prop 8

Jaime and Laura are a lesbian couple in California whose son suffers from a serious heart condition.  Without legal protections, their family would have suffered far more hardship than they did. Jaime addresses supporters of Prop 8 in a letter. 

Same-sex marriages won't be allowed in California during Prop 8 appeal, international transgender news, trade schools cannot discriminate against applicants with HIV or AIDS, and Virginia pro-choice groups ask for new regulations to be applied to all outpatient surgery centers, not just abortion clinics.

Jerry Brown now has a lead in the California Governor's race, but how solid is it, and how does Prop 8 play into the campaign?

A Mormon Elder apologizes for the pain Prop 8 has caused, while states and "family" orgnanizations sign on to briefs that urge the marriage ban to continue. Plus - should there be folic acid in your birth control pill?

Jaclyn Friedman explains slut pride and the controversies it can cause. Also, Prop 8 is overturned in court and the Bristol Palin saga is yet another reminder of why conservative sexual mores don't work.

Follow Amanda Marcotte on Twitter, @amandamarcotte

Judge Vaughn Walker, the man behind the overturning of California's Proposition 8, which would have outlawed same-sex marriage, is giving supporters of the proposition one more week to seek a permanent stay. If not, same sex couples are free to marry in California as soon as August 18th.

The widely-celebrated court decision striking down Proposition 8 is important for many reasons, not least because it underscores that reproductive and sexual rights are integrally and intimately linked.

A California judge states that a gay marriage ban "enshrine[s] in the California constitution the notion that opposite sex couples are superior to same sex couples."

A California Republican state senator with a history of voting against LGBT rights has officially come out of the closet. Roy Ashburn: "I'm gay."

While California puts gay marriage on trial, and possibly on camera, one state senator in Maryland tries use his state's gay-marriage friendliness as a factor for companies to move there.