Feels like mid-30s in parts of Canada, while other areas expecting snow
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Emails and phone calls from same-sex couples, worried about the legal status of their marriages and keeping their children, flooded attorney Sydney Duncan's office within hours of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision eliminating the constitutional right to abortion.
The ruling last week didn't directly affect the 2015 decision that paved the way for same-sex marriage. But, Duncan said, it was still a warning shot for families headed by same-sex parents who fear their rights could evaporate like those of people seeking to end a pregnancy.
"That has a lot of people scared and, I think, rightfully so," said Duncan, who specializes in representing members of the LGBTQ community at the Magic City Legal Center in Birmingham.
Overturning a nearly 50-year-old precedent, the Supreme Court ruled in a Mississippi case that abortion wasn't protected by the Constitution, a decision likely to lead to bans in about half the states. Justice Samuel Alito said the ruling involved only the medical procedure, writing: "Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion."
But conservative Justice Clarence Thomas called on his colleagues to reconsider cases that allowed same-sex marriage, gay sex and contraception.
The court's three most liberal members warn in their dissent that the ruling could be used to challenge other personal freedoms: "Either the mass of the majority's opinion is hypocrisy, or additional constitutional rights are under threat. It is one or the other."
That prospect alarms some LGBTQ couples, who worry about a return to a time when they lacked equal rights to married heterosexual couples under the law. Many, fearful that their marital status is in danger, are moving now to square away potential medical, parental and estate issues.
Dawn Betts-Green and wife Anna Green didn't waste time shoring up their legal paperwork after the decision. They've already visited a legal clinic for families with same-sex parents to start the process of making a will.
"That way, if they blast us back to the Dark Ages again, we have legal protections for our relationship," said Betts-Green, who works with an Alabama-based nonprofit that documents the history of LGBTQ people in the South.
As a white woman married to a Black transgender man, Robbin Reed of Minneapolis feels particularly vulnerable. A decision undermining same-sex marriage or interracial unions would completely upend Reed's life, which includes the couple's 3-month-old child.
"I have no expectation that anything about my marriage is safe," said Reed, a legal aide.
Reed's employer, Sarah Breiner of the Breiner Law Firm, is setting up seminars in both the Twin Cities and the Atlanta area to help same-sex couples navigate potential legal needs after the court's decision. Breiner said helping people remain calm about the future is part of her job these days.
"We don't know what might happen, and that's the problem," Breiner said.
In a sign of what could come, the state of Alabama already has cited the abortion ruling in asking a federal appeals court to let it enforce a new state law that makes it a felony for doctors to prescribe puberty blockers and hormones to trans people under age 19. The decision giving states the power to restrict abortion means states should also be able to ban medical treatments for transgender youth, the state claimed.
Any attempt to undo same-sex marriage would begin with a lawsuit, and any possible rollback is years away since no major legal threat is on the horizon, said Cathryn Oakley, senior counsel and state legislative director with the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy organization.
"This is definitely a scary moment and people are nervous, but peoples' marriages are still safe," Oakley said.
Although the threat to same-sex couples feels particularly acute in conservative states, Oakley said she's heard of people all over the country in recent days seeking second-parent adoptions, which protect a family by having the names of both adoptive parents on the birth certificate. People also are completing medical directives in case one spouse is incapacitated and doing general estate planning, she said.
Ryanne Seyba's law firm in Hollywood, Florida, is offering free second-parent adoptions, which are similar to step-parent adoptions, for qualified same-sex couples to help ease some of the stress caused by the possible ripple effects of the abortion decision.
"We realized last week when (the ruling) came out we needed to do something," said Seyba of The Upgrade Lawyers.
A judge in Broward County plans to have a special day in August to finalize all the adoptions at once, Seyba said. If nothing else, completing the process should give nervous families more security, she said.
"If gay marriage goes away, we don't really know what's going to happen," she said. "It's better to be on the safe side."
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Associated Press writer Kim Chandler in Montgomery contributed to this report.
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.
One person has died aboard a London-Singapore flight that encountered severe turbulence, Singapore Airlines said Tuesday. The plane was diverted to Bangkok, where emergency crews rushed to help injured passengers amid stormy weather.
As the month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores wears on, small independent food retailers and alternative grocery options say they're seeing a boost in traffic and sales.
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
As we enter another wildfire season, Environment and Climate Change Canada is advising people to pay attention to air pollution levels and check the Air Quality Health Index – especially on smoky days.
The Vatican has announced that the investigation it commissioned into allegations of sexual touching against Cardinal Gerald Cyprien Lacroix did not confirm any act constituting misconduct or abuse on the part of the Vatican.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Philadelphia today, on his first trip south of the border since his government launched a new 'Team Canada' charm offensive in the United States.
The Edmonton Oilers weathered a late Vancouver Canucks charge on Monday night, beating the hosts 3-2 to win their seven-game second-round playoff series in the decisive showdown.
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.