The Human Rights Campaign released financial documents today from the National Organization for Marriage (AKA NOM, the organization partially responsible for Proposition 8, California's same-sex marriage ban) that show a staggering $10,000 donation from Governor Mitt Romney's PAC prior the November election in 2008. While Romney's views on civil rights and gay marriage are not terribly surprising (as you can have surmise, the GOP presidential hopeful is staunchly against two dudes getting married), how he went about making the donation should give voters pause for concern. more ›

While Ben & Jerry's Taste The Lin-Sanity hit a mildly sour note upon its release — it initially featured fortune cookie bits, which offended some since Jeremy Lin was born here in 'Merica, so they were taken out of subsequent batches posthaste — their latest flavor, Apple-y Ever After, is sure to make better headlines and be a hit with fans of sweet treats and marriage equality. Actually, it's not really a new flavor, technically. Ben & Jerry's UK renamed their apple pie ice cream Apple-y Ever After "in an effort “to raise awareness about the importance of marriage equality." Because, you know, gay marriage is as American as apple pile. Or at least it will be. more ›

A Texas judge made her staunch stance on gay marriage publicly known on Tuesday, and her position might surprise you. Judge Tonya Parker of Dallas County made the bold decision to no longer marry couples until same-sex marriage is legal. "I do not perform them because it is not an equal application of the law. Period," she explained at a monthly meeting for the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas. more ›

A very concise and cogent "Sidebar" article in the NYT today does an excellent job of explaining the arguments that many gay rights advocates have against taking the Prop 8 challenge as far as the Supreme Court, and how one of the 9th Circuit judges managed to word the recent decision in the case in such a way that the court may be less likely to take it. more ›

A group of about 30 same-sex marriage advocates, organized by Marriage Equality USA, showed up this Valentine's Day at City Hall, accompanied by the Oakland Gay Men's Chorus, and at least a dozen people crammed themselves into the County Clerk's office in a symbolic effort to obtain marriage licenses. Eight people were detained by sheriff's deputies just before 10 a.m., but were quickly released. more ›

After winning approval from both the Washington state House and Senate in recent weeks, a historic piece of gay-marriage legislation went before Washington governor Chris Gregoire today for her signature. Signing the bill in the presence of multiple gay-rights activists, Gregoire said, "I'm proud our same-sex couples will no longer be treated as separate but equal." Opponents are vowing to fight the law before it's set to take effect June 7, but this was nonetheless a big victory for the cause of gay marriage, which frequently finds itself being fought in courts and via ballot measures, rather than arising wholly out of a state legislature — as it did last year in New York. more ›

While the pundits, legal analysts, and holders of J.D.s pore over the 128 pages of text in the Ninth Circuit Court's decision this morning, we bring you our very favorite arguments for ruling Prop 8. unconstitutional. Presented by the Judges of the Ninth Circuit, in their own pop-culture referencing words: more ›

Gay marriage supporters and anyone with an ounce of common sense and normal human decency are expecting another major turning point in the fight to overturn Proposition 8 tomorrow morning. The decision on whether or not California's ban on same-sex marriages is legal under the U.S. Constitution will be made around 10 a.m. tomorrow morning when the Ninth Circuit Court is scheduled to release their decision. During earlier oral arguments, the LA Times reports, the three-judge panel "appeared to be leaning toward" siding with Judge Vaughn Walker's 2010 decision ruling Prop 8 unconstitutional. more ›

So, yeah. Prop 8. It's still being kicked back and forth around the courts like a bullied gay child on an unfriendly playground, and today it goes back to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals after several procedural questions were settled by lower courts this year. Onetime SFister Matt Baume, now vlogging for the American Foundation for Equal Rights, brings us this handy primer (with visual aids!) on where the case has been and where it's headed. Yes, it will likely be punted to the Supreme Court at some point, but when is the big question — and will SCOTUS even care to hear it? more ›

The California Supreme Court ruled today that the sponsors of Proposition 8, the California same-sex marriage ban, are now allowed to defend their anti-gay measure in court, "a ruling likely to spur federal courts to decide the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans." more ›

The California Supreme Court has announced that at 10 a.m. Thursday (tomorrow), they'll be issuing a ruling regarding the standing of the assorted plaintiffs in the appeal to uphold Prop 8. The court is a couple weeks early on this one — most legal wonks expected this in December — and as we discussed earlier, they are more than likely to rule unanimously in favor of allowing the case to go forward to the Ninth Circuit. Let us explain again for those just tuning in. more ›

Today was another big day in court for the backers of Prop 8, who remain unhappy that federal judge Vaughn Walker did not agree with their view that homosexual marriage constitutes a horrible, civilization-destroying movement bent on ruining the blessedness of marriage for everyone. The California Supreme Court today heard arguments on the procedural question that has hung over the case for the past ten months since Walker's ruling came down: Can a few average citizens appeal a ruling regarding a ballot initiative, on behalf of the citizenry, even though the state itself does not care to appeal. As predicted by a number of legal experts, the seven justices all appear to say yes, they can. more ›

Texas Governor and “States' Rights Stalwart,” Rick Perry, signed the National Organization for Marriage’s Pledge in an attempt to further endear his presidential campaign to the rightest voters of 2012. By signing this, all-around-sweetheart Perry vows to support a federal amendment banning same-sex marriage. more ›

In what could be a minor blow to the cause of gay-marriage haters, U.S. District Chief Judge James Ware has notified lawyers in the ongoing Prop 8 battle that he'd like to videotape the hearing on August 29 at which he will be deciding whether to make public the digital video recordings made by Judge Vaughn Walker in the earlier federal trial. Judge Walker hoped to upload and/or live-stream video of the earlier trial, a plan that was quashed by the Supreme Court. It was announced last month that when the Prop 8 appeal hearing comes to the California Supreme Court on September 6, that hearing will be televised. more ›

When the battle over California's same-sex marriage ban heads to the California Supreme Court in San Francisco on September 6, TV cameras will be rolling. SF Appeal notes: "Court spokeswoman Lynn Holton said that because of public interest in the case, the court has approved a live statewide television broadcast of the arguments on the California Channel, a public affairs network." more ›

Dustin Lance Black, Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Milk and a board member of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, will bring California's same-sex marriage brouhaha to the Great White Way. His new Prop 8 drama will hit the Broadway stage later this year with the title 8. New York Times reports: "Roughly a dozen people from the trial are portrayed as characters, including Theodore B. Olson and David Boies, the lawyers for the two gay couples who sued California over the ban; Charles J. Cooper, the lead defense counsel; Kristin M. Perry and Sandra B. Stier, a lesbian couple who were among the plaintiffs; and the judge, Vaughn R. Walker of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California." more ›

Chief Judge Ware has ruled against anti-marriage ilk, throwing out the inane argument that Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling against Prop 8 was unconstitutional since he is a homosexual." Their complaints, if you recall, were that Judge Walker's ruling "should be invalidated based on the fact that he had a bias in the case, being himself a gay man who potentially wanted to be legally married." more ›

Supporters of Prop 8, who are still fighting a losing battle in the California courts over an unconstitutional law that neither the governor nor the attorney general care to support, are back in federal court today in San Francisco to air their complaints about Judge Vaughn Walker, the man who first ruled that Prop 8 was unconstitutional. Their complaints are that Judge Walker's ruling should be invalidated based on the fact that he had a bias in the case, being himself a gay man who potentially wanted to be legally married; and they have a separate complaint about Walker's use of videos of the trial in public speeches, claiming the video was supposed to be sealed after the trial. more ›

Here's a little taste of the Proposition 8 hearing coming up on Monday in San Francisco -- high-power attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies (conservative and liberal, respectively) just released a video about how the Prop 8 case mirrors the landmark case that legalized interracial marriage, 1967's Loving v. Virginia. The two attorneys (and unlikely allies) talk about how the Loving case set a major precedent for the current fight for same-sex marriage and civil rights. more ›

A new day, a new ruling in California's discriminatory anti-gay law. "A federal appeals court Wednesday turned down a bid by two same-sex couples to allow gay marriages to resume in California while their legal case is pending," reports BCN (via KTVU). "A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a brief order turning down the couples' request that the panel lift a stay of a lower court ruling that allowed same-sex marriages." So, there you have it: no same-sex marriage. For now. more ›

Jerry Brown may have refused to defend Proposition 8 in front of the 9th Circuit and Harris has previously said she would do the same, but today she has gone ahead and taken the next step after slipping in to the former Attorney General's shoes. Today, Harris submitted a petition asking the appeals court to resume allowing same-sex marriage while they continue working through whether or not Proposition 8 was constitutionally legal to begin with. It's not much yet, but we like where her head is at. more ›

After news broke that Obama will no longer defend DOMA (Defense Of Marriage Act), Rep. Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco/San Maeo) released the following statement: more ›

Word just came down from the White House that President Obama's administration will,, according to KRON 4 Morning News, "no longer defend a constitutional clause that bans the recognition of same-sex marriage." Which is to say, Obama will not defend DOMA. We'll update as soon as we hear more. more ›

Working with the Human Rights Campaign's New Yorkers for Marriage Equality, former President George W. Bush's daughter Barbara released a video supporting gay marriage in New York. In the video, Barbara Bush, 29, says, "Everyone should have the right to marry the person that they love." more ›

JoeMyGod has some shocking, yet not so surprising, news on the same-sex marriage front: "Pastor Tom Daniels of Rio Linda, California is being held on $6M bail after being charged with multiple felony counts of sexual assault on a child." Lavender Newswire notes that that the Baptist pastor "twice made donations to Protect Marriage, the backers of Proposition 8." more ›