Around the Nation

The 2014 Gay Games are heading to Cleveland. A yearlong site selection process came to an exhilarating end for city officials and gay advocates on Tuesday, as they celebrated the announcement as a major victory for the local economy and a boost to the... [ Read more → ]

If you walk through the LDS Church Plaza in Salt Lake City you'll see some new signs. They put visitors on notice that the Church can refuse access to anyone for any reason. The added language to the signs address concerns about how the Church... [ Read more → ]

The domestic partnership benefits of hundreds of Wisconsin gay couples could be overturned in what's becoming a growing legal battle. Currently, gay couples in Wisconsin can register for domestic partnerships rights, enacted through legislation that took effect August 3. Since then, about 1,000 couples have... [ Read more → ]

Supporters of Washington's "everything but marriage" gay partnerships are continuing their court battle over Referendum 71. R-71's conservative sponsors have collected enough petitions to force a vote on the latest expansion of domestic partnership rights, but gay-rights activists say that state election officials accepted thousands... [ Read more → ]

The fate of Maine's gay marriage law now lies in the hands of the voters. Election officials announced Wednesday that gay marriage foes surpassed the threshold of signatures necessary to put the state law on the November ballot, setting the stage for a furious, two-month... [ Read more → ]

Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri is defending his decision to speak at a fundraiser for a Massachusetts group that considers homosexuality "destructive" and "an unhealthy practice." Carcieri said on WPRO Radio on Wednesday that he agreed at the request of a friend to be the... [ Read more → ]

Same-sex couples in Vermont began exchanging vows at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday morning, taking advantage of the state's new marriage equality law. Bill Slimback and Bob Sullivan (pictured) were among the the first same-sex couples to legally marry under the new law that... [ Read more → ]

The Anoka-Hennepin School District reported that two teachers who repeatedly mocked a student they believed was gay are on leave, a district official said Tuesday. Diane Cleveland and Walter Filson were placed on leave within the past week, said Ginny Karbowski, director of career and... [ Read more → ]

Washington state's Referendum 71, which will give voters a chance to overturn the new "everything but marriage" same-sex domestic partnership law, has moved a step closer to being on the November ballot. The secretary of state's office ruled Monday that the referendum had 121,486 valid... [ Read more → ]

Vermont's gay marriage law is set to go into effect on Tuesday, September 1st, and supporters of same-sex marriage already are gearing up for what promises to be an emotional week. But officials are not expecting a rush to the altar. The landscape has changed... [ Read more → ]

A Dallas County jury handed down a 75 year prison sentence Thursday for Bobby Singleton (pictured, on left) for brutally beating and robbing Jimmy Lee Dean (pictured, on right) in what prosecutors say was an anti-gay attack. The jury found Singleton guilty as charged Wednesday... [ Read more → ]

The names and addresses of donors to Referendum 71 will not be exempt from public disclosure, the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission ruled Thursday, while another group moved to block the measure entirely. The request to remove the names was made earlier this month by... [ Read more → ]

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission announced today it has fired the two agents, and their supervisor, who took part in the June raid of a Fort Worth gay bar that resulted in a clash between patrons and law enforcement officials, and leaving one man hospitalized... [ Read more → ]

In his most definitive comments yet on gay rights, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday he doesn't believe sexual orientation should be a protected class in the way that race, gender and religion are. "I don't think we should discriminate against people," Herbert said during... [ Read more → ]

The Florida state court of appeals began hearing arguments Wednesday on last year's ruling that struck down the state's ban on gay adoption. The state is appealing a Miami-Dade County judge's November 2008 ruling that the state law that bans gay adoptions is unconstitutional. The... [ Read more → ]

A California-based gay rights group has filed a complaint with the Maine Ethics Commission alleging that groups trying to overturn Maine's gay marriage law are engaging in "money laundering." Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate, has filed a nine-page complaint, alleging that several groups... [ Read more → ]

The Anchorage Assembly has less than two weeks left to override the mayor's veto of the gay rights ordinance, but the first opportunity to do so came and went Tuesday night, as the assembly took no action. The ordinance's author, Patrick Flynn, says the Assembly... [ Read more → ]

The National Organization for Marriage, which was active in getting Proposition 8 approved by voters in California, launched a campaign Monday to re-ban gay marriage in Iowa. The NOM is appealing for donations to run advertisements on behalf of political candidates who oppose same-sex marriage,... [ Read more → ]

Elections officials say they've now verified more than 100,000 signatures for Referendum 71, an attempt to overturn Washington's new "everything but marriage" same-sex domestic partner law. The totals as of Monday evening are: 103,898 checked, 91,716 accepted and 12,182 rejected. The overall error rate is... [ Read more → ]

A federal judge in Southern California has dismissed the lawsuit that created a public rift between President Barack Obama and gay supporters. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter (pictured) ruled the case — the first of several pending challenges to the federal Defense of... [ Read more → ]