Clik here to view.
Smithsonian Welcomes LGBT History
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of photographs, papers and historical objects documenting the history of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people became part of the Smithsonian Institution’s collection...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gay Marriage Issue Heading to Supreme Court?
WASHINGTON (AP) — Both sides in the gay marriage debate agree on one thing: It’s time for the Supreme Court to settle the matter. Gay rights advocate Vin Testa waves a rainbow flag on June 26 in front...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gay Marriage – Effectively – Becomes Legal in 30 States
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court unexpectedly cleared the way Monday for a dramatic expansion of gay marriage in the United States and may have signaled that it’s only a matter of time before...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘Seismic Shift’ About Gays Made by Vatican
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Catholic bishops signaled a radical shift in tone Monday about accepting gays into the church, saying they had gifts to offer and that their partnerships, while morally problematic,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Marriage is Between a Man and Woman, Vatican Affirms
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Catholic bishops scrapped their landmark welcome to gays Saturday, showing deep divisions at the end of a two-week meeting sought by Pope Francis to chart a more merciful approach...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Arizona Opens Doors to Gay Marriage – a Major Shift
PHOENIX (AP) — Karen Bailey and Nelda Majors were a couple for 50 years before they told friends and family about their relationship. From left to right, David Larance, Kevin Patterson, Nelda Majors,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
U.S. Cities Lead Way for LGBT Protections, Group Says
City government leaders are outpacing their state and federal counterparts in making progress on approving policies that include, help and protect tens of millions of people in the LGBT community,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gay Marriage Bans in Ark. and Miss. Overturned
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas and Mississippi became the latest two states Tuesday to have their gay marriage bans overturned by federal judges, but there are no rushes to the altar as both orders...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Advocates Push Anti-Profiling Law for Durham Police
Durham, North Carolina is the first stop in a new campaign to create a safer South for queer people of color. “The Durham Community Safety Act” would ban police profiling and discrimination based on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mormon Church Calls for Respect of LGBT Community
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Mormon church announced a campaign Tuesday for new laws that protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination while somehow also protecting people who...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gay Couples in Alabama Can Marry: ‘It’s About Time’
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples Monday despite an 11th-hour attempt from the state’s chief justice — an outspoken opponent — to block the weddings....
View ArticleClik here to view.
LGBT Vet Groups Join St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Boston
BOSTON (AP) — Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day parade made history Sunday as two gay and lesbian groups marched after decades of opposition that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Members of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
LGBT Workers in Fla. Need Civil Rights Law, Report Says
Members of Florida’s LGBT community continue to face employment discrimination, leaving about 328,000 workers vulnerable without civil rights safeguards from a state law, according to a new report...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ark. Governor Now Calls for Changes to Religious Bill
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson backed away Wednesday from his promise to sign a controversial religious-objections bill, bowing to pressure from critics that included his own...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Indiana Lawmakers Want to Change Religious Law
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana lawmakers announced proposed changes Thursday to the state’s new religious objections law aimed at quelling widespread criticism from businesses and other groups that have...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Indiana Civil Rights Case Emboldens LGBT Activists in U.S.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Gay rights advocates are hoping to parlay the momentum from their legislative victories in Indiana and Arkansas this week into further expanding legal protections for gays and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fatal College Shooting Could be Hate Crime, N.C. Police Say
GOLDSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Police said Tuesday they were investigating the fatal shooting of a gay community college worker as a possible hate crime. Wayne Community College President Kay Albertson speaks...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Civil Rights Law Passes in Little Rock, Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Little Rock officials voted Tuesday to prohibit the city and companies contracting with it from discriminating based on sexual orientation or gender identity, challenging a new...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gay Marriage Ruling from SCOTUS is Expected in June
WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy joined conservative colleagues in asking skeptical questions Tuesday as the high court heard historic arguments over the right of gay and lesbian...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Wyo. City, Known for Beating of Gay Man, Passes a Law
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — When Matthew Shepard was beaten, tied to a fence and left for dead nearly 20 years ago, his murder became a rallying cry in the gay rights movement. This undated photo provided by...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ban on Gay Adults in Boy Scouts Must Change, Leader Says
NEW YORK (AP) — The national president of the Boy Scouts of America, Robert Gates, said Thursday that the organization’s longstanding ban on participation by openly gay adults is no longer...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Transgender Women Can Enroll at Barnard College in NYC
NEW YORK (AP) — Barnard College has decided to admit transgender women, becoming the latest women’s college to issue a new policy acknowledging the fluidity and complexity of gender. Banners hang on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gay Marriage Is Legalized in Guam, a U.S. Territorial First
HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Same-sex couples can begin applying for marriage licenses this week in Guam, which became the first U.S. territory to legalize gay marriage. A federal judge on June 6 struck down...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gay Couples Talk of Love, as Supreme Court Mulls Marriage
WASHINGTON (AP) — A middle-of-the night trip to the emergency room, with her 9-month-old son coughing and laboring to breathe, gave Pam Yorksmith her latest reminder of why she took up the fight for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Housing for Transgender Immigrant Detainees to Change
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Immigration authorities will consider housing transgender detainees based on the gender they identify with in the wake of criticism about detention conditions for the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
America Takes the Gay Out of Marriage
WASHINGTON (AP) — Same-sex couples won the right to marry nationwide as a divided Supreme Court handed a crowning victory to the gay rights movement, setting off a jubilant cascade of long-delayed...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Tribute to the Equality Movement, 50 Years Later
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Gay rights activists gathered in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia on the Fourth of July to mark the progress of their movement and pay tribute to those who launched it a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Same-Sex Couples Can Now Get More Federal Benefits
WASHINGTON (AP) — Same-sex married couples can start applying for Social Security and veterans benefits for spouses in all 50 states, but there are still issues to resolve as the federal government...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Group: Same-Sex Couples Have Right to Marriage Licenses
County clerks in the Lone Star State cannot invoke religious liberty in declining to issue marriage licenses to eligible same-sex couples, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas told...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In Photos: Transgender Youth Blaze Trails of Resilience
MIAMI (AP) — The transgender community has gained a degree of acceptance in recent years with the help of such celebrities as Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox from “Orange is the New Black.” But for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Sweet Victory for Same-Sex Couples Via a Wedding Cake
DENVER (AP) — A suburban Denver baker who would not make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple cannot cite his Christian beliefs in refusing them service because it would lead to discrimination, the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Same-Sex Couples Win Fight for Marriage Licenses in Ky.
MOREHEAD, Ky. (AP) — April Miller and Karen Roberts hugged as the news flashed across their television screen, and their hug turned into a brief slow dance across the living room rug. April Miller,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Marriage License Refusal Leads to Jail Time for Ky. Clerk
ASHLAND, Ky. (AP) — A federal judge ordered a defiant county clerk to jail for contempt Thursday after she insisted that it would violate her conscience to follow court orders to issue marriage...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Transgender Inmates in Md. Must Be Treated Better, Judge Says
BALTIMORE (AP) — A transgender inmate who says she was called “it” and “some kind of animal” by guards who watched her shower has won a legal victory that forces the Maryland prison system to better...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Avoid Same-sex Marriage? Use Segregation-era Law
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — As Alabama’s all-White Legislature tried to preserve racial segregation and worried about the possibility of mixed-race marriages in 1961, lawmakers rewrote state law to make...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Honors for Harvey Milk Could Come in Form of Street in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Salt Lake City could soon have a street named after pioneering gay leader Harvey Milk, an idea that reflects the progressive bent of the city that’s home to the Mormon church and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Kentucky Couple Marry After Suing Clerk Kim Davis
MOREHEAD, Ky. (AP) — April Miller and Karen Roberts stood before a minister Saturday night, hand-in-hand, and said the two words they fought for months to exchange. Karen Roberts, left, and April...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance Is Focus of LGBT Movement
HOUSTON (AP) — After a drawn-out showdown between Houston’s popular lesbian mayor and a coalition of conservative pastors, voters in the nation’s fourth-largest city will soon decide whether to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Report: LGBT Nondiscrimination Laws Are Needed
The LGBT community files sexual orientation and gender identity employment discrimination cases about as frequently as women and people of color challenge civil rights violations based on gender and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Defeat of Equal Rights Ordinance Is of Concern for Advocates
HOUSTON (AP) — By a 61-to-39-percent margin, voters in America’s fourth largest city on Tuesday rejected a broad equal-rights ordinance — extending protections in employment, housing and public spaces...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mormon Church LGBT Rules Prompt Criticism From Members
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — New Mormon church rules targeting gay members and their children have triggered a firestorm of backlash from church members of all political backgrounds. Weston Clark speaks to a...
View Article‘Transgender Day of Remembrance’
On Friday, Nov. 20, the world will mark “Transgender Day of Remembrance,” which began as a way to pay respect to Rita Hester, who passed away in November 1998 passing of Rita Hester. It is also a day...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gay Marriage Has Yet to Become Law for Many Native Tribes
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Cleo Pablo married her longtime partner when gay weddings became legal in Arizona and looked forward to the day when her wife and their children could move into her home in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
LGBT Equality and Schools Remain Key Issues for States in 2016
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — With same-sex marriage now legal nationwide, lawmakers in numerous states are preparing for a new round of battles in 2016 over whether to grant discrimination protections...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Salt Lake City Welcomes First Openly Gay Mayor
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jackie Biskupski was sworn in Monday as Salt Lake City’s first openly gay mayor, a landmark the former state lawmaker acknowledged shortly after taking the oath of office. Jackie...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Depression Along With HIV Can Kill Black Gay Men. Can We Stop It?
Ari Hampton came out to his father when he was 18. It didn’t go well. Fearing for his life, the gay teen ran away, ending up on the streets of Detroit. To survive, he sold the only thing he had—his...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lawsuit by Transgender Inmate Leads to Settlement in Georgia
ATLANTA (AP) — The state of Georgia has agreed to pay to settle a lawsuit filed by a former transgender inmate whose case drew the attention of the Justice Department after she complained prison...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New Tax Guide Designed to Help LGBTQ Communities
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer taxpayers have a new resource this tax season, a guide tailored to opportunities and challenges they face when filling their returns, such as how same-sex...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Business Leaders Join Advocates Opposing Texas Bathroom Bill
The fight over a bill in the Texas state Legislature that would restrict bathroom access for transgender residents is ramping up, with more than 50 business leaders joining advocates to oppose the plan...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Latest in Trump’s America: Local Progress on Environment & Justice
Every other Thursday, Equal Voice News tracks the latest from the Trump administration, whether its policies are creating poverty or prosperity, and how families and grassroots organizations are...
View Article
