TSL Staff Posts

Iowa now joins every other state that permits same-sex couples to marry, enter into civil unions, or enter comprehensive domestic partnerships, in issuing birth certificates to children of same-sex couples in a legal relationship on the same terms as to children of married different-sex couples.

On Tuesday all five Republicans in the Rhode Island Senate announced their support for S38, the marriage bill to end the statewide exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage, and their intention to vote for it on the floor.

Local chapters of Marriage Equality USA will participate in annual Tax Day Actions at local post offices around the country on April 15, holding signs like “25 Years Together, Still Filing Single,” “No Taxation with Discrimination” and “Tax Us the Same, Treat Us the Same.”

Sen. Murray’s Children’s Trauma Recovery Act includes a re-authorization and updates to the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCTSI), which works with children and families who are exposed to a wide range of traumatic experiences.

Captain Phelps will marry Schock in May in Seattle, Washington and he will subsequently be transferred to Japan this summer for a minimum of two years. But because of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Schock will not be allowed to join him on base.

The White House will recognize a group of outstanding openly LGBT state and local elected and appointed officials as “Harvey Milk Champions of Change.”

On Tuesday, March 19, the White House will honor 14 women veterans as Champions of Change. After honorably serving their country, these individuals went on to provide exemplary leadership in many areas at the local, state, regional, or national level.

Hall believed a fellow inmate to be gay and assaulted him with a dangerous weapon, causing bodily injury to the victim on December 20, 2011.

Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry announced a new campaign manager and 20 new members of its leadership committee, including three of former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman’s daughters.

A lesbian couple seeking marriage equality will have to wait a little longer for the judge to issue an opinion in their case until after the SCOTUS DOMA cases.

On January 29, 2013, Secretary Shinseki granted a waiver, the first of its kind, for the burial of civilian Nancy Lynchild in Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. Her spouse, retired Lieutenant Colonel Linda Campbell, led the months long efforts to make the waiver a reality.

As the pontificate of Benedict XVI winds down, many American Catholics express a desire for change. For example, most U.S. Catholics say it would be good if the next pope allows priests to marry.

State Senator Branden Petersen (R – Andover) is preparing to co-sponsor bipartisan legislation in Minnesota that would ensure that same-sex couples have the freedom to marry.

The largest collection of academic research on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal was published online this weekend in a special edition of the Journal of Homosexuality.

The ACLU of Southern California and the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center are urging Los Angeles city leaders to sever sister city ties with St. Petersburg, Russia, following the passage there of increasingly repressive laws directed at the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

Circuit Court of Cook County, Chancery Division denied a motion to stay the cases brought by Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Illinois seeking marriage for same-sex couples. The motion attempted to delay any action in the case pending decisions in two federal marriage cases up for review in the SCOTUS: United States v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry.

The Roman Catholic Church hierarchy has long been an opponent to LGBT equality. Even before Pope Benedict came on the scene, the Vatican was employing the phrase "intrinsically disordered" to refer to LGBT people.

Murray spoke on the Senate floor Thursday saying, “...we all know what it will take to move this bill forward -- leadership from Speaker Boehner and Leader Cantor. The fate of the Violence Against Women Act still lays squarely on their shoulders."

Lawmakers voted 400 to 175 in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage in Britain Tuesday. Prime Minister David Cameron was a staunch supporter of the bill, along with the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats party.

Well, it appears the Family Research Council and the Thomas More Society of Chicago won’t be invited to any gay weddings in 2013…