From the repeal of "Don't Ask-Don't Tell," a policy which had banned gays and lesbians from serving openly in the U. S. military, to winning strategic battles in gaining civil unions and full marriage equality for same-sex couples in several states, victories in a significant series of elective offices across the country, 2011 ended on an upbeat note for the nation's LGBTQ community.

Bullying of LGBT youth is making up a growing number of discrimination complaints received by the Obama administration, according to Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Judicial Watch announced Wednesday it has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the Family Research Council, seeking records related to the Obama Administration’s decision not to defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act.

In a sharply worded editorial, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune this week criticized the Anoka-Hennepin School District, calling the state's largest schools district "gutless" for it's neutrality policy on LGBT issues.

The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals granted an emergency order Friday night, temporarily reinstating its original stay of an order that had prohibited the government from enforcing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

The Obama administration on Thursday asked a federal appeals court to reconsider an order that requires the immediate end to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the policy banning gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

A federal court on Monday ordered the Obama Administration to reveal whether it intends to defend the constitutionality of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the military's ban on openly gay service members.

The U.S. Department of Justice has withdrawn its appeal of a recent U.S. Bankruptcy Court ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional.

The Obama Administration on Friday filed a brief in federal court reiterating its position that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional, calling it hostile toward gay and lesbian couples.

Federal investigators on Friday concluded that the Tehachapi, Calif., Unified School District failed to “adequately investigate or respond appropriately to the bullying of a gay, 13-year-old middle school student who hung himself in September due to the harassment."

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California ruled late Monday that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional, granting a legally married gay couple a joint Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

House Republicans on Monday appointed a private attorney to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in federal court, and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) vowed to take funds from the Justice Department budget to pay for it.

Democrats came out swinging on Friday during a House subcommittee hearing on the Department of Justice announcement that it would curtail its defense of the federal ban on recognition of same-sex marriages.

Congressional Democrats on Wednesday went on the offensive, introducing bills in both the House and Senate aimed at repealing the "Defense of Marriage Act."

A bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act will be re-introduced in the U.S. House on Wednesday, along with a companion bill introduced in the U.S. Senate.