Former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean is suing pageant organizers claiming she was wrongfully fired for saying marriage should be only between a man and a woman, her attorney said on Monday. Two months after her controversial statement at the Miss USA pageant in April, Prejean was fired by pageant officials who said she missed […]

Vermont’s gay marriage law is set to go into effect on Tuesday, September 1st, and supporters of same-sex marriage already are gearing up for what promises to be an emotional week. But officials are not expecting a rush to the altar. The landscape has changed since 2000, when lawmakers passed the civil union legislation, making […]

A Dallas County jury handed down a 75 year prison sentence Thursday for Bobby Singleton (pictured, on left) for brutally beating and robbing Jimmy Lee Dean (pictured, on right) in what prosecutors say was an anti-gay attack. The jury found Singleton guilty as charged Wednesday of aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony punishable by five to […]

The names and addresses of donors to Referendum 71 will not be exempt from public disclosure, the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission ruled Thursday, while another group moved to block the measure entirely. The request to remove the names was made earlier this month by Protect Marriage Washington, the group backing Referendum 71, which seeks […]

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission announced today it has fired the two agents, and their supervisor, who took part in the June raid of a Fort Worth gay bar that resulted in a clash between patrons and law enforcement officials, and leaving one man hospitalized with a serious head injuries. The Commission said agent Christopher […]

Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio spoke out this week for gay marriage, saying that gays and lesbians are not seeking “special treatment, just equitable treatment.” In his blog this week on bravotv.com, Colicchio shares his views on gay marriage, prompted by one contestant’s discomfort with this week’s wedding challenge. “I’m going to go out on […]

In his most definitive comments yet on gay rights, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday he doesn’t believe sexual orientation should be a protected class in the way that race, gender and religion are. “I don’t think we should discriminate against people,” Herbert said during his first news conference since becoming governor two weeks ago. […]

Slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in California, will be among the newest inductees to the California Hall of Fame. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver unveiled the list of 2009 inductees earlier this week, saying the 13 men and women “embody California’s innovative […]

The Florida state court of appeals began hearing arguments Wednesday on last year’s ruling that struck down the state’s ban on gay adoption. The state is appealing a Miami-Dade County judge’s November 2008 ruling that the state law that bans gay adoptions is unconstitutional. The ruling came in the case of Martin Gill, who along […]

A California-based gay rights group has filed a complaint with the Maine Ethics Commission alleging that groups trying to overturn Maine’s gay marriage law are engaging in “money laundering.” Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate, has filed a nine-page complaint, alleging that several groups targeting repeal of the law are engaging in practices to […]

The cities of El Paso, Texas, and Reno, Nev., voted this week in favor of extending health insurance benefits to the domestic partners of city employees, including gay and lesbian couples.

The Anchorage Assembly has less than two weeks left to override the mayor’s veto of the gay rights ordinance, but the first opportunity to do so came and went Tuesday night, as the assembly took no action. The ordinance’s author, Patrick Flynn, says the Assembly would have to start all over if it wants to […]

Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, the patriarch of the first family of Democratic politics, died shortly before Midnight Tuesday at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. He was 77. The man known as the “liberal lion of the Senate” had fought a more than year-long battle with brain cancer, and according to his son had lived […]

The National Organization for Marriage, which was active in getting Proposition 8 approved by voters in California, launched a campaign Monday to re-ban gay marriage in Iowa. The NOM is appealing for donations to run advertisements on behalf of political candidates who oppose same-sex marriage, and is throwing much of its support behind Republican Stephen […]

Elections officials say they’ve now verified more than 100,000 signatures for Referendum 71, an attempt to overturn Washington’s new “everything but marriage” same-sex domestic partner law. The totals as of Monday evening are: 103,898 checked, 91,716 accepted and 12,182 rejected. The overall error rate is 11.72 percent. In order to make the November statewide ballot, […]

A federal judge in Southern California has dismissed the lawsuit that created a public rift between President Barack Obama and gay supporters. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter (pictured) ruled the case — the first of several pending challenges to the federal Defense of Marriage Act — must be refiled in federal court. Carter said […]

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker is proposing a new city ordinance that includes protections for sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. The public discussion draft is based on a July report by the Salt Lake City Human Rights Commission that provides “factual confirmation of the harms caused by discriminatory practices.” The ordinance would […]

The Nevada secretary of state’s office will take applications starting Monday from both gay and straight couples who want to take advantage of Nevada’s new domestic partners law.

The second trial gets underway Monday in the 2008 hate crime attack on Dallas resident Jimmy Lee Dean (pictured). Dean, 43, was hospitalized for 10 days after the attack in July 2008 by Jonathan Gunter and Bobby Singleton. Dean has undergone multiple reconstructive surgeries since then, although medical procedures have been unsuccessful in restoring his […]

Sirius XM Radio personality Michelangelo Signorile and Log Cabin Republican spokesman Charles Moran discussed President Obama’s campaign promises and gay rights positions on CNN today. Kicking off the segment, CNN anchor Don Lemon played clips of Obama referring to himself as a “fierce advocate” and champion for LGBT rights. Moran’s opening statement challenged Obama’s advocacy, […]