The Human Rights Campaign, today launched a campaign to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denies legally married same-sex couples more than 1,000 federal protections and responsibilities.  As part of the campaign, HRC launched a national action alert, an interactive website, RepealDOMAnow.org, and delivered to Congress nearly 50,000 survey responses showing the concrete harms DOMA brings to the lives of LGBT Americans and their families.  A bill is expected to be introduced in the U.S. House as early as next week.

Equality Across America, the new grassroots network calling for Federal action to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, has moved forward with plans for a massive national day of action on Sunday, October 11, 2009. Major national LGBT organizations including the Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) have endorsed the march as have local and state grassroots organizations like Join the Impact Chicago, One Struggle One Fight and Freedom Democrats of Miami-Dade.

Same-sex couples in the northeastern U.S. state of Vermont are now allowed to wed.

Senator Kennedy has been a champion for civil rights since his first term in the United States Senate in 1962. Over the years, Ted Kennedy has supported legislation that promotes equal rights and has fought closed-minded and discriminatory measures. Senator Kennedy has been an unwavering supporter of the LGBT community, leading the charge on important legislation like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act and forcefully opposing discriminatory proposals, including the Defense of Marriage Act and the Federal Marriage Amendment. Senator Kennedy has received a perfect 100% on all of HRC’s congressional scorecards (101st Congress-110th Congress).

The 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) voted Friday to open the ministry of the church to gay and lesbian pastors and other professional workers living in committed relationships.

Today a brief was filed by the Obama Administration in a federal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  The brief was filed by the Justice Department in Smelt v. United States.  The Smelt case is a lawsuit brought in federal court in California by a married same-sex couple asking the federal government to give them equal treatment in federal programs.

Although in the brief the administration says DOMA should be repealed, it also says discrimination based on sexual orientation doesn't raise serious constitutional concerns. 

Focus on the Family will be closing down its controversial “Love Won Out” program because of budget troubles. The "Love Won Out" program claimed to “change” the sexual orientation of gay people. At its recent annual convention, the American Psychological Association (APA) adopted a resolution that states that mental health professionals should avoid telling clients that they can change sexual orientation through therapy or other treatments, such as the one given at the “Love Won Out” program.

As a result of a settlement reached in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, two Tennessee school districts agreed to stop blocking access to online information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. A federal court dismissed the lawsuit against the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools and Knox County Schools after the settlement was reached.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York today rejected Howard K. Stern’s claim that being called gay is defamatory per se and ruled that he is not entitled to collect damages on this basis. Lambda Legal argued this point in a friend-of-the-court brief filed in March 2009.

A bill was introduced in the Senate  today that would make workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity illegal. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), would become the first-ever federal ban on employment discrimination of LBGT people in most workplaces.