Gays

A few salient facts are known about the Americans whose lives might be changed by a Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage expected this summer.

About one in five gay and lesbian couples is raising children younger than 18. One in 10 men with a male partner or spouse is a military veteran. As many as 6 million Americans, roughly 2 percent of the population, have a parent who is lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT).

These nuggets of demographic insight into same-sex couples were contained in an amicus brief filed in connection with cases before the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of California's gay marriage ban and the Defense of Marriage Act. Read more »

Baltimore, Maryland (CNN) -- From her Baltimore kitchen, Rebecca Murphy is lobbying legislators, crafting signs and making phone calls as she wages a battle to allow gays and lesbians to marry in her state.
The married mother of two doesn't have a personal stake in the fight. Rather, Murphy represents the growing number of people nationwide who support gay rights regardless of their own sexual orientation.
"I have gay and lesbian friends and family who are raising children and creating lives, and they deserve to be treated fairly," she says.
As national polls show a shift in attitudes about same-sex marriage, Murphy's state of Maryland is one of three poised to put the issue to an up-or-down popular vote for the first time next month.   Read more »

After years of struggling for attention and recognition from the nation’s political parties, gays and lesbians have catapulted to the forefront of the Democratic convention here, prominent on the stage, in speeches, in the platform and at parties that go on after the proceedings have finished.

The turnaround has surprised even gay leaders, who just four years ago were frustrated in their attempt to get same-sex marriage mentioned in prime time. Many spent the first two years of the Obama presidency criticizing President Obama for failing to move to fulfill a campaign promise to eliminate the ban on gays serving openly in the military. Read more »

Nine months after gays, bisexuals and lesbians were allowed to serve openly in the military, the Pentagon plans to honor them with a gay pride month celebration.

For the first time, the Pentagon will mark gay pride month just as it marks other events honoring racial or ethnic groups, Defense Department officials said.

Officials declined to give details about the event, but Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes it’s important to recognize the service of gays in the armed forces.

Under the 1993 law, gay, lesbian and bisexual troops were prohibited from disclosing their sexual orientation or speaking out about any such relationships while they served in the military, or they would be forced to leave the service. More than 13,000 lost their jobs. Read more »