Politics

Harold Ford Jr., the former Tennessee congressman and potential U.S. Senate challenger to New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand, got a cool reception Wednesday from gay rights advocates who are skeptical of his new found support for gay marriage. Speaking at the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York, Ford was interrupted numerous times by protesters who waved […]

Angered by the defeat last year of a bill that would have allowed same-sex couples to marry, a group of well-financed gay rights advocates has started a political action committee to take aim at state senators who have opposed same-sex marriage. According to The New York Times, the political action committee, Fight Back New York, […]

Here’s another homophobic loudmouth looking for his fifteen minutes of fame on Fox News: During a lightning round of two-minute speeches by young activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, DC. today, Ryan Sorba, of the Young Conservatives of California attempted to incite an anti-gay riot by bashing CPAC organizers for inviting a […]

Several leaders of anti-gay groups held a press conference Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, DC., to voice support for maintaining the failed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on gays in the military. The press conference coincided with the release of a report, “To Keep Our Honor Clean: Why We Must […]

State Representative Gordon Fox this week became the first openly gay lawmaker elected Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. The Democrat from Providence was overwhelmingly elected with 51 votes in the House, with the other 19 votes going to two other candidates. Democrats nominated him during an earlier closed-door caucus. Fox, 48, announced […]

New Jersey’s largest gay rights group is suspending donations to political parties after feeling spurned by Democratic lawmakers who did not pass a gay marriage bill. In a statement released Monday, Garden State Equality said it will now contribute only to individual candidates and pro-LGBT non-party organizations: Sending a bold signal that no political party […]

U.S. lawmakers this week introduced resolutions in both the House and Senate, condemning an anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda’s parliament, calling it an attack on human rights and an obstacle to battling HIV/AIDS. The Ugandan bill, dubbed the “Kill the Gays” bill, would execute people for being gay if they have HIV/AIDS or were convicted of […]

On the heels of his election victory in Massachusetts, Republican Senator-elect Scott Brown appeared on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, and signaled he would not serve as his party’s strict, unwavering 41st vote in the U.S. Senate. “Make no mistake, I am a fiscal conservative,” Brown told Barbara Walters. “And when it comes to issues […]

A state lawmaker, running for the GOP nomination to be the next Secretary of State in Michigan, is wasting no time addressing the real issues facing Michigan — stopping transgender people from changing their sex on their drivers license. Paul Scott, who just completed the first year of his first two-year term in the Michigan […]

In a sign that he’s considering considering challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) in the Democratic primary, former Rep. Harold Ford Jr., (D-Tennessee) has gone on the record in support of same-sex marriage. Though he twice voted in favor of a constitutional ban on ban gay marriage, Ford now states: “My support for fairness and […]

President Obama recently named Amanda Simpson, believed to be the first transgender woman appointed to a senior government role, to be a Senior Technical Advisor to the Commerce Department, according to ABC News. Simpson, a member of the National Center for Transgender Equality’s board of directors, said in a statement, that “as one of the […]

Salt Lake has its first openly gay city council member, reports KTVX-TV. On Monday afternoon, Stan Penfold (pictured) took the oath of office, in both a historic and emotional day. Penfold told ABC 4: “I was a little surprised I got kind of choked up. I wasn’t planning on that.” But the tears were mixed […]

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, the front-runner in the Republican primary election for U.S. Senate, finds himself the object of an unusual attack ad from one of his lesser-known opponents, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. Andy Martin, who has run for numerous elective offices over the last three decades in Illinois, Florida and Connecticut, taped a commercial […]

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, widely regarded as a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2012, seems to be clarifying past positions, lest he be mistaken for supporting LGBTQ rights. In a recent interview with Newsweek’s Howard Fineman, Pawlenty expresses his regret for having voted in favor of a 1993 state bill, the first of its kind […]

Five members of the U.S. Congress are calling on Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to reject proposed anti-gay legislation that imposes harsh penalties, including execution, for certain acts of homosexuality. The five representatives — Chris Smith, Frank Wolf, Joe Pitts, Trent Franks and Anh “Joseph” Cao (all Republicans) — have written a letter to Mouseveni pressing […]

In a recent interview with Bolomberg’s Al Hunt, Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said he cringes at the idea of an openly gay president. “It would be bothersome to me just personally because I consider it immoral,” DeMint said. The South Carolina Republican, who has become the face of the Republican purity movement, goes right on […]

Annise Parker has been elected mayor of the nation’s 4th largest city, making Houston the largest U.S. city to ever have an openly gay individual serve as mayor. Recognizing the significance of her victory to the LGBTQ community nationwide, Parker said, “I acknowledge that. I embrace that.” “I know what this win means to many […]

Houston voters head to the polls Saturday to vote on several runoff races, and final polls indicate they could elect the city’s first openly gay mayor. City Controller Annise Parker is a lesbian who has never made a secret or an issue of her sexual orientation. If she wins, Houston will become the largest U.S. […]

Houston’s openly gay city controller has pulled ahead in the race to be mayor of the nation’s fourth largest city, just two days before a runoff election, according to a new poll — despite a wave of anti-gay attacks. [fbshare] It’s believed if Annise Parker wins Saturday’s runoff, it would make Houston the nation’s largest […]

Assemblyman John Pérez, an openly gay Latino Democrat from Los Angeles, made history Thursday when he was unanimously chosen by the California Assembly’s Democratic Caucus as the lower house’s leader, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Pérez, a freshman lawmaker who is expected to be formally voted in as the 68th Assembly Speaker in January, will […]