EDITORIAL
Gay marriage -- the path ahead
Friday, March 5, 2004
THE DEBATE over same-sex marriage -- or, as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist put it, "the wildfire" that began in San Francisco -- is moving fast. The intensity and velocity of the issue should not surprise anyone. The desire for long-suppressed rights, once unshackled, can have such an effect in this nation.

Even if the marriages being performed at San Francisco City Hall hold up to a legal challenge from state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, however, there is no escaping the reality that this must be -- will be -- headed for a national resolution. The federal government now lists 1,049 rights and responsibilities that are tied exclusively to marriage.


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Gay Marriage Ban Advances In 2 States & Dies In 3rd  
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: March 5, 2004 6:34 p.m. ET
The Wisconsin Assembly  approved a proposed amendment to the state Constitution Friday that would prohibit same-sex marriages or civil unions.
"This is nothing more than state sponsored discrimination," said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison) the only openly gay member of the Assembly. "Somehow, I'm three-fifths of a citizen; I thought we got over that stuff a long time ago."


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AP Interview: Gay bishop says he wishes he could marry his partner
By ANNE SAUNDERS
The Associated Press
3/5/04 6:31 PM
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) --
Days before he is to take over as the Episcopal church's leader in New Hampshire, Bishop V. Gene Robinson said he'd marry his same-sex partner "in a minute" if he had the chance.Robinson, whose election as the church's first openly gay bishop last year had divided Episcopalians, said Friday that the gay marriage issue is one of civil rights.