marriage equality

The “Celebrations” page of the Omaha World-Herald provides a place to celebrate weddings, engagements, and anniversaries. Nearby Iowa, four other states, and DC have legalized same-sex marriages. The paper announced it will publish news of marriages from those jurisdictions. The paper commissioned a poll and with findings that show a majority of Omahans support either same-sex marriages or civil unions.

In the United States, we thrive on our individuality, our independence, our right to privacy, and our right to procreate. We even thrive on our state’s individual rights as a general premise, even though under the full faith and credit clause of the U.S. Constitution, states are generally required to recognize and honor the public laws of other states.

Iowa ended a four-year decline in the number of couples getting married last year - and experts say the turnaround could have been aided in part by an April 2009 court ruling that legalized marriage equality.

Susan Stewart, associate professor of sociology at Iowa State University, said marriage rates nationally “have never been lower” so there’s a good chance the new phenomenon of same-sex marriages weighs into Iowa’s increase. “It would seem like a big coincidence if the same-sex couples getting married weren’t part of this,” she said.

Argentina legalized same-sex marriage, becoming the first country in Latin America to grant gays and lesbians all the legal rights, responsibilities and protections that marriage gives heterosexual couples.

The AP reports victory came despite a concerted campaign by the Roman Catholic Church and evangelical groups, which drew 60,000 people to march on Congress and urged parents in churches and schools to work against passage.

Sex and the City's Cynthia Nixon - out mother of two - responds to a recent Newsweek column that questioned if openly gay actors can play straight characters in film and plays. Cynthia said, "I think it's horrible. ...I just feel like it's hard enough to encourage people to come out of the closet without it affecting their careers. I think it's set us back ten years."

Meanwhile, Newsweek faces calls for a boycott and demands for an apology.

With strong backing from the Census Bureau, we are hoping for maximum participation by same-sex couples in the first U.S. census that will tally those of us who say we're married - even those without a marriage license.

For the first time, the bureau has deployed a team of professional field workers to reach-out to gays and lesbians.

The bureau unveiled its first public-service videos encouraging gay Americans to mail in their census forms.