Voice for Equality Update: Anne Hathaway Left The Catholic Church For Her Gay Brother

PerezHilton.com
February 6, 2010
Anne Hathaway (a Voice for Equality) has revealed that she and her family made the difficult decision to leave the Catholic church when Hathaway's brother came out. "The whole family converted to Episcopalianism after my elder brother came out," Anne reveals in a March interview with GQ. "Why should I support an organization that has a limited view of my beloved brother?" [Link]

Voice for Equality Update: Saints Linebacker, Scott Fujita

The Advocate
February 3, 2010
While New Orleans Saints linebacker Scott Fujita, one of Freedom to Marry's Voices for Equality, was gearing up for Super Bowl XLIV, he spoke to The Advocate about standing up for gay rights and against inequality. Commenting on another Voice for Equality from the NFL, Brendan Ayanbadejo, Fujita said:

I thought what Brendan wrote was incredibly insightful, thought-provoking, and completely on point. And many people would call it courageous. But if Brendan's like me, I don't know if he'd consider what we've done all that courageous. We have strong feelings about equal rights, and to me, expressing those feelings isn't courageous, it's the right thing to do. I think there will be a third player who expresses support for gay marriage ... and a fourth player, and a fifth, and so on. [Link]

Signs of Culture Shift on Gay Issues

The Associated Press
February 3, 2010

In the wake of President Obama's comments on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in his State of the Union speech, the Associated Press details culture shifts on issues affecting lesbian and gay people over the last 17 years including: increased legal status for LGBT people as a protected class, the freedom to marry in five states and DC, nine other states with substantial domestic partner rights, more countries worldwide honoring the freedom to marry, increased openly-gay elected officials and the Census Bureau tabulating data on same-sex couples. [Link]

Super Bowl Kiss Ad May Force CBS to Rate Smooches

Faith and Reason (USA Today)
January 29, 2010
Controversy on whether an advertisement for ManCrunch, a gay dating site, will air on CBS during the Super Bowl comes amid controversy surrounding CBS's decision to air an ad from Focus on the Family. [Link]

Marriage for Same-Sex Couples: A Conversation

Columbia Law School Magazine
January 7, 2010
Following the many developments regarding the freedom to marry in 2009, Columbia Law School Magazine approached four professors of varying backgrounds to document their thoughts on marriage for same-sex couples in a series of back-and-forth emails—no moderator, no referee. [Link]

The Gay Wink

The Huffington Post
January 25, 2010
Mark Shields and Winnie Stachelberg write about the offering of a "wink" to LGBT people by certain television shows. Shields and Stachelberg claim that these subtle nods creating a less hostile environment for LGBT people without upsetting anybody else, and say that acts like Cindy McCain's participation in the "NoH8" campaign could be a signal of a "new generation of gay winking going on," especially by the spouses of political leaders. [Link]

Op-Ed: Prop. 8 and Coming to the End of Fear

Los Angeles Times
January 26, 2010
Katherine A. Briccetti writes that she believes marriage equality will bring with it the end of fear of lesbian and gay people. "It’s a matter of overcoming our real enemy. And I’m proof, along with Pam and our sons and so many others, that we won’t let fear take over the world." [Link]

Voice for Equality Update: Neil Patrick Harris wins AfterElton's "Gay Man of the Decade"

tv.com
January 7, 2010
Voice for Equality, Neil Patrick Harris, appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live talking about his winning the AfterElton Gay/Bisexual Man of the Decade and joking about his tweet war with competitor John Barrowman. [Link]

Judge: Marriage Equality Trial Can Be Shown on YouTube

The Associated Press
January 6, 2010
The federal Proposition 8 trial, which begins next week, will be shown as a delayed broadcast on YouTube, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled Wednesday. Walker also said he would consider requests from witnesses who object to being recorded. [Link]

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are the most popular showbiz couple

SFGate
January 4, 2010
Ellen DeGeneres and her partner Portia de Rossi have topped an online poll to find the most popular celebrity couple. Fans of the talk show host and her actress wife flocked to PopEater.com to vote for the openly gay couple - handing them 31 per cent of more than 25,000 votes. The pair beat music's first couple Beyonce and Jay-Z into second place, ahead of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who finished third. [Link]

Gay in 2010: The Decade Ahead

staythirstymedia.com
January 3, 2010
Chris Beakey talks with Evan Wolfson, David Toussaint and Jeff McElhaney about what it's going to take to bring more happiness to more people in the gay community. When asked how long it will take to win the marriage equality battle, Evan Wolfson states, "We will have the freedom to marry within reach nationwide within 10 to 15 years or so, sooner if we work harder and get lucky." [Link]

O.J. treatment for landmark California court case?

New York Post
December 31, 2009
TV is fighting for their right to air California's legal battle over the freedom to marry. Networks are teaming up to try to obtain permission to broadcast federal court proceedings challenging Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that banned marriage equality in California. Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judicial Council decided to take a step forward in allowing the broadcasting of federal trials without a jury. [Link]

'Single Man' highlights gay, family issues

CNN
December 24, 2009
For the gay community the story of a closeted college professor mourning the death of his long-time lover reflects the history of the struggle to be open about homosexuality in the 1960s. The same struggle continues today as the gay community fights for equal rights and laws allowing same-sex marriage. Freedom to Marry's Evan Wolfson notes:

The silence and the invisibility the film is portraying was in part why Americans didn't understand the need for the freedom to marry when the first cases for the freedom to marry began by 1971 ... I think the film shows the price people pay for silence and it shows the common humanity and invites people to ask themselves: How would I feel if I couldn't acknowledge the love of my life? [Link]

As Goes Martha...Martha Stewart Wedding Features Same-Sex Couple for First Time

Good As You
December 21, 2009
Blogger Jeremy Hooper announces the profile of his wedding in the Winter 2010 edition of Martha Stewart Weddings, the first wedding of a same-sex couple to be featured in the magazine. (Link)

Congratulations Jeremy and Andrew!

Poll: U.S. Evenly Divided on Marriage Equality

Strange Bedfellows (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
December 17, 2009
On an issue where survey results once registered lopsided disapproval, the American public is now almost evenly divided on same sex marriage—according to a new Angus Reid Poll. The survey found that 43 percent favor same-sex marriage while 46 percent remain opposed. [Link]

Charting a Decade of Progress in Gay Rights

San Francisco Chronicle
December 16, 2009
A study released by the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund and the Movement Advancement Project shows the LGBT equality movement has made remarkable progress in the past decade. [Link]

The Curious Case of Ellen DeGeneres

The New York Times
November 15, 2009
Frank Bruni profiles Ellen DeGeneres, noting that her general popularity remains very strong as she continues to speak openly about her marriage and LGBT equality. Many LGBT leaders speculate that Ms. DeGeneres’s good fortune is a harbinger of where marriage equality is headed, and say it exemplifies the way issues involving gays and lesbians often play out. [Link]

Game Show First: Gays on 'Newlywed Game'

ABC News
October 13, 2009
Former Star Trek star George Takei (a Freedom to Marry Voice for Equality) and his husband, Brad Altman, competed as the first openly gay contestants on The Newlywed Game in an episode that aired on the Game Show Network Tuesday night. [Link]

Proper Way to Address Mail to Married Same-Sex Couples

United Features Syndicate
September 20, 2009
Miss Manners replies to a question on how to address mail to a gay or lesbian married couple by providing the options of "Mesdames / Messrs" or a two-line form, each name with its own title. [Link]

Op-Ed: Without marriage equality, there is no equality

Aurora Sentinel (Colorado)
September 16, 2009
After years of discrimination, the United States is ready to join the rest of the enlightened, democratic world and finally stand behind the country’s long withheld promise of equality. As Americans, we should be able to choose our companions regardless of their race, social status, income level, religious background or something as personal as sexual orientation. [Link]