American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER)

Over the past few years, several national and local LGBTQ organizations have shut their doors after financial difficulties.

The announcement comes six weeks after the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage in the US.

Ted Olson, attorney for the American Foundation for Equal Rights who successfully argued for marriage equality in California and Virginia cases, versu hate group leader Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, in an appearance today on Fox News Sunday. Says Olson: “We have a Constitution and a Bill Of Rights precisely because we […]

To say there’s been a flurry of discussion around the release of a new book Tuesday on the legal case that challenged California’s Proposition 8 would be an understatement. The book, “Forcing the Spring,” by The New York Times writer Jo Becker, has been thoroughly pilloried by many plugged-in LGBT activists and journalists this week, both publicly and privately.

Seven years ago, Virginians voted 57 percent to 43 percent to approve the gay marriage ban. But Carol Schall and Mary Townley believe the tide is changing. Their view is supported by a Quinnipiac University poll in July that found that 50 percent of registered Virginia voters support same-sex marriage, while 43 percent oppose it.

With just days left before the U.S. Supreme Court rules on Proposition 8, the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) has compiled this look back at the last three years of working to overturn California’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) offers this behind-the-scenes look at the preparation and planning for it’s March 26 argument at the U.S. Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8, California’s ban on same-sex marriage.

The American Foundation for Equal Rights is debunking a new video by the National Organization for Marriage — entitled “Marriage 101” — calling it propaganda that includes claims that NOM knows are not true.

The plaintiffs challenging California’s Proposition 8 on Friday filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court defending the landmark federal appeals court ruling in Perry v. Brown (now Hollingsworth v. Perry) that found Proposition 8 unconstitutional.

LOS ANGELES — A star-studded benefit reading of of Dustin Lance Black’s play “8,” featuring Brad Pitt and George Clooney, raised more than $2 million Saturday night for the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), and gave YouTube viewers around the world a rare glimpse into the historic trial of Proposition 8, California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.

The founder and president of a high-profile California-based LGBT rights group has been named as the new president of the Human Rights Campaign. HRC announced Friday that Chad Griffin, board president of the American Foundation of Equal Rights, will succeed Joe Solmonese as president.

Not long after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stuck another dagger into California’s discriminatory Proposition 8 law on Tuesday, Olson calmly but firmly spoke about how the court’s decision affirmed that Prop 8 “violated the fundamental human rights” of gay and lesbian Americans.

A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled against the release of the videotapes of the Proposition 8 trial, the federal court challenge of California’s 2008 voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.

It’s been a crazy week, with secret anti-gay activists unmasked and then re-masked in Washington state. A Maryland football player is our new best friend, DOMA continues to crumble but not before costing taxpayers $520 per hour. And why is Australia’s Prime Minister resisting a marriage equality measure that would increase public support for her party?

U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Ware on Monday ordered the release of the video and audio tapes of the Proposition 8 trial. In his 16-page ruling, Ware cited the need to preserve the integrity of the federal judiciary and stated that he saw no compelling reason keeping the tapes under seal.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker was not obligated to disqualify himself from from hearing the case because he is gay and in a long-term relationship with another man, another federal judge ruled on Tuesday.

Supporters of California’s Proposition 8 were back in court on Monday, seeking to have the ruling voided because the federal judge that presided over the case is gay, and did not disclose he was in a long-term, same-sex relationship.

SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Court of Appeals panel hearing the Proposition 8 case on Wednesday denied a request by plaintiffs to lift the stay on the lower court’s ruling in their favor. Had the three-judge panel granted the request, same-sex couples in California would have been able to obtain marriage licenses immediately. In refusing […]

The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) and its legal team filed a reply brief on Thursday, supporting a motion in the Ninth Circuit asking that the Court immediately lift an order preventing gay and lesbian couples from marrying in California.