Hawaii could become the 15th state to legalize gay marriage. On Monday, lawmakers picked up the battle for marriage equality in the Aloha State.
“I think Hawaii has always celebrated its sense of Aloha for one another,” Governor Neil Abercrombie told Reuters. “This is a question of equity.”
The Hawaiian Supreme Court ruled in 1993 that it was discriminatory to deny marriage rights to same-sex couples. But five years later, a wave of conservatism led voters to approve a constitutional amendment limiting marriage rights to only heterosexual couples. Hawaii has allowed same-sex civil unions since 2011, after Abercrombie became governor in 2010.
Other states are also making moves towards marriage equality. Two same-sex couples in Texas have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s gay marriage ban and are seeking a court order to stop state officials from enforcing it. Meanwhile, in New Mexico, the state Supreme Court will deliberate on same-sex marriage after county clerks statewide asked the court to clarify state law. Several county clerks have already begun issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. And last week, gay marriage became legal in New Jersey.
Everybody’s favorite lesbian, Ellen DeGeneres, is at it again. She’s currently working with NBC to create a new TV show with a lesbian lead. Openly gay comedy scribe Liz Feldman, writer for 2 Broke Girls, also joins the team. Warner Bros TV, along with DeGeneres’s A Very Good Production, will co-executive produce the so-far untitled project.
The premise of the show will center on a lesbian and her longtime, straight male best friend. She becomes pregnant just as he meets and marries the love of his life.
DeGeneres made history 16 years ago — a much more difficult time to be gay and in the limelight — when she came out publicly on her ABC sitcom Ellen.
A Florida Atlantic University student says he wasn’t allowed to borrow a laptop from the campus library because of his sexuality. Two librarians allegedly told the openly gay senior that he didn’t look like the photo on his university-issued ID card because in person he looked and acted like a female. A third librarian finally allowed him to use a laptop, he said, but he’s filed a complaint against the school.
This article appears in Oct 24-30, 2013.