Vermont senate approves gay marrige bill.

A state Senate committee unanimously approved a gay marriage bill on Friday, moving Vermont one step closer to allowing same-sex couples to legally wed.
"It provides ... gay and lesbian couples the same rights that I have as a married heterosexual," said Sen. John Campbell, vice chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and chief sponsor of the bill.
The measure would replace Vermont's first-in-the-nation civil unions law with one that allows marriage of same-sex partners beginning September.

 

The committee's vote ended an intense week highlighted by a public hearing Wednesday night in which more than 500 people swarmed the Statehouse to speak for and against allowing same-sex marriages.
If approved, Vermont would join Massachusetts and Connecticut as the only U.S. states that allow gays and lesbians to marry.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/20/vermont-sen...

Gay Marriage Is Ruled Legal in Connecticut

A sharply divided Connecticut Supreme Court struck down the state’s civil union law on Friday and ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. Connecticut thus joins Massachusetts and California as the only states to have legalized gay marriages.

The ruling, which cannot be appealed and is to take effect on Oct. 28, held that a state law limiting marriage to heterosexual couples, and a civil union law intended to provide all the rights and privileges of marriage to same-sex couples, violated the constitutional guarantees of equal protection under the law.

www.nytimes.com/.../11/nyregion/11marriage.html

Many gay people are treated poorly

Gay marriage is a very prominent issue surrounding America. Many gay people are treated poorly and are discriminated from health care, taxes, and many other things. Many ignorant people disrespect gay people because they are different from them and many Americans are not willing to adapt to other peoples’ different qualities.
There is currently only one state in the United States that allows gay marriage, that being Massachusetts, however gay couples must pay their taxes as singles. Hopefully in the years and decades to come there will be more states that will join Massachusetts. Gay couples are entitled to less tax exemptions than heterosexual couples. In 2000, Vermont became the first U.S. state to offer homosexuals the right to join in civil unions, giving them the same benefits as married couples on matters such as life insurance, health care and child custody. Some states are more accepting and kind to gay people. Gay couples almost every day experience offensive comments; this also depends on where the gay couples live. The mayors in these big cities are for gay marriage….Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Seattle.
               

                                      townipproject.wikispaces.com/Gay+Marriage

New York City

Carrying signs with slogans like “Just NOT Married” and red heart-shaped balloons, more than 100 people held a rally outside the Manhattan Marriage Bureau on Thursday morning to demand that New York State extend marriage rights to same-sex couples.
The protesters gathered outside the new Mangattan Marriage Bureau,  at 141 Worth Street, near Centre Street, but their ire was really more directed at the state government than at the city government. New York City’s mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, supports same-sex marriage rights, as does the City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, who is openly gay. But in Albany, even though the Democrats seized control of the State Legislature last fall and also control the governor’s mansion, the movement for same-sex marriage has stalled.
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/a-call-for-same-sex-marriage-rights/
                                       

Countys that permit gay marriage.

Los Angeles County:
Agoura Hills, Alhambra, Arcadia, Artesia, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Bellflower, Beverly Hills, Big Pines, Burbank, Carson, Century City, Cerritos, Chatsworth, China Town, City of Industry, Claremont, Commerce, Compton, Covina, Culver City, Downtown LA, Downey, Eagle Rock, El Monte, El Segundo, Encino, Gardena, Glendale, Glendora, Granada Hills, Hawaiian Gardens, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Hidden Hills, Highland Park, Hollywood, Inglewood, Irwindale, Japan Town, Korea Town, La Canada/Flintridge, La Crescenta, La Habra, La Mirada, La Puente, La Verne, Lakewood, Lancaster, Lenox, Lomita, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Los Nietos, Lynwood, Manhattan Beach, Marina Del Rey, Monterey Park, Montrose, Northridge, Norwalk, Palmdale, Palos Verdes Estates, Paramount, Pasadena, Pico Rivera, Pomona, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Reseda, Rolling Hills Estates, San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel, San Marino, Santa Clarita, Santa Fe Springs, Santa Monica, Signal Hill, South Pasadena, Temple City, Torrance, Valinda, Van Nuys, Ventura County, Verdugo City, Walnut, West Covina, West Hollywood, Westlake Village, Westwood, Whittier and all other cities and communities of Los Angeles County.

Orange County:
Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Balboa Island, Brea, Buena Park, Capistrano Beach, Corona Del Mar, Costa Mesa, Coto de Caza, Cowan Heights, Cypress, Dana Point, El Modena, El Toro, Foothill Ranch, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Habra, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Leisure World, Lemon Heights, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, Modjeska Canyon, Newport Beach, Orange, Orange Park Acres, Placentia, Rancho San Margarita, Rossmoor, San Clemente, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Silverado Canyon, Stanton, Sunset Beach, Surfside, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster, Yorba Linda and all other cities and communities of Orange County.

San Bernardino County:
Adelanto, Apple Valley, Argus, Baker, Barstow, Big Bear, Bloomington, Chino, Chino Hills, Cima, Colton, Daggett, Devore, Earp, El Mirage, Etiwanda, Essex, Fawnskin, Fontana, Forest Falls, Grand Terrace, Harvard, Helendale, Hesperia, Highland, Hinkley, Hodge, Ivanpaw, Joshua Tree, Kelso, Landers, Lenwood, Loma Linda, Lucerne Valley, Ludlow, Montclair, Morongo Valley, Muscoy, Needles, Ontario, Oro Grande, Phelan, Pinon Hills, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, Rialto, Running Springs, San Bernardino, Twenty Nine Palms, Upland, Victorville, Wrightwood, Yucaipa, Yucca Valley and all other cities and communities of San Bernardino County.

Riverside County:
Anza, Arlington, Banning, Beaumont, Blythe, Cabazon, Calimesa, Canyon Lake, Cathedral City, Cherry Valley, Coachella, Corona, Desert Hot Springs, Edgemont, El Cerrito, Gilman, Glen Avon, Glenn Valley, Hemet, High Grove, Home Gardens, Homeland, Hot Springs, Idyllwild, Indian Wells, Indio, La Sierra, Lake Elsinore, Lakeview, La Quinta, Mecca, Mead Valley, Meadow Brook, Mira Loma, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Murrieta Hot Springs, Norco, Nuevo, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Perris, Quail Valley, Riverside, Rancho Mirage, Ripley, Rubidoux, Sage, San Jacinto, Sun City, Temecula, Temescal Canyon, Thousand Palms, Valle Vista, White Water, Winchester and all other cities and communities of Riverside County.

Imperial County:
Brawley, Calexico, Calipatria, El Centro, Holtville, Imperial, Westmorland and all other cities and communities of Imperial County.

Ventura County:
Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, San Buenaventura, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and all other cities and communities of Ventura County. 

www.ca-gaymarriage.com/

EQUALITY

Views on same-sex marriage were sharply polarized based on political party, with 66% of Democrats thinking it should be legal and 71% of Republicans in opposition. Nonpartisan voters were less enthusiastic than Democrats but still backed it, 59% to 34%.

The 14th amendment's Equal Protection Clause requires states to provide equal protection under the law to all people within their jurisdictions. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is one of the most famous phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence. These three aspects are listed among the "unalienable rights" of man.

                                                       

   latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/03/50-of-... 

PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR GAY MARRIAGE IS GROWING

PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR GAY MARRIAGE IS GROWING
Coinciding with Judge Walker's historic decision, the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released yesterday shows public support for gay marriage at its highest point yet. The poll asked two questions about the gay marriage issue:
* The first asked whether or not gay and lesbians couples have a Constitutional right to legally recognized marriage. 49% of respondents said yes, 51% no.
* The second asked if they should have that right. But here 52% of respondents said yes, while 46% said no.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ybenjamin/detail?entry_id=69965#ixzz12vkOdvtn