus non-family member." Now Pesto calls Shotsberger's second lawsuit frivolous and denies the inmate a court-appointed attorney. June 2004 Tennessee: Rhea County (which passed legislation calling for gays to be jailed, rescinded it, had a pride event) commissioners J-C Fugate and Dennis Tumlin are drafting a resolution to support the state's ban on same-sex marriage; Fugate was the author of the bid to jail gays. Virginia: law comes into effect preventing the state from recognizing gay marriages, civil unions, and domestic partnerships and blocking any "contract or other arrangement" same-sex couples may enter into. Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner tries to soften impact by removing sections nullifying contracts but is overridden by legislature. Canada: Anglican Church of Canada national church meeting does not discuss providing blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples, proposal pulled hours before scheduled vote; revised proposal calls for a two-year study of whether same-sex rituals are "a matter of doctrine," delaying action till the next national meeting in 2007. Then approves measure to affirm the integrity and sanctity of committed adult same-sex relationships but stops short of authorizing dioceses to hold same-sex blessing ceremonies Global South ABs, who represent more than 50 m Anglicans in the 70 millionstrong worldwide Church, denounce. Archbishop Gregory Venables, Primate of the Southern Cone (South America): ""It's rewriting the Christian faith. There's nothing in the Bible about the sanctity of same-sex relationships. Canada's action merely confirms the sad reality of the fragmentation of the Anglican family. We would like to see them expelled. This is going against Christian teaching and they should either repent or shut the door behind themselves." June 2004 Canada: Ontario Court of Appeals hears fed govt argue that a lower court judge erred in ruling that the same-sex partners of gays and lesbians who died between 1985 and 1998 were owed as much as $400 million in pensions; CPP recognized same-sex relationships in 2000 with federal legislation, retroactive to Jan. 1 1998; gays argue it should have been backdated to April 1985, when gays and lesbians were granted equality under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms Canada : Anglicans choose new leader Andrew Hutchison, 65, Montreal, who supports same-sex blessings but not marriage (I cant take that on board yet. Its mainly cultural; there are not strong theological underpinnings.) South Africa: Lesbian and Gay Equality Project and 18 gay couples file suit in Johannesburg High Court to overturn Marriage Act 1961, which expressly bans same-sex couples from entering into the institution of civil marriage as 213

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II unconstitutional. July 2004 Spain: Catholic bishops campaign against gay marriage but (survey by the Centre Sociological Investigations) Spaniards 70% in favour, also 75%+ say law should give gay couples exactly the same rights and obligations as heterosexual partners; 11.6% oppose granting rights to gay couples. 95% of the Spanish population is registered as Catholic. But 20% think homosexuality unnatural, and 4% say it should be punished; 30% would consider it a serious problem if their son or daughter had a gay relationship. Vatican releases new treatise on the family (in time for US election), 37pp written by Cardinal Ratzinger, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: gay marriage "unchristian," working women are neglecting their families, calls on governments "to manage conditions so that women do not need to neglect their families if they want to pursue a job," attacks "ideology of gender," stresses a woman "is not a copy of a man," repeats ban on women becoming priests; "God wanted a Christian marriage, a marriage between a man and a woman." German cabinet approves amendments introduced by Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries to give"registered couples" most of the same rights and responsibilities of heterosexual spouses do, including pension rights and financial support responsibilities in the event of separation. The governing Social DemocraticGreen coalition wants to introduce gay engagements, which would allow one partner to refuse to testify against the other in court. The bill will also allow homosexuals to adopt the biological child of their partner, if the other biological parent consents. However, general adoptions will continue to be banned. The changes in adoption law have met with strong opposition from conservative parties. However, the bill does not need approval from the upper house of parliament, where the conservatives have a majority. The first reading in front of the lower house takes place on Friday.

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Germany: Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrat-led Government unveils legislation to permit gays to co-adopt the child of a gay partner (stops short of allowing gay couples to adopt children); legislation faces an uphill battle in the conservative-controlled upper house of parliament; the gay partners would have to be registered with local authorities under 2001 civil union law. Neo-liberal Free Democrats Party leader Guido Westerwelle, 42, comes out in Der Spiegel, says same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, denounces draft legislation as a half measure. German govt says local authorities have registered 6,000 gay unions in the last 3 years, though the number of registered gay unions has declined in recent months pending passage of the new legislation France: Bordeaux court agrees with government, annuls France's first same-sex marriage (Stephane Chapin and Bertrand Charpentier, in Begles) Holland: since April 1, 2001, over 6,000 gay couples have wed. UK: government announces legislation to make it illegal to discriminate against same-sex couples in the supply of goods and services, including the renting of accommodation. Jacqui Smith, Equalities minister, says govt decided to act after London gay couple refused double room at Scottish B&B. 214

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II July 2004 President Bush attacks gays for 2nd time in radio address: "For ages, in every culture, human beings have understood that traditional marriage is critical to the well-being of families. And changing the definition of traditional marriage will undermine the family structure. If courts create their own arbitrary definition of marriage as a mere legal contract, and cut marriage off from its cultural, religious and natural roots, then the meaning of marriage is lost and the institution is weakened. US Senate 48-50 (12 short of the 60 needed to keep the measure alive) rejects constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage by procedural cloture (limits debate and removes chance to filibuster); after Republicans (seeing they did not have the two-thirds vote needed to pass their amendment) submit a second amendment which supporters said would leave the door open to giving some rights to gay couples, Democrats say Republicans cannot have it both ways and refuse to allow the second measure to be considered. Okayed by trial division USA: Secretary of Health and Human Resources Tommy G. Thompson invites MCC to participate in AdoptUSKids National Adoption and Foster Care Recruitment, Bush Administration summit to help setting adoption and foster care policies. US: House of Representatives votes 233-194 to ban forbid federal judges from requiring one state to recognise a same-sex marriage licensed in another; bill prohibits federal courts, even the Supreme Court, from considering challenges to the 1996 US Defense of Marriage Act, which empowered each state to decide on its own whether to allow same-sex marriage. US: American Psychological Association's Council of Representatives formally supports same-sex marriage and opposes discrimination against lesbian and gay parents, says same-sex and heterosexual couples remarkably similar, parenting effectiveness and children's psychological well-being unrelated to parental sexual orientation. This endorses positions drawn up by the APA Working Group on Same-Sex Families and Relationships Arkansas: proponents of amendment to the state Constitution to bar same-sex marriage turn in 200,693 signatures, nearly 3 times the number needed to get the measure on the November ballot; secretary of state's office hires 35 part-time employees to count and verify the signatures. Arkansas: secretary of state's office certifies the Arkansas Marriage Amendment Committee had enough voter signatures to take amendment to the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage to the voters in November; The office had hired 35 part-time employees to count and verify the signatures; got 95,736; needed 80,570; group had turned in 200,693 for verification. Arkansas already has a Defense of Marriage Act. North Carolina legislature adjourns, allowing a proposed anti-gay-marriage amendment to the state Constitution to die. Colorado Court of Appeals Thursday rules lesbian mom retains co-parenting rights after breakup with primary parent; 8-yr-old girl adopted by Denver doctor Cheryl Clark as an infant; Clark and partner Elsey McLeod won court decision giving McLeod, joint parenting rights; Clark converted to evangelical Christianity, declared herself straight, ditched McLeod. Denver District Judge John Coughlin 215

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II awarded Clark custody of the child, McLeod visitation rights, banned Clark from teaching child homophobic religious stuff. Clark appealed that same-sex relationships are illegal in Colorado, so McLeod has no parental rights; also claimed religious ruling. Now McLeod gets visits; religious education ruling goes back to 1st court to seek equitable solution. CT: FBI rescinds health benefits provided to same-sex partner Kristin of New Haven special agent Katy Gossman since after the couple wed in Massachusetts in May. FBI spokesman Bill Carter: the approval was a mistake, the agency receives thousands of benefit requests each day. Florida: executive council of the Florida Bar's Family Law Section unanimously agrees to push to repeal the 1977 law banning adoption by gay individuals and couples Florida: 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta votes 6-6 to uphold Florida's gay adoption ban; ACLU filed the request for the full appeals court to hear the case after the three-judge panel in January ruled against the men, who are foster parents seeking to adopt children in their care; in dissent, Judge Rosemary Barkett notes that no other groups, including child molesters and domestic abusers, are barred from adopting in Florida. Florida: largest swing state, one of the most important battlegrounds for control of the White House, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Florida Times-Union poll finds only 2% voters think same-sex marriage an important issue in the election; largest issue was 26% for jobs and the economy; 2nd was 16% on Iraq; Bush has made his constitutional amendment a major campaign issue; Kerry leads Bush 49-44% on a choice of 2 Florida: Miami Beach City Commissioners unanimously pass Florida's most expansive domestic partner registry which will is open to any gay couple, no matter where they are from; guarantees partner rights in hospital care and visitation rights at all healthcare facilities in the city, and provides partner rights in making funeral and burial decisions, recognizes partnership rights of same-sex couples who come to Miami Beach as tourists if they are legally married or registered domestic partner in their hometowns. Maryland: on behalf of 9 couples and a man whose partner recently passed away who would like to be able to marry one day, ACLU files in a Baltimore court legal challenge to state law preventing same-sex couples from marrying, asserts that county clerks in following the law are violating the state Constitution's guarantees of equality. Couples include Jodi Kelber-Kaye and Dr Stacey Kargman-Kaye (11 years, parents of two boys, 6 and 1; when KargmanK was hospitalized for a life-threatening emergency in Baltimore hospital, KK was literally pushed out of Stacey's room because the nurse refused to recognize the couple's relationship) and widower John Lestitian whose will leaving his property to Lestitian was found invalid on a technicality. Massachusetts: Jamaica Plains couple Cora Roelofs and Liz Steinhauser, married this year in Mass., baby born day after marriage, are named as mother and ``second parent'' on the birth certificate issued by the town of Wellesley and approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health; under state law, married couples that have a child through artificial insemination are automatically 216

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II recognized as parents. July 2004 July 2004 Michigan: proponents of amendment to the state Constitution to bar same-sex marriage turn in enough signatures to get the measure on the November ballot Montana: Montana Family Foundation manages to get enough names on petition to get referendum on amendment to state constitution to ban gay marriage; vote will take place Nov. Montana has Defense of Marriage Act, 1997. New Jersey: same-sex domestic partnerships law goes into effect; 100s sign up; some of the same rights of married couples; medical decisions, some joint rights in filing state taxes, exempt from state inheritance taxes in the case of a partner's death, benefits given to state employees; law also covers unmarried heterosexual couples ages 62 and older. New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously rejects motion by Sandoval County's clerk Victoria Dunlap to lift a temporary restraining and allow her to resume issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples; court issued its decision without comment. New York City: Suffolk County, on the east of Long Island, will provide health benefits to the same-sex partners of county workers as of Sept; plan will cover children of eligible partners who will have to demonstrate they are in long-term relationships; decision made by a labour-management committee and bypasses county lawmakers who had opposed the plan; committee is made up of nine county union leaders and nine political appointees of County Executive Steve Levy. Estimated cost: 0.01% would add $190,000 to the $190 million program. New York: judge dismisses charges against Unitarian ministers Revs. Kay Greenleaf and Dawn Sangrey (violating New York State law when they married 25 same-sex couples in March). Similar charges against New Paltz mayor Jason West dismissed June. Ohio: same-sex partners of Columbus city workers in Columbus get health benefits, but only if they pay for them out of their own pockets; arranged by Mayor Michael Coleman's administration through a private insurance company so as not to repeat battle with City Council six years ago which defeated city plan , though they unanimously passed domestic-partner benefits in 1998, Ohio State University's Board of Trustees extends full benefits to same-sex domestic partners of faculty and staff members and their children; plan expected to cost nearly $1 million annually; Exec VP Barbara Snyder says the school has not determined how it will pay for the benefits but no state money will be used, she expects 50-100 to take advantage of the benefits, univ paying 85% as it does for other university employees. Students and their same-sex domestic partners and children will also be eligible for coverage but the univ will not pay. Ohio: gay rights supporters submitted 14-thousand signatures, more than the number required to get a repeal question on the November 2 ballot and give Cincinnati voters a chance to repeal 11 year old city charter ban on city council from enacting any LGBT rights (approved 1993 by 62% of voters: "City of Cincinnati and its various boards and commissions may not enact, adopt, enforce or administer any ordinance, regulation, rule or policy which provides that homosexual, lesbian, or bisexual orientation, status, conduct, or relationship 217

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II constitutes, entitles, or otherwise provides a person with the basis to have any claim of minority or protected status, quota preference or other preferential treatment. This provision of the City Charter shall in all respects be self-executing") Cincinnati the only US city to have an anti-gay clause of this magnitude in its charter. Oregon: proponents of amendment to the state Constitution to bar same-sex marriage turn in enough signatures to get the measure on the November ballot Oregon: Court of Appeals orders state to begin registering the 3,000 same sex marriage licenses issued in Multnomah County earlier this year when County Commissioner Lisa Naito ordered the clerk to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. Oregon: justices agree lawsuit challenging state law against same-sex marriage will skip the Appeals Court and move directly to the state Supreme Court (could be this year); AG spokesman says even if voters ban gay marriage the case will still be heard since the ballot measure only addresses the institution of marriage whether gay and lesbian couples can simply exchange vows - and doesnt appear to address the issue of whether gay and lesbian couples are entitled to the rights and privileges of marriage. Oregon: Lee Inkmann and Trish Wilson sue O'Hara Catholic school, Oregon, after it refuses to enroll their daughter, 5, because the Vatican disapproves of gay relationships; principal said it would be confusing for other students and their parents. Rev. Mark Bachmeier of St. Mary Catholic Church then tells Inkmann the decision wasn't about "the gay issue," but whether the girl was "behaviorally suitable" for the school. Inkmann says private schools like O'Hara meet the definition of a place of public accommodation making them subject to Eugene's city code, which forbids discrimination based on sex, marital status, domestic partnership status or sexual orientation. Texas: retired flight attendant David Lee (married David Vaillancourt, April, Canada) challenges Houston-based Continental Airlines's refusal to allow his partner to use his spousal travel passes. John Mitchell, CA human resources official "The provisions of the Early Out that you signed specifically do not include same-sex travel companions." Retirement provisions generally bring 6 travel passes for former employee and spouse to travel together. CA says it takes its definition of "spouse" from the IRS, though it allows current workers to name a same-sex partner on such passes.. Canada: Centre for Research and Information on Canada and Environics survey shows 57% for, 38% against same-sex marriage day after federal election (last Sept 48% for, 47% against). Yukon Supreme Court trial division rules Yukon Territorial Government must issue a marriage licence to Rob Edge and Stephen Dunbar and a marriage between two persons of the same sex is a lawful and valid marriage in the Yukon Territory. Attorney General of Canada agreed it is unconstitutional to exclude same-sex couples from civil marriage but argued (despite the rulings in Ont, BC, QC) the court should reject the case until the Supreme Court of Canada rules on the constitutional issues surrounding a draft bill on gay marriage (case wont be heard til Oct, govt has no timetable for bringing the bill before Parliament). Yukon 218

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Premier Dennis Fentie: "I think it's great when due process can reach these conclusions on behalf of any particular group of citizens in this country. It shows this country is very open to all views and I think that's a good thing and the Yukon is no different," but did not comment on the judge's criticism of the territorial government for not issuing the marriage license in the first place. Later in the month, Court releases written reasons; "I do not consider it open to the AG of Canada to ask this Court to defer to the Reference and to Parliament. The AG of Canada is not divisible by province. The office of the AG of Canada is responsible for federal law. The capacity to marry is a federal issue. To paraphrase paragraph 28 of Hendricks [Quebec Court of Appeal decision], it is legally unacceptable in a federal constitution area involving the Attorney General of Canada for a provision to be inapplicable in one province and in force in all others." "To fail to act now in the face of an acknowledged constitutional violation will result in an unequal application of the law." "In my view, with respect to the Attorney General of Canada, the approach it has taken is so fundamentally inconsistent with the approach it took in the other provinces and, indeed, with the approach that is acknowledges to be correct in the Supreme Court of Canada, that solicitor client costs should be awarded against the Attorney General of Canada." I am going to order that costs on a solicitor client basis be shared by both the Attorney General of Canada and the Yukon Territorial Government." July 2004 Ontario: Ontario's Superior Court of Justice has first gay divorce petition: Toronto women MM and JH, married June 18, 2003, after being together for five years, separated five days after their wedding; court says petition will be heard in mid September despite a government plea to set the case aside until the Supreme Court rules reference on same-sex marriage; .govt then says it supports letting same-sex couples divorce, wants to remove the definition of spouse from the Divorce Act (womens lawyers had only asked to remove the words "to each other" from the definition) but will wait til after supreme court ruling.

August 2004 Australia: PM John Howard says he will pass gay-marriage ban in the next two weeks and calls on Labour and minor parties to back it so it does not become an issue in the election, likely September 18; bill couples marriage ban with a ban on gay couples adopting children overseas, has been sent to a Senate inquiry to report by October 7. A Bill containing the marriage ban only was rejected by the Senate. Mr Howard said the Senate inquiry was unnecessary and an insult to the Australian people. "These things are instinctive issues - you either support them or you don't, and I don't think it's appropriate to hide behind some sort of committee process." August 2004 Australia: parliament passes bill to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman, ban same-sex marriage; passes Senate with Labour's support; govt and opposition use their numbers to cut short debate, the first time the "guillotine" power has been used since December 2002. Democrat leader Andrew Bartlett attacks the ban. August 2004 NZ: Massey University govt-funded survey (senior lecturer in social work Mark Henrickson), The Lavender Islands, finds 94% want the Government to recognise same-sex relationships; 39% say marriage should be available to everyone; 36% think civil unions were the way to go; 23% believe marriage should be axed 219

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II completely. August 2004 Korea: first ruling on same-sex marriage; rules Korean law does not provide for same-sex marriage, and therefore there could not be divorce or any share of assets; case of lesbian Kim, 45, in Incheon who sought alimony and a share of her former partner Lee's assets after 21 years of living together. August 2004 Norway: govt plans to allow same-sex couples to adopt by this fall; currently one partner can become the coparent of another partner's natural child(ren); ombudsman Reidar Hjermann "Adoption is not a human right. ... Homosexuals are fighting a rather legitimate battle for liberation, but it is important that children do not become weapons in that battle, The time is not right for adoption, maybe in 10 or 20 years, or 100 years, but not now" - only when same-sex couples are accepted in society to the same level and degree as heterosexual couples same way as others, regardless of sexual orientation." August 2004 London: Greenwich social workers tell Family Proceedings Court two children must only be adopted by a lesbian couple because their birth mother was in a same-sex relationship and the situation is similar to that of a child of black or Jewish parents who should be adopted into a family of the child's racial or cultural background; court also told at least two lesbian couples are prepared to take the children; an application by the straight fostercare couple who have been looking after the children for a year is being fought by the social services agency of the borough council. August 2004 US: in a bid to recapture the middle ground from Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, Bush now says states can provide legal recognition to gay and lesbian couples with civil unions but continues to call for an amendment to the US Constitution to bar gay marriage. "That's up to states. If they want to provide legal protections for gays, that's great. That's fine. But I do not want to change the definition of marriage. I don't think our country should." Asked about federal benefits for same-sex couples, Bush points to inheritance taxes which are lower for people who are married, says gays should support Republican moves to get of inheritance taxes altogether. August 2004 US: Seattle judge, King County Superior Court Judge William Downing rules in favour of same-sex marriage in Washington state because denying it s a violation of constitutional rights: "The denial to the plaintiffs of the right to marry constitutes a denial of substantive due process." Decision is stayed until the state Supreme Court reviews the case, so no marriage licenses can be issued until then. Case of 6 gay couples challenging Washington's Defense of Marriage Act; 2 more couples joined the suit; 2nd lawsuit was filed April by ACLU on behalf of 11 same-sex couples. "Although many may hold strong opinions on the subject, the fact is that there are no scientifically valid studies tending to establish a negative impact on the adjustment of children raised by an intact same-sex couple as compared with those raised by an intact opposite-sex couple." Also "The exclusion of same-sex partners from civil marriage and the privileges attendant thereto is not rationally related to any legitimate or compelling state interest and is certainly not narrowly tailored toward such an interest." August 2004 US: Republican Party platform committee endorses strong denouncement of same-sex marriage, calling for an amendment to the Constitution to prevent gay 220

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II couples from any form of recognition. August 2004 NYC: Republican National Convention - first order of business approved a conservative platform with amendment to the Constitution to prevent gay couples from any form of recognition and call for curbs on federal judges from ruling in cases involving gay marriage or domestic partnerships. August 2004 US: Home Depot (based in Atlanta, Sprint (based in Overland Park, Kan.), Ecolab (St. Paul, Minn), and Waste Management (based in Houston, Texas)(all Fortune 500 companies) are under fire for decisions to offer pet insurance as a company benefit but not domestic partner insurance to its gay and lesbian workers; all four include gays and lesbians in their nondiscrimination policies.). In a 2004 survey of 459 companies, the Society for Human Resource Management found 34% offer same-sex benefits; 27% offered opposite-sex domestic partnership benefits. The day after the news is out, Home Depot changes its mind, offers same-sex partner benefits. August 2004 California: LA City Council passes resolution supporting the Permanent Partners Immigration Act, bill currently before Congress to allow the foreign partners of US citizens to legally live in US. August 2004 California high court rules 5-2 SF Mayor Gavin Newsom had no authority to issue wedding licenses to same-sex couples (but does not address whether same-sex couples must be allowed to marry under the California Constitution) and voids over 4,000 gay marriages; one couple was Del Martin, 83, and Phyllis Lyon, 79 now if one dies, the survivor has no right to social security or pension benefits and no protection against losing the family home. August 2004 California Assembly passes resolution opposing any federal measure designed to prohibit or restrict equal rights for same-sex couples; legislative resolutions do not require a Governor's signature, so this is forwarded directly to President Bush and Congress. August 2004 California: legislature approves five pro-LGBT measures, ranging from insurance equality to hate crimes and support for same-sex relationships; resolutions (2) do not need governor's signature; bills (3) do. California Insurance Equality Act amends the Insurance and the Health & Safety Codes to prohibit insurance providers from issuing policies or plans that discriminate against domestic partners, requires all insurance policies and plans that include coverage for spouses (health, life, auto, homeowners insurance, etc) to include the same coverage for domestic partners. The Omnibus Labour and Employment Non-Discrimination Act amends existing labour and employment non-discrimination provisions in California law to be consistent with the non-discrimination provisions in the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Omnibus Hate Crimes Act standardizes Penal Code sections relating to hate crimes, changes policies and procedures related to the treatment of victims, plus the training of law enforcement. Permanent Partners Immigration Act Resolution encourages the passage of PPIA by the US Congress. Resolution Opposing A Federal Marriage Discrimination Amendment does so August 2004 North Dakota: proposed amendment to state constitution to ban gay marriage is approved for the ballot in November; amendment reads: "Marriage consists only of the legal union between a man and a woman. No other domestic union, 221

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II however denominated, may be recognized as a marriage or given the same or substantially equivalent effect." North Dakota Family Alliance collected over 52,000 petition signatures (25,688 needed) of which Secretary of State Al Jaeger said his office accepted 42,093. August 2004 Florida: City of Miami Beach opens new domestic partner registry; by mid afternoon only five couples registered. August 2004 Iowa: Des Moines Register poll finds 65% want to keep the Defense of Marriage Act, 25% support lifting the ban; 49% oppose, 43% support putting ban in US Constitution; only 22% say gay rights are a critical election issue. August 2004 Louisiana: Civil District Judge Nadine Ramsey immediately dismisses lawsuit challenging proposed amendment to state Constitution banning same-sex marriage; suit filed a week before by a group of people trying to keep the issue off the September 18th ballot; amendment bans civil unions and maybe also extension of domestic partnership benefits to unmarried couples. August 2003 Louisiana: Civil District Judge Christopher Bruno(New Orleans) rules proposed state amendment banning same-sex marriage and forbidding the recognition of civil unions cannot be placed on the September 18 ballot because Louisiana Constitution requires any law have a single aim but amendment would remove the right of marriage, prevent civil unions, and deny any "legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals" ("The only thing I find that has merit is the question of the one object."); case brought by Forum for Equality and three individuals; Louisiana's Constitution also gives people an absolute right to make contracts and to own property; the amendment would violate that right by invalidating contracts between gay or lesbian partners. Louisiana already has a law forbidding same-sex marriage. State appeals court then rules ballots can go ahead; a second ruling on lawsuits seeking to block the election is pending in a separate court. Ruling from 1st Circuit Court of Appeal in Baton Rouge says lawsuit to take amendment off the Sept. 18 ballot is "premature" because state law only allows an election challenge after the election occurs; the same day, the appellate court judges heard arguments in the case. Another appeals court, 4th circuit, in New Orleans, hears arguments in a similar lawsuit but does not immediately rule. August 2004 Massachusetts: Suffolk Superior Court Judge Carol S. Ball denies the couples and the clerks request for immediate relief but makes no final determination on the merits of the pending lawsuits (Cote-Whitacre et al. v. Department of Public Health, filed June 18: 8 out-of-state same-sex couples filed lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a 1913 law which prevents marriage licenses from being issued to couples from outside the state if their marriages would be illegal where they live). Denial of preliminary relief does not prevent the couples from receiving a favourable final decision in their lawsuit; court will hear further argument August 2004 Mass: Supreme Judicial Court rules woman BL who agreed to have a child with her partner but split up before the baby's birth cannot be forced to pay TF child support; case of Hampshire County lesbian couple TF and BL (1996-2000); Probate and Family Court judge turned to the state Appeals Court, which in turn passed it to the SJC. Associate Justice Judith A. Cowin wrote the informal 222

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II agreement between the two women to have a child together did not constitute an enforceable contract; 3 justices (incl Chief Justice Margaret Marshall, who wrote the ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in Mass) said the implied contract between the woman is enforceable. August 2004 Michigan: proposed amendment to state constitution to bar same-sex marriage dies after state elections board deadlocks over whether to certify petition signatures for the measure. A second vote also deadlocks, this time over the language of the ballot question. Split on party lines: 2 Democrats against, 2 Republicans for. Democrats said the proposal should say that some same-sex partners would lose their benefits. August 2004 New York State Senate 59-0 gives straight and gay domestic partners the same rights as spouses and next-of-kin when taking care of loved ones in hospitals, nursing homes and health-care facilities. Assembly approved an identical version June 3 by 141-1. Legislation defines domestic partner as: a person who has formally entered into a domestic partnership or similar relationship; a person who is recognized or covered as a beneficiary under the other person's employment benefits or health insurance; and, a person who is dependent or mutually dependent on the other person for support. The bill lists ways mutual dependence can be proved. NY March poll on same-sex marriage commissioned by the Pride Agenda found 85% support extending hospital visitation rights to same-sex couples; high percentages also support medical decision-making rights and spousal health insurance. August 2004 Ohio: Columbus Dispatch state poll finds 62% for, 26% against an amendment to the state constitution banning same-sex marriage. In an Ohio Poll last week, 56% of those who said they are likely to vote in November would vote for the amendment, and 40% against. Among Bush-supporters, the proposal is ahead 84% to 9%, Democrats oppose 43% to 40%. August 2004 Oklahoma: Cherokee National Tribal Council votes to define marriage as between a man and a woman; Principal Chief Chad Smith says he will sign the measure; since Cherokee Nation laws are not retroactive, change will not affect Kathy Reynolds and Dawn McKinley, married last month in a Cherokee ceremony. A Cherokee Nation District Court has scheduled a hearing to discuss a legal protest of McKinley's and Reynolds' marriage application. August 2004 Oregon: Benton County officials decline to marry straight couples until they can marry gays; County Commissioner Linda Modrell: It may seem odd, but we need to treat everyone in our county equally." Oregon's AG Hardy Myers says he is "very pleased" with the decision and hopes the legal process will provide clarity" in due time. August 2004 Oregon: Senior Judge Wayne R. Harris orders Benton County to resume issuing marriage licenses, saying officials are failing (since Jan) to provide a service (order doesnt specifically mention same-sex couples) August 2004 Pennsylvania: U Pittsburgh ends 8-year court battle by offering benefits to same-sex partners, apparently worn down by the length of the fight; the U had failed to have the court strike down the city's non-discrimination ordinance that protects gays since sexual orientation was not covered by state civil rights protections. The fight began in 1996 when employee Deborah Henson filed a 223

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II complaint with the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations alleging that the school violated the city's 1990 gay-rights law barring discrimination based on sexual orientation. Six other peoples later joined her in the pending class-action lawsuit. August 2004 Virginia: Frederick County Circuit Court judge John R. Prosser gives Virginia (and himself) jurisdiction to decide a child custody case between Lisa and Janet Miller-Jenkins (Vermont civil union), split up, Lisa sues for sole parental rights over Isabella, 2; Janet says a judge in Vermont has already given her temporary visitation rights with the child and because a custody proceeding is already under way in another state, both state and federal law prohibit Judge Prosser from ruling. Virginia's law banning civil unions and other same-sex partnerships is one of the strictest in the US. August 2004 Washington: federal judge Paul B. Snyder of Federal Bankruptcy Court in Tacoma, hearing first challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act, rules there is no fundamental constitutional right to gay marriage and DOMA does not violate the equal-protection clause of the Constitution; case of Lee and Ann Kandu married in BC, went home to Washington state, jointly filed for bankruptcy (Ann died in March, before the case went to court). Argued: since they were legally married but the union was not recognized under DOMA, the law is unconstitutional; definition of marriage/spouse in federal law should not be construed to apply to the word "spouse" in the Bankruptcy Code, as that would violate the 10th Amendment's reservation of unenumerated powers to the states.; DOMA violates the Constitution's guarantees of due process and equal protection and has no rational justification. Justice Department said federal government justified in outlawing same-sex relationships because it had a "legitimate interest in encouraging the development of relationships optimal for procreating and childrearing." August 2004 Canada: Justice Minister Irwin Cotler tells Canadian Bar Association Ottawa will no longer stonewall or resist applications for same-sex marriage: "We will not be opposing any of these. ... We will allow these proceedings as they arise." August 2004 NB govt extends monthly survivor benefits to all common-law partners of provincial employees, including gay and straight, thus fixing a legal loophole that prevented survivors from accessing their deceased partners' pension benefits. The policy change affects individuals who asked for survivor pension benefits under the Teachers Pension Act, the Public Service Superannuation Act, the Members Pension Act, Members Superannuation Act and the Provincial Court Judges Act. Other surviving common-law partners of provincial employees, covered under non-legislative pension plans, are already eligible to receive pension benefits. August 2004 New Brunswick: human rights board has rules partner can adopt same-sex partner's child and be legally named as one of its parents; case of lesbian who claimed that the provincial government discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation and marital status when it refused to allow her to adopt her partner's child and register the child with her surname; court rules province violated the Human Rights Act in the delivery of birth registration and adoption services and awarded compensation of $13,500; before, LGBs could only adopt individually; ; NB govt declines to challenge ruling. August 2004 Manitoba government won't oppose a court bid by three same-sex couples who 224

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II want to get married, saying it's a matter for the federal government not the province. Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh: ``We will not oppose what they are seeking, We see it as an issue between applicants and the federal government and we will not be defending the federal (marriage) law. We don't have an interest in opposing legally recognized rights of Canadians. Mexico: under new anti-discrimination regulation (which follows a recent national constitutional amendment) requiring respect for human rights, without distinction or preference by group, religion, sexual orientation or by particular individuals throughout the prison system, requests by gay inmates in Mexico City prisons for intimate visits will have to be considered; rules require a permanent, stable relationship though not necessarily marriage for conjugal visits. Iceland: commission on gay rights set up by PM David Oddsson last year reports; says same-sex couples living together should receive the same rights as heterosexual couples, should be allowed to adopt children (currently, same-sex couples can only adopt stepchildren); commission asks the national Lutheran church in Iceland to change its policy and allow for marriage between same-sex couples. Spain: cabinet of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero expected to approve gay marriage legislation and send it directly to Parliament; vote expected early next month; bill is expected to pass despite opposition from conservatives and the Church; first marriages could take place early next year; official spokesperson for the Spanish Bishops Conference Juan Antonio Martinez Camino: "This legislation is imposing a deadly virus on society, something false that will have negative consequences for social life," adds the church has nothing against gays; newspaper El Pais survey finds 62% support gay marriage. Deputy Justice Minister Luis Lopez Guerra says the government is correcting "undeniable advantages" enjoyed by the Catholic church and guaranteeing that Spain will be a secular state. Spanish cabinet approves bill allowing same-sex marriages; must be endorsed by parliament; PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero promises it will be by early next year; includes tax breaks, widower's pension, inheritance, divorce, alimony, and adoption. France: government tables 2005 budget, which places the fiscal status of gay couples on a par with that of married people and makes it easier for gays to give their partners money; Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy says "I am not in favour of homosexual marriage" but adds it was only fair to respond to gays' demands for improvements to the domestic partner plan, five years after its creation. Naturally it does not help get inheritance, adoption, or immigration rights, not included in domestic partnership law. Gay groups say Chiracs government is reneging on campaign promises that it would amend the tax laws for couples registered as domestic partners. France: family court of the Tribunal de Grande Instance recognises Parisian gay couple Carla (46) and Marie-Laure (birth mother, 45) as parents of Giulietta, 10, Luana, 7, and Zelina, 5; M-L had one by French AI, France outlawed AI for lesbians, she went to Belgium for it; 2001, Carla adopted children and MarieLaure gave up her legal rights as their mother but remained as de facto one of two mothers. M-L then applies to have her "parental authority" over the children 225

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II restored, jointly with her partner; government argued the two women had deliberately set out to out-flank the opinions of French law-makers; court hears teachers, social workers, doctors and neighbours all in support, decides MarieLaure's parental authority should be restored "in the best interests of the children". Judge: it is clear both women give the children "the love, attention and care, appropriate to their age". Justice Minister, Dominique Perben says hopefully this is a one-off case, not a precedent Sept 2004 Rome: Pope John Paul II tells Donald Smith, new Canadian Ambassador to the Holy See, gay marriages create a "false understanding" of marriage: "The institution of marriage necessarily entails the complementarity of husbands and wives who participate in God's creative activity through the raising of children. Spouses thereby ensure the survival of society and culture, and rightly deserve specific and categorical legal recognition by the State. Any attempts to change the meaning of the word 'spouse' contradict right reason: legal guarantees, analogous to those granted to marriage, cannot be applied to unions between persons of the same sex without creating a false understanding of the nature of marriage." UK: Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement research says over 500 same-sex couples took part in "gay marriage" ceremonies (in which a priest blesses the couple) last year; about 300 ceremonies for Anglicans; half the ceremonies took place in a church; many conducted by clergy, most of whom kept their identities hidden. C of E opposes gay marriages but has no position on whether gay unions can be blessed. UK: PM Blair delays Commons vote on legalising gay marriages to placate the born-again Christian preacher and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Ian Paisley; 2nd reading of the Civil Partnerships bill scheduled to be voted Sept 18; Paisley asked the vote be put off because all six DUP MPs would be at the talks in Leeds Castle, Kent, aimed at restoring devolution in Northern Ireland. Paisley remembered for his 'Save Ulster From Sodomy' crusade of 1981 US: Equality Forum, National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), and Canadian Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce release stats showing a record number of companies support issues important to gay families: 80% of Fortune 500 Companies have policies against antigay workplace discrimination; over the past ten months, 77 (43%, employing 5.1m workers) of the 177 noncompliant Fortune 500 Companies added sexual orientation to their workplace discrimination policies; 36 states do not provide mandatory protections for LGBT gay workers; LGBT workers not covered under federal non discrimination law; recently including Aramark, Eaton, Goodyear Tire, PNC Financial Services and Tyson Food Corporation; recent Gallup poll shows over 85% of Americans support including sexual orientation in workplace nondiscrimination. US: John Green, Akron U, for Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life poll finds religious Americans 55% want legal status only for heterosexual marriage, 18% support legalized civil unions, 27% support legalized same-sex marriage Supporting same-sex marriage: Jews (55 percent), Catholics identified as "modernist" (51 percent), faiths other than Judaism or Christianity (50 percent), those with no religious affiliation (50 percent). Supporting straight-only marriage: white Roman Catholics (48%), white "mainline" Protestants (47%), Latino 226

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Catholics (52%), Latino Protestants (71%), black Protestants (72%), white evangelical Protestants (75%). 57% overall said gays should "have the same rights as other Americans." Sept 2004 US: Human Rights Campaign releases third annual report card on corporate America's treatment of LGBT workers: companies scoring 100% doubled last year; 56 got perfect scores (incl Ford Motor Company); 8 got the worst (incl Ark.-based ALLTEL Corp., LD & wireless telecom serving 26 states, the only company to receive a score of zero in 2004; next up at 14% each BB&T Corp.(NC), Exxon Mobil Corp.(Texas); International Steel Group Inc. (Ohio), Meijer, Inc (Midwest), ; New NGC, Inc.(gypsum seller, NC), Perot Systems Corp., (IT), Shaw Industries, Inc., (GA) US: Sprint Corp. will extend health insurance and other employee benefits to domestic partners beginning in 2005; Kansas-based telecommunications company, 61,000 employees nationwide. Spokeswoman says move not connected to criticism from the Human Rights Campaign.

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US Senate fails to pass constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage; vote 48 for, 50 against (60 for is required by Senate rules to pass it). US House of Representatives then rejects constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage; two-thirds majority required to pass it; vote was 227 for (55% of those voting), 186 against. Arkansas: 2 state supreme court justices Robert L. Brown and Annabelle Clinton Imber, will stay on bench to hear a challenge to a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages, though the Arkansas Marriage Amendment Committee claims the two justices are so biassed they shouldnt (AMAC is group that secured the signatures to be placed on the November ballot); case brought by the ACLU to keep the initiative off the ballot (wording misleading to voters, implications greater than banning gay marriage and could strip common law married couples who move to Arkansas from other states of homestead protections and other rights). California Supreme Court sets aside rulings in three cases of former lesbian partners seeking visiting rights to children they had helped to raise, agrees to hear arguments on the cases. In each case, the California Court of Appeals refused to treat the former same-sex couples as co-parents, although the courts reasoning varied case by case. 1: woman ordered to pay child support for twins born through in vitro fertilization to her then partner; 2: woman had donated eggs to her partner; 3 woman whose prenatal agreement with her then partner was ruled invalid. California Gov. Schwarzenegger signs in the the California Insurance Equality Act, first of three major gay rights bills passed last month, which amends the Insurance and the Health & Safety Codes to prohibit insurance providers from issuing policies or plans that discriminate against domestic partners. A week later, Schwarzenegger signs the Omnibus Hate Crimes Act California: Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren E. McMaster says there is nothing in the language of Proposition 22 that "restricts the grant of rights and benefits to persons who have registered as domestic partners, even if those rights closely parallel the rights enjoyed by married couples," rules valid the state law granting same-sex couples nearly the same legal rights and responsibilities as 227

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II married spouses, law to go into effect January 1, 2005. Lawyers for two sets of plaintiffs opposed to marriage rights for gay couples (late Senator Pete Knight and Randy Thomasson of Campaign for California Families) sued to have the law thrown out, claiming it violates the spirit and intent of a 2000 ballot initiative approved by voters that holds California will only recognize unions between a man and a woman as valid. Summer 2004 California: Sec States office write to the 28,083 couples registered under the old domestic partnership law warning of potentially undesired consequences of the new DP law, which extends state marriage rights and responsibilities to same-sex partners, coming into effect Jan. 1, which is also the deadline for opting out. July 202, August terminate their DPs, more since Jan 2000, when the registry started. Some couples are keen to register because the new law guarantees parental rights to the nonbiological parent, but others worry they could lose benefits or face financial or legal trouble; eligibility for Medi-Cal and other programs for single parents, Supplemental Security Income for disabled people and the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants are partly based on a married couple's income and assets. State concedes some benefits could be at risk; Medi-Cal says it has not yet figured out how to treat domestic partners under new law. Rich LGBs could lose half their assets one separation; registered partners won't be allowed to file either federal or state taxes jointly. Undocumented immigrants in relationships with US citizens could find DP interpreted as an intent to stay in the US and lead to deportation. Sept 2004 DC: officials will provide program where gay adults mentor foster-care teens 15+ who say they are gay, says Wanda Alston, acting director of the Mayor's Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Affairs. Florida: Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Irene Sullivan praises gay couple fighting to retain custody of two foster children, calls them models for all parents, denies motion to reopen case; Florida Department of Children and Families worker last year asked Curtis Watson and his social-worker partner, when she could not find a home place two girls, 6 and 7, one with a history of emotional problems and violence who had been through 17 foster homes in 2 months; Watson and his partner have fostered 29 foster children; the agency which oversees fostering recommended the girls stay in the long-term custody of the couple (Florida allows gays to foster but not adopt); okayed by judge; later appealed by state which filed a motion to reopen the case saying caseworkers had not tried hard enough to find an adoptive home. Clinical psychologist Robert S. Klein, appointed by the court, testified there was "an improvement not only in their emotionality, but in their intellectual functioning." Idaho Supreme Court upholds lower court ruling that Theron McGriff may not have visitation rights with his two daughters while he lives with a male partner; he and Shawn McGriff divorced six years ago when he came out; Theron got custody; he met another man, fell in love and bought a joint home; Shawn went back to court Supreme Court rules sexual orientation cannot be basis for awarding or removing custody, unless the parent's sexual orientation is shown to cause harm to the child, but says Therons "living arrangements" had been shown to be detrimental and posed a valid danger of alienating the children's affection toward their mother, mother best suited for custody 228

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Sept 2004 Kentucky: Louisville Courier-Journal statewide poll shows 72% of likely voters support state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, 22% opposed, 6% dk; 68% for, 26% against federal constitutional amendment Louisiana: state votes to amend state constitution to ban same-sex marriage; with 80% of precincts reporting, 79% votes for ban statewide; only significant exception in New Orleans where vote was close;.overall one of the lowest voter turnouts on record director of elections Frances Sims said at least 59 precincts (35%) did not have voting machines when polls opened because of flooding, relocated polling station, disorganization problem solved by midday; Louisiana already has a law stating that marriage can be only between a man and woman. Massachusetts: from Oct 1, hospitals run by RC Caritas Christi Health Care terminate employee healthcare plan to avoid having to cover the spouses of legally married same-sex couples, opt for self-funded plans (employer pays funds for the plan and hires a plan administrator to process the claims) subject to federal laws so not required to extend insurance benefits to same-sex spouses or employees. Michigan Court of Appeals rules proposed amendment to state constitution to ban same-sex marriage should be placed on the November ballot; Citizens for the Protection of Marriage gathered far more than the 317,757 signatures required, but the Board of State Canvassers deadlocked on whether the issue should go to voters. Under the rules of the election board the issue died. But the CPM went to court. Michigan AG Mike Cox issues legal opinion that same-sex marriage performed in another state is invalid in Michigan and precludes joint couple adoption in Michigan. Michigan: Lansing EPIC/MRA poll finds 54% for 37% against anti-gay proposed amendment to recognize only a union between a man and woman as a marriage or "similar union for any purpose"; 9% dk In Michigan in August, 60% were for, 3% dk. New York: State Supreme Court Justice Michael Kavanagh refuses to invalidate gay marriages performed in New Paltz, while still preventing village officials from performing more same-sex unions without marriage licenses; judge rules the couples would have to be named parties to the case with the right to be heard in court While the names of 25 couples initially married by West were made public, there's no single repository for all the names since. Oregon releases stats: the 3,000 same-sex couples married earlier this year in Portland (Multnomah County issued licenses March-June)are older and better educated than most newlyweds; Center for Health Statistics compares the 2,968 same-sex marriages with the 11,004 straight marriages January-June; 75% gay, 35% straight couples had at least one-college educated partner; average age of same-sex couples 42, straights early 30s; 50% of straight couples had at least one partner had been married before, 33% had both; 43% of lesbian couples had at least one woman who had been married to a man; 27% of gay couples had at least one man who had been married to a woman. 30% of gay marriages, 7% straight ones were between people from other states who travelled to Oregon to marry. Oregon, Tribune survey finds 57% voters for, 38% against federal constitutional amendment (5% dk) to ban same-sex marriage. 229

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Sept 2004 Texas: Harris County associate judge Ruth Ann Stiles rules against gay widower, noting Texas law neither permits gay marriage or allows for any recognition of same-sex relationships; William Ross, together with John Green (55, died intestate Jan 2003) for 7 years, evicted from their shared home by Greens son, Scott Goldstein, claims a notarized deed made by Green a month before he died is invalid since Green was too ill for it to be legal; Ross obligated to vacate the house and return any money or property to the state. Virginia: judges in Virginia and Vermont quarrel over who has jurisdiction in case of Lisa and Janet Miller-Jenkins (Vermont civil union, dissolved, Janet applied to Vermont court for joint custody of child, got temporary visiting rights, Lisa moved with the child to Virginia and tried to establish sole parental rights) see previous months. Frederick County Judge John R. Prosser ruled he could rule since mother resided in Virginia; now Family Court judge in Rutland finds Lisa in contempt for moving and disobeying court order on custody and Prosser tells Vermont to keep its nose out, issuing order asserting his jurisdiction in the case and setting trial date Sept. 28. Then rules former partner has no right to joint custody, overturns Vermont court decision in her favour, rules birth mother can decide whether to allow visits by her former partner. Washington: a second judge rules Washington state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional; Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks judge rules the state's 1998 Defense of Marriage Act violates the civil liberties of gays and lesbians under the Washington constitution. "For the government this is not a moral issue. It is a legal issue." Case brought by 11 gay and lesbian couples from across the state. This and the case from King County will now go to the state Supreme Court, where they will likely be consolidated. Canada: Quebec Justice Department files intervenor brief filed in the Supreme Court of Canada saying draft federal bill on same-sex marriage is seriously flawed because it allows religious institutions to opt out of performing gay weddings and marriage ceremonies are outside the federal government's jurisdiction. Alberta also opposes because it opposes LGBT rights in general. Supreme Court will consider in Oct. Manitoba joins BC, Ont, Quebec, and Yukon (79% of Canada's population in all) in legalizing same-sex marriage as Court of Queen's Bench Justice Douglas Yard rules the current provincial definition of marriage unconstitutional: "The traditional definition of marriage in Manitoba is reformulated to mean a voluntary union for life of two persons at the exclusion of all others." Lawyers for the federal government did not oppose the motion or ask for delay (a first); lawyers for the Manitoba government offered no opposition. Justice Yard says precedents weighed heavily in his decision: "The cumulative effect and the overwhelming effect of that judicial authority is to the effect that the traditional definition of marriage is no longer constitutionally valid in view of the provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms." Case of 3 couples, Chris Vogel and Rich North (married 1974, Unitarian Church.), Stefphany Cholakis and Michelle Ritchot (13 years together), and Laura Fouhse and Jordan Cantwell (4 years, 6-year-old daughter). Nova Scotia: Justice Heather Robertson of NS Supreme Court rules the NS definition of marriage must include same-sex couples; neither NS nor federal 230

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II government oppose Sept 2004 Ontario superior court Justice Ruth Mesbur strikes down the definition of spouse in the Divorce Act as unconstitutional; reserved her written reasons and recommendations. Case of MM and JH, together five years, separated five days after wedding. Federal government sought to have the case set aside until after the Supreme Court makes its recommendations on how to proceed with legislation to permit same-sex marriage across the country but then announced it would not seek a delay from a higher court. Ontario: John Tory elected leader of the Ont PCs; Tory says he supports same-sex marriage (as do the other two Ontario party leaders) Ontario Superior Court of Justice judge J S ONeill finds Registrar General must refund Toronto father Kevin Durkee the $4000 it cost him in legal fees to get registered as the sole parent of his newborn , says Vital Statistics Act to blame; Durkee fathered his daughter via an anonymous egg donor and a surrogate mother Vital Stats Act insists on biological mother. UN directive, now effective, drops domestic partnerships refs but still allows staffers' same-sex partners to collect benefits if permitted by the laws of their home countries. Mexican cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan denounces Spanish legal same-sex weddings: "They even give cockroaches the rank of family now because they live under the same roof. If there's a cat, a dog, two lesbians and everything living there, it's a family." Lozano is the Vatican's health secretary, was complaining about a proposal by Spain's government to legalize same-sex marriages. German parliament approves bill expanding the rights of same-sex marriages to allow the adoption of child(ren) brought into the marriage by either partner and formally engagements, also raises standards of financial security for pensions. Bundesrat, can delay the law but cannot block it. Ireland: as part of a major review of family rights, an all-party Oireachtas committee is to look at whether the Constitution should be changed to allow for gay marriages, will be inviting submissions and presentations; Ireland: senior Catholic Dr Willie Walsh, Bishop of Killaloe in Ireland, says he has "difficulty" with same-sex marriage but does not see any problem with civil unions similar to the Civil Partnership bill currently being debated for the UK, says he does not believe sexual diversity a sin and catholic teachings in the past may well have contributed to homophobia. UK: Green 1st UK party to call for same-sex marriage; House of Commons debates Civil Partnership Bill; Greens "excluding gay couples from marriage is an affront to democracy and human rights." Green MEPs Caroline Lucas (South East) and Jean Lambert (London); Green Party Principle Speaker, Councillor Keith Taylor of Brighton and Hove Council and PPC for Brighton Pavilion."While the Civil Partnership Bill is a welcome first step, it is not equality and it creates a new form of legislative discrimination."

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II proposing the amendment came from a homophobic agenda which does not want to see same-sex relationships afforded "moral equivalence" to heterosexual ones.) Further, straights can inherit deceased partner's full pension, based on the date he or she first began contributions, but under the proposed civil partnership scheme a gay partner can only inherit a pension from the date the couple registered their relationship Oct 2004 UK: Sandals Resorts, faced with a threatened human rights complaint in Canada, and a negative media campaign in the UK, lifts 2001 ban on gay couples from 13 resorts it operates in the Caribbean. Barclaycard had dropped the firm from its promotions, Livingstone banned their ads in the tube. Oct 2004 UK: Anglican church gets Windsor Report, unanimous report of Eames' commission on the nature of communion and to find a way of maintaining church unity; will be discussed by primates next February; 50 US bishops will be asked to apologise for electing out gay Bishop Robinson because of damage done to the unity of the worldwide church, and refrain from promoting any other clergy living in a same-sex union, but no individual and collective repentance or expulsion or removal of Robinson;

BC Bishop Michael Ingham "To the extent that people feel hurt or injured by our decisions, I apologize, but not for the decisions themselves" which were taken by synod, says he will continue to allow same-sex blessings in the diocese of New Westminster until his synod meets next May and decides what course to follow. Oct 2004 UK: Labour tables new bill to give same-sex couples the same legal rights as married couples in company pensions and will be able to pass the right to continue receiving pension payments to their survivor; 75% of private pension schemes already offer gay partners the same benefits as married couples; new law will force the remaining 25% to comply. New legislation will become part of the Civil Partnerships Bill which will gives same-sex couples the other legal and tax privileges currently enjoyed by married couples (mutual tenancy rights, equal legal status, next of kin, exemption from inheritance tax, right to compensation if partner is in an accident or suffers a criminal injury). USA: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute and the National Black Justice Coalition. study, using 2000 Census, finds nearly half black same-sex couples have lived in the same residence for at least five years (about the same as married black couples) and most of those households include children; black same-sex couples raise children at nearly twice the rate of their white counterparts: 61% to 31% for females, 46% to 24% for males; black male same-sex couples median income $49,000 a year, black lesbian couples $42,000 a year, black married opposite-sex couples $51,000 a year, white same-sex couples $69,000 a year; 11% black women in same-sex households were veterans and 3% of black women married to male partners; 18% black men in same-sex households were veterans, 31% of black married men; black women make up less than 1% of the military, 3% of those kicked out under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" are black women. Days from election, Bush almost says he would support civil unions: "I view the definition of marriage difference from legal arrangements that enable people to have rights. And I strongly believe that marriage ought to be defined as between, a union between a man and a woman. Now, having said that, states ought to be able to have the right to pass laws that enable people to you know, be able to have 232

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II rights, like others." Oct 2004 California: CA AG says state constitution permits laws against same-sex marriage, though he feels "committed and loving relationships between two individuals deserve recognition under California law," says it is up to the voters or the Legislature to decide whether homosexual couples should be allowed to marry. Opinion response to two lawsuits seeking same-sex marriage N Carolina: YMCA of the Triangle Area gives gay couples with children same membership fees as heterosexual families but won't call them "families," grandparents with dependent grandchildren, couples with foster children, children living with legal guardians get same rates. CEO Doug McMillan: in the case of a gay or unmarried couple with children, the change would allow one adult with dependent children to enroll in one category and the second adult to enroll separately. Louisiana: Louisiana Supreme Court refuses to hear challenge to amendment to the state constitution banning gay marriage until it is dealt with by the Court of Appeals; next day, 1st Circuit Court of Appeals rules only the Supreme Court should hear the case because it involves a constitutional amendment. NJ: Supreme Court will leave same-sex marriages case with Appellate Division, urging only they do it quickly; 2002 case of 7 gay and lesbian couples who had hoped to skip the appeals stage, as did NJ AG's office NY: Gov. George Pataki signs in law to further protect the rights of gay and lesbian hospital and nursing home patients by ensuring that their domestic partners are granted visitation rights. In August, Senate voted 59-0 for the bill; Assembly approved an identical version in June 141-1. New York State and Local Retirement System get decision made by NY State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi: Based on current law, the Retirement System will recognize a same-sex Canadian marriage in the same manner as an opposite-sex New York marriage, under the principle of comity. That principle has been legal practice pursuant to New York Court of Appeals rulings for many years. New York acting state Supreme Court Justice Alfred Weiner says Legislature's use of phrases such as "husband and wife" and "bride and groom" made its intentions clear, upholds state's domestic relations law that prevents the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples; 10 GL couples, incl mayor of Nyack and his partner, went to court after they were refused marriage licenses in the Town of Orangetown Ohio 12th District of Ohio Appeals Court unanimously rules lesbian and gay couples must be allowed to protect their relationships with children they are raising together; case of Cheryl and Jennifer McKetrick who were denied a shared custody agreement for their child, "Baby J," by a Warren County court last year; lower court found that, because Cheryl and Jennifer might provide some security for "Baby J" through other documents like powers of attorney or wills, the court didn't need to approve a formal custody agreement. Ohio Supreme Court 6-1 rejects legal challenge to placing constitutional amendment banning gay marriage on the November ballot on the grounds of the validity of the initiative as it was submitted to the Secretary of State's office 233

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II (lacked the required summary and certification from the Ohio AG). Court rules on technical grounds, says it does not have jurisdiction over the claim, that opponents did not make their claim far enough ahead of the election and that a lower court had already ruled on the same issues. PA: Bucks County Judge Mitchell Goldberg rules a group of 12 state lawmakers (11 Rep., 1 Dem.) have no standing to sue a gay couple who may challenge the state's ban on same-sex marriage, in effect a pre-emptive strike to try to strengthen the law before the couple sought to overturn it; judge says groups fails to show the required "imminent harm" needed for them to proceed. Robert Seneca and Stephen Stahl, together 25 years, were denied a marriage license this year when they sought one from a county clerk. Texas state district judge Janis Yarbrough upholds parental rights of Janet Kathleen Van Stavern who adopted a child, 6, born to her partner Julie Anne Hobbs, though Texas law does not permit co-parenting by same-sex couples. The rights of the sperm donor were terminated. Van Stavern legally adopted the girl when she was 3; the couple split after 8 years. Canada: Star prints leaked cabinet doc: although expecting imminent supreme court decision, Justice Min Cotler expects to return to cabinet in the spring for authorization to table the marriage bill in the fall of 2005; no reasons for delay; bill would then go parliamentary committee etc, so vote could be delayed up until 2006; doc also deals with Bombardier aid, immigration target levels. Canada: Ipsos-Raid same-sex marriage poll for The Globe and Mail and CTV: same sex marriage, 54%, 43% against, 3 dk. If Supreme Court rules for, 52% will fully accept both the ruling and the use of the word marriage to describe all legal unions, 45% want the legal use of the word to apply only to husbands and wives. Approval/disapproval depends on age, gender, income and place of residence; for includes 64% of under-34s, 41% of over54s, 58% of urbanites, 64% of women, 60% of those with postsecondary ed; against - 37% in rural areas, 51% of men, 36% of women, 44% of those with a high-school diploma or less were in favour.

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Canada: Supreme Court of Canada holds 3-day hearings on same-sex marriage; 28 briefs; pro - AG Canada, Canadian Human Rights Commission, gay groups, United Church, coalition of liberal rabbis, all the couples and groups that brought the original challenges in Ontario, BC and Quebec, Alison Kempers 12-year-old son.; anti AG Alberta, REAL Women, Ficus on the Family, Canadian Council of Catholic Bishops. Interfaith Coalition (Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, the Catholic Civil Rights League and the Islamic Society of North America) said right of clergy to refuse to marry same-sex couples clearly protected by the Charter though they did not admit this in their brief. Lawyer Cynthia Petersen said the govt has embraced three provincial appellate decisions legalizing same-sex marriage only to turn around and add a question that forced the court to rule on that very issue, which is improper. For the govt Mr. Hogg says, the government intends to go ahead with its legislation to legalize same-sex marriage. regardless of the Supreme Court's response to the question\ Alberta argues the federal government can not single-handedly change the constitutional definition of marriage Quebec argues Parliament lacks the authority to unilaterally change the definition since marriage is the shared responsibility of Ottawa and the 234

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II provinces and can only be changed with a constitutional amendment. Justice John Major from Alberta replies nothing in the Constitution is wrapped with what he called "barbed wire." Justice Rosalie Abella wonders then how Parliament had the power to add divorce to the Constitution, since divorce didn't exist in 1867. Nov 2004 South Africa: most of 5 judges in Supreme Court of Appeal rule that under the Constitution the common-law concept of marriage must to be developed to embrace same-sex partners, definition immediately changed to "the union of two persons to the exclusion of all others for life"; plaintiff couple Mari Adriaana Fourie and Cecelia Johanna Bonthuys; decisions says their intended marriage is capable of lawful recognition as a legally valid marriage, provided the formalities in the Marriage Act of 1961 are complied with. Some regulations in the Marriage Act also have to get fixed first Israel: Nazareth District Court overturns a Family Court ruling that an elderly man from Kiryat Shmona was not entitled to spousal inheritance rights; man sought the estate of his late partner, with whom he lived for several decades; Nazareth judges rule the term "man and woman" as spelled out in Israel's inheritance law also includes same sex couples; Judges Nissim Maman and Gabriela Levy issue majority opinion, based their decision on a loose interpretation of the term "partner" as defined in other court rulings, such as those dealing with issues related to employment benefits, and thus applied the interpretation to the inheritance law. Government spokesperson says they will appeal. Israel: Minister of the Interior Avraham Poraz, who instituted a civil reform last year which gives legal civil status to same-sex foreign partners of Israeli citizens, says he "would not allow a person's claim to be a homosexual to serve as a pretext for residing illegally in the country ... or to earn immunity to remain in Israel." Poraz said that despite his desire to protect the interests of the gay community, he could not allow the ministry to be flooded with requests from illegal aliens, "based on the claim that they are living with an Israeli partner, to allow them to receive civil status in Israel." Slovakia, EU member for less than a year, says at a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in Brussels it will not recognize some sections of the European human rights laws, especially in the areas of gay rights, says it will not recognize gay marriages, civil unions, or domestic partnerships conducted in other EU member countries, says it is making the move to ensure that there is a cast iron guarantee against the mutual recognition of homosexual marriages. The program for justice and home affairs, of which the mutual recognition of gay marriages is a part, is due for approval at a summit of EU leaders later this week. Norwegian parliament rejects amendment to existing legislation to render the current marriage law "gender neutral"; same-sex couples can legally register their civil unions Dublin: High Court Justice Liam McKechnie rules lesbian couple wed in BC 2003 can seek to have their union legally recognized in Ireland; Ann Louise Gilligan and Katherine Zappone; full hearing, likely to take place next year; in Ireland file as a married couple rather than as two single people saves tax. Zappone is a member of Ireland's government-appointed Human Rights Commission, Gilligan, 235

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II a Dublin philosophy lecturer, partners for 23 years. Prime Minister Bertie Ahern: Ireland should give greater rights to gay and lesbian couples, extending tax and inheritance rights to gay couples would be the "fairest" and "most Christian" way to deal with the issue, but any moves to legalize gay marriage are a long way off. Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin is first senior religious figure in Ireland to say he approves giving legal rights to gay couples; Nov 2004 Scottish government announces legislation to allow same-sex couples to jointly adopt or foster children (gays can only adopt singly at present); change brings country in line with the rest of the UK; govt spokesperson says it could take two years to get the bill passed. UK: House of Commons passes domestic-partnership (same-sex couples only) bringing many of rights of marriage; creates civil-partner registry; inheritance rights to their partners' estates, hospital visiting rights, spouses share of partner's pension; parliament rejects amendment adding siblings who live together (from few Tory MPs who oppose same-sex couples' rights); attempt by Tory MP Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) to introduce rights for siblings fails 381-74; Tory leader Michael Howard supported the bill but gave his MPs a free vote.

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Lords passes bill after squabbling only 3 hours; bill now awaits Royal Assent. Tory Baroness O'Cathain called for brothers and sisters living together for at least 12 years to be able to get the same rights for capital gains and inheritance tax, fatal accident claims, and housing tenancies, mentioned "special rights given to some but not to others who are in equal, if not greater, hardship." The Christian Institute buys full-page advert in The Times featuring a woman who lived with her sister for 15 years and had to sell the house to pay inheritance tax when she died asking "Why should I have less house-sharing rights than a gay couple?" Tory Lord Tebbit asks a government undertaking not to make any change to subsequent Budgets to the requirements for inheritance tax, in consequence of this Bill. Nov 2004 US: 11 states (Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Utah) approve gay marriage bans. It was a near thing in Oregon but most passed easily, in Kentucky and Georgia by a 3-1 margin, in Ohio 3-2, in Mississippi 6-1. Oregon, Mississippi and Montana bar same-sex marriage; the other 8 states also ban civil unions and domestic partnerships; Ohio stops any benefits being granted to same-sex partners. US: Nov/Dec issue Child Development publishes study (co-authors Charlotte J. Patterson, prof psychology, U Virginia, Stephen T. Russell, prof human development, U Arizona): teens of same-sex female parents develop as well as those of opposite-sex parents; good quality family relationships are more important contributors to successful development than family type; teens of same-sex couples have similar dating and romantic relationship behaviours as children of opposite-sex couples. US Conference of Catholic Bishops launch plan to promote marriage, which they see as being under extreme pressure, not from pro-gays but from the general difficulty of getting and staying married; US marriage rate has dropped by over 40% in the last 30 years (as has the rate of Catholics who marry within the church); 35 % of those who have ever been married have been divorced at least once. Three US dioceses have announced bankruptcy filings to protect themselves from lawsuits by alleged sexual abuse victims: Spokane, Tucson, Portland. 236

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Nov 2004 US Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to the Massachusetts court ruling that opened the door to same-sex marriage, thus sidesteps gay marriage issue; no reasons given (tradition of the court); challenge came from Florida-based Liberty Counsel sating US Constitution should "protect the citizens of Massachusetts from their own state supreme court's usurpation of power"; suit filed on behalf of Robert Largess, the vice president of the Catholic Action League, and 11 state lawmakers. California: state same-se marriage bill will be one of the first items on the agenda when the new session of the state Assembly convenes in December; coauthored by Assemblymember Mark Leno; Leno says that he has bipartisan support which redefines the definition of marriage from a contract "between a man and a woman'' to a contract "between two persons.'; bill made it through two committees during the last legislative session but was pulled before going to a full vote in the Assembly so that Leno build support. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says he will not support an amendment to the state constitution to ban marriage rights for same-sex couples and their families. Florida exit polls showed 60% of voters support legal recognition for same-sex couples and their families. Indiana Court of Appeals unanimously rules lesbian partners who agree to conceive a child through artificial insemination are both the legal parents of any children born to them: "no (legitimate) reason exists to provide the children born to lesbian parents through the use of reproductive technology with less security and protection than that given to children born to heterosexual parents through artificial insemination." Court chides state lawmakers for being slow to deal with advances in reproductive technology. Case of Dawn King seeking co-parenting status with ex Stephanie Benham. Monroe court had ruled King not a biological parent so had no parental rights. Ruling only covers IVF babies, not children adopted. Montana State University reviews policy allowing gay couples married in other states to rent family housing in light of last week's approval of a statewide ban on gay marriage. MSU has always required students applying for family or graduate housing to show proof of a legal relationship, such as a marriage license or guardianship of a child; a cohabiting but unmarried heterosexual couple would not qualify; campus housing is not paid for with taxpayer or tuition money but with MSU's auxiliary operations, which operate on a moneymaking basis. New York state Supreme Court judge Faviola Soto orders NY mayor Bloomberg to put into effect immediately the city's Equal Benefits Law passed by city council in May; spokesperson for mayor says law will be put into action while ruling is appealed. Mayor Bloomberg calls for the city's pension funds to treat municipal workers in same-sex marriages in the same way as those in traditional marriages; directs his appointees on the city's five pension fund boards to support the call, though he does not have the majority of appointments on the boards New York state judge Supreme Court Justice Michael Kavanagh makes permanent the injunction keeping officials of New Paltz from performing same-sex marriages. 237

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Ohio: state votes for constitutional ban on same-sex marriage; Cincinnati voting 54-46% repeals 10-year-old law stopping the city from passing any legislation to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination Oregon: ACLU drops gay marriage in favour of legal civil unions between samesex couples giving them the same rights and benefits as married couples. ACLU spokes "This changes our case in only one way. We are no longer seeking marriage. But we do believe that the Oregon Constitution requires equality with respect to the protections that come with marriage." 3,000 same-sex couple married in Portland's Multnomah County this year. Constitutional amendment to Oregon's state constitution, Measure 36, passed earlier this month; 57% of Oregon voters want to ban gay marriage, but Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry won in Oregon. Oregon Supreme Court hear oral arguments December. Texas Board of Education approves new health textbooks for state high- and middle-school students after the publishers agreed to change the wording to depict marriage as the union of a man and a woman; decision could affect books sold in dozens of states because of Texas' market clout as the nation's second-largest buyer of textbooks. Texas law bans recognition of gay civil unions; board didnt liker that texts used terms like "married partners" instead of "husband and wife." A board members proposal to approve the books without changes was rejected 10-4. A controversy arose last year in Texas when the board approved new biology textbooks that contained Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, brushing aside opposition from religious groups. Texas appeals court upholds a Galveston Janet Kathleen Van Stavern's adoption of her ex Julie Anne Hobbs biological daughter (AI); Hobbs had appealed district judge's ruling last month that VS had equal parenting rights. Sperm donor had voluntarily terminated his parental rights. Couple together 8 years, VS has provided $400 a month since the split. Vermont: election exit poll conducted for AP and television networks by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International finds 40% for gay marriage, 37% for civil unions, 21% for neither (question asked which if 3 would you support) Nationally, exits polls find 25% for gay marriage, 35% for civil unions, 37% for neither Vermont family court rules that both parties in a same-sex civil union are legal parents of a child, a contradiction of an earlier Virginia court ruling that awarded custody to the biological parent. Case of Lisa and Janet Miller-Jenkins, custody dispute over Isabella, 2, born to Lisa Miller-Jenkins in Virginia (AI). Virginia: Charlottesville City Council call on state legislature to repeal state law banning same-sex civil unions. One dissenter Councilor Rob Schilling, the only Republican on the council, said it was a matter for the legislature, not the city. Canadian Anglican Church annual fall meeting of 38 bishops approves plan to allow bishops to cross diocesan boundaries when parishes do not agree with the issue of same-sex blessings; "alternate episcopal oversight," now called "shared episcopal ministry." Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, primate of the Canadian church "The house of bishops is saying to the Canadian church, 'We did 238

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II something and we agreed.' And that is wonderful news." Nov 2004 Canada: Private Members' Bill C-268, introduced by Rob Moore, (Con), Fundy, NB, to define marriage as "the lawful union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all other persons" reaches top of pile; Parliamentary Subcommittee rules it unconstitutional and not eligible for a vote; leak shows a deal was made in August to overturned this on appeal by Rob Moore to the Procedures Committee; Procedures Committee 7-4 upholds ruling it is unconstitutional and non-voteable. Rob Moore may yet appeal to the entire House of Commons. Canada: Pollara survey taken for Rogers Media finds Canadians would vote 52% to allow gay couples to officially marry and to register their marriage with their province; 41% would vote against; 7% dk. For: Quebec 61%, BC 56%, Ontario 50%., Atlantic Canada yes 45% and no 45%, Prairies no 50% vs. yes 42%; younger people 66% for, middle-aged (53% for, older 35% for; men 47% for, women 56%; with university degree 61% for, community college 52%, high school or less no 52% against, 43% for. Canada: Ontario Court of Appeal rules denying retroactive same-sex benefits to widowed gays and lesbians violates their rights and is unconstitutional, confirms Jan 2004 lower-court ruling that the federal government should not have limited back-payments when it extended equality rights to same-sex couples. Biggest class action lawsuit ever filed in Canada. 2000 federal legislation had recognized same-se relationships under the Canada Pension Plan but made it retroactive to Jan. 1, 1998 rather than April 1985 (date of Charter). Estimated 1,500 survivors, many now in 70s and 80s. Sask: Madam Justice Donna Wilson of the Family Law Division of the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench hears equal-marriage case, in Saskatchewan, takes 3 days to think it over; AG Canada says unconstitutional to exclude same-sex couples from civil marriage; AG Saskatchewan says it is a matter of federal jurisdiction and that the province takes no position; case of five same-sex couples: Erin Scriven and Lisa Stumborg, Lenore Swystun and Kelley Moore, James Hein-Blackmore and William Hein-Blackmore, Nicole White and Julie Richards, and Martin Bonneville and Ted Atkins. Four of the couples are seeking the right to marry and the fifth couple want legal recognition of their marriage performed in British Columbia where gay marriage is already legal. 82% of Canada has same-sex marriage; with Sask it would be 85%

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Judge then orders the definition of marriage in Saskatchewan include same-sex couples; not opposed by either the province of Saskatchewan or the federal government but costs awarded against both. Judge finds unconstitutional to exclude same-sex couples from civil marriage, agrees with the Ontario Court of Appeal 'the dignity of persons in samesex relationships is violated by the exclusion of same-sex couples from the institution of marriage," agrees with the Yukon court province had a choice whether or not to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples and chose not to, says federal Attorney General has made the choice to wait for further guidance from the Supreme Court of Canada rather than to take immediate action to protect the equality rights of same-sex couples. By not acting immediately, this Court application was necessary..." Nov 2004 Newfoundland Attorney General Tom Marshall says the province will take no position on a constitutional challenge before the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador; two lesbian couples (Jacqueline Pottle and Noelle French, Lisa 239

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Zigler and Theresa Walsh) sue to overturn the province's ban on same-sex marriage. Marshall: "Under the Constitution of Canada it is the federal government that has constitutional authority to deal with capacity to marriage and we're going to defer to the federal government. The decision of the Supreme Court of Canada will, of course, trump any decision of our Supreme Court." The first hearing of the case is scheduled later this month. Same-sex marriage currently a go in Ontario, BC, Quebec, Sasakatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, Nova Scotia; leaving Alberta, NB, PEI, NWT, Nunavut Nov 2004 Manitoba marriage commissioner Kevin Kisilowsky, 34 year old evangelical Christian, tires to file human rights complaint on religious freedom provisions; following same-sex marriage court ruling in September, MB govt notified all marriage commissioners that if they refuse to perform wedding ceremonies for gay couples they must resign. So far 11 commissioners have quit. KK "They are basically telling me to spit in the face of God and do something that by my faith is a violation of God." A government spokesperson said marriage commissioners are "agents of the government expected to uphold the law." Commission officials have received more than one complaint; commission chairwoman Janet Baldwin "The complaints will be treated as any other complaint. They will go to investigation." Commission expects to make its recommendations public by the end of the year. Ontario: diocese of Niagara synod votes 213-106 to approve blessing of same-sex unions, 2nd Canadian Anglican diocese to do so, asks bishop to "grant clergy permission to exercise their discretion in blessing the relationship of gay or lesbian couples who have been married civilly, once they with their congregations have petitioned the bishop for permission to be a 'blessing community.'" Bishop Ralph Spence declines:"As the bishop I hear the will of the house. I would have personally voted with house in majority. But I am the bishop for all people, and try to keep unity with the rest of the church. I am not able to give my assent to this legislation and hence will not." Toronto Anglican Diocese voted 320-296 (7 abst) to defer decision on same-sex blessings until a national theological commission rules whether it is a matter of doctrine but then votes to affirm the "integrity and sanctity" of same-sex unions (motion to remove the word "sanctity" defeated 280-241, 6 abst); motion to "affirm" mirrors that passed by General Synod after it voted last June to defer to the theological commission; special synod to consider the same-sex union blessings at which 338-301 vote decided not to put on the agenda a motion to "uphold faithfulness in marriage between a man and woman" and state abstinence is right for those "not called to marriage"; Colin Johnson, diocesan bishop of Toronto, has established a committee for pastoral care of gays and lesbians and those disappointed by the vote. Japan: Keisuke Ueda, professor of behavioural ecology at Rikkyo University in Tokyo, finds 20 same-sex male pairs at 16 major aquariums and zoos, feels it is the result of an imbalance between the numbers of male and female birds. Iraq: Ansar al-Sunnah and two other rebel groups say they are fighting to prevent "homosexual marriage," post messages on their websites warning people not to vote in the January elections, declaring that democracy is un-Islamic and will lead to passing un-Islamic laws, such as same-sex marriage. Democracy is a Greek 240

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II word meaning the rule of the people, which means that the people do what they see fit. This concept is considered apostasy and defies the belief in one God Muslims' doctrine. Dec 20004 South African government appeals last months supreme court ruling that barring same-sex couples from marrying violates the country's constitution; issue now heads to the Constitutional Court. Case of Marie Fourie and Cecelia Bonthuys Africa says it will approach the Constitutional Court for clarity on the Supreme Court of Appeals Nov ruling that same-sex marriages should be legalised; the ruling extended the common-law definition of marriage to include same-sex partner unions, but home affairs department feels the decision to approach the Constitutional Court does not signal government's opposition to the constitutional provision that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, but is an effort to find constitutional finality on the matter. India: judge in Amritsar dismisses case against lesbian couple (18 and 25, say they married in a Hindu ceremony, provide no proof of the wedding), says no law prevents them from living together, notes lesbians are not specifically mentioned in law banning homosex. One family reported supportive, the other hostile New Zealand parliament 65-55 (conscience vote) approves gay civil unions; samesex and de facto couples will be able to formally register their relationships from April next year. Marriage remains a separate entity. Israel: Tel Aviv Family Court judge Yehuda Granit overrules state, recognizes two men as common-law couple by giving legal force to a child support agreement they had drafted; lived together 19 years, had twins in 2001 via a woman who underwent a fictitious marriage with one of them, drew up an agreement with her detailing financial arrangements for the children's care and asked the court to give the agreement contractual force. Attorney general asked the court to reject this request. Granit: heterosexual couples who choose not to marry are entitled to various legal rights as common-law spouses, so gay couples should receive the same rights; right to equality enshrined in the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty, as is the freedom to choose a spouse of the same sex. Israel: Attorney General Menahem Mazuz directs government offices to recognize same-sex couples for monetary and property issues, thus reversing a legal opinion by his predecessor, Elyakim Rubinstein, that gay and lesbian couples cannot be sanctioned under Israeli law. Legislation will be brought in in the Knesset. Israel: Tel Aviv District Court Judge Uzi Vogelman rules the government cannot deport the Colombian partner, 32, of a gay man (Israeli citizen and soldier in the Defence Forces), though he entered Israel on a visitors visa which has long expired; a 1999 High Court ruling established that the ministry could not deport foreign nationals married to Israeli citizens. NZ: Civil Union Bill passes second reading, requires a final vote before becoming law; same-sex couples get all of the rights of marriage except the name. Bill introduced by the Labour government with free vote. Spain: Roman Catholic bishops call for a day of protest this Boxing Day in opposition to the country's plan to give same-sex couples the right to marry and to 241

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II promote marriage as a contract solely between a man and a woman; spokesman for Spain's 69 dioceses, Juan Antonio Martinez Camino: "Marriage is an institution with a very concrete profile which allows human beings fully to accomplish their vocation and society to receive their children in dignified fashion." Bill expected to pass next year. Spain: bishops issue statement that the concept of "sexual orientation" is "erroneous": "One cannot choose between man and woman," marriage is "always and solely the union of a man and a woman. Two people of the same sex have no right to contract a marriage. The state, for its part, cannot recognize this right which does not exist, without acting in an arbitrary manner." Pope urges politicians to defend the institution of the family against "grave challenges," invokes the image of Jesus and his family Spain: Cabinet approves gay-marriage bill which is expected to be presented to Parliament in February for debate. Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega : "The right to marry is a right for everyone, without distinction. It cannot be understood as a privilege. The recognition of homosexuals' rights eradicates an unjustified discrimination." Includes adoption, inheritance, retirement. Rome: Pope John Paul, 84, uses pre-Christmas message to accuse gays of an "aggressive attempt to legally undermine the family," calls on Catholics worldwide to step up their opposition to gay marriage. Pope also attacks couples who live together, abortion, and artificial insemination. Huddersfield provides gay marriage facilities; Kirklees Council superintendent registrar Barry Corney welcomes the move to introduce civil partnerships and confirmed ceremonies could be taking place in Huddersfield from November, 2005; anywhere where civil weddings take place - such as Huddersfield Register Office and Huddersfield Town Hall - could see same-sex ceremonies; "It is not classed as a marriage but it gives couples the same legal protection. But it is not essential for people to have a public ceremony. They will be able to come in and have a private declaration if they want. And all the information recorded will be restricted for protection against people using it for homophobic reasons." US: national poll by Quinnipiac University in Camden, Connecticut, finds nearly two thirds oppose same-sex marriage; 51% against, 45% for civil unions; 53% against amending US Constitution to ban same sex marriage. Republican Party says the number of registered Republicans has grown "substantially" since the election Arkansas: Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Fox rules the state Child Welfare Agency Review board overstepped its authority by trying to regulate public morality, banning gay foster parents does not promote the health, safety and welfare of children, children are not harmed by living with gay or lesbian parents, strikes down a 1999 state regulation (policy est by CWARB) banning gay people and anyone living in a household with a gay adult from being foster parents in the state; suit brought by ACLU on behalf of four prospective foster parents (incl William Wagner, straight and married for 31 years, but with a 23-year-old gay son who sometimes lives at home). Arkansas Human Services Department attorney Kathy L- Hall says the state will 242

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II appeal on grounds that the DHS did not go beyond its authority and the ban had the welfare of the children at heart. Dec 2004 CA: under pressure from ACLU, Santa Monica Housing Authority agrees to allow Brett Crowley, 10-year partner of Gene Boccia, disabled man with Section 8 housing assistance, to live with him in a subsidized apartment; housing officials had refused, so couple could not register as domestic partners and get the legal protections for coresident partners; Crowley, a disabled veteran on public assistance, had lived apart from Boccia for the past decade, fearful he could lose his Section 8 housing subsidy. California: San Francisco Superior Court hears same-sex marriage case; SF City Attorney Dennis Herrera says discrimination costs everybody, estimates a ruling for same-sex marriage could boost the city budget $15-20 million a year in lower public health costs (incl visits to city hospitals and health clinics) because samesex couples are less likely to be insured (than married couples, according to recent studies by US Census Bureau and National Center for Health Statistics) and more would qualify for spousal health benefits, also city would get more fees for city services, sales tax revenues from the expected surge in weddings and honeymoon visits, and hotel tax revenues from nonresident weddings. Ruling expected by mid-April. Florida: federal court judge District Judge Cecilia Altonaga dismisses lawsuit seeking a legal ruling that upholds the state's defence of marriage act banning same-sex unions, saying it is not a matter for federal court: "Although the parties have differing opinions regarding the constitutionality of Florida's marriage laws, a mere difference of opinion about the state of the law does not create an actual legal controversy that the Court can adjudicate"; suit one of seven begun in August in Miami and other jurisdictions in the state by Holmes County Clerk Cody Taylor and more than a dozen notary publics and churches which oppose gay marriage. Georgia: Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin imposes fine ($500 a day for each day it does not comply with the ordinance, up to 180 days or $90,000) on Druid Hills Country Club after the city's Human Relations Commission determines Lee Kyser and Randy L. New were victims of discrimination when the club refused to grant their partners family memberships; first time the city's human rights ordinance protecting LGBs is enforced. Georgia has both a Defense of Marriage Act and an Amendment in its constitution banning gay marriage. Club files suit to prevent the city from collecting the fines, asking court to declare Atlanta's human rights ordinance unconstitutional, seeking unspecified damages in compensation for "grave and irreparable harm to the reputation and status of the Club in the community as a result of the City's false and baseless charges of discrimination." Dec 2004 GA: appeals court panel unanimously finds juvenile court judge Herbert Kernaghan Jr. had no evidence that Amber Crosby's "lifestyle" as a reason why she was an unfit mother when he removed her children 4 and 6, and handed one to Crosby's parents, the other to its biological father. Richmond County Department of Family and Children Services had alleged Crosby's domestic partner beat her in front of the children and that the couple took drugs in front of them but failed to support the charges. 243

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Dec 2004 Kentucky: Franklin Circuit Judge William Graham, scheduled to hear a challenge to Kentucky's constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, asked to step down after he discloses he gave a contribution two years ago to the group fighting the measure, Kentucky Fairness Alliance, the state's largest LGBT civil rights group and a supporter of the suit challenging the amendment. Suit over the constitutionality of the amendment centres around the wording of the question on the Nov. 2 ballot (passed by a 3-to-1 margin), which dealt with two separate issues - the first part pertained to marriage, the rest civil unions. Massachusetts: many of largest employers drop health benefits for unmarried gay couples saying gays no longer should receive special treatment in the form of health benefits that are not made available to unmarried heterosexual couples. Incl IBM, Raytheon, Northeastern University and Boston Medical Center. Some of the biggest employers (incl. General Dynamics, FedEx, and NStar) refuse to provide benefits to same-sex spouses and parents even if married; say their health plans are federally regulated so they are complying with the federal Defence of Marriage Act; they have self-insured health plans, viz benefits plans in which the employer, not an insurer, collects the premiums and pays the medical and hospital bills of its workers. Mercer Human Resource Consulting says 66% of large US companies have self-insured plans. The Boston Globe surveys 147 Mass. companies and finds only 35% will provide spousal retirement benefits to the same-spouses of employees (though same-sex marriage legal and spouses of heterosexual workers get them). Most employer-sponsored pensions are federally regulated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, governed by DOMA which bans the recognition by the federal government of same-sex marriage. Most (61%) offer health care benefits to the married spouses of their gay and lesbian workers, but many drop health benefits for unmarried gay couples. Dec 2004 Massachusetts: just over 6 months after same-sex marriage, first gay divorces filed, on obsolete forms that still read "husband" and "wife"; 4,266+ gay marriage certificates have been issued; Hampshire County reported a divorce within two months of first weddings; Kris Mineau, president, Massachusetts Family Institute, "We're not surprised. Particularly among male homosexuals, the promiscuity is just phenomenal." National heterosexual divorce rate hovers near 50% Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm will remove same-sex partner benefits from contracts negotiated with state workers and scheduled for adoption by the state Civil Service Commission on Dec. 15 , citing a voter-approved amendment to the Michigan Constitution that bans gay marriage "and similar unions." Montana: state Supreme Court rules 4-3 the state must provide lesbian and gay employees of the University of Montana System with the option of purchasing health insurance and other employee benefits for their domestic partners; ACLU began the lawsuit Feb 2002 on behalf of two lesbian couples (incl Carol Snetsinger and Nancy Siegel) and PRIDE Inc charging it is unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples access to health insurance, disability coverage and other benefits available to married employees and even to committed opposite-sex couples that signed an affidavit of common law marriage., two of the plaintiffs, have been in a committed relationship for more than eight years. 244

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II Dec 2004 New Mexico: Sandoval County Clerk Victoria Dunlap and Attorney General Patricia Madrid (reportedly) reach tentative settlement in their dispute over same-sex marriage; both refuse to discuss details, say judge said not to. Dunlap still under Madrids injunction not to marry same sex couples. New York trial court judge finds the New York constitution allows the state to continue to exclude same-sex couples from marriage; ACLU says it will appeal because judge said question of whether all people have a fundamental right to marry should be decided by a higher court; case filed on behalf of 13 couples incl NYState Assemblyman Danny O'Donnell and partner John Banta. New York: federal Social Security Administration refuses to recognize any marriage - straight or gay - performed in New Paltz (temporary directive now made permanent); spokesperson for the administration says the policy began with the State of New York: "The state has said that it does not consider (any marriage certificates issued in New Paltz) legal documents, so we are waiting until all of the legal issues on the state level are resolved"; officials at the NY State Department say they had nothing to do with the Social Security policy. SSA then reverses decision, will accept marriage licenses issued for heterosexual couples in communities in Multnomah County and New Paltz. Oklahoma; federal judge U . District Judge Robin Cauthron rules adoption challenge lawsuit filed against OK Governor Brad Henry and AG Drew Edmondson can go forward; judge "If Governor Henry faithfully executes this Oklahoma law pursuant to his duty to do so, no state agency will recognize these Plaintiffs as a family and these Plaintiffs could be deprived of all the legal rights and obligations associated with that relationship." Henry last May signed legislation barring adoptions by gay couples from out of state; OK same-sex already barred from adopting, although single gays can. Suit involves two gay families: Anne Magro and Heather Finstuen, tog 13 years, six-year-old twin girls born to Anne in NJ, adopted through a second-parent adoption by Heather in NJ; Ed Swaya and Greg Hampel, live in Washington State, adopted their two-year-old daughter Vivian in Oklahoma (OK initially refused to issue an amended birth certificate that accurately reflected both men as Vivian's parents after a court in Washington issued an adoption decree, then did) birth mother lives in OK> Pennsylvania's Supreme Court rules Philadelphia has a right to give city employees in same-sex "life partnerships" the same type of worker benefits now enjoyed only by married couples, overturned 2002 lower court ruling that city had overstepped authority and created "a new marital status" by recognizing same-sex relationships. Utah state judge Third District Judge Timothy Hanson awards visitation rights to lesbian Keri Lynne Jones, ex of Cheryl Pike Barlow who claims to have turned straight after "getting religion"; Vermont civil union, broke up. Jones gets right to visit the three-year-old girl, first just for two days a month, but eventually for alternating weekends. Judge says case is not about gay rights, about child being better off with as many caregivers as possible. Canada: Justice Minister Irwin Cotler says, if Supreme Court ruling is for gay marriage: "It is my intention to put it before the House as soon as we return in January. I want to move quickly, that's what I'm saying, and January is when I 245

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CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II would move, as quickly as possible." "We will introduce legislation which will extend civil marriage to gays and lesbians in conformity with the Charter and will protect religious faiths in that no religious official will be compelled to perform a same-sex marriage." Govt will allow a free vote for the Liberal caucus; cabinet members are expected to support a government bill if they want to remain in cabinet. Dec 2004 Supreme Court of Canada answers reference questions from July 2003, 9-0: 1. Is the annexed Proposal for an Act respecting certain aspects of legal capacity for marriage for civil purposes within the exclusive legislative authority of the Parliament of Canada? If not, in what particular or particulars, and to what extent? YES [This q is perhaps a pre-emptive strike at any provincial attempt to thwart the new law, eg Ralph Klein in AB who wants to use the notwithstanding clause. 2. If the answer to question 1 is yes, is section 1 of the proposal, which extends capacity to marry to persons of the same sex, consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? If not, in what particular or particulars, and to what extent? YES. 3. Does the freedom of religion guaranteed by paragraph 2(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protect religious officials from being compelled to perform a marriage between two persons of the same sex that is contrary to their religious beliefs? YES and from January 2004 4. Is the opposite-sex requirement for marriage for civil purposes, as established by the common law and set out for Qubec in s. 5 of the Federal Law-Civil Law Harmonization Act, No. 1, consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? If not, in what particular or particulars and to what extent? NO ANSWER Because the federal government has already accepted lower-court judgments that excluding gays from marrying is discriminatory, the court does not want to create a chaotic situation for couples who have already taken advantage of provincial court appellate decisions permitting same-sex marriages. Actual answer: Held : Question 1 is answered in the affirmative with respect to s. 1 of the proposed legislation and in the negative with respect to s. 2. Questions 2 and 3 are both answered in the affirmative. The Court declined to answer Question 4. The court says times have changed and the legal definition of marriage should change with them: "Several centuries ago, it would have been understood that marriage be available only to opposite-sex couples. The recognition of same-sex marriage in several Canadian jurisdictions as well as two European countries belies the assertion that the same is true today." New Brunswick says it will follow the lead of the federal government in allowing same-sex marriages and will also take steps to protect churches from being sued if they refuse to marry a gay couple. NB is one of three provinces that don't recognize same-sex marriage AB Premier Ralph Klein says the fight is far from over, AN anti-gay-marriage law 246

CLGRO, the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario: The Spousal Collection II remains on books, most Albertans oppose gays and lesbians marrying, urges them to write letters to press the federal government to hold a national referendum on the issue. Cotler declines, says Klein is "trying to do an end-run around the Charter of Rights and Freedoms," calls it a last-ditch manoeuvre that won't work. Klein then concedes the province has virtually no legal options to oppose same-sex marriage. Alberta Justice Minister Ron Stevens says AB could look to Quebec model of registering civil unions to protect its definition of marriage as being a bond between a man and a woman; province registers the union, but couple have to go to a church to be married Conservative leader Stephen Harper plans to put forward three amendments to the bill: 1 to ensure the legislation would preserve the traditional definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman; 2 to protect the rights of non-traditional unions so that they are afforded the same benefits as married couples; 3 to provide substantive protection for religious institutions to be free from performing gay marriages. Federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler now says legislation will contain a clause that lets civic officials to refuse to conduct ceremonies. Manitoba Premier Gary Doer insists MB marriage commissioners must still perform such ceremonies if they want to keep their licences, they are provincial officials and must not discriminate against gay couples. The same policy is in effect in Saskatchewan. NB is preparing legislation to allow court clerks who perform civil marriages to opt out of performing same-sex ceremonies. By the end of the month, Decima poll finds 20% say their next federal vote could be swayed by their MP's stance on gay marriage; 39% for, 37% against; antigayweddings voters most likely to change vote according; older Canadians and those in rural areas, Atlantic Canada and the Prairies most likely to be against; in Atlantic Canada, Man, Sask, and AB nearly half respondents against, only 30% for; support strongest in Quebec, BC, and Ontario - over 40% for, 29-35% against AB, NB, PEI, NWT and Nunavut do not register same-sex weddings. Dec 2004 Newfoundland: two lesbian couples (Jacqueline Pottle and Noelle French; Lisa Zigler and Theresa Walsh) seek the right to marry; for the first time the government will support a marriage lawsuit by same-sex couples; Nfld government does not oppose the suit Newfoundland Supreme Court Judge Derek Green finds barring gays from marrying was unconstitutional, ordered province to issue licenses and register the marriages when they occur. Only PEI, NB, Alberta left now.

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