After hours and hours of debate, Hawaii's Senate Judiciary Committee approved a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage. The bill now goes to the full Senate.
The vote was 5-2 Monday night after 12 hours of debate, according to a story by the Associated Press.
A second reading of the bill in the full Senate is set for Tuesday.
Georgia Equality announced today in a press release that the Georgia Department of Revenue is providing guidance for same-sex couples filing state tax returns in responsee to the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling striking down a major portion of the Defense of Marriage Act.
The state Department of Revenue states:
Tennessee is jumping on the marriage equality bandwagon and a federal lawsuit is expected to be filed today demanding the red state legally recognize same-sex marriage from states where they are legal.
Avondale Estates, the home of state Rep. Karla Drenner, the first openly gay state legislator in Georgia, has now established a domestic partnership registry for its residents. The registry extends to lesbian and gay couples as well as opposite-sex couples.
While a domestic partner registry does not offer any legal recognition of a couple's relationship due to Georgia's 2004 constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, the registry does add a level of symbolic recognition to couples and their relationships.
This new resolution should also help boost Avondale Estates' ranking from an 8 out of 100 with the Human Rights Campaign in its next "municipal equality" ranking.