Jeff Merkley introduces sweeping LGBT rights bill that makes big changes to Civil Rights Act

Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, who led the fight in the last Senate for a ban on job discrimination against gays, has said for months that he's shifting to a more expansive approach. --On Thursday, Merkley and his allies introduced their new bill, and it is indeed far more sweeping than anything the Oregon Democrat has proposed on gay rights in the past.

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Obama lectures Kenyan president on gay rights

President Barack Obama on Saturday lectured Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta about his country's gay rights record. --"When you start treating people differently not because of any harm they are doing to anybody, but because they are different, that's the path whereby freedoms begin to erode," Obama said at a joint press conference with the Kenyan leader in Nairobi. "And bad things happen."

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Obama pledges gay rights push in Africa

President Obama said he will voice support for gay rights during his Friday trip to Africa, despite warnings from some leaders to steer clear of the issue. In an interview with the BBC on Thursday, Obama said he has delivered a "blunt" message on gay rights to African leaders in the past and the topic will be "front and center" when he visits Kenya and Ethiopia.

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Arizona governor vetoes controversial bill allowing religious beliefs as defense for denying service

During Gov. Jan Brewer's announcement that she had vetoed SB 1062, she said the bill was "broadly worded and could result in unintended and negative consequences." The legislation caused a national uproar, with the business community, the state's Super Bowl Committee, Major League Baseball, the National Football League and both Republican U.S. senators calling for a veto. Former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney also weighed in and urged Brewer to veto the bill, which had been passed by social conservatives in the Arizona Legislature. Proponents complained that the bill had been misrepresented.

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