On March 3, 2009, GLAD, with Mary Bonauto acting as lead attorney, opened the first salvo in the battle to overturn the federal Defense of Marriage Act. In particular, GLAD is challenging Section 3 of the law, which denies federal benefits to married same-sex couples. Here’s what The Progress Report, from the Center for America [...]

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Patricia A. Gozemba
Brad Ka’iwi Lum became the first Native Hawaiian chanter and kumu hula (teacher of hula) to speak out in favor of HB 444 for Civil Unions at a hearing of the Hawaii Senate Judiciary Committee on February 24th. In coming out as a gay man he broke a long silence in his own [...]

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Last week, America voted for hope, not fear. For peace, not war. For love, not hatred. The election of Barack Obama represents what is best in the American spirit—fairness, equality, respect for hardworking people, a belief in a better tomorrow. It has been a long time coming. As Obama has said again and again over [...]

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Thanks to our good friends at Two Rivers Circle Productions and Aboriginal Lens, the story of LGBT people winning marriage equality is now available in a 5-minute documentary video. Using the photos from our book, the filmmakers created a video that will warm your heart—and hopefully move the hearts and minds of voters on November [...]

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by Pat Gozemba
Rep. Byron Rushing (D-Boston) first alerted me that the 1913 law prohibiting out-of-state gay and lesbian couples from getting married in Massachusetts would soon be history. Rushing the great African American leader of all civil rights causes in our state was out in front of even the gay movement in announcing [...]

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Brian Jewell is right when he notes in his Bay Windows article, The bliss off, the Peabody Essex Museum “Wedded Bliss” exhibit doesn’t explicitly address same-sex marriage. Nonetheless, it does an exceptional job of including art that both celebrates and critiques this central social institution. One of my favorites is a piece by Robert Boyd [...]

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    Aaron Toleos is my new hero. On June 7th at the Massachusetts Democratic Convention, Toleos stood up for all of us and confronted Massachusetts Senator John Kerry about his continuing lame position on marriage equality.
    The next day, the Boston Sunday Globe reported the David and Goliath scenario this way:
A delegate was escorted off [...]

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Pretty big numbers. Pretty huge victories. We are becoming part of “We the people.” 
As Massachusetts celebrates four years of marriage equality, 60 million Americans now live in three states where gay marriages are recognized. California’s high court and New York’s governor made it possible for millions more Americans to opt for marriage–and have their marriages recognized and [...]

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On Monday, May 20, the Boston Globe published this letter from Courting Equality author Karen Kahn:
CONGRATULATIONS TO California and all its lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens who have been recognized as equal citizens by the state’s Supreme Court. The California court affirmed its 1948 Perez decision recognizing that the choice of one’s marriage partner [...]

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In May 17 article, following the California Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of same-sex marriage, Elizabeth Mehren of the LA Times reminds readers that after 4 years, Massachusetts has shown the world that same-sex marriage does not bring with it the collapse of civilization. Mehren talked with Karen Kahn, co-author of Courting Equality, and quoted her at length:
  In a [...]

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