Human Rights Campaign

John Duran likes shopping at Target, but he hasn't walked through its doors since last summer. As a gay public official, Duran believes he must support a boycott against the retailer by gay rights activists. "I am one of those people now that no longer shops at Target," said Duran, West Hollywood's mayor pro tem. "I just can't in good conscience be seen there. " Real estate agent Tom Kraynak also stayed away from the retail chain — for a while. But he was among several gay shoppers at the West Hollywood Target recently who said it was time to move on. "We boycotted for a while," said Kraynak, 47. "But that only lasted for so long because we had to go to Target.

President Obama joined the nation's largest gay rights group in celebrating the new ability of gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military, saying that "we believe in an equal America that values the service of every patriot. " Obama's remarks came at the Human Rights Campaign's annual gala dinner Saturday night, held just a couple weeks after the demise of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. That policy was repealed by Congress last December and came to an official end Sept.

The bull's-eye is still on Target's back. Last week, faced with waves of protests, retailer Target Corp. apologized for its $150,000 donation to an organization backing a Republican candidate with a long record of opposing gay rights. But the controversy has not gone away. Though the public demonstrations have died down, the company is in closed-door discussions with the largest gay activist organization in the country, Human Rights Campaign, which is demanding that the company make an equivalent or greater donation to groups supporting gay rights candidates.

New York voted Friday night to allow same-sex marriage, becoming the most diverse and populated state to pass legislation that gay advocates hope will jump-start a nationwide movement that has stalled in recent years. The 62-member, Republican-controlled Senate approved the bill 33 to 29, dramatically closing a legislative session that went into overtime as conservative lawmakers fought for changes to enhance protection for faith-based groups opposed to recognizing gay marriages.

The turnout, according to organizers, was undimmed by the recession, and, including a dinner and auction, the event attracted an estimated 600 people and raised more than $175,000 for the Human Rights Campaign, one of the leading gay and lesbian rights organizations in the country. Offering the mix of frivolous and seriousness that Vegas conventions specialize in, the group's fourth annual fundraiser on the Strip was its most Vegas-themed yet. There were ice sculptures dripping the words "Human Rights."

Barbara Bush, George W. Bush's daughter, has broken from the former president on one key social issue: gay marriage. Barbara Bush, 29, has recorded a video on behalf of the Human Rights Campaign's efforts to make same-sex marriage legal in New York state. In the video, which has become widely viewed on YouTube, the former first daughter says, "I'm Barbara Bush and I'm a New Yorker for marriage equality. New York is about fairness and equality and everyone should have the right to marry the person that they love.

The Obama administration Tuesday called on the U.N. Human Rights Council to fight discrimination against gays and lesbians around the world. "Human rights are the inalienable right of every person, no matter who they are or who they love," Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, U.S. ambassador to the council in Geneva, said in a statement. "The U.S. government is firmly committed to supporting the right of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals to lead productive and dignified lives, free from fear and violence.

After the breakdown of its talks with Target Corp., the nation's leading gay rights organization said Monday that it would continue to protest against the company over a donation used to support a Republican gubernatorial candidate with a history of opposing gay rights. Officials with the Human Rights Campaign said the giant retailer had effectively rejected the group's proposals that Target donate to gay rights organizations to offset the earlier donation. Target's handling of the confrontation has been closely watched because it is the first case in this election cycle of a company hit by national protests over a campaign donation.

At the Human Rights Campaign's annual L.A. gala at the Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel on March 15, 6. Anne Hathaway, with her Ally for Equality Award, let loose onstage with a story about her brother coming out to her accepting family. Also receiving recognition: Bravo, which received the Corporate Visibility Award from this season's "Project Runway" winner, 7. Christian Siriano, left, and previous contestant Nick Verreos.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa pulled out as keynote speaker for a gay rights group's fundraising event Saturday after intense lobbying from transgender activists angry over the group's stand on a federal gay rights bill. Villaraigosa was scheduled to headline the Human Rights Campaign dinner in San Francisco, which was billed as a fundraiser to help defeat a November ballot measure that would again ban same-sex marriage in California. The Human Rights Campaign has given more than $500,000 to defeat the same-sex marriage measure.

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant responded Wednesday to mounting criticism regarding his use of a gay slur in Tuesday's game against San Antonio. "What I said last night should not be taken literally," Bryant said in a statement. "My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period. The words expressed do NOT reflect my feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were NOT meant to offend anyone. " Bryant was irritated after receiving his 15th technical foul of the season and yelled out at referee Bennie Adams.

John Duran likes shopping at Target, but he hasn't walked through its doors since last summer. As a gay public official, Duran believes he must support a boycott against the retailer by gay rights activists. "I am one of those people now that no longer shops at Target," said Duran, West Hollywood's mayor pro tem. "I just can't in good conscience be seen there. " Real estate agent Tom Kraynak also stayed away from the retail chain — for a while. But he was among several gay shoppers at the West Hollywood Target recently who said it was time to move on. "We boycotted for a while," said Kraynak, 47. "But that only lasted for so long because we had to go to Target.

The Obama administration Tuesday called on the U.N. Human Rights Council to fight discrimination against gays and lesbians around the world. "Human rights are the inalienable right of every person, no matter who they are or who they love," Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, U.S. ambassador to the council in Geneva, said in a statement. "The U.S. government is firmly committed to supporting the right of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals to lead productive and dignified lives, free from fear and violence.

Barbara Bush, George W. Bush's daughter, has broken from the former president on one key social issue: gay marriage. Barbara Bush, 29, has recorded a video on behalf of the Human Rights Campaign's efforts to make same-sex marriage legal in New York state. In the video, which has become widely viewed on YouTube, the former first daughter says, "I'm Barbara Bush and I'm a New Yorker for marriage equality. New York is about fairness and equality and everyone should have the right to marry the person that they love.

When a lesbian soccer coach appeared to be ousted from her job this month at a Christian university in Nashville, it sparked an outcry from supporters and students who claimed she was a victim of an anti-gay bias they considered to be decidedly un-Christian. Details of her exit are unclear. The president of Belmont University says the school does not discriminate against gays and lesbians, and the coach, Lisa Howe, isn't saying much. But Howe's departure was the latest in a series of recent developments that has forced Nashville ?

NEW YORK?An eighth suspect is in custody in the anti-gay gang attack on three men in New York City, police said. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters at City Hall that the man turned himself in at a police precinct in the Bronx on Saturday afternoon. Investigators are still seeking a ninth suspect. Police say the gang went berserk after learning that a 17-year-old recruit was gay. Investigators say the teen was stripped, beaten and sodomized with a wooden plunger handle at an empty Bronx apartment.

Private industry is leading the way in ending discrimination against gay and lesbian employees and providing benefits to same-sex domestic partners, according to a survey released Tuesday by a gay and lesbian political organization. Of the 319 companies surveyed by Human Rights Campaign, a Washington-based advocacy group, 92% had written statements prohibiting discrimination because of sexual orientation, and 69% offered health insurance benefits for same-sex domestic relationships.

Amnesty International's yearlong, global human rights campaign will go out with a bang Saturday. with a three-hour worldwide telecast of the "Human Rights Now! Tour," being broadcast by Radio Vision International. It will air in the United States on HBO and simultaneously in 54 other countries, including Ireland, Spain, Turkey, Switzerland, Greece, Belgium and the Netherlands. It will also be telecast in South America and the Middle East.

A ruling by a federal judge in California declaring the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy unconstitutional adds to growing momentum to end the nation's ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military, and the only question may be whether Congress or the courts makes the decision. In May, the House voted to repeal the ban, as did the Senate Armed Services Committee, and President Obama said he looked forward to signing a bill repealing the ban. "This legislation will make our armed forces even stronger and more inclusive by allowing gay and lesbian soldiers to serve honestly and with integrity," he said.

We'd really like to like MoveOn.org, the progressive advocacy group that aims to counteract the influence of big-money corporate political campaigns. But we started to lose faith after its sophomoric attack on Army Gen. David H. Petraeus ("General Betray Us"), then commander of coalition forces in Iraq, in a 2007 ad campaign. Its latest attempt to extort and humiliate retailer Target Corp. shows that the maturity level at headquarters hasn't advanced. On Tuesday, MoveOn launched a new TV ad targeting Target, urging shoppers to boycott the chain because of a $150,000 donation it gave to the Minnesota business advocacy group MN Forward.