It was five years ago today that the U.S. Supreme Court issued its historic ruling, Obergefell v. Hodges, making same-sex marriage legal across the entire United States. In light of the happy occasion, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look back at how marriage equality has spread across the globe. Currently, 32 countries recognize same-sex marriage. On September 12, 2000, The Netherlands became the first nation on the planet to legalize marriage equality. On April 1, 2001, the day the law went into effect, the world watched as four same-sex couples exchanged marriage vows in a ceremony officiated by the mayor of Amsterdam. In July 2010, Argentina led the way in South America after several cities including Buenos Aires had allowed gays and lesbians to enter into civil unions. While Denmark made marriage equality legal in 2012, it’s worth noting they were the first country in the world to recognize same-sex couples as domestic partners. (image via ABC News) In 2015, Ireland became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage via popular vote. Until then, other countries came to marriage equality via court ruling or legislation. In 2019, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize marriage equality. Last month, Costa Rica became the first nation in Central America to recognize same-sex marriage. Here are the 32 countries (so far) that have legalized same-sex marriage (in chronological order): The Netherlands Belgium Spain Canada South Africa Norway Sweden Argentina Portugal Iceland Denmark Uruguay Brazil New Zealand England Wales France Luxembourg Scotland United States Ireland Finland Greenland Colombia Malta Australia Germany Austria Taiwan Ecuador Northern Ireland Costa Rica (source: ABC News)
L-R Raven-Symoné and Miranda Maday announce their marriage (via Instagram)Raven-Symoné, who first found fame as a child star on The Cosby Show in the late 1980s, announced on her social media Thursday that she married her girlfriend, Miranda Maday, in a private backyard ceremony. “I got married to a woman who understands me from trigger to joy, from breakfast to midnight snack, from stage to home,” wrote the 34-year-old actress. “I love you Mrs. Pearman-Maday!” The former child star’s full name is Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman. She closed the announcement adding, “Let’s tear this world a new asshole!!! I’s married NOW.”
Shortly before sharing the big news, the former co-host of The View teased her 2.1 million Instagram followers with the message, “So something happened this week, that has changed my life FOR THE BETTER!”
Maday followed Symoné’s big announcement with a post of her own captioned, “8PM ~ my wife for life.” She included a gif of the couple embracing during the ceremony.
“Thank you to all those who helped and for those who understand why it was small during this time,” wrote Symoné in a follow-up post with what appears to be a reference to the ongoing COVID-19 health threat.
Following her childhood roles on The Cosby Show (1989-1992) and Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper (1993-1997), Symoné successfully segued into her teens starring in the hit Disney Channel series, That’s So Raven for four seasons (2003-2007). She received strong reviews for her star turn as ‘Deloris van Cartier’ in the Broadway musical Sister Act marking her debut on the Great White Way. She also appeared in several feature films over the years including two Dr. Doolittle movies with Eddie Murphy for which she garnered an NAACP Image Award nomination. The multi-hyphenate performer has also scored success in the music industry releasing several solo albums. In May 2015, she was announced as a replacement co-host for the long-running gabfest, The View. But in October 2016, she said she would soon be leaving the ABC talk show and teased a return to television acting. Raven’s Home, a spin-off of her earlier series, debuted in July 2017 on the Disney Channel and has aired three seasons. The show has already been picked up for a fourth season. Symoné told the world in 2012 she considered her sexual orientation private, writing, “I’m not one for a public display of my life.” But then, in August 2013, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that struck down parts of the heinous Defense of Marriage Act which denied federal recognition of same-sex marriage, the actress tweeted, “I can finally get married! Yay government! So proud of you!”
I can finally get married! Yay government! So proud of you
In this week’s podcast: • Billy Porter shares his ‘Message to America’ Link to full video here (warning – strong language) • A federal judge issued an important ruling for same-sex married couples • Audible produces a free series of coming out stories titled, Coming Out Party: A Pride Celebration. Click here for more info. • Veteran gay journalist Thomas Roberts has announced a free daily news show featuring ‘gay good news’ titled, Thomas Roberts Live at 5 • The Village People have had enough of Donald Trump • The co-writer/producer of Diana Ross’s “I’m Coming Out” shares a revealing story about the song’s iconic queer history All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report.
(image via Depositphotos) A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that the Social Security Administration (SSA) can’t deny survivor benefits to same-sex couples who were unable to be married for the required nine months due to gay marriage bans. Even though marriage equality became the law of the land in June of 2015, some same-sex couples still found a discriminatory barrier in their way when applying for spousal benefits. Lambda Legal brought a class action lawsuit, Ely v. Saul, which included the case of Michael Ely. Ely met James Taylor (not the famous musician) in 1971 in California. After 20 years together, the couple moved to Tucson, Arizona, where Taylor found work as a jet mechanic and Ely maintained their home. Although same-sex marriage wouldn’t arrive in Arizona for several more years, the two men had a commitment ceremony in 2007. And when the state’s marriage laws changed in late 2014, after being together for 43 years, Ely and Taylor exchanged marriage vows and became legally married. But six months later, Taylor would lose his battle with cancer. SSA denied Ely survivor’s benefits for not being married for nine months, even though that was legally impossible for him in Arizona. James Obergefell, the plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges that ultimately made same-sex marriage legal everywhere in the U.S., was also a plaintiff in Ely v. Saul. Mr. Obergefell didn’t qualify for a lump-sum benefit from the SSA because when his husband, John Arthur, died they had only been legally married for three months due to Ohio’s marriage laws. Even though they were together 20 years, 9 months and 22 days, their three-month marriage wasn’t enough for the SSA.
BREAKING: We just won a class action fight, gaining equal access to Social Security survivor's benefits for same sex spouses across the nation! 💪🏽🏳️🌈
But Judge Bruce G. Macdonald’s decision in the U.S. District Court of Arizona changed all that. Macdonald wrote in his ruling: “Because same-sex marriage is a fundamental right, and the underpinnings of the duration-of-marriage requirement has relied on the unconstitutional ban of that right, it cannot be said to be rationally related to a legitimate interest to a surviving spouse such as Mr. Ely.” Peter Renn, one of the Lambda Legal attorneys, told NBC News that even with the Obergefell decision five years ago, the plaintiffs in the case “have been deprived the protections of marriage” and without this court victory they would have been deprived those protections for the rest of their lives. “Being able to access survivors benefits can make the difference for whether someone can afford the basic necessities of life, like housing, food and health care,” Renn said. Because the court’s ruling also certified the case as a nationwide class action, same-sex spouses across the country who were similarly barred from meeting the 9-month requirement by discriminatory marriage bans will have a pathway forward to relief. One class member, Josh Driggs, from Phoenix, Arizona, already experienced homelessness on two separate occasions after Social Security denied him survivor’s benefits based on his more than 40-year relationship with his husband, Glenn Driggs, and he fell behind in his rent without the financial protection of those benefits. “While these monthly benefits may seem modest, they can make the life-changing difference between having enough food, medication, or a roof over one’s head,” Driggs said. (source: Lambda Legal,NBC News)
During the years leading up to same-sex marriage being legalized nationwide in 2015, LGBTQ activists often extolled the financial upside marriage equality would bring to the economy. According to researchers at the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, those predictions of economic boost turned out to be accurate. Since the ground-breaking 2015 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges, almost 300,000 gay and lesbian couples have exchanged wedding vows. The study’s lead author, Christy Mallory, told Reuters that, in addition to changing the lives of same-sex couples and their families, marriage equality has “has also provided a sizable benefit to business and state and local governments.” Using figures and estimates based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the researchers found $3.2 billion has been spent on same-sex weddings in the U.S. Additionally, wedding guests who traveled to take part in the nuptials doled out $544 million in travel expenses. And state and local governments took in an additional $244 million in taxes related to the events. The data also shows same-sex weddings have helped to support nearly 45,000 jobs. Beginning with Massachusetts in 2003, marriage equality slowly became legal state-by-state. From 2003 to 2015, it’s estimated that 242,000 same-sex weddings were held in the U.S. Today, more than half a million lesbian and gay couples have tied the knot.
Francisco José Alvarado (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • Washington Post: Costa Rica became the latest country to legalize same-sex marriage early Tuesday when a ruling from its supreme court went into effect ending the country’s ban. Costa Rica is the first country in Central America to make marriage equality the law of the land. • 13WMAZ: A married youth pastor in Georgia created a wild story about being kidnapped to cover up his family learning he’d hired a male prostitute to meet him at a local motel. • Reuters: The AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. coalition of labor unions, endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president on Tuesday, promising to launch an effort to beat Republican President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election. The group represents 55 unions and 12.5 million workers. • Instinct Magazine: Francisco José Alvarado (top photo), a 30-year-old doctor from Spain, beat COVID-19 and became Mr. Gay World 2020. This year’s competition was canceled, but the organizers decided Alvarado – who was the runner-up in 2019 – should be given the title for as this year’s global ambassador for LGBTQ rights.
• AlterNet: In late March, when every other European country was in lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus, Sweden’s officials decided that Swedes could be relied upon to follow sanitation guidelines themselves. Restaurants, shops, and recreational spots were allowed to stay open. As of May 19, Sweden had more coronavirus deaths per capita than any other country in Europe. • The Daily Beast: The Justice Department informed lawyers for Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) there will be no insider trading charges filed against Loeffler. The senator and her husband, New York Stock Exchange chairman Jeffrey Sprecher, have denied that their sales of millions of dollars in stock – made shortly after a closed-door Senate intelligence briefing on the coronavirus in early January – had anything to do with that information. • Talking Points Memo: A new study produced by business school profs at Columbia and University of Chicago suggests that viewing Fox News is strongly correlated with ignoring social distancing guidance during the first weeks of the COVID19 epidemic and is in fact driving that non-compliance. • Social Media: The Bidens paid tribute to the nation’s veterans on Memorial Day, appearing in public at a wreath-laying ceremony near his Delaware home. Over the weekend, Biden took a swipe at Donald Trump’s golf habit tweeting, “The presidency is about a lot more than tweeting from your golf cart. It requires taking on the ultimate responsibility for the biggest decisions in the world. Donald Trump simply wasn’t prepared for that. I promise you I will be.”
Some news items you might have missed: • Super Tuesday: Fourteen states are holding primaries or caucusing for the Democratic presidential candidate today, so make sure you get out and vote! Interesting factoid: CBS News reports early exit polling shows slightly more voters in Super Tuesday states want a return to Obama’s policies rather than more liberal policies. • The Advocate: Donald Trump’s Justice Department is weighing in on the side of a Kentucky photographer who doesn’t want to provide services to same-sex weddings, continuing its history under the Trump administration of supporting discrimination. Chelsey Nelson, a photographer in Louisville, filed a preemptive lawsuit in federal court against the city challenging its LGBTQ-inclusive Fairness Ordinance. Note – has never been asked to photograph a same-sex couple’s wedding. • NowThis News: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed a bill Monday banning conversion therapy for minors. According to the Movement Advancement Project, a nonprofit that tracks LGBTQ+ legislation, Virginia will become the 20th state — and the first in the South — to ban the controversial therapy for minors. • The Verge: Apple has tentatively agreed to a $500 million settlement after admitting to slowing down older phones. It covers people who bought any product in the iPhone 6 and 7 lineup — which Apple secretly throttled to conserve battery life. By default, Apple will offer $25 to any current or former owner of a covered iPhone. Named class members will receive $1,500 or $3,500. • NewNowNext: Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted a number of new amendments to the country’s Constitution, including one that would define marriage as between “a man and a woman.” Last month, he said same-sex marriage will not be permitted in the country as long as he is president. • KHOU: After Pete Buttigieg announced he was ending his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Joe Biden told reporters he would definitely approach the former mayor of South Bend to take a role in his administration.
Some news items you might have missed: • Tuesday Tutorial: Beefy Steve Raider (above) gives a lesson in fixing your socks. #SocksWhatSocks? Follow Steve on Instagram here. • Mercury News: Fred Joseph Costanza, who viciously beat a homeless transgender woman for using the women’s restroom at an Oregon park fracturing her jaw and skull in several places, was found guilty of a hate crime and sentenced to six years in prison. He has also been ordered to pay the victim restitution for his attack. • TikTok: Texas transgender teen Andi Bernabe was surprised on his 18th birthday by his high school classmates who raised the funds ($300) for him to legally change his name. His reaction to the gift has gone viral with millions of views.
• Virginia Mercury: Democrats walked off the floor of the House of Delegates Tuesday morning as the pastor invited to give the opening prayer delivered stinging remarks condemning abortion and gay marriage. A man who accompanied the pastor asked reporters if they were aware “sodomy” was once considered an offense worthy of capital punishment. • Out: Though previous research had already shown considerably higher rates of suicidality among queer and trans young people, the latest data from the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS) revealed that LGB youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide compared to straight peers. What can you do? Research shows knowing just ONE accepting adult #WorkToDo • The Guardian: Robyn Peoples, 26, and Sharni Edwards, 27, made history at a ceremony in a hotel in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, on Tuesday afternoon becoming the first same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland. The day also marked their sixth anniversary as a couple.
Some news items you might have missed: • Mancrush Monday: As if it’s any secret I have a ‘thing’ for former pro rugby player Dan Tai (above). You can follow the handsome InstaHunk here. • Belfast Telegraph: Same-sex marriage comes to Northern Ireland today as couples are now able to give notice of their intent to form a civil same-sex marriage to the General Register Office for Northern Ireland. The first same-sex weddings are expected to take place from February 10, following the minimum period of notice of 28 days. • Buzzfeed News: After a year fighting with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) — successfully overturning a policy widely regarded as discriminatory — and nearly two years of intense training, James Bushe, 31, became the first person with HIV to gain a commercial pilot’s license and fly a commercial flight. •TV Line: Rumored backstage tension at Will & Grace did not precipitate the series’ end, NBC’s top exec maintains. “Some things come to a natural end,” NBC Chairman Paul Telegdy explained to TVLine. “[Series creators] Max [Mutchnick] and David [Kohan] told the story they wanted to tell. Just wait for the finale.” • Detroit Free Press: As police search for more men who may have hooked up with accused murderer Mark Latunski, the Grindr cannibal is now pleading insanity. • Daily Dog: This little guy deserves some Twitter attention. Look at him go!
Rick Welts and Todd Gage get married in San Francisco (image via Twitter) Golden State Warriors president Rick Welts married his longtime partner, Todd Gage, on Friday. With San Francisco Mayor London Breed officiating the ceremony, the couple (together for nine years) said their I do’s. In 2011, Welts became the first senior sports executive to come out as gay. In 2018, he was named to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Congratulations to the happy couple!
At 11am today in the Mayor’s office at SF City Hall, Mayor @LondonBreed married Rick Welts and Todd Gage. It was a good day, nine years in the making! pic.twitter.com/NiiVN255eG
It was five years ago today that the U.S. Supreme Court issued its historic ruling, Obergefell v. Hodges, making same-sex marriage legal across the entire United States. In light of the happy occasion, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look back at how marriage equality has spread across the globe. Currently, 32 countries recognize same-sex marriage. On September 12, 2000, The Netherlands became the first nation on the planet to legalize marriage equality. On April 1, 2001, the day the law went into effect, the world watched as four same-sex couples exchanged marriage vows in a ceremony officiated by the mayor of Amsterdam. In July 2010, Argentina led the way in South America after several cities including Buenos Aires had allowed gays and lesbians to enter into civil unions. While Denmark made marriage equality legal in 2012, it’s worth noting they were the first country in the world to recognize same-sex couples as domestic partners. 
Some news items you might have missed: • 