By Lauren McGaughy, NOLA.com The Times-Picayune June 03, 2013 Unmarried and gay couples in Louisiana will be blocked from becoming surrogate parents if Gov. Bobby Jindal signs a bill approved by the House on Sunday. The bill would set up surrogacy contract rules in the state as well as define who is eligible to enter into such contracts. The final version of Senate Bill 162 defines “intended parents” as “married persons,” thus...

By Heron Greenesmith, Andrew Cray, and Kellan Baker | May 23, 2013 Center For American Progress President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or ACA, into law on March 23, 2010. Many Americans have already benefited from the ACA, and millions more will benefit as the law fully comes into effect. By January 1, 2014, the law’s provisions will be underway, ensuring that millions of Americans will be able to afford the...

May 17, 2103 – Portugese-Amercian-Journal.com Portuguese parliament has approved Friday two bills that will allow gay couples to adopt children. The bill was approved with 99 votes in favor, 94 votes against, and 9 abstentions. The bills were supported by the ruling center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the progressive Socialist Party (PS). The Portuguese parliament had approved the right to same-sex marriages in 2010, but without adoption...

Ontopmag.com, by Carlos Santoscoy – May 2, 2013 Moments after a gay marriage bill cleared its final legislative hurdle on Thursday, Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee, an independent, signed it into law on the steps of the State House. The measure cleared the Senate last Wednesday with the help of all 5 of its Republican members.  It returned to a House committee on Wednesday to reconcile some language differences between a version approved...

By Eric Eckholm, May 7, 2013 – New York TImes Delaware on Tuesday became the 11th state to permit same-sex marriage, the latest in a string of victories for those working to extend marital rights to gay and lesbian couples. The marriage bill passed the State Senate by a vote of 12 to 9 Tuesday afternoon. “It’s a great day in Delaware,” said Gov. Jack Markell, a Democrat, who signed it within minutes of passage before an overjoyed crowd...

The Iowa state Supreme Court ruled that the state must issue birth certificates to same-sex couples showing both spouses as parents. Lambda Legal reports: In the decision, Justice Wiggins wrote, “By naming the nonbirthing spouse on the birth certificate of a married lesbian couple’s child, the child is ensured support from that parent and the parent establishes fundamental legal rights at the moment of birth. Therefore, the only explanation for...

By    On Top Magazine Staff            Published:    May 01, 2013 Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan on Monday reversed course on gay adoption, saying that he regrets a 1999 vote. During a Wisconsin town hall, Ryan was asked to explain his long record of voting against gay rights.  Ryan rates a zero percent by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for not co-sponsoring any of the 11 gay rights-related bills currently before Congress, including...

April 30, 2013 New York Times By JULIA PRESTON This has been a good year for gay rights advocates — with public opinion shifting in their favor and same-sex marriage advancing in the states — but not when it comes to immigration. An 844-page bill introduced in the Senate in mid-April by a bipartisan group of eight lawmakers includes measures to make legal immigration easier for highly skilled immigrants, migrant farmworkers and those living here...

By    On Top Magazine Staff                                 Published:    April 18, 2013 An Australian senator is expected to propose legislation which would recognize the international marriages of gay and lesbian couples. Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said she would introduce the bill next month. The move comes a day after nearby New Zealand approved a gay marriage bill. “Australia same-sex couples are...

Huffington Post, March 18, 2013 – Dov Fox and I. Glen Cohen This week the United Kingdom joined the ranks of countries like Israel and Canada that provide in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment to citizens under a certain age (42 in the U.K.) who can’t have children without it. That includes gays and lesbians. When it comes to helping people form the families they long for, the United States is woefully behind. The U.S. has among the lowest...