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…
Members of Equality Hawaii and the Human Rights Campaign gathered to congratulate Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie for Hawaii’s decision last week to enact civil unions into law. The new law will take effect on January 1, 2012, and will make Hawaii the 15th US jurisdiction to provide equal rights under law to same-sex couples. Alan…
The Williams Institute, a national think tank dedicated to advances in sexual orientation law and public policy, offered comments today in response to the Department of Justices’ recent decision concerning the Defense of Marriage Act. Attorney General Eric Holder announced yesterday that the Department of Justice will no longer defend the constitutionality of Section 3…
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…
The Human Rights Campaign joined forces with Soulforce, a civil rights group seeking freedom from religious and political oppression for the LGBT community, and held a vigil on Sunday to protest fundamentalist pastor Lou Engle’s anti-gay rhetoric and the resultant persecution of LGBT Ugandans. Activists gathered outside the pastor’s International House of Prayer in Kansas…
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…
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…
