Proposition 8

Another Big Day for Same-Sex Marriage as the Supreme Court Hears Arguments on DOMA

Following yesterday's hearing on California's Proposition 8 (whose decision will likely fall into the hands of swing vote Justice Anthony Kennedy), another case is coming through the Supreme Court this morning. The justices are hearing arguments on the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Mar ... More >>

AG Eric Schneiderman Thinks SCOTUS Should/Will Strike Down DOMA

Today, the Supreme Court will begin hearings on the cases pending constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act and Prop 8. It is the first legal step in a process that will end in June, when the Nine is expected to release its opinion to the public - one that could have drastic effects on the ri ... More >>

Supreme Court Hears Arguments Against California's Same-Sex Marriage Ban, Punts

At approximately 10:15 this morning, the U.S. Supreme Court started hearing arguments on Proposition 8, the 2008 California initiative that banned same-sex marriage in the state. It was the court's first major hearing of gay rights in 10 years, and will be followed by consideration of the Defense of ... More >>

White House Files Voluntary Amicus Brief, Demands SCOTUS Overturn Prop 8

Nothing like a Presidential push to get the ball rolling. Yesterday was the deadline for parties to file amicus curae briefs -- or "Here's what we think you should do" memos -- to the Supreme Court before the Nine hears the arguments facing DOMA and Prop 8 at the end of March. And, in this past wee ... More >>

[UPDATE]: Prop 8 and DOMA Head To The Supreme Court

UPDATE: According to the New York Times, the Supreme Court agreed this afternoon to decide on the constitutionality of the Proposition 8 appeal and the Defense of Marriage Act.It is, arguably, the most significant social battle in America's courts since Roe v. Wade or even Brown v. the Board of Educ ... More >>

Question One

Congressman Charlie Rangel's No H8-er

Manhattan Congressman Charlie Rangel may be (but definitely is) a tax cheat. But he's no hater.The congressman yesterday announced that he's joining 25 other members of Congress in their support for the NoH8 campaign, a "global art protest project" in opposition to California's Proposition 8, which ... More >>

Pack It In, Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown: the Gay Marriage Debate is Over

When you've lost the likes of Prop 8 proponent David Blankenhorn, Jutice Anthony Kennedy can't be far behind. Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage can't recover from this. Blankenhorn, who once staunchly fought to take gay marriage away from LGBT Californians ... More >>

President Obama: Will He Come Out Today For Gay Marriage?

Update: President Obama has indeed come out of the closet, telling ABC news that he does, in fact, support the right for same-sex couples to get married. Read our report, with reactions from New Yorkers, here. It's been a rough few days for President Obama on the gay marriage question, although he ... More >>

Despite Fears Of People Marrying Bacon, Washington State Legislature Passes Marriage Equality Bill

​It's turning out to be a very, very gay week for marriage. After the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that California's Prop 8 is unconstitutional, the House of Representatives of the State of Washington just passed a bill allowing same-sex marriage equality, 55 yay to 43 nay. Governor C ... More >>

BREAKING: Ninth Circuit Rules California's Prop 8 Unconstitutional

By a vote of two to one, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has just ruled that California's Proposition is unconstitutional. Simply put: even though more Californians voted for Prop 8 than not, that proposition was a violation of the constitution of the United States of America, according to the ... More >>

California Supreme Court Grants Standing in Prop 8 Case to Opponents of Same-Sex Marriage

​The California Supreme Court ruled today that opponents who sued to appeal U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's 2010 ruling, which found Prop 8 to be unconstitutional, have "standing" to do so. Walker's ruling in the case Perry v. Schwarzenegger would have, effectively, allowed same-sex marri ... More >>

Ralph Richard Banks Asks if Marriage is For White People Only

​Ralph Richard Banks is the author of the new book Is Marriage for White People? While Banks, a Stanford Law professor, was in town for an event at Cardozo Law School, we met him for lunch in the West Village to talk about why black folks marry so much less often than whites, why black women a ... More >>

Cheyenne Jackson Discusses His Future On Glee--And Getting Checked Out At The Gym

He acts, he sings, and he even talks—with me! By Michael Musto

Cheyenne Jackson On Glee, Broadway, And Getting Checked Out At The Gym

My new column is a lively Q&A with the multitalented Cheyenne Jackson, who tells me about his new movie, a couple of Broadway shows he was rejected from, one he had to turn down, and the status of his Glee character, who might or might not be bye-bye.

Activism Is Hot Again! Long Live Generation Outrage!

​Whenever people are complacent and have most of the things they need, they generally don't protest that much. It takes a jolt to ignite their asses onto the street to fight for their lives, whether it be the beginning of ACT UP in the '80s, the Million Man March in '95, the anti-war protests ... More >>

Prop 8 Backers Lose Key Fight

In a victory for gay rights, a California federal judge today rejected an attempt by Prop 8's backers to vacate Judge Vaughn Walker's previous ruling that overturned Prop 8, the Metro Weekly's Chris Geidner reports this afternoon. Prop 8's supporters had argued that because Walker was himself gay a ... More >>

Just a Few Business Days Left For Gay Marriage

Sunday will mark the 44th anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling in Loving v. Virginia, the ruling which made interracial marriage legal at the federal level. The American Foundation for Equal Rights released a video marking the occasion, a key precedent in the legal battle for gay marriage equal ... More >>

Prop 8 Defenders Go After Judge for Being in Longtime Gay Relationship

​A group in California filed a brief yesterday saying that only white judges should be able to rule on cases of racial discrimination, because black judges would be compromised in their desire for their own equal rights. Actually, they didn't. We made that up. But they might as well have. Wh ... More >>

This Week on the Gay Marriage Beat: Whoppers and Lies, Fence-sitting and Delays

​A gay couple can have a whopper of a hard time just trying to order a sandwich at Burger King, let alone trying to obtain a license to get hitched. Here are six more things you should know to keep it all straight.

This Week in Gay Marriage: Six Things You Need to Know To Keep It All Straight

​There was a flurry of activity across the United States on gay marriage this week at both the state and federal levels, from the nation's capital all the way to Honolulu. It might be harder to keep it all straight than, say, Ted Haggard on crystal meth or George Rekers with a rent boy. Here's ... More >>

Proposition 8 Decision: We Will Decide In a Year or So

The California Supreme Court made a decision today, kind of, in the ongoing case of Proposition 8, the California ballot proposal that banned gay marriage in 2008. The California Supremes decided that they will decide something in about ten months to a year. There's nothing like justice delayed, ... More >>

Scientology and Proposition 8: Debunking the Church Myth That It Stays Out of Politics

Kirstie Alley, ballot neutral.​One of the most interesting things about Lawrence Wright's recent article about Scientology in the New Yorker was the way he exposed the hypocrisies and outright lies of the wacky organization's top members and spokespeople. But there's a key assertion peddled ... More >>

Prop 8 Case Sent Back to California Supreme Court

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sent the Proposition 8 case, Perry v. Schwarzeneger, back to the California Supreme Court. In something that could potentially aid the marriage-equality side, the federal court said the state high court needs to decide if those against gay marriage equality have st ... More >>

Lose Weight With Preparation H

​I've heard for years about people who ingeniously use Preparation H to shrink the bags under their eyes, but I never imagined it would also be used to reduce one's waistline. So I was stunned when a dimpled male beauty contestant told me that he regularly smears his middle section in Prop. 8 ... More >>

'Don't Ask Don't Tell' Ruled Unconstitutional -- the Takeaway

It's been quite a summer for the Federal Courts as they've stepped in yet again on behalf of equal rights for gay Americans. After a Federal District Court in San Francisco ruled Proposition 8 was unconstitutional last month, a Federal District Court in Riverside, CA ruled last night that the U.S. m ... More >>

Gay Marriage in California Put on Hold by Appeals Court

Well, that didn't last long. After his strongly worded decision rendering California's Proposition 8 unconstitutional, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker lifted his stay last week, effective this Wednesday. Gay marriages were set to start again at 5 PM PDT tomorrow, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Ap ... More >>

Stay Lifted on Prop. 8 Decision: Gays in California Can Marry As of August 18

Judge Vaughn Walker will lift his temporary stay on last week's decision declaring Proposition 8 unconstitutional. However, as Joe My God notes, the stay won't expire until August 18. But after then, California will again become one of the few states where gay and lesbian couples can marry, at least ... More >>

Mexico Beating the US in...Gay Marriage?

Imagine if, when Washington, D.C. started licensing gay marriages earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court had told the fifty states they had to recognize them. That's essentially what happened in Mexico yesterday. In December of last year, right around the time the D.C. city council voted to all ... More >>

Prop 8, Michelle Obama, Ground Zero Mosque: Are Conservatives Basically The Honky Party?

Last week Judge Vaughn Walker's decision setting aside Prop 8 in California unleashed plenty of grumbling from rightbloggers. As it involves gay people, this was to be expected. There was also rightblogger outrage, also expected, that Michelle Obama and her daughters had a swell, privately-funded v ... More >>

Big Gay Ice Cream Truck Offers Big Gay Deal

Eater NY​Because Prop 8 really can suck it, and because we do love the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck (it made the runners-up list in our 10 Best Ice Creams list), we feel compelled to spread the news of this deal. It's both a bargain and a bit of therapy. [Via Eater]

NYC's Proposition 8 Rally in Foley Square: Video

​The Village Voice's Steven Thrasher was in attendance at a rally in New York's Foley Square last night where some 200 folks gathered to celebrate yesterday's ruling that California's Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. There, civil rights attorneys Yetta Kurland and Todd Fernandez read key sec ... More >>

A New York Rally On Prop. 8 Day

​Whether Prop. 8 is upheld or shot down today in California, we're going to take to the streets and be vocal about it. Make way for either a big, old gay block party or a defiant protest. The groups Queer Rising and MENY (Marriage Equality New York) are having a "Prop. 8 Day of Decision Comm ... More >>

California's Proposition 8 Ruled Unconstitutional

U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled today that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. The long awaited decision was just released from the U.S. District Courthouse for Northern California in San Francisco. The case, Perry vs. Schwarzenegger, was a lawsuit in which two gay couples sued that Propo ... More >>

Barack Obama Turns 49 And A Lot Of Things Are Right With The World

​Birthdays should be spent in happiness and celebration, and the news cycle did just that for our Nation's President today. Causation vs. correlation be damned! We lay all the day's good news in one blog post in honor of the 44th President's big day. Think of it as our version of a birthday card, ... More >>

How the Mormon Church Brought Down the Gays in 8: The Mormon Proposition

Harvey Milk's Birthday: Chatting with Cleve Jones

Tomorrow is Harvey Milk's birthday. It's an official holiday in California for the first time (signed into law last year by the Terminator), and will be marked here in the city by a march beginning at the GLBT Center at noon. Runnin' Scared spoke to the real-life Cleve Jones on the phone (portr ... More >>

Prop. 8 Case's Closing Arguments Finally Scheduled

The long-awaited closing arguments in the long-delayed federal court case against California's anti-gay-marriage Proposition 8 have finally been scheduled for mid-June. That'll be a relief to foes of Prop. 8, considering the setbacks inflicted on gay marriage in New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere. ... More >>

The Duchess of York Speaks Out About the Queen

Living high with Sondheim. Other heroes include Sean Hayes, Denzel. On the other hand, Kelsey Grammer . . .

Prop 8 Trial Twitters Reveal Sad Homo-Hate, Hilarious Gay-Straightening Stories

​ We're not very big on this social media stuff, but many passages from the National Center for Lesbian Rights' Twitter coverage of the Prop 8 trial -- which the Supreme Court will not allow to be televised or even YouTubed -- read, especially in this context, like tragicomedy told by telegra ... More >>

No TV For Prop 8 Trial in San Francisco -- US Supreme Court

​The US Supreme Court has pulled the plug on broadcasting the historic Prop 8 federal trial, beginning today in San Francisco. Last week, Judge Vaughn Walker made the decision to allow delayed televised coverage of the trial. Video coverage was to be available regularly on YouTube, though Wal ... More >>

Big Day for Gay Marriage from Jersey to D.C. to San Francisco

​It's a big day for gay marriage across the nation. In San Francisco, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker has ruled that a potential legal revolution to overturn Prop 8 will not be televised live, though it will be YouTubed. The judge will preside over the federal trial, Perry v. Schwarze ... More >>

Turn Prop 8 Into a Reality Show

​That's what the Courage Campaign is urging us all to do. Seeing as the proceedings to reverse the hideous Prop will be a landmark case in equality, they want it to be watched and exposed and scrutinized by the public via the same cameras that have us glimpsing into the lives of real housewive ... More >>

'Crash' Director Paul Haggis Ditches Scientology

"I am only ashamed that I waited this many months to act. I hereby resign my membership in the Church of Scientology." ​Over the past few days, a remarkable letter was published in four parts at the blog of Marty Rathbun, a former high-level Scientology official who has left the church and no ... More >>

Here We Have a Photo of Electrik Red With Duct Tape Over Their Mouths, If Such a Thing Interests You

Papermag.com passes along word of the NO H8 campaign, a celebrity protest of California's risible, gay-marriage-squashing Proposition 8 -- the movement seems to consist of lush photos of semi-luminaries (Ashley & Pete, Tara Reid, Mark Hoppus, Taylor Dayne (!!!)) with their mouths taped shut and "N ... More >>

The Blogroll Gazette--Serious Eats Touts Gay Ice Cream; Eat Me Daily Likes a Sushi Dress

This week in food blogs... Midtown Lunch reported on how its NY Times profile drove Midtowners to its favorite food carts, such as the famous Halal Cart on the corner of 53rd and 6th Ave. Eat Me Daily was quite taken with Katy Perry's sushi dress designed by Phillipe and David Blond (aka The Blond ... More >>

California Supreme Court Upholds Prop 8: Gay Marriage Still Banned

The California Supreme Court has upheld Proposition 8, the anti-gay-marriage law passed last November. The vote was 6-1. The justices ruled the approximately 18,000 Californians married to members of their own gender during the brief window between the legalization and criminalization of marriage e ... More >>

California Opposite-Only Marriage Upheld! Protest Tonight!

The California Supreme Court just voted to enforce the injustice that was served when Prop 8 passed thanks to an organized mass of highly devout people determined to repeal gay equal rights. The 18,000 or so couples who were wed in California when it was deemed OK are still married, but shockingly e ... More >>

Prop 8 Decision Protested in Sheridan Square

Over 300 protesters gathered in Sheridan Square this evening for a Day of Decision march to protest the California Supreme Court's decision to uphold Proposition 8. Bullhorn organizers led chants ("Hey hey, ho ho/homophobia's got to go," etc) in preparation for a march to Union Square. Similar de ... More >>

Saving Marriage