All Blog Posts
Liberty and Justice for All: Marriage Equality Wins (Again) in New Hampshire
On March 21, 2012, the Republican-controlled New Hampshire House of Representatives fought back a repeal of marriage equality by a vote of 211 to 116. Staff Attorney Janson Wu, who served on the steering committee of the campaign to fight repeal, shares his thoughts on this incredible victory.
Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day—except if you’re gay
Gays need not apply when it comes to marching in South Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It’s hard to believe in the year 2012, but organizers – the Allied Veteran’s War Council under the leadership of Parade Organizer Philip J. Wuschke Jr. – continue to exclude LGBT organizations from participating in the festivities.
Warning: Same-Sex Married Couples and Medicare Part B
When you turn 65 you must enroll in Medicare Part B or face a 10% lifetime penalty for every year you fail to enroll. So if you wait until age 70, you will be paying an additional 50% premium in addition to the regular Part B premium for the rest of your life. However, Medicare does allow two exceptions to this rule…
Ask the InfoLine: Tax Time, Married Same-Sex Couples & DOMA
It’s tax time, and for married same-sex couples the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) can cause a number of problems.
Ask the InfoLine: LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS Resources for You
GLAD now has a Resource List for each of the six New England states. You can either access the list online (see individual links below) or we can mail you your state’s Resource List in printed form- just contact GLAD’s Legal InfoLine.
Mass. Appeals Court Gets It Right in Same-sex Couple’s Custody Dispute
We love to see headlines like the one atop a story in today’s Boston Globe: Same-sex parents share role, court says The story details a ruling by the Massachusetts Appeals Court which said that state law gives two people equal legal standing when a child conceived by artificial means is born during a marriage, despite the fact that the law specifically refers to a “husband” and a “married woman.”
Important News for Massachusetts Public Retirees
On November 18, 2011 Governor Deval Patrick signed Chapter 176 of the Acts of 2011, “An Act Providing for Pension Reform and Benefit Modernization.” One section of this law allows retirees who retired under Chapter 32 of the Massachusetts General Laws on or before May 17, 2004 choosing Option A or B, and then married a person of the same sex on or before May 17, 2005 to change to Option C retroactive to their retirement date. Option C allows for a spouse to continue receiving a monthly retirement income after the retiree dies. This option is also available for the surviving spouse of a retiree provided the conditions above are met. Chapter 32 of the General Laws covers most Massachusetts state, county and municipal employees, including public school teachers.
Advocating for Better MA State Police Conduct
Over two years ago, GLAD began to receive complaints through our Legal InfoLine from gay men who reported that some Boston Police officers were acting very aggressively towards gay men who were just walking through or near the Fens. Officers would approach the men and ask very invasive questions and threaten people with arrest if they did not answer truthfully.
As a result of these complaints, representatives from the Anti-Violence Project, the Violence Recovery Program at Fenway Community Health, the Male Center of AIDS Action Committee, the LGBT liaison from the Mayor’s Office and GLAD began to meet on a regular basis with some of the Boston Police leadership, including the Superintendent, and with the officer who is the liaison to the LGBT community.
World AIDS Day: The Fight is Not Over
GLAD Senior Legal Assistant Joseph Wildey reflects on his generation’s experience with the epidemic, and how the fight is not over. Please share.
Justice, justice, we shall pursue.
On passage of the Massachusetts Transgender Equal Rights Bill