Gay USA April 19-25, 2011 and Marriage News Watch May 2, 2011 with Matt Baume

We will talk with Edie Windsor and her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, about their fight to get Edie’s marriage to the late Thea Spyer recognized by the federal government. She has had to pay more than $350,000 in estate taxes that she wouldn’t have had to if her late spouse was a man. Since President Obama and the US Department of Justice will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act because they see it as unconstitutional, Republican House Speaker John Boehner just hired a big high power lawyer to deny rights to the 81-year old lesbian widow. You can learn more about the case at:
http://inr.synapticdigital.com/MarriageAct_37570/ or at the ACLU's website at:
http://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/windsor-v-united-states-thea-edie-doma

Edie and Thea, who were together for 40 years before getting married, are the subject of a 2010 documentary, "Edie and Thea: A Very Long Engagement"



What really prompted a prominent law firm to give up its defense of DOMA, and lose a key lawyer in the process? The date's been set for a showdown over the secret Prop 8 trial tapes, and over Judge Walker's personal life. Rhode Island legislators give up on marriage in favor of civil unions, and New York keeps ratcheting up the pressure with a massive lobbying effort slated for next week.