Iceland's Johanna Sigurdardóttir is set to see her country allow same-sex marriages. (Courtesy of Telegraph.co.uk)

According to the San Diego Gay and Lesbian News via Towleroad, Iceland is finalizing a same-sex marriage equality bill.

The bill, according to SDGLN, was submitted March 23 and is expected to be approved shortly, with same-sex marriages commencing as soon as June 27.

Iceland, the nation that went bankrupt in 2009, has the world’s only lesbian leader.

For the original Towleroad article, click here.

The planned World Record-breaking gay marriage event didn't quite make it with only 10 couples attending. (Courtesy of HipHopWired

The planned Guinness World Record-breaking mass gay wedding in the District of Columbia came up short, Metro Weekly reports.

Wedding planner for Our Time Has Come Mike Wilkinson expected more than 160 couples to attend a mass gay wedding to mark the district’s new marriage equality law, the report states. However, only 15 couples registered while 10 showed up.

“As an event that’s never really been tried with the GLBT community before,” Wilkinson told Metro Weekly, “we had no idea how to project what the demand was.”

For the original Metro Weekly story, click here.

Lambda Legal is suing the state for marriage equality rights. (Courtesy of the UK's Pink News)

Lambda Legal heads a group preparing to sue the state for gay marriages, according to APP.com.

In 2006 the group missed legalizing gay marriage by one vote in the state’s Supreme Court, the article states. However, that litigation eventually instituted the state’s domestic partnership laws.

Earlier this year, members stated they would return to court “after state
lawmakers defeated a bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage,” APP.com reported.

For the original article, click here.

Gay couple receives marriage license. (Courtesy of Mandel Ngan / APF / Getty)

Gay couples in the Nation’s capital waited in line yesterday to receive marriage licenses.

The Washington D.C. City Council legalized gay marriage three months ago with the overwhelming passage of the Civil Marriage Equality Act.

In the weeks and days prior, religious groups tried to stall the act’s March 3 enactment, but in each instance the D.C. Human Rights Act of 1977 countered the groups’ efforts, claiming no person could be discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation.

The tensions between the secular and religious-right groups began in May of 2009 when the city council voted to recognize same-sex marriages for the first time.

For more information, visit Time Magazine.

Catholic Charities ends new spousal healthcare benefits program amid Washington D.C.'s marriage equality law. (Courtesy of Advocate.com and Getty Images)

Social service group Catholic Charities, in preparation for Washington D.C.’s marriage equality law, will cease distribution of new spousal benefits effective immediately, the Advocate.com reported.

A branch of the Archdiocese of Washington, Catholic Charities will stop offering health insurance to new employee spouses and spouses who are not currently enrolled in the program, according to the Advocate.com.

The organization is against the new marriage equality law and has been limiting services possibly usable by gay couples. Last month, Catholic Charities ended its foster care and adoption program with the city.

According to the Advocate.com, the District of Columbia provides the organization with $22 million worth of support annually.

For more information, read the original Advocate.com article here.

Former New York Senator Hiram Monserrate. (Photo by Suzanne DeChillo for The New York Times)

ALBANY, N.Y. — Substantial financial backing from gay activists in support of marriage equality works to sway voters in local elections, the New York Times reported today.

The Fight Back New York committee set its eyes first on Queens Senate-hopeful Hiram Monserrate, according to the report. Monserrate was convicted of a misdemeanor for assaulting his female partner and opposes same-sex marriages.

Group members plan to spend over $100,000 in the campaign against his re-election, the report stated, while eventually expanding to other campaigns.

For more information, view the original New York Times story here.

Catholic Charities disbands its philanthropic arm due to gay adoption possibility. (Photo by Getty Images)

WASHINGTON D.C. — Catholic Charities ended its foster care and adoption programs due to the district’s impending gay marriage equality law, according to 365gay.com.

A philanthropic division under the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, Catholic Charities stated the new law would go against the church’s beliefs, according to its Web site.

The adoptive and foster families currently enrolled with Catholic Charities will be transitioned to the National Center for Children and Families (NCCF), according to its Web site.

For more information, view the original story here.

Iowa maintains its same-sex marriage rights. (Photo by Towleroad.com)

DES MOINES — Iowa senators failed to force the state’s gay marriage law into voter hands Tuesday, according to The Iowa Independent.

House and Senate Republicans, and at least one Democrat, pushed for a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage, according to the report. The petition’s failure likely means marriage equality will persist in Iowa until at least 2014, as a constitutional amendment requires two consecutive votes by the general assembly before it’s confirmed, according to KGAN CBS 2 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

For The Iowa Independent‘s original report, click here, and for KGAN‘s report, click here.

Marriage equality supporters during the National Equality March in Washington D.C. last October. (Photo by Justin McCraw)

WASHINGTON D.C. — Nine Republican senators introduced a bill Tuesday calling for a popular vote of the gay marriage law passed in the District of Columbia last December, according to DCist.com.

Senators, backed by the National Organization for Marriage, hope to postpone planned same-sex marriages in D.C., which would otherwise begin mid-March following a congressional review.

The Senate bill is modeled after Rep. Jason Chaffetz’s (R-Utah) House bill, which is co-sponsored by one other senator, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), according to DCAgenda.com. Both bills would require voter approval before making same-sex marriage law.

Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said both bills would likely fail in committee under majority Democratic leadership, DCAgenda.com stated.

For more information, read the article by DCAgenda.com.

Sen. Thomas K. Duane gave Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson a kiss after she said she would support same-sex marriage. Photo courtesy of: The New York Times.

The New York Senate voted down the “Marriage Equality” bill yesterday, disappointing gay advocates who were fighting for the legislation.

The bill failed by a wide margin, 38-24. Few opponents rose to the podium to debate supporters of the legislation. Instead, many opponents just argued it was a bad time.

“Certainly this is an emotional issue and an important issue for many New Yorkers,” Senator Tom Libous, the deputy Republican leader, told the New York Times. “I just don’t think the majority care too much about it at this time because they’re out of work, they want to see the state reduce spending, and they are having a hard time making ends meet. And I don’t mean to sound callous, but that’s true.”

The tearful defeat ensures the gay marriage debate is dead until 2011, when new legislators are able to come into office.

“This is the worst example of political cowardice I’ve ever seen,” said Senator Kevin S. Parker, a Brooklyn Democrat. “Clearly people said things prior to coming to the floor and behaved differently.”

To read more about this story, visit The New York Times.

- Simon Husted