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FedEx to expand health coverage to include same-sex partners
Shipping giant FedEx announced Tuesday it will begin offering health insurance to same-sex domestic partners. The benefit won’t become available until January 1, 2012, and while the company has yet to finalize many of the details, it has announced the expansion of its benefits program nonetheless. The Memphis-based shipper had been coming under pressure from […]
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Powell: ‘the law will change and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell will go away’
Appearing on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, former Secretary of State Colin Powell said “the country has changed” in the 17 years since “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” became law and now believes, “it is perfectly acceptable to get rid of the law and the policy.” The retired general and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs […]
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Malawi president pardons gay couple
A gay couple in Malawi sentenced to 14 years hard labor for holding the country’s first same-sex engagement were pardoned Saturday after a meeting between the president and the UN Secretary General. President Bingu wa Mutharika announced his pardon of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga after meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, according to […]
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Obama declares June ‘LGBT Pride Month’ in presidential proclamation
On Friday, President Obama declared June as “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, “and called upon Americans to “renew our commitment to the struggle for equal rights for LGBT Americans and to ending prejudice and injustice wherever it exists.” Following is the full text of the Presidential Proclamation, issued by the White House: As […]
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U.S. House vote on Pentagon policy advances effort to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
The U.S. House approved a measure Friday that includes a provision to allow the Defense Department to repeal the 17-year-old Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on gays serving openly in the military. By a vote of 229-186 that split largely down party lines, the House approved a larger Pentagon policy bill that contains the repeal, […]
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Outed California lawmaker changes course on anti-gay voting record
A California state lawmaker who was forced to reveal he is gay after a recent arrest for drunken driving spoke out passionately in favor of gay rights during a legislative session Thursday, urging his fellow senators to “rise above discrimination” and support letting gays serve openly in the military. Sen. Roy Ashburn, a Republican from […]
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House passes amendment to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ — Obama hails Congress’ efforts
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday night to authorize the Defense Department to repeal the ban on gays serving openly in the military, clearing another hurdle toward dismantling the 1993 law widely known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The provision to allow military commanders to repeal the ban was adopted as an amendment to […]
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Senate committee votes to add ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal to Defense budget
The Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday voted to repeal the ban on openly gay serve members, a major step toward dismantling the Clinton-era policy widely known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as part of the annual defense authorization bill. The New York Times reports: The Senate Armed Services Committee voted in a closed session, […]
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Lawmakers, gay rights advocates say they have the votes to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
Lawmakers and gay-rights activists predicted Wednesday that both the Senate and House will have enough votes to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on openly gay service members. According to The Hill: Legislation to scrap the ban on openly gay service members in the military is expected to clear a major hurdle Thursday in […]
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California’s Harvey Milk Day first ever state recognition of LGBT person in U.S. history
Saturday marks Harvey Milk Day in California, the first official State Day of Recognition for an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender person in our nation’s history. Last year, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law the Harvey Milk Day bill, sponsored by Equality California and authored by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). In honor of […]