New York:

The State Assembly approved legislation on Tuesday night that would make New York the sixth state to allow same-sex marriage—a pivotal vote that shifts the debate to the State Senate, where gay rights advocates and conservative groups alike are redoubling their efforts.

This victory can be credited, in large part, to Assemblyman Danny O'Donnell's efforts—and please note that he's willing to play hardball in defense of his own rights and the rights of other gay and lesbian New Yorkers.

Mr. O’Donnell’s unsubtle approach has endeared him to some colleagues in the Capitol and rankled others. While using flattery on certain wavering lawmakers, he has been aggressive with others, threatening to withhold support from fellow Democrats, for example, who declined to be listed as sponsors of the measure.

“Some might say you get more bees from vinegar, sugar than vinegar, whatever that stupid expression is,” said Mr. O’Donnell, who is from the Upper West Side. He added: “If you want to run for attorney general or for governor or lieutenant governor or senator or congressperson, and you’re not in favor of my equality, then I’m not interesting in helping you. And I’ve made that clear.”

When a handful of right-wing groups filed a referendum to repeal the domestic-partnership bill last week, they hoped conservative and religious groups would join together to halt the gay-marriage parade. But instead, their coalition is already fracturing and gay-rights organizations are growing faster than ever.

“We are building our capacity in a way we could not do without a referendum threat,” says Josh Friedes, advocacy director of Equal Rights Washington (ERW), which supported the domestic partnership bill. Within the first 72 hours of launching a multi-organization campaign against Referendum 71 last Friday, over 7,500 people signed a pledge refusing to sign the petition. In a typical three-day period during an outreach campaign, only 100 to 300 would sign up with ERW. “It is turning into a goldmine for identifying supporters of marriage equality,” he says. “We are in essence creating a network army.”

Numerous other groups—including groups that are not focused on gay-rights issues—are also piling on. Among them is Fuse, a state-based online advocacy group, which has been appealing to its 100,000-person list to organize against Referendum 71. “We believe that everyone deserves equal protection under the law and we have little patience for the right-wing hate machine,” says Fuse director Aaron Ostrom.

Meanwhile, a Facebook group to oppose Ref. 71 grew by 100 people an hour in its first two days, says Joe Mirabella, the Washington organizer of jointheimpact.com, which orchestrated the anti-Prop 8 protests last November. (In the time it took me to write this short post, the group gained 20 new members.) Moreover, the people signing up want to help run a campaign to defeat the referendum, he says. “People are really motivated to volunteer. They are coming forwards saying that ‘This is what I’m good at, how can I help?’”

The ballooning volunteer and donor base creates the groundwork for a campaign to completely legalize gay marriage in Washington State in the next few years. “In many ways, this is probably our opponents’ worst nightmare,” says Friedes.

Join the Facebook group here. Sign the decline-to-sign petition here.

Donald Trump defended Miss CA today by pointing out that her position—marriage is between a man and a woman—is no different than Barack Obama's position.

First, Barack Obama supports—or so we were lead to believe—the repeal of DOMA and the creation of federal civil unions that would confer all the rights and responsibilities of marriage on same-sex couples. Miss CA—who at first seemed to believe that same-sex marriage was legal across the United States—has crawled into bed with anti-gay bigots who oppose any legal recognition of same-sex relationships. The National Organization for Marriage crowd opposes domestic partnerships and civil unions, arguing that the latter is just a step in the direction of same-sex marriage. Which they are. NOM opposes the repeal of DOMA. So Trump and Miss CA shouldn't be allowed to argue that Miss CA takes takes the same position Obama does when it comes to same-sex couples when Miss CA is out there raising money for the scum at NOM.

Now here's John at Americablog on Trump and Miss CA pointing to Barack Obama's position on same-sex marriage:

It's part of a pattern that started last year during the Prop 8 battle over gay marriage in California. The religious right, at that time, invoked Barack Obama's "opposition" to gay marriage as a reason to vote for their cause. Since that time, the comparisons to Obama have only grown louder.... What does this mean and why am I writing about it? Because we've come to the point where Obama can no longer duck the question. Gay civil rights are roaring ahead like a runaway freedom train, and it's only a matter of time before the Obama administration, whether they like it or not—and it increasingly looks like "not"—are going to have to start answering some questions, if not actually do something, about their commitment to gay civil rights.

Gays and lesbians have endured too many "poorly-resolved gay bimbo eruptions" over the last year, says John, and he foresees a showdown with the Obama administration over gay rights. I think it may be time to march on Washington. Read John's whole post here.

...I read the SGN. Molly Moon's, gentrification, SEAF, peel-and-eat shrimp, FTMs into S&M, Mother's Day, recommended skin-care products, Dollhouse, Matthew Shepard, Natasha Richardson, the trans film festival, recycling, complaints about Metro bus drivers, new fragrances, a critique of the automobile industry, modern haberdashery—all packed into one action-packed column.