This week your household should have received a Census 2010 form. This year same-sex couples who are married will actually be counted as married couples. Knowing how many married couples and households headed by same-sex couples is critical for OutFront Minnesota's policy work at a local and state level. We will be able to use the numbers of same-sex couples to inform decision-makers about the make-up of our state. While the census will not ask people if they are GLBT, it is still critical for all Minnesotans to complete the census questions. The forms have ten questions that should take you under ten minutes to fill out. It is important for all Minnesotans to be counted because our state could lose representation in Congress if people do not get counted. The census also determines how over $400 billion in federal funds is distributed to the states each year.

If you want more information about the census and GLBT people, please visit http://ourfamiliescount.org/

Just as the legislative campaign to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” began this past week with the newly introduced Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2010, a case arising out of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has altered the way the law is practiced for the nine states within its jurisdiction.
At issue is a ruling in the case of an Air Force major from Washington State who was dismissed from the military after she was found to have been in a lesbian relationship. The court introduced a more stringent standard for dismissal under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Under this standard, in order for a gay service member’s discharge to be constitutional, the military must demonstrate that the firing promotes cohesion or discipline in the unit. In prior cases, a more lenient standard had been applied which required the military to show that the person had engaged in homosexual activity, made statements about being gay, or tried to marry someone of the same sex.

The U.S. government declined to repeal the ruling which leaves in effect two different standards. According to some lawyers, if the military is found to have discharged people within the 9th Circuit without applying the higher standard, it could be forced to pay punitive damages in federal court.
To read more about the 9th Circuit Ruling, visit: www.npr.org

So far, more than 13,500 service members have been fired under the law since 1994, according to the Service members Legal Defense Network. Defense Department figures show 1,047 people were discharged in 2008 and 2009.
HRC (Human Rights Campaign) recently launched a national action alert and announced details of the ongoing campaign to repeal DADT. HRC is asking members and supporters to sign up and join the growing network of supporters to repeal DADT.
To learn more visit: www.hrc.org/RepealDADT

“This report builds on previous efforts to identify legal barriers same-sex couples face, by highlighting priority areas for change,” said David E. Ahlvers, MLBA Board of Directors and Co-Chair of MSBA’s Task Force on the Rights of Unmarried Couples. “It’s a significant roadmap to one approach for statutory reform in the coming years.”

The report from the MSBA’s Task Force on the Rights of Unmarried Couples is premised on the assessment that the Minnesota legislature will not approve marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples in the short term. The report outlines many areas where discrete reforms could be accomplished which would benefit these couples and their families in the meantime. But, according to language the MSBA affirmatively approved today, “The changes proposed … will not effectuate comprehensive equality for unmarried couples, and should not be seen as a sufficient alternative to a comprehensive solution.” Rather, they are short-term improvements the State should consider “while moving toward a viable long-term solution to the problem of wholesale exclusion of same-sex couples from the protection of our legal system.”

Today’s action brings the MSBA closer than ever to endorsing the concept of marriage equality: “The deprivation of access to marriage these couples experience works real harm. … This absolute exclusion fosters a state approved, second class citizenship, and casts same-sex couples into a legal void,” today’s approved language states. “[T]he impact of the disparate treatment is far reaching and detrimental to couples who are not afforded the opportunity to seek the legal protections and obligations of marriage … .”

“The MSBA is clearly moving in the right direction on GLBT issues, including relationship recognition,” says MLBA co-chair Melissa Houghtaling. “We salute the MSBA’s progress, while recommitting ourselves to our years-long work of continuing and expanding the dialog in the legal community about issues our community faces.”

MLBA is a recognized affiliate of the MSBA and of the National LGBT Bar Association.
Click here to read the complete report or click here to read the Executive Summary