Despite setbacks last week, proponents of LGBT equality are again seeing momentum for trans protections in Maryland and Hawaii and have hopeful eyes on Rhode Island and Delaware to advance equality for same-sex couples.

- CALIFORNIA: Today a bill advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee that would ensure that California textbooks include the contributions of LGBT Americans.

- COLORADO: Denver’s archbishop celebrated the defeat of civil unions there last week by claiming its proponents are the real bigots.

- DELAWARE: As a civil unions bill awaits action in both chambers, opponents of the bill are gathering today to “defend marriage.”

- HAWAII: A transgender non-discrimination bill passed out of Hawaii’s Senate Judiciary Committee this week, and despite a similar bill’s failure six years ago, advocates are optimistic it will become law this time. The bill’s hearing is Thursday at 3:30 EST.

- MARYLAND: The transgender non-discrimination bill thought to be “dead by committee” has cleared the Rules Committee, allowing it to advance.

- RHODE ISLAND: Marriage equality proponents mostly ignored a reciprocal benefits bill introduced yesterday. The full equality bills remain stalled in committee, but may soon come to a vote.

- TENNESSEE: Nashville voted yesterday to end LGBT discrimination in all city contracts, joining over 100 cities with similar measures.

- TEXAS: Consideration has begun on bills that would decriminalize homosexuality and amend the Healthy and Safety Code to no longer call homosexuality a “lifestyle.”

- WASHINGTON: Governor Chris Gregoire (D) today signed a new law that would allow out-of-state same-sex marriages to be recognized in Washington.

Keep track of how LGBT issues are advancing in the states at our State LGBT Watch.

Last year, conservative military chaplains presented a well organized front in opposition to repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The groups argued that lifting the ban would would undermine chaplains’ constitutionally-guaranteed right to freedom of religion and force Orthodox Christian chaplains to exit the military, “leaving an insurmountable void in the fostering of an environment that ensures that the man and women who wear the uniform are in their best mental, emotional and spiritual condition necessary to defend the nation and the ideals that they represent.”

Well now, a different group of retired and active duty Chaplains — who have also worked behind the scenes to overturn the ban — have filed a brief supporting the Log Cabin Republicans’ ongoing challenge to DADT and are publicly rebuking the fearmongering of social conservatives. Tom Carpenter of LGBT/POV reports:

In the brief, the Forum argues that DADT represents no threat to the religious liberty of anti-gay clergy, who will continue to be able to preach their beliefs within their congregations. However, they argue retaining the policy is a threat to religious liberty of all service members “by imposing anti-gay dogma offensive to many religious organizations, [and] by preventing military chaplains from ministering to the needs of service members whose faith communities are welcoming and affirming to gays and lesbians,” among other things.

“The right of anti-gay chaplains to preach their beliefs within their denominations is not being abridged,” said Chaplain Paul Dodd, founder and co-chair of the Forum on the Military Chaplaincy. Dodd served 31 years in the Army Chaplaincy, including a tour as Command Chaplain for the Army Medical Command. “But more importantly, military chaplains are trained to be pluralistic. They must respect the rights of others to hold and practice religious and moral values different from their own. [...]

It gets even better. What about the largest denomination in the military, the Roman Catholics? Their Catechism makes it clear that divorce is as grave an offense against natural law as is homosexuality. Catholics who divorce cannot remarry in the church and if they do remarry, in a civil ceremony, they will be in a state of public and permanent adultery. The Catholic Church commands that gays and lesbians, as well as divorced persons, remain celibate. Doesn’t the presence of legally remarried Catholic service members challenge the religious liberty of Roman Catholic Chaplains?

A recent article in the Christian Post reported that chaplains “already have experience in counseling homosexual soldiers and will likely be able to adjust easily to an openly homosexual military.” The Pentagon has maintained that “[t]here will be no changes regarding Service member exercise of religious beliefs, nor are there any changes to policies concerning the Chaplain Corps of the Military Departments and their duties. The Chaplain Corps’ First Amendment freedoms and their duty to care for all will not change.”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that Republicans are “spinning their wheels” in an effort to “re-litigate” the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, which President Obama signed into law late last year. Pelosi made the remarks in an answer to a question from AmericaBlog’s John Aravosis on a call with progressive bloggers attended by ThinkProgress:

ARAVOSIS: A lot of us are growing increasingly concerned, especially with these hearings going on over the last couple of weeks that the Republicans may make a play to try to derail Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal. Now, whether they do a game with the ongoing budget resolution or whether they try to play some trick with appropriations, do you make any sense of that? [...]

PELOSI: There is a full committee hearing tomorrow, but I think they’re spinning their wheels… They’re trying to re-litigate an issue that’s already resolved in Congress and in the minds of the American people. The American people are way ahead of us on this. This is one of those things that was such a high priority…. For the moment they’re trying to re-litigate it and it’s resolved.

Indeed, in addition to the House Armed Services Committee hearing tomorrow with the service chiefs from the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force (and the Vice Chair of the Army), Republicans held a subcommittee hearing last week. The GOP continued to argue against repeal, even as the Defense Department testified that it expects training to be completed by August and officially certify repeal before the end of the year. At least three of the GOP presidential hopefuls have also said they would reinstate the policy and the Republican National Committee has condemned the change.

A Washington Post/ABC News poll from December 2010, however, found that nearly 80 percent of Americans favor allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military.

Virginia Delegate Bob Marshall (R) continues to resist a proposal that would allow same-sex couples in the Commonwealth of Virginia to adopt children, telling a local Fox affiliate last night that homosexuality is a “disordered behavior” that is “inconsistent with a 6,000-year-old moral code”:

MARSHALL: There’s no real justification for imposing this on private agencies who believe this is a disordered behavior. …

The behavior of the persons adopting is an example to children, it should be a good behavior, consistent with a 6,000-year-old moral code. …

[Former Governor Tim Kaine] wants [Catholic adoption agencies] to be compelled to reject 6,000 years of moral teaching… they should not be required to choose between religious freedom and this.

Morals don’t change. The moral law’s the same 1,000 years ago, 6,000 years ago—civil law can change.

Watch it:

Yesterday, Virginia state delegate Adam Ebbin (D), the first ever openly gay member of the Virginia General Assembly, blasted Marshall’s accusation that gays are “disordered”:

How dare a member of the this body call me intrinsically disordered.

Is it intrinsically disordered to love a child?

Is it intrinsically disordered to ensure that a child has an education?

Gov. Bob McDonnell has also spoken out against the adoption provision, saying he thinks that the current nondiscrimination regulations are “proper,” but should not be expanded to “inhibit the very fine work some faith-based organizations are doing.”

Of course, by not discriminating against same-sex couples or couples of certain religions, the provision would actually expand the work organizations do, assuming they are willing to comply with the policy. Opponents of the policy have referred to it as “mandatory gay adoption.”

This is not Marshall’s first attack on the LGBT community. He recently also attempted to ban gays and lesbians from serving in the Virginia National Guard and spoke out against the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

The governor has until the end of next week to act on the bill.