3/11/20008

"A gay couple is suing the University of Hawaii for not allowing them to return to the student family housing area after living there last year.

"Joseph O'Leary and Phi Ngo said Monday that living in an off-campus apartment has cost them extra money in rent, transportation and food.

"The school informed them that they were denied family housing this year because state law does not recognize same-sex marriage.

3/6/2008

"On the way home from work in Rochester, Patricia Martinez stopped at a liquor store and bought a small bottle of Champagne to celebrate her marriage to another woman. The wedding took place in Canada nearly four years ago, but it wasn't until Feb. 1 that a New York appellate court declared it valid in the state.

3/5/2008

"The national gay marriage debate shifted to California on Tuesday, as the state's highest court was hearing arguments on the constitutionality of a voter-approved law banning same-sex marriage.

"...In briefs submitted to the court, same-sex marriage supporters argued that California's Constitution leaves no room for denying gays and lesbians the right to wed.

2/28/2008

"Lambda Legal Senior Counsel, Susan Sommer, discusses a case involving a married same-sex couple who are seeking a divorce in New York state after being legally married in Canada."

View the interview on abcnews.go.com

2/27/2008

"The estate of Ric Weiland, a high school classmate of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen and one of the first five people to work at the software giant, has left $65 million to gay rights and HIV/AIDS organizations.

"...Weiland donated tens of millions to various organizations -- from gay rights groups to environmental and education organizations -- before he died in 2006."

2/20/2008

"New Jersey's civil union law 'creates a second-class status' for same-sex couples and is particularly vexing for people in the military, transgender people, the poor and minorities, according to a report issued on Tuesday by a commission set up to review the law.

"The 12-member commission included lawyers and ministers who advocate gay rights, as well as government officials from agencies that provide benefits to couples. It based its report heavily on testimony at three public hearings last year and did not make any recommendations.

2/15/2008

"Under pressure from a lawsuit, the State Department is changing rules that had disqualified HIV-positive people from becoming U.S. diplomats.

"Effective Friday, the department removed HIV from a list of medical conditions that automatically prevent foreign service candidates from meeting an employment requirement that they be able to work anywhere in the world.

1/20/2008

"One image encapsulates the chaos of the summer morning five months ago when gay marriage was legal — briefly — in Polk County.

"A crowd of 30, mostly reporters and photographers, encircles two young men under a maple tree. Sean Fritz, bearded and dripping sweat, throws his arms around the tall, redheaded Tim McQuillan. With a kiss, their marriage is sealed - and so is their position as the unlikely poster children of gay marriage in Iowa.

1/18/2008

"A transgender woman who wants to change her legal name from 'Donald' to 'Daunn' asked the state Supreme Court Thursday to order Will County's chief judge to waive about $450 in court fees because of her low income.

"The legal filing by Daunn Turner, 52, of Lockport contended Will County Chief Judge Stephen White rejected the request by declaring, 'I am not spending the county's money on something like this.'

"But in a telephone interview Thursday, Turner said she sought the name change to 'reflect my identity.'

12/12/2007

"Lambda Legal released a press release of a new lawsuit, filed in the Northern District Court of Indiana regarding West Side High School (Gary, Indiana) violated Kevin "K.K." Logan's First Amendment rights when it barred him from his prom for wearing a dress.