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The Mississippi Supreme Court heard arguments last week about whether a boy born to a lesbian couple should be legally considered the biological son of his mother's female partner. Because of the nature of the child’s conception and the relationship of the adults in his life, the story is complicated. The two women who were “married” chose to have a child that would be conceived in one of them via anonymous sperm donation. The boy is now six years old. His mother’s “ex-spouse,” who helped raise the child from birth, sought to be recognized as a biological parent when the...

The estranged husband of a well-known Salt Lake City restaurateur and LGBT pioneer who died in a house fire over the weekend has been arrested on suspicion of murder and arson, authorities said. Craig Crawford, 47, was booked after the blaze on Sunday killed 72-year-old John Williams, the owner of the popular Market Street Grill and other restaurants. The fire occurred less than three weeks after Williams filed for divorce from Crawford and sought a temporary restraining order that was rejected, court records show. …

The state Supreme Court in Mississippi, where same-sex marriage is not recognized, will hear arguments Jan. 21, 2015, from a woman who has asked the state to recognize her gay marriage so that she can be granted a divorce. Lauren Czekala-Chatham and Dana Ann Melancon, who married in California in 2008, cannot be granted a divorce in Mississippi due to the state's constitution and statutes, DeSoto County Chancery Judge Mitchell Lundy Jr. ruled last year. "All same sex Mississippi couples lack a right to have their marriage recognized by the state regardless of whether newly arrived here, having lived here...

It finally sank in for Suzanne Rotondo when Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett announced Wednesday he wouldn't contest a federal judge's ruling striking down the state's ban on gay marriage: She could finally get a divorce. The Keystone State was the last holdout in the Northeast to recognize gay marriage. "It feels like my birthday," said Rotondo, 45, who lives in Philadelphia. "I just feel this excitement. Of course there's no 'Yay, divorce,' but it's a victory for being able to have agency, have a say in your own destiny." Rotondo married her partner a decade ago in Massachusetts on their...

Bishop Gene Robinson, whose 2003 election as the first openly gay Episcopal bishop rocked Anglican Communion, has announced his divorce from his longtime partner and husband. Robinson, who retired in 2013 as the Bishop of New Hampshire, and his partner of 25 years, Mark Andrew, were married in a private civil union in 2008. The announcement was made public Saturday (May 3) in a statement to the Diocese of New Hampshire. “As you can imagine, this is a difficult time for us — not a decision entered into lightly or without much counseling,” Robinson wrote in a letter. “We ask...

Colorado’s first recognized same-sex divorce is final. Supporters of Colorado’s civil unions law say the court ruling means gay couples married in other states can legally terminate their relationships here without uprooting their lives. Juli Yim and Lorelei Jones wed in Massachusetts in 2009, where same-sex marriage is legal. … Colorado is one of several states that treat gay and straight couples the same in almost every respect through civil unions or domestic partnerships. Gay couples are not allowed to marry in Colorado but can get divorced under state statute. …

“Glee” star Jane Lynch is divorcing her wife of three years. Lynch married Dr. Lara Embry in 2010 in Massachusetts. She told People magazine in a statement Monday that splitting up was “a difficult decision for us as we care very deeply about one another.” …

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Maryland's highest court ruled Friday that same-sex couples can divorce in the state even though Maryland does not yet permit same-sex marriages. The Court of Appeals ruled 7-0 that couples who have a valid marriage from another state can divorce in Maryland. The case involved two women who were married in California and denied a divorce in 2010 by a Maryland judge. . . . Michele Zavos, Port's attorney, cheered the ruling, because now Maryland will at least recognize same-sex marriages from other states, regardless of the outcome of a referendum, even if opponents successfully get enough...

Central Business District Resembles Hell On Earth As Bodies Pile Up And Armed Men Battle Over Food, Supplies PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CBS) The earthquake aftermath has brought out the best and worst of the people of Haiti. Much like the days after Hurricane Katrina, looting has become a problem very quickly. The looting appears to be isolated to Port-au-Prince's old commercial center. It's an area that under normal circumstances would be filled with many shops, markets and a few homes. But on Wednesday it was a completely different scene. It looked like a war zone. Some of the buildings were on...

DALLAS (AP) -- A Texas judge cleared the way for two Dallas men to get a divorce, ruling Thursday that Texas' ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitutional guarantee to equal protection under the law. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said he'd appeal the ruling, which he labeled an attempt to strike down the ban approved by voters in 2005. "The laws and constitution of the State of Texas define marriage as an institution involving one man and one woman," Abbott said in a written statement. "Today's ruling purports to strike down that constitutional definition — despite the fact that...

The Jamaica Plain lesbians whose passionate love led to the groundbreaking legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts have called it quits and filed for divorce, the Herald has learned. But one-time international gay icons Hillary and Julie Goodridge, who share custody of their 12-year-old daughter, Annie, are less eager to be poster partners for gay divorce. Their case, filed Thursday in Suffolk Probate and Family Court, is impounded.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Gay couples had to struggle mightily to win the right to marry or form civil unions. Now, some are finding that breaking up is hard to do, too. In Rhode Island, for example, the state's top court ruled in December that gays married in neighboring Massachusetts can't get divorced here because lawmakers have never defined marriage as anything but a union between a man and woman. In Missouri, a judge is deciding whether a lesbian married in Massachusetts can get an annulment. "We all know people who have gone through divorces. At the end of that long...

Madrid, 26 June (AKI) - A gay couple has filed for divorce - Spain's first case since the government legalised gay marriages last July. One of the men, a 43-year-old former model who stayed home in the role of "the perfect housewife," is claiming the right to live in the couple's home for the next fifteen years, custody of their dogs and a monthly 'pension' of 7,000 euros from his estranged spouse for the period since 1991 - allegedly to compensate him for the years he wasn't working. The former model claims he took care of the house and the...

Every once in a while, a case comes along that makes me truly grateful to be a Catholic. Our Holy Mother Church has been looking out for us and trying to keep us out of trouble, even when we chafe at her constraints. But when I see the trouble people get themselves into, I am grateful for our Holy Mother’s foresight. That is how I felt when I read the California Supreme Court’s ruling on the April 22 case, K.M v. E.G. Perhaps you don’t remember a case by that name, but surely you remember the headlines: “California Establishes Lesbian...

<p>HARTFORD, Conn. -- A gay couple's attempt to have their civil union dissolved was rejected by a Connecticut appeals court Wednesday in what is believed to be the first such test of the law outside Vermont.</p> <p>Glen Rosengarten and Peter Downes were married in Vermont in 2000, six months after that state enacted the first law in the nation allowing homosexual couples to enter into something akin to marriage.</p> <p>The Connecticut appeals court ruled that it cannot dissolve their union because Connecticut law does not recognize such relationships.</p>