Former state Sen. Nicole LeFavour hid in an Idaho Statehouse closet for more than five hours as part of her effort to persuade Republican lawmakers to update the Idaho Human Rights Act.

FORT WORTH (KDAF) -- If you have a bad perception of a typical cop, the Fort Worth Police Department is working to change that.

ATLANTA (AP) - Married same-sex couples will get tax benefits equal to heterosexual couples through a retirement plan offered by the University System of Georgia.

Public opinion on same-sex relations has improved more dramatically than it has on any other controversial issue with strong moral sensibilities, according to data released May 30 by the Gallup Poll organization.

It's not been a great year for the Duggar family.

(CNN) -- On his way home from a trip to Colombia, marriage equality advocate Hunter Carter discovered another way to fight for his rights.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah state officials say newly married gay and lesbian couples can jointly file their taxes for 2013.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Uncertainty over a short-lived proposal to open employment to gays at Kentucky's largest private child care agency prompted many supportive churches to withhold giving last year, creating a multi-million dollar shortfall.

Florida lawmakers are back in Tallahassee this week for a special session called by the governor to finalize congressional district maps. 

LATTA, S.C. (AP) _ The Latta City Council has voted to reinstate former police chief Crystal Moore, who had claimed she was fired because she is gay.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - An advocacy group says the widow of a woman who pushed to legalize gay marriage in Rhode Island before she died of cancer will now be entitled to her Social Security benefits.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Cleo Pablo married her longtime partner when gay weddings became legal in Arizona and looked forward to the day when her wife and their children could move into her home in the small Native American community outside Phoenix where she grew up.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A House panel delayed discussion of new rules forbidding same-sex couples legally married elsewhere from filing joint Idaho income tax returns.

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) -- Tracy Dice Johnson goes to bed each night dreaming about her wife Donna Johnson.

The Equality Act does not appear to be equally loved by gay Americans.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — More than 200 gay rights demonstrators descended on the Idaho Capitol, with placard-holding, flag-bearing activists filling multiple rotunda floors as they sought again to convince Republican lawmakers to hold a hearing on a bill to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Gay-rights activists were stymied again this year in their bid for a hearing to add discrimination protections to the Idaho Human Rights Act.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - An advocacy group is calling for changes to Virginia's tax law.

HARTFORD, CT - A New England gay rights organization is praising Connecticut’s Department of Insurance for informing insurers they must pay "covered expenses" for treatment related to a patient’s gender transition.

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) _ An openly gay women's ski jumper says protests against Russia's law banning homosexual ``propaganda'' aimed at minors aren't worth it because ``no one cares.''

TOPEKA (AP) — Having won a key legislative fight with social conservatives in Kansas, gay rights advocates aren't content with simply blocking a measure they said would have encouraged businesses and government workers to refuse to serve gays and lesbians in the name of religious freedom.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) _ Dressed in rainbow wigs and masks, gays and lesbians in Kenya on Monday joined a global effort to protest against an anti-homosexuality bill passed by Uganda's parliament that is now in the hands of the country's president.

Senate Bill 129, the “religious freedom” bill sponsored by Sen. Josh McKoon (R-Columbus), sailed through the Senate last week and now is headed to the House, where, if passed, it will go to Gov. Nathan Deal’s desk for his signature.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Former NFL player Wade Davis' speech to the owners, coaches and general managers delivered a significant message about sexual orientation in sports, Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Gov. Mary Fallin refused to say Wednesday whether she thinks Oklahoma businesses should be allowed to discriminate against gay people.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf wants to involve more small and diverse businesses in state government contracting and Pennsylvania's economy.

The U.S. Department of Justice says gender dysphoria appears to have a physical cause, thus it’s not necessarily excluded as a protected disability by the Americans With Disabilities Act.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (AP) _ A U.S. organization is launching a three-year, $8.5 million campaign to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality and push for new legal protections in three Southern states dominated by conservative politics and religion and known for resistance to change: Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi.

I am a Christian pastor and I support the Equality Act. And I am not alone.