WASHINGTON – The chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has announced Nov. 3 as the date to begin debate on legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Leahy announced earlier this month his intention to schedule committee consideration of the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill that would repeal DOMA….
WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has called on school leaders in Tennessee’s Monroe County to stop subverting the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) at Sequoyah High School in Madisonville. This follows the latest incident in Monroe County, Tenn. where, not only did Principal Maurice Moser deny his school the right to have…
A six-month review of the Equal Benefits Ordinance (EBO) that requires city contractors to offer health benefits to the same-sex partners of its employees has shown all are in apparent compliance. A San Diego City Council committee voted 5-0 Oct. 12 to tighten definitions in the ordinance that was passed October 2010, and went into…
San Diego LGBT Weekly announced that it won 5 awards at the San Diego Press Club Awards held on October 25, 2011. The 38th annual Excellence in Journalism Awards honored the best work produced in print, online and in the broadcast media in San Diego. San Diego LGBT Weekly, and its companion website LGBTweekly.com, competed…
Governor Brown announced Sunday that two important transgender bills have been signed into California law, making the state less discriminatory against its transgender population. The first passed law, the Gender Nondiscrimination Act, will protect transgender people against discrimination in the workplace, school, housing, and other public settings. The second law, the Vital Statistics Modernization Act,…
CALIFORNIA – With the close of the 2011 Legislative session Equality California (EQCA) reached a new milestone – passage of its most ambitious legislative program since the organization was founded in 1998. EQCA successfully sponsored 12 bills, many initiated under the leadership of former EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors, on issues ranging from domestic partnership…
North Carolina is the only state in the Southeast without legal language in its constitution that would otherwise ban same-sex marriage. While the state’s law already defines marriage between a man and a woman, the state constitution does not, prompting Republican lawmakers to move quickly in order to squander the possibility of legalized gay marriage…
Two of the nation’s largest insurance companies have elected to extend coverage to same-sex married couples at a reduced rate. While most insurance companies offer discounted rates for different-sex couples, State Farm and Allstate allow married gay couples and domestic partners to take advantage of a lower insurance premium in the eight states where gay…
Reverend Ouyang Wen Feng, the first and only openly gay pastor in Malaysia, is encouraging the country’s gay and lesbian people to “keep coming out” in an effort to fight LGBT discrimination. The outspoken equal rights advocate, who is also the leader of a controversial gay-friendly ministry, hopes to empower Malaysia’s gay community to speak…
Teen singer and former Disney star Miley Cyrus has taken a strong stand in favor of marriage equality in recent months, vocalizing her frustration with discriminatory business and practices via Twitter. Now, the 18-year-old has taken her advocacy to another level – and selected a new a tattoo designed in part to promote the validity…
