California

A federal judge on Wednesday struck down California's Proposition 8, the 2008 voter approved ban on gay marriage, ruling it "unconstitutional" and "fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license." [ Read more → ]

California's Sonoma County has agreed to pay $600,000 to settle a lawsuit by an elderly gay man who claimed he was separated from his dying partner, accused of abuse, and left penniless when county officials auctioned the contents of their home. [ Read more → ]

Proposition 8 (a.k.a. “traditional marriage”) supporters say they are the victims, not gay people. And that gay people have brought negative backlash upon themselves by standing up for their equal rights. [ Read more → ]

"The very idea of marriage is basic to recognition as equals in our society; any status short of that is inferior, unjust, and unconstitutional." -- Ted Olson, a staunch conservative and one of the attorneys challenging the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8. [ Read more → ]

A California judge has denied a request by defense attorneys to delay the trial of a teen accused of first-degree murder and a hate crime in the 2008 shooting death of 15 year-old Lawrence King. [ Read more → ]

This month, a jury there will begin hearing the case of Harold Scull and Clay Greene, an elderly couple who endured the worst nightmare imaginable at the hands of health care workers and county officials two years ago in the small town of Sebastopol. [ Read more → ]

There are always going to be those people who will never accept homosexuality and will HATE gays and lesbians ... Everybody has that dream of growing up and falling in love and getting married, including gay people. I would ask these people to please not take that dream away from me. I deserve to be happy too. [ Read more → ]

Shelly has some very strong opinions about Prop 8. She voted in favor of the initiative because, “sexual relationships, once considered a private matter between consenting adults, can no longer be viewed as such. Private choices have public consequences." [ Read more → ]

I’m a Mormon, and I think It is ridiculous to think that allowing a broader realm of people to marry would somehow weaken families or marriage. I think just the opposite would be true. [ Read more → ]

It is hard for me to describe, or even let myself fully feel, the pain and hurt caused by the California Supreme Court upholding Proposition 8. I have been dreading the Day of Decision. Never before in my life have I felt such a mix of sorrow, solitude, pain... [ Read more → ]

The man arrested on suspicion of opening fire on a crowd attending a San Francisco gay pride event Saturday night is no longer believed to be the gunman responsible for murdering 19-year-old Stephen Powell and injuring two others. [ Read more → ]

One man was fatally injured and two other people wounded in a shooting in San Francisco's Castro District late Saturday night during the "Pink Saturday" gay pride events. [ Read more → ]

The controversial film “8: The Mormon Proposition,” which harshly criticizes the Mormon Church for campaigning in favor or California’s ban on same-sex marriage, opened in select theaters Friday. Focused on the 2008 passage of California’s Proposition 8, Director Reed Cowan’s documentary has struck a nerve... [ Read more → ]

Closing arguments were presented in court today in the landmark trial challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the final opportunity for attorneys on both sides to influence a federal judge in deciding the fate of California's voter approved ban on gay marrige. "This case is... [ Read more → ]

The federal judge presiding over a trial on California's Proposition 8 issued a list this week of 39 wide-ranging questions to be answered in closing arguments in San Francisco next week. [caption id="attachment_8183" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Walker"][/caption] No broad conclusions can be made from this order... [ Read more → ]

Closing arguments in the federal challenge to California's Proposition 8, the voter approved ban on gay marriage, will not be broadcast. Chief Judge Vaughn Walker denied a request from media groups seeking to record the June 16 session. The U.S. District Court for the Northern... [ Read more → ]

The Mormon Church has agreed to pay a $5000 fine for failing to report some campaign staff contributions it made in support of Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure in California that outlawed same-sex marriage. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Church of Jesus... [ Read more → ]

A California state lawmaker who was forced to reveal he is gay after a recent arrest for drunken driving spoke out passionately in favor of gay rights during a legislative session Thursday, urging his fellow senators to "rise above discrimination" and support letting gays serve... [ Read more → ]

Saturday marks Harvey Milk Day in California, the first official State Day of Recognition for an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender person in our nation’s history. Last year, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law the Harvey Milk Day bill, sponsored by Equality California and... [ Read more → ]

Homosexuality is no longer a sexual deviation on par with child molestation that needs to be cured -- at least in the eyes of the California Assembly. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the lower house adopted a measure Monday to strike a line of... [ Read more → ]