A gay U.S. Army veteran in Pasadena has filed a suit against the federal government for denying military benefits to her wife. In her suit, Cooper-Harris says that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is still denying benefits to same-sex couples that it offers to heterosexual couples in violation of her constitutional rights, according to City News Service. more ›

Today's repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" has the country buzzing with celebratory declarations and events. Below are statements from the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, Barbara Boxer and the commander in chief himself, President Barack Obama, all reveling in the long overdue repeal. West Hollywood commemorates today's repeal with a celebration and march tonight. more ›

After nearly 18 years of keeping homosexual and bisexual military service members and applicants locked in the closet, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is finally dead. The historical repeal, signed by President Obama almost one year ago, occurred at midnight on Monday. While sexual orientation has zero impact on a person's ability to serve for his or her country, openly gay or bisexual military applicants were turned away while said service members were not-so-politely excused from their duties. more ›

Marines at Camp Pendleton went through training today to understand what's required of them under the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," reports the OC Register. The training, which is being conducted worldwide and is expected to be finished by the end of the summer, includes sending the message that "It's OK to disagree with letting gays serve openly in the military. It's not OK to disobey orders," notes the Register. more ›

President Obama signed a bill today that makes the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy a thing of the past for gays in the military, according to the LA Times. Obama said this was yet another step in a long string of civil rights struggles to bring about a unified nation. He spoke to a crowd of 500 military leaders as well as members of Congress, gay rights advocates and service men and women and said upon signing, "We are not a nation that says 'don't ask, don't tell.' more ›

A historic 65-31 Senate vote approving a bill that repeals the policy of "don't ask, don't tell" on Saturday means that gay and lesbian military personell will be able to serve openly without punishment, once President Obama signs the measure into law next week. more ›

Both of California's senators joined several of their Democratic colleagues yesterday at a press conference in Washington DC calling for the Senate to immediately repeal the military’s discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. more ›

A federal appeals court in San Francisco today said "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the military's ban on gays serving openly, can still be enforced as it examines a lower court's ruling. A Riverside district judge in September ruled that the policy was unconstitutional and last month ordered enforcement of it to be halted. Today's decision, however, delays that ruling while the court "considers whether the policy violates the free speech and due process rights of gays and lesbian seeking to serve in the military," according to Bloomberg. A decision could take weeks to months. In the meantime, the policy of discharging gays from the military can continue. more ›

An Inland Empire-based Federal Judge today ordered the U.S. Military from enforcing the 1993-enacted "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which discharges openly gay service members. The Obama Administration requested U.S. District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillip, who ruled the policy unconstitutional last month, to delay an injunction on enforcement, but today she ordered the government to "immediately to suspend and discontinue any investigation, or discharge, separation or other proceeding" into a service member's sexual orientation, and to stop enforcement, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. more ›

On the heels of a decision last month that deemed a ban on gay marriage unconstitutional, a federal judge in Riverside today ruled that the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy is also a constitutional violation. more ›

The House and Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday voted to repeal the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, which frowns upon gays serving openly in the military. California's legislature officially opposed the policy on Thursday as well and a full U.S. Senate vote could happen today. That makes is a big week for gay rights and yesterday's news fell on the one year anniversary of the federal Prop 8 case. more ›

During his speech last night at a fundraiser event for the Democratic National Committee and Senator Barbara Boxer's re-election campaign, President Barack Obama was interrupted several times by shouts from the audience calling for a repeal of the "Don't ask, don't tell policy," according to the Daily News. more ›

Earlier this year, Tustin's Dan Choi, a lieutenant in the Army National Guard, shared during a television interview that he is homosexual, which put him in violation of the military's Clinton-era "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gay servicemen and women's need to keep their sexuality a secret. more ›