10/1/2008

"One of the 40 men charged in a city park sex sting last year filed a federal lawsuit against the city and Johnson City Police Chief John Lowry because he says the police department gave his arrest excessive publicity.

"Attorneys for Kenneth Giles filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Greeneville. It seeks monetary damages and injunctive relief because Lowry and the city violated Giles' right to equal protection under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, according to the complaint.

5/29/2008

"Two weeks after deciding same-sex couples are entitled to marry, the California Supreme Court appeared ready Wednesday to rule that physicians have no constitutional right to refuse medical treatment to gays on grounds it would violate their religious beliefs.

"The justices' inclination emerged as the state high court heard arguments in a case that pits the religious freedom of physicians against the right of gays to be free from discrimination.

3/28/2008

"A Franklin County appeals court judge expressed concerns yesterday about the tactics a lesbian mother is using in an effort to invalidate a joint custody agreement with her former partner.

"'I find it a little upsetting,' Judge Susan Brown said of Denise Fairchild's legal maneuvers.

"The comment came as lawyers delivered oral arguments before a three-judge panel of the Franklin County Court of Appeals.

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.

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."

11/28/2007

"How did Flor Bermudez, once a middle-class teenager from an educated family in Mexico City, trade in her desire to be a doctor and become a seasoned advocate for the underdog?

"The answer is she immigrated to the United States and, for the first time, experienced discrimination and the difficulties that arise when you are on the outside looking in. 'It has been difficult,' she says. But there is no turning back.

10/19/2007

9/26/2007

"'The ball is already rolling, but now it's about keeping it moving in the right direction.'

"That's what Cole Thaler, an attorney for Lambda Legal, says lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students and their allies at Auburn University need to do to get gender identity and gender expression included in the university's discrimination policy.

6/28/2007

"Earlier this year, Lambda Legal launched a competition for cartoonists to submit cartoons about the importance of fair courts for LGBT and individual rights, and from now until July 15 visitors to the organization's website can compare the five finalists and cast their vote for the winner.

"...Hector Vargas, Lambda's deputy director of education and public affairs, said Lambda was excited at the response to the call for submissions.

6/26/2007

"The Supreme Court yesterday gave public schools new authority to regulate what students say, allowing principals to punish speech or demonstrations that may 'reasonably be viewed' as promoting illegal drug use.