Oddly enough, two big news stories out of the courtroom today don't deal with marriage inequality or Don't Ask, Don't Tell, but instead with the age-old "gay panic" defense used in hate crimes and a controversial "You Are Gay" lawsuit in New York. Details on the developments follow.

In a time when threatening GLBT children from any distance is as easy as firing up an iPhone or Android or whatever the kids are using these days, updated interpretations of free speech is necessary to keeping minorities safe. A California state appeals court agrees.

Late yesterday afternoon, an appeals court in Los Angeles ruled in favor of a student suing his classmates for posting violent, anti-gay threats in the comment section of his website, declaring that such comments do not fall under the protections of the free speech umbrella.

In a 2-1 vote, the court decided that comments just like the ones posted to the website threatening to "rip out your ...

Hopefully this isn't the last fight the National Organization for Against Marriage loses in the state.

From WGME:

A federal judge has turned down a request by the National Organization for Marriage to suspend Maine's campaign reporting requirements for ballot initiatives.

But the judge's decision on Wednesday will have no immediate impact on the biggest contributor to the group that's trying to overturn Maine's gay marriage law.

The ethics commission voted Oct. 1 to examine contributions by the National Organization for Marriage after it was accused of not reporting the names of many donors. But the commission's investigation won't be completed until long after Election Day.

Score one point for justice.