Despite the ratification of California's Proposition 8 and the brouhaha surrounding Miss California Carrie Prejean, things have been looking up lately for people interested in marrying someone of the same gender (and those just interested in protecting the right to marry whomever you choose but still down with hetero-normative relationships... like Brad Pitt). And, for the most part, the East Coast has been leading the way. With their stuffed shirts, ascots and comfortable shoes for yachting, residents of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Maine and Iowa are the states that find gay marriage most agreeable*.

But the new … Read More

It could just be our imagination, but it seems like the gay marriage movement keeps pushing forward. With one more state allowing same-sex marriage, one former federal official supporting same-sex marriage and a plethora of other states also tackling the issue, news on the topic is not likely to taper off anytime soon. Maybe more officials will stop being Dick... Cheneys and actually follow the former veep's lead. 

New Hamsphire legalizes same-sex marriage

The Granite State became the sixth state in the nation to allow same-sex marriage after a revised bill passed the legislature on Wednesday. Gov. John Lynch signed the … Read More

David Hyde Pierce, who played fussy psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on Frasier for eleven seasons and won four Emmys for his work, appeared on The View last Thursday to discuss his recent marriage, to TV producer Brian Hargrove, and last week's decision by the California Supreme Court to ban future gay marriages. "I was sitting in front of my television wondering, 'Gee, I hope it's okay the Supreme Court thinks I'm married.' Excuse me, it's none of your business," he said.

David and Brian were married in October, 25 years into their relationship. David had previously spent years being … Read More

Since gay couples can't have children, they shouldn't marry. Or so goes the ruling in more than a few states.

So far, same-sex marriage is only legal in three states: Connecticut, Massachusetts and Iowa. Although it will be legal in Vermont on September 1, and in Maine on September 14, the rest of the country is convinced that gay marriage is a contradiction in terms.

If the purpose of marriage, they say, is  to make babies, then how can anyone other than a man and a women be legally married? Read More

Cynthia Nixon and her longtime girlfriend, Christine Marinoni, have gotten engaged, The Insider reports. The Sex and the City star announced their plans to marry at a rally for marriage equality on Sunday in New York. Nixon and Marinoni have been together since 2003, when Nixon and boyfriend Danny Mozes, the father of her two children, split up.

Governor David Paterson has introduced a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in New York. If it's passed the state will join Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Iowa in extending marriage equality to all … Read More

Wanda Sykes, who brought the house down at Saturday's White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, didn't show a bit of the exhaustion she must have been feeling. The Curb Your Enthusiasm star's wife of seven months, Alexandra, gave birth to fraternal twins on April 27, and we have heard that two-week-old babies can be a lot of work, so we now have even more respect for the splendid performance she turned in at the dinner.

Wanda and Alex named their new son Lucas Claude and daughter Olivia Lou, which are super adorable and normal baby names that … Read More

Is New York ready for same-sex marriage?

Gov. David Paterson thinks so.

Paterson announced a proposal today to allow same-sex marriage in the Empire State.

Accompanied by political leaders, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, he framed the issue as a matter of equality.

"I'm introducing a bill to bring marriage equality to the state of New York,'' the Associated Press quoted Paterson saying. Paterson listed a whopping 1,350 civil protections same-sex couples are denied that straight couples have.

"Rights should not be stifled by fear. What we should understand is that silence should not be a response to injustice. And that … Read More

Hot on the heels of last week's Iowa Supreme Court ruling that a ban on gay marriage there was unconstitutional, Vermont has also legalized same-sex marriage.The New England state, which in 2000 became the first in the country to adopt civil unions for gay couples, came to the decision today when the Vermont Legislature successfully overrode Governor Jim Douglas's veto of a bill allowing gay couples to marry.In order to override the governor's veto, the house needed a two-thirds vote. Last week, they came up four votes shy. But today, they managed to achieve the exact number required when … Read More

The Iowa Supreme Court struck down a same-sex marriage ban today, making Iowa the third state where same-sex marriage is legal. The Atlantic reported, "Iowa's Supreme Court ruled that the state cannot prohibit same-sex couples from seeking marriage licenses."

Across the pond, the Swedish Parliament voted that as of May 1, same-sex marriages will be granted there as well. The law was passed by 226 votes to 22, according to BBC News.

"The decision means that gender no longer has an impact on the ability to marry and that the law on registered partnership is repealed," the Swedish … Read More

Last week, tens of thousands of people across the country came out in support of same-sex marriage after California voters passed Proposition 8, which nullified previously legal unions. From New York City to Minneapolis, D.C. to San Francisco, gay marriage supporters turned out in huge crowds to protest the ballot initiative that passed in California on Nov. 4.

Mormon temples have been the site of many protests, as the faith rallied around Prop 8, although some in the gay rights movement are quick to point out that Mormons should not become the only scapegoat.

Comedian Wanda Sykes even came out … Read More