senate hopeful

Speaking at the Center for Reproductive Rights' inaugural gala, Tina Fey ripped into the GOP's "war on women" and Missouri senate hopeful Todd Akin.

Gay-supportive MSNBC host Keith Olbermann has been suspended from the network indefinitely without pay because he contributed to candidates without obtaining advance approval from his supervisors. Politico reported Friday that Olbermann had donated $2,400 each to the reelection campaigns of two Congress members from Arizona, Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords, and the campaign of Kentucky U.S. Senate hopeful Jack Conway, all Democrats.

New Yorkers from as far away as Buffalo and New York City traveled to the state capitol in Albany on Tuesday to rally for an immediate vote on the marriage equality bill, which remained one vote shy of passage in the senate as lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo appeared to be making progress in negotiations by the early afternoon.

Following several hours of often emotional testimony, the Minnesota State Senate voted in favor of marriage equality Monday. The final vote was 37-30.

Kentucky's Anti Gay adoption bill is D.O.A. The controversial Senate Bill 68 that sought to ban anyone “co-habitating with a sexual partner outside of marriage” from adopting or fostering children is dead in the water.

The Republican-run filibuster won today in the Senate as they halted the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” with a 56-43 vote. The defense bill needed a total of 60 votes to pass in the Senate today. John McCain’s victory is our disgust and fuel to keep moving forward and striving for equality in all parts of our lives – whether it be at home, work or in the military serving openly.

Meghan McCain, daughter of Sen. John McCain and self-described "progressive republican," wrote an open letter to New York Republicans asking them to support marriage equality, and to make a difference in the State senate vote on the same-sex marriage bill that recently passed in the Assembly last week. She emphasizes that by passing the bill, they would make a powerful statement about the families of New York, strengthening its communities, and show that New York Republicans fundamental values include fairness and equality.

With broad exemptions for religious organizations included, the Rhode Island Senate passed a civil unions bill Wednesday and sent it to the governor's desk. The legislation passed 21-16; the state House passed a companion bill in May, and it's widely believed Rhode Island's independent governor, Lincoln Chafee, will soon sign civil unions into law. But many gay Rhode Islanders aren't pleased — many in this New England state have long been gunning for marriage equality, and many also believe that the wording of the civil unions legislation leaves the door open for discrimination against gay couples.

Whoopi Goldberg continues her advocacy for marriage equality in New York with a new video for the New Yorkers for Marriage Equality campaign from HRC. She joins other prominent figures with connections to New York including Julianne Moore, Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon, Moby, Fran Drescher, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who all support lesbians and gays marrying their same-sex partners.

Welcome to our weekly round-up of the most infuriating bits of news from the past seven days.

The Pennsylvania senate will soon be considering opposing pieces of legislation regarding same-sex marriage. Hoping to catch the pro-gay marriage New England momentum, Sen. Daylin Leach is introducing the state’s first bill that would recognize same-sex marriage.

Twenty-nine of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund's 33 endorsed candidates in primary contests Tuesday won their party's nomination or the election outright. The Maryland state legislature will have at least seven openly gay and lesbian members if three newcomers who won primaries Tuesday join four incumbent members. House of delegates candidates Luke Clippinger, Bonnie Cullison, and Mary Washington hope to join incumbents Annie Kaiser, Maggie McIntosh, and Heather Mizeur along with state senator Richard Madaleno.

The New Hampshire Senate approved revisions to the proposed same-sex marriage bill on Wednesday morning, moving it forward to a House of Representatives vote, which passed this afternoon 198-176. Lawmakers in New Hampshire have spent months working on the bill, and gay-rights supporters hoped the newest revisions were enough to ensure it became law. The changes expanded the emphasis that in legalizing gay marriage, there will not be any impingement on the religious freedom of those who oppose, or do not believe in, same sex marriage by the state.

Chicago mayoral hopeful Carol Moseley Braun was scheduled to appear at an LGBT event Tuesday night, but she ended up being present only by telephone. She addressed the crowd through a phone held up to a microphone, but Braun’s remarks remained inaudible to most of the crowd as she expressed a desire for an inclusive Chicago “where everyone would have equality and opportunity and a chance to participate.” Braun, a gay-supportive former U.S. senator, is the leading African-American candidate in a city where voting sometimes falls along racial lines. She will face former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and others in next month's election to succeed Mayor Richard M. Daley, who is retiring.

Although White House press secretary Jay Carney said earlier this week that he does not anticipate any revelatory statement from President Barack Obama on his gay marriage position when he takes the stage at an LGBT fund-raiser in New York this evening, a group of Democratic senators is now urging the president to support marriage equality. “President Obama has taken important steps to help the LGBT community, and I urge him to join me and millions of other Americans in supporting equal marriage rights for same-sex couples,” said Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota, sponsor of the Student Non-Discrimination Act. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, lead sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, said, “I support marriage equality — this is an issue of fundamental fairness. I hope that President Obama will endorse that view and voice his support for equality for all.”

Opponents of marriage equality are pursuing last-minute efforts to stop the growing momentum for a bill that could receive a vote in the New York state legislature this week.