News

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.. — Two years ago, following the death of Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old freshman at Rutgers University who jumped to his death from the George Washington bridge after a sexual encounter he had with another man was streamed online by his roommate, Rutgers quickly found itself being associated with homophobia and cruelty.

DENVER – The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and co-counsel filed a federal lawsuit today against an anti-gay hate group that took a gay couple’s engagement photo and misappropriated it for a political ad that attacked a Colorado lawmaker’s support for same-sex civil unions.

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said on Monday that the campaign to defend his state’s same-sex marriage law needs to raise another $2 million ahead of the Nov. 6 referendum.

MAPLEWOOD, Mo. – Seven St. Louis county municipalities now offer protections for their LGBT citizens following a 4-3 vote on Tuesday from the Maplewood City Council.

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota’s 400,000 Roman Catholic households are scheduled to receive a letter this week from all of the state’s bishops, urging them to donate money for television ads asking voters to say yes to a constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage.

NEW YORK — In a closely watched contest and by the narrowest of margins, Republican New York State Sen. Stephen Saland, one of four GOP senators to cast votes in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, appears headed to victory in his primary battle against challenger Neil Di Carlo.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Southern Poverty Law Center said it plans to file a lawsuit on Wednesday, Sept. 26, in Denver in the U.S. District Court for Colorado against a Falls Church, Va.-based anti-gay group over a direct-mail campaign that used an altered version of a New York gay couple’s engagement photo without their knowledge or permission.

SAN DIEGO – A former Playgirl model has been convicted of second-degree murder in connection with the beating death of Jason “Cowboy” Huggins, a beloved figure in the San Diego LGBT community.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday included no same-sex marriage cases in its first announcement of what lower court decisions it will review during the 2012-13 session. Legal activists will almost certainly begin speculating now whether the high court is preparing to refuse to hear an appeal to preserve California’s same-sex marriage ban, Proposition 8. That action could come as early as Monday, October 1, or be pending for weeks.

MINNEAPOLIS — A new poll commissioned by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune shows slightly more Minnesotans favor the ballot initiative for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, but that support falls just short of the 50 percent needed to pass the measure.