(WM) The commission that enforces Kansas’ nondiscrimination laws will begin hearing claims from people who allege they are being mistreated because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas legislators are finished considering new legal protections this year for those who oppose gay marriage on religious grounds but will debate the issue in 2015, the state Senate's top leader said Thursday.

(CNN) -- With a swipe of his pen, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback wiped out protections offered to state employees facing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Gov. Sam Brownback vowed Monday to defend Kansas' ban on same-sex marriage, while Democratic challenger Paul Davis said during a debate Monday that there's nothing either of them can do at this point because the matter is in the hands of the courts.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas proposal for shielding florists, bakers and others from being forced to help with same-sex weddings would let government workers discriminate against gay couples by citing personal religious beliefs, gay-rights advocates argued Thursday as legislators advanced the measure.

(CNN) -- Denying services to same-sex couples may soon become legal in Kansas.

A Kansas lawmaker said he will seek an audit to determine whether the state Department for Children and Families discriminates against same-sex couples in foster care and adoption cases amid questions about why a Topeka councilman and his wife were granted custody of a child who had been cared for by a lesbian couple for 11 months.

A Kansas legislator said Thursday that he regrets sharing a post on Facebook that mocked Hispanics who speak accented English to make a derogatory comment about President Barack Obama.

Kansas lawmakers are considering a bill that would toughen punishments for hate crimes.

TOPEKA (AP) — A Kansas lawmaker has questioned why a state agency included sexual orientation in an anti-discrimination clause for safe houses for victims of human trafficking.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas legislators will face renewed pressure next year to provide additional legal protections to gay marriage opponents who want to avoid accommodating same-sex couples for religious reasons.

(AP) — Kansas has begun issuing gender-neutral marriage forms amid ongoing litigation over its same-sex marriage ban.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas legislative committee's chairman raised questions Tuesday about whether gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve as foster parents for abused and neglected children.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court cleared the way Tuesday for additional gay marriages in the state's most populous county while declaring that it would defer to the federal courts on whether Kansas' ban on same-sex marriages is constitutional.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court on Wednesday indefinitely postponed a hearing in a gay-marriage case because of a federal judge’s order in a separate lawsuit barring the state from enforcing its constitutional same-sex marriage ban.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to preserve its gay-marriage ban while a legal challenge from two lesbian couples is considered by lower federal courts.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas gay-rights advocates are watching the U.S. Supreme Court as they hope same-sex couples can get marriage licenses this week.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas House committee is preparing to debate legislation aimed at protecting individuals, groups and businesses that refuse for religious reasons to recognize same-sex unions or provide benefits to gay couples.

Gay, lesbian, busexual and transgender news bites for the week.

LAKE LURE, N.C. (AP) - The board of directors of a Rutherford County public charter school has reversed its ban on student-led clubs, two weeks after complaints about a newly formed Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender group.

Comments by our readers from our online outlets compiled by John McDonald.

Pope Francis has dismissed a question about whether condoms can be condoned in the fight against AIDS by saying there are more important issues confronting the world, like malnutrition, environmental exploitation and the lack of safe drinking water.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union is asking a judge to stop officials in Kansas from prohibiting same-sex weddings and denying benefits offered to opposite-sex married couples.

Less than a week after it was reported gay porn star Zac Stevens diedat the age of 25, Str8UpGayPorn (extremely NSFW) reports that fellow gay porn actor Dimitri Kane has died. He was 20.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — When Estefanie Ferraz went to prison, she had been living as a woman for around a decade, had undergone more than half a dozen plastic surgeries including breast and cheek implants to enhance her feminine looks, and was saving up for a sex change operation.

SALINA, Kan. (AP) — Two years after a divisive public referendum led to repealing discrimination protections based on sexual orientation, Salina’s mayor has signed a proclamation declaring June as LGBT Pride Month in the city.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An anti-gay marriage proposal that roiled Kansas politics is dead, the chairman of a state Senate committee assigned to review it said Tuesday.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The terms of an offer made by a prominent gay activist to settle a sexual assault case against him will remain confidential while a Lane County judge considers a request to release the information.

A tenured conservative Christian associate professor in California, who was raised by lesbian mothers but has a long history of anti-gay behavior, is taking umbrage with a recent study that links homophobia with psychosis.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday said same-sex marriages can go ahead in Kansas in a decision that the state insists applies to only two counties.