LGBTQ Nation

Broadway legend, Oscar winner Joel Grey comes out at 82

Joel Gray reached the heights of stage and screen, was married for 24 years and raised two children, but for decades, he kept one aspect of himself decidedly out of the spotlight. Now, at 82, the Cabaret Oscar winner talks for the first time about his sexuality in an interview with PEOPLE magazine.

USA

Alabama judges group reverses course on marriage licenses for same-sex couples

An Alabama judge's group has reversed course and now says same-sex couples may apply for marriage licenses once a hold comes off a federal judge's order that overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriage.

USA

Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin refuses to take position on LGBT discrimination

Gov. Mary Fallin won't say whether she thinks Oklahoma businesses should be allowed to discriminate against gay people.

USA

Same-sex marriage takes center stage at first work day of N.C. General Assembly

Thee Senate's top leader pushed for religious exemptions for some court officials from performing marriage duties, months after the state's same-sex marriage ban was struck down.

USA

Federal judge: Issue same-sex marriage licenses in Alabama when stay expires

The federal judge that overturned Alabama's same-sex marriage ban said state probate judges should begin issuing licenses to same-sex couples when the hold she put on her ruling expires next month.

World

Chile approves bill authorizing civil unions between same-sex couples

Chile's Congress on Wednesday approved the country's first law authorizing civil unions between same-sex couples.

NEWS BRIEFS

Police search for clues in murder of transgender woman in Texas

Log Cabin Republicans elect gay Georgia politico as first chair from Deep South

USA

Legal group files judicial ethics complaint against Alabama chief justice

The complaint to Alabama’s Judicial Inquiry Commission stems from Roy Moore’s criticism of a federal judge’s ruling in favor of a Mobile couple in a same-sex marriage. Moore called it “judicial tyranny.”

World

French court allows marriage between French, Moroccan same-sex couple

France’s highest court has ruled that a gay French-Moroccan couple are allowed to marry despite the North African kingdom’s refusal to recognize marriages between two men.

USA

Charlotte, N.C., business guild proposes protections for LGBT workers

The plan includes publicizing businesses that voluntarily provide protections, as well as trying to convince state lawmakers to require protection for employees.

USA

Shaheen reintroduces bill to extend veterans benefits to same-sex spouses

The Charlie Morgan Military Spouses Equal Treatment Act is named after a New Hampshire National Guard officer who died in 2013 after a battle with breast cancer.

USA

Virginia Senate panel votes to leave gay marriage ban in state constitution

On an 8-7 party-line vote Tuesday, a GOP-controlled committee rejected a proposal to begin the process of repealing the amendment approved by Virginia voters in 2006 defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

USA

Judge says challenge to Nebraska gay marriage ban can go forward

A federal judge has denied the state's request to stay a lawsuit challenging Nebraska's ban on same-sex marriages and set a Feb. 19 hearing on a motion to allow same-sex marriage while the case proceeds.

USA

Southfield, Mich., city council passes LGBT‑inclusive human rights ordinance

Officials in the Detroit suburb have passed an ordinance prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation based on a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.

USA

Va. Senate panel advances bill to bar LGBT discrimination in public employment

A Virginia Senate committee voted Monday to prohibit discrimination in public employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

NEWS BRIEFS

Wisconsin DOJ didn’t track hours spent defending state’s gay marriage ban

Portugal defeats draft law to allow same‑sex couple adoptions

USA

Federal judge issues second ruling against Alabama same‑sex marriage ban

U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. Granade on Monday issued a second ruling blocking Alabama attorney General Luther Strange and other state officials from enforcing the ban.

Newsmakers

Alabama chief justice criticizes same-sex marriage ruling

Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore says he's concerned that the recognition of same-sex marriages will lead to the recognition of marriages with multiple partners or marriages within a family.

USA

Mormon leaders call for ‘balanced approach’ in clash between gay rights, religious freedom

The church is promising to support some housing and job protections for gays, but still wants to hire and fire workers based not only on religious beliefs, but also on honor codes that require gays to remain celibate.

USA

Ala. lawmaker threatens to out immoral ‘hypocrites’ over same-sex marriage

Alabama's only openly gay lawmaker is threatening to expose state politicians who have extramarital affairs, but claim that same-sex marriage is immoral or bad for children.

Newsmakers

Meet the group working to repeal Texas’ LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination laws

Several Texas cities have taken the historic step of passing non-discrimination laws protecting LGBT people, only to see those laws challenged by the extreme right-wing U.S. Pastor Council -- a group that has labeled gay people "forces of spiritual darkness."

NEWS BRIEFS

St. Louis Archdiocese opposes hospital group’s benefits for same-sex spouses

Lifting Florida’s gay marriage ban allows lesbian couple to be parents

USA

Some California judges with ties to Boy Scouts question ban

The California Supreme Court's unanimous decision to prohibit state judges from belonging to the Boy Scouts and other youth groups that discriminate against gays comes against the wishes of some jurists with ties to scouting.

USA

Marriage News Watch: January 26, 2015

There’s a big fight underway right now in Alabama, with a judge overturning a marriage ban and state officials refusing to obey his order to issue licenses. Anti-gay politicians are threatening to ban all marriage licenses if the Supreme Court rules in favor of equality. And one lawmaker even wants

NEWS BRIEFS

Wisconsin DOJ didn’t track hours spent defending state’s gay marriage ban

Portugal defeats draft law to allow same‑sex couple adoptions

Arts

Easy chemistry between James Franco, Zachary Quinto in ‘I am Michael’

The film, which premiered Saturday at the Sundance Film Festival, is a sensitive, complicated and provocative story about a prominent gay activist who, in just a few years, denounces his homosexuality.

USA

Judge issues 14-day stay of order striking down Alabama gay marriage ban

U.S. District Callie V.S. Granade issued the temporary stay on Sunday of her ruling striking down Alabama's gay marriage ban to allow the state to seek relief from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

LGBTQ Life

‘Snooki’ becomes ordained minister so she can officiate gay pals’ wedding

The motivation behind Snooki's new side career? She plans to officiate the June 19 wedding of her hairstylists, Bradley Moreland and Luis Miller.

USA

Couple behind Alabama same-sex marriage challenge to refile adoption paperwork

Cari Searcy and Kim McKeand, the couple whose lawsuit toppled Alabama's gay marriage ban said they are grateful, overjoyed and still a little a bit in disbelief.

USA

First 24 hours of new Maryland governor’s tenure ‘not good’ for LGBT community

In one of his first acts as Maryland's new GOP governor, Larry Hogan has held up a regulation that would have banned Medicaid providers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

World

France fines Twitter users for sending tweets advocating anti-gay violence

Three French Twitter users were fined this week for sending tweets that included homophobic hashtags. It's the first time a French court has handed out convictions for homophobic abuse on Twitter.

USA

Okla. career anti-gay lawmaker introduces three bills targeting LGBT community

Oklahoma state lawmaker Sally Kern, who once called homosexuality “the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam,” has introduced three new measures targeting the LGBT community.

USA

Tennessee school turns away prospective students because parents are gay

A private, non-denominational Christian-based school in Nashville has turned away prospective students because their parents, one of whom is a local pastor, are gay.

USA

Federal government spends $432K studying effects of gay hook-up apps

The federal government has spent nearly half a million dollars studying gay hookup apps to determine whether they increase the likelihood that gay men will engage in risky sexual behavior.

USA

Former Atlanta fire chief files religious discrimination complaint against city

The former chief of Atlanta's fire department has filed a federal complaint alleging that the city discriminated against him when he was fired for publishing a book that contained offensive comments on homosexuality.

USA

GOP presses state bills limiting gay rights ahead of Supreme Court marriage ruling

Lawmakers in a handful of states are backing long shot legislation targeting gay rights. Most, if not all, of the efforts are led by Republicans.

USA

Ala. AG seeks to stay order to block same-sex marriages until Supreme Court rules

The Alabama attorney general is asking a federal judge to stay a ruling that overturned Alabama's ban on gay marriage, as advocates cheer what once seemed an improbable victory in the deeply conservative state.

USA

California bars judges from joining Boy Scouts due to anti-gay discrimination

California's Supreme Court voted Friday to prohibit state judges from belonging to the Boy Scouts on grounds that the group discriminates against gays.

USA

Mich. governor hopes to revive legislation prohibiting anti-LGBT discrimination

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder hopes to resuscitate legislation that would protect gay and transgender residents from discrimination, while LGBT advocates explore asking voters to pass the bill since it's unlikely to clear the GOP-led Legislature.

USA

Federal judge strikes down Alabama same‑sex marriage ban

Alabama became the latest state to see its ban on gay marriage fall to a federal court ruling Friday, as the issue of same-sex marriage heads to the U.S. Supreme Court. The ruling is the latest in a string of wins for advocates of marriage rights.

USA

Nebraska wants lawsuit challenging same-sex marriage ban put on hold

The Nebraska Attorney General's Office has filed a motion to put a federal lawsuit challenging Nebraska's gay marriage ban on hold pending a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

USA

Arkansas AG asks for new arguments in same-sex marriage case

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge is asking the Arkansas Supreme Court to hold new oral arguments in the lawsuit challenging the state's same-sex marriage ban.

USA

Va. Senate panel rejects second parent adoptions for unmarried, same-sex couples

A proposal to allow adoption by the partners of unmarried same-sex parents was rejected Friday by a Virginia Senate committee.

LGBTQ Life

Gay twins whose coming out video went viral, appear with dad on Ellen

Popular YouTube vloggers, twins Austin and Aaron Rhodes (The Rhodes Bros.), whose emotional video of them coming out to their father has been viewed nearly 15 million times, were guests this week on the Ellen DeGeneres show.

USA

Dispute over Bible cake with gay slurs raises charge of religious discrimination

A dispute over a cake in Colorado raises a new question about gay rights and religious freedom: If bakers can be fined for refusing to serve married same-sex couples, can they also be punished for declining to make a cake with anti-gay statements?

Newsmakers

Ben Carson: Congress should oust judges who rule for marriage equality

Ben Carson, the likely Republican presidential candidate who believes that the gay rights movement is part of a communist conspiracy to bring about the New World Order, wants Congress to intervene in court cases involving marriage equality.

USA

Starkville, Miss., aldermen: No insurance coverage for same-sex partners

Starkville aldermen have overridden the mayor's veto of their earlier decision to bar city employees from buying buy health insurance coverage for unmarried domestic partners, including those of the same sex.

USA

Nebraska lawmakers introduce bills to prohibit anti-LGBT discrimination

Nebraska lawmakers introduced three bills Wednesday that would ban discrimination against LGBT residents, but even supporters noted they face a tough fight in gaining approval for the proposals.

Newsmakers

Governor Andrew Cuomo urges civil rights law for transgender New Yorkers

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says in his state of the state speech Wednesday that the Legislature should pass a bill to add "gender identity or expression" as a protected class.

USA

Colo. won’t clarify civil unions law until Supreme Court issues marriage ruling

Colorado won't address some legal questions about civil unions pending a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on gay marriage. The state currently allows both same-sex marriage and civil unions.

USA

N.C. Democratic Party chair candidate under fire for transgender insult

A candidate for the chairmanship of North Carolina Democratic Party is under fire after insulting a fellow candidate who is transgender at a candidate forum in Gastonia on Tuesday.

USA

Mississippi Supreme Court hears arguments over same-sex divorce

The Mississippi attorney general's office told the court that the state can't grant a divorce to same-sex couple because their marriage is void in Mississippi.

USA

Michigan governor urges debate on protecting gays from discrimination

Gov. Rick Snyder is urging the Republican-led Legislature to keep alive a bill that would amend Michigan's civil rights law to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.

USA

State of the Union: Obama says fight for marriage equality is ‘a story of freedom’

Just months before the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to consider the issue of nationwide marriage equality, President Barack Obama on Tuesday praised the issue as “a story of freedom across our country” and “a civil right.”

USA

Georgia asks judge halt gay marriage challenge until Supreme Court rules

Lawyers for the state of Georgia have asked a federal judge to stop any action on a challenge to the state's ban on gay marriage until the U.S. Supreme Court has a chance to rule on the issue.

USA

Judge puts N.D. same-sex marriage case on hold for Supreme Court ruling

A federal judge put a lawsuit challenging North Dakota's ban on same-sex marriage on hold Tuesday pending a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

USA

Fired transgender Connecticut police officer sues for discrimination

A transgender Connecticut police officer fired last June has filed a lawsuit alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation and wrongful termination.

Newsmakers

Anderson Cooper responds to pastor’s ‘gay agenda’ critique

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has responded to the Christian pastor who criticized over his "gay agenda."

Newsmakers

Florida newlyweds, plaintiffs in gay marriage case to attend State of the Union

Florida newlyweds Todd and Jeff Delmay will attend President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address in Washington on Tuesday as guests of U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

USA

Virginia Senate committee kills housing bill, defers workplace protections bill

It’s still legal to deny housing to LGBT Virginians after a Senate committee on Monday failed to advance legislation amid concerns that a fair housing bill would violate religious freedoms, while delaying another bill until next week that would protect LGBT workers in public employment.