COMMENTARY: Matthew S. Bajko says Republican California state senator Roy Ashburn deserves praise for coming out of the closet despite his antigay voting record. Now, if only former congressman Eric Massa would follow his lead.

Sexologist Jallen Rix argues that gays and lesbians quick to condemn newly out senator Ashburn and his actions might want to take a good look at how they behaved before they came out.

With benefits from boosting hate-crimes and marriage equality laws to simply letting legislators know gay Americans indeed exist, the 2010 Census is a chance to stand up and be counted.

COMMENTARY: Jimmy Nguyen, the lawyer who defended Miss California USA against Carrie Prejean, says religious beliefs and an antigay platform are the new way to get your name known on the pageant circuit.

He's covered the Oscars and interviewed Obama, but out photojournalist Sean Patrick Lewis's life changed dramatically when he left the comforts of Los Angeles for a trip to Haiti. Check out his trip in photos and commentary.

Tuesday’s Illinois primary election boasted numerous openly gay candidates and saw wins for several.

Following her historic election in Houston over the weekend, mayor-elect Annise Parker talks about her hard-fought campaign—and her emerging role as a gay politician on the national scene.

Right-wing group's spending gets desired results in Maine but not in Washington.

OurScene TV’s Blake Hayes filed a video report from New York City’s Union Square, where hundreds of people gathered to protest the vote in Maine Tuesday that overturned marriage equality in that state.

Former news anchor Charles Pugh becomes Detroit’s first openly gay black city council president -- with the help of endorsements from the Council of Baptist Pastors and several individual pastors.

The Advocate talks to gay and lesbian couples lining up to marry in the nation's capital on Tuesday.

When Jonathan Howard and Gregory Jones found out Crate & Barrel's Ultimate Wedding Contest was open to couples holding commitment ceremonies, they entered. Now, they have a good shot at winning.

If he gets his way, Steve Pougnet, the gay mayor of Palm Springs, will unseat Chaz Bono’s stepmother from Congress.

A battle over statistics dominated Tuesday’s testimony at the federal Proposition 8 trial in San Francisco.

Hill watchers are ready to see a gay member of Congress exchange vows under the cherry blossoms.

Reports that a gay couple was denied admittance into a taping of Top Gear, a British television show for car enthusiasts, have forced the BBC to release a statement insisting that it does not discriminate against gays.

Rupert Murdoch wants to make all the news his News Corp. media empire generates unavailable to Google users. Is this mere folly or a move that could further divide our divided nation?

Just hours before President Obama is scheduled to sign the Matthew Shepard and James Bryd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Eastern), the Human Rights Campaign has released a tribute video to Judy and Dennis Shepard, who have lobbied for passage of this legislation since they lost their son Matthew to hate-motivated murder in 1998. 

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church found themselves outnumbered during their anti-Semitic protest at Rutgers University on Wednesday.

As Lt. Dan Choi is asked to return to his unit, thousands of other service members wait for the military to reopen the doors to their future.

Washington, D.C., has become a temporary tundra, but Capitol Hill shows signs of thawing on repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Jeff Sheng turns his camera lens on Lt. Dan Choi (who recently rejoined his unit for drill duty) and other gay service members for his photography book on "don't ask, don't tell"

American lesbian soldier Skyler James was harassed in the military — and so she fled to Canada, where she is applying for refugee status. Now James tells her story to Advocate.com

In honor of Veteran's Day, two of the most famous gay vets -- Frank Kameny and Dan Choi -- share their letters from Uncle Sam.

A show-of-hands vote killed a bill that would have protected Virginia's gay state employees from discrimination.

If he gets his way, Steve Pougnet, the gay mayor of Palm Springs, will unseat Chaz Bono’s stepmother from Congress.

Will Scott Brown’s win in Massachusetts cause Democrats to shrink even further from gay rights? 

They’re fond of your checkbooks — and deaf to your demands for equal rights. What will it take for the Democratic Party to step up?

Meet the Democratic state senators who helped dash marriage hopes for New York.

Jeff Zarrillo and Paul Katami, two of the four plaintiffs challenging California’s Prop. 8 in federal court, talk to Advocate.com about their resolve (and occasional nerves) during the testimony phase of the trial.

After 12 days of arguing from nearly every conceivable angle that marriage is a fundamental right, the plaintiffs' co-lead attorney David Boies tells The Advocate, "I think we’re at the cusp of putting this discrimination behind us."

In Tuesday's testimony David Blankenhorn had great difficulty in answering this question: Do any scholars assert that permitting same-sex marriage would result in a lower rate of heterosexual marriage?

A battle over statistics dominated Tuesday’s testimony at the federal Proposition 8 trial in San Francisco.

Judge Vaughn Walker will hear arguments Wednesday on whether to permit cameras in the courtroom for the federal Proposition 8 suit.

The Advocate talks to gay and lesbian couples lining up to marry in the nation's capital on Tuesday.

Change.org plans to present the Obama administration with 10 progressive proposals that can become reality through grassroots dedication and legislative support. Will any of those causes include gay rights?

Washington, D.C., has become a temporary tundra, but Capitol Hill shows signs of thawing on repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

COMMENTARY: With Adm. Mike Mullen clearing the way, the LGBT movement has a clear shot at finally eliminating "don't ask, don't tell." But will activists seize the moment?

As the president gears up for his first State of the Union Address, a gay business owner from Indiana makes the trek to Washington, D.C., to sit with the first lady.