Yesterday New Hampshire Governor John Lynch signed a bill into law allowing same-sex couples to enter into civil unions. When the bill goes into effect, New Hampshire will become the 10th state in the nation, along with the District of Columbia, to provide at least some form of state-level relationship recognition for same-sex couples.
President Bush’s nominee for a seat on the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is coming under fire from civil and equal rights groups. Leslie Southwick is the president’s third nominee for the seat after earlier candidates were not well-received in the Senate. In advance of his vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee next Thursday, groups opposing him include the Alliance for Justice, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, People for the American Way and the Human Rights Campaign.
In Canada, a gay bar is facing a complaint by a woman who said she was turned away because of her gender. Audrey Vachon tried to visit Le Stud in Montreal with her father but the owner confirms that she was told the bar does not serve women on that day of the week. She says the policy is in violation of city and provincial non-discrimination laws. A gay bar recent won a similar case in Australia.
