News

CARSON CITY, Nev. — A Nevada state Senate committee on Thursday advanced a bill that would add gender identity to the list of protected identities in Nevada’s hate crime statute.

BOSTON — Massachusetts Democrats are faulting Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Michael Sullivan on the issue of same-sex marriage even as Sullivan scrambled to say he opposes a federal law that bars benefits for same-sex couples.

A new study estimates that approximately 900,000 adults living in the U.S. are LGBT immigrants, and among them, more than 48,000 are in a same-sex relationship in which one or both spouses or partners are not U.S. citizens.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Two Illinois Republicans are finding out that for all the talk nationally of the GOP becoming more inclusive and appealing to voters by softening stances on social issues, it’s difficult to actually follow through.

A majority of Catholic voters in the U.S. now support same-sex marriage, according to a new poll conducted by Quinnipiac University. The poll found that 54 percent of Catholic voters surveyed supported marriage equality for gays and lesbians, compared to 38 percent opposed.

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. — The head of a western Massachusetts charter school says a student production of a play that retells the biblical story of Genesis with gay characters will go on as planned despite objections from some who say it’s offensive to Christians.

GRESHAM, Ore. — About a dozen parents and students wore pink T-shirts to the Thursday night school board meeting in Gresham in support of a principal who said he’s losing his job because he’s gay.

CHICAGO — A number of African-American clergy and conservative Catholics say they’ll ban Illinois lawmakers from their churches if they vote in favor of same-sex marriage.

DENVER — A bill granting civil unions for same-sex couples in Colorado advanced Friday morning in a third House committee, and now heads to the full House for a vote.

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah Senate committee on Thursday advanced legislation proposing a statewide law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.