trial expert

Upon taking the bench before a packed San Francisco federal courtroom on Wednesday, U.S. district court judge Vaughn R. Walker said that he wished the Proposition 8 trial would have moved faster than the six months it has taken to arrive at closing arguments. After hearing impassioned arguments for and against the measure that bars lesbians and gays in California from marrying, Judge Walker is now tasked with deciding which side is on the side of the law.

April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, who helped bring down marriage bans nationwide, wed Saturday.

Proposition 8 proponents called witnesses to the stand Monday for the first time since the trial began two weeks ago. On day 10, supporters of the ban sought to show through testimony that gays and lesbians are not methodically discriminated against. Kenneth Miller was called to the stand to rebut a plaintiff's expert who testified that gays were politically powerless. 

In a surprise move, a federal judge announced that he'll hold a trial to consider whether Michigan's statewide ban on same-sex marriage violates the U.S. Constitution.

In a highly anticipated decision with potentially far-reaching implications in the national battle over gay marriage, a federal judge has struck down California's Proposition 8. 

In a long-standing lawsuit brought by the Log Cabin Republicans, a federal judge has ruled that the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy violates the U.S. Constitution. Phillips further ordered a permanent injunction barring enforcement of DADT. The Justice Department has until a September 23 deadline to submit objections to the court regarding Phillips's injunction, which it is likely to do: DOJ attorneys have argued that Phillips does not have the authority to issue a nationwide injunction against the ban on openly gay service members.

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that cameras will not be allowed in the court room for the duration of the federal case challenging California's same-sex marriage ban. This overrules Judge Vaughn Walker's move to permit real-time video streaming of the trial. Plus, defense attorney David Thompson quotes Obama's The Audacity of Hope for arguement against gays and lesbians marrying.

Florida's Department of Children and Families decided on Tuesday to not challenge a recent appeals court decision that struck down the state's 33-year-old ban on gays adopting children.

This past summer SheWired contributor and our friend Tatum de Roeck was diagnosed with breast cancer. The co-host of Cherry Bomb and of her own interview style show on SheWired T-Time With Tatum began blogging about her experience shortly after her diagnosis. Via her writing, she shares the intimate details of taking breast cancer one step at a time in a blog that is incredibly emotional and moving but always infused with Tatum's lightning-quick wit and her ability to remain positive.

In the upcoming March issue of the Advocate, cover girl and out lesbian actress Portia de Rossi discusses marriage equality and her new book. De Rossi married Ellen DeGeneres in 2008 and reveals that marriage has made her fall in love all over again, "I've become a lot less selfish." As a spokeswoman for marriage equality, the Human Rights Campaign will acknowledge De Rossi with its Visibility Award.

While TV of the 50s and 60s depicted women's lives as men imagined it, retro TV about the same era depicts women's lives through a feminist lens.

As part of our effort to profile more authors within the LGBT community, we present Kim Lee Brown. Kim and her partner Jazzymyne sailed from California to Mazatlan, Mexico with their cat, and they worked together on Two Fools and a Cat, a book about the journey.