Michigan's governor on Tuesday vetoed legislation that would have allowed people to bring guns into schools, hospitals, churches and stadiums.

Many Americans are re-examining their position on gun control after 26 people, including 20 young children, were massacred by a disturbed young man armed with a military-style assault rifle at an elementary school in Newton, Connecticut.

Rhode Island's Teresa Paiva Weed anticipates a Senate committee vote on a gay marriage bill in the upcoming legislative session. Rhode Island Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed has said she anticipates a Senate committee vote on a gay marriage bill in the upcoming legislative session. According to the AP, Weed has not changed her opposition to marriage equality but believes the Senate Judiciary Committee will take up the issue. Lawmakers adjourned this year without taking action on several bills related to marriage equality. House Speaker Gordon Fox, a Providence Democrat who is openly gay, said the issue was ?one of the main reasons I'm coming back. There's unfinished business.? Fox came under heavy criticism from gay marriage advocates for abandoning efforts last year to approve a marriage equality bill in favor of civil unions. Fox explained at the time that the marriage bill was doomed in the Senate because Weed and other top Democrats in the chamber remained opposed. ?My position

South Carolina's governor on Monday named congressman Tim Scott to replace retiring Senator Jim DeMint next month, making him the first black Republican in the US Senate in more than three decades.

Michigan lawmakers ended their legislative session without voting on a trio of anti-equality bills. ?Michigan lawmakers ended their legislative session without voting on a trio of bills which sought to legalize discrimination against LGBT people. Two bills introduced by state Rep. Kenneth Kurtz, a Republican from Coldwater, would have allowed adoption agencies to refuse services based on moral or religious beliefs. The bills cleared the House Committee on Families, Children and Seniors but did not reach the House floor for a vote. A third bill introduced by state Senator John Moolenaar, a Republican from Midland, granted similar exemptions to healthcare professionals. The bill cleared the Senate but also did not reach the House floor for a vote. Emily Dievendorf, director of policy for Equality Michigan, applauded the moves. ?This legislative session Michigan extremists seemed suspiciously motivated to keep hurling a wrecking ball at Michigan families,? said Dievendorf in a statement.

President Hugo Chavez's condition is improving and he is already "giving instructions" from his bed in Havana as he continues to recover from cancer surgery, a cabinet member said Sunday.

Venezuelans voted Sunday in gubernatorial elections amid jitters over the health of President Hugo Chavez as he recovers from more cancer surgery in Cuba.

The gunman in the Connecticut school massacre that left 20 small children dead blasted his way through a locked glass door, climbed through and proceeded with his killing spree, the state governor said on Sunday.

The Roman Catholic Church in Illinois has begun rolling out a campaign to kill a gay marriage bill in Illinois. The Roman Catholic Church in Illinois has begun rolling out a campaign to kill a gay marriage bill in Illinois. Chief sponsors of the bill said last week that they will push for a vote next month during the General Assembly's lame-duck session. Rep. Greg Harris, along with two other openly gay representatives, Deb Mell and Kelly Cassidy, introduced the marriage bill in February. Harris was also the primary sponsor of Illinois' civil unions law. ?The timing is right for us to push this,? Harris said on Thursday. Governor Pat Quinn said this week that he hopes to sign the marriage bill into law. Last month, Catholic Conference of Illinois, the policy arm of the Catholic Church in Illinois, issued a Marriage Toolkit, in which it outlined resources and talking points on the issue for Catholics. Most of the resources listed come from the church itself, such as the United States Co

Evil, as the governor described it, seems incompatible with a place as quaint as this.

New Jersey Assemblyman Reed Gusciora believes gay marriage advocates lack a strategy to legalize gay marriage in the state. ?New Jersey Assemblyman Reed Gusciora believes gay marriage advocates lack a strategy to legalize gay marriage in the state. Gusciora has taken heat in recent days for proposing legislation to let voters decide the issue. Local and national gay groups, along with Democratic leaders in the state, have rejected the approach, saying rights should never be put up for a popular vote. In vetoing a marriage bill in February, Republican Governor Chris Christie called on lawmakers to go directly to the people. Gusciora rejected the suggestion then, but he told The Star-Ledger that last month's election results in support of marriage equality changed his mind on winning such rights at the ballot box. In an appearance on Michelangelo Signorile's SiriusXM radio program, Gusciora, who is openly gay, defended his approach and accused his critics of playing politics. ?There is n

President Barack Obama called Connecticut's governor Friday to express "condolences and concern" over a shooting spree at an elementary school which killed 27 people, the White House said.

Will she, won't she, will she, won't she, will she join the dance? To borrow from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," that's the question on everyone's lips about Hillary Clinton and the 2016 White House race.

Charlie Crist on Wednesday told reporters that he regrets signing an anti-gay marriage petition in 2006. ?Charlie Crist on Wednesday told reporters that he regrets signing an anti-gay marriage petition in 2006. Crist was running for governor of Florida as a Republican in 2006 when he signed a petition by the group Florida4Marriage.org proposing a ballot measure to amend the state's constitution to define marriage as a heterosexual union. The effort failed to gain sufficient support. However, voters approved a similar amendment in 2008. ?Would I do it today? No,? Crist is quoted as saying by the Tampa Bay Times. ?I think the best way to judge where my heart is is to look at the deeds that I have done, whether as attorney general, governor ? restoration of rights, civil rights cases, things of that nature that I think show a compassionate heart and hopefully someone who cares and knows who the boss is. And the boss is the people of Florida.? Crist, who last week officially joined the Dem

Pennsylvania Rep. Daryl Metcalfe has announced he will reintroduce a resolution that seeks to ban gay marriage in the state. Pennsylvania State Representative Daryl Metcalfe on Thursday announced he will reintroduce a resolution that seeks to ban gay marriage in the state. ?This constitutional amendment will eliminate confusion as to what constitutes a legal marriage, and it will also designate marriage as the only type of union that will be legally recognized in Pennsylvania,? Metcalfe said in a press release. ?It is important that we support traditional marriage and have constitutional amendments to protect it at the state level. Marriage is a common good, not a special interest. Special interests should not have the right to redefine marriage for all of us,? he added. Metcalfe, a Republican, first introduced a similar measure in 2011. Last April, the House State Government Committee, which Metcalfe chaired, put off debate on the measure. According to Capitol Ideas, a blog of The Mor

The governor of the US state of New Jersey, leading Republican politician Chris Christie, says it's "ridiculous" to think that his being fat would make him a poor president.

Washington state Senator Ed Murray on Wednesday announced he intends to run for Seattle mayor next year. Washington state Senator Ed Murray on Wednesday announced he intends to run for Seattle mayor next year. If elected, Murray would become the first openly gay person to lead the city. Murray said he is establishing an exploratory committee. ?I want to put down my marker,? Murray said. ?I want to start having conversations with people.? Democrats elected Murray, who played a pivotal role in passage of Washington's gay marriage law, to be their new leader. Murray told alternative weekly The Stranger that he's looking to run on his credentials, not his sexual orientation. ?It can work both ways,? he said. ?If people see me just as the gay candidate, they will vote against me. Even gay people will vote against me. I have to be the gay who did something.? ?If I win, it will be because people know I am a legislator who has been able to accomplish things on civil rights and who gets things

Former US president George W. Bush's daughter Jenna announced on live TV Wednesday that she was pregnant with her first child.

Republican lawmakers passed union-curbing "right-to-work" laws in Michigan Tuesday, prompting a rowdy protest at the capitol and outrage in a state seen as the heart of the US labor movement.

A decades-long battle to cripple unions in the United States has shifted to the heart of the labor movement as Michigan's Republican governor prepares to sign "right-to-work" legislation.