News

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 […]

Deliberate attacks against gay men in Iraq has risen significantly this year at the hands of Iraqi militias and death squads, and authorities in Baghdad are doing nothing to stop the violence, according to a report released Monday by an international human rights organization. The 67-page report by New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) , […]

Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan vetoed the controversial anti-discrimination ordinance on Monday, citing negative comments and arguing that there is no need for the measure. City leaders passed the measure that bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in areas of employment, housing and credit by a 7 to 4 vote last […]

The Obama administration declared today that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) discriminates against gays and lesbians, while at the same time Justice Department lawyers moved in federal court to defend the law, and urged a federal judge to throw out a case brought by a gay couple married in California. “The Department of Justice […]

The Mormon church’s aggressive support for Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California last year, has turned the Utah-based church into a lightning rod for gay rights activism, including a “nationwide kiss-in” today in more than 50 communities. The event comes after gay couples in Utah and Texas were arrested, cited for trespassing or […]

In what’s shaping up to be a heated race in Iowa’s House District 90, Republican Stephen Burgmeier has received the endorsement of anti-gay rights organization Everyday America. The race between Burgmeier and Democrat Curt Hanson to fill the seat left open when Democratic Rep. John Whitaker accepted President Obama’s appointment to serve as the Iowa […]

One of California’s largest gay rights advocacy groups announced this week it will wait until 2012 to push for an amendment to the state Constitution permitting same-sex marriage, but other organizations with the same agenda insisted they want to bring the issue back to voters in 2010. Leaders of Equality California, which spearheaded the campaign […]

Minnesota’s largest school district, Anoka-Hennepin, has agreed to pay a family $25,000 after two teachers allegedly harassed a boy because of his perceived sexual orientation, according to the Star Tribune. The teachers reportedly harassed the boy and subjected him to classroom jokes, comments and innuendos. The boy’s “fence swings both ways,” teacher Diane Cleveland commented […]

From NPR. The American Civil Liberties Union announced today that they have settled out of court with two Tennessee school districts sued on behalf of local students for blocking classroom access to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Web sites. The lawsuit alleged that Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools and Knox County Schools violated the rights of […]