News

HOUSTON — San Antonio’s recent passage of an LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance leaves Houston, the nation’s fourth largest city, as the only major metropolitan area in Texas without its own citywide ordinance, and mayor Annise Parker says the city should follow suit.

HONOLULU — Just weeks away from a a special session of the Hawaii legislature called by Gov. Neil Abercrombie to move forward on a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage, the Mormon church is once again calling upon its membership to get involved.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A proposal to repeal Arkansas’ constitutional ban on gay marriage is one step closer to going before voters next year after the state’s top lawyer approved a request Thursday to certify the measure’s popular name and ballot title.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A 16-year-old male teen arrested Tuesday in connection with an attack on a gay man outside a popular Cleveland gay bar over the Labor Day weekend will not face a hate crime charge.

WASHINGTON — A group of lawmakers on Thursday introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to “prohibit discrimination through the federal tax code” against individuals or institutions that exercise religious conscience regarding marriage as between one man and one woman.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Alaska State Personnel Board has voted to include the same-sex partners of state employees in the definition of “immediate family” for purposes of leave.

CLEARWATER, Fla. — The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a complaint with U.S. Department of Education accusing the Pinellas County Schools of discriminating against a transgender nursing student who was banned from using the women’s restrooms at Pinellas Technical Education Center in Clearwater, Fla.

Newly elected Australian prime minster Tony Abbott said this week that his government is considering possibly blocking the Australian Capital Territory’s (ACT) proposed same-sex marriage legislation.

PORTERVILLE, Calif. — An ongoing clash in Porterville, Calif., between the mayor and city council members over a proclamation designating June as LGBT Pride month, has cost the mayor and vice mayor their jobs.

VALDAI, Russia — President Vladimir Putin denied Thursday that gays face discrimination in Russia, saying that a new law that has drawn protests worldwide does not infringe on their rights.