There is officially no federal hate crime protection for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in the United States. However, LGBT people are often times met with violence and hate from society at large. Sean Kennedy, a twenty year old from Greenville, South Carolina, learned this truth the hard way. Mr. Kennedy was punched in the face by an eighteen-year-old boy who was heard yelling homophobic slurs before he, ultimately, killed Mr. Kennedy. The death of Sean Kennedy has sparked a political interest in getting South Carolina to add violence against the LGBT community as a hate crime. Hate crime legislation would allow the judicial system to punish criminals who attacked LGBT people more harshly. Hate crime legislation would also grant victims, like Sean Kennedy, and their families proper justice

Recently the European Human Rights Court ruled that the banning of gay pride 2007 in Warsaw, Poland by the president of Poland went against the human rights pack made by the country. Although feelings toward sexual minorities in Poland are typically positive,the current president of Poland, Lech Kaczyski, disagrees with the liberal majority in relation to LGBT acceptance.
After the ruling by the European Human Rights Court, Mr. Kaczyski might want to consider sitting down with LGBT groups and a neutral third party to mediate a working relationship between the LGBT community and his government.
To read more go to: http://www.gaywired.com/article.cfm?section=123&id=14509

According to the Chicago Tribune the governor of Washington enacted a law that would grant same-sex partners some of the rights that are equated with marriage. These rights include hospital visitation, as well as, inheritance rights. Slowly but surely same-sex couples are gaining ground around the country.

The 18th annual gay and lesbian alliance against defamation (GLAAD) awards, created to honor LGBT visibility in the media, will be held at the Kodak theatre in Hollywood on April 14. Jennifer Aniston and Martina Navratilova will be acknowledged for their commitment to eradicating homophobia and encourage LGBT visibility. To checkout more about the awards go to : www.glaad.org

California has increased its protections for domestic partners with seven new laws that went into effect at the start of 2007. A few of these laws include:

1. Equal Benefits in State Contracting Law (AB 17): company benefits must be offered to  domestic partners by any company in or outside the state of California who wish to take California contracts over $100,000.

2. State Income Tax Equity Act of 2006 (SB 1827): registered domestic partners in CA can file joint state income tax returns.

3. Civil Rights Housing Act: extended discrimination protection to same-sex couples and LGBT people. A company cannot deny gays,lesbians,bisexuals, and transgenders housing.