Today, the U.S. Supreme Court declined review of the Box v. Henderson case filed by the State of Indiana in June of 2020, which presented the Court with the issue of whether a state may adopt a biology-based birth certificate system that includes a rebuttable presumption that a birth mother’s husband-but not wife-is the child’s
Bostock, A Lesson in Diplomacy, and Always Take the Picture
I had the opportunity to attend the 2019 John Hemphill Dinner with members of our firm and other guests, where Justice Neil Gorsuch was the featured speaker. After the event concluded, the attendees had a brief opportunity to meet and take a picture with Justice Gorsuch. I posed for a picture alongside my mentor and
Update from Oklahoma on non-bio parent custody
Oklahoma Supreme Court finds non-biological parent to have the *same rights* to a child born during a same-sex relationship as the biological parent. “A nonbiological parent stands IN PARITY with a biological parent…. Lori did not act in the place of a parent; she is a parent.”
The Court put in place the following standard
Back story: Pidgeon case on spousal benefits for same-sex couples dismissed
Newly-elected Judge Sonya L. Heath of the 310th District Court of Harris County dismissed the Pidgeon case last week after ruling on competing final motions for summary judgment by either party.
In 2013, the Houston Mayor directed that the City provide employee benefits to spouses in same-sex marriages, the same as spouses in heterosexual
ABA Opinion on Judicial Ethics in Performing Same-Sex Marriages
The American Bar Association’s Standing committee on Ethics released a formal opinion last week on guidance for judges performing same-sex marriage: In wake of landmark decision, ABA issues guidance for judges performing same-sex marriages. Their guidance interprets the Model Code of Judicial Conduct.
The Formal Opinion 485 incorporates procedures and policies developed for judges
Will you be my LGBT Valentine?
Love is for everybody. It’s a nice thought. But sort through the greeting cards at literally any store and the chances of finding something queer-themed, or even remotely non-heterosexual, is going to be low, low, low.
It doesn’t feel nice to be left out. So, here’s a website with download-and-print Valentine’s Day cards, classic e-Card
Equal Parent Benefits for All Couples
Suzan and Kimberly McLaughlin, a married lesbian couple, conceived a child using artificial insemination with an anonymous donor in 2011. When the parties later separated in 2013, Kimberly began restricting Suzan’s access to the child. Suzan filed a lawsuit seeking to be recognized as a parent that same year. In April 2016, the trial court
Lesbian Couple Disqualified from Adopting Refugee Child
So, can a lesbian couple adopt a refugee kid through Catholic Charities of Fort Worth? Funny you should ask.
When Fatma Marouf and Bryn Esplin, both attorneys and professors at Texas A&M University, learned that there were as many as 300,000 homeless or unaccompanied refugee children worldwide, they decided to adopt or foster one. They
Laws that prohibit divorce from a valid marriage violate human rights
The United Nations ruled in August that an Australian law that prohibits divorce between same-sex couples validly married from another country to divorce violates international human rights obligations.
The case was taken to the UN by Fiona Kumari Campbell, who married her ex-partner in Canada in 2004, before the couple separated later that year. Dr
LGBT film Moonlight wins best picture
Forget about all the other nonsense, let’s celebrate that an LGBT film won best picture at the Academy Awards! Moonlight presents the life of the main character Chiron and the struggles he faces with his own sexuality as well as the physical abuse that he receives as a result of it.
The movie begins in