Joe.My.God. LGBT News

Constance McMillen’s school board in Mississippi yesterday filed a court brief claiming that her prom had been canceled to settle the “very explosive and disruptive issue” of their ban on same-sex dating. ACLU attorney Christine Sun calls bullshit on that, saying it was the cancellation itself that catapulted the story into the national news. Sun notes that the filing includes …

Westboro Baptist Church’s freedom of speech case is coming up in the Supreme Court. Tonight the pundits on Hardball discussed whether Westboro “should be shut down.”

Rainbow flag creator Gilbert Baker showed Times Square what he thinks of staging a reality show episode around a critical LGBT rights issue. Click over to Wayne Anderson at World Of Wonder for more photos from today’s protest in NYC. Andy Humm at Gay City News has the story.

The reconciled health care reform bill posted by the House is stripped of previously included provisions addressing LGBT concerns, such as the taxation of employee partner benefits. The HRC is disappointed, but supports the bill. While we are saddened that the House has abandoned provisions that would make care more accessible and affordable to our community, we recognize that the …

The appellate division of the New York Supreme Court has ruled that the state may annul civil unions made in other jurisdictions. The case involved a lesbian couple that was civil unioned in Vermont seven years ago. They had been told they’d have to live in Vermont for one year before the state could make their separation legal. ”Today, the …

The attempt to place a marriage equality repeal resolution before every town council in New Hampshire has been judged a failure after an overwhelming majority of the state’s municipalities refused to take part or voted the resolution down. Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) exults via press release: New Hampshire citizens this month said no to an anti-equality campaign …

The above was Lt. Dan Choi’s court plea just now as tweeted by MetroWeekly. After pleading not guilty, both Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo, pictured above just after their release, will face an April 26th trial date. I’ll have photos from the court appearance as soon as possible. Reportedly both men were brought in wearing cuffs and leg irons. UPDATE: …

Mississippi teen Constance McMillen will appear on today’s episode of Ellen where she’ll be awarded a $30K scholarship in recognition of her activism on behalf of gay youth. McMillen’s school board canceled her prom several weeks ago rather than allow her to attend with her girlfriend. Since then she’s appeared on countless media outlets talking about discrimination against LGBT youth. …

Led by Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, the Dutch government today blasted retired U.S. Gen. John Sheehan over his claim that gay Dutch soldiers caused the Bosnian genocide. “The remarks were outrageous, wrong and beneath contempt,” Balkenende told a news conference. The Dutch Defense Ministry called Sheehan’s claims “absolute nonsense” and added that gay Dutch soldiers routinely cooperate with the …