The court released its calendar Thursday for the final two weeks of arguments this term and allotted the gay marriages cases two-and-a-half hours on the last Tuesday in April.

Hundreds of businesses in both Arkansas and Nebraska have signed a pledge with the Human Rights Campaign to advance workplace equality for members of the LGBT community.

Transgender Floridians would have to use public bathrooms designated for their birth gender, unless they have a license or passport that proves they've completed their transition to their new sex under a bill that has passed its first legislative committee.

Mets infielder Daniel Murphy says he disagrees with the "lifestyle" of people who are gay. The Mets hosted Billy Bean, a former major leaguer who came out after retiring and is MLB's first ambassador for inclusion, to talk at spring training.

A federal judge who last year tossed out Arkansas' voter-approved gay marriage ban said Wednesday she wouldn't lift her own stay and let same-sex marriages resume immediately.

Utah lawmakers introduced a landmark anti-discrimination bill Wednesday that protects LGBT individuals while also carving out protections for the Boy Scouts of America and religious groups.

Alabama's stand against same-sex marriage regained ground Wednesday after the state's highest court ruled that its ban remains legal, despite federal court pressure to begin issuing licenses to gays and lesbians. But advocates said they're not giving up either - and that the justices in Montgomery will find themselves on

The Fire Department of New York has sworn in its first female and first openly gay chaplain. The Rev. Ann Kansfield was sworn in on Tuesday. She is the department's eighth chaplain.

A measure that would have required transgender students to use the sex on their birth certificates to determine the sports team they played on was defeated by a South Dakota Senate committee Tuesday, but another bill on the issue is being considered later this week.

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson says the state should not be forced to recognize same-sex marriages until the matter is decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

A kiss between two 13-year-old male characters on the ABC Family show "The Fosters" is making waves for reportedly being the youngest same-sex kiss in American television history.
(Advocate)

The Alabama Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the state's probate judges to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, saying a previous federal ruling that gay marriage bans violate the U.S. Constitution does not preclude them from following state law, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

Slovenian lawmakers have approved same-sex marriage and child adoption by gay couples amid opposition from conservative groups and the Catholic Church.

Former Rhode Island House Speaker Gordon Fox, who in 2010 became the state's first openly gay speaker, has agreed to plead guilty to charges of bribery, wire fraud and filing a false tax return following an investigation that included a dramatic federal raid on the Statehouse.

The city in western Michigan is adding sexual orientation and gender identity to an existing non-discrimination ordinance on housing and employment.

Vice President Joe Biden will deliver a speech this week at a convention hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT rights group.

Utah lawmakers are expected as early as Tuesday to unveil a compromise bill that protects LGBT individuals against discrimination in housing and employment while also protecting religious rights.

The Charlotte, N.C., city council voted Monday night 6-5 against expanding the city's nondiscrimination ordinance to include sexual orientation, gender expression and gender identity to a list of protected groups.

An Orange County, Calif., attorney has filed a proposed ballot measure with the California Attorney General's office asking voters to criminalize homosexuality in the state and impose a death penalty sentence.

The Arkansas attorney general's office has asked a federal judge who struck down the state's gay marriage ban as unconstitutional to not allow same-sex couples to wed while the ruling is being appealed.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is not planning to march in the nation's biggest and oldest St. Patrick's Day parade unless its organizers change their limitations on displays of gay pride.

Nebraska welfare officials have been placing foster children in the homes of gay, lesbian and unmarried couples since before Gov. Pete Ricketts took office in January, despite a 1995 policy barring the state from doing so.

Police arrested roughly two dozen LGBT rights activists after protesters refused to leave the Idaho Senate and House chambers in an attempt to pressure lawmakers into passing anti-discrimination protections.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says the Justice Department will file a brief with the Supreme Court stating its position that same-sex marriage bans violate the fundamental constitutional guarantee of "equal protection of the laws."

Gov. Pete Ricketts is denouncing a federal judge’s decision to strike down Nebraska’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

The justices let stand a lower court ruling against ProtectMarriage.com, the National Organization for Marriage and other supporters of a 2008 ballot initiative that outlawed same-sex marriages in California until the ban was overturned five years later.

A federal judge blocked Nebraska’s same-sex marriage ban on Monday, but the decision will not take effect for a week and the attorney general’s office immediately appealed to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Texas lawmakers are gunning for the judge who let two lesbians to get married. Meanwhile, homophobic lawmakers celebrate the 10th anniversary of the state's marriage ban. There's just one problem: the law will probably be overturned before it actually turns ten.

The California Republican Party on Sunday officially recognized the party’s organized gay wing that has fought years for formal acceptance.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told hundreds of participants at an LGBT-friendly St. Patrick's Day parade on Sunday that a society for all is one that embraces and respects everyone.

Renee was a "tomboy" as long as they can remember. As a teenager, Renee was part of an all-girls youth group, and was asked to represent the group at a pageant weekend. Part of that involved wearing a gown.

New Kid on the Block Jonathan Knight, who appears on CBS' "The Amazing Race" with his partner Harley Rodriguez, opens up about how hiding his sexual orientation led to his struggle with stage fright and panic attacks.

Many leaders of the Christian Right, from megachurch pastors like Rick Warren to the top prelates in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, have repeatedly threatened civil disobedience (and worse) over marriage equality.  If they follow through on their claims, a summer of “martyrdom” may be at hand if the

Local LGBT community leaders in Charlotte, N.C., are responding with messages of support and encouragement, following the death Thursday of a transgender student. Ash Haffner, 16, died by suicide on Thursday.

Despite a perception that he’s the most LGBT-friendly Republican in the field of potential presidential candidates, Jeb Bush said Friday he remains opposed to same-sex marriage, reports The Washington Blade.

An Alabama appeals court reversed itself on Friday, ruling that a woman who separated from her same-sex partner in Georgia can pursue visitation rights in Alabama.

A Missouri legislator has introduced a bill that would make it illegal for the state to enforce a marriage other than between a man and a woman and could lead to the firing of government employees who issue such licenses.

Fresh from his Oscar win for Lead Actor for his performance as famed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything,” British actor Eddie Redmayne is taking on another project that involves a drastic physical transformation.

Kentucky's state Senate voted Friday to force transgender students to use separate bathrooms in public schools, a move that recalled the dark days of segregation for some but for others represented a stand for privacy rights.

David and Jason Benham say they're working to defeat a proposed LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance in Charlotte, N.C., which David Benham called “so depraved and just absolutely craziness.”

Two Mississippi Supreme Court justices said Thursday that the court should find the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional and not wait for a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Scheming villains thirst to rollback the progress our nation has attained toward full LGBT equality. But, could they actually do it? Insidious laws like Arkansas' innocent-sounding "Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act" (SB 202) may provide the roadmap.

West Virginia Senate Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael says there's "no way" his chamber will consider a proposal to nullify local ordinances that protect LGBT people from housing and employment discrimination.

Facebook users who don't fit any of the 58 gender identity options offered by the social media giant are now being given a rather big 59th option: fill in the blank.

An international team of scientists have shown that it is possible to create human sperm and eggs from stem cells derived from adult skin, regardless of the donor’s gender.

A West Virginia House committee on Wednesday advanced a bill that would nullify local nondiscrimination ordinances that critics said amounted to “legislative gay bashing.”

Courts in more than two-thirds of Mexico’s 31 states have granted same-sex couples the right to marry over the past two years in a series of rulings that will likely make marriage equality a reality nationwide in the near future.
(BuzzFeed News)

Supporters who rallied around Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore during his 2003 Ten Commandments fight returned to Alabama Wednesday to praise his stand against same-sex marriage.

Why do some bakeries have to sell gay wedding cakes, but they don't have to sell cakes with homophobic slurs? And what's REALLY at stake here? Unfurrow your confused brow with this Fireside Chat from Matt Baume.

Several Texas lawmakers joined conservative leaders at the state capitol in Tuesday for a controversial slice of symbolic wedding cake in a 10th anniversary celebration of the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

A former Salt Lake City police officer who was put on leave and later resigned after he objected to riding in the motorcycle brigade at the front of last year's gay pride parade is speaking out against what he believes was a violation of his religious liberties.

The rabbi who defied Texas' same-sex marriage ban and wed a lesbian couple last week led the morning prayer in the Republican-dominated Texas House on Wednesday, catching staunch supporters of the prohibition off-guard.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has announced a settlement of its federal lawsuit alleging that gay students were routinely bullied in a south Mississippi school district.

A state lawmaker's complaint has prompted the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct to investigate a judge who ordered the issuance of a marriage license to a same-sex couple.

A "conscience-protection" proposal in Arkansas that critics call an attempt to sanction discrimination against gays and lesbians has failed before a legislative panel.

Some North Carolina court officials could opt out of marriage duties - including same-sex marriages - under legislation approved by the state Senate.

The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska announced its new policy following a unanimous vote by the council’s governing board to define legal marriage without a gender requirement.

The U.S. Department of Labor on Wednesday issued a final rule revising the regulatory definition of spouse under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) to include married, same-sex couples.

A unique federally funded study offers a detailed look at the lives of LGBT youth in New York City who cope with homelessness and poverty by engaging in what the researchers call "survival sex."

The Indiana state Senate on Tuesday approved a bill designed to allow private businesses, individuals and organizations to refuse services for same-sex weddings because of religious beliefs.

Former Georgia Attorney General Michael Bowers said Tuesday that two bills being debated by lawmakers create an excuse to discriminate against LGBT people or break state laws and are "deserving of a quick death."

The federal government is supporting a Detroit-area teenager who, in a lawsuit, accuses several schools of discriminating against him because he's transgender.

The congressional caucus that aims to advance LGBT issues made public its membership for the 114th Congress, and the size of the group is not even half of what it was in its previous iteration.
(Washington Blade)

Walmart on Tuesday criticized a “conscience protection” measure in the retail giant’s home state that opponents say sanctions discrimination against gays and lesbians, while Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson also expressed concerns about the legislation.

The highest profile openly gay member of Congress retired in 2013 after 32 years, leaving a legacy of legislation on financial reform as well as changes in perceptions and laws about homosexuality.
(Los Angeles Times)

The House on Tuesday voted 33-to-26 to reject the bill that would have prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. It had already cleared the Wyoming state Senate.

The Republican governor said he had reservations about the House-backed "conscience protection" measure that's pending before a Senate committee, but stopped short of saying whether he opposed the bill.

The couple whose lawsuit got Alabama's same-sex marriage ban ruled unconstitutional is headed back to court after a probate judge again refused to grant their adoption petition.

For the first time, a study shows that a drug used to treat HIV infection also can help prevent it when taken before and after sex between two men.