The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) has been re-introduced to Congress. An estimated 36,000 same sex bi-national couples in America are in danger of having one partner deported because their relationships are not recognized. UAFA will protect them from deportation the way heterosexual couples are protected. Visit Immigration Equality to read the personal stories and send letters to Congress.

The federal hate crimes bill, known as the Matthew Shepard Act, has been re-introduced as well. Watch the appeal from Judy Shepard (video below), and visit HRC’s action center to send letters to members of Congress.

Allen Ray Andrade was found guilty of 1st degree murder, of a bias motivated crime, of vehicle theft and identity theft, for the killing of Angie Zapata, an 18 year old transgender Latina woman. Andrade’s so-called ‘trans panic’ defense – that he panicked and killed her when he realized she was transgender –  did not sway the jury, and he was sentenced to life without parole.

Washington’s Gov. Gregoire signed a transgender hate crimes bill on Wednesday, which added “gender expression or identity” to the state’s hate-crime law and had bipartisan support in the legislature.  

The Washington state House and Senate also passed an expanded domestic partnership bill that grants approximately 250 additional rights and responsibilities to registered domestic partners.

The Connecticut General Assembly voted to update the state’s marriage laws to conform to the recent landmark court ruling allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. The bill defines marriage in Connecticut as the legal union of two people, and transforms ‘civil unions’ into ‘marriages’. The bill also strips language from a 1991 law that said the state does not condone “homosexuality or bisexuality or any equivalent lifestyle.” Gov. Rell is expected to sign the bill.