ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has signed an historic bill extending marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples in the state. In a grand signing ceremony in Annapolis O’Malley said, “For a free and diverse people, for a people of many faiths, for a people committed to the principle of religious freedom, the…
WASHINGTON – Chad H. Griffin has been appointed as the next president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) by the organization’s board of directors. Griffin, a national communications and policy strategist, is widely credited for being the mastermind behind the federal lawsuit to overturn California’s Proposition 8, which has now been ruled unconstitutional by two…
WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest LGBT civil rights organization, has released a white paper titled: Transgender-Inclusive Health Care Coverage and the Corporate Equality Index, a resource for employers to make their workplaces more equitable for transgender employees. The white paper is an educational tool for employers…
TRENTON, N.J. – In response to the plaintiff’s request for reconsideration, a New Jersey Superior Court has reinstated the federal equal protection claim in a Lambda Legal case seeking marriage equality on behalf of Garden State Equality and seven same-sex couples and their children harmed by the state’s unequal civil union system. Garden State Equality,…
SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey S. White has ruled the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional, in Golinski v. Office of Personnel Management, Karen Golinski’s challenge to the denial of her request for equal health insurance benefits for her wife. Golinski, a federal court employee, brought suit after her request was…
Sgt. Brandon Morgan and Dalan Wells celebrate the Marine’s homecoming.
WASHINGTON –The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the LGBT-inclusive re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The bipartisan Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act was introduced in the 112th Congress by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Mike Crapo (R-ID). The re-authorization bill would make grants available for strengthening and enlarging programs to provide outreach and…
WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is joining with the Center for Equality in Arkansas and calling on the Northwest Arkansas Times to drop their discriminatory policy of refusing to run the engagement and wedding announcements of same-sex couples. Recently, the paper rejected an announcement submitted by Cody Renegar and Thomas Staed. The newspaper…
WASHINGTON – A robust coalition made up of civil rights, labor, progressive, faith, student, health, legal, women’s and LGBT organizations have announced support of the Respect for Marriage Act – the bill to repeal the discriminatory so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that withholds federal protections and respect for legally married gay and lesbian couples….
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. –Legislation aimed at essentially reinstating the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in the Oklahoma National Guard was introduced last week and has been assigned to the House Veterans and Military Affairs Committee. It is not known when the committee will consider the legislation. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has called on…
