Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: homosexual rights

homosexual rights stories: 14 news summaries
ANALYSIS

Hate-Crime Law Marks Fork in Road for Obama

Are more equality measures on the way, or is this the token?

Oct 28, 09 8:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama today signed a bill extending hate-crime protection to homosexuals, a victory for equality advocates after more than a decade of pushing for such a law. But, Chris Geidner wonders, will this open the floodgates for more action—eliminating Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, for instance—or will... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • Congress • homosexual rights • Matthew Shepard • President Obama • marriage equality • politics as usual • hate crimes

Senate OKs Bill Giving Gays Hate-Crime Protection

Named for Shepard, it now heads to Obama

Oct 22, 09 7:32 PM CDT
(AP) - Physical attacks on people based on their sexual orientation will join the list of federal hate crimes in a major expansion of the civil rights-era law Congress approved today and sent to President Obama. The measure, on the congressional agenda for a decade, expands current law to include crimes based... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Congress • homosexual rights • Matthew Shepard • President Obama • hate crimes

 Gay Activists 
 Gaga for the Lady 

The outlandish pop singer brings her charisma to Washington

Oct 12, 09 9:01 AM CDT
(Newser) - It became official this weekend in Washington: Lady Gaga is the new icon for the gay community, this generation’s Cher. She brought the crowds to their feet—twice—at the Human Rights Campaign dinner, where even President Obama said, “It is a privilege to be here tonight to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • celebrity • homosexuality • Human Rights Campaign • homosexual rights • President Obama • Lady Gaga • gay activists • National Equality March

(Newser) - A persuasive essay arguing against the military's ban on gay soldiers is raising hope among activists that a watershed moment is near. It's not so much because of the essay's familiar arguments—that "Don't Ask Don't Tell" hurts morale and violates civil rights—but because of its publication in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
gay rights • Pentagon • Don't Ask, Don't Tell • US military • homosexuality • gays in the military • homosexual rights

Gates Seeks to Make 'Don't Ask' More Humane

Military may not boot gays outed by jilted lovers, blackmailers

Jul 1, 09 12:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Obama administration is looking for ways to get around the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law that forbids gays from serving openly in the military, CNN reports. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he is investigating ways to make the policy “more humane,” such as not... More »

MORE ABOUT:
gay rights • Robert Gates • Don't Ask, Don't Tell • US military • Adm. Mike Mullen • defense secretary • homosexual rights • homosexual • Obama administration • gay

 China Hosts 1st Gay Pride Fest 

'Shanghai Pride' a success, though some events canceled by authorities

Jun 15, 09 4:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - In a breakthrough for gay rights, China’s gay community came to Shanghai last week for the country’s first-ever pride festival, Global Post reports. The weeklong event featured panel discussions, film screenings, play performances, and a large party—but no parade. The fact that the government allowed the festival... More »

MORE ABOUT:
China • gay rights • Shanghai • homosexual rights • homosexual • parade

US to Sign UN Gay Rights Declaration

Decision to back global decriminalization reverses Bush policy

Mar 18, 09 3:31 AM CDT
(AP) - The Obama administration will endorse a UN declaration calling for the worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality that President Bush refused to sign, reports AP. The US was the only western government that refused to back the declaration last year, triggering stinging criticism of the Bush administration. Some 70 UN nations still... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • Barack Obama • gay rights • United Nations • homosexuality • homosexual rights • Obama administration

 Obama Will End 
 'Don't Ask, 
 Don't Tell' 

Former supporters turned against Clinton-era policy

Jan 14, 09 7:58 AM CST
(Newser) - The end is near for “don’t ask, don’t tell,” reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Rolling back the 1993 policy keeping gay, lesbian, and bisexual members of the military from serving openly was one of Barack Obama's campaign pledges, but some feared he was backing off. But... More »

MORE ABOUT:
gay rights • military • Don't Ask, Don't Tell • US military • gays in the military • homosexual rights • President Obama

Snarky Stars Wage Protest in Prop 8 Musical

Jack Black is Jesus in 3-min. online rip on gay-marriage ban

Dec 4, 08 11:50 AM CST
(Newser) - Hollywood found a new way to protest California’s passage of anti-gay-marriage Proposition 8: song and dance, the AP reports. Prop 8: The Musical, posted on FunnyOrDie, features Jack Black as Jesus reminding the religious right that shrimp cocktail is also a Biblical “abomination.” The hero of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California • Hollywood • gay marriage • celebrity • Maya Rudolph • Jack Black • John C. Reilly • musical • FunnyOrDie.com • homosexual rights • Election 2008 • Neil Patrick Harris • Proposition 8 • Margaret Cho • Marc Shaiman

Judge Nixes
Fla. Ban on
Gay Adoption

State plans to appeal ruling against 30-year-old measure

Nov 25, 08 2:13 PM CST
(Newser) - A Miami circuit judge sparked a constitutional showdown by ruling today against Florida’s 30-year-old ban on gay adoption, rebutting claims that homosexuals suffer more from mental illness and substance abuse. The attorney general’s office plans to appeal the decision, which allows a Miami man to adopt two foster... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • gay rights • adoption • judge • sexual orientation • court cases • homosexual rights • gays • gay parent

OPINION

Gays Leave the Closet, Abortion Moves Back In

1 in 3 women has had one, but so privately even friends don't know

Oct 17, 08 3:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - With Connecticut last week becoming the third state to allow same-sex couples to marry, a group once very much stigmatized becomes more and more mainstream, writes Ellen Goodman in the Boston Globe. But even as homosexuals step out of the closet, women who’ve had abortions are stepping in. While... More »

MORE ABOUT:
abortion • abortion rights • women's rights • homosexuality • homosexual rights

California Readies for Wave of Gay Weddings Today

But conservative ax looms over ceremonies

Jun 16, 08 4:52 AM CDT
(Newser) - San Francisco officials are preparing for an expected tidal wave of weddings this evening as gay marriage officially becomes legal in California at 5pm. But celebrations could be short-lived if a November initiative blocks the court decision that paved the way for the marriages. The San Francisco Chronicle takes a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
gay rights • California • gay marriage • homosexuality • marriage rights • homosexual rights • gays

Obama Wouldn't Give Chiefs Gay 'Litmus Test'

Says 'don't ask' hurts US military, but won't demand brass agree

Apr 10, 08 2:51 PM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama said he wouldn't require top military appointees to support letting open homosexuals serve, stressing that his priority for Joint Chiefs of Staff is the ability to protect the country. Speaking to a gay magazine, the candidate called “don’t ask, don’t tell” a “counterproductive strategy,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • gay rights • Civil unions • Don't Ask, Don't Tell • Joint Chiefs of Staff • homosexuality • homosexual rights

Insurer Rejects Church Over Gay Support

Fear of retaliation leads to denial of application for property coverage

Jan 8, 08 3:05 PM CST
(Newser) - A Michigan church has been denied property insurance not because it sits on the wrong side of the tracks, but because its national governing body sanctions gay marriage and the ordination of homosexuals, reports the Wall Street Journal. Denials are normally reserved for high-risk applicants, and Brotherhood Mutual was concerned... More »

MORE ABOUT:
gay rights • gay marriage • church • insurance • United Church of Christ • property insurance • Brotherhood Mutual • homosexual rights • homosexual clergy

14 Stories


from our news partners

Associated PressAssociated Press