The California Senate approved a bill requiring California schools to teach the contributions of LGBT people to state and U. S. history. The bill must now pass the state Assembly.
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich used his executive powers to give health benefits to partners of lesbian and gay state employees.
Next door, in Indiana, Attorney General Steve Carter is deciding whether to challenge a lower-court ruling that allowed simultaneous adoptions by unmarried couples, including same-sex ones. State Senator Jeff Drozda says he will introduce a bill next year to ban same-sex couples from adopting and override any previous court rulings.
In Massachusetts, Governor Mitt Romney almost abolished the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth. He then changed his mind and settled for telling the Commission to refocus on counseling and the prevention of violence and suicide, rather than spending state money on “parades and parties.” Commission supporters claim its events, such as the Youth Pride parade, were paid for by private money anyway. Commission chair Kathleen M. Henry also says Romney has restricted use of the terms “trangender” and “bisexual” in connection with the group.
Farther north, in Maine, federal judges forbid a conservative group from running anti-same-sex-marriage ads before the state’s June elections. The judges said the ads violate federal election laws.
