News

File this under “WTF?” Florida lawmakers are hoping to pass a $75 million incentive package to attract movie studios to film in the sunshine state, but a little noticed provision could deny tax credits to movies that feature gay characters or other “non-traditional” families. Current state law gives tax credits on productions that are “family […]

A Republican state senator from California with perfect record for voting against gay rights, acknowledged Monday that he was gay. “I am gay,” said state Sen. Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield, breaking his silence on a conservative AM talk-radio show. “Those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long.” The admission […]

In the latest move by Virginia’s new, anti-gay Republican leadership, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has urged the state’s colleges and universities to rescind policies that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. In a letter Thursday to the presidents, rectors and boards of visitors of Virginia public colleges, Cuccinelli said that […]

Three Bay Area men are scheduled to be arraigned on assault and hate crime charges in San Francisco next week for allegedly shooting a man they thought was gay with a BB gun. The Feb. 26 incident took place at about 10 p.m. when the 27-year-old San Francisco man had just come out of a […]

Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Connecticut) introduced a bill on Wednesday to repeal the ban on openly gay service members in the military. The current law, dubbed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” calls for service members to be discharged if they disclose that they are homosexual. Lieberman introduced the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, legislation that would lift the […]

Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts called today for the Food and Drug Administration to lift a “discriminatory” ban on gay men donating blood. Kerry led a group of 18 senators — 17 Democrats and one independent — who sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, urging her to lift the lifetime ban on […]

Rep. Christine Johnson, one of Utah’s two openly gay lawmakers, will step down from her seat in the State House at year’s end, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. “I’m not leaving because I’m giving up on the fight in Utah,” the two-term Salt Lake City Democrat said Thursday after announcing she won’t seek re-election. […]

A California lawmaker who has repeatedly voted against gay rights measures since taking office eight years ago, was charged with driving under the influence on Wednesday, reportedly after leaving the gay nightclub, Faces, in midtown Sacramento. The California Highway Patrol pulled over (State) Senator Roy Ashburn at 2:00 a.m. Wednesday after an officer noticed a […]

At least 50 same-sex couples lined up to apply for marriage licenses when city offices opened Wednesday as gay marriage became legal in the nation’s capital.

The Archdiocese of Washington has changed its employee health care policy in the latest fallout from the District’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage. As of Tuesday, Catholic Charities will no longer offer benefits to spouses of new employees or to spouses of current employees who are not already enrolled in the plan. Under the District’s […]