David Blankenhorn and Elizabeth Marquardt, both Southerners, are not marriage equality advocates, mind you, but they draw the stark distinction between “protecting marriage” and Amendment One’s purposeful, hateful denial of any legal recognition of the relationships of same-sex couples. They draw a line in the sand in a News & Observer op-ed. As I have [...]

In case you missed it, you can catch the replay of ”8″: A Play about the Fight for Marriage Equality, produced by the American Foundation for Equal Rights and Broadway Impact that was live streamed last night. From AFER’s follow up press release: “8” is an unprecedented account of the Federal District Court trial in Perry v. [...]

Big news – and a lot to digest, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will issue a ruling on the Perry v. Brown case challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8. tomorrow, Feb. 7 by 10 a.m. Pacific/1 p.m. ET. For a great primer on the case — its background and what has legally [...]

Here is the basic 4-1-1: Today, plaintiffs in Perry v. Brown, the landmark federal constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8, will go before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to present oral arguments explaining why the videotapes of the Proposition 8 trial should be publicly accessible and why Proponents’ motion to vacate judgment [...]

Via Prop 8 Trial Tracker — This morning, the CA Supreme Court ruled that the proponents of Prop 8 do have standing under state law to appeal the decision in Perry v. Brown: …In response to the question submitted by the Ninth Circuit, we conclude, for the reasons discussed above, that when the public officials who [...]

The National Organization for Marriage and other organizations who came together in 2008 to defeat marriage equality in California  was just handed a stunning loss by a federal court: Supporters of the 2008 ballot measure that outlawed same-sex marriage in California have lost a lawsuit that sought to block their past and future campaign finance [...]

That’s the good news. The bad news is that this order has been stayed until September 30 in order for the anti-gays to appeal. And you know they will. The fraudulent, pathetic reasons for opposing marriage equality as presented on those tapes will deal a devastating blow to anti-equality efforts. [U.S. District Judge James] Ware [...]

NOTE FROM PAM: Bumping up Lurleen’s prep post from yesterday. New Blend content is below. Photo: Keen News Service via Twitpic. At 12:30 PM ET The Blend will feature live discussion and analysis on the front page  courtesy of Americablog, hosted by Joe Sudbay and featuring commentary by contributor and California lawyer/activist Liz Newcomb and [...]

Cross-posted at Prop 8 Trial Tracker. As if we needed more confirmation that the anti-equality crowd is bereft of logical arguments and grasping at straws, a group of about 30 of Family Research Council’s state affiliates, called Family Policy Councils, have filed an amicus brief with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Perry [...]

Today and tomorrow (M, Tu), the documentary 8: The Mormon Proposition will be screening at the Seattle International Film Festival.  From the SIFF page: When California voters narrowly approved Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, people from across the country questioned how this could have happened. While the public was aware that the [...]