Wed in the World: Taking the Good with the Bad

Good news for Massachusetts and the Cherokee offset struggles in Arkansas and England.

ARKANSAS

The Arkansas State Supreme Court threw out a ruling that would have allowed married same-sex couples to include the names of both spouses on their child’s birth certificate. The court insisted it was of greater importance to “truthfully record the nexus of the biological mother and the biological father to the child.”

ENGLAND
Church of England hospital chaplain Jeremy
Pemberton appealed a ruling preventing clergy from marrying same-sex partners. As part of the ruling, Pemberton was described as being “aware his marriage would be seen in conflict with the teachings of the church and he would thus be viewed as not in ‘good standing’.”

GIBRALTAR
Gibraltar, the British Territory on the southern
end of the Iberian Peninsula will have marriage equality in 2017. Members of its parliament unanimously approved marriage rights for same-sex couples this past fall. Equality Minister Samantha Sacramento stated, “This bill will place all couples on the same footing as other couples already married at the registry office.”

MASSACHUSETTS
Walmart recently announced a settlement in the
lawsuit alleging their discrimination against LGBT employees, wherein same-sex couples were denied equal health insurance benefits. As part of the agreement, Walmart will compensate couples denied of spousal benefits for three years before January 1, 2014. The total settlement is roughly $7.5 million.

TAHLEQUAH
The Cherokee Nation will recognize same-sex marriages, according to Todd Hembree, the tribe’s attorney general — citing the precedent that Cherokees had gay marriage centuries ago. “The right to marry without the freedom to marry the person of one’s choice is no right at all,” Hembree opined. “The history of perpetual partnerships and marriage among Cherokees supports the conclusion that Cherokee citizens have a fundamental right not only to choose a spouse but also, with mutual consent, to join together and form a household irrespective of sexual orientation.” This reverses a tribal law from 2004.

TAIWAN
Over 20,000 Taiwanese marched through Taipei in demonstration against a measure their parliament is anticipated to pass replacing “man and woman” with “two people” in the country’s definition of marriage, which would make it the first Asian country to approve same-sex marriage.