FLORIDA – Karlton O. Johnson, principal of Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach, Fla. is coming under fire for “outing” a gay student and threatening to suspend her and her gay friend for holding hands on campus. Broward County Commissioner Kristen Jacobs, who represents Pompano Beach, learned of the incident after reading a story…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – LGBT organizations Courage Campaign, GLAAD and Equality Matters have joined Media Matters’ Drop Fox campaign in asking Orbitz to cease sponsoring Fox News due to Fox’s long history of anti-LGBT bigotry. The campaign says that a number of Fox presenters and guests, such as Bill O’Reilly and Governor Mike Huckabee, promote “misinformation,…
CALIFORNIA – The California State Assembly has passed the Gender Nondiscrimination Act (AB 887) with bipartisan support by a 54-24 vote. The bill is authored by Assemblywoman Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and is sponsored by Equality California and the Transgender Law Center. AB 887 will strengthen employment, housing and other civil rights protections for all…
WASHINGTON –The House Armed Services Committee has marked up the National Defense Authorization Act with three anti-gay amendments. The three amendments would require the four service branch chiefs to sign off on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal, prohibit weddings for same-sex couples on military facilities by chaplains and affirm that the Defense of Marriage Act…
MARYLAND – A large-scale clinical study sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has found men and women infected with HIV reduced the risk of transmitting the virus to their sexual partners by taking oral anti-retroviral medicines when their immune systems were relatively healthy. The clinical trial, known as HPTN 052,…
MINNESOTA – The Presbyterian Church has voted to allow the ordination of openly gay and lesbian clergy, elders and deacons. The church is one of the largest Christian denominations in the country with more than 2.3 million members and about 11,000 congregations. The change, which opens up the possibility that people in same-sex relationships can…
WASHINGTON – Celebrated TV and radio host Larry King, has released a video with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for its New Yorkers for Marriage Equality Campaign. In the video, King discusses the injustice of denying marriage from loving and committed same-sex couples. King says he can’t figure out why “some couples can get married…
CALIFORNIA – The State Senate has passed legislation that will bar the State of California from entering into contracts in excess of $100,000 with businesses and other entities that deny equal benefits to the same-sex spouses of their employees. The Equal Benefits bill (SB 117), authored by Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) and sponsored by…
CALIFORNIA – In a response to efforts by Proposition 8 proponents to conceal video of the Proposition 8 trial from the public, the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) has launched a campaign for the full and unedited release of the Perry v. Schwarzenegger public trial footage. AFER, the City and County of San Francisco…
NEW YORK – Governor Andrew Cuomo is optimistic that gay marriage will soon be legal in New York. He said he felt there was enough support to pass the measure, which he has endorsed. Cuomo said, “I know it’s failed before, but I think this is a different day. I’ll bring more urgency in the…
