A top court in Colombia has officially legalized same-sex marriage in the country. Same sex couples who were already allowed to form civil partnerships, are now permitted to get married just like other heterosexual couples.
This new law places Colombia as the fourth country in Latin America to legalize same sex marriages. Argentina was the first Latin American country to take the step in July 2010 before Brazil
and Uruguay followed suit.
Same-sex marriage is now legal in the Republic of Ireland, after legislation passed by referendum in May came into effect Monday.
The Irish state became the first in the world to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote when the Marriage Act 2015 was passed, reports the BBC.
Same-sex couples who have been wed abroad will now be legally recognized by the state, while gay and lesbian couples who want to marry will be able to do so. People already in civil partnerships can now choose to wed as well. The law will not affect the legal status of existing civil partners who do not want to get married.
More than 62% voted in favor of same-sex marriage during the May 23 referendum.
?Caitlyn Jenner clarified her stance on same-sex marriage in a new blog post on Monday, revealing that her interactions with new friends and acquaintances have helped her learn that people who should have the right to marry who they choose. After receiving some backlash over comment made during a recent interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Caitlyn some time to re-think her position.
During a recent episode of ?The Ellen DeGeneres Show, ?Caitlyn was asked about same-sex marriage. While she did say she was “on board” with the idea, to many viewers watching she seemed rather unsupportive in the wake of the supreme court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage.
Read More: cosmopolitan
Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has been released from jail and has returned to work, but she wants her name and title removed from all marriage licenses.
“Effective immediately, and until an accommodation is provided, by those with the authority to provide it, any marriage license issued by my office will not be issued or authorized by me,” Davis told a crowd gathered at the Rowan County Judicial Center on Monday.
“I love my deputy clerks and I hate that they have been caught in the middle. If any of them feels that they must issue an unauthorized license to avoid being thrown in jail, I understand their tough choice and I will take no action against them,” Davis said. “Any unauthorized license that they issue will not have my name, my title or my authority on it. Instead, the license will state that they are issued pursuant to a federal court order.”
Credit: cosmopolitan
A county clerk in Kentucky has again refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, invoking her religious beliefs and God’s authority, this time in defiance of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against her.
On Tuesday morning, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis’ office denied the licenses to at least two couples. At first, Davis was in her office with the door closed and blinds drawn. But she emerged a few minutes later, telling the couples and the activists gathered there that her office is continuing to deny the licenses under God’s authority.
Davis asked David Moore and David Ermold, a couple who has been rejected four times by her office, to leave. They refused, surrounded by reporters and cameras.
“We’re not leaving until we have a license,” Ermold said.
“Then you’re going to have a long day,” Davis told him.
From the back of the room, Davis’ supporters said: “Praise the Lord! … Stand your ground.”
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene in the case, leaving Davis no legal grounds to refuse to grant licenses to gay couples. A district judge could now hold her in contempt, which can carry steep fines or jail time.
Davis has steadfastly refused to issue the licenses, saying her deeply held Christian beliefs don’t let her endorse gay marriages.
Read More: AP
Late in 2014 when my friend, Zachary, invited me to his wedding taking place in The Berkshires this September, I was less concerned about having to travel all the way from Abuja to Massachusetts. Zachary is gay. “What if lightning comes and strikes the building?” I asked. He replied that there had so far been under 100, 000 gay marriages in the U.S. — and no bolts. “Of course, my partner and I could be the last straw,” he added.
That exchange may have been facetious, but many Nigerians are genuinely terrified of gay marriage. And they are distraught over the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to legalize gay marriage in America.
They express sadness and pity for what is supposedly God’s Own Country. They predict America’s inevitable decline. But the emotion most potent in their words is fear. The kind you might expect from news of an impending tsunami. Many Nigerians appear terrified that, having finally won the victory on home soil, America will now set its sights on imposing similar legislature in countries like Nigeria. “We must resist this wave,” I have heard people say.
Rumors of America’s plan of action have already started making the rounds. Over the past few days, a number of articles in local newspapers have revealed what some Nigerians believe to be the secret agenda behind President Obama’s invitation to Nigeria’s new president, Muhammadu Buhari. Allegedly, the meeting, scheduled to take place in the White House on July 20, is aimed at persuading President Buhari to repeal Nigeria’s infamous Same Sex Prohibition Law signed by the previous Goodluck Jonathan administration. “Beware of Obama’s Invitation,” read a headline in one of Nigeria’s dailies.
A June 2015 survey conducted by Nigeria’s NOI Polls (which works in collaboration with Gallup) shows that 90% of Nigerians believe their country would be a better place without homosexuals. In addition, 81% do not agree that gay people should have the same rights as other Nigerians. Only 30% of Nigerians were shown to believe that gay people deserved equal access to public services such as healthcare, housing and education.
Despite these hair-raising data, I would be surprised if the anti-gay bill were the only reason why President Obama has extended this warm invitation to Nigeria’s president, what with issues like Boko Haram currently siphoning global attention. But if indeed he has the welfare of gay Nigerians in mind, President Obama must proceed with caution.
Read More: cnn
