A Transgender woman and San Francisco resident Amber Yust settled her privacy and civil rights lawsuit with the San Francisco DMV. In October 2010, a DMV employee, who had a known history of denying equal service to transgender customers, retained Yust's personal information through his employment at the DMV. The employee then used the information to send her materials condemning her transgender status, and calling for homosexuals to be "put to death."
S.F. gay married couple's immigration case denied, spouse ordered to leave
The immigration petition of Bradford Wells, a U.S. citizen, and Anthony John Makk, a citizen of Australia, was denied by Federal Authorities, on the basis that the marriage was not recognized under federal law. Citing the Defense of Marriage act, the immigration officials denied Makk's petition to seek permanent residency stating: "The claimed relationship between the petitioner and the beneficiary is not a petitionable relationship. For a relationship to qualify as a marriage for purposes of federal law, one partner must be a man and the other a woman." The couple had been together for 19 years and were married seven years ago in Massachusetts. The decision is especially difficult due to the fact that Wells has AIDS and is dependent on Makk as his caregiver. Read more about this couple. This case is yet another example of laws which deny same sex couples benefits granted to married couples. The Defense of Marriage Act in particular arguably violates equal protection rights under the Constitution.
