California’s attorney general Kamala Harris requested today that a federal appeals court allow same-sex marriages to resume during the California Supreme Court’s consideration of legal questions surrounding the state’s ban on gay marriage. In a letter to the 9th Ciruit Court of Appeals, Harris argued that a continued enforcement of Proposition 8 was in direct…
The government has asked U.S. federal courts to uphold the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy as of Friday, even though the Obama administration has concluded that laws targeting gay Americans are, presumably, unconstitutional. Court documents state the request was made in an opening brief challenging a Southern California trial judge who in September ruled against…
The Department of Justice announced today that it believes courts should apply heightened scrutiny to laws that classify people on sexual orientation such as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender statuses. In light of the heightened awareness, the Defense of Marriage Act is now in the spotlight. In wake of the news, Attorney General Eric Holder…
Governor Deval Patrick signed a groundbreaking Executive Order yesterday in Boston that will protect employees of the state of Massachusetts from discrimination based on gender identity and/or expression. The order applies to all state agencies within and contracted with the Executive Branch, and constitutes a historic step forward in the fight for LGBT equality. With unemployment…
In the wake of controversy surrounding contributions to a politically conservative action committee during the 2010 elections, Target Corp. has announced new policies concerning future political giving activity. Jessica Carlson, a spokesperson for the popular retail corporation, explains that the company’s revised giving protocol was enacted after a meeting between the corporate responsibility committee and…
The California Supreme Court granted the request to take a certified question today, as requested by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The question challenged the legitimacy of Prop. 8 in the Perry v. Schwarzenegger California case. How will this affect the LGBT community and politics everywhere in the nation? If a…
The California Supreme Court is expected to announce a ruling today that will directly affect the future of Proposition 8 appeals and legislation. According to the Los Angeles Times, today’s ruling will be in response to a request from the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals concerning the legality of efforts by Proposition 8’s sponsors…
A California man was arrested Friday in the U.S. Virgin Islands for suspicion of distributing drugs to passengers on a Caribbean cruise, according to The Associated Press. Steve Barry Krumholz, 51, of West Hollywood was arrested for allegedly selling drugs and taking orders from passengers of the Allure of the Seas cruise ship, a charter…
The Hawaii State House passed a groundbreaking bill Friday that protects the LGBT community from unfair discrimination against marriage equality. The bill provides that equal rights and responsibilities of married couples in Hawaii be afforded to thousands of non-married couples in the state, including same-sex LGBT couples. Equality Hawaii, the state’s largest LGBT civil rights…
The Rt. Rev. Christopher Senyonjo issued his first public statement today on the recent murder of David Kato, a human rights advocate in Uganda who was killed because of his association to the Ugandan LGBT community. Senyonjo, a retired Anglican bishop of West Buganda, worked with Kato through Integrity Uganda and the Civil Society Coalition,…
