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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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By Lisa Keen on February 7, 2012
Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, said a divided federal appeals court panel in San Francisco Tuesday (February 7).
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By Lisa Keen on February 1, 2012
The Washington State bill for marriage equality cleared a crucial hurdle Wednesday night (February 1), passing the state senate on a vote of 28 to 21 after it first rejected an attempt to put the issue to a statewide referendum in November.
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By Lisa Keen on February 1, 2012
LGBT activists put together a long wish list when President Obama came into office in January 2009. On that list was a wish for the president to issue an executive order to require companies with contracts to do work for the federal government to promise they would not discriminate against their employees based on sexual orientation or gender.
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By Lisa Keen on February 1, 2012
A 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel announced Wednesday that it will release a decision Thursday (February 2) regarding whether a videotape of the historic Perry v. Schwarzenegger trial should be available to the public.
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By Lisa Keen on February 1, 2012
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie apologized Tuesday night for suggesting that blacks would have “been happy” to put their civil rights up for a vote rather than “fighting and dying” for those rights in the South.
Christie made his remark on January 24 to explain why he was advocating that New Jersey include a referendum on marriage licenses for same-sex couples on this November’s ballot.
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By Lisa Keen on February 1, 2012
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie apologized Tuesday night for suggesting that blacks would have “been happy” to put their civil rights up for a vote rather than “fighting and dying” for those rights in the South.
Christie made his remark on January 24 to explain why he was advocating that New Jersey include a referendum on marriage licenses for same-sex couples on this November’s ballot.
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By Lisa Keen on January 30, 2012
Lambda Legal Defense argued before the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Wednesday, January 25, that the Atlanta Police Department violated the rights of a man with HIV who applied to join the force. Lambda HIV Project Director Scott Schoettes, who argued on behalf of the anonymous plaintiff before a three-judge panel January 25, said Roe v. Atlanta tests under what circumstances HIV can be considered a “direct threat” and who has the burden of proving it—the employer or the employee.
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By Lisa Keen on January 26, 2012
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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By Lisa Keen on January 26, 2012
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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By Lisa Keen on January 24, 2012
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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By Lisa Keen on January 22, 2012
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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By Lisa Keen on January 20, 2012
Newt Gingrich’s combativeness at a debate in South Carolina Thursday night worked the live audience into a frenzy of standing ovations at the very start of the two-hour event. The audience cheered wildly and stood several times as Gingrich ripped into CNN moderator John King for doing something Gingrich said he found “as despicable as anything I can imagine.”
What did John King do?
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By Lisa Keen on January 17, 2012
Endorsements can work two ways: They can draw support to a candidate or repel it. In the GOP primary campaigns, there are both.
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By Lisa Keen on January 10, 2012
The New Hampshire primary results took anti-gay Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum down several notches Tuesday night and boosted the more progressive Jon Huntsman up a few.
Many pundits are now all but assuming Mitt Romney —who came out on top in Iowa and New Hampshire— will be the Republican nominee to challenge President Obama in the general election. But Republican voter support still seems dramatically split among several candidates, a trend that could easily continue in the next primaries, South Carolina on January 21, and Florida on January 31.
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By Lisa Keen on January 8, 2012
After spending eight minutes discussing gay-related issues Saturday night, the six remaining major candidates for the Republican presidential nomination were asked about the issues once again Sunday morning. Frontrunner Mitt Romney said he would not suggest that gays don’t have “full rights” but continued to oppose allowing gays to obtain a marriage license. Challenger Rick Santorum said he would be “a voice in speaking out for making sure that every person in America, gay or straight, is treated with respect and dignity and has equality of opportunity.” And second-place contender Ron Paul urged candidates to stop referring to “gay rights,” as if such a thing exists separate and different from civil rights generally.
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By Lisa Keen on January 8, 2012
The audience in New Hampshire listening to Saturday night’s debate grew noisily restless with reporters’ questions about the right to privacy as it regards contraception. But when the topic became same-sex marriage, they seemed to be listening more quietly –at least until Newt Gingrich claimed that questions about gay marriage belie the news media’s bias against religions.
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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