Photo: Eric Holder. Credit: The Aspen Institute/flickr.
Attorney General Eric Holder announced Friday that marriages taking place in states impacted by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not hear several cases challenging same-sex marriage bans will be recognized by the federal government.
“I am pleased to announce that the federal government will recognize the same-sex marriages now taking place in the affected states, and I have directed lawyers here at the Department of Justice to work with our colleagues at agencies across the Administration to ensure that all applicable federal benefits are extended to those couples as soon as possible,” Holder said in a video released by the Justice Department. “We will not delay in fulfilling our responsibility to afford every eligible couple, whether same-sex or opposite-sex, the full rights and responsibilities to which they are entitled.”
On Oct. 6, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear arguments in cases challenging same-sex marriage bans in five states — Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Indiana and Wisconsin — thus allowing lower court decisions legalizing marriage equality in those states to stand. Because the Supreme Court left intact rulings by the 4th Circuit, 7th Circuit and 10th Circuit Courts of Appeals striking down same-sex marriage bans in those five states, those appeals courts’ decisions applied to six other states in those three circuits: West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming.
One day later, in a decision unrelated to the Supreme Court’s Monday decision, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that same-sex marriage bans in both Idaho and Nevada are unconstitutional. The three judge panel heard arguments last month considering the bans, as well as Hawaii’s, although the Hawaii ban is defunct since same-sex marriage was legalized by the state Legislature. That decision is expected to apply to Alaska, Arizona and Montana, which are covered by the 9th Circuit.
Due to those two decisions by the Supreme Court and the 9th Circuit, marriage equality is on the path to being legalized in a total of 35 states, plus D.C.
“With their long-awaited unions, we are slowly drawing closer to full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans nationwide,” continued Holder, who announced last month that he would step down as attorney general once a successor is nominated and confirmed.
Although every federal appeals court to consider same-sex marriage bans have struck them down, Holder noted that a split among the circuit courts could occur, alluding to a long-awaited decision by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. That court, when considering the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans in in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky this past August, appeared most skeptical to ruling on the side of marriage equality. The court has not yet issued decisions in those cases.
“[I]f a disagreement does arise, the Supreme Court may address the question head-on,” Holder said. “If that happens, the Justice Department is prepared to file a brief consistent with its past support for marriage equality.”
In a historic but under-the-radar move, South Korea's Ministry of Data and Statistics has updated its digital registration system for the 2025 Population and Housing Census to recognize "spouse" or "cohabitating partner" as valid responses for same-sex households.
The change fixes a long-standing issue from previous censuses, when same-sex partners who selected "spouse" saw their answers flagged as errors -- forcing them to instead list themselves as "other cohabitants," according to Time magazine.
The system's failure to accept "spouse" from same-sex couples effectively erased them from the data, rendering LGBTQ households invisible to government agencies and civic organizations that rely on census information to allocate resources and funding.
In a heated October 9 debate in Virginia’s governor’s race, Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears defended her belief that treating LGBTQ people differently from heterosexual or cisgender individuals does not amount to discrimination.
Earle-Sears, who trails in most public polls, used the debate as a last-ditch attempt to paint former Democratic Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger as extreme, out of touch, or untrustworthy. She pressed Spanberger on issues like transgender participation in sports and restroom access. She attacked her for not calling on Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones to withdraw after his comments appeared to endorse political violence.
Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for Virginia governor, has released a new ad attacking her Republican rival, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, for claiming during a recent debate that firing someone for being gay -- or for opposing same-sex marriage -- does not amount to "discrimination."
Titled "That's Not Discrimination," the ad focuses on Earle-Sears' long record of opposing LGBTQ rights throughout her two-decade political career.
It mixes clips from Earle-Sears' contentious debate with Spanberger at Norfolk State University with a news report about how Earle-Sears penned a handwritten note on a bill she was required to sign -- a procedural duty of her role as Virginia's lieutenant governor and presiding officer of the Senate -- expressing her moral opposition to same-sex marriage.
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