News

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie on Friday afternoon vetoed a bill approved by the state legislature that would legalize same-sex marriage — just six hours after it reached his desk.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A federal district court has ruled that a Missouri school district must stop using filtering software to censor web content geared toward the LGBT community. The ruling orders the Camdenton R-III School District to discontinue filtering content that includes LGBT-supportive information, including hundreds of websites that are not sexually explicit in any way.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Maryland House of Delegates on Thursday put off for at least one day a scheduled debate on legislation to legalize same-sex marriage, leading some to speculate that supporters lack the votes to pass the legislation.

TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey state Assembly on Thursday approved its version of the marriage equality bill by a vote of 42-33, although political analysts noted the vote falls short of the necessary 54 votes for an override of Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s promised veto.

The popular music director at a Charlotte Catholic church has lost his job because he married his partner of 23 years in New York, one of seven states to recognize same-sex marriages.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A panel in the Tennessee state House on Wednesday voted to advance the controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill, a measure that would prohibit Tennessee public schools from teaching LGBTQ-related issues.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Oklahoma state Rep. Al McAffrey, was elected to the state Senate in a special election on Tuesday, becoming the first openly gay Oklahoma state senator.

CHICAGO — Mayor Rahm Emanuel pledged his support for a new bill introduced in the General Assembly last week that would legalize same-sex marriage in Illinois. Emanuel’s support for the bill comes nearly a day after Gov. Pat Quinn suggested that he was unsure about his stance on same-sex marriage, despite having signed the civil unions bill into law last year.

A Colorado Senate committee on Wednesday evening gave its blessing for a bill to establish civil unions in Colorado. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Pat Steadman and Lucia Guzman, was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 5-2.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) hopes to put the politically delicate question of same-sex marriage behind him and is prepared to swiftly veto a bill extending marriage rights to gays and lesbians, even if it means ignoring the arguments of proponents.