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“It's difficult to find joy in the fact that our state's highest court didn’t forcibly 'divorce' the couples who were married last year,” Jacobs said. “There can be no doubt that our outrage would be considerably greater had those marriages been invalidated, but there is no cause for celebration. The bottom line is that justice and equality did not prevail today for anyone, and the Court has declared that Californians can simply vote to strip away even the most fundamental rights to equality enjoyed by their friends, family and neighbors.”

Read The Court's Opinion Here...

Vermont Legalizes Gay Marriage with Veto Override
April 7, 2009 -- Vermont , the state that invented civil unions, on Tuesday became a pioneer once again as the first state to legalize gay marriage through a legislature's vote. The House barely achieved the votes necessary to override Gov. Jim Douglas' veto of a bill that will allow gays and lesbians to marry beginning September 1. Four states now have same-sex marriage laws and other states soon could follow suit.
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Iowa Court Voids Gay Marriage Ban
April 4, 2009 -- DES MOINES, Iowa -- Same-sex couples will be allowed to marry in Iowa by month’s end, after a ruling on Friday by the Iowa Supreme Court that found unconstitutional a state law limiting marriage to a man and a woman.

The unanimous decision moved the heated battle over same-sex marriage beyond the East and West Coasts to the nation’s middle. Only Massachusetts and Connecticut now allow same-sex marriages, while California permitted them for about six months before voters approved a ban in November.

“We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective,” Justice Mark S. Cady wrote for the seven-member court, adding later, “We have a constitutional duty to ensure equal protection of the law.”

Opponents of same-sex marriage pledged to fight the outcome, but acknowledged that there appeared to be no immediate way to undo it. The only avenue would be a constitutional amendment, but under Iowa law that process would take at least two years.
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Judge: Anti-Gay Marriage Donors Must Be Public
Jan. 29, 2009 -- SACRAMENTO -- A federal judge denied a request to keep the names of donors to California's anti-gay marriage initiative secret, saying the public has a right to know who's giving money to state ballot measures.

Supporters of the initiative, which was approved by voters in November, had sought a preliminary injunction to hide the identities of those who contributed to their campaign. They asked the judge to block the release of late donors, who will be included in a report scheduled to be released publicly on Monday. They also asked him to order the state to remove the names of all contributors to Proposition 8, which overturned a state Supreme Court ruling allowing gay marriage.

U.S. District Judge Morrison England Jr. sided with the state. In his ruling from the bench, England said California's campaign disclosure laws are intended to protect the public and are especially important during expensive initiative campaigns.

"If there's ever a need to bring sunshine on a political issue, it is with a ballot measure," England said. Read more...

The Obama-Biden Plan: Supporting the LGBT Community
"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect." — Barack Obama, June 1, 2007
The Obama-Biden administration has made a commitment to strengthen civil rights in the U.S. and has promised to work toward full equality for LGBT Americans. To read more about what they would like to accomplish, visit change.gov/agenda/civil_rights_agenda.