InfoAnda - Pioneering plaintiff wants DC's 1st gay marriage

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Sit-tight rulers risk African Spring: Nobel Laureate Soyinka | | 2 February 2012
Amazon betting on cloud computing, sacrificing some profit | | 26 April 2011
Fay Weldon paints bleak picture of future in novel | Entertainment | | 29 August 2009

Valentine's Day poised for box-office win | | 12 February 2010

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Pioneering plaintiff wants DC's 1st gay marriage

Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Africa Europe Latin America Middle East North America Pioneering plaintiff wants DC's 1st gay marriage By JESSICA GRESKO,Associated Press Writer - Sunday, January 3 Send IM Story Print WASHINGTON – Craig Dean's first wedding was attended by thousands, and as he recited his vows, gay couples behind him on Constitution Avenue echoed their own. It was 1993, and Dean and boyfriend Patrick Gill headlined what was billed as the largest gay marriage ceremony at the time. Dean, 29, and Gill, 26, were celebrities after suing the city of Washington for denying them a marriage license. They'd been on CNN, were profiled in The Washington Post and sat on Oprah's couch. And though they lost their landmark case, the city last month finally did what it had refused to do back then: Legalize gay marriage. Dean, who now lives in South Carolina and runs a talent agency for gay and lesbian speakers, said he cried when he read the news. "They owe me a marriage license," he said. The law still has to survive a review by Congress, which has final say over the district's laws. Lawmakers appear unlikely to intervene though, so gay couples could be marrying in Washington _ legally this time _ by March. It would be the sixth place in the country where gay marriages are allowed. And Dean, who carries bittersweet memories of his and Gill's pioneering effort, wants the first spot in line. Dean and Gill were not practiced advocates when they applied for a marriage license in November 1990. Dean had just graduated from Georgetown University's law school. Gill worked in the men's accessories department of Macy's, selling pens and umbrellas. But Dean was "young and brash and ambitious and forthright," said their lawyer, William Eskridge Jr., and Gill, though less publicly confident, was "charming" and a "babe." They made for a model case, Eskridge said. "It was really the first lawsuit of this new era," said Eskridge, a Georgetown law professor at the time who now teaches at Yale University. Just filing for the marriage license made many established gay groups angry. Some thought the pair was asking for too much and feared a backlash. Lambda Legal Defense Fund executive director Tom Stoddard called their challenge "shortsighted." Washington was "probably the worst jurisdiction in the country" to try to legalize same-sex marriage, said Stoddard, an influential advocate who died of AIDS in 1997. Let other places do it first, he urged, then come back to the city. Dean didn't back down, drawing motivation from the time Gill was rushed to the hospital and Dean hurried to the emergency room, only to be told he couldn't see his partner. If they were married, things would be different, Dean thought. So he researched the city's laws and was convinced nothing in the code prevented them from getting married. The lawsuit went on five years. Ultimately, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled against the pair. District laws were never intended to let gay couples marry, wrote Judge John Ferren, who still sits on the court. His colleague, John Terry, also a sitting justice, was more blunt: "They are, of course, free to refer to their relationship by whatever name they wish. But it is not a marriage, and calling it a marriage will not make it one." For Dean, the defeat was personal. Dean said he believes the pressure of the case also affected the health of his boyfriend, who had AIDS. "He was really holding on in the hopes that we would win," Dean said. Gill died in June 1997, just over two years after the decision. "Whether it became legal or not, he was my husband," Dean said. "If anything it was a marriage in the way we lived our lives." In Dean's garage sit five boxes with typed briefs, notes and letters from the case. A marriage rights banner he helped carry in marches in San Francisco and Washington is in his attic. His current partner, photographer John Blevins, told him not to cry when the district passed its law last month; he should be proud. Blevins and Dean met several months ago on a blind date, but their romance has moved fast. On Christmas, Blevins put a ring in Dean's stocking and asked, "Would you do the honor of marrying me?" "Yes," Dean said, as long as he gets a real Washington wedding. And he has a message for the marriage bureau: "The first name on the list should be the one who is waiting 20 years." Recommend Send IM Story Print Related Articles UK-World Summary Reuters - 52 minutes ago Snowboarder suffers `traumatic brain injury' AP - 1 hour 5 minutes ago Scores arrested in north Texas cockfight raid AP - 1 hour 28 minutes ago Calif. pastor takes in $2.4M after donations plea AP - 2 hours 28 minutes ago Lessons of a weekend of free health care AP - 2 hours 51 minutes ago News Search Top Stories Beat the blues by going to bed early: study Italian banks face first class action lawsuits German businesses abuse scheme to save jobs Insurer Allianz sees good year for Germany in 2010 Handball Henry still a fan favourite More Top Stories » ADVERTISEMENT Most Popular Most Viewed Most Recommended 'Snowbama' time in Hawaii Japan Airlines 'may stop international flights' Handball Henry still a fan favourite Beat the blues by going to bed early: study Oil prices rise on last day of 2009 More Most Viewed » Tiger's wife Elin seeking divorce: reports British priest defends urging people to shoplift Century-old butter found in Scott's Antarctic hut Brazilian confesses to sticking needles into two-year-old Plastics component affects intestine: study More Most Recommended » Elsewhere on Yahoo! Financial news on Yahoo! Finance Stars and latest movies Best travel destinations More on Yahoo! News Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Subscribe to our news feeds Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS » More news feeds | What are news feeds? Also on Yahoo Answers Groups Mail Messenger Mobile Travel Finance Movies Sports Games » All Yahoo! Services Site Highlights Singapore Full Coverage Most Popular Asia Entertainment Photos Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Community | Intellectual Property Rights Policy | Help

Other News on Sunday, 3 January 2010
Gaza Hamas rulers approve $540 million budget
Italian banks face first class action lawsuits
Venezuela captures bigger drug haul in 2009 |
Afghan parliament rejects most of Karzai's cabinet nominees
German businesses abuse scheme to save jobs
Israel acts like the world's "spoilt child"
Somali charged with attempt to kill Danish cartoonist
Saudi FM says Israel behaves like 'spoiled child'
Insurer Allianz sees good year for Germany in 2010
Danish cartoonist's assailant charged with attempted murders
Bin Laden daughter should be free to quit Iran
Iran issues 'ultimatum' to West over nuclear swap
Iran gives West ultimatum to accept uranium swap
Yemen president to work with U.S. to boost security |
Late cleric's son warns of more Iran turmoil
Bin Laden daughter should be free to quit Iran: Saudi Arabia |
Picasso, other art works stolen from French villa |
Karzai visits south Afghanistan, rockets land nearby |
Bomb suspect may not have begun trip in Ghana |
Blaze at Ohio mobile home kills 2 kids, 2 adults
Early morning NC apartment fire kills 1, injures 4
Pakistan volleyball game bomb toll hits 93
Smoke smell sends NYC-bound jet back to Boston
10 die as trains collide in fog-bound northern India
Afghan parliament rejects most Cabinet nominees
Cop group's card played role in Times Square scare
Oil leak pollutes large stretch of China river
Remains of early 1900s plane found in Antarctica
China expected to grow 9.5% in 2010
Picasso, other art works stolen from French villa
Picasso, other art works stolen from French villa |
Rush Limbaugh says doctors found nothing wrong |
Afghan MPs reject Karzai cabinet nominees
Thousands march in Spain for ETA prisoners' rights
China says H1N1 flu spreading into the countryside |
Tablets and netbooks to be electronics show stars
Beat the blues by going to bed early: study
'Google phone' debut expected this week
Hundreds evacuated as floods hit eastern Australia |
Turkey, Georgia, UAE bankroll Caucasus rebels: Russian television
Iran warns West it will make its own nuclear fuel
China sees long-term stability struggle in Xinjiang |
Sandra Bullock Named Top Money-Making Star Of 2009
US commander in Iraq says troop drawdown on track
Mike Tyson Escapes Criminal Charges For Punching Paparazzo
"Happy ******* New Year" As Lady GaGa Strips And Rocks Miami
Mexico detains brother of slain drug boss |
Colombian volcano erupts, evacuation ordered |
Afghan parliament rejects most of Karzai's cabinet nominees
Bomb suspect reached out to UK militants: report |
Danish cartoonist attacker suspected of al Qaeda ties |
U.K. says it, U.S. agree to fund Yemen police unit |
Tablets and netbooks to be electronics show stars
China sees long-term stability struggle in Xinjiang
Snow paralyses Beijing as north China braces for cold
Race link 'presumptuous' in Indian killing: police
Scores arrested in north Texas cockfight raid
Fla. police nab man in Thanksgiving killings of 4
Workers contain fuel leak in China river
Watch out: Thieves rob Tokyo jewellery store
Calif. pastor takes in $2.4M after donations plea
Heavy snow brings Beijing to standstill
Lessons of a weekend of free health care
China says H1N1 flu spreading into the countryside
Gloom and fury as Pakistan attack toll nears 100
3rd body found after Detroit apartment fire
Pioneering plaintiff wants DC's 1st gay marriage
Afghan parliament rejects Karzai's Cabinet list
Remains of early 1900s plane found in Antarctica
Obama sees sea life at Hawaii park, goes to beach
FAA watching American Airlines after 3 mishaps
GOP leader says US leaders can overcome problems
Eurozone faces 2010 debt crisis
Counterfeiting in China thrives: experts
Asahi to tie up with Carlsberg in Hong Kong: report
Canada's Chinese immigrants assimilate quickly, easily
Bono calls for control over Internet downloads
Hamas says in final stage of Fatah reconciliation
Iraq to support Blackwater lawsuit in U.S. courts |
Iran says West agreed to wait over nuclear proposal
Iran MPs reject call for subsidy bill withdrawal |
Iran MPs reject call for subsidy bill withdrawal
Abbas to Egypt for talks on Mideast peace efforts
Death toll from Brazil mudslides rises to 76 |
Joint Israeli-German cabinet meeting rescheduled
Iran: Clash with drug smugglers kills 11 policemen
Hamas says in final stage of Fatah reconciliation |
Israel FM questions Palestinian president's authority
Roadside bomb kills former Pakistan minister |
Death toll in central Somalia fighting rises to 47 |
BAA to introduce full-body scanners at UK's Heathrow |
Opposition nominates south Sudanese for president |
Pope's secretary visits woman who floored pontiff |
About 1,000 Australians evacuate homes from floods
US, Britain close Yemen embassies over Al-Qaeda threats
Will latest jobs bill really produce jobs?
One thousand forced to flee Australia floodwaters
UN official: Afghan Cabinet dispute a 'setback'
The nation's weather
Five leap to their deaths in China to flee fire
Friends of missing Utah mom launch Web media blitz
Sister accidentally runs over, kills brother
Malaysian govt to appeal 'Allah' ruling: minister
US, Britain widen anti-terror front in Yemen
3 Pakistanis convicted in Indian blasts escape
Australian PM pens children's book
Clijsters starts New Year in style in Brisbane
Peruvian court upholds 25-year sentence for Fujimori
Tokyo bourse to launch high-speed trading system
Samsung aims to quadruple LED-backlit TV sales
A far-off museum to save an Ethiopian tribe's soul
French bakery offers future to Afghan minority children
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01