NewsWrap for the week ending Jan. 15, 2011

SUMMARY

Irish Imports - Ireland recognizes same-gender marriages and civil partnerships legally performed in other countries ...

Coverage Con Carne - Mexico's Institute of Social Security allows gays and lesbians legally married in Mexico City to insure their spouses in the national health-care system ...

Defending DOMA - U.S. Justice Department files its first appeal of two federal court rulings declaring a key provision of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional ...

More Hard Slogging - Log Cabin Republicans continues to pursue its lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Don't Ask Don't Tell despite Congressional action in late December to authorize repeal, while a conservative Republican Congressman introduces a bill that could effectively block or at least stall the repeal process ...

Second Thoughts - U.S. State Department backtracks on new guidelines to replace "mother" and "father" with "parent" on children's passports and in consular reports of births abroad to American expatriates ...

Marriage Marches On - leader of New Hampshire's now Republican controlled House tells reporters that there won't be an effort to repeal the state's two-year-old marriage equality law this year, while marriage equality bills are progressing in Rhode Island and Maryland, and Maryland's governor says he supports the bill in his state ...

Honourable Mentions - four LGBT activists are named Members of the Order of the British Empire in Queen Elizabeth II's New Year Honours ...

Heroic Homosexual - one of the life-saving heroes of the Tucson, Arizona mass shootings, Daniel Hernandez, who spoke at the memorial service for the victims and was honored by President Barack Obama there, is a proudly "out" young gay man

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