Band of Thebes

How We Won This Historic Sweep of Gay Marriage Victories

Welcome to the tipping point. Since DOMA passed in 1996, all 32 state referenda on gay marriage have gone against us. Last night, we won all four: For the first time ever, voters approved gay marriage in Maryland (52% - 48%), Maine (53% - 47%), and Washington (52% - 48%). All the more astounding because Mainers rejected gay marriage just three years ago in 2009. Beyond bringing marriage equality to a total of ten states, the triple victories shatter the argument that judges who rule in favor of gay marriage are imposing something voters are unanimously against. The huge momentum makes it increasingly difficult for Justices Kennedy and Roberts to side with the Court's outdated homophobes when they rule on gay marriage and/or DOMA cases later this session. (On November 20 they select which cases to hear.) Also last night, for the first second time voters rejected a constitutional ban against gay marriage, in Minnesota.   

Other highlights:

• Iowans retained the senate majority so marriage can't be undone there, and the effort to recall a pro-gay marriage judge failed.
• Wisconsin elected the nation's first out US senator, Tammy Baldwin.
• California and New York elected their first openly gay Congressmen, Mark Takano and Sean Maloney. 
• Coloradans flipped the house to democratic control and will have a gay man, Mark Ferrandino, as Speaker of the House, and possibly the senate leader will be Pat Steadman, also gay.

So, how did we go from zero to 100% victories for gay marriage? Nathaniel Frank offers this inside look, which confirms what I've long heard from pollsters: "fairness" is not a motivating concern to the majority of voters.

 "...the key to dismantling the anti-gay myths of the last 40 years. For decades, gay advocates had framed their arguments in terms of equal rights and government benefits, often using rhetoric that was confrontational (“We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it”) and demanding (“We deserve equal rights now!”). Third Way, a centrist think tank working in the coalition with Freedom To Marry, began to unpack exactly how straight people reacted to such tactics. The group found that when straight people were asked what marriage meant to them, they spoke of love, commitment and responsibility. But when asked why they thought gay people wanted to marry, they cited rights and benefits. Tapping into anti-gay stereotypes, they suggested gay people wanted marriage for selfish reasons while they themselves wanted to express love and commitment.

"The gay rights coalition’s response was the “Why Marriage Matters” campaign. Its message was “love, commitment, family,” with no mention of rights or benefits. On the surface, it looks like any garden-variety public education campaign, a little vague, a little sappy. But this message was the result of several years and millions of dollars of research. It signaled a sea change in the way gay advocates pled their case. This was a way to invite straight people to empathize with gay people, to reassure the majority that gay people wanted the same things that they did, and to shift focus from minority rights to points of commonality. The year Why Marriage Matters rolled out, 2011, was also the year that a slew of polls first showed majority national support for same-sex marriage."

Another factor was money. Gay money, straight money, even straight Republican money, went a long way toward helping get out the gay message and countering the other side's scare tactics. Washington's group raised over $12 million from more than 27,000 donors and the most common donation was $25. At the other end of the spectrum Tim Gill, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, Mike Bloomberg, Paul Singer, Cliff Asness, and Brad Pitt were among the many who gave significant six- or seven-figure contributions. A crucial, uncelebrated player is Jennifer Cast, a lesbian whose direct ask to Bezos yielded $2.5 million to Washington United for Marriage, which inspired many other donations.  

Let's also take a moment to reflect on the naysayers, including many gay people, who claimed Obama's support of gay marriage was political suicide. In fact, it helped him seem relevant to disenchanted young voters, who actually comprised a greater share of the electorate yesterday than in 2008. And it must be said the president's support, however delayed and reluctant, prompted the NAACP's and many others' support, hastening the nation's evolving acceptance of gay marriage.

From the Closet to the Altar: Klarman Sees Gay Marriage Victory

Former Ginsburg clerk, Harvard Law professor, and author of the Bancroft Prize winning From Jim Crow to Civil Rights, Michael Klarman last week published From the Closet to the Altar: Courts, Backlash, and the Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage [Kindle]. While admitting our defeats in statehouses and referendums, Klarman is convinced of our ultimate legal triumph. Citing his unexpected pro-gay ruling from 1980 on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to his decision on Lawrence, Klarman believes crucial swing voter Justice Kennedy will rule in favor of gay marriage.

At 288 pages, the book is the perfect length to provide an understanding of the monumental changes in queer legal status during the past sixty years without boring the lay reader with excessive minutiae. The first two chapters zip through the era from World War II through the Court's terrible Bowers decision. Chapter three covers Hawaii and DOMA, and the remaining eight chapters bring us to the brink of this term's landmark cases for marriage equality. 

First Ever Openly Gay Professional Boxer, Orlando Cruz

Yesterday Orlando Cruz became professional boxing's first openly gay fighter. (A very few others have come out in retirement.) The 31 year-old featherweight said, "I want to try to be the best role model I can be for kids who might look into boxing as a sport and a professional career. I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man." If Cruz wins his next fight on October 19 in Kissimee he may be in line for a shot at a major title.

Also yesterday, a new poll by three news outlets showed that 60% of Latino Americans believe same-sex couples should have the right to marry. Only 38% disagreed. The same poll asked Latino adults what is the one thing your child could do that would cause you the greatest disappointment, and only 10% said being gay. The top responses were drug addiction (43%) and going to prison (33%).

Halberstam on Creative Mayhem and the Collapse of Heterosexuality

A year after The Queer Art of Failure, theorist Judith/Jack Halberstam is back with Gaga Feminism: Sex, Gender, and the End of Normal [Kindle] again shredding the heteronormative straight-jacket. Halberstam argues the increasing number of women living alone, men avoiding marriage, pop culture bromances, pregnant men, gay marriage, and queers raising kids all signal the flaming end of heterosexuality. And from those tired ashes will rise freer sexualities and more fluid genders. It's a Gaga world.

Says Halberstam, "In this book I am building on the potentiality of failure to say that if marriage, long-term relationships, the couple form and family itself are all failing as social forms, then instead of grieving their collapse, we should revel in the new opportunities for relationality, connection and kinship that are suddenly and startlingly available to us in the world today."

USC News reports "In large part, the book examines how mass media is struggling to keep up, broadcasting conflicting messages about how men and women are supposed to act, love, marry and raise children. It’s all becoming more liquid "because the social forms that held all those categories in place are dissolving." Halberstam added, "We’re basically going to have an opposition in this country not between gay and straight but between traditional, monogamous households and alternative ones. And, frankly, the alternative ones will probably eventually outnumber the traditional ones."

Out lesbian, author, and New Yorker staffer Ariel Levy says the book is a "provocative and pleasurable romp through contemporary gender politics... as fun as it is illuminating."

This Saturday at 4:30pm, Halberstam reads at Bluestockings, 172 Allen St., NYC.

Straight Men's Pro-Gay Anger: F---ing Get Used To It, You Bigoted A--!

Note: Different recipes call for different ingredients. This one's a little salty.

 You don't think attitudes about gay marriage are seismically changing? Meet Brendon Ayanbadejo. The NFL linebacker is 36, he's black, and he's badass. Swear to god he named his kid Amadeus Prime Ayanbadejo. You do not fuck with him. 

Brendon loves gay marriage. He wrote about it for Huff Post. And he made an ad about it for Marylanders for Marriage Equality.

Baltimore County state delegate Emmett Burns hates gay marriage so much that the 72 year-old black Democrat is not supporting Obama's re-election. And last week he wrote a letter to Ravens team owner Steve Bisciotti to say, basically, muzzle your bitch:

"I find it inconceivable that one of your players, Mr. Brendon Ayanbadejo, would publicly endorse Same-Sex marriage, specifically as a Ravens football player," Burns writes.

"I am requesting that you take the necessary action, as a National Football League Owner, to inhibit such expressions from your employees and that he be ordered to cease and desist such injurious actions. I know of no other NFL player who has done what Mr. Ayanbadejo is doing."

The technical football term here is Whoopsie daisy.

Enter 30 year-old white boy Chris Kluwe, punter for the Vikings, who shared his feelings in an open letter to Delegate Burns:

"I've also been vocal as hell about the issue of gay marriage so you can take your I know of no other NFL player who has done what Mr. Ayanbadejo is doing and shove it in your close-minded, totally lacking in empathy piehole and choke on it. Asshole."

More from Chris:

"Holy fucking shitballs. Did you seriously just say that, as someone who's "deeply involved in government task forces on the legacy of slavery in Maryland"? Have you not heard of Kenny Washington? Jackie Robinson? As recently as 1962 the NFL still had segregation, which was only done away with by brave athletes and coaches daring to speak their mind and do the right thing, and you're going to say that political views have "no place in a sport"?" 

More:

"...not only are you clearly violating the First Amendment, you also come across as a narcissistic fromunda stain. What on earth would possess you to be so mind-boggingly stupid? It baffles me that a man such as yourself, a man who relies on that same First Amendment to pursue your own religious studies without fear of persecution from the state, could somehow justify stifling another person's right to speech. To call that hypocritical would be to do a disservice to the word. Mindfucking obscenely hypocritical starts to approach it a little bit."

The most quoted parts of Chris's letter addresses the potential cockmonster within:

"If gay marriage becomes legal, are you worried that all of a sudden you'll start thinking about penis? "Oh shit. Gay marriage just passed. Gotta get me some of that hot dong action!" ... I can assure you that gay people getting married will have zero effect on your life. They won't come into your house and steal your children. They won't magically turn you into a lustful cockmonster. They won't even overthrow the government in an orgy of hedonistic debauchery because all of a sudden they have the same legal rights as the other 90 percent of our population—rights like Social Security benefits, child care tax credits, Family and Medical Leave to take care of loved ones, and COBRA healthcare for spouses and children. You know what having these rights will make gays? Full-fledged American citizens just like everyone else, with the freedom to pursue happiness and all that entails. Do the civil-rights struggles of the past 200 years mean absolutely nothing to you?"

The full letter is more rambling, and more arrogant ("you may want to hire an intern to help you with the longer words"). Do not waste time worrying about the tone. Blunt, aggressive vulgarity is how one segment of the population talks to each other. We're never going to win this fight if we're limited to the bleached, offend-nobody monotone of NPR and PBS.

For his part, Ayanbadejo responded to Burns' attempt to silence him by tweeting: "Football is just my job it's not who I am. I am an American before anything. And just like every American I have the right to speak!!!"

Gay Marriage Support from the Dinosaur Wing

You know Republicans believe money makes right, and no one is righter than a man with $25 billion. So yesterday's statement from the nefarious GOP kingpin David Koch, “I believe in gay marriage,” means even more than the small but growing cluster of Republicans who (often belatedly, limply) support same-sex marriage: William Weld, Christine Todd Whitman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mike Bloomberg, Colin Powell, Dick Cheney, Cindy and Meghan McCain, young Barbara Bush, Ted Olson, Paul Singer, Jerry Sanders, Margaret Hoover, Clint Eastwood, Carrie Underwood, etc. Koch, 72, gave $125 million to his alma mater MIT, $100 million to Lincoln Center, and enough to the American Museum of Natural History for them to rename it the David H. Koch Dinosaur Wing.

Queering Committed Relationships

Unlikely that those tabloid photos of Anderson Cooper's boyfriend Ben Maisani kissing another man in a NYC park are going to become a cultural moment, but HuffPost's Gay Voices editor Noah Michelson dreams they will launch a national discussion about healthy open relationships. Once again, it's the gay vs. queer divide. Michelson writes:

"One gay friend of mine, who has been with his partner for nearly a decade but is unable to marry him because they reside in a Midwestern state where gay marriage isn't legal, thought the photos of Maisani could make it even harder for him to wed. He questioned how mainstream America would react to Maisani's public display of affection with a man who wasn't his boyfriend and how it would do anything to 'help gay acceptance.' 

"But in my fantasies, we're not gunning for gay acceptance -- especially not if the only way we're granted it is by "behaving ourselves" and struggling to fit into a heteronormative mold (which, as far as I can tell, hasn't really benefited heterosexual people very well, either). Instead, I want us to be pushing for queer liberation, which, to me, has always meant that when it comes to sex and love, we all get to do whatever we want with whomever we want as long as we're not hurting anyone..."

Michelson doesn't mention aids but the pandemic further cemented the dichotomy between the good, monogamous gay and the bad, promiscuous queer. The broader debate has lasted nearly fifty years: Are we going to get equality by saying we're the same as you or by saying it's okay to be different.

"You Find the Language."

Epitomizing how people hide their homophobia, the Catholic Diocese of Worcester has been caught lying to prevent selling their Northbridge, Massachusetts mansion to a gay couple who planned to rent it out for local events, including same-sex weddings. Monsignor Thomas Sullivan in charge of the property told a reporter the deal collapsed because the couple couldn't get financing, but the reporter had a copy of Sullivan's email to his real estate agent:

"I just went down the hall and discussed it with the bishop. Because of the potentiality of gay marriages there, something you shared with us yesterday, we are not interested in going forward with these buyers. I think they're shaky anyway. So, just tell them that we will not accept their revised plan and the Diocese is making new plans for the property. You find the language."

In Massachusetts it is illegal to discriminate against buyers based on sexual orientation. The gay couple, James Fairbanks and Alain Beret, who have been together 35 years and married in 2004, plan to sue. Their lawyer points out that gay weddings could have happened in the event space regardless of the orientation of the buyers.

Because a news story about the Catholic Church being antigay and breaking the law isn't shocking, the real stunner is this: The deal for the 44-room mansion on 6 acres was $550,000 plus a sprinkler upgrade for $240,000.

"8"

After the jump, watch that much-buzzed 90-minute staged reading in Los Angeles of Dustin Lance Black's documentary play about Prop 8. Directed by Rob Reiner, it stars Brad Pitt as Judge Vaughn Walker, George Clooney as David Boies, Martin Sheen as Ted Olson, and Jane Lynch as Maggie Gallagher. Other participants include Kevin Bacon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christine Lahti, John C. Reilly, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Matthew Morrison. The one-time event raised $2 million for the American Foundation for Equal Rights. The play premiered last September with a reading in New York.

   

Bush-Appointed Judge Strikes Down Key DOMA Provision

Jeffrey S. White, a federal judge appointed by George Bush, yesterday "declared the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional and ordered the federal government to ignore the statute and provide health benefits to the wife of a lesbian federal court employee." 

The NYT says:

'Judge White ruled that the act did not provide “a justification that is substantially related to an important governmental objective” which would be necessary for a law that is aimed at one specific group of people, in this case gay men and lesbians.

“The imposition of subjective moral beliefs of a majority upon a minority cannot provide a justification for the legislation,” he said in his 43-page ruling.'

In marriage news:

Today, Maryland's senate votes on the gay marriage bill that the house passed last week. Governor Martin O'Malley, who previously supported only civil unions, actually said the three words unknown in political circles -- "I was wrong" -- and has promised to sign the bill.

Early last week, Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire signed their gay marriage bill into law. Immediately, equality foes said they would file court cases to stop the law from taking effect June 7. They are gathering signatures to kill the law in a statewide referendum, a strategy that was horribly successful in California and Maine.

Late last week, New Jersey's legislature finally passed their gay marriage bill only to be vetoed by Governor Chris Christie who wants to put civil rights to a vote. Instead, the repugnant Christie deserves to face a recall election. Compounding the insult, he actually makes a semi-valid point that he has been consistent on the issue while Obama, who was for gay marriage before he was against it, straddles the unicorn fence:

"The President is silent on this like he’s silent on every issue that’s difficult for him. [...] Let’s have the President of the United States show some courage, come on this program, look into the camera like I’m looking into the camera, and state his position. He won’t because he wants to have it both ways. I’m not looking to have it both ways, I vetoed the bill. That’s my position."

Sad when the president's cunning timidity allows the true bigot to create the false illusion of having the moral upper hand.

Aretha Franklin Says a Little Prayer at Bill & Bryan's Wedding

Aretha Franklin sang at the wedding of former Intrepid Museum director Bill White and longtime partner Bryan Eure for 700 A-list guests at the Four Seasons restaurant in Manhattan Sunday night. Paid $250,000 to perform for 15 minutes, the Queen of Soul stayed on stage an hour, sweating out Respect, Chain of Fools, I Say a Little Prayer, selections from her new cd, and Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You, in a room kept at 86 degrees, for her voice. Guests included Barbara Walters, Christine Quinn, Clive Davis, Joel Grey, David Paterson, David Dinkins, David Boies, Karolina Kurkova, Gayle King, and MSNBC's openly gay Thomas Roberts who admits he "over-celebrated" and was thrown out by security. That's a party. The entrance was flanked by 40 members of the Navy Junior ROTC. That's a honeymoon. The happy couple, 12 years apart, met on AOL and maintained a long-distance relationship.

David Cameron's Pro-Gay Conservativism

Last week, Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron gave the keynote address at his party's conference in Manchester, telling reluctant Tories to get on board with full marriage for same-sex couples:

“And to anyone who has reservations, I say this: Yes, it’s about equality, but it’s also about something else: commitment. Conservatives believe in the ties that bind us; that society is stronger when we make vows to each other and support each other.

“So I don’t support gay marriage in spite of being a Conservative. I support gay marriage because I am a Conservative.”

If only we had similar leaders. If only we had moderators at presidential debates who would form a question citing this argument, or candidates who would actually answer.

Yesterday, Cameron announced the UK would slash foreign aid to nations with anti-gay policies, starting with Malawi whose funds were reduced by $30 million for jailing two men who married each other in private. Antigay Uganda and Ghana may be next. Critics point out that the government is only targeting African antigay nations whilst ignoring the religious-based bigotry of, say, Pakistan. Others reject his whole premise, arguing that the broke government had to make cuts somewhere and the claim it's for moral reasons is "rubbish."

Meanwhile, Hugh Grant says Cameron still has a lot to answer for in the wake of the News Corp phone hacking scandal.

(photo: Carl De Souza/AP)

"That Means You Love Each Other!"

Popular on the internets today. With all the hype, I expected more. But still...

New York Gay Marriage Victory Converts or Silences Foes

This is what a tipping point looks like.

Politico: "But a week after New York became the biggest state to legalize gay marriage, Capitol Hill is all but silent on the topic...“The only person who ever asks me about it is, I think, the media,” said freshman Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.). “When you got the highest unemployment, highest foreclosures and highest bankruptcy, social issues right now take a back seat to putting food on the table.”

David Frum: "Most conservatives have reacted with calm -- if not outright approval -- to New York's dramatic decision. Why? The short answer is that the case against same-sex marriage has been tested against reality. The case has not passed its test."

CBS News: "Michele Bachmann goes quiet on homosexuality...Bob Schieffer asked GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann if she believes homosexuality is a choice. Bachmann did not answer the question. "You know, I firmly believe that people need to make their own decisions about that," she said. "But I am running for the presidency of the United States. I am not running to be anyone's judge. And that's where I'm coming from in this race."

Chuck Muth: "Many, if not most of you won't like this but gay marriage is coming. Nationwide. It's inevitable. It's only a matter of time. It can and will be delayed, but not stopped. And eventually, it will be as acceptable as black/white marriages. The problem isn't letting gays into marriage, but having already let the government into marriage. As an economy based almost solely on tourism and entertainment, Nevada -- and especially Las Vegas -- should accept reality, embrace the inevitable, repeal the state's ban on gay marriage, and scarf up on the tourism bonanza that would result rather than suck hind teat behind the likes of Hawaii and New York."

Not everyone flipped. Pat Buchanan is more antigay now. Vicious frothing won't win the middle.

Obama Orders Justice To Oppose DOMA in Court

Best flip-flop ever. After two years of defending the noxious Defense of Marriage Act in federal courts, Obama today ordered the Department of Justice to begin opposing the 1996 law that bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages. The NYT reports:

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday saying that the Justice Department will now take the position in court that the act should be struck down as a violation of same-sex couples’ rights to equal protection under the law.

“The president and I have concluded that classifications based on sexual orientation warrant heightened scrutiny and that, as applied to same-sex couples legally married under state law,” a crucial provision of the act is unconstitutional, Mr. Holder wrote.

The Times continues:

While Mr. Obama has long argued that the Defense of Marriage Act is bad policy and has urged Congress to repeal it, his administration has also sent Justice Department lawyers into court to defend the statute’s constitutionality.

The new position will require the administration to file new briefs in such litigation, including a major case now pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in Boston.

Congress may decide to appoint its own lawyers to defend the law, or outside groups may try to intervene in the cases in order to mount legal arguments in the law’s defense. Mr. Holder said that the administration would continue to enforce the act unless and until Congress repeals it, or a court delivers a “definitive verdict against the law’s constitutionality.”

Dianne Feinstein issued a statement promising to introduce legislation to repeal DOMA. Predictably, Republicans are lashing out against the move toward equality.

CA Court: Prop 8 Ruling Stay Ends August 18 Unless Appealed

So, the stay on the Prop 8 decision is "lifted" but it's not lifted. Same-sex marriage in California is now "legal," but you can't get one. The limbo continues out of respect for the appellate court on a momentous issue. Last week Judge Walker overturned Prop 8 but placed a stay on his decision; today he announced the stay will end on August 18 at 5:00 PT to give the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals more time to review the case. Same-sex couples will again be able marry as of next Wednesday evening unless the appeals court takes the case and extends the stay. From Fire Dog Lake:

"...the case now moves on to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. As the DIs have already noticed their appeal, the case is already docketed at the 9th and a presumptive briefing schedule set. Appellant/DIs’ opening brief is due November 12, 2010 and Appellee/Plaintiffs’ answering brief is due December 13, 2010. Appellee/DIs have the option to file a reply brief if they wish (and they would) by December 27, 2010."

Adding to confusion is the question of who can appeal this case. Many legal watchers say that technically only the defendants can appeal; the homophobes in court were actually "defendants-intervenors," not directly affected by the ruling, and therefore possibly cannot appeal. The actual "defendants" are California officials Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger, both of whom support the ruling and want gay marriages to resume. “Doing so is consistent with California’s long history of treating all people and their relationships with equal dignity and respect,” said Schwarzenegger’s lawyers wrote in a brief filed Friday.

This is, of course, the same Schwarzenegger who twice vetoed gay marriage after the state legislature passed it.

People truly against gay marriage may not want it appealed: Give up California, to save the nation. If the case never gets to the Supremes there's no chance of the highest court falling for Olson and Boies and making gay marriage legal everywhere.

As for other Through the Looking Glass reactions to last week's ruling, the White House hired Lewis Carroll to explain how the president opposed Prop 8 because it was discriminatory and opposes gay marriage. From their joint press release:

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means what I choose it to mean." The White House concurred, "The president has spoken out in opposition to Proposition 8 because it is divisive and discriminatory. He will continue to promote equality for LGBT Americans." David Axelrod clarified, "The president does oppose same-sex marriage but he supports equality for gay and lesbian couples..."

This is, of course, the same Obama who in his 1996 state senate campaign expressed "unequivocal support for gay marriage."

Meanwhile, yesterday conservative demagogue Glenn Beck told Bill O'Reilly that gay marriage is not a threat. The full transcript implies he's not exactly for it but he's also not wasting his time being against it.

O'REILLY: Do you believe -- do you believe that gay marriage is a threat to the country in any way?

BECK: A threat to the country?

O'REILLY: Yeah, it going to harm the country?

BECK: No, I don't. Will the gays come and get us?

O'REILLY: OK. Is it going to harm the country in any way?

BECK: I believe -- I believe what Thomas Jefferson said. If it neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket, what difference is it to me?

O'REILLY: OK, so you don't. That's interesting.

Federal Judge Overturns California Ban on Same-Sex Marriage

Full story and lots of analysis at Towleroad, AmericaBlog, and NYT. Judge Walker's 136-page opinion cites in Findings of Fact (Section II) the so-called "Revulsion Letter" from John Macy to the Mattachine Society in 1966 that my partner wrote about on Huffington Post last week.

Defying Church and Conservatives, Argentina Legalizes Gay Marriage

Early this morning, after a sixteen-hour debate until 4:00 am, Argentina's Senate approved a marriage equality bill, making it the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage. The vote was 33-27 with three abstaining. Churches and conservatives had launched a full scale attack against the bill, including a demonstration which attracted 60,000 angry Argentines to the capitol. President Cristina Fernandez has been an outspoken -- and crafty -- supporter of marriage equality, saying, "It's very worrisome to hear words like 'God's war' or 'the devil's project,' things that recall the times of the Inquisition." Doing everything she could to increase the bill's chances of passage, she invited two Senators who oppose gay marriage to accompany her on a high profile trip to China so they would not be home to vote no. That's a fierce advocate. Fernandez will sign the measure into law when she returns. Huffington Post offers this happy slideshow of all the countries that now legally allow same-sex marriage.

Icelandic Parliament Votes to Legalize Gay Marriage, 49 - 0

Reuters explains it best: "Iceland, the only country in the world to have an openly gay head of state, passed a law on Friday allowing same-sex partners to get married in a vote which met with no political resistance."

For background, the article adds that the "socially tolerant island nation of about 320,000 people became the first country to elect an openly gay head of state in 2009 when Social Democrat Johanna Sigurdardottir [left] became prime minister after being nominated by her party." 

Coverage of the happy news has been virtually nonexistent. The vote was four days ago. If you Google: Iceland gay marriage for the past week, the total number of news stories found is 45, mostly from lgbt media. For comparison, "oil spill" yields 11,000 stories. And "Sandra Bullock marriage" still garners more than 900 stories in the past seven days, for a story that broke in March.

Portugal legalized gay marriage in May and a week ago today two lesbian activists who had campaigned for the law became the nation's first legally married same-sex spouses.

Former Supporter on Laura Bush's Gay Marriage Flipflop: "Where Were You" During "Eight Years of Unremitting Policy Hostility"?

Present Greece trip notwithstanding, some aspects of ancient history are better off ignored: In a previous lifetime, my partner Charles corralled the Austin 12 who met with presidential candidate George W Bush to enlighten him on gay issues and offer their support. Ten years and a big shift later, he offered this comment to the Washington Post when asked about Laura Bush's recent publicity-friendly, posterity-ready flipflop on gay marriage, which she suddenly likes.

"As a longtime family friend, who respects Laura greatly," Charles Francis told me, "I can only say, 'Where were you when we needed you?'"

"For me and other gay friends and original gay and lesbian supporters who put it out there for President Bush, this comment comes painfully late," Francis said. "The actual legacy, and legacy is what we are talking about, is eight years of unremitting policy hostility for any gay issue mixed with personal warmth, which made this so difficult. This culminated in a willingness to write [our inequality] into the Constitution itself. Laura Bush never helped us, and we tried many times."

Since this posted on the paper's "Post Partisan" page, the response has been overwhelming against Charles' point of view, even among lgbt commenters.