Scotland legalizes same-sex marriage

In a landmark moment for LGBT rights the Scottish Parliament has passed the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill with an overwhelming majority of 105 votes to 18. Thirty-four years after Scotland decriminalized homosexuality, this victory comes after heated debates between religious bodies and MSPs (members of the Scottish Parliament) since the first petition was…

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AT&T condemns anti-LGBT law in Russia, sets example for other Olympic sponsors

WASHINGTON – Today, AT&T became the first major U.S. corporation to make a public statement condemning the anti-LGBT Russian law outlawing “homosexual propaganda.”  Since the passage of the law last June, the Russian LGBT community has been targeted with violence, harassment, bomb threats, and limitations on its freedom of speech and assembly. HRC called on…

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HRC launches ‘Americans for Marriage Equality Communications War Room’

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign today announced a Communications War Room for Americans for Marriage Equality – a coalition to advance marriage equality nationwide and provide up-to-the-minute information for lawmakers, legal experts, media, and grassroots supporters. Following the defeat of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8 last year, new marriage equality…

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Join Lush Cosmetics and All Out in support of LGBTQ rights in Russia

This Valentine’s Day with the spotlight on the Sochi Winter Olympics, the Russian government is neglecting its duty to protect the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & Queer (LGBTQ) community. LUSH Cosmetics and All Out champion everyone’s right to love and stand with all citizens who are calling on the Russian government to stop fueling anti-gay violence. For the…

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The AFA receives educational grant from The Elton John AIDS Foundation

NEW YORK, — The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) announced an educational grant to The American Fertility Association (AFA), for the purpose of increasing awareness of family-building options for HIV-positive men and women. This work was initiated in 2012 with the assistance of Growing Generations and International Fertility Law Group. In an effort to increase awareness…

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British documentary to showcase brutal violence against LGBT community in Putin’s Russia

This Wednesday,  Channel 4, England’s commercially funded but publicly owned television station, plans on airing a documentary entitled Hunted. As if the title needs explanation, the special, produced with an alarming degree of willingness on behalf of many of the participants, catalogs the growing tolerance the Russian people are demonstrating toward groups like Parents of Russia…

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Daily Caller: ‘Transgender Dudes’ are forcing their way into female bathrooms

Media Matters for America’s latest piece reveals how The Daily Caller mocked and objectified transgender students in its report on a recent legal victory for transgender youth. This report also featured the long-debunked claim that transgender students will engage in inappropriate behavior if they’re allowed to use restrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity….

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Social Security publishes new Supplemental Security Income rules involving same-sex married couples

Social Security has published new instructions that allow the agency to process some Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims by individuals who are in a same-sex marriage. These instructions come in response to last year’s Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Windsor which found Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. SSI is a program…

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Brunei’s Shariah-based Penal Code set to take effect, gays risk stoning, execution

In what the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) are calling ‘a step backward’ for human rights, the Sultan of Brunei has announced that a series of laws that were formulated in 2013 are set to be enacted in April, 2014. The laws, which criminalize everything from adultery to same-sex relations, include punishments ranging from public…

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