Please excuse the awful title- I merely plagiarized it from the words of some of our Republican Presidential candidates. To be honest, the words I chose could have been much worse. So where do the Republican candidates stand Same-Sex Marriage? The outlook is not so good. Historically both the Democratic and Republican party platforms have opposed Marriage Equality. Although the Republican party is more overt about it. Whereas the Democratic Party supports full benefits, parental rights and protection from discrimination of same-sex couples, the Republican Party calls for a Federal Amendment defining marriage as between a "man and woman". As for President Obama, in the most technical sense, he still opposes using the term "marriage" when defining same-sex couples. Unsurprisingly, he has not explicitly said so since the 2008 campaign. Many expect the President's stance on Marriage Equality to evolve before the 2012 campaign is in full swing. Politically, it may be good for the President to wait to announce his support- after all American's suffer from a lack of long-term memory. As for the viable Republican candidates, not one of them supports Marriage Equality- and many of them oppose benefits for civil unions. Allow us to do some introductions for you. Michele Bachmann, ...

What does this mean? Governor Cuomo must sign the bill. 30 days thereafter, legal same-sex marriage will be able to be performed in the State of New York. Same-sex couples will enjoy all benefits married couples enjoy provided by the State of New York. They will not enjoy those provided by the Federal Government. This means that same-sex married couples will still have to file as "single" on their federal taxes. What was negotiated? In order to gain the necessary votes, Democrats and Republicans provided exemptions for religious clergymen, affiliated non-for-profits and fraternal organizations that wish not to marry or provide services to same-sex couples. Why is this significant? New York has become the most populous State in the Union to recognize the performance of same-sex marriage. These are the facts.

The days are numbered in Albany this week. The Legislature breaks for summer recess as of Friday. A vote on Marriage Equality must take place between now and then. So what's holding it up still? Ostensibly, there is one remaining issue up for negotiation- exemptions for religious groups that do not wish to recognize same-sex unions. In the final bill, this may account for less that fifteen words, but they are critical none-the-less. There are rumors going around asserting that churches and clergy members would have to perform Marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples against their will. In fact, that is true... in states like Connecticut that mandate it, if a clergy member wishes to perform a service, the member must use the word "Marriage". In New York, the situation is wildly different. The Marriage Equality bill passed in the Assembly allows clergymen to excuse themselves if they personally oppose same-sex unions. The bill also stipulates that fraternal organizations, such as the Knights of Columbus, can not be compelled to rent their venues or provide services to same-sex unions. This is a particularly large concession considering fraternal organizations are commonly held to the same anti-discrimination standards that non-for-profits are. So what remains? Some ...

I've never really seen the appeal of medical dramas, as hospitals tend to freak me out in all situations. However, I've always given Grey's Anatomy credit for being super progressive with its diverse cast, both in terms of race and sexuality. Last week's episode featuring the characters Callie and Arizona (could you really ask for a better lesbian couple name?) walking down the aisle. The last time I saw a lesbian wedding on mainstream network television was probably on Friends in 1995, so this is great news indeed. The show featured a straight couple getting married at the same time, but that's okay- we love everyone! http://youtu.be/kiIFEDBbnQ8

LGBT rights champion and President of EqualityMatters.org Richard Socarides answers some questions about current issues facing our community. Richard served as a Senior White House Advisor to President Bill Clinton and has been instrumental in advancing equality for the past 20 years.