According to a post on Law.com:

The move was laughable to Jon Eisenberg, an Oakland appellate specialist, who offered that the lawyers behind it are “good” and “creative” but “can’t possibly expect it to succeed.”

Read more here!

Gay icon Lady GaGa wants to become an ordained minister in California to officiate over the wedding ceremonies of her gay friends.

According to the UK tabloid Heat Magazine, the star has already taken an online course and would like to marry gay fans on stage.

Read more here!

The bill, AB2199, was carried by Sen. Roy Ashburn, a Republican from Bakersfield. Ashburn revealed he was gay earlier this year after he was cited for driving drunk while leaving a gay bar.

The measure passed the Senate on 36-0 vote without debate.

More here!

According to a post on LGBT POV:

The resolution, which is not legally binding, does not require the signature of the governor. Copies of the resolution are now sent to President Obama, Vice-President Biden, the Treasury Secretary, the IRS and members of the California Congressional delegation for them to understand that it is the will of the California Legislature that same sex married couple should receive the same recognition as domestic partnerships when it comes to filing tax returns and community property.

Read more here!

“This ruling is an historic milestone for millions of loving families, for all who have fought to realize the dream of equality under the law, and for our nation as a whole,” said Courage Campaign Founder and Chairman Rick Jacobs. “While today concludes the first step in a legal process that could take up to two years, Judge Walker’s ruling is a landmark victory in America’s centuries long war against discrimination, and the result of months of extraordinary work by the American Foundation for Equal Rights, Attorneys David Boies and Ted Olson, and courageous plaintiffs Kris Perry, Sandy Stier, Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo.”

Judge Walker’s ruling follows a contentious battle over public access to the trial, two weeks of testimony back in January, defense motions to strike Prop. 8 campaign documents and its own witnesses from the official trial record, and five hours of closing arguments in June.

Together with CREDO Action, the Courage Campaign led efforts to get the Prop. 8 Trial televised — mobilizing 140,000 signatures in just three days after Judge Walker called for public comment on the issue.

After the defense successfully petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to block the order to televise the trial, the Courage Campaign launched prop8trialtracker.com: a live chronicle of the trial proceedings and testimony that Courage Campaign Founder Rick Jacobs — who attended every day of the trial — produced from within Judge Walker’s courtroom. The Prop 8 Trial Tracker has now been viewed more than 2.5 million times, generated more than 43,000 comments, and spawned the NOM Tour Tracker — a chronicle of videos, interviews, photos and first hand reporting on the Summer Tour of one of the Proposition 8′s biggest financial backers, the secretive National Organization for Marriage (NOM).

“History has already taught us that the biggest challenge for the cause of equality exists not just in courtrooms, but in the hearts and minds of the American people,” Jacobs added. “That’s why the public must hear the testimony presented in Judge Walker’s courtroom and that of the millions of loving LGBT families who have come to understand the destructive power of discrimination first-hand. It is clear that when presented with the truth about the millions of families who will be impacted by this decision, most Americans do not support the debunked myths and toxic rhetoric spewed by intolerant fringe groups like NOM.”

In collaboration with legendary LGBT activist Cleve Jones, the 700,000 member Courage Campaign’s educational arm, the Courage Campaign Institute, has also launched an unprecedented national public education campaign aimed at bridging the already narrowing gap between public policy and public opinion on LGBT equality issues. Called Testimony:  Equality on Trial, the multi-year campaign will help activists create, film and upload public trial re-enactments and their own trial depositions on a central clearinghouse website, www.equalityontrial.org.

“Defense attorney Charles Cooper spoke volumes when he declared ‘I have no evidence’ to support second class citizenship for millions of American families during his closing argument in Judge Walker’s courtroom. He’s been proven right, and Equalityontrial.org is designed to collect the overwhelming evidence — the stories of the millions of families who live the fight against discrimination every day, and to present them to the leaders and everyday people who may be altogether unfamiliar with these experiences, but on whom the principles of equality under the law must ultimately be applied.”

Courage Campaign Equality is a part of the Courage Campaign‘s multi-issue online organizing network that empowers more than 700,000 grassroots and netroots supporters to push for progressive change and full equality in California and across the country. For more information on “Testimony: Equality on Trial” — our year-long campaign to bring the Prop 8 trial into the lives of Americans — visit http://www.EqualityOnTrial.org

. For more information on the Prop. 8 Trial, visit our Prop 8 Trial Tracker blog at http://prop8trialtracker.com.  Learn more about our summer-long campaign to hold secretive Prop. 8 financier, the National Organization for Marriage, accountable for its lies and divisive rhetoric about LGBT families at www.nomtourtracker.com.

Rick Jacobs is the founder and chair of the Courage Campaign. He chaired Howard Dean’s presidential campaign in California. He is also the co-founder of Brave New Films and a featured contributor to Arianna Huffington’s Huffingtonpost.com. Rick has an extensive background as an international investor and senior executive. An openly gay man, Jacobs attended every day of the historic Prop. 8 Federal Trial in January 2010, liveblogging directly from U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker’s courtroom to the Prop 8 Trial Tracker, garnering more than 2.5 million page views and 43,000 comments from across America.

According to a post on San Diego Gay & Lesbian News:

When most people think of the typical Southern California college, the safety, equality and rights of GLBT students don’t usually cross their minds.

However, San Diego State University and the University of California San Diego are working hard to foster an environment of acceptance and pride for GLBT students on each of the campuses.

Find out what they’re doing at: SDGLN!

According to the Washington Post:

Restore Equality 2010 chairman Sean Bohac says the volunteer-run group fell short of gathering the nearly 695,000 signatures needed to put the initiative before voters. Monday was the deadline for submitting the signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Read more here!

According to a post at News Tribune:

The Republican contest to determine who will challenge California Sen. Barbara Boxer in the fall has focused so far on the bread-and-butter issues of the day — jobs, the economy and federal spending.

That’s changing as the June primary draws closer. A national group opposed to gay marriage is trying to shift the focus to that lightning rod issue in the coming weeks, putting pressure on the candidate seen as the most moderate of the three GOP challengers.

Former congressman Tom Campbell, a supporter of gay marriage, finds himself under attack and his previous front-runner status reduced to a statistical tie with former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina in one poll. Another poll taken about the same time showed Campbell clinging to a narrow lead.

The National Organization for Marriage is spending $300,000 on television ads that liken Campbell to Boxer on taxes and gay marriage, calling them two peas in the same liberal pod.

Read more here!

So it looks like NOM is keeping a close eye…and some money on California…of course to prevent the damage they’ve caused from being undone! NOM, like a recurring nightmare…

Many LGBT bloggers in their subsequent postings expressed outrage, some feigning utter contempt with the use of vulgarity for the entertainment of their readership, in what appears to be the “best keep known secret” in California.

In the days which followed it was reported that many in various local communities knew Ashburn was, or at the very least suspected he was gay, having been seen in several gay bars in California. Many would share a drink or two with Ashburn. It has even been said that local media knew of Ashburn’s “closeted” side.

Yet as many pointed out even before Ashburn admitted in a radio interview on KERN that he was in fact gay, all these people including the press never, so it seems, ever called out Ashburn for being a gay man and yet voting against LGBT issues in the state of California.

In his remarks in the interview Ashburn stated, ”The best way to handle that is to be truthful and say to my constituents and all who care I am gay”.

He continued, “My votes reflect the wishes of the people in my district, I have always felt that my faith and allegiance was to the people there in the district, my constituents.”

More of this excellent post about Roy Ashburn at: Focus On The Rainbow!

Now this news on it’s own is nothing unusual. Politicians all over the world like the odd tipple, and it’s quite common for them to be charged with drink driving and things like that. But what turns this story upside down, has created a media frenzy is where this opponent of gay rights was seen leaving Faces, a gay nightclub in downtown Sacramento!

Yep, this campaigner against our equal rights, not only gets himself busted drink driving coming out of a gay club, but he also had an unidentified male in the passenger seat, and let me tell you, it wasn’t any of his staff!

More at: Gayagenda.com!