Breaking Marriage Equality News Headlines from Advocate

	New Jersey Assembly Panel Advances Gay Marriage Bill The New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee approved the marriage equality bill in a vote Thursday afternoon, promising to escalate the standoff between Democratic lawmakers and Republican governor Chris Christie, who has vowed to veto the legislation. ... Advocate • Feb 2, 2012

	Gay Marriage Gets Hearing in New Jersey Assembly The New Jersey Assembly judiciary committee will hold a hearing Thursday morning on the marriage equality bill, which a senate panel advanced last month, but Governor Chris Christie has vowed to veto. ... Advocate • Feb 2, 2012

	Support Grows for Freedom to Marry Four more mayors have added their names to the growing list of marriage equality supporters endorsing a new effort called Mayors for the Freedom to Marry, bringing the total to 116. ... Advocate • Feb 1, 2012

	Mehlman Urges N.H. Republicans to Keep Marriage Equality Following his work to help pass the marriage equality law in New York, former Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman is taking his conservative argument for same-sex marriage to New Hampshire, where lawmakers are considering a bill that would repeal the marriage equality law. ... Advocate • Jan 26, 2012

	N.C. Lesbian Couple Found Guilty of Trespassing A North Carolina lesbian couple who were arrested last year for staging a sit-in at the Buncombe County Register of Deeds office after being denied a marriage license were found guilty Tuesday of second-degree trespassing. ... Advocate • Jan 25, 2012

	Why This Washington Republican Broke With GOP on Marriage Two Republican senators have made waves in Washington State after announcing their support for a marriage equality bill proposed earlier this month by Gov. Christine Gregoire. And one told The Advocate he's not afraid of the retaliation promised by antigay groups. ... Advocate • Jan 23, 2012

	Washington Marriage Bill Gets Another Vote, Corporate Boost The marriage equality bill in the Washington senate is just one vote shy of the 25 needed for passage following an announcement from Democratic senator Jim Kastama, while businesses including Microsoft and Nike have also announced their support for the measure. Kastama, a conservative Democrat from Puyallup south of Seattle, announced his decision at a news conference Thursday afternoon. He said ... Advocate • Jan 19, 2012

	Washington Governor Maps Marriage Equality Journey Gregoire expressed cautious optimism about the prospects for the bill, saying that one immediate obstacle concerned whether lawmakers would agree to pass the bill as filed, without a referendum clause. Such a clause would impose a requirement that the voting public approve the measure. As it stands now, under state law, if the bill passes without a referendum clause, petitioners would still have t... Advocate • Jan 19, 2012

	Senate President Predicts Backlash if Maryland Passes Marriage Equality The leaders of Maryland's legislature seem to expect that lawmakers will pass marriage equality this year, but the Senate President warned today that passing the bill would trigger a backlash from voters who would then overturn them at the ballot box. ... Advocate • Jan 12, 2012

	Santorum Says Gay Parents Worse Than Convicts Rick Santorum continued his string of antigay pronouncements while on the trail in New Hampshire, saying a man in jail would be a better parent than a same-sex couple. The Los Angeles Timesreports from Manchester, New Hampshire that Santorum claimed to quote an anti-poverty expert while explaining his case.... Advocate • Jan 7, 2012

	Poll: Support for Marriage Equality Growing in New Mexico 45% of New Mexico voters think it should be legal to 43% who believe it should be illegal. We also found narrows pluralities in support of gay marriage on recent Nevada and Colorado polls. When you expand the discussion to include civil unions 67% of New Mexicans support some form of legal recognition for gay couples to only 32% completely opposed.... Advocate • Dec 25, 2011

	Mixed Reactions to Minn. Antimarriage Amendment It's the latest in a series of anti-marriage equality efforts by Minnesota's Catholic hierarchy, the paper reports, noting that this fall, "the state's Catholic bishops took the unusual step of directing parish priests across the state to form committees to help get the marriage amendment passed by voters." Meanwhile, some Republicans are rallying against the amendment. A recent gathering aimed a... Advocate • Dec 20, 2011

	Justice Department, Lambda Legal to Make Case Against DOMA On Friday in San Francisco, the Justice Department will make its first court appearance in a lawsuit challenging the Defense of Marriage Act since the Obama administration declared in February that the 1996 law is unconstitutional. ... Advocate • Dec 17, 2011

	ACLU Files Appeal in Montana Domestic Partnership Case Arguing that the Montana constitution guarantees fair and equal treatment to all people, the American Civil Liberties Union is appealing a District Court's dismissal of a same-sex domestic partnership case. ... Advocate • Nov 16, 2011

	Sen. Blumenthal Stands Up for Lesbian Binational Couple Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut is calling on the Department of Homeland Security to put on hold, rather than outright deny, a marriage-based green card petition brought by a Connecticut lesbian couple. ... Advocate • Nov 11, 2011

	Equality Maryland Names New Executive Director The statewide LGBT advocacy group in Maryland announced the selection of longtime advocate Carrie Evans to lead the organization in advance of an anticipated push for marriage equality and transgender rights legislation in 2012. ... Advocate • Nov 11, 2011

	Top Brazilian Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Marriage Equality The court ruled that the constitution "makes it possible for stable civil unions to become marriages" and that "sexual orientation should not serve as a pretext for excluding families from the legal protection that marriage represents." ... Advocate • Oct 26, 2011

	Denmark To Legalize Gay Marriage According to the Copenhagen Post, the government plans to introduce a bill after the New Year that would allow same-sex couples, who are currently entitled to the civil status of "registered partnerships," to hold weddings in the Church of Denmark and be considered "married" under the law.... Advocate • Oct 24, 2011

	HRC Launches Americans for Marriage Equality Campaign The Human Rights Campaign on Wednesday launched Americans for Marriage Equality, an ongoing public engagement initiative that features videos of prominent Americans talking about their support for the freedom of same-sex couples to marry. ... Advocate • Oct 19, 2011

	Equality California Executive Director to Step Down Roland Palencia, the recently appointed executive director of Equality California, the state's leading LGBT rights group, has resigned and will step down by this Friday, marking the latest departure from the organization that appears to be hemorrhaging staff members. ... Advocate • Oct 11, 2011

	GOP Lobbyist Joins Strategy to Repeal DOMA Deutsch and her partner, Teresa Williams, have been together for 28 years and have three children. However improbable legislative repeal of DOMA is in the near future, Deutsch's professional raison d'être,as Freedom to Marry national campaign director Marc Solomon sees it, "is to make our strongest case in D.C. with every influential player. Members of Congress, political operatives, the press cor... Advocate • Oct 5, 2011

	O'Malley Kicks Off Marylanders for Marriage Equality Video Series Aspects of the new series, such as the soaring soundtrack, appear modeled on the widely praised New Yorkers for Marriage Equality videos videos from the Human Rights Campaign featuring celebrities, professional athletes and elected officials not including Cuomo. On the other hand, the audiences and political dynamics in the two states differ, and in Maryland, a coalition is involved with the video... Advocate • Oct 3, 2011

	Despite Marriage Ban, Florida Lawmakers Try for Domestic Partnerships Two Florida lawmakers are pushing for domestic partnerships in their state, but opponents say even that level of recognition for same-sex relationships is illegal because of a ban voters added to the constitution. ... Advocate • Sep 16, 2011

	NY9: It Wasn't About Marriage, But Marriage Was an Issue Despite decades of Democratic control in the district, David Weprin lost a special congressional election in New York that hinged on the economy and dissatisfaction with national politics. The shocking result means that voters will continue to hear about same-sex marriage, even if evidence suggests the issue played no significant role in the race. ... Advocate • Sep 14, 2011

	Census: New Mexico, Rhode Island Heavily Gay New Mexico had 9.8 same-sex couples per 1,000 households, making it one of the gayest states, behind Vermont with 10.9, Massachusetts with 10.2, California with 9.98, and Oregon with 9.9. Rhode Island, where lawmakers failed to pass a marriage equality bill this year but did approve civil unions, had 8.9 gay couples per 1,000 households. The largest concentrations of gay couples in New Mexico were... Advocate • Aug 30, 2011

	Some Deportations Halted for Gay Immigrants Some binational same-sex couples received good news about pending deportation orders this week, thanks partly to the Obama administration's new policy making certain deportations low priority. Denver immigration judge Mimi Tsankov Friday halted the deportation of Sujey Pando and scheduled a new hearing in January based on her marriage to U.S. citizen Violeta Pando, attorney Lavi Soloway reported ... Advocate • Aug 22, 2011

	Scottish Support for Marriage Equality Jumps Support for same-sex marriage rights in Scotland has risen significantly in the past few years, leading gay rights groups to call for marriage equality legislation, as they consider the current system of civil partnerships for gay couples discriminatory.... Advocate • Aug 16, 2011

	Nepal's Version of a Gay Rights Rally Gay rights proponents gathered in Nepal this weekend to call for their inclusion in a new constitution being drafted for the country, the Associated Press reports. ... Advocate • Aug 16, 2011

	Prague Hosts First Pride March Several thousand people marched in the first LGBT Pride parade in the Czech capital Saturday as riot police contained antigay protesters assembled to decry the event. ... Advocate • Aug 15, 2011

	Widow Fights With Wife's Parents for Benefits The parents of a deceased woman are using the Defense of Marriage Act against their daughter-in-law, claiming that she is not entitled to her late wife's profit-sharing plan. ... Advocate • Aug 2, 2011

	Prop. 8 Standing Arguments to be Televised Oral arguments on a legal standing question in the Proposition 8 case will be televised live in September, according to a California Supreme Court spokeswoman. Of the September 6 hearing, SF Appeal reports that "because of public interest in the case, the court has approved a live statewide television broadcast of the arguments on the California Channel, a public affairs network," according to sp... Advocate • Aug 1, 2011

	Marriage Equality Ballot Measure Pushed in Colorado Sponsors include Mark Olmstead, a 19-year-old college student inspired by the recent passage of the marriage equality law in New York. Their effort follows an attempt to remove the constitutional amendment in 2010 that failed to garner enough signatures. According to the AP, gay rights groups including One Colorado continue to believe the issue should be addressed by the legislature. An attempt t... Advocate • Jul 15, 2011

	Where Do N.Y. Congressional Reps Stand on DOMA Repeal? Following the New York marriage victory last month, two members of the state's congressional delegation -- Reps. Kathy Hochul and Bill Owens -- have signed on as cosponsors of the House DOMA repeal bill, titled the Respect for Marriage Act. ... Advocate • Jul 13, 2011

	NOM Not Invited to N.Y. Weddings, But They'll Be There Protesting When gay couples in New York start legally getting hitched July 24, the National Organization for Marriage plans to crash their weddings with a series of protests. The group, which lobbied against passage of the marriage equality bill signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, announced the rallies Friday on its website. Protests are so far being planned in Albany, Rochester, Buffalo and New York City. ... Advocate • Jul 11, 2011

	A New Conservative Agenda Like Ken Mehlman, the former Republican National Committee chair and the Bush-Cheney campaign manager in '04, Hoover has since been sought out by gay groups. He has been a key fund-raiser for the American Foundation for Equal Rights, the group that has organized and litigated the Proposition 8 challenge, and she's an advisory board member for both that organization and GOProud. Unlike Mehlman, how... Advocate • Jul 6, 2011

	NY Marriage Vote: Words From the Floor Senator Stephen Saland, who voted against a similar measure in 2009, said "My intellectual and emotional journey has ended here today and I have to define doing the right thing as treating all persons with equality and that equality includes within the definition of marriage." Catholic-raised Senator Mark Grisanti grew up believing marriage was between a man and a woman, but remarked, "Who am I t... Advocate • Jun 26, 2011

	Marriage Equality Foes Speak Out As expected, not all of the responses to Friday's Marriage Equality victory in New York were positive. In addition to the National Organization for Marriage's outspoken reactions, other opponents of LGBT rights were equally troubled by the state's late night vote.... Advocate • Jun 26, 2011

	California Has More Than 50,000 Gay Parents The institute's numbers are based on Census information. In the survey, California reported 125,516 couples, 21% of which are raising children. That means that one of every five gay couples is parenting.... Advocate • Jun 24, 2011

	New Guidelines on Deportation Cases Could Apply to Gay Couples Immigration officials may be able to consider the circumstances of married binational same-sex couples when making decisions about deportation, although an immigration group in response has asked for further clarification of new federal guidelines. According to guidelines issued in a Friday memo by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director John Morton to field directors, agents, and attorn... Advocate • Jun 23, 2011

	Marriage Equality in New York: Any Day Now One full week after the Democratic-controlled assembly passed a bill that would legalize civil marriage for same-sex couples in New York, the Republican-led senate still has not announced whether it plans to vote on the measure, although Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders insisted they were making progress Wednesday in the waning hours of the legislative session. ... Advocate • Jun 23, 2011

	N.Y. Marriage: 42,000 Couples Stand to Benefit The extension of marriage rights to same-sex couples in New York State will affect more than 42,000 couples raising 14,000 children and will double the portion of the U.S. population living in states that allow gay couples to marry.... Advocate • Jun 20, 2011

	Catholic Charities Foster Care Cases to Be Transferred An Illinois youth services agency will take over foster care cases relinquished by Catholic Charities in Rockford following recent passage of the state's civil unions law. ... Advocate • Jun 20, 2011

	Ben and Jerry for N.Y. Marriage Equality Ben & Jerry's co-founders, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, contribute a video to the New Yorkers for Marriage Equality series from the Human Rights Campaign.... Advocate • Jun 13, 2011

	Mehlman Lobbies for New York Marriage Currently, 26 senators, all Democrats, publicly support the marriage equality bill, which needs 32 votes to pass the Republican-controlled Senate. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Yorkers United for Marriage, the bipartisan coalition working to pass the bill, maintain that they want to see a vote only on a measure guaranteed to pass. As of late Monday, no bill had been introduced in the Senate, where th... Advocate • Jun 12, 2011

	Rep. Wants Gay Marriages on Navy Bases On Wednesday the congressman sent a letter to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus requesting a reinstatement of the decision to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies at naval facilities. "Since 2008, same-sex couples in Connecticut have had the legal right to marry," wrote Murphy. "I find it disgraceful that citizens of our state serving in the armed forces aren't afforded that same basic right."... Advocate • Jun 3, 2011

	GetEqual Activists Arrested in North Carolina Three people including Jim Neal, a gay former candidate for the U.S. Senate, were arrested Thursday afternoon in Raleigh at a protest against a constitutional amendment that would ban marriage and other unions for same-sex couples in North Carolina.... Advocate • Jun 3, 2011

	Minnesota Marriage Battle Begins Though extensive polling does not yet exist, a May 13 survey by the Star Tribune did not find "widespread support" for a constitutional amendment: 55% of respondents opposed the antigay initiative and 39% approved. But it's unclear how a likely multimillion-dollar campaign waged by both sides of the debate will ultimately sway voters. Whether such an amendment could survive a court challenge if i... Advocate • May 25, 2011

	Leaders of Color for N.Y. Marriage More than 50 prominent leaders of color signed a letter to New York lawmakers in support of marriage equality Thursday, while a new poll suggested that African-American voters' opposition to same-sex marriage was solidifying but Latino voters' support may be increasing. New Yorkers United for Marriage, the bipartisan coalition of five LGBT advocacy organizations working with Gov. Andrew Cuomo to ... Advocate • May 22, 2011

	Marriage Worth $391 Million to New York The New York state senate Independent Democratic Conference released a report Tuesday showing that marriage equality would generate at least $391 million for the state in business, tax revenue, and savings within three years of becoming law. The four members of the breakaway Democratic conference, who all support marriage equality, released the report, "For Love or Money?: The Economic Impact of ... Advocate • May 12, 2011

	Navy Reverses Course On Weddings Navy officials have suspended recent guidance that would have allowed chaplains to perform weddings for same-sex couples at on-base facilities. In an April 13 memo on "don't ask, don't tell" repeal training, Rear Adm. Mark L. Tidd, Chief of Navy Chaplains (pictured), clarified that base facilities are "sexual orientation neutral," and that chaplains may perform marriages for gay couples "if it is... Advocate • May 12, 2011

	Palm Springs Votes Unanimously for Marriage Equality The Palm Springs, Calif., city council Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution to support same-sex marriage.... Advocate • May 8, 2011

	Clement Signs New DOMA Contract The contract is similar in form to that signed by Clement on behalf of King and Spalding, whose firm chairman said in a statement last week that a vetting process for taking the case had been "inadequate." It includes provisions prohibiting firm employees from advocacy that would "alter or amend the Defense of Marriage Act." The hourly rate of $520 for legal work remains the same. A "cap" of $500... Advocate • May 3, 2011

	Equality Maryland Names Interim ED Lynne Bowman, a founder and former executive director of Equality Ohio, was named interim executive director of Equality Maryland on Thursday. A joint statement from Equality Maryland board chair Chuck Butler and Equality Maryland Foundation chair Patrick Wojahn announced the appointment. Bowman brings more than two decades of experience in non-profit, for-profit and government sectors, having se... Advocate • Apr 29, 2011

	Ky. Church Protests Marriage Inequality A Disciples of Christ church in Louisville, Ky., will no longer sign marriage licenses, in an action that protests the lack of marriage equality for gay couples.... Advocate • Apr 21, 2011

	Brewer Backs Anti-Gay Adoption Bill Arizona governor Jan Brewer signed a bill Monday mandating that married heterosexual couples be given priority consideration when agencies are placing children for adoption or foster care.... Advocate • Apr 21, 2011

	Bush Lawyer to Defend DOMA While the Obama administration has come under fire by conservatives for its February decision to no longer defend DOMA in federal court, Clement during his SG tenure himself declined to defend a federal law -- one prohibiting mass transit agencies that receive federal funds from permitting ads on buses and subways supporting medical marijuana in 2004, according to the Human Rights Campaign. C... Advocate • Apr 20, 2011

	New Yorkers Wanted for Marriage Equality Videos The Human Rights Campaign invites New Yorkers and visitors to the Big Apple to film their own video for the New Yorkers for Marriage Equality campaign this Sunday in Manhattan. The first "pop-up video" event will be held Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Gansevoort Plaza in the Meatpacking District at the intersection of Nine Avenue with Gansevoort and Little West 12th Streets, not far from the el... Advocate • Apr 17, 2011

	Gay Immigration Battle Heats Up Congressional advocates for LGBT immigration reform launched a two-pronged offensive Thursday with the reintroduction of the Uniting American Families Act and the release of a letter from 48 House members urging the Obama administration in part to suspend deportations faced by married gay spouses. The Thursday letter from Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California and Democratic colleagues called on Atty. Ge... Advocate • Apr 16, 2011

	Two Top Think Tanks Merge One of the nation's leading research groups on the military and issues of gender and sexuality announced Monday that it is merging with the Williams Institute, another top think tank for policy-making and tracking statistics about the gay population. Aaron Belkin, director of the Palm Center, announced the move to work as a distinct center operating under the Williams Institute at the University... Advocate • Apr 13, 2011

	N.Y. Poll Shows Record Marriage Support The telephone poll of 777 registered voters in early April found 58% in favor of and 36% opposed to "making same-sex marriages legal in New York state." That represents a slight but significant change from January, when the Siena poll found 57% in support and 38% opposed. Moreover, according to pollster Steven Greenberg, voters age 55 and older and Republicans are almost even divided on the issue,... Advocate • Apr 12, 2011

	Plan to Repeal DOMA State by State The Courage Campaign has launched a 50-state strategy to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, which is also being challenged in federal court cases and by Congress. The plan, in conjunction with longtime activist Cleve Jones, will be managed on a grassroots level, with efforts in each of the 435 congressional districts.... Advocate • Apr 8, 2011

	Reps Speak Out on Gay Immigration A growing number of congressional representatives are voicing opposition to the Department of Homeland Security's "business as usual" handling of immigration cases involving married binational gay couples -- some who may face future deportation proceedings as a result. Two California Democrats -- Rep. Jackie Speier and Rep. Mike Honda -- told The Advocate Friday that they disagreed with the recen... Advocate • Apr 6, 2011

	Hate Msg's for Prop. 8 Plaintiffs Two plaintiffs in the high-profile Proposition 8 case were subjected to multiple vitriolic and antigay voice mails during the 2010 trial from a San Francisco man who was later convicted of making threatening telephone calls to then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi. According to a 2010 Berkeley, Calif., police department report, Sandra Stier, who with her partner, Kristin Perry, filed suit against Prop.... Advocate • Apr 5, 2011

	Shumlin Pushes for Marriage Equality in R.I. Vermont governor Peter Shumlin spoke about his state's journey toward marriage equality in Rhode Island, where he urged lawmakers to put aside any fears and vote on the right side of history. Shumlin visited Thursday afternoon at the invitation of Marriage Equality Rhode Island, which organized a news conference in Providence with Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee. The Vermont governor also me... Advocate • Apr 2, 2011

	Ill. Marriage Amendment Declared Dead Illinois already has a statutory ban on same-sex marriage, but constitutional bans are more difficult to overcome. Earlier this year Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law a bill establishing civil unions for both gay and straight couples, something that proponents see as a step toward marriage equality.... Advocate • Apr 2, 2011

	Put It Gets Better In School Libraries With a $25 donation, you can make sure a copy of Dan Savage's It Gets Better book is sent to the school library of your choice. The anthology, which was edited by Savage and his partner, Terry Miller, and was born out of their It Gets Better antibullying initiative, is available now. Reads the website: "Your $25 contribution will enable us to send a copy of the book to a school library of your ch... Advocate • Apr 2, 2011

	N.Y. Archbishop Compares Marriage Equality to Incest Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan appeared on 60 Minutes Overtime, where he said that same-sex couples are no more entitled to marry each other than he is entitled to marry his mother.... Advocate • Mar 27, 2011

	Male Models Back Marriage Equality ous Model Management's men's division has recruited more than two dozen of its male models to sign their exclusive Shepard Fairey "Defend Equality, Love Unites" poster in support of marriage equality. The poster, spearheaded by Nous Model's men's director David Todd, and featuring signatures including that of rugby star and model Nick Youngquest (pictured), will be sold at auction to benefit gras... Advocate • Mar 22, 2011

	Md. Marriage Vote Pushed to 2012 Raskin attributed the disappointing outcome in large part to a "fierce grassroots campaign" by religious groups opposed to marriage equality. He said opponents seemed spurred to action by the success in the senate, which approved the bill by a 25-21 vote two weeks ago without protracted debate. "A number of delegates told me they were planning to move in a positive direction but there were just t... Advocate • Mar 12, 2011

	Marriage Commercial Debuts in Rhode Island "Today's roll out is the next step in a broader strategic plan aimed at raising awareness and building the wave of support necessary to achieve a legislative victory this year," said Martha Holt, Marriage Equality Rhode Island board member, in a news release from the group. "The message of the commercial, 'It's Time,' reflects a belief shared by a majority of Rhode Islanders - it's time we live up... Advocate • Mar 10, 2011

	Public More Positive on Marriage Equality Overall, voters have shown an eight-percentage-point increase in support of marriage equality since 2009. Currently, 45% say gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to marry, 46% are opposed, and 9% are undecided.... Advocate • Mar 6, 2011

	Md. Democrat Backtracks on Marriage Support Sam Arora, a Maryland delegate who campaigned on marriage equality last year, has indicated that he may not vote for the bill when it gets to the house floor.... Advocate • Mar 3, 2011

	Arrests in Chi. Marriage Protest Six LGBT activists were arrested Monday afternoon in Chicago after refusing to leave a city marriage bureau after a same-sex couple was denied a marriage license. Judy Heithmar and Danelle Wylder sought the license at the marriage bureau in the Richard J. Daley Center in downtown Chicago. They were arrested along with Cassandra Avenatti, Lindsey Dietzler, Corrine Mina, and Noa Francis Shayden, sa... Advocate • Feb 16, 2011

	Hundreds Attend RI Marriage Hearing Advocates feel more hopeful about the bill now than in past years because independent Gov. Lincoln Chafee supports the bill and out house speaker Gordon Fox is a cosponsor. The governor called the issue a matter "fundamental fairness" in a letter to the committee, the AP reports. However, a more challenging landscape could await the bill in the senate. "The bill must pass through committee befor... Advocate • Feb 11, 2011

	Antigay Testimony Swayed Md. Senator's Marriage Vote Maryland state senator James Brochin announced Thursday that he had changed his vote on the marriage equality bill from no to yes following the "appalling" testimony from the bill's opponents earlier this week. Brochin released a statement about the transformation prompted by almost eight hours of testimony on Tuesday. "What I witnessed from the opponents of the bill was appalling," he said.... Advocate • Feb 11, 2011

	Cuomo Wants Marriage Vote By June New York governor Andrew Cuomo gave his strongest indication yet on timing for the marriage equality bill, saying Wednesday that he wanted the legislature to bring the issue up this session, which ends in June.... Advocate • Feb 10, 2011

	Olson Wants Yes on 8 to Back Down Attorney Theodore B. Olson, who is working to overturn California's voter-approved gay marriage ban, asked the state supreme court Tuesday not to allow Proposition 8 sponsors to defend the ballot measure in court.... Advocate • Jan 28, 2011

	Hawaii: Civil Unions Pass First Hurdle The committee approved the bill 3-2 Tuesday, according to KHON News. Democratic lawmakers said they want to address the civil unions bill early in the term, to allow them time to concentrate on looming economic problems and creating jobs. Gov. Neil Abercrombie has said that he would sign the civil union bills if it reached his desk.... Advocate • Jan 28, 2011

	Marriage in Maryland by April? Maryland advocates and a leading lawmaker projected confidence that a marriage equality bill could pass the state general assembly by early April, while they also predicted success for a gender identity antidiscrimination measure. "We're in a really great position to be advancing a marriage bill and an anti-discrimination bill," said Cameron Tolle, online organizer for Freedom to Marry, which coh... Advocate • Jan 22, 2011

	Take Two for R.I. Marriage Equality Energized by the support of newly sworn in Gov. Lincoln Chafee (pictured), gay rights advocates will reintroduce a bill in Rhode Island's House Thursday to legalize marriage equality.... Advocate • Jan 6, 2011

	Obama: "Prepared to Implement" On the question of marriage equality, the president said his "attitudes are evolving." "Like a lot of people, I'm wrestling with this," he said. "I've wrestled with the fact that marriage traditionally has had a different connotation. But I also have a lot of very close friends who are married gay or lesbian couples." The president also signaled that he and his lawyers are reviewing "a range of ... Advocate • Dec 23, 2010

	Ten Questions for Jerry Brown My role is exactly the role that a predecessor followed, [former California attorney general] Tom Lynch: When Prop. 14 was passed in 1964, overturning fair housing laws in the state, he did not defend it. And in fact, the California supreme court invalidated the popular initiative -- one that was passed by many more votes than Prop. 8. So it's the same principle position of upholding the federal C... Advocate • Sep 4, 2010

	White House Statement on Proposition 8 "The President has spoken out in opposition to Proposition 8 because it is divisive and discriminatory. He will continue to promote equality for LGBT Americans."... Advocate • Aug 5, 2010

	Prop. 8 Challengers See Promise in Supreme Court Decision In a recent decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the view that gays and lesbians are an identifiable class in the eyes of the law -- a characterization that anti-gay-marriage forces have vigorously fought and that attorneys challenging California's Proposition 8 see as a crucial element of their case. In a Tuesday letter to U.S. district judge Vaughn R. Walker, Theodore J. Boutrous, who argue... Advocate • Jun 30, 2010

	Attorneys Preview Closing Argument Strategy in Prop. 8 Case Regarding one of Walker's thornier questions -- how a ruling striking down Prop. 8 as unconstitutional would affect the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act -- Olson said, "Even if you assume that DOMA is constitutional, it's still critical to eliminate state discrimination that prohibits gays and lesbians from marrying. This is the last area in our country where we have state-... Advocate • Jun 11, 2010

	Minter's Take on the Prop. 8 Trial One of the defendants' strategies is to divert attention from the real issues in the case by casting themselves, incredibly, as the victims of alleged persecution. Prop. 8 targeted gay people in order to strip them of a fundamental right. And yet the defendants have fixated on alleged incidents of harassment of Prop. 8 supporters during the campaign. In fact, they have even gone so far as to sugge... Advocate • Jan 26, 2010

	Poll: Gay Marriage Trailing in Maine A new Research 2000/Daily Kos poll in Maine suggests that the state's marriage equality law would be repealed if the issue went to voters today. The survey of 600 likely voters between September 14 and 16 posed two questions pertaining to marriage equality, according to Daily Kos. In each instance, a greater percentage of respondents with a firm opinion chose an anti-equality position, although a... Advocate • Sep 20, 2009

	The Lesson of Danny and Marilyn Advances in Iowa and Colorado -- where it took a coordinated and determined coalition of progressive voters and donors to oust antigay state representative Danny Carroll and Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave -- are a perfect model for the first step in winning full federal equality. But what comes next? The Gill Action Fund's Tim Gill and Patrick Guerriero have it all mapped out.... Advocate • Sep 11, 2009

	Paterson Re-ups N.Y. Marriage Pledge New York governor David Paterson recommitted himself to including same-sex marriage on the agenda if he has to call a special session this fall in order to shore up the state's budget woes. "I am anticipating a special session and I am anticipating this is one of the issues that we will address," Paterson told The Advocate Thursday night, shortly after leaving a meeting that included representati... Advocate • Sep 4, 2009

	Maine Moves Into High Gear Marriage equality opponents led by Stand for Marriage Maine turned in 100,000 signatures -- 45,000 more than necessary -- at the end of July to qualify for the ballot. If they are certified by the state, as everyone expects they will be, Maine's vote on a so-called "people's veto" of the marriage law will be the first such vote on the right of gay couples to marry since California's highly conten... Advocate • Aug 14, 2009

	All Eyes on Maine As LGBT activists discuss how and when to restore the freedom to marry in California, dramatic events are unfolding on the other side of the country that will greatly affect our fight for marriage rights here and ultimately across the rest of America.... Advocate • Aug 6, 2009

	Hope and History He looked like a hero, and that was the problem. His apparent integrity frightened us at first. Then it became the reason we chose him. We voted for Obama because he appealed to our better angels, because we wanted to be better. And it worked. One of the most profound and least remarked-upon effects of this presidency is the speed with which doubt that America was "ready" for a black president h... Advocate • Aug 5, 2009

	2010? 2012? The Fight in California Continues Despite a weekend summit that brought together more than 150 marriage equality activists, consensus over the timing of an attempt to repeal California's Proposition 8 at the voting booth remains elusive. But that hasn't stopped some gay groups from preparing for the earlier option. Reactions to the heated LGBT Leadership Summit, organized by Marriage Equality USA and held in a San Bernardino, Ca... Advocate • Jul 29, 2009

	Black, Reiner Back Fed. Prop. 8 Suit Director Rob Reiner and Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black are among the board members of a newly formed legal and policy group behind the federal challenge to Proposition 8.... Advocate • Jun 4, 2009

	Overturning Prop. 8 at the Ballot? At a gay rights organizing camp held this weekend in Oakland, Calif., and hosted by the Courage Campaign, leading activists made it clear that they're in the beginning stages of a campaign to overturn Proposition 8 at the ballot. In her closing speech at the camp on Sunday night, Torie Osborn, one of the founders of "Camp Courage," told the attendees, "We are who we've been waiting for. If not n... Advocate • May 5, 2009

	Antigay Group Hiding Mormon Cash? The nonprofit National Organization for Marriage -- better known as the people behind the widely panned "Gathering Storm" commercials and as friends of "opposite marriage" supporter Miss California, Carrie Prejean -- is required by law to release its financial reports. According to the marriage-equality group Californians Against Hate, NOM is skirting that law, refusing to make its IRS 990 forms p... Advocate • May 4, 2009

	New York Marriage Bill Gets GOP Boost The development may be particularly important in the senate, where Democrats hold a slim 32-30 majority, four Democrats have already said they will vote against the marriage bill, and equality advocates will need to pick up several GOP votes in order to pass the legislation. Strategists expect the legislation to sail through the assembly, which already passed an identical bill in 2007 by a vote of... Advocate • Apr 23, 2009

	Congressional Leaders Mull Partial DOMA Repeal Legislative aides familiar with the discussions say a handful of congressional leaders have been hashing out the details of the legislation, which would accomplish two goals: repeal section 3 of DOMA as it relates to the federal government's ability to confer some 1,100 federal benefits on same-sex partners; and provide a way for same-sex couples living in states that do not allow them to marry le... Advocate • Apr 15, 2009

	New Hampshire Holds Same-Sex Marriage Hearing The New Hampshire senate judiciary committee will hold a hearing today on a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. If approved, New Hampshire would be one major step closer to becoming the sixth state to recognize marriage equality (including California, whose same-sex marriage ruling was later overturned by Prop. 8, the constitutionality of which is currently under consideration by the state supreme... Advocate • Apr 15, 2009

	N.Y. Gov. to Renew Same-Sex Marriage Push New York governor David Paterson said on Wednesday that he would reintroduce legislation to legalize same-sex marriage.... Advocate • Apr 9, 2009

	NAACP Calls for Overturning of Proposition 8 "Our mission statement calls for the 'quality of rights of all persons.' Prop. 8 strips same-sex couples of a fundamental freedom, as defined by the California state supreme court. In so doing, it poses a serious threat to all Americans. Prop. 8 is a discriminatory, unprecedented change to the California constitution that, if allowed to stand, would undermine the very purpose of a constitution and... Advocate • Feb 23, 2009

	Play Nice, Folks: Why confrontation is exactly the wrong approach when it comes to getting what you want. In 1991 a group of activists from the radical gay group Queer Nation infiltrated the set of The Arsenio Hall Show and interrupted the comedian's opening routine, demanding to know why he didn't invite more openly gay guests to be on his program. The audience booed the hecklers, and the stunt represented the last gasp of the in-your-face tactics that gay activists had utilized since Stonewall. In t... Advocate • Feb 6, 2009

	Colombia Rules Gay Couples Must Be Granted Same Rights as Straight The court's decision means Colombia's gay couples will be awarded dozens of rights that straight, unmarried couples have enjoyed for years and follows other recent rulings that have won the nation's same-sex couples inheritance, pension, health, and social security rights.... Advocate • Jan 29, 2009

	Postcards to the President The support of my peers and allies has come in overwhelming abundance. As is my style, Postcards to the President will start with a celebration: kickoff parties in both New York (January 28 at Therapy) and West Hollywood (January 25 at Here Lounge) from which thousands of postcards will be signed and sent. From there, a grassroots effort has begun to spread through college campuses and nationwide... Advocate • Jan 20, 2009

	Harrumph! Proposition 8 ended up passing, of course, prompting protests across the country. "It's great that people feel passionate about this," he says 10 days after the election, when I ask whether the upswing in gay activism pleased him, "but do you really think a rally on the Boston Common does one thing to change anything? I would prefer people channeled that energy -- whether it's for marriage equalit... Advocate • Jan 1, 2009

	TV Ads Promoting Repeal of Prop. 8 to Hit California Part of an effort by the group GetToKnowMeFirst.org, the five 30-second spots will run in both rural and urban markets. The ads feature gay families describing their experiences and urging their neighbors to "get to know" them before judging them.... Advocate • Dec 17, 2008

	Your Handy Activist To-Do List ...we asked five leading LGBT activists for their suggestions on what you can do personally to end your second-class status.... Advocate • Dec 3, 2008

	Anatomy of a Failed Campaign ... Advocate • Nov 27, 2008

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