Oklahoma allows adoption by an unmarried couple or adult, regardless of sexual orientation. [10] Lesbian couples have access to fertility treatments and in vitro fertilization. State law recognizes the non-genetic, non-gestational mother as the legal parent of a child born through donor semination, but only if the parents are married. [11] Although there are no specific surrogacy laws in Oklahoma, courts have ruled that the practice is legal and surrogacy contracts can be recognized as legally valid. Pregnancy contracts and traditional contracts are recognized, although the latter can lead to potential legal conflicts and more litigation than the former. The State treats opposite-sex and same-sex couples under the same conditions. [12] The couple came into the spotlight a few years ago when a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled in favor of their marriage equality lawsuit, which was first filed in 2004 but languished in the court system for years. That judgment was appealed to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which also ruled in his favor. It was one of the few cases likely to go to the Supreme Court. In April 2013, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed UNHCR 1009, a non-binding resolution affirming marriage as “between a man and a woman” and demanding that the U.S. Supreme Court uphold Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the right of states to regulate marriage. It passed 84-0, with 71 Republicans and 13 Democrats voting in favor.
16 Democrats left the House instead of voting in protest. The Oklahoma Senate approved the resolution later that month. [7] The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on DOMA Article 3 in United States v. Windsor on June 26, 2013. She said that in her gut, she doesn`t believe marriage equality will be overturned. Barton and Phillips sued for recognition of their legal marriage in California, while the Bishops-Baldwins sued for the right to marry in Oklahoma. The two couples didn`t know each other before the case, but Sharon Bishop-Baldwin said they always supported each other throughout the litigation.
Oklahoma`s marriage and family laws state that the name by which the party will be known after marriage becomes the party`s full legal name when filing the marriage certificate with the court. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down DOMA in 2013 and recognized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015. But in Oklahoma, voters added an amendment in 2004 banning same-sex marriage. The day after the vote, Barton and Phillips joined another couple, Mary and Sharon Bishop-Baldwin, in a lawsuit against the state of Oklahoma and the United States on November 3, 2004. (The lawsuit was later changed against the U.S. and Oklahoma attorneys general, and eventually filed again against the Tulsa County Law Clerk.) On the day it released Bishop, the Tenth Circuit immediately suspended its decision pending a writ of certiorari petition to the U.S. Supreme Court. Id., p. 1096. On October 6, 2014, the U.S.
Supreme Court dismissed the writ of certiorari petition, upholding the Tenth Circuit`s decision in Bishop. See Smith, et al. v. Bishop et al., No. 14-136, — S.Ct. —-, 2014 WL 3854318 (US Oct. 6, 2014) (“Application for order of certiorari dismissed.”). On the same day, the Tenth Circuit cancelled its stay in Bishop, allowing same-sex marriages in Oklahoma. See Bishop et al.
v. Smith et al., No. 14-5003, 14-5006, 2014 WL 4960523 (10th Cir. 6 Oct. 2014). In agreement with Bishop, the SSA determined that same-sex marriages can take place in Oklahoma starting October 6, 2014. See Program Operations Manual System (POMS) General (GN) 00210.003 (updated October 10, 2014 to show that Oklahoma allowed same-sex marriages as of October 6, 2014 and recognized same-sex marriages from other states as of October 6, 2014). However, in the wake of marriage equality, the Oklahoma legislature began introducing new anti-LGBTQ laws in 2015 and 2016, Bishop-Baldwin said. So she started spending a lot of her time trying to reduce the legislation, which took the writing out of the book. In 1975, the Oklahoma legislature passed its first law defining marriage as “a man and a woman.” [2] In 1996, the Oklahoma legislature passed another law defining marriage as “one man and one woman” and prohibiting same-sex marriages contracted outside the state from being recognized in Oklahoma.
[3] Yes. According to the decision of the bishop of the tenth district and the cancellation of the residence by the tenth district, same-sex marriage has been legal in Oklahoma since October 6, 2014. Accordingly, there is no legal distinction between same-sex married couples and opposite-sex married couples with respect to marriage under Oklahoma law; Same-sex couples in Oklahoma can change their name because of their marriage to the same extent as opposite-sex married couples. Under Oklahoma common law, any adult or emancipated person can change their name at will and without legal process, as long as the person has not changed their name for an illegal or fraudulent purpose. Sneed v. Sneed, 585 P.2d 1363, 1365 (Okla. 1978). Under Oklahoma common law, a married woman acquired her husband`s surname as a habit. Id.
c. 1365. The Oklahoma Change of Name Act, Oklahoma Change of Name Act, Oklahoma Stat. 12, §§ 1631 – 1637, now provides for the exclusive method of changing a person`s name, unless the change is made by marriage, divorce decree or adoption. See Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 12, § 1637 (2014). If a name change is requested as a result of marriage, Title 43 Oklahoma Marriage and Family (“Title 43”) sets out the procedures for changing a party`s legal name in accordance with the Change of Name Act. See Okla. Stat.
Ann. tit. 43, §§ 5, 6, 8, 9 (2014). SSA may process the name change because SSA uses Oklahoma law to determine what documents are required to support a legal name change on the social security card and number registration of the number holder. Under Oklahoma common law, any adult or emancipated person can change their full name at will, as long as the change is not for an illegal or fraudulent purpose, without trial. Under the Change of Name Act, Oklahoma`s marriage and family laws require a party applying for a marriage certificate to provide the full name by which the party will be known after marriage. 43, §§ 5, 6, 8 (2007). Oklahoma`s marriage and family laws state that the name by which the party will be known after marriage becomes the party`s full legal name when filing the marriage certificate with the court.
The same documentation acceptable under Oklahoma law to make a legal name change due to marriage is also acceptable to SSA for the same purpose and for issuing a replacement card with the applicant`s new name. In this case, the presentation of the applicant`s current driver`s license with the applicant`s current name and the applicant`s marriage certificate with the current and future name provides acceptable documentation for SSA to change the applicant`s full name on the Numident and issue the applicant with a replacement Social Security card. Republican Rep. Todd Russ, the bill`s author, said he wanted to remove the state from marriage and pledged to “defend divine values and divine leadership in government.” Still, Barton and Phillips say it “a whole new world” for themselves and other same-sex couples these days. The marriage rights they fought for have been won, and younger generations of LGBTQ people have role models, words, expressions, positive images, and representation to normalize their experiences and identities. Upon its founding in 1890, the Oklahoma Territory received Nebraska`s penal code and common law, which punished sodomy (“crimes against nature”), whether heterosexual or homosexual, with up to one year in prison. That same year, the Oklahoma Legislature passed a law criminalizing sodomy with a prison sentence of up to 10 years. The crime was completed only after penetration. The law applied to consenting adults and married couples. The first recorded case of sodomy occurred in 1917, when a judge ruled in Ex Parte DeFord that fellatio (oral sex) violated the sodomy law. Also in Roberts v. In 1935, the Oklahoma Court of Appeals ruled that cunnilingus was a violation of the law.
In 1943, LeFavor v. The same court rejected claims that the sodomy law only applies to people of the same sex, confirming that it applies universally regardless of gender or sexual orientation. [2] Atheists and agnostics in Oklahoma are not satisfied with the prospect of almost all marriages being placed in the hands of the clergy. “The way this law is written makes it against marriage. It`s just as harmful and hurts everyone,” said Troy Stevenson, executive director of Freedom Oklahoma. After Vermont recognized same-sex civil partnerships in 2000, Barton and Phillips signed up for civil partnerships in Bennington, Vermont, in 2001 — a union that was not recognized in Oklahoma. Supreme Court justices sparked an uproar in Oklahoma and at least four other states — Utah, Virginia, Indiana and Wisconsin — when they refused to review federal appeals court rulings that overturned the ban on same-sex marriage. Oklahoma`s constitutional amendment defined marriage between a man and a woman and prohibited the recognition of same-sex marriages entered into in other states.