California

The Advocate published a Valentine's Day op-ed that featured a bi-national same-sex couple, one of 35,000 in the US, who constantly fear being ripped apart by DOMA.

In a night of many historic firsts, California Democrat Mark Takano made history by becoming the first openly gay person of color to be elected to Congress. He is also the state’s first openly gay federal lawmaker, representing the state’s highly contested 41st District in Riverside County.

The New York Times published a profile of anti-gay campaign architect Frank Schubert, but it fails to hold him accountable for the speech and actions of those he has tasked with carrying out his campaigns.

Roman Catholic leaders throughout the United States continue to demonstrate that they will not support equality for LGBT people, despite widespread support among American Catholics. The next leader of the Catholic Church in San Francisco was recently announced as Salvatore Cordileone, one of the architects of Proposition 8. Meanwhile, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago and Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle both reiterated their opposition to marriage equality in public statements.

A California Cub Scouts troop opposes Boy Scouts of America's discriminatory ban on gay scouts and LGBT leaders, saying it will ignore the anti-gay messages sent by the national organization.