Gay marriage puerto rico
Judge Upholds Same-Sex Marriage Ban in Puerto Rico
A federal judge on Tuesday upheld Puerto Rico's same-sex marriage ban, ruling that last year's landmark Supreme Court decision on marriage rights doesn't necessarily apply to the unincorporated territory.
The U.S. Supreme Court's June decision in Obergefell v. Hodges requires all states to issue marriage licenses to gay couples and to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.
But in his decision on Tuesday, U.S. District Court Assess Juan Pérez-Giménez said that the Obergefellruling doesn't necessarily include Puerto Rico.
"One might be tempted to assume that the constant reference made to the 'States' in Obergefell includes the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico," Pérez-Giménez wrote in his decision. "Yet, it is not the role of this court to venture into such an interpretation."
The judge based his ruling on Puerto Rico's status as an "unincorporated territory" that "is not treated as the functional equivalent of a State for purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment."
Therefore, Pérez-Giménez concluded, the U.S. C
Top 5 questions we verb about gay weddings, including is gay marriage legal in Puerto Rico?
#5 . Q: &#;Is Puerto Rico gay friendly?&#;
A: We can only speak from our experiences. In dozens of weddings in gay wedding venues in Puerto Rico, often in public places, we have not once had a single instance of homophobia. Quite the contrary &#; Puerto Ricans love romance and weddings! Our couples sometimes uncover themselves posing for photos and selfies with curious and outgoing members of the public offering congratulations and felicidades.
#4. Q: &#;Is there a waiting period to make our gay marriage legal in Puerto Rico? Is the process complicated?&#;
A: No, and not if you trail our instructions and guidance. Unlike many other Caribbean islands, where gay marriage is not even legal, there is no waiting period to get married in Puerto Rico. It&#;s even possible to appear in the morning, receive your marriage license and be legally married in Puerto Rico the adj day (though we&#;d encourage taking a bit of time to enjoy the island!)
#3. Q: &#;We yearn to make sur
Same-sex marriage right reaches Puerto Rico (FURTHER UPDATED)
FURTHER UPDATED Friday p.m. Judge Gelpi on Thursday ruled in a two-page order that the Puerto Rico ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. He scheduled a conference with lawyers for next Monday to talk about how to make the new marriage-equality right a legal reality in the commonwealth.
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UPDATED Thursday p.m. Reacting fast to the First Circuit Court&#;s order, the clerk in San Juan used the court&#;s random assignment system to turn the case over to District Judge Gustavo A. Gelpi, Jr. He is a former solicitor general of Puerto Rico. He had also served as a law clerk to the judge from whom he now takes over the same-sex marriage case.
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Stripping a federal trial judge of authority to decide anything further about same-sex marriage in Puerto Rico, a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that the Supreme Court&#;s decision in favor of such unions applies fully in the commonwealth. In denying that right last month, the San Juan judge&#;s ruling &#;errs in so many respe
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The Puerto Rican government on Friday announced it will no longer defend the U.S. commonwealth’s same-sex marriage ban.
“Because of sexual orientation, Puerto Rico has denied rights that others enjoy,” said Justice Minister César Miranda during a urge conference in San Juan. “This is not correct.”
The announcement coincides with a brief Gov. Alejandro García Padilla’s administration filed with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, which is hearing a lawsuit against the island’s same-sex marriage ban.
“To the extent that commonwealth law does not afford homosexual couples the matching rights and entitlements that heterosexual couples enjoy, the commonwealth recognizes that equal protection and substantive due process guarantees mandate application of heightened scrutiny in this case,” reads the brief. “Under said heightened standard, the commonwealth cannot responsibly advance before this court any interest sufficiently important or compelling to justify the differentiated treatment afforded so far to plaintiffs.”
García had previously defended the gay nuptials