Category Archives: News
June 26: An historic date marking victories that almost didn’t happen
Three important U.S. Supreme Court decisions have made June 26 the most historic date on the LGBT civil rights movement’s calendar. But the powerful impact of two of those decisions has almost obscured the fact that they were narrow victories.
Mizeur falls, Maloney hits a bump, but 9 out of 12 advance in primaries
Nine of 12 openly LGBT candidates won their primary races Tuesday; but, lesbian Maryland State Delegate Heather Mizeur was not one them. And U.S. Rep. Sean Maloney was bested by his Republican opponent in a head-to-head ballot for the Independence
Obama prepares to sign executive order on federal contractors
In a sudden but not necessarily unexpected gesture, the White House indicated today that President Obama has “directed his staff” to prepare an executive order to prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or
Judge dismisses most of NOM lawsuit against IRS over disclosure to HRC
A federal district court judge on June 3 dismissed most of a lawsuit by the National Organization for Marriage that claimed an employee of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service deliberately leaked a confidential tax document from NOM to the Human
Gallup Polls show significant gains for LGBT community in public support
More than any other controversial issue involving ideas of morality, "gay and lesbian relations" has seen the most dramatic improvement in terms of the public's acceptance. Three recent Gallup Polls show significant gains for the LGBT community when it comes
Oregon becomes number 18, as openly gay judge rules ban is ‘completely irrational’
Oregon on Monday became the 18th state to allow same-sex couples to marry, bringing to 39 percent, the population of the U.S. now living in marriage equality states. The Oregon ban on same-sex couples marrying was struck down by a ruling
Fourth Circuit clash over Virginia ban: Whose children must the state protect with marriage laws?
The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals hearing Tuesday was, as Judge Paul Niemeyer characterized it, just one step along the way to an eventual U.S. Supreme Court ruling on whether states, like Virginia, can ban same-sex couples from marrying.
United Church of Christ lawsuit in North Carolina challenges penalty for ministers
In a first of its kind lawsuit, a group of ministers filed a complaint in federal court Monday against North Carolina’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples, saying that the law’s penalties against clergy who conduct ceremonies for same-sex marriages
Prop 8 book ‘Forcing the Spring’ triggers pile-on of criticism for ‘distortions’
There has been a dramatic pile-on of criticism around the release Tuesday of a new book about the legal case that challenged California’s Proposition 8. The book, Forcing the Spring, by New York Times writer Jo Becker, has been thoroughly
Utah marriage cases cued up before the Tenth Circuit today, and next week
The Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals today will become the second federal appeals court to tackle the question of whether statewide laws banning same-sex couples from marrying violate the U.S. Constitution. A three-judge panel will scrutinize the decision last
