California

A federal judge today ordered compensation for a Los Angeles couple denied spousal benefits by the federal government because they are gay men, reports the Los Angeles Times. U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt deemed the denial of healthcare and other benefits to the spouse of federal public defender Brad Levenson to […]

A small majority of California voters supports the right of gay couples to marry, but a much larger portion of voters opposes efforts to place the issue back on the ballot next year, a new Los Angeles Times/USC poll has found. Overall, 51% of California voters favored marriage rights for same-sex couples and 43% were […]

A SkyWest Airlines baggage agent who married his partner last year after the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex unions says the airline is breaking state law by refusing to give his husband the free fares it provides to heterosexual spouses. The airline says Gilbert Caldwell’s husband is his “travel companion,” entitled to fly at a […]

SFGate.com: Californians, in particular, are watching Maine’s same sex marriage vote closely. And some, like Demi Espinoza, Daniel Shad and Gabe Gonzalez, care so passionately about the issue that they’re giving up their vacation time to volunteer in Maine to preserve gay marriage there. Each is an organizer with Equality California and they’re helping get […]

Oscar-winning writer-director Paul Haggis has severed ties with the Church of Scientology, citing in part the church’s support for Proposition 8, the ballot measure last year that banned same-sex marriage in California. Long known for his humanitarian and civil liberties work, the Canadian-born director (“Crash” and “Million Dollar Baby”) resigned from the organization in a […]

Four gay advocacy groups that include Mormons and former church members released a joint statement Friday disagreeing with points made earlier this week in a speech on freedom of religion by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The statement called the church’s […]

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in San Francisco refused Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit challenging California’s Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, and ordered a trial on whether the measure denies fundamental rights to gays and lesbians, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker (pictured) has said repeatedly […]

LOS ANGELES — L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Chief Executive Officer Lorri L. Jean issued a statement yesterday, calling Assemblymember Michael Duvall’s extra-marital affairs “despicable.” “Even as he resigns in shame, former California Assemblymember Michael Duvall is wallowing in hypocrisy. While engaging in extra-marital affairs, he used ‘family values’ as a justification to vote against […]

SACRAMENTO — A Republican state assemblyman in California resigned Wednesday amid growing outrage over a videotape that caught him bragging in graphic detail about having sex with a female lobbyist and another woman. Mike Duvall, 54, whose votes on family-oriented bills received high marks from conservatives, said he is quitting because his “inappropriate comments have […]

California’s two Democratic U.S. senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, are facing increased pressure from LGBT leaders to take charge on pro-gay legislation as Congress returns from its summer recess, according to The Bay Area Reporter. The calls for the two female lawmakers to take the lead in pushing for LGBT bills have increased since […]