BOSTON  – Massachusetts is suing the federal government over a law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. State Attorney General Martha Coakley filed the lawsuit Wednesday in federal court in Boston. It says the federal Defense of Marriage Act interferes with the right of Massachusetts to define marriage as it sees fit.

The 1996 federal law denies federal recognition of gay marriage. Massachusetts was the first state to allow the practice.

The Boston-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders has already sued over the federal law. It says it discriminates against gay couples and is unconstitutional because it denies them access to federal benefits that other married couples receive.

WASHINGTON  – A law recognizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere has gone into effect in the District of Columbia.

The bill was approved in a 12-1 vote by the D.C. Council in May, with council member Marion Barry casting the lone no vote.

Congress, which has the final say over the city’s laws, had 30 days to review the bill. A push by black church leaders who oppose gay marriage failed to get a referendum on the matter.

And Congress took no action, allowing the bill to become law Tuesday.

Council member David Catania has said that recognizing gay marriages performed elsewhere is a first step toward performing same-sex weddings in the city.

Six states – Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire – allow same-sex marriage.

AUGUSTA, Maine  – The Maine Legislature has given final approval to gay marriage and sent the bill to an undecided governor.

The Senate voted for the bill on Wednesday but not by enough votes to override a veto. Gov. John Baldacci (bahl-DAH’-chee) has 10 days to decide whether to sign it.

The bill would make Maine the fifth state to allow gay marriage. Voters could still overturn the law in a referendum even if the governor signs it.

Four states currently allow same-sex marriages. Connecticut, Massachusetts and Iowa have been ordered by the courts to do so, and Connecticut has enacted a law codifying a court ruling. Vermont passed a gay marriage law in April over the governor’s objection.

WASHINGTON  – After an emotional debate, the D.C. Council gave final approval Tuesday to legislation that recognizes same-sex marriages performed in other states.

The vote is considered the first step toward eventually allowing gay marriages to be performed in Washington. Congress, which has final say over the city’s laws, will get 30 days to review the bill assuming Democratic Mayor Adrian Fenty, a supporter, signs it. If Congress takes no action, the bill will become law automatically. President Barack Obama and congressional leaders have not signaled where they stand.

“The march towards equality is coming to this country, and you can either be a part of it or stand in the way,” said David Catania, one of two openly gay D.C. Council members.

Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Iowa already allow gay marriage and lawmakers in several other states are considering whether to do the same. New York recognizes gay marriages performed in other states.

The D.C. Council vote was 12-to-1, with former Mayor Marion Barry casting the lone opposing vote. He called it an “agonizing and difficult decision” that he made after prayer and consulting with the religious community.

Catania called the issue one of fundamental fairness and said it’s about acknowledging that his family is just as valid as anybody else’s.

The congressional review could be the new Congress’ first opportunity to signal its appetite for re-examining the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows states to do the same.

Advocates from both sides were part of an overflow crowd that filled city hall, and more than 100 opponents from churches in the Washington region held a rally across the street on Freedom Plaza. Among them was the Rev. Derek McCoy from the Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md.

“Once you redefine marriage, you redefine family,” he said.

Gay marriage supporters gathered outside the council hearing room included Ed Grandis, a lawyer who lives in Dupont Circle with his husband, J.D. Campos. The pair married in California last year during the time same-sex marriage was legal there, and they hope to have their marriage recognized in D.C.

“We don’t have any interest in making their religious institution recognize our marriage or our relationship,” Grandis said. Instead, Grandis said, it’s about the government recognizing the couple’s civil rights.

The district already recognizes domestic partnerships, but gay marriage supporters say that’s not enough.

“It’s an equality issue,” said Sara Mindel, who has been with her partner for nine years and has a 10-month-old son. “In my mind, marriage, although it’s a wonderful religious ceremony, ultimately gives you so many important states rights and legal rights.”

ALBANY, N.Y. – New York Gov. David Paterson and opponents of gay marriage square off for another round tomorrow.

Patterson is making another push to legalize gay marriage in New York by introducing the same bill that died in 2007 and which opponents vow to kill again.

Patterson seeks to tap into the momentum of other states that have recently allowed same-sex couples to wed, but the measure will face stiff opposition in the Legislature.

The Democrat-controlled Assembly passed the bill 85-61 in 2007, but it died in the Senate, where the Republican majority kept it from going to a vote.

The Democrats gained a 32-30 majority in last November’s elections. Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith says he still doesn’t believe there are enough votes to pass it.

Paterson says gays and lesbians in civil unions are denied a host of protections such as health care and pension rights.

WASHINGTON  – The next battleground over gay marriage could be the U.S. Capitol.

A preliminary vote by the District of Columbia city council to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere puts the issue on a path to Congress, which has final say over D.C.’s laws. That may force lawmakers to take up the politically dicey debate after years of letting it play out in the states.

“Let’s be clear, this is a new era,” openly gay D.C. Council member David Catania said Wednesday, expressing optimism that the city’s law would clear Congress after a final council vote in May.

The council’s unanimous vote Tuesday came the same day Vermont became the fourth state to legalize gay marriage and the first to do so with a legislature’s vote. Court rulings led to same-sex marriages in the three other states where it’s legal: Connecticut, Massachusetts and Iowa.

Like the measure approved in D.C., New York also recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere but hasn’t issued its own marriage licenses for gay and lesbian couples.

The situation in D.C. is unique, though. After the legislation receives final approval from the council, which is supposed to come next month, the bill is then subject to a 30-day congressional review. That review could be the new Congress’ first opportunity to signal its appetite for re-examining the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages and allows states to do the same.

Since that federal law was passed in 1996, the debate has primarily played out in individual states.

Vermont became the first state to legalize civil unions – in 1999 – and Massachusetts was the first state to legalize same-sex marriages, which began taking place there in 2004.

Advocates see Washington holding symbolic importance in the debate, but some stressed that there isn’t a dominant battleground in the quest for marriage equality.

“The district is equivalent to a small state, and the only difference is Congress’ ability to interfere with local
decisions,” said David Smith, vice president of the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign. “We would treat it as any other state and move to defend the decision of the legislature or the courts.”

However, Jennifer Pizer, marriage project director at New York-based Lambda Legal, noted that D.C. is unique and influential because of its national focus.

“There’s important national attention on the things that happen in the district because it’s the seat of the federal government,” she said.

Opponents said it remains to be seen whether a Democrat-controlled Congress will have any interest in repealing the city’s efforts. A spokesman for a House subcommittee that oversees the city’s affairs said Wednesday that the subcommittee was not commenting on the D.C. measure. Congress is in recess through April 17.

Peter Sprigg, vice president for policy at the Family Research Council, a Christian organization that opposes same-sex marriage, said the group was considering several strategies, including a legal challenge on whether the legislation violates the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

“I’m concerned that every step closer to same-sex marriage that does not meet resistance makes it easier for some people to accept same-sex marriage down the road,” Sprigg said.

The Obama Administration has spoken of working with Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. John Berry, who is gay and support repealing the federal policy that defines marriage as between a man and a woman, was confirmed by the Senate last week to lead the Office of Personnel Management.

Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., said she hopes the momentum of the D.C. Council’s vote, along with the recent changes in Iowa and Vermont, “will bring our country closer to recognizing the right of consenting individuals in monogamous, long-term relationships to marry.” Tsongas added that she would strongly advocate for the D.C. law in Congress.

The issue of same-sex relationships in D.C. has previously run into trouble on Capitol Hill.

The district passed a law in 1992 recognizing domestic partnerships, which extended medical decision-making powers and other benefits to same-sex couples. But Congress restricted the city from spending its own funds to implement the law until 2002.

City officials say it’s rare for Congress to meddle in local affairs, but it’s not unprecedented.

Recently, lawmakers unhappy with D.C.’s strict gun control measures have tried to weaken the regulations by attaching an amendment to a bill giving the city its first full vote in Congress.

“Everyone would agree we have a tricky relationship with Congress, even when our allies are in power,” said Catania, who is pledging to introduce a measure soon that would legalize same-sex marriages in the district. “But progress is made by moving forward, not standing still.”

MONTPELIER, Vt.  – Vermont has become the fourth state to legalize gay marriage – and the first to do so with a legislature’s vote.

The Legislature voted Tuesday to override Gov. Jim Douglas’ veto of a bill allowing gays and lesbians to marry. The vote was 23-5 to override in the state Senate and 100-49 to override in the House. Under Vermont law, two-thirds of each chamber had to vote for override.

The vote came nine years after Vermont adopted its first-in-the-nation civil unions law.

It’s now the fourth state to permit same-sex marriage. Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa are the others. Their approval of gay marriage came from the courts.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – About half of North Carolina adults oppose a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, as the state continues to separate itself from its Southern peers.

An Elon University poll released Monday found that 50.4 percent of respondents oppose or strongly oppose such an amendment. More than 43 percent of those in the survey said they would support or strongly support it.

Voters in every Southern state except North Carolina have approved state constitutional amendments restricting marriage to a union between one man and one woman.

Democratic leaders in North Carolina argue that state law already prohibits gay marriage, but supporters say an amendment would provide stronger protections for traditional marriage.

The Elon poll surveyed 620 North Carolina residents from March 15 to March 19. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

By Chris Cowperthwaite
NBC17

Several thousand people turned out Tuesday for a marriage rally at Halifax Mall, despite temperatures hovering around the mid-20’s.The group is supporting a bill that would put a proposed amendment defining marriage as one woman and one man on the November ballot.

Church groups from all over the state converged on Raleigh, saying North Carolina is a “target” for gay rights supporters, since it is the only state in the southeast that has not passed a similar constitutional amendment.

This same bill has been introduced six times previously, but so far has not made it out of committee.

A small group of gay rights activists stood a short distance away from the rally; Capitol Police would not let them on to Halifax Mall.