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We are only a month removed from the Supreme Court decision to strike down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and President Obama’s Office of Personnel Management is already pushing federal benefits for federal employees who have been legally married to their same-sex wife or husband. In addition, OPA is also extending these benefits to “annuitants” or retired federal employees. What this means is, if you are retired from your federal job and legally marry someone of the same-sex, you are now eligible to receive federal benefits.

The White House will hold a roundtable event on issues facing the bisexual community next month, according to a report in the Washington Blade. The closed-door meeting is likely the first of its kind in the Obama administration, the paper reported. According to the event's invitation, it will take place Sept. 23 in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building across the street from the West Wing. “Participants and administration officials will discuss a range of topics including health, HIV/AIDS, domestic and intimate partner violence, mental health, and bullying,” White House LGBT liaison Gautam Raghavan said.

Pennsylvania's attorney general Kathleen Kane said Thursday that she will not be defending the state in a recent lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union regarding the state's ban on same-sex marriage. Kane, a Democrat, has decided not to defend the state because she is a proponent of same-sex marriage, and therefore the responsibility to defend the state's same-sex marriage ban will now be passed to Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, who opposes same-sex marriage. Pennsylvania law states that the attorney general may pass her responsibility to defend the constitutionality of state laws to the governor's office or executive branches,...

Pennsylvania attorney general Kathleen Kane said Thursday that she will not defend the state in a federal lawsuit filed this week challenging the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, calling the prohibition “wholly unconstitutional.” Kane’s decision not to fight the lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of 23 Pennsylvania residents places the burden of defending the 1996 law on Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, who supports it. It also reignited a public debate over whether state officials have the right to opt out of legal battles involving same-sex marriage. In an interview, Kane — who endorsed the idea...

AG Kane refuses to represent the State in same-sex marriage case.

Pennsylvania's AG Might Not Even Defend Their Gay Marriage Ban in Court Facing a lawsuit from the ACLU, it looks like Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane is going to refuse to defend the state government's ban on gay marriage. Pennsylvania, the only state in the northeast without provisions for same-sex civil unions or marriages, was one of the first states with gay marriage bans targeted by a suit in the wake of the Supreme Court's partial striking of the Defense of Marriage Act. If it's true, the news, reported by the Philadelphia Daily News, based on multiple anonymous sources, isn't...

The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a landmark lawsuit in federal court in Harrisburg, demanding that Pennsylvania permit and recognize marriages between two women or two men. The plaintiffs include 10 couples, including three couples from Allegheny County. The nominal lead plaintiffs are Deb and Susan Whitewood, of Bridgeville, who are joined as litigants by their two daughters, Abbey, 16, and Katie, 14. The ACLU and the Philadelphia law firm of Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller are filing the complaint in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg in an effort to have the state's Defense of Marriage Act declared...

Pennsylvania attorney general refuses to defend state in same-sex lawsuit Reuters By Dave Warner PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane refused on Thursday to fight a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The lawsuit is believed to be the first federal case since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 26 that the U.S. government must recognize same-sex marriages in states where it is legal. Kane, a Democrat who supports same-sex marriage, announced her decision at a press conference in the National Constitution Center in historic Philadelphia. By declining...

(CNN) -- North Carolina's House of Representatives passed a restrictive abortion bill Thursday with a 74-41 vote. The bill now heads to the state Senate for approval.

WASHINGTON — Today the White House announced the nominations of James Costos, an accomplished businessman and current executive at HBO, as the United States Ambassador to Spain, and Rufus Gifford, a former finance official for the Presidential Inaugural Committee, Obama for America, and the Democratic National Committee, as the United States Ambassador to Denmark. Last week, President Obama also nominated Daniel Baer, the openly-gay Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, to be Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Opposition to President Obama's nominee for U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic reached a fever pitch this week as religious organizers stage a "Lunes Negros" or Black Monday protest against James "Wally" Brewster. If confirmed, Brewster will be the first openly gay ambassador to the country, a prospect that is not going over well with some segments of this conservative Christian country of 9 million people. Local reports indicate that church leaders are pressuring the government to reject Brewster's nomination and calling on the faithful to dress in black on Monday in solidarity against him. Praise Christian Church Pastor Sauford...

The obvious response to Matt Nosanchuk being appointed as the White House’s new Associate Director for Jewish Outreach is Huh. Matt Nosanchuk has a long history of gay advocacy. And that’s about it. Matt Nosanchuk’s entire career consists of shrilly pushing gay rights through every organ of government. If he was ever involved in Jewish causes or the Jewish community, it’s not obvious. He worked on gay rights at the Justice Department, under radical extremist Tom Perez and he was a leader of the LGBT Policy Committee for the Obama campaign.

Embassy Row: Gay diplomat an ‘insult’ Church leaders in culturally conservative Dominican Republic are outraged that President Obama nominated an openly homosexual activist to serve as ambassador to the Caribbean nation. Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez, the Roman Catholic archbishop of the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo, Bishop Pablo Cedano and the Rev. Cristobal Cardozo, leader of the Dominican Evangelical Fraternity, are urging President Danilo Medino to reject the nominee, Chicago lawyer James Brewster. “It’s an insult to good Dominican customs,” Father Cardozo said last week. Bishop Cedano denounced the nomination for showing “a lack of respect,” and added cryptically:...

President Obama, in his statement hailing the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, promised that he wouldn’t try to force religious institutions to conduct gay marriages. “On an issue as sensitive as this, knowing that Americans hold a wide range of views based on deeply held beliefs, maintaining our nation’s commitment to religious freedom is also vital,” Obama said. “How religious institutions define and consecrate marriage has always been up to those institutions. Nothing about this decision — which applies only to civil marriages — changes that.”

The moral decline of America is never more evident than watching politicians exploit our children for political gain. But is it any wonder that in a society that condones disgusting television shows like, “Toddlers and Tiaras,” “Honey Boo-Boo,” and “Dance Moms,” we allow politicians to use kids to promote the propaganda of the liberal left? Breitbart News reported on adorable third-grade twins Zea and Luna who introduced President Obama at a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender celebration event on Thursday at the White House.The nine-year old twins explained that they wrote a letter to Obama in December asking him “to...

To mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), the U.S. Embassy in Tallinn on May 17 will display the rainbow flag on the Embassy building at Kentmanni 20, Tallinn. IDAHO is an annual event celebrated internationally to counter homophobia and raise awareness of the human rights discrimination faced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) individuals. “Flying the flag,” Ambassador Levine said, “is a simple statement of our support for the LGBT community and its struggle for equal rights.” Noting the substantial progress being made, Ambassador Levine added that much of the world has come to understand that...

Today at his press conference, Barack Obama told reporters he didn’t know anything about the reported Benghazi whistle-blowers who were being threatened by the State Department. But he rushed back to the microphone to talk about the gay NBA play Jason Collins who came out of the closet yesterday....

President Obama called NBA player Jason Collins Monday to offer his support after Collins announced he's gay, becoming the first openly gay major league professional athlete, CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett has learned. The president offered congratulations and support on Collins' courage and willingness to be the first in the four dominant pro sports to make this announcement. First lady Michelle Obama also showed her support for Collins on Twitter Monday. "So proud of you, Jason Collins! This is a huge step forward for our country. We've got your back!" she tweeted, signing it "-mo," which indicates...

WASHINGTON — In 2004, Barack Obama cited his Christian faith while explaining his opposition to same-sex marriage. "What I believe, in my faith, is that a man and a woman, when they get married, are performing something before God, and it's not simply the two persons who are meeting," he said. Eight years later, he cited his faith again when he became the first sitting president to endorse marriage equality. "When we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it's also the Golden Rule, you...

“A Boy Scouts of America national board member, James Turley, who is also global chairman and CEO of the accounting firm Ernst & Young, recently said he “will work from within to seek a change” to overturn the BSA policy that bans gay scouts and leaders.” 1. But is Turley working on his own initiative, or has the White House prodded him with perks and favors? 2. Is it a coincidence that Turley came out swinging against the BSA’s century-old policy to ban gays from leadership and that he has such close affiliations with the pro-gay Obama administration? 3. Is...