Pennsylvania

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed the first ever openly gay Hispanic woman to serve on the federal bench. [ Read more → ]

RED LION, Pa. -- A transgender student in central Pennsylvania is continuing his fight to be announced by his male name at graduation next month. [ Read more → ]

PHILADELPHIA -- Mayor Michael Nutter signed legislation Thursday to afford equal rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, saying he hoped Philadelphia would become "the most LGBT-friendly" city in the world. [ Read more → ]

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A bipartisan group of more than 100 Pennsylvania lawmakers have reintroduced bills in both the state House and Senate that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. [ Read more → ]

RED LION, Pa. – The Red Lion Area School District (RLASD) has refused to change its policy regarding transgender candidates for prom court, nor will it agree to allow transgender students to use a name at graduation to match their gender identity, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). [ Read more → ]

PHILADELPHIA — A Boy Scouts of America group will vacate its city-owned Philadelphia headquarters in return for $825,000 under an agreement that settles a long legal battle over the organization's ban on gays, Mayor Michael Nutter's office said Friday. [ Read more → ]

RED LION. Pa. -- A spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union said Monday that it will take legal action in the case of the transgender student who was barred from participating in a prom election based on his gender identity, if the school fails to meet its demands by the end of the week. [ Read more → ]

RED LION, Pa. -- The American Civil Liberties Union has sent a warning to a Pennsylvania school district on behalf of a transgender student who was denied the chance to run for prom king when his principal placed his female birth name in the column for prom queen, despite repeated requests to be listed under his correct gender identity. [ Read more → ]

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia city council on Thursday approved a landmark LGBT equality bill that provides tax incentives to private employers who extend insurance to the same-sex partners of their employees, and strengthens legal rights and protections for LGBT citizens. [ Read more → ]

YORK, Pa. -- Prom court voting is over, and with prom night just days away, one senior at Red Lion Area Senior High School in York, Pa., is angry over an arbitrary decision by the school's principal that left him excluded from the prom court election. [ Read more → ]

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia city council member wants to require new or renovated city-owned buildings to have gender-neutral restrooms in addition to men's and women's restrooms. [ Read more → ]

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. — A central Pennsylvania college has called in the FBI and increased security in some residence halls after a series of anti-gay and racist remarks were left on dormitory message boards. [ Read more → ]

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- In an effort to avoid a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a Pennsylvania school district said it would allow a gay-straight alliance to meet until the school board can reconsider its application at next week's meeting. [ Read more → ]

The latest Public Policy Polling found a 14 point increase in support for same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania over the last year and a half. [ Read more → ]

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- The American Civil Liberties Union is threatening legal action against a central Pennsylvania school board that denied students' request to form a club that would bring together gay and straight students. [ Read more → ]

A city council member in Washington, Pa., has been reprimanded for calling a friend gay in an email to test a citywide alert system. [ Read more → ]

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- Despite hearing testimony that LGBT youth were three times more likely to take their own lives as opposed to their straight peers, Chambersburg Pennsylvania School Board Member on Wednesday voted against allowing a gay-straight alliance to be established at a local high school. [ Read more → ]

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Freshman state lawmaker, Rep. Brian Sims (D-Philadelphia), the first openly gay elected member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, is leading efforts in the state House to gain bipartisan support for an anti-bullying bill known as the Pennsylvania Safe Schools (PASS) Act. [ Read more → ]

A former Miss Pennsylvania USA, who gave up her state crown shortly after the Miss Universe organization announced its decision to allow transgender participants, has been ordered pay the pageant organization $5 million for defamation. [ Read more → ]

A Pennsylvania state lawmaker said he plans to reintroduce legislation aimed at a state constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman, as well as outlaw same-sex civil unions and domestic partnerships. [ Read more → ]