DOVER, Del. — Delaware is set to become the 17th state to ban gender identity discrimination when the Senate voted 11-to-9 Wednesday to pass the Gender Identity Non-Discrimination Act. The bill adds gender identity to the existing list of protected nondiscrimination categories, including race, age, religion and sexual orientation. It also allows for enhanced penalties under Delaware’s…
GetEqual staged a sit-in at Republican House Speaker John Boehner’s Washington, D.C. office June 13 where eight LGBT protesters were arrested. The protesters staged the sit-in to demand a vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in the U.S. House of Representatives. One aspect of this protest story that wasn’t reported on much in mainstream…
President Obama hosted a reception today at the White House in honor of LGBT Pride Month — something no other president has ever done. He spoke to more than 100 LGBT activists, journalists and allies reflecting on the very long list of advances his administration has made for the LGBT community. The president’s remarks follow:…
LONDON — Marriage equality legislation took a further step forward today as the House of Lords voted in favor of the equal marriage bill for England and Wales, by a large majority. There was an attempt to derail the legislation with a “wrecking amendment” by Lord Dear, the former chief constable of West Midlands Police….
SACRAMENTO — The Youth Equality Act (SB 323), designed to bring youth group tax exemptions in line with California’s existing non-discrimination laws, has passed the Senate with a vote of 27-9 making this the first LGBT rights bill to pass with a two-thirds majority in California history. The bill, authored by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Long…
(CNN) — Here’s a look at what you need to know about same-sex marriage in the U.S. and worldwide. Facts: Same-sex marriage is legal in 12 U.S states and the District of Columbia: Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. (The law goes into effect on…
(CNN) — Protesters filled Paris’ Esplanade des Invalides on Sunday, rallying against a new law that will allow same-sex marriage in France starting Wednesday. Paris police estimate 150,000 demonstrators marched along three different routes before converging in the sprawling plaza along the Seine River. The arguments against same-sex marriage in France sound similar to those…
Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed an immigration reform bill that did not include language from the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), which would have allowed same-sex couples equal access to spousal/partner immigration privileges. So much for the sinister Democratic plot to use equality to kill immigration reform for their union friends. The plot was…
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Advocates for comprehensive immigration reform won their first major legislative victory this week when the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-5 to approve the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” plan. If enacted, the measure will create a 13-year path to citizenship for most of the country’s 11 million undocumented immigrants. It aims to strengthen…
WASHINGTON (CNN) — As the Senate Judiciary Committee neared completion of its consideration of comprehensive immigration reform legislation on Tuesday, it remained unclear whether the panel’s top Democrat would move forward with a pair of controversial gay rights amendments vehemently opposed by congressional Republicans. The amendments, backed by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, would recognize same-sex…
