marriage equality

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.

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.

The Chronicle of Education:

College students who describe themselves as politically "far right" arrive on campuses across the country supporting legal same-sex marriage significantly more than do conservative Republicans nationwide, according to new data released by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles.

A Maryland state senator has introduced a measure that would prohibit the state from recognizing gay marriages authorized elsewhere without legislative approval.

Sen. Nancy Jacobs, R-Harford, says her bill is intended to invalidate a recent opinion from Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler.

2/26/2009

At least 50 same-sex couples lined up to apply for marriage licenses the day gay unions became legal there.

Sinjoyla Townsend, 41, and her partner of 12 years, Angelisa Young, 47, claimed the first spot in line just after 6 a.m. They are already domestic partners in the city, so they are converting that partnership into a marriage license.