The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to expand the definition of violent federal hate crimes to include those committed because of a victim’s sexual orientation, a step that would extend new protections to gay, lesbian,and transgender people, reports the New York Times. Democrats hailed the vote of 281 to 146, which brought the measure […]

President Obama is preparing to nominate his first openly gay ambassador, according to a knowledgeable source. David Huebner, who serves as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation’s general counsel, will be nominated to become the administration’s ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. A formal announcement is expected Wednesday evening, reports the Washington Blade. Huebner, […]

From the Washington Post: Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill said it appears unlikely that Congress will block a bill to be introduced Tuesday that would allow same-sex marriages in the District. D.C. Council leaders have vowed to expedite the bill and said they hope to put it to a final vote before Christmas. But […]

Microsoft has contributed $100,000 to the campaign to approve Referendum 71, which would uphold a state law to expand domestic-partnership benefits, the Seattle Times reports. The company made the donation on Friday to Washington Families Standing Together, a group supporting the law, which gives registered couples the same state-provided benefits as married couples. Here is […]

MIAMI — A federal court in Miami has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Washington state lesbian who was not allowed to visit her dying partner at Jackson Memorial Hospital. “The hospital took the position that we thought was pretty extreme — that it has no duty, no legal obligation, to allow visitors [of any […]

The number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) characters on broadcast TV is again on the rise, according to a new report from The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). The group’s 14th annual TV study found that 18 LGBT characters will account for 3% of prime time scripted series regulars in the […]

A senior official of the Department of Education expressed regret Wednesday for an incident that happened when he was a young teacher in the late 1980s, saying he should have handled it differently, but that society could benefit from his error, reports ABC News. Kevin Jennings, director of the Department of Education’s Office of Safe […]

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The 2014 international Gay Games are heading to Cleveland.

If you walk through the LDS Church Plaza in Salt Lake City you’ll see some new signs. They put visitors on notice that the Church can refuse access to anyone for any reason. The added language to the signs address concerns about how the Church notifies those walking through that the thoroughfare is in fact […]

The domestic partnership benefits of hundreds of Wisconsin gay couples could be overturned in what’s becoming a growing legal battle. Currently, gay couples in Wisconsin can register for domestic partnerships rights, enacted through legislation that took effect August 3. Since then, about 1,000 couples have applied, according to gay rights advocacy group Fair Wisconsin. Now, […]

Iowans are almost evenly divided about whether they would vote for or against a constitutional amendment to end marriage for same-sex couples, according to a new poll by the Des Moines Register. Forty-one percent say they would vote for a ban, and 40 percent say they would vote to continue gay marriage. The rest either […]

The U.S. Navy is reviewing its investigation of hazing and abuse of a gay sailor and others in a military canine unit in Bahrain in 2005 and 2006, the Associated Press reports. Joseph Rocha says he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder related to the abuse. The hazing allegedly occurred while he served with military […]

Late night TV’s Chelsea Handler (Chelsea Lately) will host the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s 38th Anniversary Gala and Auction at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on October 24, reports SheWired.com. The event should be laugh packed with the outspoken Handler and equally outspoken honorees Wanda Sykes (The New Adventures of […]

BOSTON — Justice Department lawyers are reluctantly defending the federal law that prevents recognition of same-sex marriages, making their legal arguments in a Boston court while pointing out that the Obama administration opposes the measure, the Boston Globe reports. On Friday, Justice attorneys asked a federal judge in Boston to dismiss a lawsuit that claims […]

In a new poll released Friday by the polling organization Research 2000 and the political Web site dailykoz.com, 48 percent of those surveyed said they’d vote to repeal the law and 46 percent said they would vote to keep it on the books. With a margin of error of plus or minus 4 points, the […]

PHOENIX — Domestic partners are being eliminated from Arizona state employee benefits just a year after they were added to the benefits plan, reports the Arizona Daily Star.

Star Trek alum George Takei and his husband, Brad Altman, will make television history as the first gay couple to compete on The Newlywed Game, GSN announced. “What we want is to display the normality and the joy of having a happy union,” Takei said, who married Altman last September. “To be included in something […]

House Democrats are mobilizing around a new bill that would overturn the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman and relieved states of recognizing same-sex marriage performed in other states. Leading the effort is Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-New York), who said that when the law was signed […]

ATLANTA — Days of protests over an Atlanta police raid on a gay bar continued Tuesday afternoon, this time reaching city hall. About 20 protestors showed up for the Atlanta City Council’s Public Safety Committee meeting, claiming the Sept. 10 raid at the Atlanta Eagle bar was uncalled for and heavy handed, reports WXIA-TV. Witnesses […]

Opponents of same-sex marriage launched a television campaign Tuesday, two weeks behind supporters, in a contentious debate over whether to repeal Maine’s new marriage law. A no vote on the November ballot referendum question means a vote to support the law as passed while a yes vote opposes same-sex marriage and would support repealing the […]