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The Forrest County, Miss., Sheriff’s Department has denied allegations of wrongdoing made by a former employee who says he was fired because he is gay.

In documents filed in U.S. District Court, the law enforcement agency said no federal or state law exists concerning firings over sexual orientation.

The gay partner of a Missouri trooper killed in a Christmas Day accident sued for the survivor’s benefit denied him because the men’s 15-year relationship was not legally recognized by the state.

Cpl. Dennis Engelhard, a 49-year-old Missouri State Highway patrolman, was investigating an accident when he was hit and killed by a vehicle last year.

The city of Atlanta has agreed to pay $1 million to an Atlanta gay bar to settle a lawsuit over a botched police raid in 2009.

The Atlanta City Council voted 14-0 on Dec. 6 to pay the money to the Atlanta Eagle Bar. A private attorney filed the federal lawsuit on behalf of 19 people who say they were illegally searched and detained during the Sept. 10, 2009, raid.

New York’s most influential advocates for gay rights say the chances are better than ever to legalize same-sex marriage, even in a Republican-controlled Senate.

The Empire State Pride Agenda said its count after the November elections showed a net gain of at least two votes for same-sex marriage. The group also said Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos has promised to bring the issue to the floor again.

Members of a New York City street gang who attacked a gay man and a recruit because they believed the two had a sexual encounter also turned on two of their own during the rampage, according to newly released court documents that say a pair of teens initially charged in the case were actually victims.

Bryan Almonte and Brian Cepeda, both 17, had been arrested along with nine others after the Oct. 3 attacks. Charges were later dropped against them and two others, whittling the number of defendants to seven.

The mother of a 13-year-old boy who committed suicide after being bullied for being gay has spoken out publicly for the first time, calling on schools to stop anti-gay bullying.

In a YouTube video released by the American Civil Liberties Union, Wendy Walsh read her son Seth’s suicide note and said his school didn’t care about the teasing and physical threats he faced.

The same-sex partner of an adoptive mother can’t seek child custody but may request visitation, the New Mexico Court of Appeals has ruled in a precedent-setting case.

State laws provide no legal right for a Santa Fe-area woman to bring a lawsuit asking for custody of a child who was adopted by her partner during their 15-year relationship, the court concluded in a 2-1 ruling issued earlier this month.

Texas legislators will consider proposals to better define bullying in schools as students face being targeted on campus and online.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported earlier this month that at least seven bills related to bullying have been filed for the legislative session that starts in January.

The Illinois Legislature has voted to legalize civil unions, although some are wondering whether the measure that the governor is expected to sign will make it easier or harder to someday win approval of same-sex marriage.

After Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn signs the measure, gay and lesbian couples will be able to get official recognition from the state and gain many of the rights that accompany marriage – the power to decide medical treatment for an ailing partner, for instance. Illinois law will continue to limit marriage to one man and woman, and the federal government won’t recognize the civil unions at all.