County clerks issued more than 8,500 marriage licenses in the first week same-sex marriage was legal in California, more than two and half times an average June week, a Times survey found. The tally includes licenses issued to both same-sex and heterosexual couples, although county clerks in many locations indicated that the majority went to gay and lesbian couples. The state, which is not tracking the gender of applicants, has replaced "Bride" and "Groom" on marriage applications with the terms "Party A" and "Party B." In Los Angeles County, the state's most populous, 1,806 licenses were issued from ...

Leaders of the Presbyterian Church (USA) overturned a long-standing ban on the ordination of gays and lesbians Friday, providing yet the latest example of a religious denomination struggling with how, and whether, to incorporate homosexuality into church life. At the same time, the church's national governing body, meeting in San Jose, refused to alter its definition of marriage, calling it a "covenant between a woman and a man." The actions by the General Assembly came the week after same-sex marriage became legal in California. They also follow the decision of a gathering of Methodists from Southern California and Hawaii, ...

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The Republican-controlled Arizona Senate late yesterday broke its own rules to shut down debate and force a vote to place a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage on the ballot. According to Equality Arizona and the Arizona Daily Star, Sen Paula Aboud (D-Tucson) was engaged in a debate with Sen. Ken Cheuvront (D-Phoenix) on another tax bill in a move similar to a filibuster according to the Senate rules. During the debate, Majority Leader Thayer Verschoor (R-Gilbert) and Majority Whip John Huppenthal (R-Chandler), among others, devised a scheme with committee chairman Jack Harper (R- rural district 4) to ...

From US News & World Report McCain's stance on same-sex marriage comes as no surprise to political analysts, since he has never varied widely from the mainstream of the Republican Party on the issue. While McCain voted against a federal constitutional amendment supported by President Bush in 2004, he has said he thinks states should be able to determine their own approaches to marriage—and he has repeatedly said the matter should be left to voters, not judges, to decide. In 2006, McCain supported a failed initiative in Arizona, his home state, that would have amended the state Constitution and banned ...

We just received word that late this evening that the Arizona Senate was able to scare up the sixteen votes needed to put a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage onto the ballot. Tucson’s District 30 Senator and Senate President Tim Bee was the sixteenth vote. He will be running against incumbent Gabrielle Giffords in November for the Congressional District 8 house seat. Voters in CD8 voted against the 2006 Arizona amendment, with 52.5% voting against Prop 107 and only 47.5% voting for it. That was a wider margin than the state-wide result of 51.8% against and 48.2% in favor. ...

No joke: Larry Craig and David Vitter key sponsors of Marriage Protection Amendment. Never-before-seen photos of David Bowie revealed. Guy "Richie" stands to gain $100 million: No pre-nup in Madonna marriage. Al Sharpton told Gay City News that his statement about sin to Anderson Cooper earlier this week was not aimed at Anderson but was hypothetical: "I have no idea of his sexuality. I was not talking about him as an individual anyway. It could have been anybody...I support same-sex marriage and have been lambasted by the right for it." HIV cases "skyrocket" ...

Social conservatives are getting more and more creative with their anti-gay activities: The Repository, Canton’s daily newspaper, is using a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and civil union to forbid the recognition of lesbian and gay couples in print, and has advised all the Ohio newspapers in its chain to follow suit. “Given the current state of the law in Ohio, the Repository does not currently intend to publish same-sex engagement and wedding announcements. We also don’t intend to address this topic on our editorial page or in letters to the editor,” wrote Executive Editor Jeff Gauger on April ...

We’re still not sure what McCain might have told the Log Cabin Republicans during his still-unacknowledged meeting with them, the LCRs are sure to be disapointed by this news. ”Protect Marriage,” the California group that is sponsoring the Californian anti-marriage amendment, has announced that John McCain is supporting their efforts to abolish more than 2,000 legal marriages in California. According to McCain’s statement: “I support the efforts of the people of California to recognize marriage as a unique institution between a man and a woman, just as we did in my home state of Arizona. I do not believe judges ...

Proverbial reverend Al Sharpton insists he did not out Anderson Cooper. Sharpton appeared on Cooper’s CNN show Wednesday to discuss James Dobson’s attack on Barack Obama, who Dobson claims is “distorting” the bible. Arguing against Dobson, Sharpton said, “I may have some very conservative personal feelings, but I feel you have the right to live your life differently. I may think that what you do Anderson is gonna put you in Hell, but I’m gonna defend your right to get there.” Loads of people took this to be an unintentional “outing.” Sharpton, however, claims he’s clueless to Cooper’s ...

John McCain sent California’s gay marriage foes an email yesterday backing their unholy mission: “The ProtectMarriage.com campaign says it received an e-mail from McCain Thursday in which the Arizona senator expressed his support for the group’s efforts ‘to recognize marriage as a unique institution between a man and a woman.’ McCain has previously said that while he does not back banning same-sex marriage at the federal level, he thinks it is appropriate for states to do so.” So, Log Cabin, how are your talks with McCain going? [Mercury News] ...

Not that this is a huge news flash or anything, but the Protect Marriage Campaign, who are sponsoring the ballot initiative to place a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage before California voters in November, said yesterday that they had received an email from John McCain backing their cause. Said McCain's email: "I support the efforts of the people of California to recognize marriage as a unique institution between a man and a woman, just as we did in my home state of Arizona. I do not believe judges should be making these decisions." McCain is for "pretend weddings" however! If ...

The sponsors of a ballot initiative that seeks to ban same-sex marriage in California say Republican presidential candidate John McCain has endorsed the measure. The ProtectMarriage.com campaign says it received an e-mail from McCain Thursday in which the Arizona senator expressed his support for the group's efforts "to recognize marriage as a unique institution between a man and a woman." McCain has previously said that while he does not back banning same-sex marriage at the federal level, he thinks it is appropriate for states to do so. McCain backs Calif. gay marriage ban San Jose Mercury News,  USA  ...

Driver error led me to prematurely celebrate the five year anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling which struck down anti-sodomy laws across the nation. Dr. Gregory Herek apparently is in better control of his blogging software than I am of mine. Dr. Herek is a prolific researcher and professor of psychology at U.C. Davis. Today he posted excerpts from a longer article he wrote to commemorate the ruling. In it, he explores the role that social science played in that ruling and what it tells us today in our current debates over same-sex marriage. He concludes: Because current debates about law ...

Yesterday I posted that the proposed ballot measure that would put a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage before Arizona voters had been rejected in the Arizona senate by a 14-11 vote. I mentioned also that the senate voted to reconsider the measure at another date. Turns out that date could be as early as Friday: "When it became apparent the proposal had just 15 votes, one fewer than it needed, Phoenix Republican Sen. Linda Gray — a supporter — switched her vote in a procedural move that will allow her to request the measure be brought back for reconsideration in ...

Pam's House Blend has the scoop that the heterosexual supremacists have failed (again!) to place an anti-gay marriage measure on the Arizona ballot.AZCentral.com has the news:The Arizona Senate has rejected a proposal that would have asked voters to amend the state constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage.The 14-11 vote fell two votes shy of what was required to send the proposal to the November ballot. Senators later voted to reconsider the measure at another unspecified date.The proposal would define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. ...

Gay activists celebrated yesterday afternoon after Arizona’s Senate failed to pass an anti-gay marriage measure. With the failure, many assumed that the proposed ban wouldn’t make November’s ballot. Unfortunately, they may have spoken too soon: The thirty-member chamber voted 14-11 to place a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage onto the ballot. But since the Arizona constitution requires that a majority of the members elected must approve the measure, sixteen votes are needed for passage. When supporters of the ban realized that they didn’t have enough votes — Sen. Karen Johnson (R-Mesa) had gone on vacation — Sen. Linda Gray (R-Phoenix) ...

Yesterday’s vote by the Arizona Senate to advance an anti-marriage amendment to the voters fell short. But amendment supporters today vow to bring the measure back for another vote on Friday. The thirty-member chamber voted 14-11 to place a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage onto the ballot. But since the Arizona constitution requires that a majority of the members elected must approve the measure, sixteen votes are needed for passage. When supporters of the ban realized that they didn’t have enough votes — Sen. Karen Johnson (R-Mesa) had gone on vacation — Sen. Linda Gray (R-Phoenix) switched her ...

Pastor Jim Garlow of the 2,500-member Skyline Church in San Diego County organized a conference call of more than 1,000 mostly Evangelical ministers yesterday to discuss strategy related to the anti-gay ballot measure headed to California's ballot in November: "The strategy session, which included input from lawyers and political consultants, was the opening of what conservative religious leaders hope will become a massive Christian outpouring of support for the proposed amendment. The effort will include a 40-day fast leading up to election day, along with 100 days of prayer. On the weekend before the election, Garlow told the ministers, the ...