California

Derek Nance, a program director at the Mataguay Scout Ranch in San Diego, Calif., came out in this "It Gets Better" video posted on YouTube Thursday. Nance speaks out against the Boy Scouts of America’s anti-gay policies and says he knows “the time will come... [ Read more → ]

BERKELEY, Calif. -- A California man faces a felony hate crime charge after officers spotted him spray painting anti-gay graffiti on campus buildings at the University of California-Berkeley. [caption id="attachment_72996" align="alignright" width="250"] Anthony Garcia[/caption] Anthony Garcia, 23, of Huntington Park, Calif., was booked on a... [ Read more → ]

SALEM, Ore. — Regulators in Oregon and California have quietly directed some health insurance companies to stop denying coverage for transgender patients because of their gender identity. The states aren't requiring coverage of specific medical treatments. But they told some private insurance companies they must... [ Read more → ]

A San Francisco lawmaker on Tuesday will introduce legislation seeking to rename San Francisco International Airport for slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk. A charter amendment by Supervisor David Campos would place the proposal to rename the airport as Harvey Milk-San Francisco International Airport, and... [ Read more → ]

Among the 229 contestants competing for the title of Miss California USA will be Kylan Arianna Wenzel, a 26-year-old transgender woman from Century City, Calif. Wenzel will be the first ever transgender contestant after the Miss Universe Organization changed its rules in April last year — Miss Universe operates the Miss USA pageant, and the local pageants that determine the state delegates. [ Read more → ]

A California gay teen — who spent more than 10 years working toward become an Eagle Scout — has had his hopes dashed once again in his quest to attain Scouting’s highest honor. [ Read more → ]

A California teen who spent years in the Boy Scouts completing the requirements to become an Eagle Scout, only to be denied the rank because he's gay, has received new support by the local council's review board to receive Scouting's highest honor, the rank of Eagle Scout. [ Read more → ]

SAN FRANCISCO -- California Gov. Jerry Brown this week appealed a U.S. District Court injunction that has blocked the enforcement of a new state law that prohibits providing controversial "gay-to-straight" conversion therapy to LGBT youth. [ Read more → ]

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal appeals court on Friday blocked the start of a new California law that prohibits therapists from practicing sexual orientation conversion, or "reparative," therapy on minors. [ Read more → ]

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal appeals court on Thursday said that two leases held by the Boy Scouts of America do not violate the constitutional separation of church and state, despite the Scouts' policies that prohibit atheists, agnostics and homosexuals from becoming members. [ Read more → ]

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge on Tuesday denied a request by an anti-LGBT group to postpone the January 1, 2013 start of California’s new law banning controversial gay-to-straight conversion, or "reparative" therapy, for LGBT youth. [ Read more → ]

A federal judge in California on Monday issued a temporary injunction on the state's ban on controverial gay-to-straight "conversion" therapy, but limited the scope of his order to just the three providers who have appealed the ban. [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) has announced that she will introduce a House resolution on Wednesday, Nov. 28, asking the U.S. House of Representatives to encourage states to take steps to prevent minors from being harmed by controversial and discredited gay-to-straight conversion therapy. [ Read more → ]

Governor Jerry Brown on Wednesday made judicial history by appointing the first openly gay justice to serve on the California Court of Appeals. [ Read more → ]

SAN DIEGO – Joshua James Larson, the former Playgirl model who was convicted of second-degree murder in connection with the 2011 beating death of Jason “Cowboy” Huggins, was sentenced to an indefinite term of 19 years to life at a hearing today. [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON -- The United States Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it has rescheduled the private conference to review the legal appeals relating to California's Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. [ Read more → ]

SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco Health Commission, the governing and policy-making body of the city's Department of Public Health, announced Tuesday its intent to remove transgender exclusions from the "Healthy San Francisco" health access program. [ Read more → ]

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Openly gay Democrat Mark Takano beat his Republican opponent John Tavaglione by a double-digit margin in the race for California's U.S. House District 41, and will become the first LGBT person of color in the U.S. Congress. [ Read more → ]

SAN DIEGO – Bob Filner won election as mayor of San Diego early today, defeating Carl DeMaio, whose election would have made history as the first gay Republican to take the reins of one of America’s largest cities, [ Read more → ]

SAN DIEGO -- A British theologian claims that the University of San Diego has withdrawn a fellowship and revoked a speaking invitation because she signed a letter supporting civil marriage rights for same-sex couples in the United Kingdom. [ Read more → ]