News

WASHINGTON — A Department of Housing and Urban Development official said Monday religious institutions receiving federal funds for housing programs will have to abide by a new HUD rule prohibiting discrimination against LGBT people.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Marriage equality in Washington state moved another step forward as a House panel on Monday approved its version of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. The House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines in favor of the bill, with seven Democrats voting for, and six Republicans voting against. The state’s Senate is […]

BALTIMORE — Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley — who has said legalizing marriage equality is a high priority for his administration — underscored a need for rational thinking and polite public discourse over the issue in a speech Sunday at the 24th National Conference on LGBT Equality.

Maine, Washington, and Maryland are all closer than ever to marriage equality, but the Governor of New Jersey thinks that civil rights should be put to a popular vote — whether it’s marriage today, or school desegregation in the 1950s. This week’s Marriage News Watch report is here…

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, in an unusually outspoken declaration Sunday, told African leaders assembled at the African Union summit that they must respect gay rights, an issue that is controversial in many African states.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee State Sen. Stacey Campfield — the Knoxville lawmaker who is behind the controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill making its way in the Tennessee state legislature — was ejected from Knoxville bistro on Sunday because of his anti-gay views.

MOSCOW — LGBT activists in Russia are planning a campaign to boycott the Russian airline Aeroflot following a report that a gay flight attendant was forced by the airline to enter into a heterosexual marriage or face losing his job.

BALTIMORE — Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan officially announced on Saturday his department will make final “next week” a proposed rule to protect LGBT people against discrimination in federal housing programs.

WASHINGTON — A Republican lawmaker has introduced new legislation aimed at prohibiting gay and lesbian service members from marrying on U.S. military bases, and would require new regulations related to chaplains and other military personnel.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state took another step closer to becoming the seventh state to offer full marriage equality as a Senate panel on Thursday advanced a bill to legalize same-sex marriage.