New York

Gay rights advocates from Wall Street to Hollywood poured donations into the budgets of four little-known Republican state senators after the lawmakers provided the decisive votes for same-sex marriage in New York last June, according to new campaign finance filings. Independent Bloomberg co-hosted a fund-raiser for the four Republicans, and contributed $10,000 to each. Maryland, New Jersey, and Washington state are expected to consider marriage equality legislation this year.

[via NYT]

Hawaii and Delaware join the list of states which recognize same-sex civil unions. Illinois, New Jersey, and Rhode Island already recognize civil unions providing state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples. Six other states and Washington, D.C. allow same-sex marriage - creating a patchwork of U.S. legislation for same-sex couples who want to legalize their unions. Marriage licenses are given to same-sex couples in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and D.C. California's struggle for marriage equality is stayed pending an appeal.

Before killing himself recently, a high school freshman talked to his mother about being gay, and he contributed an online video to “It Gets Better”. But the teasing that followed him was relentless. “Years ago, drunken driving wasn't viewed as a big deal, even though it has the potential to kill people. What we're doing with bullying is changing people's perception of it,” said a rep for NY state Senator Jeffrey Klein (pic), who supports legislation to stop cyber-bullying.

A cool straight couple recently brought their 4-year-old twins [Emily and Sophie] to Brooklyn Borough Hall and the kids offered to be flower girls for whoever might need them. Their father Steve said, "As adults, we view marriage equality as our generation's civil rights struggle and wanted to be there at the making of history and to have our daughters watch and participate in this very special occasion...We didn't know anyone getting married but thought it would be fun and interesting. It was very exciting and emotional for all."

Clerks in New York have begun processing same-sex marriages. The first couples got married in every corner of the state, from Niagara Falls to the capital in Albany to Long Island. In Manhattan alone, about 100 couples waited in line on a very hot day for the chance to exchange vows at the city clerk's office. New York became the sixth, and largest, state to allow gay marriages last month.

[via The AP]

A report released by UCLA's Williams Institute shows a forty percent increase in households headed by same-sex couples in New York state over the last ten years. In the 2010 census, more than 65,000 households reported as same-sex couples, or about nine out of every 1,000 homes in the state.

"My hunch, based on past census data reporting, is that people feel dramatically more comfortable giving a true report of their household composition," Lis Maurer, LGBT program director at Ithaca College, said.

The Republican senators who voted to legalized marriage equality have seen an infusion in campaign cash from gay-rights activists across the country, records filed with the state Board of Elections show. Sens. James Alesi of Perinton, Monroe County; Mark Gristani of Buffalo and Roy McDonald of Saratoga all received at least $50,000 from gay-right supporters in the days following their vote. The four Republican senators are expected to face strong opposition from conservatives when they plan to seek re-election next year.