The Boy Scouts of America emailed members and parents over the weekend asking their thoughts on the organization's ongoing gay ban, the LGBT news outlet Dallas Voice reported yesterday.
From the Dallas Voice:
“The Boy Scouts of America is in the process of a careful and deliberate review of our membership policy, as it relates to the national membership restriction regarding sexual orientation,” the BSA wrote in an email announcing the survey. “We are dedicated to the integrity of this process. In an effort to listen to our members’ perspectives and concerns, we ask you to answer some questions about this topic and about your overall Scouting experiences.”
Proponents of the California ban on same-sex marriage (Proposition 8) have asked the United States Supreme Court to hear the case in what would be the final showdown of the state's same-sex marriage ban.
The case could have far-reaching impact on similar marriage bans across the country.
The new legal challenge comes after both federal District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found Prop 8 violated the U.S. Constitution.
The American Foundation for Equal Rights said today via a media release that if the court decides to hear the case, Theodore B. Olson and David Boies, who successfully argued against the law before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, would once again argue that marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples represent a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution.
In a case that risked far-reaching consequences, the Georgia Court of Appeals recently upheld a second-parent adoption involving a lesbian couple, but avoided taking a stand on whether the state’s ban on same-sex marriage impacts the legality of second-parent adoptions overall.
First reported in the Fulton Daily Report, the case involves Nicole Bates and her former partner, Tina Bates. Nicole Bates became pregnant through an anonymous sperm donor in 2007 and she wanted her partner, Tina, to adopt the child so both could be legal parents.
The second-parent adoption was approved in Fulton County by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville. Although the couple did not live in Fulton County, their attorney said it would be easier to get a same-sex second parent adoption approved there.