WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch confirmed that married same-sex couples will finally have access to full federal benefits thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision affirming a Constitutional right to nationwide marriage equality in Obergefell v. Hodges. Now that marriage equality is the law of the land in every state, the Department of…
Assembly Joint Resolution (AJR) 16, authored by Assemblymembers Richard Bloom, Eduardo Garcia and Evan Low and sponsored by Equality California, has been introduced in the State Assembly in response to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new blood donor guidelines that continue to discriminate against gay and bisexual men. The new proposed FDA guidelines would…
Advocates for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender couples and modern families are adding another victory to their list, with 36 states, along with Washington D.C., to allow marriage among same-sex couples. A critical turning point came in October last year, when the Supreme Court chose not to hear appeals against lower court rulings that had…
This is a question I am asked all the time. Will I ever get a penny from Social Security? Most people have come to the conclusion that they won’t get anything. Everyone has heard about Social Security running out of money in the about 20 years. However, I would like to go on record to…
WASHINGTON—Following the Supreme Court’s historic decision striking down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday issued a formal report on the yearlong effort by the Justice Department and other federal agencies to implement the decision smoothly across the entire government. “I am pleased to report that agencies across the federal…
WASHINGTON — After close consultation with the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is providing guidance to same-sex married couples on the benefits and services to which they are entitled under current laws and regulations. “VA worked closely with DOJ to develop guidance to process cases involving same-sex marriages and to…
The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has been in the news quite a bit lately, and not in a good way. However, this exposure brings to mind many great things about the VA and how they support our veterans. There is one benefit in particular that I am aware of that is not being utilized…
Below is a proclamation signed by the president regarding Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, 2014: As progress spreads from State to State, as justice is delivered in the courtroom, and as more of our fellow Americans are treated with dignity and respect — our Nation becomes not only more accepting, but more equal as well. During Lesbian, Gay,…
WASHINGTON – A newly released study by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest LGBT civil right organization, The Cost of the Closet and the Rewards of Inclusion, identifies that most LGBT employees (53 percent) nationwide are closeted on the job. The report, released today, comes on the heels of a report by…
WASHINGTON— The federal government will recognize same-sex marriages performed in the state of Michigan. Attorney General Eric Holder issued the following statement today on the status of those marriages: “I have determined that the same-sex marriages performed last Saturday in Michigan will be recognized by the federal government. These families will be eligible for all…
