Clark University in Worchester, Mass., received a $152,000 grant awarded by the Department of Health and Human Services to interview 50 lesbian couples before and after they became adoptive parents. The grant was awarded to the Trustees of Clark University to fund a research project, titled "Transition to Adoptive Parenthood," to study the potential strengths and challenges faced by lesbian parents three months after they adopted their children.

The university received funding as part of the 2009 "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" that was to allocate $833 billion to create jobs. But in many cases, stimulus dollars were awarded to fund research projects that haven't created a single new job.

Specifically, the goal of this research project is to "investigate the unique strengths and potential challenges of lesbian couples across the transition to adoptive parenthood; and the couples' adjustment to the parental role. There is evidence that lesbian couples possess certain strengths (e.g., a tendency to share domestic labor), but also face challenges (e.g., social stigma)." more >>

A Milwaukee, Wis., elementary school has come under fire from parents for encouraging children as young as five years old to cross-dress in celebration of an event billed "Gender-Bender Day" at the school last Friday.

Some parents, who charged that the Tippecanoe School for Arts and Humanities was promoting homosexuality, protested and kept their children at home that day, according to a Fox6 report.

One mother, who did not want to be identified in the report, said she was "speechless" when she first got the flyer from her son announcing the event and she thought it was "creepy" and "ridiculous." more >>

Television personality Oprah Winfrey recently suggested that homosexual couples may in fact strengthen the institution of marriage, should same-sex marriage be legalized in all 50 states.

Winfrey's comments occurred during a conversation on her most recent "Super Soul Sunday" episode, which aired May 26 on the OWN network and featured a roundtable panel discussion with the Rev. Ed Bacon, an Episcopal priest of the Los Angeles diocese, Elizabeth Lesser, founder of an adult education center, and Mark Nepo, a spiritual writer.

The topic of this past Sunday's roundtable discussion was "Gay Marriage: The Big Picture" and focused on determining whether the recent attention paid to same-sex marriage in America is a social revolution or a cultural shift. more >>

As news of last Thursday's announcement that the Boy Scouts of America voted to allow homosexual scouts into their ranks, some groups were glad for the change in policy – but none more so than "GLAAD," a LGBT advocacy group. Their plan is working and it's just beginning to unfold.

Who is GLAAD? According to the mission statement posted on its website:

"GLAAD amplifies the voice of the LGBT community by empowering real people to share their stories, holding the media accountable for the words and images they present, and helping grassroots organizations communicate effectively. By ensuring that the stories of LGBT people are heard through the media, GLAAD promotes understanding, increases acceptance, and advances equality." more >>

A conservative law firm representing a woman who was fired from a university position over an opinion column criticizing homosexuality has filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court.

The American Freedom Law Center filed a petition for writ of certiorari on Tuesday to the highest court in the United States on behalf of Crystal Dixon. "Petitioner did not occupy a political position, nor did she publicly criticize her employer or any identified policy of her employer in her writing," reads the petition.

"Rather, Petitioner was fired for expressing her personal religious beliefs in a local newspaper on a controversial public issue: whether it is legitimate to compare the civil rights struggles of African Americans with those struggling to promote gay rights, an issue about which Petitioner, an African American, is uniquely qualified to address." more >>

Illinois Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn says he will sign the "Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act" into law if the House will vote on the bill before adjournment on Friday. Gay rights groups and even former President Bill Clinton are placing mounting pressure on House members to make the state the 13th in the nation to approve gay marriage.

Passage of the Illinois gay marriage bill would make the United States a "more perfect union" and will "strengthen the nation," Clinton said in a statement released by Equality Illinois on May 21.

Despite pressure from LGBT activists and the former president, who are pushing House lawmakers to vote on SB 10 that passed the state Senate in February, members of the Democrat-led House have managed to keep the legislation from coming up for a vote, and their actions are supported by black pastors and conservative groups that support traditional marriage. more >>