National Gaze

Lightspeed Systems, which makes software used for website filtering in thousands of public schools, is removing a filter that blocked LGBT-related content.

The company made the announcement after the American Civil Liberties Union sent letters to school districts using the software as part of the organization’s national “Don’t Filter Me” initiative, which seeks to combat illegal censorship of pro-LGBT information on public school computer systems.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton issued a statement commemorating International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

The day is observed worldwide on May 17.

Portland, Ore., police said a bias crime detective has been assigned to the case of two men assaulted after they walked together holding hands.

Lt. Robert King said 23-year-old Brad Forkner and 25-year-old Christopher Rosevear were attacked by several young men May 21 as they walked on a trail near the Willamette River.

A Louisiana House committee recently rejected a New Orleans lawmaker’s bill to allow two unmarried, same-sex adults to adopt a child together.

Democrat Helena Moreno said that public opinion has warmed to the idea of gay adoption since the bill failed last year. But the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee disagreed and shelved the proposal.

A former Rutgers student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate’s same-sex encounter has pleaded not guilty to 15 charges including bias intimidation, invasion of privacy and evidence tampering.

It was the first court appearance for 19-year-old Dharun Ravi, the main suspect in the crimes allegedly committed against Tyler Clementi. Clementi, a Rutgers freshman, killed himself days after the alleged spying. His death sparked a nationwide conversation about bullying against young gays.

Yale University has agreed to bring back the ROTC for the first time in decades after Congress voted to allow gays to serve openly in the military.

Yale President Richard Levin and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus signed an agreement May 26 that established the Naval ROTC’s formal presence at Yale for the first time since the early 1970s. Harvard University welcomed back the Reserve Officers Training Corp in March and Columbia University said it would sign an agreement allowing the ROTC back onto campus.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network recently named Maryland teacher Rich Espey as its 2011 GLSEN Educator of the Year.

The award recognizes a “remarkable educator who has demonstrated a commitment to GLSEN’s mission of ensuring safe schools for all students, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.”

An openly gay police sergeant who said his supervisor subjected him to derogatory remarks was awarded $1.1 million by a jury.

Sgt. Ronald Crump worked for the Los Angeles Police Department’s media relations section in 2008 and 2009. While there, he said his supervisor, Lt. John Romero, made remarks about his sexuality, including that Crump was “the new Ruby minus the heels,” a reference to a woman he succeeded in the unit.

A missionary charged with helping a woman get her child out of the United States as part of a high-profile lesbian custody case in Vermont pleaded not guilty.

Timothy David Miller, who was indicted May 12 for allegedly helping Lisa Miller abscond with her 9-year-old daughter Isabella, didn’t attend his arraignment in federal court in Burlington. A public defender entered the not guilty plea for him.

A former president and a current governor, a bad-boy hockey player and a retired talk-show host are driving marriage equality in New York state.

Still, there’s a deficit in the state senate in “yes” votes for same-sex marriage legislation.