Category Archives: Same-Sex

Supreme Court Ruling on Abortion Triggers Fears About Same-Sex Marriage

Many same-sex married couples and LGBTQ advocacy groups have questioned whether the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade might be used to threaten their legal status. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, the court ruled that there is no right to abortion under the Constitution, giving states the power to ban the medical procedure… Read More »

Nassau County Matrimonial Supreme Court Justice Thomas A. Rademaker Gives Standing to Same-Sex Parent Who Seeks Custody and Visitation With the Child

On April 17, 2019 the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division for the Second Department upheld a Decision by the Family Court which gives standing to a same sex parent who is seeking custody and visitation. Justice Thomas A. Rademaker presided over a case in March, 2018 as a Nassau County Family Court Judge. Justice… Read More »

Statistics on Gay Marriage a Year After the Landmark SCOTUS Decision

As of late June 2016, it had been one year since Obergefell v. Hodges, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples had the fundamental right to get married in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. There was a record number of marriages in the last year as a result, but… Read More »

BIG NEWS from the Highest Court of the State of New York – The Most Significant Case for Same-Sex Couples and Child Custody

Kelly Gunn (left) and Circe Hamilton PHOTO: New York Post, Julia Marsh, September 2, 2016 A recent ruling from the New York State Court of Appeals has determined that an unmarried partner that is the non-biological, non-adoptive partner in a same sex marriage can be entitled to parenting rights over a child raised in the… Read More »

37 States Now Allow Same-Sex Marriage

As of late February, 37 states now have legalized gay marriage. Of those 37, 26 legalized it by court decision, eight (including New York) by a vote in the state legislature and three by popular vote. States not yet allowing gay marriage are as follows: Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio,… Read More »

Same-Sex Marriage Breakup Leads to Unusual Custody Battle

New York passed the Marriage Equality Act in 2011, which allowed for the marriage of same-sex couples throughout the state. However, one couple soon found that there were some unusual circumstances surrounding child custody during New York same-sex divorces. Now one woman is left scrambling to figure out how to have access to her adopted… Read More »

Court Affirms Same-Sex Spouses as Parents

The Monroe County Supreme Court recently affirmed same-sex spouses are both parents to a child born during their marriage. The state of New York, when appropriate, seeks to legitimatize the parenthood of two people who are parents to a child of their marriage. In this case, the birth mother of a child born into a… Read More »

Same-Sex Marriage Bans Overturned in Pennsylvania and Oregon

Two more states have joined others, including New York, in legalizing same-sex marriage. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned portions of the Defense of Marriage Act, several states have legalized same-sex marriage or chosen not to oppose court decisions that authorize marriage between two persons of the same gender. In May, Pennsylvania and Oregon followed… Read More »

Same-Sex Marriage Wins the Day in New Jersey

On Monday, October 21, 2013, vows were heard up and down the Jersey coast as same-sex couples gained the right to legal marriage. Although same-sex marriage was legalized in New Jersey in 2012, Governor Chris Christie opposed the measure, only withdrawing his objections when the Supreme Court of New Jersey denied further delay of the… Read More »

Supreme Court Decisions Focus on Same-Sex Marriage

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed two cases before it concerning the rights of same-sex couples. The response of the court on these two issues was as follows: United States v. Windsor — The court ruled Section Three of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional and deprives citizens of their liberty under… Read More »