SACRAMENTO –A bill that would ban smoking or disposal of tobacco products at a California state owned or operated beach or park was approved today by the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee on a nine to five vote. Sen. Marty Block (D-San Diego) said his bill, SB 1333, would help California fulfill its obligation…
SACRAMENTO – California’s state senate Tuesday approved SB 1333 which would ban smoking or disposal of tobacco products at a state owned or operated beach or park. “We have an obligation to value and preserve our environmental treasures,” said Sen. Marty Block, the measure’s author. “SB 1333 will help to keep our state parks and…
MONTPELIER, Vt. – Today, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin signed Senate Bill 132 into law, making Vermont the eighth jurisdiction—behind California, New Jersey, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Washington D.C., and Cincinnati—to protect LGBTQ youth from the dangers of “conversion therapy.” Senate Bill 132, which protects LGBTQ youth from mental health providers attempting to change their sexual…
JACKSON, Miss. – U.S. District Court Judge Daniel P. Jordan III in Mississippi has declared unconstitutional the state’s ban on adoption by same sex couples, citing the Supreme Court of the United States’ 2015 marriage equality ruling in the historic case Obergefell v. Hodges. The federal lawsuit, Campaign for Southern Equality v. Mississippi Department of…
According to the RBC News Agency, the Russian Duma’s Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building has rejected a bill which would have made coming out to young people and same-sex couples kissing in public punishable with jail sentences. The bill, introduced by Ivan Nikitchuk, a Communist party MP, would have punished people with a 5,000 ruble…
Following a six month review the Pentagon has affirmed it will make a determination on the transgender military ban this spring reports The Washington Blade. In response to a Washington Blade inquiry this week for an update on the review Pentagon spokesperson Matthew Allen told The Blade that Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will make a…
Next week, Russia’s State Duma will decide on whether to ban people from coming out as gay. GayStarNews reports that two senior Russian Communist MPs Ivan Nikitchuk and Nikolai Arefyev have presented a bill calling for people who come out as LGBTI to serve up to 15 days behind bars. Any public displays of affection…
WASHINGTON – Friday, the American Military Partner Association (AMPA), the nation’s largest organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) military families, responded to the results of a new national survey that show a majority of Americans support open service by transgender people in the U.S. military. The results were released by University of Illinois Springfield Survey Research…
Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that prohibiting same-gender couples from adopting children was unconstitutional. Telesurtv.net reported that a Mexican law prohibiting civil unions that bans both heterosexual or homosexual couples from adopting minors was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) on the basis that the union is recognized as…
Today, the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) ratified a resolution that removed the national restriction on openly gay adult leaders and employees. Of those present and voting, 79 percent voted in favor of the resolution. The resolution was recommended for ratification by the Executive Committee earlier this month. The resolution…
