united states government

While most of the world is fixated on the prevailing discussion of whether or not to allow gay marriage to exist (even though variations of it already do for millions of people in committed same-sex relationships around the world), Eat, Pray, Love’s famed author Elizabeth Gilbert releases her follow-up novel Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage to show her support in the best way she knows how – through her own eyes.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a speech to LGBT personnel Wednesday in which she remarked upon developments that have helped diversify the American diplomatic corps and advance human rights priorities within U.S. foreign policy over the past two decades.

The U.S. Justice Department moved to dismiss the first federal court case for gay marriage, stating the reason is that they believe it is not the right venue to take on legal questions brought by a couple who are already married in California.

Nearly two years after her wife died in Afghanistan, an Iraq veteran and National Guard member says the Department of Veterans Affairs will recognize her rights as a widow.

Advocacy groups have always inhabited a distinct place in society for being a resource when something needed to change for the betterment of a community or communities. It has just been announced that long-standing pro-rights group Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) has partnered with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) to build a supportive bridge for LGBT students to report harassment, bullying, discrimination, and any other uncomfortable experience having to do with their status as LGBT students to the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Education Department.

Meet Caitlin Cahow, one of the three openly gay delegates, representing the United States this month in Sochi, Russia at the Olympic games.

House Republicans have recruited former Solicitor General Paul Clement to represent the government in federal cases challenging the Defense of Marriage Act. House attorneys are expected to file a motion to intervene in Windsor v. United States of America in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Edie Windsor sued after the federal government refused to recognize her marriage to Thea Spyer, who died in 2009. As a result of DOMA, Windsor was forced to pay estate tax — a six-figure bill she would have been exempt from were her marriage recognized.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled against the Defense of Marriage Act today in the case, Windsor v. United States, involving the lesbian widow, Edith “Edie” Windsor, marking the second time a federal appeals court has found the 1996 law unconstitutional. Defenders of DOMA could not demonstrate a legitimate interest for the federal government to treat same-sex married couples differently from any other married couples, the court ruled.

In a Tuesday ruling, U.S. district judge Virginia A. Phillips ordered the Defense Department to "immediately to suspend and discontinue any investigation, or discharge, separation, or other proceeding" related to "don't ask, don't tell." In her order Phillips did not specify when the injunction would become effective. Justice Department attorneys are expected to appeal the injunction to the U.S. court of appeals for the ninth circuit.

Save the Children has released a “women’s index” that details the best and worst countries in the world to be a woman. The index accounts for 165 countries and is divided into three categories - more developed countries, less developed countries and least developed countries, and it incorporates five criteria for placement, including percentage of women using modern contraception and life expectancy at birth.

Despite clear public support for same-sex civil marriage in Ireland, the Government denies gay and lesbian couples the equal rights of civil marriage in a bill for civil partnership published Friday. 

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins has blasted a U.S. Navy decision permitting chaplains to perform wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples as “a circumvention of U.S. law.” In an April 13 memo on “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal, Rear Adm. Mark L. Tidd, Chief of Navy Chaplains, clarified that base facilities are “sexual orientation neutral,” and that chaplains may perform marriages for gay couples “if it is conducted in accordance with the laws of a state which permits same-sex marriage[.]”

The federal government announced it would recognize the marriages of those in Michigan who ran to get married after a district court ruling.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a public-private partnership to combat gender based violence and further the fight against HIV/Aids in South Africa. Because of the high HIV prevalence in South Africa, survivors of sexual violence are at high risk of being infected with HIV/AIDS, and women living with HIV/Aids are at higher risk of experiencing violence.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will headline the 20th anniversary celebration for the State Department’s affinity group for LGBT employees Wednesday afternoon in Washington, D.C.