New York

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The New York state Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, on Tuesday declined to hear an appeal by the conservative group New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, who were seeking to have New York’s same-sex marriage law overturned. [ Read more → ]

EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. -- The Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth Network said it would fast-track its efforts to open an LGBT community center in Suffolk County after learning that an East Hampton, N.Y. teen who was reportedly the victim of anti-gay bullying took his own life last week. [ Read more → ]

QUEENS, N.Y. -- A Queens high school sophomore who self identifies as bisexual, was sent home Tuesday, after school administrators deemed that the “I enjoy vagina” T-shirt she was wearing was a distraction. [ Read more → ]

ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York State Sen. Roy McDonald, one of four GOP lawmakers who voted to legalize same-sex marriage last year, was narrowly defeated in his primary race, and said he won't campaign as an Independent in the general election, and will instead back his former primary opponent. [ Read more → ]

NEW YORK -- In a closely watched contest and by the narrowest of margins, Republican New York State Sen. Stephen Saland, one of four GOP senators to cast votes in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, appears headed to victory in his primary battle against challenger Neil Di Carlo. [ Read more → ]

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- New York State Sen. Mark Grisanti (R-Buffalo), one of the four Republicans who voted in favor of a marriage equality bill last year, and who has since been targeted by the anti-gay the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) because of that vote, won his GOP primary race Thursday. [ Read more → ]

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- In what many journalists and pundits are labeling "political porn," a flyer has been circulated via e-mail that attacks New York State Sen. Mark Grisanti, one of four Republicans who voted to legalize same-sex marriage in the Empire State a year ago. [ Read more → ]

NEW YORK -- The Ali Forney Center — a homeless shelter for LGBT youth in New York City — will receive $3.3 million from the city to renovate an East Village property, according to a statement released Monday. [ Read more → ]

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- A New York state appeals court on Friday ruled against a challenge to the state's marriage equality law, and ruled that the statute was legally enacted. [ Read more → ]

Openly gay attorney Sean Patrick Maloney has advanced to the November general election in New York’s 18th Congressional District after winning his Democratic primary tonight. [ Read more → ]

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The New York state legislature this week approved a bill that would require the state's public schools to develop procedures to address complaints of email, texting and online harassment -- also referred to as cyber-bullying. [ Read more → ]

NEW YORK -- A Brooklyn teenager was was left blind in one eye after being assaulted by bullies who shouted anti-gay epithets during an attack earlier this month at his middle school, according to the teen's family [ Read more → ]

QUEENS, N.Y. -- A fifth grade student in Queens, N.Y., who earlier this week was prohibited from reading an essay on marriage equality that he wrote for a school competition, will be allowed to recite his essay during a special assembly. [ Read more → ]

A New York woman has been awarded a $25,000 settlement in a discrimination lawsuit against a Sizzler Restaurant in Forest Hills, N.Y., where she was allegedly attacked while trying to dine with friends. [ Read more → ]

NEW YORK, NY -- U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Jones in Manhattan added herself to a growing list of federal judges across the nation on Wednesday by ruling that a key component of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unfairly discriminates against married same-sex couples by prohibiting them access to federal benefits available to married heterosexual couples. [ Read more → ]

ALBANY, N.Y. -- A New York appellate court on Thursday ruled that it was not slanderous to falsely say that another person is gay. [ Read more → ]

NEW YORK -- A jury in New York has award $1.6 million to to a lesbian chef who accused restaurateur Edward Globokar of forcing her to participate in prayer meetings at Mary Ann’s, a Mexican restaurant in New York City's Tribeca neighborhood. [ Read more → ]

The Ali Forney Center, the nation’s largest organization working on behalf of homeless LGBT youth, on Monday announced that longtime New York activists Frank Selvaggi and Bill Shea had donated $100,000 to the center to kick off its “Homeless for the Holidays” campaign, aimed at raising $1 million to increase the number of beds for homeless LGBT youth in New York City. [ Read more → ]

NEW YORK -- A federal immigration judge has signed an order dismissing the case against an Argentine woman who had married a U.S. citizen and was facing deportation. [ Read more → ]

EAST AMHERST, N.Y. -- The Williamsville Central School District concluded its investigation into the Jamey Rodemeyer case last week by suspending some North High School students after Amherst police closed their criminal investigation Nov. 22 without filing charges. [ Read more → ]