FEMEN protesters in France have been a recurring and dramatic presence during the country’s debate about marriage equality. They go bare-chested and loudly into anti-gay marriage protests and are often arrested. So after Dominique Venner, an outspoken opponent of marriage equality, took the extreme measure of committing suicide inside Paris’ Notre Dame cathedral in apparent protest of the country’s new law, a FEMEN protester showed up to counter. The woman is painted in the slogan “May Fascism Rest in Hell” and she wields a gun, even pointing it into her own mouth, but unlike Venner she doesn’t pull the trigger. The photos of the startling protest are jarring, and they end in arrest.
In a 30-37 vote, the Minnesota State Senate approved a marriage equality bill today. The governor is expected to sign the legislation on Tuesday. In addition to Washington D.C., this brings the total number of states with marriage equality to 12! —Scott McPherson
Delaware became the 11th state to join the forces of marriage equality on Tuesday. With this momentous week for the equal rights movement, we decided to begin a Marriage Equality Census, keeping an estimated count of the number of self-identified LGBT citizens that can legally get married in their home state. See the number in the graphic above.
Here’s how we got to this grand number: We pulled 2012 U.S. Census Bureau data of the population for each state that has full marriage equality (not civil unions). Then we combined it with information gathered by a 2012 Gallup poll in conjunction with the Williams Institute at UCLA, which identified the percent of self-identified LGBT people in each of those states. See the table below for the numbers.
Which state will be next? —Scott McPherson
Liza with a “Z” is the latest star icon to don masking tape and pose for the NOH8 campaign. The photo was released Monday by the organization, jazz hands included. The campaign has featured countless celebrities and politicians standing up for marriage equality in what was first created in 2008 as a response to the passing of Prop 8, which is currently being reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court. More information on the case, Hollingsworth v. Perry on Advocate.com. —Scott McPherson
Sometimes You Just Feel Like Bursting Into Song, Right?
Watch what happens in the video below (at about the 1 minute mark) after lawmakers in New Zealand passed a marriage equality bill this week. Then for photos of the joy that spread throughout the streets, check out this gallery. The video was found via Slate, which says that song you hear is called “Pokarekare Ana,” a Maori love song.
French students at the Saint-Lô Catholic school in the northwestern city of Agneaux got a surprising message with their report cards on Wednesday. The letter came from the French Apel parents’ association and decried a proposed marriage equality law, which is being considered by lawmakers there.
Newsweek hopped on the colorful cover bandwagon on Sunday with the above image of Barack Obama dubbed as “The First Gay President.” Accompanying the bold headline is the President with a rainbow-colored halo. This comes only days after he announced his support for marriage equality in an ABC news interview.
The British are debating whether to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, and the first of the television commercials in the fight has just been released. Be forewarned: it tugs at your heart.
Like a commercial aired in Australia that went viral online, this one emphasizes that marriage equality is about love and commitment, not about securing a laundry list of benefits. Research in the United States about messaging shows that mainstream Americans are more likely to relate to a message about an equal right to express your love.
The ad’s creators from the Coalition for Equal Marriage ask that you “please share this with friends and people you love” and are circulating a petition along with it.
We won’t give away the storyline of the United Kingdom’s commercial. But you really have to watch.
