- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a speech that focused on the human rights of LGBT people—a speech that some LGBT advocates are already calling a “landmark.”
- Supporters of anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people in Anchorage, Alaska, appear to have collected enough signatures to put the measure on the April city ballot.
- The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in the case to determine the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, which bans same-sex couples from marriage.
- A federal appeals court ruled in favor of Vandy Beth Glenn, a transgender woman who was fired from a Georgia General Assembly job after telling her supervisor she was transitioning from man to woman.
- A bill that would prohibit local and state government from offering health care benefits to unmarried partners—by definition, including same-sex partners—of public employees has passed the Michigan legislature. Governor Rick Snyder’s (R) office has said he will sign the bill, if it can be determined that it exempts public universities and colleges.
- A New York judge ruled to let a lawsuit proceed that challenges the state’s marriage equality law. The suit claims that in passing the law, legislators violated New York’s open meetings law.
Around the world:
- Australia’s ruling Labor Party dropped its position against marriage for same-sex couples.
- The Australian government will now issue “Certificates of No Impediment to Marriage” to same-sex couples who wish to marry overseas. Many countries require such a document. The marriages will not be recognized as marriages in Australia, but “will be used as evidence of a relationship for regional laws,” reports PinkNews.co.uk.
- The U.K. Home Office has released a plan for “Advancing transgender equality.” The document “is intended to create a framework for communities to work with the government to challenge and overcome persisting inequalities.”