Gay marriage louisiana
There’s no Place Like Home: Same Sex Marriage and Divorce in Louisiana
Gay and lesbian couples who were legally married in Delaware or Minnesota may sense like strangers in a strange land in Louisiana. Although New Orleans has a vibrant gay and lesbian community and Baton Rouge’s “gay-friendly” 2014 ranking has increased to 22 points out of a possible 100 in the Human Rights Campaign’s third annual Municipal Equality Index, neither city’s courts provide access to divorcing identical sex spouses. The lack of access is due to Louisiana’s definition of marriage as a civil contract between a dude and a woman.
Divorce and its related proceedings such as spousal support and the use and division of community property are derivatives of marriage. Without marriage, there are no such remedies. What can a gay or woman loving woman couple do if they were legally married elsewhere but now wish to be divorced in Louisiana? There is no distinct answer to this doubt, at least for now. It may be of some comfort to such couples that as far as Louisiana courts are concerned, their marriage is a nullity ab initio (from the beginning). If there is no marital property, no children, and no need for one of them t
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman upheld Louisiana’s ban on same-sex marriage Wednesday, the first time a federal judge has ruled against marriage equality proponents since the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling last year in U.S. v. Windsor invalidated a portion of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
In his long-awaited 32-page decision, Feldman dismissed a lawsuit brought by same-sex marriage proponents who argued that Louisiana’s exclude violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law, writing that Louisiana has a “legitimate interest” in “addressing the meaning of marriage through the democratic process.”
It marked the first day since the Windsor decree that a federal assess has decided a state’s authority to define marriage trumps the right of a gay or woman loving woman couple to equal treatment, snapping an unbroken string of victories for gay-rights advocates in states from Utah to Virginia.
But Feldman’s decision is not the end of the legal struggle over gay marriage in Louisiana. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, led by the Forum for Equality Louisiana, announced immediately that they would appeal the decision to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appea
Despite pleas from the Homosexual community, lawmakers have shelved a bill that would have allowed voters to decide whether to delete from the Louisiana Constitution language that defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
In 2004, Louisianans amended the constitution to combine that language, effectively banning same-sex marriage. That bar no longer has teeth after a 2015 Supreme Court decision legalized gay marriage nationwide.
Still, state Rep. Mandie Landry, a Democrat from New Orleans and one of the most progressive voices in the Legislature, proposed House Bill 98 to get rid of the constitution’s definition of marriage, which she argues is now unconstitutional.
On Monday, her bill floundered in the House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure. The 8-5 vote fell mostly along party lines, though Rep. Brian Glorioso, R-Slidell, joined Democrats in voting not to defer the bill.
Lawmakers heard emotional testimony from Louisianans in same-sex marriages who said the legislation would be an important step toward acceptance.
Rustin Loyd, a gay man from the Hammond area, described his relationship with a bloke before same-sex marriage was legal. When his
The Freedom to Marry in Louisiana
Winning Marriage: June 26, 2015
The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the freedom to wed nationwide on June 26, 2015, allowing all gay couples in Louisiana the ability to marry once and for all. The decision followed more than a year of marriage litigation in Louisiana.
History and the Path to Victory:
- 1988: The Louisiana legislature passes a state statute restricting marriage to different-sex couples. The state adds further restrictions to its Civil Code in 1999.
- September 18, 2004: Opponents of the freedom to marry in Louisiana push through Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment denying same-sex couples the freedom to marry and any other legal family status. The amendment cements clearly discriminatory language into the Louisiana Constitution.
- 2004-2013: As Americans nationwide engage in conversations about why marriage matters, national and local advocates in Louisiana obtain strides toward increasing comprehending of same-sex couples and their families.
- July 16, 2013: Same-sex couples and counsel file a federal legal case seeking the liberty to marry in Louisiana, Robicheaux v. George.
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