Newsday Tuesday: July 7 Edition

I hope that everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. I know I definitely did. It was so exciting to be in the nation's capital for the anniversary of our nation's Independence. I spent my 4th of July evening watching the spectacular fireworks display from the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Georgetown with some of the fellow FMF interns. Even though it was a holiday weekend, the news did not stop happening. So let's catch up with this week's events!

LGBTQ Rights

• The big news in DC is that today, the District will begin recognizing the marriages of same-sex couples performed in other jurisdictions. However, this does not mean that the District will begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
  

• Tuesday, the DC Superior Court rejected a proposed referendum that aimed to overturn recent legislation that would recognize marriages of same-sex couples performed in other jurisdictions. The DC Board of Elections and Ethics rejected the same proposal for a referendum in June stating that it "would authorize discrimination prohibited by the Human Rights Act" and would "strip same-sex couples of the rights and responsibilities of marriage that they were afforded by virtue of entering into valid marriages elsewhere."
  

• The Delhi High Court in India on Wednesday ruled that sexual activity between consenting same sex partners was no longer a criminal act. After 8 years of proceedings and campaigning from gay rights activists, this decision makes homosexuality legal for the first time since the British colonial era.

• In the case of Diane Schroer, the Department of Justice chose not to appeal a decision in which a US District Judge ruled that the Library of Congress violated the Civil Rights Act. Schroer, a former U.S Army colonel and a transgender woman, was offered a job from the Library of Congress only to have the offer rescinded when she told her employer she was in the process of transitioning.

Abortion Access

• The Planned Parenthood in El Paso, Texas, is closing after 72 years due to financial difficulties. The closure announcement comes just one month after the location discontinued services for HIV/AIDS patients, also because of funding issues.

• The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is again asking an Arizona court to stop Maricopa County Sheriff Joseph Arpaio from preventing female inmates from accessing abortion services. Arpaio allegedly began requiring women to pre-pay for security and transportation costs associated with acquiring an abortion.

Election Update

• On Tuesday, Minnesota's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Democrat Al Franken was the winner of November's Senate race after denying Republican Senator Norm Coleman's appeal. Franken's victory helps to reinstates Minnesota's full representation in the Senate and gives the Democrats and the Independents a 60-seat majority in the Senate.
  

Immigration

• On Thursday, the US Department of Health and Human Services released proposed regulations that would repeal a ban preventing HIV-positive foreigners from entering the country. The 1987 ban prohibited foreign nationals with HIV from obtaining visas for travel to the US and prevented them from becoming legal permanent residents.

Global

• Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a decree last week that increased the penalty for honor killing from a one year maximum sentence to a minimum prison sentence of two years. Women's rights groups in Syria are acknowledging the new law as a small step in the right direction, while maintaining that it does little to discourage honor killing.

Photo courtesy of mikbor @ flikr.com