The myth that gay men and lesbian women are economically better off is so pervasive in society that it is largely taken for granted that they are. That they have larger disposable incomes, fewer children and are better-educated has become a staple of gay lore. But economist Lee Badgett has spent the better part of…
WASHINGTON – Last night at the White House LGBT Pride Reception, President Obama announced he would be issuing an executive order to protect transgender federal employees from workplace discrimination. Once issued, it would expand upon an executive order from President Bill Clinton, which banned workplace discrimination among federal employees on the basis of sexual orientation. …
WASHINGTON — In advance of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s notorious anti-LGBT law, today the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation released a new report highlighting deeply disturbing trends of harassment, investigations, arrests, and acts of violence against LGBT Russians that have followed in its wake. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the internationally condemned and draconian anti-LGBT…
NEW YORK – At its annual meeting today in Dallas, the U.S. Conference of Mayors overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling on federal courts, including the Supreme Court, to expeditiously bring an end to marriage discrimination against gay couples nationwide. Mayors from states that still ban marriage for same-sex couples, including Arizona, Texas, Ohio, Colorado, Missouri,…
With marriage equality sweeping the nation—twelve states have legalized same-sex marriage in the past year alone—today’s March for Marriage on the National Mall seems very much a rearguard action. Sponsored by the National Organization for Marriage, the march attempts to salvage the case against gay marriage by arguing that it causes actual harm to real…
WASHINGTON –– Following yesterday’s announcement that President Obama will soon issue an executive order extending essential workplace protections to the employees of federal contractors, all eyes turned to the Exxon Mobil Corporation—a Fortune 100 corporation and one of the nation’s largest federal contractors. ExxonMobil has long resisted instituting non-discrimination protections for LGBT employees, digging in…
WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) today released new public opinion research that conclusively demonstrates strong public support for federal non-discrimination workplace protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) workers. A national survey of 1,200 registered voters conducted June 6-10, 2014 by TargetPoint Consulting found that 63 percent of those surveyed favor a…
MANILA — A UN-sponsored study has confirmed that gay people in the Philippines continue to face discrimination despite pockets of increased tolerance for the LGBT community by Filipino society, reports GayAsiaNews.com. “Cultural and social attitudes toward LGBT people are complex, with signs of acceptance, particularly among the young,” said the study funded by the UN…
When Brendan Eich resigned from Mozilla last month, a group of marriage equality supporters penned a public statement “Freedom to Marry, Freedom to Dissent: Why we must have both.” They argued that “diversity is the natural consequence of liberty” and that “disagreement should not be punished.” Then LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling was caught on…
CHINA: Beijing police May 7 detained as many as nine civil society activists meeting for a seminar to discuss obstacles facing gay groups wishing to register as nongovernmental organizations in China, reports GayAsiaNews.com. The group had advertised itself as an event examining “civil society and the state,”stated sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com. The report suspects that the arrests and…
