News Briefs

Maine marriage ballot measure submitted

Equality Maine and its supporters announced Thursday (January 26) that they will submit more than 105,000 signatures to the Secretary of State to put on the ballot in November a measure seeking to establish marriage equality for same-sex couples.

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White House Twitter session: no news

There was no breaking news on Thursday morning’s “White House Chat” with the LGBT community, but the questions posed were probably a good barometer of what many in the community believe President Obama should be doing in 2012.

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Two lesbians to be recognized at SOTU

Colonel Ginger Wallace, an openly lesbian intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force, will be one of two openly gay people in the First Lady’s gallery seats tonight, when President Obama delivers his State of the Union address for 2012.

The second openly gay guest is Lorelei Kilker, an environmental chemist who was part of the government’s class action suit to secure equal wages for women.

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South Carolina gives Gingrich a boost

Three different contests, three different winners, and none of the remaining four major candidates for the Republican presidential nomination has a record of supporting equal rights for gays.

But the candidate who described laws banning sexual orientation discrimination as “religious bigotry”—Newt Gingrich—won Saturday’s South Carolina primary. Now, he must slug it out in Florida against Iowa caucus winner Rick Santorum and New Hampshire primary winner Mitt Romney.

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A Closer Look

Marriage equality: A busy 2012 is off and running

Pro-active efforts got underway this month to establish marriage equality in at least three more states. After a 2011 that saw marriage equality become reality in the most populous state yet and the Obama administration issuing a major statement against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), 2012 could do even better.

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Breaking News

Religious bias cases at high courtReligious bias cases at high court

The battle lines between the constitutional right to free exercise of religion and laws prohibiting discrimination are seeing some action at the U.S. Supreme Court these days.

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Obama: ‘Leaving no one behind’Obama: ‘Leaving no one behind’

While there was only one direct reference to anything gay in President Obama’s third State of the Union address, the speech and a large number of White House activities surrounding it were inclusive of gays.

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Religious leaders see bigotry in marriage equalityReligious leaders see bigotry in marriage equality

A group of nearly 40 conservative religious leaders released an open letter this month (January 12) that seeks to reframe the battle over same-sex civil marriage as a threat to their freedom of religion.

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GOP field slugging it out in SCGOP field slugging it out in SC

The South Carolina primary has distinguished itself in the past by bringing out the worst in campaign tactics. So it is no surprise that this week, some Republican contenders accused supporters of Rick Santorum of rigging a consensus vote by evangelical leaders.

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Canada DOJ triggers same-sex marriage scareCanada DOJ triggers same-sex marriage scare

The Canadian Department of Justice told a court in Ontario this week that a lesbian couple from the U.S. and England who obtained a marriage license there in 2005 should not be granted a divorce now because they were not legally married in Canada.

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