Number six is now official.
From MSNBC:
CONCORD, New Hampshire – New Hampshire became the sixth state to legalize gay marriage after the Senate and House passed key language on religious rights and Gov. John Lynch — who personally opposes gay marriage — signed the legislation Wednesday afternoon.
After rallies outside the Statehouse by both sides in the [...]

“I think that freedom means freedom for everyone. As many of you know, one of my daughters is gay, and it is something we have lived with for a long time in our family. I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish. Any kind of arrangement they [...]

These aren’t full marriage rights, but they’re much closer and a strong rebuke of the Governor’s veto.
From CNN:
Nevada is legalizing domestic partnerships, with the state Assembly voting Sunday evening to override a veto by the governor, officials said.
The Assembly voted 28-14 to override Gov. Jim Gibbons’ veto of a domestic partner bill, said Kathy Alden [...]

This was a bit of a surprise when I heard about it, but apparently Ted Olson has joined forces with the Equal Rights Foundation and they’ve just sent out a press release about yesterday’s decision.
Here are some key excerpts (.pdf) …
“Yesterday, the California Supreme Court said that the California Constitution compels the State to discriminate [...]

Anybody who reads this blog knows where I fall on the gay marriage issue, but the Supreme Court of California wasn’t reallly deciding the validity of gay marriage itself, so the ruling was actually dead on in my opinion.
This article from Bloomberg points out why…
The court legalized gay marriage a year ago before California voters [...]

“Having two parents who can feel and express love for each other, and give it in abundance to their children, that’s what matters. It doesn’t matter what the identities of those parents are.”
- Heidi Nortonsmith, one of the original gay couples to marry in Massachusetts in 2004.
Here’s more about how things have gone for the [...]

Take a look at the following at see how many of these you agree with.
From ABC:
Support for gay marriage, legalizing illegal immigrants and decriminalizing marijuana all are at new highs. Three-quarters of Americans favor federal regulation of greenhouse gases. Two-thirds support establishing relations with Cuba.
But hold tight.
If some views that may be perceived as liberal [...]

I’m telling you, it’s going to happen one way or another, and now it seems to be tipping away from civil unions and towards full marriage rights.
In fact, a new NYTimes/CBS poll reveals that…

In March, 35% thought same sex couples should have no legal recognition. That numbers has dropped 7% since then.

69% of liberals support [...]

One thing to remember is that D.C.’s council only voted to recognize other state’s gay marriages. And maybe this is why they haven’t taken the next step.
Due to D.C.’s strange system of governance, the District’s laws are subject to approval by Congress. If D.C. passes a gay marriage ordinance, the House Committee on Oversight and [...]

And this time it was done through the legislative branch. So this is a much more significant win for equal rights advocates because people can’t pin this on “activist” judges.
From WCAX:
The Vt. Senate voted to override the governor’s veto of the same-sex marriage bill. This morning, the Senate voted 23 to 5 to override that [...]

A speech from the Senate Majority Leader in Iowa sums it up pretty succinctly…

This is why I’m telling folks that the marriage between the social conservatives and the fiscal conservatives is done. Because this next generation of voters favors progressive social policy in bigger numbers than any other generation in history. And fiscal conservatives ignore [...]

As I’ve stated on this blog before, I wish government would get out of the business of marriage altogether and simply grant people civil unions. That way it’s a legal contract and then anybody can get a marriage in the religious institution of their choice thus creating a very clear separation of church and state. [...]

Douglas W. Kmiec, a high profile lawyer in the Reagan and Poppy Bush administrations, lays out what he thinks is the solution to this gay marriage mess.
Essentially, get the government out of the business of religious marriage, and instead create civil unions for all that are legally recognized by the government. That way you have [...]

As usual, he’s pitch perfect…

Yes, the idea that increased African American turnout may have helped passed this ridiculous discrimination so tragically ironic it hurts. I mean…69% supported this ban? In California?? Really???
Truly crazy stuff. And it proves, yet again, that discrimination knows no color and we have a long, long way to go before we [...]

I thought California’s Proposition 8 would fail and California would become the first state where the voters themselves actually voiced approval for gay marriage. Obviously, I was wrong.
Turns out the progressive coalition that swept Barack Obama into office is not so progressive, at least not on the issue that many on the left consider the [...]

Same-sex marriage is now legal in Connecticut by decree of the state’s supreme court.
Once again, a matter that should be decided through the democratic process is usurped by the courts.
What’s really unfortunate is that Connecticut was the first state to allow civil unions not because of a court order, but because of a [...]

And fittingly, the very first one was performed for a couple how had been together 15 years and helped start this movement in California.
Here’s their story from the LA Times:
In Los Angeles County, longtime partners Diane Olson and Robin Tyler were the first and only same-sex couple to obtain a license Monday. [...] Olson and [...]

As you all know by now, the march towards universally allowed gay marriage continued today. From my understanding, the specifics of the California case create a legal pathway to gay marriage without actually mandating the legalization of the practice. So I want to be clear, this post is inspired by today’s ruling but is not [...]

Well done…
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The California Supreme Court has overturned a ban on gay marriage, paving the way for California to become the second state where gay and lesbian residents can marry.
The case involved a series of lawsuits seeking to overturn a voter- approved law that defines marriage as a union between a man [...]