California

Mike Penner, the veteran Los Angeles Times sportswriter who made international headlines in 2007 when he announced he was transsexual and began working under the byline "Christine Daniels," has died. Colleagues said Saturday that Penner was found dead at his Los Angeles home and that... [ Read more → ]

VALLEJO, CA - Vallejo's Mayor Osby Davis is coming under fire for comments he recently made about gays and lesbians. Davis (pictured, left) finds himself in the middle of a controversy after an interview published this weekend in the New York Times. The article, titled... [ Read more → ]

A federal judge today ordered compensation for a Los Angeles couple denied spousal benefits by the federal government because they are gay men, reports the Los Angeles Times. U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt deemed the denial of healthcare and other benefits... [ Read more → ]

A small majority of California voters supports the right of gay couples to marry, but a much larger portion of voters opposes efforts to place the issue back on the ballot next year, a new Los Angeles Times/USC poll has found. Overall, 51% of California... [ Read more → ]

A SkyWest Airlines baggage agent who married his partner last year after the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex unions says the airline is breaking state law by refusing to give his husband the free fares it provides to heterosexual spouses. The airline says Gilbert Caldwell's... [ Read more → ]

SFGate.com: Californians, in particular, are watching Maine's same sex marriage vote closely. And some, like Demi Espinoza, Daniel Shad and Gabe Gonzalez, care so passionately about the issue that they're giving up their vacation time to volunteer in Maine to preserve gay marriage there. Each... [ Read more → ]

Oscar-winning writer-director Paul Haggis has severed ties with the Church of Scientology, citing in part the church's support for Proposition 8, the ballot measure last year that banned same-sex marriage in California. Long known for his humanitarian and civil liberties work, the Canadian-born director ("Crash"... [ Read more → ]

Four gay advocacy groups that include Mormons and former church members released a joint statement Friday disagreeing with points made earlier this week in a speech on freedom of religion by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of The Church of... [ Read more → ]

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge in San Francisco refused Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit challenging California's Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, and ordered a trial on whether the measure denies fundamental rights to gays and lesbians, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.... [ Read more → ]

LOS ANGELES -- L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Chief Executive Officer Lorri L. Jean issued a statement yesterday, calling Assemblymember Michael Duvall's extra-marital affairs "despicable." "Even as he resigns in shame, former California Assemblymember Michael Duvall is wallowing in hypocrisy. While engaging in extra-marital affairs,... [ Read more → ]

SACRAMENTO -- A Republican state assemblyman in California resigned Wednesday amid growing outrage over a videotape that caught him bragging in graphic detail about having sex with a female lobbyist and another woman. Mike Duvall, 54, whose votes on family-oriented bills received high marks from... [ Read more → ]

California's two Democratic U.S. senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, are facing increased pressure from LGBT leaders to take charge on pro-gay legislation as Congress returns from its summer recess, according to The Bay Area Reporter. The calls for the two female lawmakers to take... [ Read more → ]

SACRAMENTO -- A bill to designate a day of honor for slain gay-rights activist Harvey Milk could be headed for another veto by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger once the California legislature sends it his way. The bill to designate Milk’s birthday, May 22, as a day... [ Read more → ]

Slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in California, will be among the newest inductees to the California Hall of Fame. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver unveiled the list of 2009 inductees earlier this... [ 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 → ]

The City of West Hollywood plans to honor the marriages of gay and lesbian couples with a plaque inscribed with a quote from Nelson Mandela, the Los Angeles Times has reported. The bronze marker will be installed in West Hollywood Park on September 8, a... [ Read more → ]

A federal judge on Wednesday set a January 11, 2010 date for the highly anticipated trial in the legal challenge to California’s voter-approved Proposition 8, a ban on same-sex marriage. The judge, Vaughn R. Walker of Federal District Court in San Francisco, said arguments... [ Read more → ]

One of California's largest gay rights advocacy groups announced this week it will wait until 2012 to push for an amendment to the state Constitution permitting same-sex marriage, but other organizations with the same agenda insisted they want to bring the issue back to voters... [ Read more → ]

The NO H8 Campaign has released it’s second official public service announcement titled "I'm Coming Out" to help raise awareness about Propostion 8 and Marriage Equality... [ Read more → ]

The prominent lawyers leading the fight to legalize gay marriage in California on Friday formally told San Francisco officials and three other groups supportive of same-sex weddings "thanks, but no thanks" for trying to join their federal lawsuit. The two couples represented by attorneys Theodore... [ Read more → ]