When I heard Jason Collins had come out as gay, becoming the first active NBA player to do so, the first thing I tried to do was remember a game where I'd seen him play, as if a mental instant replay could crystalize exactly how important this announcement was going...

Conservative leaders are changing their opinions on marriage equality.

Between Sen. Rob Portman's (R-Ohio) recent announcement that he supports marriage equality and the spate of similar sentiments being voiced at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), it seems that every day the media is...

The need for immigration reform legislation is a complex issue that intersects with many different policy areas. Immigration reform is a broad issue that is about more than our national immigration policy; it's about racial justice, criminal justice and economic justice.

It is also undeniably about equality for lesbian, gay,...

For a phrase designed to inspire feelings of inclusion and acceptance, the familiar mantra "we are a nation of immigrants" makes many in the black community feel excluded and uncomfortable. And now that efforts to draft an immigration reform bill are in full swing in the Senate, we will be...

The announcement that South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will appoint Tim Scott, a black Republican, to complete the remainder of Jim DeMint's term as a Senator, has generated a disturbing reaction.

Despite the fact that Scott will become the only sitting black Senator (since we elected the other one...

The backlash from Barney Frank's recent comment comparing the Log Cabin Republicans, a group of gay and lesbian Republicans, to "Uncle Toms" at the Democratic National Convention prompted him to take to The Huffington Post to publish an explanation of his decision to use that term....

One of the most problematic aspects of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) new gender testing policy was relegated to a single sentence in the Los Angeles Times' article on this controversial issue.

According to the new IOC rules, the test won't be administered to all female athletes and...

Note: For identification purposes only, Maya Rupert is the federal policy director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

It's been a while since I signed a yearbook, so please bear with me. I'm trying to remember yearbook etiquette. (Is it still cool to use bubble letters? Was it ever?)...

When The Avengers opened earlier this month, it shattered several box-office records, including biggest opening weekend in North America. Those numbers tell us everything we need to know about why marriage equality advocates should be anxiously anticipating the recently announced, impending marriage that will be featured in the upcoming issue...

After the discouraging passage of California's Proposition 8 in 2008, the widespread speculation that the success of the anti-marriage equality initiative was due to the black voter turnout prompted some disturbing and racist rhetoric about the relationship between communities of color and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender...

As long as I live, I'll never forget my dad's reaction when I told him that Congress had voted to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." When I called him with the news, my dad, an older black man, a Vietnam vet, and a Christian, choked back tears of relief that...

This year, Sheryl Swoopes, the three-time WNBA MVP and the first player to be signed with the league when it was created, announced her engagement to a man. This announcement comes six years after she received a lot of media attention after coming out when she announced her...

June is here. Cue the gloom and doom stories about the state of the black family, and the finger pointing as we figure out who to blame.

Unfortunately, this summer has potential to dredge up the familiar and false dichotomy that pits the black community against the LGBT community....

Over the last few months, a number of homophobic incidents, followed by management and player's positive actions, surrounding the National Basketball Association (NBA) have given professional men's sports and several of its star players an opportunity to support equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. And after...

Three minutes and 2 seconds. That's how long a McDonald's employee in Baltimore stood by on April 18, videotaping as two young customers attacked Chrissy Lee Polis, a 22-year-old transgender woman, punching her in the face, pulling her across the floor by her hair, and kicking her in...