As expected, the Rhode Island House of Representatives voted today to approve marriage equality legislation with a vote of 51-19. The bill now advances to the Senate, where the Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed (D) previously blocked a vote. This year, though, Paiva Weed has promised to allow a vote after approval in the House, but it’s unclear when that will occur. Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I) has promised to sign the bill and block any attempts to refer the question to a referendum.

An October poll showed that 56 percent of Rhode Island voters support marriage equality. Same-sex marriages from other states are already recognized by state agencies. After over a year of offering civil unions, less than 100 couples bothered to obtain one. All other states in New England — Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut — already recognize and offer same-sex marriages.

A new PPP poll of Minnesotans shows a plurality now supports marriage equality, by a 47 to 45 margin. Fully 75 percent of Minnesotans (including 65 percent of Republicans) back at least allowing civil unions. PPP estimates that given the trend and the age demographics, a majority Minnesotans will likely support marriage equality by the next election.

In November, Minnesotans defeated a marriage inequality constitutional amendment, proposed by the then-Republican majorities in the state’s House and Senate, by a 51-47 margin. At the same time, voters elected new Democratic Farm Labor (Minnesota’s Democratic Party) majorities in both chambers.

Armed with the popular mandate from November’s elections, supporters of marriage equality plan to push a bill to grant same-sex couples the right to marry in Minnesota in the next few months. Gov. Mark Dayton (D) has pledged to sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

A Kentucky Baptist minister protested on behalf of same-sex marriage by refusing to leave the county clerk’s office until he and his partner received a marriage license. Rev. Maurice “Bojangles” Blanchard and Dominique James walked in — already knowing they would be refused — and were later arrested when the office closed. Blanchard said the sit-in showed they would not be “silent accomplices to our own discrimination.”

In an interview with the Louisville Courier-Journal, Blanchard pointed out that religious leaders stand behind his right to marriage:

We’re here today to give nonviolence witness and let folks know that even people of faith, most definitely people of faith are going to stand up to and say this is wrong [...] We anticipate being denied and upon that denial we are going to sit down and not be moved and not leave as a sign of a method of nonviolent resistance. Because we feel if we do not resist we’re silent accomplices to our own discrimination.

Watch the interview and their arrest:

 

Same-sex couples have sought to expose discrimination in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia by applying for marriage licenses, only to be denied because of state law. Polls show that most Americans endorse marriage equality, while the movement has strong backing from the religious community.

The YMCA in Tyler, Texas has allegedly refused to offer a family membership to a lesbian couple who have a 20-year-old son and who also take care of another young man. Apparently, they did offer such a membership ten years ago when the couple’s son was on the swim team, but now that he is not, the YMCA suddenly is requiring a marriage certificate, which of course they cannot obtain in Texas.

One of the moms, Suzy Sheridan, has started a Change.org petition challenging the YMCA’s discrimination:

The Tyler YMCA has discriminated against my family and denied letting us join under the family plan because we are not a traditional family. My life partner and I have been together for over twenty years and have a 20 year old son. We also assist another young man who has lived with us nearly two years. I was told I would have to produce a marriage certificate before they would let us join under the family plan. I told them that was not possible since I live in Texas and our long time relationship was not recognized in this state. I told them that I felt they were being discriminatory. What’s ironic is that they didn’t have a problem letting us join under the family plan when our son swam on their swim team 10 years ago. I feel they should have a policy across the board for all their facilities allowing all types of families to join their organization.

Last year, the Baylor’s Tom Landry Fitness Center in Dallas, Texas similarly refused to offer a family membership to a same-sex couple. Rather than expand their membership policies, they abandoned family memberships entirely to avoid the couple’s discrimination complaint. In contrast, a Virginia athletic club recently apologized for discriminating against a gay family and started offering inclusive memberships.

President Obama’s second inaugural address was no doubt a milestone for its inclusion of gays and lesbians, but noticeably absent was any mention of the experience of transgender people. Sadie, who is 11 years old and has identified as trans since Kindergarten, noticed the omission, and chose to write her own “speech” in response. Here is “Sadie’s Dream for the World“:

The world would be a better place if everyone had the right to be themselves, including people who have a creative gender identity and expression. Transgender people are not allowed the freedom to do things everyone else does, like go to the doctor, go to school, get a job, and even make friends.Transgender kids like me are not allowed to go to most schools because the teachers think we are different from everyone else. The schools get afraid of how they will talk with the other kids’ parents, and transgender kids are kept secret or told not to come there anymore. Kids are told not to be friends with transgender kids, which makes us very lonely and sad.

When they grow up, transgender adults have a hard time getting a job because the boss thinks the customers will be scared away. Doctors are afraid of treating transgender patients because they don’t know how to take care of them, and some doctors don’t really want to help them. Transgender patients like me travel to other states to see a good doctor.

It would be a better world if everyone knew that transgender people have the same hopes and dreams as everyone else. We like to make friends and want to go to school. Transgender people want to get good jobs and go to doctors like they are exactly the same. It really isn’t that hard to like transgender people because we are like everyone else.

Sadie’s mom, Sage, told the Huffington Post that Sadie is very outspoken and introduces herself to people by saying, “Hi, I’m Sadie, my favorite color is pink, I’m vegan, and I’m transgender. Who are you?”