cindy williams

Presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain denounced adoption for same-sex couples this weekend in an interview with The New York Times.

A straight former police officer is suing the Los Angeles Police Department, alleging she was fired after she complained about discrimination by her gay supervisors.

John McCain emphatically denied a romantic relationship with a female US telecommunications lobbyist on Thursday and said a report by The New York Times suggesting favoritism for her clients is ''not true.'' ''I'm very disappointed in the article. It's not true,'' the likely Republican presidential nominee said as his wife, Cindy, stood beside him during a news conference called to address the matter. ''I've served this nation honorably for more than half a century,'' said McCain, a senator for 24 years and former Navy pilot. ''At no time have I ever done anything that would betray the public trust.''

In the January 16 issue of The Advocate, the plaintiff couples who brought marriage cases with the help of the gay rights group Lambda Legal were honored as part of our roundup of "People of the Year." But there were many more plaintiff couples who deserve that honor for contributing their time and energy to marriage cases decided last year.

The California marriage equality victory means big bucks for the state economy -- and good news for the budget crisis there. But as Jen Christensen finds out, businesses around the country are raking it in too.

If the rainbow-painted deck chairs, fluttering rainbow flag, and purple shutters do not make it clear, the Highlands Inn's toll-free number, 877-LES-B-INN, leaves no doubt as to whom this White Mountains resort in New Hampshire caters to. Innkeeper Grace Newman began hosting commitment ceremonies at this self-proclaimed ''lesbian paradise'' -- in the 1980s. Newman says she has lost track of the number of commitment ceremonies that have happened there; she estimates about 300 couples have honeymooned at the inn after getting civil unions in Vermont or marriages in Quebec, Canada, both short drives away.