The Proposition 8 trial is the first gay marriage trial to be held in federal court.  No matter what the outcome of the trial in California, the case is expected to make it to the Supreme Court and could determine if marriage is defined as between one man and one woman or if equal marriage rights will be extended to everyone.

One of the most interesting exchanges in the trial so far was when the judge asked, “If California would simply get out of the marriage business and classify everyone as a domestic partnership, would that solve the problem?”  The lawyer arguing for gay marriage rights, Theodore Olson, said that change would address any constitutional issues about the current differences between gay marriage and civil unions. However, he believes it would not be politically viable for the government to stop performing marriages and only issue civil unions.

After a series of defeats in the fight for equal rights for marriage in Maine and California there have been a few encouraging signs.  The first openly female gay mayor was recently elected in Houston and now the mayor of D.C. is expected to sign a bill today providing equal rights to gay couples in the D.C. area.  He followed the City Council in D.C. that overwhelmingly passed the bill on December 1.

The law now goes to Congress for review.  Congress has a 30 day review period for any laws passed in D.C. and can overturn the laws during that time.  The law is not expected to be altered during the review period and is expected to pass with the Democratic majority that’s currently in place.

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and Iowa currently have same sex marriage rights and New Hampshire’s same sex marriage laws start on January 1.

The Catholic Church’s Archdiocese of Washington has threatened to stop all charity services in the area if the law passes.  They provide several million dollars worth of services to the homeless and poor in the D.C. area.  Their threats to withdraw their funds and help in the area have not deterred the city council or the Mayor.