WASHINGTON -- A Senate panel approved LGBT-inclusive legislation on Thursday that would extend and strengthen programs working to combat and prevent domestic violence.

Significant events are crowding the calendar for 2012, and each promises considerable drama and suspense for the LGBT community. Here is our special report on the ten most important stories to keep an eye on:

A new law in Ireland means that New Yorkers now have more rights on the Emerald Isle than they do in their own country. A hospital in Tennessee violates federal guidelines in denying visitation to a lesbian couple. There's a new ad for marriage equality in New Hampshire that epitomizes Yankee thrift. And 20,000 Australian doctors agree: marriage equality is good for your head.

WASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans on Monday blocked efforts to confirm Mari Carmen Aponte, a Washington D.C.-based attorney, as the permanent ambassador to El Salvador, because, according to one source, Aponte is an LGBT advocate who has previously called for the "elimination of prejudices" against LGBT people.

WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers on Capitol Hill unveiled on Monday an agreement on major defense budget legislation that omits anti-gay provisions found in the House version of the legislation — including language that would have prohibited military chaplains and facilities from being involved in same-sex marriage ceremonies.

House and Senate lawmakers are set to hammer out a final version of major annual defense policy legislation to send to President Obama — and the ability of military chaplains to officiate over same-sex weddings will be part of the discussion.

Lawmaker in the U.S. House and Senate on Friday reintroduced the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, and said that approving the bill would put the federal government on par with Fortune 500 corporations that already extend full benefits to same-sex partners of gay and lesbian employees.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted to repeal the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act. Now it moves to a Senate that’s hostile to marriage equality — but that’s actually okay. Matt Baume at the American Foundation for Equal Rights has a special episode of Marriage News Watch. Watch here:

A U.S. Senate committee on Thursday voted to advance the Respect for Marriage Act, an historic bill that would fully repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman.

When Gary Glenn, the head of American Family Association’s Michigan affiliate, announced his run for U.S. Senate, Right Wing Watch wondered “how long it will be before Glenn receives Mike Huckabee’s endorsement given that Huckabee believes that ‘if we had leaders like Gary Glenn across America, our work wouldn’t be so hard.’”

A Senate committee approved unanimously by voice vote on Thursday a judicial nominee who could become the fourth openly gay person to sit on the federal bench.

The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed openly lesbian Alison Nathan as the newest U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York. The vote was 48-44 in favor of Nathan's nomination to the Court -- among the 44 nay votes were five Democrats and all Republicans.

HONOLULU -- Former Republican Governor Linda Lingle on Tuesday announced that she will be a candidate for the U.S. Senate Seat currently held by retiring Democrat, Daniel Akaka.

Openly lesbian U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) -- who on Tuesday announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) -- told a group of LGBTQ journalists on Wednesday that "this campaign next year will not be about me, it will be about the middle class and the threats they are facing."

Democratic U. S. Representative Tammy Baldwin on Tuesday morning declared her candidacy for a U.S. Senate seat in her home state of Wisconsin. The seat is being vacated by fellow Democrat, Senator Herb Kohl, who announced in May that he would be retiring.