For the first time, crimes directed against individuals on the basis of sexual orientation are the second most frequent hate crime committed after crimes based on race, according to the 2011 Hate Crimes statistics released yesterday by the FBI as part of the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. Surpassing crimes committed on the basis on…
(CNN) – As the nation’s top court prepares to tackle the contentious issue of same-sex marriage, one of its most conservative justices defended past writings linking bans on homosexual sodomy to bans on sex with animals and murder. Speaking at Princeton Monday, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia said his previous comments, made in multiple Supreme Court…
LOS ANGELES – American Apparel, the vertically integrated clothing manufacturer based in downtown Los Angeles, is launching an initiative to support gay marriage in France. At the request of its French employees who have been eagerly following the country’s efforts to legalize gay marriage, American Apparel will be giving away 10,000 Legalize Gay shirts in…
(CNN) — The generation of gays and lesbians that literally created the modern LGBT movement — from the heroes of the 1969 Stonewall riots to their slightly younger friends — is at, or nearing, retirement age. That used to mean the beginning of an extremely difficult time in an LGBT person’s life. But as gay…
Fred Shapiro, associate librarian at Yale Law School, has just released his seventh annual list of the most notable quotations of the year. Topping the list is Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney‘s “47 percent” comment. Romney’s “binders full of women” quote comes in second. AP reported Shapiro as saying, “Debate remarks and gaffes actually…
A Swedish soccer club has fired all the players on its top team following complaints that players hurled homophobic remarks at members of an opposing team. According to The Local, the incident took place during a Division Seven match played earlier this month between Sörskogens IF and the Stockholm Snipers, a club which makes an…
(CNN) – Boutonnieres, photographers, smiles and tears of joy — requisite wedding fixtures — abounded Sunday at Seattle’s City Hall. But for 133 couples, the day’s fanfare brought an extra dimension. “Today was really about the state of Washington recognizing us,” said Robin Wyss, who married Danielle Yung, her partner of eight years. “People…
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) – A Supreme Court decision striking down the federal ban on gay marriage would bring dramatic changes to the financial lives of the country’s 120,000 married same-sex couples. On Friday, the court announced it will hear a case challenging the Defense of Marriage Act — a 1996 law known as DOMA that…
PASADENA, Calif. (CNN) – When President Barack Obama formally ended “don’t ask, don’t tell” in July 2011, ending a 17-year ban on gays serving openly in the U.S. military, Tracey Cooper-Harris felt liberated about her future as a veteran. As a sergeant in the U.S. Army, she received more than two dozen medals and commendations…
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Supreme Court will tackle the contentious issue of same-sex marriage and hear two constitutional challenges to state and federal laws dealing with the recognition of gay and lesbian couples to legally wed. In a one-page order on Friday, the court took on what will be one of the most important issues…
