Ohio

Representatives of Equality Ohio delivered more than 80,000 signatures calling upon the Union-Scioto School District to include sexual orientation and gender identity in their anti-harassment policy. Ohio resident Bret Thompson launched the Change.org petition after watching the assault of a 15-year-old gay student in a cell phone video (see below) that went viral immediately following the attack.

Chris Seelbach (32) has been elected as Cincinnati's first openly gay council member. This shows that Cincinnati's long-held conservative reputation may be evolving. It also changes the perspective at City Hall and shows other LGBT people that it's OK to live an authentic life.

The U.S. Census figures on Ohio households led by same-sex couples grew by more than 50 percent over the past decade. The 2010 census counted 28,600 same-sex partner households in Ohio, an increase of nearly 10,000 from the 2000 census. Gay rights groups say they don't necessarily think more same-sex couples are living together. Instead, more people are willing to talk about it. The biggest jumps in same-sex households was in the Columbus area - which had 5,132 same-sex households in 2010, a 58 percent increase.

In court papers submitted in the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals, Lambda Legal defended a lesbian mother in her fight to continue to parent her 11 and 8 year old sons.

Lambda Legal is defending a lesbian mother's relationship with her 11 year-old son against her ex-partner (the biological mother). The bio-mom claims that an antigay constitutional amendment - passed in November 2004 - invalidates the women's 2001 agreement to share custody of their son.

Research coming from the UCLA School of Law spotlights Ohio's growing trend of same-sex parents.

Same-sex couples are raising nearly 12,000 children across Ohio and more than 2 percent of the state's adopted children.

The UCLA study notes that lesbians and gay men in the Buckeye State are forming committed relationships more than ever before - jumping from just under 19,000 in 2000 to nearly 30,700 by 2005.

Although President Bush maintains a conservative-Republican presence on every issue, Democrats now control both houses of Congress. They won majorities in 10 new state legislatures, and control a majority of America’s governorships.