Hawaii’s state House on Thursday voted 33-17 to grant civil-union rights to same-sex couples. The measure, which offers the same rights as marriage and also recognizes out-of-state civil unions, domestic partnerships and marriages, will be considered by the state Senate.
A nine-year member of the Kansas Army National Guard was discharged under the military’s ban on gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members. Amy Brian was the Kansas Guard’s first discharge under the nearly 16-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, according to the Associated Press. A civilian coworker saw Brian kissing another woman in a Wal-Mart [...]
St. Louis representative Jeanette Mott Oxford, one of two openly gay lawmakers in the Missouri house of representatives, was rejected from the Committee on Children and Families in January with little explanation. A Democratic representative from the state of Missouri, Oxford considers herself “eminently qualified” for the position and is questioning whether her sexual orientation [...]
It seemed like a firm campaign promise. Barack Obama pledged to continue President Bush’s faith-based office in the White House, but with a key change: Groups receiving federal money would no longer be allowed to discriminate in hiring on the basis of religion. On Thursday, however, as President Obama disclosed the details of his faith-based [...]
ESPN removed a promotional ad featuring Shaquille O’Neal and sports commentator Mike Breen, saying that it was never the network’s intent for the spot “to be offensive to anyone or any community of people.” In response to lobbying by organizations like the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Human Rights Campaign, as well [...]
A California federal court on Thursday denied the request of Proposition 8 backers to block access to the names and addresses of 36,000 people who donated money in support of the gay marriage ban. The two groups that headed the effort, ProtectMarriage.com and the National Organization for Marriage California, went to court with the claim [...]