‘Headlines’ Archives
School to pay Constance damages
Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Miss., which canceled its prom rather than let Constance McMillen attend with her girlfriend earlier this year, will pay her $35,000 and attorneys' fees, the American Civil Liberties Union reported July 20. The judgment ends McMillen's suit against the school and a story that captured national [...]
IGLHRC wins battle for UN inclusion
Following a grueling last-minute push, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission won consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council on July 19. After three years of opposition at the committee level, IGLHRC, with a strong assist from the U.S. government, managed to circumvent the obstructionist [...]
GetEQUAL stops traffic on Vegas Strip, 8 arrested
Members of direct-action group GetEQUAL halted traffic on the Las Vegas Strip at the New York-New York hotel's Statue of Liberty July 20 to protest U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's perceived inaction on the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Police were slow to arrive on the scene, leaving eight southbound lanes of the [...]
Charges dropped over White House civil disobedience
As trial was about to start in D.C. Superior Court, the government dropped the charges July 14 against Lt. Dan Choi and ex-Capt. Jim Pietrangelo stemming from civil-disobedience actions in which they handcuffed themselves to the White House fence in March and April. They had been protesting the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy that [...]
Obama issues AIDS strategy
President Barack Obama issued a "National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States" on July 13. "Our country is at a crossroads," Obama said. "Right now, we are experiencing a domestic epidemic that demands a renewed commitment, increased public attention and leadership." The document states that one American becomes infected with HIV every 9 [...]
Defense of Marriage Act struck down
The U.S. District Court in Boston struck down Section 3 of the anti-gay federal Defense of Marriage Act on July 8, ruling simultaneously in two cases. The section, which was found to be unconstitutional in three different ways, states: "In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of [...]
Lambda fights for Arizona partner benefits
Lambda Legal presented oral arguments in U.S. District Court in Phoenix on June 28 to block a law that strips domestic-partner benefits from gay and lesbian state employees. Arizona lawmakers eliminated health care for gay state employees' partners in a budget bill signed by Gov. Jan Brewer last September. Lambda represents 10 state [...]
Wisconsin gay marriage ban upheld
Wisconsin's constitutional ban on gay marriage and civil unions was upheld by the state Supreme Court on June 30. The court, in a 7-0 vote, disagreed with plaintiff Bill McConkey, who claimed the voter-passed amendment was invalid because the ballot initiative illegally presented voters with more than one issue simultaneously. The amendment [...]
Lambda Legal and ACLU Ready Lawsuit Following Veto of HB 444
"This was a sad surrender to political expediency that does not support business and family interests." (Honolulu, July 6, 2010) - Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i (ACLU) reacted today with deep disappointment following Hawai'i Governor Linda Lingle's veto of HB 444, which would have allowed gay and straight [...]
HAWAII GOVERNOR VETOES CIVIL UNION BILL
Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed a civil-union bill July 6 that would have granted same-sex couples all the rights, benefits, responsibilities and obligations of marriage under a different name. "I have been open and consistent in my opposition to same-gender marriage and find that House Bill 444 is essentially marriage by another name," Lingle [...]
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