Gay Rights // Current

Massachusetts Man Fired for Telling Colleague Her Gay Marriage Is Wrong

What a turd!! A manager at a Massachusetts retail store claims he was unjustly... more

KSirys
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23 days ago
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52 comments

What is the True Conservative Position on Gay Marriage?

blogspression1
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25 days ago
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1 comment

Outrage Over Gay Bar Raids

Two recent police raids of gay bars in Atlanta, Georgia and Fort Worth, Texas have... more

The_Global_Report
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27 days ago
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Report: Gay couples similar to straight spouses (Associated Press)

SAN FRANCISCO — Same-sex couples who identify as married are similar to straight... more

fernweher
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29 days ago
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Question 1 Polls Dead Even in Maine

Public opinion surveys in Maine show a dead heat on Question 1, which would cancel the... more

bc_f
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29 days ago
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Why gay marriage, getting high, and going to Cuba will soon be legal.

The End of Prohibition "I think this would be a good time for a beer," Franklin D.... more

atomiclegion
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29 days ago
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95 comments

There's a law against homophobia, in the US

In Italy, the law against homophobia didn't passed, while in the US president Barack... more

bibabiba
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30 days ago
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5 comments

Tegan And Sara Interview: Gay Rights, Public Service And The Music Industry

Identical twin Indie duo Tegan and Sara have been busy winning awards and producing... more

carolkras
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1 month ago
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7 comments

After 10-year dispute, expansion of hate crimes law to gays signed

When a gay Wyoming college student was slain in 1998, congressional Democrats pledged... more

Healthylivinggal
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1 month ago
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Gay-Rights Battle Brewing Over 2010 U.S. Census

"Sarah," an active-duty soldier in Iraq, can hardly be questioned for her patriotism or courage. But when it comes to filling out her 2010 census form, her primary emotion is fear. "I keep real quiet about my partner," she tells NEWSWEEK. "Even this conversation is a violation of the law, but I've stepped away from the other soldiers so I'm not 'a threat to morale.' " Sarah is tired of the subterfuge and wishes she could use her real name for this article without getting fired under "don't ask, don't tell" legislation. She's anxious because she knows this census is a watershed moment for the entire lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) community, as it is for gay soldiers. "A lot of people don't want to believe there are 60,000 of us in the military. I don't believe it either. I think that number is bigger."

For the first time in the centuries-long history of the census, the number of same-sex couples who self-identify as married—license or no license—will be tabulated and released to the public. The move is seen as both a friendly nod to the gay community—which had pinned its hopes on President Obama and has, at least in some quarters, been frustrated by a perceived slow response to gay-rights issues—and a boost to policy fights, from challenging laws that limit gay adoptions to the nationwide legalization of gay marriage.

The release of the data also marks a major shift in the evolution of the Census Bureau. In 1990 it edited the answers of self-identified gay husbands and wives to make them appear as opposite-sex partners; in 2000, instead of editing the sex of a gay spouse it edited the data to describe the same-sex couples as "unmarried partners." While the Census Bureau doesn't make policy, its data will be instrumental to inform it. "This will not be a count of the gay population of the U.S., but it will be the biggest, most profound data set that anyone has ever had," says Timothy Olson, assistant division chief in the U.S. Census Field Division. "There will finally be good data for policymakers to engage in the issues with facts, not speculations."

More @ link"Sarah," an active-duty soldier in Iraq, can hardly be questioned for her patriotism... more