same-sex relationships

COMMENTARY: What is DOMA and why is it bad?

Jon W. Davidson, Legal Director of Lambda Legal
November 29th, 2012

DOMA is the shortened name for the so-called Defense of Marriage Act. DOMA is a federal law that was passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton in 1996, in response to the marriage equality litigation in Hawaii in which Lambda Legal was co-counsel. Some members of Congress were worried that, if same-sex couples won the right to marry in Hawaii, the federal government and other states might have to start honoring those marriages. They passed DOMA in an effort to prevent that.

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In the Raw: The Facebook "status" dilemma

Jennine Estes, MFT - SDGLN Relationship Expert
May 18th, 2012

It takes just a few seconds, but changing your relationship status on Facebook says a lot and can have damaging effects.

Sure, when a break-up happens you’ll want to alter your profile to reflect your true status; but, if you change your status without first informing your significant other, or out of spite, it can create real problems.

Before you change your Facebook relationship status, ask yourself a few questions.

Have you officially ended the relationship in private? What are your motives? Do you already plan on changing it back within a few days?

In the Raw: Seven misconceptions about therapy

Jennine Estes, MFT - SDGLN Relationship Expert
April 9th, 2012

In my counseling office, I work with people from all different walks of life. Each person has a unique step, story, and understanding of the world.

My job as a counselor is to tune into each specific client’s need and focus in on the goal at hand.

One speed bump I often run into while I going down the journey with my clients is that they tend to have a incorrect beliefs about how therapy is supposed to turn out.

EA defends itself against thousands of anti-gay letters

James Brightman - Gamesindustry.biz
April 6th, 2012

EA has been inundated in recent weeks with what GamesIndustry International understands to be "several thousand" letters and emails protesting the inclusion of same sex or LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) content in its video games, most notably Mass Effect 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. When asked, EA confirmed that this has indeed been occurring, and unsurprisingly, EA has no plans to censor any of its games.

Shrink Wrap: A boyfriend with two identities?

Jennine Estes - SDGLN Relationship Expert
March 22nd, 2012

Got an issue that you just can’t make sense of? Shrink Wrap is a new column on SDGLN.com and is the go-to advice and support corner for the LGBT community. It’s similar to a Dear Abby but with a gay twist. Shrink Wrap allows you to ask questions about your personal life, relationships, sex, struggles, and anything else while remaining anonymous. Every week, we will answer up to three questions. Get real answers about real life issues. Anonymous and free! Give it a try, we dare you!

Helpless in San Diego writes:

Study shows longterm LGBT couples suffer from "habit synchronicity"

Dawn Fuller -- Adapted for Science Daily
August 25th, 2011

For better or for worse, in sickness and in health -- there's a long line of research that associates marriage with reducing unhealthy habits such as smoking, and promoting better health habits such as regular checkups. However, new research is emerging that suggests married straight couples and cohabiting gay and lesbian couples in long-term intimate relationships may pick up each other's unhealthy habits as well.