Quick News Round-Up

Just wanted to cover a couple of quick bullet points this morning:

• Washington State's "everything but marriage" law was signed by Gov. Gregoire, giving same-sex couples all the rights of marriage except for the word. It is considered the most sweeping DP law in the country. Per the Governor: “Despite the sameness, the absolute sameness of straight couples and gay and lesbian couples, nonetheless here in the state of Washington we saw discrimination. We saw inequality that had to be addressed.” The law will go into effect in July, though a referendum may occur in November.
• Rochelle Hamilton should win the awesomest teenager of the year. She took on Vallejo City School District over harassment after she came out... and won in a settlement. In the suit, Hamilton states that she was forced to attend a group therapy session that taught kids how not to be LGBT. The settlement includes a requirement for the district to make a more stringent anti-harassment rule, come up with a way to deal with complaints, and provide training for staff and administration. Well done.
• The Assembly of that state Nevada passed a DP law 26-14, will likely pass the Senate, but Gov. Gibbons states he will veto it (unfortunately, we do not have the votes to override). I think I also heard Nevada will be passing a sexual orientation protection bill (no gender), but I can't find the newssource.
• Obama's pick for the head of the CDC, New York's Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Friedan is drawing some heat from AIDS activist. Per Housing Works: "Frieden has simultaneously employed an authoritarian, my-way-or-the-highway approach and an unabashed secretiveness undignified of a public servant. He has excluded AIDS groups wherever possible from having input into life-and-death AIDS funding, testing, and care policymaking decisions."
• More ongoing weirdness in the Florida gay adoption ban: you still can't adopt if you're gay in Florida, but the state must recognize out of state adoptions to same-sex couples.
• And in pop culture, Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon plans to marry long-time girlfriend Christine Marinoni; and Fergie comes out as bisexual.

I know, I know, not a lot and it's real quick. Bad, bad homosexual blogger.

Marriage Equality Update

A lot is still going on, post-VT/IA/DC. Just a run down:

• California: Initially, it seemed that we would hear from the state Supreme Court on the issue of the legality of Proposition 8 on April 20th, but that has been since refuted. Keep tune to Day of Decision for updates on protest/rally planning the minute we know the decision is coming down. Expectations are low.
• Maine: The Legistlature's Judicial Committee is expecting a huge turnout next week for the hearing on two bills -- one granting equal marriage, the other granting all the rights of marriage to the state's DP Registry. They even moved the venue from one that could only seat 1300, to one that could seat almost 7000. All eyes will be watching Maine, as expectations are high for marriage next in this state.
• New Hampshire: The Senate had a few visitors yesterday -- 500 of them, in fact -- pressing the Senate Judiciary Committee to push through the marriage equality bill that has been sent to them (approved) by the Assembly. Gov. John Lynch, who supported NH's civil unions law last year, has said that the word marriage should be restricted to a man and a woman, though has not said whether he would veto this bill. DailyKos ran a bit by a blogger who had attended.
• New York: Gov. David Paterson will be proposing a bill from the gubernatorial office to the legislature ... for equal marriage. The Assembly of New York has already passed a similar bill, 85 to 61, but the Senate is questionable. The Democrats hold a narrow lead -- 32-30 -- but that doesn't guarantee its passage. Lots of backroom politics there.
• Wisconsin: The Supreme Court of WI is being asked whether or not the voter-passed Defense of Marriage Act was worded properly. The central argument, it seems, is that it went after two issues -- marriage and civil unions -- rather than just one (state law requires a referendum to only cover a single subject). Expectations are dicey, but it seems that there are plans in place for a statewide DP Registry with some of the benefits of marriage attached.
• Washington State: After huge votes in both the Senate (30-18) and House (65-32), a bill giving all the rights of marriage to legally registered domestic partners in the state. Gov. Christine Gregoire has stated that she plans to sign the bill.

In other news, it seems that marriage activists in New York and New Jersey are embarassed by the passage of equal marriage in Vermont and Iowa, and not in those states first. I think appropriately so. And the news out of the midwest?

Crickets.

Gay Marriage Horse Race

Thanks be to Queerty for this! I think we need a site that does this exclusively.