U.S. President Obama is taking additional heat from gay and lesbian couples. Nationally he has been denounced, condemned, and called a liar after refusing the sign an executive order preventing gay and lesbian discrimination for companies who accept federal contracts. Now, Administration officials in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are taking another run at the U.S. Administration, as well as citizens. In 2010 U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Tauro ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act’s denial of federal rights and benefits to lawfully married Massachusetts couples “offends” the notion of states’ rights as enshrined in the 10th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

In the United Kingdom, along with help from people from the state of California, a Christian charity which sponsored a conference promoting the idea that gay people can be converted to heterosexuality has funded interns for an estimated 20 Members of Parliament (MPs), including some who are now ministers in the coalition government. The conference featured a keynote by Joseph Nicolosi, a Californian psychologist and founder of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality in the United States. No statement has been issued by Queen Elizabeth II nor her representatives.

U.S. President Obama disappointed and vexed gay supporters on Wednesday with his decision, conveyed to activists by a senior adviser, not to sign an executive order banning discrimination by employers with federal contracts. That stance departs from the White House’s prominent “we can’t wait” campaign: Since last fall, Mr. Obama has signed executive orders on a variety of issues, arguing that “we can’t wait” for legislation that Republicans in Congress refuse to let pass.

April 12, 2012 will forever be a day to remember in the history of the gay and lesbian community especially for Kentuckians. The push however to get the case to a federal level came from Kentucky Equality Federation, and advocacy and public advocate non-profit. Two Eastern Kentucky men are the first in the nation to be charged under the section of the federal hate-crimes law that makes it illegal to attack people based on their sexual orientation, said U.S. Attorney Kerry B. Harvey.

The Central Kentucky Council for Peace & Justice held an anti-hate candlelight vigil at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 10 to call attention to the increasing amount of hate speech and hate-driven violence in the U.S. and Kentucky. Dozens of people from a variety of cultural and religious backgrounds gathered Tuesday night to call attention to what they see as a growing atmosphere of hatred.

Kentucky Equality Federation today made a comparison most gay rights organizations avoid. The fact the gay community is now fighting the same fight that Interracial couples and the entire Black community once faced – discrimination.

Perhaps the vote of the LGBTIQ community is unimportant to Governor Beshear, or perhaps he needs the votes in Republican strongholds like Northern, Southern, and extreme Western Kentucky even though the bulk of the Commonwealth’s population resides in the Central Kentucky.

Equality California the nations largest equality organization is beginning to close. “Right now a lot of nonprofits are having problems,” Equality California said in a statement.

A pioneer and the Queen of County Music, Dolly Parton apologized to a lesbian couple asked to leave her Tennessee theme park, Dollywood. Wearing a T-shirt “marriage is so gay,” is controversial and contradictory to public service announcements by Whoopi Goldberg, Cyndi Lauper, Miley Cyrus, Wanda Sykes, and other celebrities asking people to refrain from saying “that’s so gay,” “queer,” and other offensive language to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgende​r community. The theme for the public service announcements are intended to get people to “think before they speak.”

If last month’s ruling overturning Proposition 8 survives, same-sex marriage should be available only to the two homosexual couples who challenged the ballot measure and should remain barred for the rest of the state’s gay and lesbian population, sponsors of the measure told a federal appeals court.