Congress is set to hold its first-ever forum on anti-transgender violence next week in response to the 'epidemic of violence' against transgender people.

The LGBT community was shocked when Houston voted against Proposition 1, or the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, which bans sexual and gender discrimination.

The downside of the SC ruling in favor of same-sex marriage last June is that domestic partner benefits in the US gov't are slowly being recalled.

In an opinion piece for Lesbian News, noted activist Robin Tyler writes about Roberta Kaplan, her new book, United States v Windsor, and the defeat of DOMA.

More than $1 million in federal grants will provide critical resources to the Ali Forney Center, which works with homeless LGBTQ youth in New York City.

Governor Jerry Brown backs a bill prohibiting state agencies to work with companies that don't offer transgender employees equal health care coverage.

Hillary Clinton has completely come around with a list of 10 promises she'll hold herself to the LGBT community in the upcoming US presidential elections.

In the wake of Pope Francis' visit to the US last week, media exploded with intrigue when controversial Kim Davis claimed she had an audience with the Pope.

Lesbian rights won a round against discrimination after a South Carolina student was allowed by her school to wear a t-shirt proclaiming she's a lesbian.

Federal officials have allocated $41 million to address the processing of 70,000 rape kit backlog all over the US at the urging of Senator Tammy Baldwin.

An Alabama nursing home company agreed to settle an employment discrimination case for an undisclosed amount after firing a woman for being transgender.

Anti-gay religious group Westboro Baptist Church attacked Kim Davis, the Kentucky County clerk who refused to give same-sex marriage licenses.

It’s thought that someone at the Ohio sperm bank misread the label on the vial, resulting in the white woman receiving sperm from an African-American donor despite having requested a Caucasian sample. A white woman in Ohio is suing a sperm bank because she says staff mistakenly gave her vials of semen from an African-American donor after she had requested samples from a white man. Jennifer Cramblett used the services of the Downers Grove-based Midwest Sperm Bank in 2011 and successfully became pregnant. She is now raising her two-year-old mixed-race daughter with her same-sex partner, Amanda Zinkon, in Uniontown, Ohio. Although she became aware of the mix-up when she was pregnant in April 2012, Cramblett says that she has decided to sue the sperm bank now because she has experienced difficulties in the child’s upbringing in a predominantly all-white community – which she describes in the lawsuit as ‘too racially intolerant’. She is suing for 'wrongful birth' and 'breach of warranty', saying that she has suffered

The Supreme Court has taken no action on appeals asking it to take up the issue of same-sex marriage. The gay marriage cases are not among cases the court agreed to hear in its term that begins next week. The justices are expected Monday to turn away appeals in hundreds of cases, although it is not likely the same-sex marriage cases will be among those. The justices meet again in private on October 10 to consider new cases, and decisions about what to hear could be announced then or on October 14. (Courtesy of HuffPost.com)  

Today, September 22, Judge Edward Rubin of the 15th Judicial District Court ruled in favor of the freedom to marry in a state legal challenge to an amendment in Louisiana that denies same-sex couples the freedom to marry. The case, Costanza and Brewer v. Caldwell, was filed in 2013 on behalf of Angela Marie Costanza and Chastity Shanelle Brewer, who are raising their 10-year-old son in Lafayette. The case sought respect for Angela and Chastity's marriage license; since Louisiana did not respect their marriage, one mother was not permitted to legally adopt her son. The ruling today grants the second-parent adoption and affirms that the Louisiana amendment violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment. The ruling today comes just three weeks after U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman became the first federal judge since June 2013 to uphold marriage discrimination, when he ruled in Robicheaux v. Caldwell in favor of marriage discrimination in Louisiana. Judge Rubin's order today is a

Symantec, the software firm behind Norton AntiVirus, routinely allowed customers to filter out LGBTI websites One of the biggest web filtering services in the world has announced they are scrapping a system that allows homophobes to block access to 'gay and lesbian' content. Symantec, the online security firm behind Norton AntiVirus, has routinely been filtering out LGBTI websites offering news, charity and support as they consider them to be essentially the same thing as child porn. The fourth-largest software company in the world, they say the 'lifestyle-sexual orientation' category will now be steadily removed from its databases. 'Making this change was not only the right thing to do, it was a good business decision,' said Fran Rosch, executive vice president, Norton Business Unit, Symantec today (16 September). 'Having a category in place that could be used to filter out all LGBT-oriented sites was inconsistent with Symantec's values and the mission of our software.' While Symantec will allow customers to set their search to block offensive websites,

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is the fifth federal appeals court to hear arguments on same-sex couples’ marriage rights this year. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals appeared poised to strike down bans on same-sex couples’ marriages in Idaho and Nevada in nearly two hours of arguments on Monday. All three judges hearing the cases — Judges Stephen Reinhardt, Marsha Berzon, and Ronald Gould — appeared ready to rule the bans unconstitutional as violating equal protection guarantees. As with other appellate courts to hear marriage cases this year, the court did note that the judges expect the matter to be headed to the Supreme Court. When Monte Stewart, the lawyer arguing in support of both Idaho and Nevada’s bans, questioned the court’s view of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s opinion in last year’s case striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act, Reinhardt retorted, “I think you’re going to have an opportunity to find out what Justice Kennedy thinks.” Although not as fireworks-filled as

Ceremony to take place at a time when number of potential marriage equality cases that might go before the high court grows Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an associate justice of the US Supreme Court, is set to perform yet another same-sex wedding ceremony this weekend - her fourth. Ginsburg, 81, will be conducting the ceremony of her former law clerk, Danny Rubens, and his fiance Danny Grossman. It was 13 months ago that Ginsburg performed her first same-sex wedding ceremony and she told the Washington Post at the time: 'I think it will be one more statement that people who love each other and want to live together should be able to enjoy the blessings and the strife in the marriage relationship.' This weekend's wedding takes place as the number of potential same-sex marriage cases that might go before the high court continues to grow. So far, cases in Utah, Virginia, Oklahoma, Indiana and Wisconsin are among the possibilities. Ginsburg had said earlier this year that she

CHICAGO (AP) — A U.S. appeals court issued a scathing, unequivocal ruling Thursday declaring that gay marriage bans in Wisconsin and Indiana were unconstitutional, on the same day that 32 states asked the Supreme Court to settle the issue once and for all. The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago was the fourth to hear arguments on the issue. The decision from a normally slow and deliberative court was released a little more than a week after oral arguments. The unanimous, 40-page decision from a three-judge panel blasted the states' justifications for their bans, several times singling out the argument that only marriage between a man and a woman should be allowed because it's — simply — tradition. There are "bad traditions that are historical realities such as cannibalism, foot-binding, and suttee, and traditions that

The state of Coahulia made history this week as the first in Mexico to pass marriage equality in the legislature. The legislation, which passed Congress in a 19 to 1 vote on Monday, will take effect in one week. The law now defines marriage as, "the free union with full consent of two people, which has as its objective to realize community life where both [people] seek respect, equality and mutual aid, and make in a free, responsible, voluntary and informed way reproductive decisions that fit their life project, including the possibility of procreation or adoption." In the U.S., 19 states plus the District of Columbia, currently recognize the rights of loving, committed same-sex couples to marry.   (Courtesy of HRC.org)  

67% of Republican voters would be happy to vote for an openly gay candidate but most still wouldn’t want to find out someone in their family was gay, according to new polling New polling by researchers at McClatchy and Marist College has found that only 30% of Republican voters would have a big problem with their party selecting an openly gay or lesbian candidate to be their representative, with 67% saying a candidate’s sexuality would have no baring as long as they had good qualifications. However almost as many would be upset if they found out their own child was gay or lesbian, with 37% saying they would be ‘upset’ and 23% saying they would be ‘very upset.’ Only around three-in-ten Democratic and independent voters said they would be upset to learn their child was gay or lesbian. The poll also found 63% of Republicans still oppose same-sex couples being allowed to legally marry, with 59% saying the issue should be settled on a state-by-state

Facebook made a $10,000 donation in May to the reelection campaign of Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, who has received national attention for fighting a court ruling that would make gay marriage legal in the state. The donation, first reported by QSaltLake, is listed in a filing for Reyes' 2014 primary campaign on the State of Utah Financial Disclosures website. Here's a screenshot of the filing: And closer up: In an email to The Huffington Post, a Facebook spokesperson offered a statement on the donation: Facebook has a strong record on LGBT issues and that will not change, but we make decisions about which candidates to support based on the entire portfolio of issues important to our business, not just one. A contribution to a candidate does not mean that we agree with every policy or position that candidate takes. We made this donation for the same reason we’ve donated to Attorneys General on the opposite side of this issue -- because they are committed to fostering innovation and an

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court has denied a request to delay its ruling striking down Virginia's same-sex marriage ban. A panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond on Wednesday denied the request by a county court clerk in northern Virginia to stay the decision while it is appealed to the Supreme Court. That means that without intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court, same-sex couples could begin marrying and have their out-of-state marriages recognized by next Wednesday. Late last month, the court ruled that Virginia's gay marriage ban approved by voters in 2006 is unconstitutional. Representatives for the defendants didn't immediately comment. (Courtesy of HuffPost.com)

Even though they scored a key victory in federal appellate court, attorneys for three Utah gay and lesbian couples said Thursday they plan to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take Utah's appeal of a favorable gay marriage ruling. It is vital that justices weigh in about whether state same-sex marriage bans violate the Constitution to settle the matter for a nation that needs an answer, said Kate Kendell, executive director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights. The group is representing the couples alongside private attorneys in Utah. "Because we understand the tremendous importance of this issue, and that the ultimate question can only be finally resolved at the Supreme Court, we agree with attorneys for the state of Utah that the court should take the case and provide a final resolution," Kendell said. Utah filed its request this week for the justices to hear an appeal of a June ruling from the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said he will ask the Supreme Court to review a decision that struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage, although he supports the lower court's decision. The Democrat has chosen not to defend the state's law, but has also asked for 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to stay its decision because he believes there could be unintended consequences. Herring's office said it planned to make its filing seeking a Supreme Court review on Friday. "I believe the district and appeals courts ruled correctly in striking down Virginia's discriminatory marriage ban, but it has long been clear that the Supreme Court will likely have the final word. I want that decision to come as soon as possible and I want the voices of Virginians to be heard," Herring said in a statement. On Monday, the plaintiffs in the case challenging Virginia's same-sex marriage ban said they wanted a federal appeals court to allow

CINCINNATI — The broadest attack yet on states' gay marriage bans will be Wednesday in a packed courtroom in downtown Cincinnati, where lawyers challenging four states' prohibitions will stand shoulder to shoulder in hopes of convincing a three-judge panel that the bans are unconstitutional. The states – Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee – have so far waged their battles separately, fighting to uphold the bans that voters years ago embraced. Each state faces slightly different challenges filed by same-sex couples, including the right to adopt children as a couple, to have their names placed on a partner's death certificate and to have their marriages – performed legally elsewhere – recognized in the states they call home, where same-sex marriage is illegal. Despite the variations in the attacks, make no mistake: The ultimate targets are the bans, and the real goal is the right to marry, adopt children and enjoy the same rights that opposite-sex couples have when they exchange vows. "Putting all of

[caption id="attachment_2043" align="aligncenter" width="1245"] Kim Hackford-Peer (L) marries her partner Ruth Hackford-Peer (R) as Ruth holds their son Casey, 7, at the Salt Lake County office building in Salt Lake City, Utah, Dec. 20, 2013. Jim Urquhart/Reuters[/caption] Though diametrically opposed on the merits of marriage equality, both challengers and defenders of laws standing in the way can usually come together on one point: their shared conviction that the matter will soon be decided by the nation’s highest court. And yet, despite a growing chain of judicial triumphs for gay and lesbian couples – each ruling now an almost routine, predictable event – there are still no sure things, and those betting on when or which case could go before the justices, as well as the outcome, may regret putting money down. True, no ban on same-sex nuptials has survived at the federal district level since the Supreme Court invalidated a key portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) last year. That trend

NAIROBI, Kenya — A Ugandan court struck down a punitive anti-gay law on Friday that has strained Uganda’s relations with the West, but the court ruled on narrow technical grounds, preserving the possibility that the measure could be revived. In front of an overflowing courtroom in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, a panel of five judges announced that the Anti-Homosexuality Act, which punishes some homosexual behavior with life in prison, was invalid because it had been passed by Parliament without a proper quorum. “We’re very happy,” said Sylvia Tamale, a Ugandan law professor who has supported gay rights despite persistent [caption id="attachment_2048" align="alignright" width="300"] Gay rights activists celebrated on Friday in Kampala, Uganda, after a five-judge panel announced that a punitive anti-gay law was invalid. Credit Isaac Kasamani/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images[/caption] threats and harassment. “But it’s unfortunate that the court did not deal with the substantive issues that violate our rights.” Uganda’s government, which is tightly controlled by President Yoweri Museveni, a former guerrilla fighter who

“[I]nertia and apprehension are not legitimate bases for denying same-sex couples due process and equal protection of the laws.” WASHINGTON — The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals held Monday that Virginia’s ban on same-sex couples’ marriages is unconstitutional. On a 2-1 vote, the appeals court joined the wave of court decisions declaring such bans unconstitutional. The decision, by Judge Henry Floyd acknowledged both the debate over such laws and, in the court’s view, the clear constitutional impediment to laws banning same-sex couples from marrying. “We recognize that same-sex marriage makes some people deeply uncomfortable,” he wrote. “However, inertia and apprehension are not legitimate bases for denying same-sex couples due process and equal protection of the laws.” In considering the matter, Floyd, joined by Judge Roger Gregory, ruled, “The Virginia Marriage Laws … impede the right to marry by preventing same-sex couples from marrying and nullifying the legal import of their out-of-state marriages. Strict scrutiny therefore applies in this case.” Judge Paul Niemeyer dissented from the

Today U.S. District Judge Raymond P. Moore ruled against Colorado’s constitutional amendment banning marriage equality.  In Burns v. Hickenlooper, attorneys with Kilmer, Lane and Newman, LLP sued the state on behalf of six same-sex couples who argue that Colorado’s ban on marriage equality violates the U.S. Constitution. Judge Moore stayed his ruling until August 25 to allow the state time to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, which has already struck down bans on marriage equality in Utah and Oklahoma. “Today’s ruling from Judge Moore provides even further confirmation that Colorado’s ban on marriage equality is unconstitutional,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow.  “Through civil unions, Colorado has already recognized the need for same-sex couples to have equal access to the benefits and obligations of marriage. Now it's time for the state to stop its appeal and allow these families the dignity that comes with full marriage equality.” Last month clerks in Boulder, Denver, and Pueblo counties began issuing marriage