A Massachusetts city will recognize polyamorous relationships as part of new domestic partnership ordinance
(CNN) The city of Somerville, Massachusetts, will now recognize polyamorous relationships after the city council voted in favor of a new domestic partnership ordinance in a meeting last Thursday. Councilor Lance Davis, who supported the ordinance, told CNN he believes this is the first ordinance of its kind in the country. The domestic partnership ordinance was brought to the city council recently as a means to help residents who are not married to visit their partners who are sick with coronavirus at the hospital, according to Davis. The domestic partnership ordinance was brought to the council by Davis to encompass this change in a virtual meeting Thursday evening. This is Somerville's first domestic partnership ordinance, according to Davis, meaning the city now joins nearby Boston and Cambridge, which also have such ordinances.
โUnited with pride.โ: A look back at Houstonโs first LGBTQ Pride Parade more than 4 decades ago
Nearly 50 years ago, the Stonewall Riots of 1969 in New York were considered the beginning of the modern LGBTQ rights movement. The historical riot was the spark that helped ignite Houstonโs first gay and lesbian organization in the early 70s. However, the city didnโt celebrate its first parade celebration almost a decade later.
Texas lawmakers want to add more LGTBQ safeguards after U.S. Supreme Court guarantees workplace protections
LGBTQ Texans marked a major victory Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal civil rights law prevents employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. But in Texas, which did not have such workplace safeguards, LGBTQ lawmakers and advocates say they are far from done fighting for other essential protections. Employment discrimination protections, they say, are necessary but not sufficient for advancing the equal treatment of LGBTQ Texans. The fight for LGBTQ rights has been a long and arduous one in Republican-dominated Texas. In pushing for comprehensive nondiscrimination protections, LGBTQ lawmakers and their allies are also making an economic case.