- Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement. Michael Jones at Change.org explores his LGBT-rights legacy. Back in February, Lisa Keen took at look at the LGBT-rights records of some potential nominees.
- The Pentagon grapples with the problem of “How do we ask gay and lesbian troops what they think if they can still get kicked out if they say they are gay or lesbian?”
- Will the Employment Non-discrimination Act pass soon after Congress returns from recess? What about a repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell? Best try your Magic 8 Ball—although DC Agenda offers its analysis.
- The California legislature voted to repeal a 1950 law stating homosexuality was “deviant behavior” and requiring the Department of Mental Health to research “deviations conducive to sex crimes against children.”
- Dillon, Colorado (population about 800) will soon have an openly gay man, Ron Holland, as mayor.
- Iowa celebrated one year of marriage equality. Still no plagues of locusts.
Around the world:
- The Philippine Supreme Court overturned an earlier decision and for the first time recognized a gay rights group as a legitimate political party.
- Portugal’s highest court approved a marriage equality bill that had been approved by Parliament. It had been sent to the court after President Anibal Cavaco Silva had reservations about it. The bill will become a law if he now signs it.
- The U.K. Parliament passed a consolidated Equality Bill that requires all public bodies (including schools, local councils, and the National Health Service) to promote equality, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender.
- The U.S. State Department reported that gay Zimbabweans face widespread harassment and some have even been raped by those intending to convert their sexuality, the U.S. State Department said in a discussion of its annual human rights report in Zimbabwe.