Yahoo! News: Gay & Lesbian Issues

Gay marriage foes win with message about schools (AP)

Opponents of same-sex marriage hold up a sign and a crucifix during a rally outside in 2004. Maine voters have rejected a law allowing same-sex couples to marry, in a major setback to gay rights advocates hoping the northeastern US state would become the first in the country where voters directly approve gay marriage.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Michael Springer)AP - Gay marriage opponents pulled off another victory at the ballot box this week by using a tried-and-tested argument: Approve it and children will be taught homosexuality in school.


Maine voters latest to turn down gay marriage (Reuters)

Reuters - Voters in Maine on Tuesday overturned a law allowing same-sex couples to wed, dealing a fresh setback to the U.S. gay marriage movement in a race that attracted national attention.

Gay leaders blame TV ads, Obama for loss in Maine (AP)

Kt Crossman joins same-sex marriage supporters for a rally on the steps of City Hall, in Portland, Maine, on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009, a day after voters rejected the gay marriage law. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach)AP - Stunned and angry, national gay rights leaders Wednesday blamed scare-mongering ads — and President Barack Obama's lack of engagement — for a bitter election setback in Maine that could alter the dynamics for both sides in the gay-marriage debate.


Dejection fills ballroom after gay marriage vote (AP)

Friends console one another after learning about the unofficial defeat on Question 1 at election night headquarters in Portland, Maine, early Wednesday morning, Nov. 4, 2009. Maine voters decided decide to rescind the Legislature's approval of same-sex marriage.(AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach)AP - Cecelia Burnett and Ann Swanson had already set their wedding date. When they joined about 1,000 other gay marriage supporters for an election night party in a Holiday Inn ballroom, they hoped to celebrate the vote that would make it possible.


Gay-Marriage Activists Look Ahead After Big Defeat in Maine (Time.com)

Opponents of same-sex marriage hold up a sign and a crucifix during a rally outside in 2004. Maine voters have rejected a law allowing same-sex couples to marry, in a major setback to gay rights advocates hoping the northeastern US state would become the first in the country where voters directly approve gay marriage.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Michael Springer)Time.com - Maine's vote, much like all of the states before it, including California's vote on Prop 8 12 months ago, will do little to slow the fight over gay marriage


Maine voters reject same-sex marriage (AFP)

A woman protests against same-sex marriage in 2004. Maine voters have rejected a law allowing same-sex couples to marry, in a major setback to gay rights advocates hoping the northeastern US state would become the first in the country where voters directly approve gay marriage.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Douglas Mcfadd)AFP - Maine voters have rejected a law allowing same-sex couples to marry, in a major setback to gay rights advocates hoping the northeastern US state would become the first in the country where voters directly approve gay marriage.


Hurler's gay admission spurs Irish lifestyle debate (Reuters)

Reuters - One of Ireland's most loved sporting heroes has moved the goalposts on the debate about public attitudes toward homosexuality in the traditionally Catholic country by revealing he is gay.

Report: Gay couples similar to straight spouses (AP)

Two bride figurines adorn the top of a wedding cake during an illegal same-sex wedding ceremony in central Melbourne August 1, 2009. A California gay marriage case that backers hope will reach the U.S. Supreme Court cleared a hurdle on Wednesday in a federal court hearing. REUTERS/Mick TsikasAP - Same-sex couples who identify as married are similar to straight spouses in terms of age and income, and nearly one-third of them are raising children, according to Census data released Monday that provides a demographic snapshot of gay families in America.


SF Mayor Gavin Newsom ends run for Calif. governor (AP)

FILE - In this file photo from May 26, 2009, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom answers a question during an interview after a California State Supreme Court ruling in San Francisco. Newsom, who propelled the debate over gay marriage but struggled to find a popular message outside the San Francisco Bay area, has dropped his bid for California governor. A statement issued Friday by his campaign said he was unable to devote the time needed to run an effective campaign, citing 'a young family and responsibilities at City Hall.' (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)AP - Unable to move beyond his ultra-liberal image and far behind his rival in fundraising, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom dropped his bid to become governor, leaving former governor Jerry Brown as the only Democrat in the race to succeed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger next year.


Argentine Congress considers same-sex marriage (AP)

Maria Rachid, left, president of Argentina's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Federation, caresses her dog Lolita next to her couple Claudia Castro during an interview with the Associated Press in Buenos Aires, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. Gay and lesbian activists think Argentina is ready to become Latin America's first nation to legalize gay marriage and they've got a growing number of supporters in Congress, which opened debate Thursday on whether to change dozens of laws that define marriage as a union between a 'man and woman.' (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)AP - Is Argentina ready to become Latin America's first nation to legalize gay marriage?


More immigrants cite sexual orientation for asylum (AP)

In this photo taken July 23, 2009 Andre Azevedo poses in New York. Azevedo, 39, is a transgender man from Brazil who recently won asylum and now lives in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)AP - For weeks, Nathaniel Cunningham and his boyfriend secretly lived together in rural Jamaica. They showed no affection in public and rarely spoke to neighbors.


SF board changes tack on immigrant minors (AP)

Estela Muniz, left, cries as she stands next to activists Ariana Gil-Nafarrete, center, and Guillermina Castellanos after a board of supervisors meeting at city hall in San Francisco, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009. The city's board of supervisors rejected legislation Tuesday requiring local law enforcement to turn over illegal immigrant youth to federal officials for possible deportation after being convicted of a crime. Muniz 15-year-old daughter, who was recently reported to authorities after a fight with her sister, would have been affected by the legislation. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)AP - This famously liberal city, known for tackling thorny issues from gay marriage to universal health care, is wrestling with another divisive issue.


Maine gov urges residents to vote for gay marriage (AP)

AP - Maine Gov. John Baldacci on Tuesday urged residents to vote against repealing the state's same-sex marriage law while acknowledging his past opposition to gay marriage.

Mass. man says Brazilian husband denied US asylum (AP)

FILE - In this March 20, 2009, file photo, Tim Coco, right, poses in his Haverhill, Mass. office with his husband, Genesio 'Junior' Januario Oliveira Jr., left, seen in Brazil via a video conference call. Coco said Monday, Oct. 26, 2009, that Oliveira has been denied asylum that would allow them to be reunited in the U.S. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)AP - A gay Brazilian man has been denied asylum by the Obama administration and won't be reunited with his Massachusetts husband in the U.S., the husband said Monday.


Correction: Gay Marriage Census (AP)

AP - In an Oct. 22 story about the U.S. Census Bureau's efforts to count married same-sex couples, The Associated Press misspelled the surname of the assistant chief of the bureau's field division. His correct name is Tim Olson, not Olsen. In addition, the story erroneously implied that a Web site designed to encourage gay households to participate in the census was a bureau project. The Our Families Count site will be produced privately.

`Crash' director Paul Haggis quits Scientology (AP)

FILE - In this June 29, 2009 file photo, director Paul Haggis arrives at the Los Angeles Film Festival Awards Night in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas, file)AP - "Crash" director Paul Haggis has severed his ties with the Church of Scientology in part because of the organization's stance against gay marriage.


Paterson says gay marriage bill will pass in NY (AP)

AP - New York Gov. David Paterson said Thursday that he expects to sign a same-sex marriage bill into law in the coming weeks.

Census bureau says 2020 count could include gays (AP)

AP - The U.S. Census Bureau is making an unprecedented effort to include same-sex couples in next year's national population count, but legally married gay couples won't show up as such in the official once-a-decade tally, bureau representatives said Thursday.

US marshal pick was already gay rights pioneer (AP)

In this Nov. 27, 2002 photo released by Minnesota Public Radio, Minneapolis Inspector Sharon Lubinski of the 3rd Precinct discuss the arrests of three men in the shooting death of an 11-year-old girl, in Minneapolis. President Barack Obama has nominated a Lubinski to become the first openly gay person to serve as a U.S. marshal. Lubinski is an assistant chief in the Minneapolis Police Department, where she has worked for 20 years. (AP Photo/MPR Photo, Art Hughes)AP - As a little-known Minneapolis police sergeant, Sharon Lubinski made headlines when she declared she was a lesbian on the front pages of the city's largest newspaper — a bold move that other gay officers say inspired them to come out, too.


Court blocks names in gay partnership referendum (AP)

AP - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily blocked Washington state officials from releasing the names of people who signed referendum petitions to bring expanded rights for gay couples up for a public vote in November.