Loganotron

New Jersey Senate to Consider Gay Marriage bill next week. Will they get a bill to Corzine before the end of his term? Fingers crossed.

New York Senate Kills Gay Marriage Bill 38-24. Will Patterson force the issue again? Probably not if the votes aren’t there.

The state of Washington’s domestic partner law (everything but marriage) went into effect this week. This is big news and gives tons of rights to gay and lesbian couples, much like California’s domestic partnership law.

Washington, D.C. approves same-sex marriage bill in first of two necessary procedural votes. Congress is unlikely to block the bill going into effect. Again, fingers crossed.

Ireland to consider Civil Partnership bill. There will be some resistance, but it has a fighting chance.

And finally, a news item that’s not related to gay marriage but is still pretty awesome: John Perez, an openly gay politician, might become the first gay Speaker of the California Assembly. We wish him luck.

This is a cool video featuring marriage equality front and center. The song is “Finally” performed by Adam Joseph.

Via my buddy Scriptor on Twitter.

He makes some good points.

New York Governor Patterson has called a special session of the Legislature for next Tuesday. On the agenda will be same-sex marriage.

Also, anti-gay bigots have been feeling like hot shit after their Maine win. Unfortunately, that means they might be considering a repeal of New Hampshire’s gay marriage law too. Oy vey, here we go again.

The voters in Washington state passed Referendum 71 yesterday which allows the state’s “Everything by Marriage” bill to go into effect. The new law will be similar to California’s domestic partners law which grants gay and lesbian couples all of the state-wide rights and responsibilities of marriage, without calling it “marriage.”

Unfortunately, Maine voters rejected the new gay marriage law that the Governor and state Legislature had approved. Question 1 asked voters whether they wanted gays to get married or not. Mainers said “No” 53 to 47 percent. Those numbers look awfully familiar. (California’s Prop 8 spread was 52 to 48.)

I feel that we are just about a five or ten years too early to be winning in the court of public opinion. We have some courts on our side, and even a few legislatures and governors. But, if we keep getting our rights put before the people for a popularity contest, I fear that we won’t fare much better than this for a while.

Oh, and any chance we might have had at having New Jersey finally convert from civil unions to full marriage was thwarted when uber-conservative Chris Christie beat out incumbent Jon Corzine last night.

Via the AP:

Is Argentina ready to become Latin America’s first nation to legalize gay marriage?

Gay and lesbian activists think so — and they have a growing number of supporters in Congress, which opened debate Thursday on whether to change dozens of laws that define marriage as a union between a “man and woman.”

“We can’t expect social equality if the state is legitimizing inequality,” said Maria Rachid, president of Argentina’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Federation. “We now have the social and political context necessary to change the law.”

…

Argentina’s capital established its gay-friendly reputation in 2002 by becoming the first Latin American city to legalize same-sex civil unions. Four other Argentine cities later did the same, and such unions also now are recognized in Mexico City and some Mexican and Brazilian states. Uruguay alone has legalized civil unions nationwide.

Canada is the only nation in the Americas where gay marriage is now legal; in the Spanish-speaking world, only Spain has taken this additional step.

In case you missed this on every other gay blog covering it today. It’s pretty powerful. I got a little teary-eyed watching it.

When and where can I see this? I want tickets.

Good for you Arnold. Via the Sacramento Bee:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed two gay rights bills, one honoring late activist Harvey Milk and another recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.

In the last of hundreds of bill actions taken before midnight Sunday, Schwarzenegger approved the two bills by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.

The governor last year vetoed the measure declaring May 22 a state day of recognition for Milk, suggesting that the former San Francisco supervisor be honored locally. But he subsequently named him to the California Hall of Fame.

Leno’s SB 54, meanwhile, requires California to recognize marriages performed in other states where same sex marriage is legal.

In a signing message, Schwarzenegger said California will not recognize the couples as married but will “provide the same legal protections that would otherwise be available to couples that enter into civil unions or domestic partnerships out-of-state. In short, this measure honors the will of the People in enacting Proposition 8 while providing important protections to those unions legally entered into in other states.”

From the CNN.com:

“Obama, I know you are listening,” pop star Lady Gaga told the crowd, before shouting, “Are you listening? We will continue to push you and your administration to bring your words of promise to a reality.”

New Rule: Everyone deserves equal rights.

And when they get out there on Sunday, Gay Nation also needs to do everything in their power to scare the hell out of right-wing homophobes. I want to see you guys rollerblading down the Mall in nothing but a speedo and a nun’s habit, holding a sparkler in one hand and a penis popsicle in the other.

Okay, let me break it down for you. Gay marriage is being challenged at the voting booth yet again. This time the battlefield is Maine. Remember Prop 8? This time it’s called Question 1. Same thing, different state.

Gay marriage in Maine needs our help. I just dug into my savings account and donated because I know that it’s that freaking important. I even got a little emotional as I did it. Deja vu perhaps… Donate or volunteer here.

Here’s the history: Maine’s Governor signed a law that legalized gay marriage earlier this year. The National Organization for Marriage (aka NOM – the group who did the Gathering Storm YouTube video) immediately put forth a statewide a ballot initiative called Question 1. This is shaping up exactly like Prop 8. In fact, the anti-gay marriage folks have even hired the same firm who ran the Yes on Prop 8 campaign.

We have a real chance to win this one. Can you imagine if the Maine Legislature, the Governor, and then the Maine citizens all affirm gay marriage? It would be tremendous for the momentum of the gay marriage movement. If we lose, it could be devastating. Imagine the nasty precedent: First California then Maine revoking the rights of gays and lesbians to marry. The message to the courts and lawmakers: The people just don’t want gay marriage.

Even the guy running the anti-gay marriage campaign in Maine agrees (via the Wash Post):

The ads in Maine are produced by the same experienced hands that turned the California vote, but Mutty said that he only wished there was more money coming in from national conservatives. “It could be the first time that they are able to win at the polls,” he said of the gay marriage advocates. “It would mean them breaking through. For us winning would mean holding them off. Maine could really blow it for them.”

So pony up! Pull yourself up out your depression and complacency if that’s where you’re still languishing after our Prop 8 defeat. Each and every one of us has to make a difference this time, and every time gay marriage is threatened!

PS. On a personal side note, Christian and I spent our third date volunteering for the No on Prop 8 campaign. Now, a year later, we are engaged in a state that won’t let us get married. I can’t imagine the same thing happening to gays and lesbians in Maine.

The momentum continues: