Domestic News
So the Republican establishment is breathing easy now that the Supreme Court is on the verge of issuing a ruling in favor of same-sex marriage, thus taking the question out of nasty old politics? "I think it's probably going to be a relief," a Republican committeeman from California toldJeremy W. Peters and Jonathan Martin of The New York Times, explaining that with such a ruling, "then it's off the table." Praise the Lord and thank the court.
On Friday, the Supreme Court justices will be meeting to decide whether to hear a case — or multiple cases — challenging a ban on same-sex couples' marriages.
This will be the second time the justices have considered whether to take any of the cases out of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and/or Tennessee. When they did so on Jan. 9, they took no action on those cases, instead re-listing them for discussion on Friday.
The Washington Blade has learned the State Department is considering phasing out domestic partner benefits for unmarried gay employees in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2013 ruling that struck down a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Patrick Kennedy, under secretary for management at the State Department, told representatives of Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies during a Dec. 22 meeting that the agency plans to move forward the proposed elimination of the Same-Sex Domestic Partner (SSDP) program.
In this Nov. 6, 2014 photo provided by Johnny Shryock, Sonia Luna poses for a photograph at her office in Los Angeles.
"I have determined that the best reading of Title VII's prohibition of sex discrimination is that it encompasses discrimination based on gender identity, including transgender status," Attorney General Eric Holder writes.
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is now interpreting federal law to explicitly prohibit workplace discrimination against transgender people, according to a memo released Thursday by Attorney General Eric Holder.
WASHINGTON — As barriers tosame-sex marriage fall across the country, gay rights advocates are planning their next battle on Capitol Hill: a push for sweeping legislation to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination, similar to the landmark Civil Rights Act that President Lyndon B. Johnson signed in 1964.
When a new Congress is seated in January 2015, the Human Rights Campaign will endorse and fight for a federal LGBT non-discrimination bill that will address discrimination in credit, education, employment, federal funding, housing, jury service and public accommodations. This report provides the historical foundation for such vitally important legislation.
Lawyers and plaintiffs who sued the state over a gay marriage ban hold a press conference outside of the James A. McClure Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, on Oct. 7. Patrick Sweeney / Reuters
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter tells the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that its ruling in favor of marriage equality could cause significant harms, "especially [to] the children of heterosexuals."