Today HRC President Joe Solmonese issued the following statement:

“Target has been a champion for workplace equality for many years. That’s why their recent donation to MN Forward was so at odds with their sterling reputation as a great employer for LGBT people.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was quoted in Congressional Quarterly this morning as saying “I do not plan to filibuster” the National Defense Authorization Act – the bill to which repeal of the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law is attached. However when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid this afternoon moved to bring the bill up after the August recess, the Senator strenuously objected.

GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, praises today’s introduction of the Safe Schools Improvement Act, a federal anti-bullying bill that includes protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, in the Senate by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and 10 cosponsors.

In a landmark ruling released minutes ago in the case of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker has found that California's ban on marriage equality -- also known as Proposition 8 -- violates the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Judge Walker's federal court decision is an historic milestone in the fight for full equality, but it is only a first step: The decision will inevitably be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Human Rights Campaign – the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization – will launch another nationwide action alert and a new online video tomorrow calling on Target and Best Buy to “make it right” after they contributed a combined $250,000 to MN Forward, a group supporting anti-equality gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer.

Color Me Marilyn – Classic Hollywood Moments a unique and entertaining coloring book from artist/author Emanuel Emanuele will be released August 3, 2010 from Running Press. An introduction and captions for each of the 64 drawings by Emanuele tell the story of Marilyn Monroe in chronological order.

When Food Network chef David Rocco spends 20 minutes talking about your garden at a fundraiser to an audience of over 300 people, you know you can hold your head high above the Hungarian broom corn that grows on the boulevard outside your Victorian home in Yorkville. Well, if you’re Vivian Reiss you can.