A gay marriage bill that includes the religious protections sought by Governor John Lynch is expected to return for debate next week in the New Hampshire Legislature.

Senators agreed on Wednesday to negotiate a compromise with the House on the bill, opening the possibility of a return to debate on the issue as early as June 3.

The Democratically-controlled Legislature passed a final gay marriage bill earlier this month. Governor Lynch surprised supporters on both sides by agreeing to sign the bill into law so long as lawmakers strengthened language that protected churches and their workers.

Full Story from On Top Magazine – Click Here

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From our friends at Newsy.com – a video compilation of the news on Prop 8:

The California Supreme Court has spoken – but the controversy over same-sex marriage in the state isn’t over. Newsy.com takes a look.

Full Story: http://www.newsy.com/videos/california_decision_good_for_same_sex_marriage

As she lobbies members of the New York Senate these days, the politician in Christine Quinn can understand what the gay rights activist in her sometimes cannot.

“The fear of the unknown,” is how she describes it. “This is a vote they’ve never cast before. And they don’t know how people are going to react. You are in a position where people’s reaction to you is the key to your success. And the unknown creates fear and fear often creates paralysis.”

Quinn is the openly gay speaker of the New York City Council, and a proponent of legalizing same sex marriage in New York state.

Full Story from CNN – Click Here

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With the ink barely dry on the California Supreme Court’s decision upholding a ban on same-sex marriages, proponents are already preparing new political and legal efforts to overturn the ban.

But at least some pollsters and legal experts think those efforts may be too soon to have a good chance to succeed.

“I think the pro-side would have a significant challenge in 2010,” said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll. “I think it would be less of a challenge in 2012.”

Full Story from the Sacramento Bee – Click Here

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Levi’s recently took a bold step and visibly aligned its brand with those that support gay marriage rights. In company-owned stores across the country, it affixed to its mannequins the white knots that those in California and elsewhere are brandishing in rejection of a voter-approved amendment that defines marriage solely as a union between a woman and a man. The state’s Supreme Court decided earlier this week to uphold that amendment.

The jeans maker no doubt realizes that it risks alienating some consumers, but this is not the first time it has sought to align its name with a social cause. In the early 1990s it launched “Project Change” to address racism; became the first Fortune 500 company to provide domestic partnership health benefits; and stopped funding the Boy Scouts following the group’s firing of a gay scout leader. The company’s headquarters sit in San Francisco, home to arguably the country’s strongest gay community, and more recently it has sponsored MTV Networks’ gay cable channel, Logo, as well as thrown its support behind the anti-Prop 8 movement last year. Earlier this week, the company donated thousands of dollars to The National Center for Lesbian Rights and The San Francisco LGBT Community Center.

So while the white knots don’t represent a huge stretch for Levi’s, the move sets the company apart from the competition. In taking such a stand, Levi’s marks itself as an activist brand, but one that is smartly looking to build upon a movement that it sees as worthwhile and energetic. Instead of just selling to a community, it is becoming part of a community, and therein lies the key.

Full Story from PR Week – Click Here

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D.C.’s Board of Elections and Ethics announced Thursday it will hold a hearing June 10 on whether to allow a referendum to block the District of Columbia from recognizing gay marriages performed elsewhere. Activists predict a divisive battle.

“The referendum in the city will be divisive. It will be hard fought. It will be expensive,” said Ward 8 gay activist Phillip Pannell.

The D.C. Council voted earlier this month to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. Congress has until July to review the council measure, and if it takes no action the legislation becomes law.

Full Story from News8.net – Click Here

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State Senator Shirley L. Huntley, a brassy, big-haired Democrat from Queens who opposes same-sex marriage, received a call on Wednesday that left her momentarily stunned.

Maya Angelou was on the line, and she wanted to know if the senator might reconsider her position. Ms. Huntley, hardly the type to be played for a fool, at first thought her staff might be pulling a fast one.

“I said, ‘What?’ ” Ms. Huntley recalled on Thursday, adding that she was not convinced that it was Ms. Angelou until she heard her deep timbre. “I heard the voice, and I said: ‘My God. It is her.’ And that was that.”

Full Story from thw New York Times – Click Here

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“Today, where celebrations are taking place, instead are rallies, protests and marches,” said Michael Anderson inside the San Diego County Clerk’s office Wednesday afternoon, May 27. “At a time when we should be planning our weddings, we are planning a resistance. Instead of planning our vows, we must write speeches. Instead of standing at the altar, we are forced to stand for our right to be at the altar.”

Anderson and his partner of eight years, Brian Baumgartner, made themselves the focal point of San Diego’s latest protest against the passage of Proposition 8, which banned marriage between same-sex couples in California, and the May 26 decision of the California Supreme Court upholding the measure. They agreed to be the first couple to go to the clerk’s office and demand a marriage license, then sit down and refuse to leave the office after they were denied one. Other Gay and Lesbian couples, individuals (including at least two who were already legally married to same-sex partners in California during last year’s 4 1/2-month window of opportunity) and non-Queer allies joined in.

At the height of the action, over 70 people crowded into the waiting area inside the clerk’s office. According to Lisa Kove, strategic planning chair for the San Diego Equality Campaign, one of the organizations sponsoring the action, County fire marshals said there were too many people in the room for safety; and Kove, agreeing with them, did not contest it when they ordered some of the people to leave. The protesters had said throughout the day that they would not leave the building when it closed, and would accept being arrested in classic civil-disobedience fashion. In the end, however, no one was arrested and the building was cleared by 6 p.m., an hour after its usual closing time.

Full Story from Indy Bay – Click Here

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The state Senate turned down a nonbinding referendum on same-sex marriage and agreed to name a team of negotiators in hopes of reaching a new compromise.

Senate Republican Leader Peter Bragdon of Milford argued this divisive issue should go to the voters in November 2010.

“What better way to gauge the true feeling of this electorate than to ask them in a direct manner,” Bragdon said.

Full Story from The Nashua Telegraph – Click Here

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A survey of Rhode Island voters has found that 60 per cent support the introduction of a law allowing gay couples to marry.

Vermont and Maine legalised gay marriage in the last two months, while it is also legal in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

New Hampshire governor John Lynch has said he will sign a revised gay marriage bill but California’s Supreme Court this week announced that Prop 8, which banned gay marriage in the state, will be upheld.

Full Story from Pink News – Click Here

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