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
TIME magazine released the April 8, 2013 issue today in two editions. One cover featuring a gay couple, and the other a lesbian couple, locking lips. The portraits are by photographer Peter Hapak, and outtakes of the couples, including additional duos that didn’t make the cover, can be seen here. The kissing men are real-life couple, film and television set designer Eric LaBonté & his domestic partner Russell Hart, a hair salon owner. Living in Los Angeles, the two have been together for 7 years and engaged since 2010. Says LaBonté (right):
“My parents have been married for 45 years and I always knew that was something that I wanted. I want our children to say, ‘My daddies are married.’ We wanted to feel like a complete package.”
See the second cover, which features Sarah and Kristen Ellis-Henderson of Sea Cliff, N.Y., after the jump.
The Advocate is with Edie. The Art Department made this supportive graphic today, in hopes to bring attention to the DOMA case U.S. v. Windsor, where oral arguments begin on Wednesday. Show your support for marriage equality and share this with your network of friends. Check back to Advocate.com for in-depth coverage, as Advocate contributor Kerry Eleveld sits in on two very important cases at the U.S. Supreme Court this week.
These three license plates above won’t be placed on any cars in Georgia anytime soon. James Cyrus Gilbert, a resident of Atlanta, is suing the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Driver Services for rejecting three different requests for gay-themed vanity license plates. Gilbert believes the decision is political, telling the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “If I want I could get a tag that said straight man, but because it had gay on it, it’s not available.”
Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson, fiance Justin Mikita, and their newly-launched foundation Tie The Knot, have unveiled their first formal bow tie on Wednesday. The tie, named “The Signature Wedding Bow Tie,” was personally designed by Ferguson and Mikita and is now available online at The Tie Bar. Each signature tie is handmade, retails at an affordable $25, and features a print of the foundation’s symbol, the owl. According to their website, the owl stands as a universal symbol of wisdom, representing foresight, perspective and patience. All proceeds from the sale of the bow ties will go directly to various organizations fighting for civil rights and equality on behalf of the LGBT community.
Click here to support this cause and purchase a bow tie for equality!
The LGBT News Blog for the Visually Stimulated.
