Tag: usa
US suspends some aid to Uganda over anti-gay law
The United States has suspended some of its aid to Uganda’s ministry of health as a response to President Yoweri Museveni’s decision to sign anti-gay legislation. Following the recent decision of several countries and the World Bank to halt aid donations destined for the Ugandan Government, the US has now cut a portion of its… Read more »
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer vetoes ‘turn away the gays’ bill
Says SB 1062 ‘has the potential to create more problems that it purports to solve … It could divide Arizona in ways we cannot even imagine’ Arizona Governor Jan Brewer ended days of suspense by announcing she has vetoed the state’s controversial ‘turn away the gays’ law. Brewer said at an evening press conference Wednesday… Read more »
Big rise in US support for gay marriage
Numbers of Americans supporting the idea have highly increased over the past decade, after it became possible for gay and lesbian couples to have a legal marriage Support for gay marriage has shot up in the US with over half of Americans now in favor. A survey by the non-partisan Public Religion Research Institute released… Read more »
UK celebs, Russian gay activists honored by GLAAD
US gay media advocacy organization announce they will be honoring an international LGBTI rights activist for the first time Three British celebs, two Russian activists and an Indian actor are among the nominees in an inaugural international honor awarded by GLAAD. The US media advocacy organization announced they will be giving out an award later… Read more »
Edie Windsor goes to The White House, visits with President Obama in The Oval Office
DOMA plaintiff was among those invited to State Dinner for President of France President Barack Obama was flying in Air Force One last June when he placed a call to Edie Windsor to congratulate her on making history. It was the day that because of Windsor’s landmark lawsuit, the US Supreme Court gutted the anti-gay… Read more »
Michelle Obama congratulates gay college football player Michael Sam for coming out ahead of NFL draft
US First Lady calls Sam ‘an inspiration to all of us’ in Twitter message and adds: ‘We couldn’t be prouder of your courage both on and off the field’ US First Lady Michelle Obama took to Twitter today to publicly congratulate University of Missouri football star Michael Sam for coming out publicly as a gay… Read more »
Boy Scouts Policy Allowing Gay Youth Takes Effect January 1
A new policy allowing openly gay youth in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) takes effect January 1. Brad Haddock, a BSA national executive board member who chairs the policy implementation committee, told the AP that he hopes implementation will be a non-event. “My hope is there will be the same effect this Jan. 1… Read more »
New Mexico: 17th State To Legalize Gay Marriage
A New Mexico Supreme Court ruling handed down Thursday joins the state with 16 others and the District of Columbia in allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. The court in October heard arguments in a case that sought to clarify whether gay couples are allowed to marry in the state. The case has its… Read more »
Google online data expert estimates 1 in 20 American men are gay
A study of Americans’ online habits by economist and Google data analyst Seth Stephens-Davidowitz estimates that five percent of American men are predominantly same-sex attracted but also that more than 1-in-5 are still in the closet New York Times contributor and Google big-data analyst Seth Stephens-Davidowitz says internet data suggests one in twenty American men… Read more »
Cameroon LGBT activist granted asylum in US after receiving death threats for taking part in film
A Cameroonian LGBT activist has been reunited with her family in San Francisco after receiving death threats for appearing in a documentary on LGBT rights. The film documents how the LGBT community in Cameroon is forced to remain at the margins of society. The activist in the film, known only as Gertrude, has been granted… Read more »
Hawaii makes history with first gay marriages taking place at midnight
Dozens of gay and lesbian couples exchanged vows in the middle of the night to celebrate Hawaii becaming the 16th state to allow same-sex marriages As Hawaii’s new gay marriage law came into effect Monday (2 December), couples rushed to tie the knot at midnight. Same-sex couples in Hawaii are now able to register for… Read more »
8th US Native American tribe allows same-sex couples to wed
The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe have become the 8th federally recognized Native American tribal grouping to allow same-sex couples to marry, wedding Arnold and Matthew Dahl-Wooley on their reservation Friday afternoon 8 US federally recognized Native American tribes now allow same-sex marriage, with the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe marrying their first same-sex couples… Read more »
Illinois Gay Marriage Bill Passes As State Poised To Become 15th To Legalize Same Sex Marriage
Springfield — The Illinois General Assembly passed a bill legalizing same sex marriage Tuesday, putting the Land of Lincoln on course to be the 15th state to legalize same sex marriage. The House of Representatives narrowly passed the bill 61-54-2 shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday and the state senate concurred a little more than an… Read more »
Illinois Becomes 15th State To Legalize Gay Marriage
Illinois on Tuesday became the 15th state to legalize gay marriage. The marriage bill approved stalled out twice – in the Senate in late 2012 and in the House in May – before finding sufficient support to clear both the House and the Senate in one day. With one vote to spare (61-54) the House… Read more »
Justice presides over gay wedding ceremony at U.S. Supreme Court
Washington (Reuters) – Four months after the U.S.Supreme Court issued two major rulings on gay marriage, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on Tuesday presided over a same-sex wedding ceremony at the court building. Court spokeswoman Kathleen Arberg confirmed that O’Connor, appointed to the court by Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1981, oversaw the… Read more »
New Jersey Supreme Court Won’t Delay Start Of Gay Marriage
The New Jersey Supreme Court on Friday unanimously denied a request to delay a lower court’s ruling legalizing gay marriage in New Jersey on Monday. “The state has advanced a number of arguments, but none of them overcome this reality: Same-sex couples who cannot marry are not treated equally under the law today,” the court… Read more »
U.S. Olympic Committee Adds Sexual Orientation To Charter
The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) board on Thursday voted in favor of adding sexual orientation to its non-discrimination policy. The move comes as Russia prepares to host the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Over the summer, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed laws which prohibit gay and lesbian couples from adopting Russian-born children and the public promotion… Read more »
Senate confirms Todd M. Hughes as first openly gay federal appeals judge
The Senate voted 98 to 0 on Tuesday to confirm the appointment of a Justice Department lawyer as the nation’s first openly gay judge on a federal appeals court. Todd M. Hughes, who has served as deputy director of the commercial litigation branch of Justice’s Civil Division since 2007, will join the U.S. Court of… Read more »
6th US Native American tribal nation allows same-sex marriage
Washington state’s Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation council has voted to legalize same-sex marriages on their lands, becoming only the 6th US Native American tribal nation to do so The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation has become only the 6th US Native American tribal nation to allow same-sex marriage on their territories. On… Read more »
Chelsea Manning, Formerly Bradley, Comes Out Transgender
Wikileaks source Army Pfc. Chelsea Manning, formerly Bradley Manning, on Thursday came out transgender. Manning made her announcement a day after he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Manning’s lawyer, David Coombs, read a statement on NBC’s Today show. “As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know… Read more »
US WikiLeaks soldier comes out as trans: ‘My name is Chelsea Manning’
Wikileaks soldier who was sentenced to 35 years in prison will live the remainder of her life as a woman The US WikiLeaks soldier sentenced to jail for 35 years has come out as transgender and will live the rest of her life as a woman. ‘I am Chelsea Manning,’ the 25-year-old revealed today (22… Read more »
Chris Christie Signs Bill Banning ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy To Minors
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Monday signed a bill banning “ex-gay” therapy to minors, making New Jersey the second state after California to prohibit so-called conversion therapy that attempts to turn gay teens straight. Christie, a Republican, waited until the last possible moment to sign the legislation. The bill would have become law within… Read more »
Gay Ambassador to Australia Marries in D.C.
John Berry, U.S. ambassador to Australia, married his partner of 17 years, Curtis Yee, on Saturday. John Berry, the newly confirmed U.S. Ambassador to Australia, married his longtime partner in Washington, D.C., Saturday, reports the Washington Blade. Berry and his partner, Curtis Yee, have been together for 17 years, and married in a ceremony at… Read more »
US: Minnesota and Rhode Island legalise same-sex marriage
Minnesota and Rhode Island have become the 12th and 13th US states to recognise same-sex marriage after recently passing laws permitting weddings to begin from midnight on Wednesday. The law for Minnesota came into effect yesterday allowing weddings to begin just after midnight, and 42 couples were expected to be married at Minneapolis City Hall… Read more »
Gay marriages resume in California after five-year hiatus
Same-sex couples – some in shorts and jeans, some in their work clothes – rushed to be wed in California on Friday after a court abruptly ended the state’s five-year ban on gay marriage in the wake of landmark rulings at the Supreme Court. San Francisco (Reuters) – On a balcony overlooking the grand staircase… Read more »
Gay Americans who want to marry are now better off than Europeans
30% of US citizens now live in a place where gay marriage is legal, compared to 23% of Europeans The average gay or lesbian American is now more likely to live in a place where they can marry than a European. The death of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California and was struck… Read more »
Obama Nominates Two Openly Gay Ambassadors
President Barack Obama on Friday nominated two openly gay ambassadors. Obama named James Costos to be ambassador to Spain and Rufus Gifford to be ambassador to Denmark. The nominations come less than a week after the president named Daniel Baer, who is also gay, to be ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in… Read more »
US: High School ‘cutest couple’ finds internet fame and inspire other teens to come out
A gay high school couple who were voted “cutest” in their yearbook, became an internet sensation, finding a huge wave of support, and saying they had received messages saying they had inspired people to come out. Carmel High School students Bradley Taylor and Dylan Meehan, attended their senior prom on Monday, and said they were… Read more »
Mississippi Tops States With Gay Parents
A new report found the highest percentages of gay and lesbian couples who are raising children are located in socially conservatives states where such families are less likely to be recognized. According to new estimates from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, Salt Lake City and its suburbs have the nation’s highest… Read more »
Boy Scouts to allow gay youths to join
(CNN) – Openly gay youths will be allowed to join scouting, a historic decision the Boy Scouts of America says will keep it unclouded by “a single, divisive, and unresolved societal issue.” More than 60% of the group’s 1,400-member national council voted Thursday at an annual meeting in Grapevine, Texas, for the change, which takes… Read more »
Peace Corps will accept same-sex couples
AP-The U.S Peace Corps says it will begin accepting applications from same-sex domestic partners who want to serve together as volunteers overseas. Peace Corps Deputy Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet says the change will diversify the pool of applicants who want to help improve the quality of education, health care and economic development in host countries around… Read more »
The Neurology of Disgust
Click here to read an original op-ed from the TED speaker who inspired this post and watch the TEDTalk below. Growing up believing you are an abomination is strange. But, if you are gay and grew up in Kansas (or many other parts of the world) — like I did — it’s not all that… Read more »
Minnesota gay-marriage law signed
Gov. Mark Dayton on Tuesday signed a bill making gay marriage legal in Minnesota, the 12th state to take the step, as thousands of onlookers cheered. “What a day for Minnesota!” Dayton, a Democrat, declared moments before putting his signature on a bill. “And what a difference a year and an election can make in… Read more »
Minnesota State Senate passes gay marriage bill by a close vote of 37-30
Becomes the 12th state in the US to pass marriage equality After more than four hours of debate, the Minnesota State Senate passed a bill that will make their state the 12th in the US to make gay marriage legal. The bill passed by a margin of 37-30. Minnesota is the first state legislature in… Read more »
Minnesota Senate Approves Gay Marriage Bill
The Minnesota Senate on Monday approved a gay marriage bill, paving the way for Minnesota to become the 12th state to legalize such unions. After a roughly four-hour debate, the Senate approved the measure with a 37-30 vote, four days after the Minnesota House approved the measure. It was a dramatic reversal for the chamber… Read more »
Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee Signs Gay Marriage Bill
Moments after a gay marriage bill cleared its final legislative hurdle on Thursday, Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee, an independent, signed it into law on the steps of the State House. The measure cleared the Senate last Wednesday with the help of all 5 of its Republican members. It returned to a House committee on… Read more »
Why Still So Few Use Condoms
With the “next-generation condom” initiative, Bill Gates is acknowledging that the practical reasons people don’t use condoms warrant honest conversation. As the late author Norman Mailer put it, “The only thing you can depend on with condoms is that they will take 20 to 50 percent off your f***.” In a conversation with Madonna on… Read more »
With the Words ‘I’m Gay,’ an N.B.A. Center Breaks a Barrier
In 12 seasons as an N.B.A. player, Jason Collins has never been an All-Star or a scoring leader or even a full-time starter, but on Monday he shattered one of the last great barriers in professional sports. “I’m a 34-year-old N.B.A. center. I’m black and I’m gay,” Collins, who finished this season with the Washington… Read more »
Scouts to allow gay members, not leaders
Los Angeles – Leaders of the Boy Scouts of America agreed on Friday to admit gay youth members while maintaining a ban on adult leaders, drawing criticism from both homosexual groups and conservatives. The executive committee of the organisation – which launched a review of the contentious issue in February – passed a resolution that… Read more »
UN chief Ban Ki-moon to lead global campaign for gay rights
UN Secretary-General says ‘culture, tradition or religion’ is no excuse, governments have to protect gay, bisexual and trans people in strongest speech yet on issue The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, has promised to lead a global campaign for LGBT rights. And he has told governments around the world that they have a… Read more »
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