WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Susan Davis (CA-53) once again signed on as a cosponsor of the Uniting American Families Act (H.R. 519), formerly know as the Permanent Partners Immigration Act. The UAFA would allow U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to sponsor a permanent partner for immigration purposes. Under current law only married heterosexuals can be…
(CNN) — Same-sex marriage in France came one step closer to legality Tuesday, as lawmakers in the lower house of parliament approved a controversial bill that would extend the right to marry and adopt to same-sex couples. The measure was voted through in the National Assembly by 329 in favor to 229 against, with 10…
WASHINGTON – Today Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta has announced that the Department of Defense will be extending additional benefits to same-sex partners of servicemembers. Panetta also stated that while the Defense of Marriage Act still remains law the Department faced legal limitations in regard to extending full benefits. Panetta’s statement follows: “Seventeen months ago, the…
WASHINGTON – Everett Dwayne Avery, 26, of Detroit, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John Corbett O’Meara after pleading guilty to committing a hate crime by assaulting a man because the man was gay. Avery was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. The assault…
WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, has unveiled a new banner on its national headquarters in Washington, D.C., to commemorate President Obama’s historic inclusion of LGBT equality in his second inaugural address. In his speech last month, the President cited Stonewall and went on to say that “Our journey is not complete until our gay…
WASHINGTON — Outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is expected this week to announce the long-delayed extension of support and benefits for gay and lesbian military families, according to reports. Army Veteran and OutServe-SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson said today that the organization hopes Panetta will take full advantage of this final opportunity to act before…
LONDON (CNN) — In a 400-175 vote Tuesday, British MPs approved the second reading of a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. The bill will be up for further debate in the House of Commons, but Tuesday’s vote indicated a significant majority of members support the measure. In order to become law, the bill has to clear…
Last September, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill protecting LGBT youth from the psychological abuse of reparative therapy (sometimes referred to as conversion therapy). SB 1172, due to a temporary injunction by the federal courts, isn’t currently being enforced. The Liberty Counsel argued for three plaintiffs who practiced reparative therapy that implementation of the law…
Barbara Portantino, mother of the late Gay & Lesbian Times publisher Michael G. Portantino and retired California State Assemblymember Hon. Anthony Portantino, passed away on Fri., Jan. 25, 2013. She was 81 years old. She was born in Long Branch, New Jersey and raised her four children – Philip, MaryAnn, Michael and Anthony – in…
The White House released today a fact sheet outlining the key principles President Obama believes should be included in commonsense immigration reform. From the fact sheet: FACT SHEET: Fixing our Broken Immigration System so Everyone Plays by the Rules America’s immigration system is broken. Too many employers game the system by hiring undocumented workers and there…
