News

D.C. lawmakers have moved forward with a proposed same-sex marriage bill. On Tuesday, city council members from the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary approved the bill 4-1, and it now goes to the full council. The committee held two public hearings on the bill after it was introduced in early October and heard […]

The State Senate delayed a highly anticipated vote on same-sex marriage on Tuesday, putting off the issue indefinitely as gay rights supporters continued to lobby for additional votes, reports The New York Times. Republicans and Democrats said that as of Tuesday afternoon, the measure was still several votes short of the 32 necessary for approval. […]

RUSSELLVILLE, Alabama — Cynthia Stewart, a 17-year-old junior at Tharptown High School in northern Alabama, is a member of her school’s prom planning committee and had personally raised over $200 for the prom. But if she shows up to the prom, it may be canceled for everyone. The reason: Cynthia is an out lesbian. When […]

D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) released Monday a revised draft of the bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the nation’s capital, removing language that would have phased out city registration of new domestic partnerships, the Washington Blade reports. Mendelson, who chairs the Council committee that has jurisdiction over the bill, also broadened the […]

The nation’s largest doctors’ group has agreed to join efforts to repeal the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, Associated Press reports: The American Medical Association says the ‘don’t ask, don’t-tell’ law creates an ethical dilemma for gay service members and the doctors who treat them. The AMA also voted to declare that gay marriage […]

New York Governor David Paterson has asked the state legislature to vote Tuesday on a bill that would allow same-sex marriage, calling it “an issue that touches on the very core of our citizenship.” In a rare midyear address to a joint session of the Legislature, Paterson singled out his gay marriage proposal in a […]

Fighting back tears, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn urged the New York state Senate Monday to “stand up” and pass the same-sex marriage bill to prove “all New York families are equal,” the Daily News reports. Quinn, the first gay person to lead the City Council, struggled several times to control her emotions as she […]

A small majority of California voters supports the right of gay couples to marry, but a much larger portion of voters opposes efforts to place the issue back on the ballot next year, a new Los Angeles Times/USC poll has found. Overall, 51% of California voters favored marriage rights for same-sex couples and 43% were […]

ASHEVILLE, NC — With the election of three new City Council members, Asheville will consider extending benefits to same-sex partners of city employees. On Friday, Councilman-elect Gordon Smith said he hopes to extend domestic partner benefits as one of his first priorities once new council members are sworn in December 8. A majority of incoming […]

The battle over gay rights moves to New Jersey and the federal government, advocates said, after Tuesday’s narrow rejection of same-sex marriage by Maine voters. The Democrat-controlled legislature in New Jersey, which currently recognizes same-sex couples in civil unions, is under pressure to pass a bill authorizing gay marriage before Gov. Jon Corzine ends his […]