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Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Gay Rights

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  • Edie_thea_marriage

    "Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement": Film Portrays Lesbian Couple Behind Defense of Marriage Case

    The lead plaintiff in the Defense of Marriage Act case before the U.S. Supreme Court is an 83-year-old lesbian named Edith Windsor. She sued the federal government after she was forced to pay additional estate taxes because it did not recognize her marriage to a woman, Thea Spyer. Windsor and Spyer met in 1962, got engaged soon after, but did not marry until 2007, near the end of Spyer’s life. Their life story was captured in the award-winning...
    Mar 28, 2013 | Story
  • Seg_4

    Debate: Does Marriage Equality Reinforce a Conservative Institution or Support Social Change?

    As the U.S. Supreme Court heard two major cases this week on marriage equality, we look at how the issue has divided some in the LGBT movement. Longtime activist and blogger Scot Nakagawa wrote a popular essay this week called "Why I Support Same Sex Marriage as a Civil Right, But Not as a Strategy to Achieve Structural Change." The article drew so much traffic that it crashed his server, twice. We speak to Nakagawa and Marc Solomon,...
    Mar 28, 2013 | Story
  • Supreme_court-1

    Inside the Landmark Same-Sex Marriage Supreme Court Case: Recordings of Oral Arguments, Plaintiffs

    For the second day in a row, the U.S. Supreme Court is confronting the issue of same-sex marriage, hearing arguments today on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, that denies federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples. On Tuesday, the justices considered the legality of California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage. Representing two couples challenging the ban, attorney Ted Olson condemned Proposition...
    Mar 27, 2013 | Story
  • Gaffney-lewis-protest-dc

    "A Historic Moment": California Couple on Decades-Long Legal Struggle for Marriage Equality

    Stuart Gaffney and John Lewis have been deeply involved in the struggle to legalize same-sex marriage. They were two of the plaintiffs in the historic 2008 lawsuit that held California’s ban on same-sex marriage violated the state constitution. They have been together for 26 years and married in 2008 before Prop 8 passed. Both work at Marriage Equality USA: Gaffney is the media director, and Lewis is the legal director. In addition, Gaffney...
    Mar 27, 2013 | Story
  • Dean_hara

    Widower of First Openly Gay Congressman Fights DOMA for Denying Benefits to Married Same-Sex Couples

    The U.S. Supreme Court continues its session on the issue of same-sex marriage, hearing arguments today on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. DOMA was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996 and denies federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples. We are joined by Dean Hara, a plaintiff in another lawsuit against DOMA. He is the widower of U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds, the first openly gay member of Congress. Hara...
    Mar 27, 2013 | Story
  • Vawadixon_keisling2

    New Violence Against Women Act Includes Historic Protections for Native American and LGBT Survivors

    President Obama has signed into law historic new protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault with the expanded reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. Initially passed in 1994, the bill lapsed in 2011 after Republicans blocked it over the new protections. The measure was approved after House Republicans finally allowed a vote last week. It includes a landmark addition that empower Native American tribal authorities...
    Mar 08, 2013 | Story
  • Button-kushner

    Playwright Tony Kushner Hails Obama's Support for Same-Sex Marriage: "I Felt the Earth Move"

    In an historic announcement, President Obama has become the first U.S. president to support same-sex marriage. We get reaction from acclaimed playwright and activist Tony Kushner. In 2003, he and his partner became the first same-sex couple to appear in the Vows section of the New York Times. "I felt the earth move," Kushner says. "It’s one of those moments where you feel a corner being rounded and the actual change, or the...
    May 10, 2012 | Story
  • Thumbncgayvote

    North Carolina Voters Approve Constitutional Amendment Banning Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Unions

    North Carolina voters have turned out in large numbers to pass a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as solely between a man and a woman. While North Carolina law already bans same-sex marriage, the amendment means civil unions and potentially other types of domestic partnerships will no longer be recognized legally by the state. Some lawyers say the measure is vaguely worded and could impact the state’s 150,000 straight couples...
    May 09, 2012 | Story
  • Cece mcdonald

    "CeCe" McDonald: Black, Transgender Woman Faces Murder Trial for What Supporters Call Self-Defense

    A transgender African-American woman is set to go on trial next week on charges of second-degree murder for an altercation after she was reportedly physically attacked and called racist and homophobic slurs outside a Minneapolis bar last year. Chrishaun "CeCe" McDonald received 11 stitches to her cheek and was reportedly interrogated without counsel and placed in solitary confinement following her arrest. There were reports that the...
    Apr 27, 2012 | Story
  • Button-drugforaids

    "How to Survive a Plague": As ACT UP Turns 25, New Film Chronicles History of AIDS Activism in U.S.

    This weekend marks the 25th anniversary of ACT UP — the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power — an international direct action advocacy group formed by a coalition of activists outraged over the government’s mismanagement of the AIDS crisis. We speak with ACT UP founding member Peter Staley, one of the longest AIDS survivors in the country; and David France, director of the new documentary "How to Survive a Plague," which tells a...
    Mar 23, 2012 | Story