LGBT News

Late yesterday afternoon the Missouri Senate advanced GOP Sen. Bob Onder’s anti-LGBT bill to the state House. The Human Rights Campaign reacts: Similar to so-called “First Amendment Defense Act” legislation introduced in other states, this extreme resolution would lead to a ballot measure that, if approved by voters, would enshrine discrimination against LGBT people and their families into the state …

Two days ago Democrats in the Missouri Senate launched a 39-hour filibuster in an ultimately failed attempt to thwart a vote on an anti-LGBT RFRA bill. They are at again today, this time filibustering the record of their filibuster. Listen at this link. #HEROES.

Over the anguished screams of the Family Research Council and the American Family Association, today the Senate Armed Services Committee advanced President Obama’s appointment of Eric Fanning as US Army Secretary. If confirmed by the full Senate, Fanning will become the first openly gay head of a branch of the US military. Early this year Fanning stepped down as Acting …

The Human Rights Campaign today announced that 60 major corporations have jointly endorsed the Equality Act. Companies on the list include Amazon, Apple, Google, Twitter, IBM, Facebook, Hilton, Hyatt, MasterCard, General Mills, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo. See the full list below. Via press release: Since HRC joined with lawmakers and advocates last July to introduce the Equality Act in Congress, HRC …

The Virginian-Pilot reports: Legislation that has passed both chambers of the Republican-controlled General Assembly says no minister or religious organization can be penalized for acting in accordance with a belief that marriage should be only between a man and a woman. Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe has promised to veto it. The House of Delegates passed the measure 59-38 on Wednesday. …

The protests apparently worked. From the Richmond Times-Dispatch: Republicans in the Senate and House of Delegates are poised to elect Court of Appeals Judge Stephen R. McCullough of Spotsylvania County to the Supreme Court of Virginia, after former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli took himself out of the running. “Teiro and I gave serious and prayerful consideration to accepting this honor,” …

Via press release from Lambda Legal: Today, Governor Alejandro García Padilla [photo] announced that the decision issued yesterday by the District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, holding that the historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges striking down discriminatory marriage bans nationwide did not apply to Puerto Rico because it is not a state, would not …

The jury took less than a day to find him guilty. GOOD. Via the New York Daily News: A crazed killer was convicted Wednesday of gunning down an unarmed gay man in the West Village nearly three years ago — and the murder was deemed a hate crime. Elliot Morales, 36, now faces up to life in prison for the …

From the Chicagoist: The second creator behind the Matrix trilogy and other reality-contorting content has come out as transgender today. In a letter released to Windy City Times, writer-director Lilly Wachowski explained why she’s making the announcement now. “In response to this threatened public outing against my will,” Wachowski wrote. “I had a prepared a statement that was one part …

From the Lincoln County Times-News: Lincoln County state Sen. David Curtis is among 10 members appointed Tuesday by Senate Leader Phil Berger [PHOTO] to work with the N.C. House of Representatives in overturning a Charlotte City Council ordinance before it can go into effect April 1. The committee, headed by Wilkes Republican Sen. Shirley Randleman, will meet for the first …

UDPATE BELOW. Earlier, from the Riverfront Times: They’re still talking. The Democratic caucus of the Missouri Senate began filibustering a controversial “religious freedom” proposal on Monday at 4 p.m. And as of 6 a.m. this morning, they were still holding the floor — that’s 38 hours, and counting. That appears to be a new record for the Missouri Senate; the …

Anti-LGBT former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli was yesterday nominated to the Virginia Supreme Court by a state Senate panel. The Washington Blade has some reactions: Equality Virginia, a statewide LGBT advocacy group, on Tuesday noted that the former attorney general in 2008 described the “homosexual agenda” as “something that I believe brings nothing but self-destruction, not only physically but …

Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed: Puerto Rico’s marriage ban remains valid and the law of the territory, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. Because Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory, the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex couples’ marriage rights does not automatically apply there, U.S. District Court Judge Juan Pérez-Giménez ruled in a 10-page decision. The judge had previously upheld …

INCREDIBLE. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri is grabbing national headlines as word of Senate Democrats’ day-long filibuster spreads. A proposal by Sen. Bob Onder, R-Lake Saint Louis, is designed to protect wedding vendors and clergy from legal liability and government penalties if they decline to participate in same-sex marriage ceremonies. Republicans are trying to put the question on the …

UNBELIEVABLE. And it’s STILL going. Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: A Democratic-led filibuster in the Missouri Senate of a religious freedom constitutional amendment passed the 24-hour mark late Tuesday afternoon as opponents of the measure charged it would enable anti-LGBT discrimination in the state. The filibuster, which was in response to Senate Joint Resolution 39, began shortly after …

Just in from One Iowa: The Iowa Senate passed a bill adding gender identity and gender expression to the state’s hate crimes law today with a 27-21 vote. Adding gender identity and gender expression to the law would provide transgender Iowans with legal protection from hate crimes. The bill will now make its way to the Iowa House of Representatives. …

Via press release from Lambda Legal: Today Lambda Legal announced the resolution of its lawsuit against the Social Security Administration (SSA) brought on behalf of Kathy Murphy, a Texas widow denied spousal benefits after the death of her wife, and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (the National Committee). “The Social Security Administration has finally adjusted Kathy’s …

Holy cow! From the Riverfront Times: How to stop a piece of a legislation that would codify the right to discriminate against same-sex couples? For Missouri Democrats, the answer may be to just keep talking. Last night at 4 p.m., the Senate Democratic caucus began filibustering a joint resolution aimed at bringing a constitutional amendment to Missouri voters that would …

From the Shanghaiist: A new advertisement by McCafé featuring a heartwarming coming-out scene has created something of a firestorm in a coffee cup in Taiwan, with religious fundamentalists up in arms, calling for a boycott against the chain. In the 90-second video, titled Acceptance, the third and latest video in the More Warmth in Conversations campaign by McCafé which started …

You may recall that in 2011 a gay man was arrested for “nudity” at San Diego Pride. On Friday the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear the case. The San Diego Reader reports: Do San Diego police officers interpret public nudity laws differently for a gay man at a Gay Pride event than, say, a woman in a g-string …