New York Same-Sex Marriage Vote Tonight...Watch The Livestream here!

Watch live streaming video from nysenate at livestream.com

O.K....two days of footdragging, political gamesmanship, and outright stalling, Senate leaders claim a vote will happen tonight. Tune in and lets see if they stay true to their word.

The DADT Repeal and Other Farces

Yesterday Pams House Blend ran a breaking news post that DADT could possibly have been voted on that very day...after languishing in committees and being studied to death, Harry Reid was going to grab everyone by the short and curlies and make them come in for a vote....."Dam" I thought, "That's big news". So I held off blogging to see if I would have big news to share with all of you...and I waited....twitter campaigns were launched...senators were called...and I waited some more. By evening, nothing had manifested. To say I was underwhelmed by the lack of action would be putting it mildly..completely unsurprised would be closer to the truth.

This morning brought an avalanche of blog updates about what went on behind the scenes and most of it is laughable if not downright obscene. A vote is again scheduled for today, 12:00 eastern time. Which means that it could be happening literally as I am writing this blog post...or it could be yet another pause in what I have come to think of as the Don't Ask Don't Tell Comedy hour...if only it wasn't so close to tragedy. You'll, laugh till you cry!...or mostly just cry...

Exact Change

President Obama offered us the slogan "Change we can believe in" but was all of that just smoke and mirrors to earn him the Presidential seat? Certainly, many promises were made. Not only to the gay community but to the nation at large. So many, in fact, that it left many of us wondering how the hell any President could accomplish them all within their time in office. Which in turn begs the question, "Did he intend to?" This time...his promise to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell is again in doubt. Leading many, myself included, to question the sincerity of his promises and to consider a proper course of action if they turn out to be intentionally false.

Babystepping To Marriage Equality

The struggle for marriage equality has seen some major changes in the last year that has changed the way the game is played. High on developments early on in Maine, Massachusetts, and California I think that many believed that gay marriage was finally going to have its day. Then we took some big hits. First in California, then in again in Maine. Both of these scenarios had the shared attributes of being big wins and big losses...but what slippes under the radar sometimes are the little changes that may not come with as much fanfare but nonetheless move us closer to where we want to be.

During the dark days and brooding over Maines loss of Marriage equality many highlighted Washington states win over Referendum 71 that would have taken away civil partnership rights from gay and lesbian couples. It was a tiny light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Also...and a bit off topic...came big wins out of the country in places like Argentina and Mexico City. Those wins allowed us to look ahead and think that maybe marriage equality would come to us in a permanent form someday. Even if we arent the ones to lead the way.

Recently the U.S. has taken a couple more baby steps forward.

Religious Freedom vs. Civil Right...The Pope Strikes back!

Wow...I woke up this morning to find my email box screaming at me with an urgent GFV alert. Apparently the Catholic Church is at odds with UK lawmakers over a proposed equality bill and it has attracted the attention of Pope Benedict the XVI....as I understand it, it's generally not a good thing to pop up on the Popes radar...especially to the extent that he feels the need to make a personal appearance. The last time the Pope personally visited the UK was 1982....wow. You all must have done something really bad for the Pope to come personally after that long an absence...

New Jersey Marriage Equality Hearings Begin Today!

Lately I have been hanging back from electoral or legislative processes...because the emotional rollercoaster can be too much when your emotionally involved in it....but...There are those out there who's lives and rights are on the line today. I've got both fingers crossed for the Garden state today.

However,...while I am a tad obsesive when it comes to blog reading...I can't be here all day. For up to date coverage I am linking to a live blog session at www.bluejersey.com. I will follow its progress and hopefully have something good to report afterward.

Bryan