Lisa Keen
By Lisa Keen on March 16, 2012
A jury in New Jersey has found Rutgers student Dharun Ravi guilty of a hate crime against his gay roommate, Tyler Clementi, for using a web cam to spy on Clementi’s intimate encounters with another man. The jury also found Ravi guilty of a number of other charges, including invasion of privacy and witness tampering. [...]
Posted in News Briefs
By Lisa Keen on March 15, 2012
The U.S. Senate today (March 15) approved the nomination of the first openly gay federal judge for California, Michael Fitzgerald of Los Angeles. The vote was 91 to 6, with three senators not voting, making Fitzgerald the fifth openly gay federal judge currently on the bench in the country.
Posted in News Briefs
By Lisa Keen on March 14, 2012
There was no surprise in Tuesday’s Republican presidential primary results: The field’s most conservative candidate, Rick Santorum, won primaries in two of the nation’s most conservative states. The candidate with the most stated support of Republican gays, Mitt Romney, tied for second with Newt Gingrich in Alabama and was a point behind him in Mississippi.
Posted in News Briefs
By Lisa Keen on March 14, 2012
In a first of its kind case, a federal judge in Philadelphia Monday (March 12) heard arguments on whether the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) precludes a private company from recognizing a same-sex marriage when it comes to the distribution of an employee’s survivor benefits.
Posted in Lawsuits, Marriage/Relationships, U.S. District Courts
By Lisa Keen on March 14, 2012
The New Hampshire House of Representatives is expected to vote today (March 14) on a sort of flea flicker bill aimed at having the legislature repeal marriage equality by asking voters to express support for civil unions.
Posted in News Briefs
By Lisa Keen on March 7, 2012
Their positions on same-sex marriage haven’t changed, and Super Tuesday voting showed that the tightly packed nature of the four-man Republican presidential race has not changed either—except, perhaps, for a surprise comment Tuesday night by former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin that she might be interested in joining the fray.
Posted in News Briefs
By Lisa Keen on March 6, 2012
The National Center for Lesbian Rights joined with the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education Tuesday in an agreement with a Minnesota school district to take steps to prevent harassment of students who do not conform to gender stereotypes.
Posted in News Briefs
By Lisa Keen on March 2, 2012
The next president of the nation’s largest LGBT political group will be Chad Griffin, a California activist who has made a name for himself by initiating and orchestrating one of the most important legal challenges in LGBT history.
Posted in Misc
By Lisa Keen on March 1, 2012
Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum’s campaign appears to have begun to self-destruct from the candidate’s increasingly harsh rhetoric and statements on social issues.
Posted in Election 2012, Presidential 2012
By Lisa Keen on February 23, 2012
The Maryland Senate on Thursday gave final legislative approval to a marriage equality bill that the governor is expected to soon sign. The vote was 25 to 22.
Meanwhile, the Maine Secretary of State confirmed Thursday that activists have turned in enough valid signatures to put a pro-marriage equality measure on the ballot there in November.
Posted in News Briefs
By Lisa Keen on February 22, 2012
A federal district court judge in San Francisco ruled Tuesday (February 22) that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the rights of gays and lesbians to equal protection of the law.
Posted in Issues, Marriage/Relationships, U.S. District Courts
By Lisa Keen on February 21, 2012
Attorneys defending California’s same-sex marriage ban are filing a petition today (February 21), seeking full 9th Circuit review of an appeals panel ruling that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.
Posted in News Briefs
By Lisa Keen on February 17, 2012
The Maryland House of Delegates passed a marriage equality bill Friday evening with a bare minimum of 71 votes to 67. But it did so under the threat of a referendum, and it did so just hours after New Jersey Governor Chris Christie followed through on his promise to veto a marriage equality bill passed by that state’s legislature on Thursday.
Posted in News Briefs
By Lisa Keen on February 16, 2012
Everyone knows Republican Governor Chris Christie has vowed to veto to the marriage equality bill in New Jersey, but the state Assembly passed it anyway on Thursday, and by a vote of 42 to 33. That’s not enough to overturn Christie’s veto, but the legislative victory—coming just three days after Washington Governor Chris Gregoire signed a marriage equality bill there—pumps an impressive momentum.
Posted in News Briefs
By Lisa Keen on February 13, 2012
In a sometimes emotional ceremony Monday morning (February 13), Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed the freshly passed marriage equality bill, telling a crowded gathering at the State House, saying that it means same-sex couples “will no longer be separate but equal” in Washington but simply equal.
The ceremony took place just hours after the New Jersey Senate voted 24 to 16 to pass a marriage equality law there. The New Jersey bill now goes to the Assembly, which is expected to pass it on Thursday.
Posted in News Briefs
By Lisa Keen on February 10, 2012
About 40 gay and lesbian supporters of President Obama’s re-election raised almost $1.5 million at a private fundraiser in Washington, D.C., Thursday night (February 9).
The event was co-hosted by the Chicago Cubs’ openly gay co-owner, former Ambassador James Hormel, and several other high-profile gay funders.
Posted in News Briefs
By Lisa Keen on February 9, 2012
Washington Governor Chris Gregoire issued a statement following Wednesday night’s historic vote in the state House, saying the 55 to 43 vote to pass the marriage equality bill there tells the nation “that Washington state will no longer deny our citizens the opportunity to marry the person they love.”
Posted in A closer look
By Lisa Keen on February 8, 2012
The one Republican presidential candidate who gay Republicans most love to hate scored three victories on the campaign trail Tuesday, reviving his struggling, longshot bid for the party nomination.
Posted in News Briefs
By Lisa Keen on February 7, 2012
Calling Proposition 8 “remarkably similar” to Colorado’s anti-gay Amendment 2 in 1992, a divided federal appeals court panel in San Francisco ruled Tuesday (February 7) that California’s same-sex marriage ban violates the federal constitution.
Posted in Marriage/Relationships, U.S. Circuit Courts
By Lisa Keen on February 7, 2012
Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, said a divided federal appeals court panel in San Francisco Tuesday (February 7).
Posted in News Briefs
Ginsburg on Roe: Is it a signal she’d curb a decision on marriage?
Leahy submits language to help bi-national same-sex couples
Delaware votes for marriage equality; becomes 11th state to make it the law
Rhode Island marriage law signed; Two more states could vote next week
President praises pro athlete Jason Collins for courage to come out
Rhode Island marriage bill clears final hurdle with all Republicans