When the city of San Francisco began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples earlier this year, attorney Frederick Hertz received a call from a client seeking advice on whether she and her lesbian partner should obtain one. Hertz, whose office is across San Francisco Bay in Oakland, had no easy answer.“I said to her that when you get married and apply for a loan, the bank’s loan application does not have a box next to ‘Single,’ ‘Married’ and ‘Divorced’ that says ‘Marriage license applied for, validity in question,’ ” recalls Hertz.That kind of uncertainty is becoming increasingly prevalent for same-sex couples as more and more states grapple with the question of just what kind of legal recognition to give their unions.So far, only a few states have recognized some form of same-sex marriage or civil union, but already those measures are creating a patchwork of laws and court decisions with little uniformity. The issue is so fluid that no one can predict whether any consensus will be reached among the states or how state actions would be affected by a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution banning any form of same-sex marriage.The California Supreme Court, for instance, in March put… Read full this story
- In SF's gay rights history, a long road led to victory for LGBTQ pride over old fears
- 2 years into gay marriage equality, Bay Area couples embrace domestic life
- How Jim Obergefell's Fight for His Dying Spouse Legalized Gay Marriage in America
- Colorado's Jared Polis could make history as first openly gay governor
- How This Evangelical Outsider Brought This Year’s Biggest Gay-Rights Case To The Supreme Court
- Every vote counts: five senators who can change the supreme court for decades
- Queer Orthodoxies
- 'This Week' Transcript: Speaker of the House John Boehner
- Full 'This Week' Interview Transcript: Russian President Vladimir Putin
- 'This Week' Transcript: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Sen. Marco Rubio
The Changing Face of Gay Legal Issues have 317 words, post on www.abajournal.com at July 1, 2004. This is cached page on Law Breaking News. If you want remove this page, please contact us.