JURIST - Family law

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King said Thursday that New Mexico law does not necessarily allow same-sex marriages. The statement does not directly comment on the matter, as it was made in response to a pending lawsuit in New Mexico brought by a same-sex couple. In a policy memo released by King....... [more]

The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled Thursday that couples in same-sex civil unions should be awarded the same income tax benefits as married couples. This ruling is a retroactive interpretation of the Civil Partnership Act of 2001, which recognized civil unions, but did not explicitly....... [more]

On June 5, 2007, the California State Assembly approved a measure restoring the state's marriage definition to its pre-1977 gender-neutral language. The measure was in response to the passage of Proposition 22, which changed that definition in March 2000. The bill eventually passed in the State Sena....... [more]

The Nigerian House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill making same-sex marriage a crime punishable by a maximum of 14 years in prison. Further, any person who witnesses, aids, or abets same-sex marriages; operates gay organizations; or engages in same-sex public displays of affection coul....... [more]

JURIST Guest Columnist Eric Segall of the Georgia State University College of Law evaluates the implications of same-sex marriage cases before the Supreme Court, and their effect on upcoming challenges to affirmative action...Between now and the end of June, the Supreme Court will rule on the consti....... [more]

The House of Commons of the UK Parliament voted 366-161 on Tuesday to approve the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill. The legislation was introduced in January and will effectively extend the application of the Marriage Act of 1949 to same-sex as well as opposite-sex couples. The bill allows for an e....... [more]

On May 20, 1996, the US Supreme Court held unconstitutional Amendment 2 to Colorado's state constitution because it violated the Equal Protection Clause. Amendment 2 prohibited the state and municipal governments from enacting, adopting or enforcing anti-discriminatory legislation that protected per....... [more]

Portugal's Parliament voted Friday to approve a law allowing same-sex married couples to adopt their partners' children. The Parliament also voted on Friday to reject the Left Bloc and Green Party's proposal to grant gay couples the same adoption rights as heterosexuals. The bill approved by Parlia....... [more]

French President Francois Hollande gave final approval Saturday to legislation legalizing same-sex marriage and establishing the right of same-sex couples to adopt. The widely controversial bill, which was part of Hollande's campaign pledges, was was approved by parliament last month, but France's U....... [more]

France's Constitutional Council on Friday approved a same-sex marriage bill. The legislation was approved by parliament last month, but former president Nicolas Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement party filed a legal challenge. The court rejected the challenge but did clarify that the right of s....... [more]

On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first state in the union to legalize same-sex marriage. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that the state's constitution prohibited a ban on same-sex marriage passed in November 2003. Attempts to rev....... [more]