While equality inches forward in some states, echoes of inequality freshly resound in others. Here’s a round-up of the latest.

- DELAWARE: The Senate Administration and Elections Committee approved the bill and it now moves to the Senate floor for consideration. “The bill restricts civil unions in Delaware to same-sex couples, keeping marriage under state law limited to opposite-sex couples.”

- ARKANSAS: The Arkansas legislature has passed an anti-bullying law that enumerates the attributes of sexual orientation and gender identity (PDF). Meanwhile, the Arkansas Supreme Court recently heard arguments in the challenge against the ban on same-sex adoption voted into effect in 2008.

- COLORADO: Hearings begin tomorrow in the House for the civil unions bill that passed in the Senate last week.

- INDIANA: A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage has passed both houses. It will need to be passed again in 2013-2014 to complete the amendment process.

- MARYLAND: A bill that would prohibit discrimination based on gender identity has hit a snag in the Senate that may lead to the bill’s death in a committee “graveyard.”

- MONTANA: Efforts to repeal the state’s anti-sodomy laws are struggling despite having been ruled unconstitutional 14 years ago.

- NORTH CAROLINA: A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage has been introduced and is currently in committee.

For a complete overview of the latest developments in the marriage battleground states of Rhode Island, Maryland, New York, California, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Wyoming, Iowa, and New Mexico, click here.

After the Supreme Court declined a request to hear a lawsuit intending to allow a voter referendum on Washington DC’s same-sex marriage law in January, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) — chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC) — told The Hill that he will push for a vote to establish a referendum to overturn the law. Now, Congressional Quarterly is reporting that Jordan is drafting the proposal and expects “to draw strong support from House Republicans”:

He and other conservatives say they are weighing how best to promote the vote as an example of Republicans fulfilling a campaign promise. The GOP’s 2010 Pledge to America vowed that a Republican majority would “honor families, traditional marriage, life and the private and faith-based organizations that form the core of our American values.” [...]

But several lawmakers said Boehner has resisted making a similar commitment to press measures in opposition to gay marriage.

The Speaker skirted demands from conservatives earlier this month for a vote on a proposal to instruct House lawyers to defend a provision in the 1996 Defense of Marriage (PL 104-199) that directs the government to recognize marriages only between men and women.

The level of Republican support is difficult to gauge as the GOP leadership attempts to keep the focus on the economy and remains weary of weighing in too heavily on LGBT issues. In this case, not only does a majority of Americans now supports same-sex marriage, but a Congressional intervention into the D.C. law undermines conservatives’ efforts to present their campaign as a local effort to give DC residents the right to vote on the issue. Any additional focus on anti-LGBT issues could also bolster the presidential candidacies of Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) and Rick Santorum, who would face the steepest road in a general election.

D.C.’s marriage law was enacted in 2009, after the D.C. Council passed two measures to recognize marriages performed outside and inside the District. Both bills passed though a mandated congressional review period without challenge, even though several conservative Republicans sponsored bills to ban same-sex marriages in D.C.

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)

The Washington Blade’s Chris Johnson is reporting that Republicans on the Armed Services subcommittee have scheduled a Friday hearing about the implementation of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, setting up a potentially acrimonious confrontation between opponents of lifting the ban and the Pentagon officials in charge of instituting it:

The House Armed Services personnel subcommittee, which will hold the hearing, is chaired by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), who’s renowned for shouting “You Lie!” to President Obama during the 2010 State of the Union address. Wilson was a vocal opponent of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal last year and cast a “no” against ending the military’s gay ban. [...]

The hearing apparently has the endorsement of U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). Asked via e-mail whether the speaker supports the hearing to oversee “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal implementation, Michael Steel, a Boehner spokesperson, replied, “That seems to be appropriate.”

While Congressional oversight of repeal seems like a legitimate end, Republicans have used the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy as a means of drumming up their conservative base and are reportedly planning an additional full committee hearing on April 7. At least three Republican presidential nominees have come out in favor of reinstating the policy and 25 Congressional Republicans are co-sponsoring legislation that would add the four military service chiefs to the list of those who must sign off on repealing the policy before it can be officially scrapped. Two of the sponsors are members of the personnel subcommittee.

Wilson, the committee’s chairman, has said that it was “irresponsible” for Congress to “repeal the ban on openly gay service members without giving the House of Representatives time to hold hearings” and promised to “support the repeal of the repeal.”