gay marriage

National gay-rights group Freedom to Marry will air ads this week in Washington, DC, Colorado, Oklahoma and Wyoming featuring former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson, a Wyoming lawmaker long identified in American politics with western conservativism who makes the case in the ad for gay marriage.

Michigan's Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who keeps mostly silent on social issues in favor of focusing on the economy, is stepping carefully on the issue of gay marriage after a judge's declaration that the state's ban is unconstitutional. His detachment is exasperating critics who say he should take more of a leadership role, even if it's an issue he would prefer go away.

As a lesbian of Asian descent, I hear not very kind comments based on gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation often enough. Most of the time I can blame ignorance, not take it personally, and not let it bother me. But the way I was treated when my wife Kris died, that one really hurt.

Yes, folks, it is official: the majority of Americans now support marriage equality. Even in the states where gay marriage remains illegal, the vast number of those polled believe that the right-to-marriage is guaranteed by the Constitution, regardless of sexual orientation.

In a conversation with conservative bloggers at CPAC last week, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus promised that he would be “as strong on these social issues” – including choice and marriage equality – as a pastor “on Sunday morning.”

An anti-gay marriage proposal that roiled Kansas politics is dead, the chairman of a state Senate committee assigned to review it said Tuesday. But the declaration from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Jeff King didn't appear likely to end the debate over providing legal protections for people and organizations refusing for religious reasons to provide goods and services to gay and lesbian couples.

The Supreme Court brought marriages to a halt in Utah until the matter gets settled by the land's highest court. But they also stopped newly married gay couples from gaining benefits, like adoption. Matthew Barraza and Tony Milner found themselves in limbo when their son's adoption was halted mid-process.

“The bill does two things,” says Colorado State Senator Pat Steadman. “It changes last year’s civil unions law to remove the prohibition against civil union partners filling joint returns… And it removes language from the state income tax law that talks about married couples or makes reference to husbands and wives. Basically, it makes the language gender neutral.”

U.S. Attorney Eric General Holder confirms that, for purposes of federal law, same-sex marriages that have been performed in the state of Utah will be recognized as lawful and considered eligible for all relevant federal benefits on the same terms as other same-sex marriages.

Pastors Kevin Swanson and Dave Buehner of Generations Radio were upset about a float at the Rose Bowl parade that included a married gay couple which, despite nasty attacks from anti-gay activists, went off without incident (and even won an award). Buehner was perplexed by the fact that the AIDS Healthcare Foundation sponsored the float, saying that its “pro-homosexual propaganda” would “spread AIDS.”