Marriage Equality

On Tuesday, Maine residents will have their say in the nationwide debate over gay marriage. Voters there will decide whether to repeal a law that would allow gay marriage. The law was passed by the Legislature and signed by Democratic Gov. John Baldacci last May but has never taken effect. If voters reject the measure, […]

The debate over same-sex marriage continues as lawmakers in the nation’s capital are set to continue hearing public testimony today. More than 150 people are expected to testify before the council on Monday. It will be the second of two public hearings on the legislation. Last month, D.C. Council member David Catania – one of […]

One year after California’s electorate ended same-sex marriage in the Golden State, voters in Maine are preparing to decide whether to allow gay nuptials. To avoid another defeat, supporters of same-sex marriage were ramping up their grassroots efforts in advance of Tuesday’s vote on the proposed “people’s veto.” Only if the initiative, known as Question […]

A SkyWest Airlines baggage agent who married his partner last year after the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex unions says the airline is breaking state law by refusing to give his husband the free fares it provides to heterosexual spouses. The airline says Gilbert Caldwell’s husband is his “travel companion,” entitled to fly at a […]

MSNBC. Though the Obama administration calls the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) discriminatory, the Justice Department nonetheless is defending the law in a court filing today in Massachusetts. The state has challenged the law, which denies federal marriage benefits to same-sex couples who are nonetheless legally married under state law. Massachusetts officials say the […]

Rachel Maddow spoke with Maine’s Governor John Baldacci Thursday night about the attempt to repeal Maine’s same-sex marriage law, enacted in May, but up for a vote in next Tuesday’s election. Not too long ago, Baldacci stood against gay marriage, but has since had a change of heart, saying “civil union is not equal to […]

Via The Daily Dish, from Andrew Sullivan at TheAtlantic.com The anti-gay forces in Maine are ramping up the “gay conspiracy to get your kids” angle in the latest wave of ads. The pro-gay forces continue on the high road. They are, in a way, almost poignant examples of the politics of fear and the politics […]

SFGate.com: Californians, in particular, are watching Maine’s same sex marriage vote closely. And some, like Demi Espinoza, Daniel Shad and Gabe Gonzalez, care so passionately about the issue that they’re giving up their vacation time to volunteer in Maine to preserve gay marriage there. Each is an organizer with Equality California and they’re helping get […]

Oscar-winning writer-director Paul Haggis has severed ties with the Church of Scientology, citing in part the church’s support for Proposition 8, the ballot measure last year that banned same-sex marriage in California. Long known for his humanitarian and civil liberties work, the Canadian-born director (“Crash” and “Million Dollar Baby”) resigned from the organization in a […]

Same-sex marriage will be the subject of two separate public hearings Monday in the District of Columbia, with hundreds of witnesses expected to testify. The D.C. Board of Elections & Ethics is scheduled to hold a hearing Monday morning on a voter initiative aimed at banning same-sex marriage. Bishop Harry Jackson, a Maryland minister who […]