News (USA)

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 […]

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, […]

New Jersey is shaping up as the next battleground for gay marriage as advocates for and against begin recruiting volunteers and calling lawmakers in preparation for a major public debate later this year. Lawmakers are expected to debate a same-sex marriage bill during the lame-duck period between the November 3 election and start of a […]

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said Friday that he refuses to defend a new law that grants gay and lesbian couples spousal benefits such as hospital visitation, claiming lawmakers went against voters’ decision not to extend such privileges. Van Hollen believes the state’s new domestic partnership law, which took effect August 3, is unconstitutional. […]

The Iowa Civil Rights Commission (ICRC), a leading civil rights panel in the state, has voted in favor of a resolution supporting gay marriage and to formally oppose any constitutional amendment that would overturn the decision. “The ICRC supports the unanimous Iowa Supreme Court decision on civil marriage equality for all adults and opposes efforts […]

The City of West Hollywood plans to honor the marriages of gay and lesbian couples with a plaque inscribed with a quote from Nelson Mandela, the Los Angeles Times has reported. The bronze marker will be installed in West Hollywood Park on September 8, a site where many gay weddings were held when it was […]

A 15-year-old Michigan boy says two other teenagers beat him because he is gay, and two advocacy groups spoke out this week against the beating. The attack on Steven Harmon on August 13 is being called a hate crime by his family. Investigators say Steven was punched repeatedly by two teenagers in a parking lot […]

Gay marriage supporters in Maine began running a television advertisement statewide Thursday, featuring gay and straight Mainers talking about the importance of equality. It is the first television advertisement in an anticipated referendum on Maine’s gay marriage law. Maine’s gay marriage law was scheduled to take effect on September 11, but it’s been sidetracked as […]

A federal judge on Wednesday set a January 11, 2010 date for the highly anticipated trial in the legal challenge to California’s voter-approved Proposition 8, a ban on same-sex marriage. The judge, Vaughn R. Walker of Federal District Court in San Francisco, said arguments would begin then over the fate of Prop 8, which Californians […]

The Fort Worth police chief said Tuesday that his department is implementing new policies in the wake of a controversial bar check at the Rainbow Lounge last June. Chief Jeff Halstead said officials are still investigating what happened during the June 28 raid on the gay bar by Fort Worth police officers and state agents […]

The debate over gay marriage took center stage Monday night at the Durham, North Carolina City Council meeting. After no debate and little public comment, the council unanimously passed a resolution supporting same-sex marriage. The resolution, introduced by Durham resident Joshua Lee Weaver, calls upon the State to extend marriage rights and benefits to same-sex […]

The U.S. Justice Department’s civil rights division has hired a veteran Senate staffer and gay rights activist Matt Nosanchuk as senior counselor and liaison to the gay and lesbian community. The announcement comes on the heels of yesterday’s move by the DOJ to dismiss a federal suit arguing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is […]