Mayoral candidate Dennis Herrera's kid, Declan, wrote a letter to President Obama about the importance of making same-sex marriage legal. And it's totally cute! And sweet. And wildly accurate. It reads: "I think same sex marriage should be allowed because people love each other, then they should be able to get married no matter what. Just because they're a male or female doesn't meant they shouldn't be able to get married. because eveyobody' is differnt in one way or another. No person is exactly the same." 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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, an anti-gay and mentally-unhinged traditional marriage activist, argues that the rainbow symbol, once a prism of God or whatever, should be reclaimed by confused proponents of Proposition 8, California's same-sex marriage ban. more ›

The upcoming appeals court hearing on California’s same-sex marriage ban will be televised. "The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal announced Wednesday that it had granted C-Span permission to carry the Dec. 6 proceedings in San Francisco live, " reports AP. "The decision makes it possible for millions to see firsthand the two-hour hearing set for December 6, said Yousef Robb with the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which opposes Proposition 8." The live telecast will also show future generations a harrowing and shameful moment in California history when unbridled stupidity and prejudice almost wormed its way into the state constitution. [CBS 5] more ›

Deja vu. National Organization of Marriage (NOM), an anti-gay group with strong ties to the Mormon church and icky thoughts about men having anal sex, unleashed another ignorant (or intentionally misleading) ad about--you guessed it--gay marriage. This one involves the state of Iowa. The video is fearful and perverse, nothing unusual for NOM. more ›

Gay marriage stay was granted by 9th Circuit Court while the constitutionality of the state's gay marriage ban is bandied about. Brian Devine at Calitics notes: "[T]he panel that issued this Order (the motions panel) is not the same panel that will hear that case on the merits. The merits panel will be selected shortly before December 6th and we don't know the three judges who will be on the merits panel. But this is a very good sign that the appeal could be dismissed on the ground of standing alone." For now, this means no same sex weddings anytime soon -- until DecemberGod knows when. [Calitics] more ›

Judge Vaughn Walker, the federal judge who last week overturned Proposition 8, California's same sex marriage ban, issued a ruling to lift the stay on same sex marriage in California. The majority of the crowd gathered at City Hall, as expected, is elated. more ›

A few Yes On 8 protesters gathered outside San Francisco City Hall today to voice their anti-gay marriage stance. They also made these lovely blouses crafted out of anti-gay marriage banners. Fancy. more ›

San Francisco is gearing up to marry people. But they need volunteers! Might you be one of them? SF Appeal reports, "Sometime in the next week or so, Judge Walker is expected to issue a very short ruling saying that the current hold on same sex marriage (called a 'stay') will either either remain in place through the appeal process (which could be many months), or will rule to lift it and allow same sex marriages to be performed in California." Which is to say, same-sex couples could get married (legally!) as soon as a few hours or a few weeks or a few months. But said ceremonies will have to be done fast before the 9th Circuit court reinforces the stay. more ›

Proposition 8 has been ruled unconstitutional, according to New York Magazine who had early word on today's ruling... more ›

For those of you following the case closely, here is today's closing argument schedule: more ›

The campaign against Proposition 8 just got a surprising new supporter. Cindy McCain, the wife of Senator John McCain, who ran for president on a platform opposing gay marriage, has come out in support of the cause. She posed for the NOH8 campaign, duck tape and all. So let's get this all straight, Bush and Clinton are pals (or, if illuminati fanboys are correct, have been since the dawn of time), Massachusetts went red, and then this...what's going on in politics right now? [Amy Crocker; Image: NoH8Campaign] more ›

Typically viewed as one of the more conservative slabs of land bordering California's coast, San Diego used to have a comparatively bad track-record when it came to tolerance and civil rights. But today, the breezy town with a right-wing bent showed more of its human side when Mayor Jerry Sanders, a Republican, took the witness stand of behalf of the couples suing to overturn Prop 8, the state's bigoted, albeit voter-approved, gay marriage ban. more ›

Dr. William Tam, a defendant-intervener and staunch proponent of Prop 8, wanted to be excused from the federal same-sex marriage trial now in progress. It seems he feared for his and his family's life. We can see why. Our sister site LAist has a disturbing letter Tam sent out on behalf of Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California. Yesterday, during the redirect examination of Yale Professor George Chauncey (an expert on gay discrimination) by SF Deputy City Attorney Therese Stewart, the video taped deposition (from December 1st, 2009) of Tam was shown. Here are some (horrifying) selections: more ›

Because anti-gay Prop 8 sponsors are scared for their well-being -- and only their own -- the Supreme Court decided today to indefinitely ban cameras from the courtroom in the ongoing federal same-sex marriage trial. "The high court split 5-4 Wednesday, with the conservative justices in the majority," reported the LA Times. This means one of the most historic trials in California history will not be recorded. (To follow what's going on during the trial, please visit Prop8TrialTracker.com; to see who in San Francisco donated to Proposition 8, please visit EightMaps) more ›

After opening statements during today's federal same-sex marriage trial were done, the courtroom turned tense when the religious right's preferred argument angle came into play: the children. more ›

Prop8TrialTracker.com has comprehensive updates of what's going on in the courtroom today as the first federal gay marriage trial takes flight. (A camera to eventually broadcast delayed YouTube footage of the trial, if you recall, was barred from the courtroom early this morning.) more ›

Around 100-plus people are protesting outside San Francisco's federal courthouse as the first federal trial for California’s gay marriage ban begins. more ›

At 9 a.m. today, the first federal trial to see "if the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from outlawing same-sex marriage" starts in San Francisco. The trial is expected to last anywhere from two to three weeks. more ›

U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled today that he will allow cameras to broadcast next week's lawsuit that challenges California's vile same-sex marriage ban. While broadcasting federal trials used to be verboten, "last month a federal appeals court judicial council authorized a pilot program to broadcast some non-jury civil trials in western states," making the same-sex marriage trial, starting on January 11, "the first to be broadcast under the new rule." more ›

Proving smarter and more forward-thinking than the state of California, Mexico City legalized same-sex marriage today. AP reports that it's the first city in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage, "a change that will give homosexual couples more rights, including allowing them to adopt children." more ›