On the path to marriage equality By Melanie Nathan, May 09, 2013. Today the Minnesota House Legislature voted in favor of same-sex marriages, forging the path toward being the first in the Midwest to pass such a law through the legislature, as Iowa came into law via the Courts. The 75-59 vote was seen as [...]

SB 10 Marriage equality in Illinois On February 14, the Illinois State Senate voted to pass the legalization of marriage equality (IL SB10) bill, entitled the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, by a 34-21-2-2 score in favor of marriage equality.  The Illinois House of Representatives needs to vote on the Bill and if it [...]

Kinder Institute Houston Area Survey: Support for gay rights has grown significantly among Houstonians | Other findings: Houstonians overwhelmingly favor requiring background checks for all gun sales; and despite lower unemployment, they report no improvement in their personal finances  HOUSTON – (April 23, 2013) – As the immigration debate in the U.S. Senate heats up, findings from [...]

The School Success and Opportunity Act (AB 1266), authored by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, has passed the Assembly Education Committee by a vote of 5-2. The bill, which is co-sponsored by Equality California, Transgender Law Center, ACLU of California, GSA Network and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, addresses the exclusion of transgender students from classes [...]

Last week, a Senate committee voted to advance a resolution that would overturn Nevada’s anti-marriage amendment and replace it with the freedom to marry. The measure now moves to the full Senate, where it must receive a vote in the coming days in order to begin the multi-year process of winning marriage for all loving [...]

We need your help – a message from Kate Kendell at NCLR, an urgent call to cction: Please join the National Center for Lesbian Rights and other co-sponsors of the bill—Equality California, Transgender Law Center, GSA Network, and Gender Spectrum—to make a difference in the lives of young members of our community. It only takes [...]

A dangerous bill racing through the Florida legislature would overturn several of Florida’s strongest local LGBT rights policies and would block future policies statewide. SB 726 by Senator Simmons is a way to eliminate requirements on what kind of benefits businesses must offer their employees. The bill has already passed the House of Representatives and [...]

MARRIAGE EQUALITY USA STANDS UP FOR EQUALITY FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES ON TAX DAY UPDATED: April 15, 2013. MEUSA: Our hearts and thoughts are with the victims and the injured in Boston, Massachusetts, as well as with their families and friends. In solidarity with all of those affected by the traumatic events we are canceling the [...]

The Amicus Brief which makes the argument for why – with thanks to Howard University, Prof. Aderson Francois and his team and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Ayesha N. Khan, Legal Director and her team. The anti-gay National Organization for Marriage (NOM) says in its talking points against marriage equality that if [...]

Same-Sex Couples File Lawsuit Seeking the Freedom to Marry in New Mexico Marriage equality is coming to New Mexico! Albuquerque, NM, March 21, 2013)—Today, two same-sex couples seeking the freedom to marry filed a lawsuit in Albuquerque’s district court after they applied for and were denied marriage licenses by the Bernalillo County Clerk. The lawsuit [...]