Colorado: Early this week, Colorado's Senate passed a civil unions bill that would grant same-sex couples most of the rights afforded to married heterosexual couples. It passed pretty much without debate and by a wide margin. The bill will now move to the state's House, where it is expected to pass. Colorado's governor has already indicated he will sign this bill when it comes before him.
Hawaii: Despite efforts to introduce a marriage equality bill within the state of Hawaii, it now looks that those efforts are on-hold until at least 2014. Hopefully marriage movements within other states like Colorado and Illinois (as well as Rhode Island and Oregon??) will prevent Hawaii from stalling past 2014.
Illinois: Iowa may now have some competition when it comes to Midwest wedding destinations for area gay and lesbian couples. On Thursday, the Illinois Senate voted to legalize same-sex marriage. The 34-21 vote paves the way towards Illinois becoming the 10th state to offer marriage rights and responsibilities to gay and lesbian couples. The bill will now move to the Illinois House, where it is expected to pass. Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois has already stated that he will sign this marriage bill into law if the House approves it.
Oregon: Following a recent PPP poll indicating 54% support for marriage equality (versus 40% opposition), efforts are being made to undo an constitutional amendment that banned legal recognition of gay and lesbian marriages within the state of Oregon.
Speaking of Public Policy Polling, I was looking at same-sex marriage-related poll data since 01/31/13, and noticed:
Alaska: 42% of Alaska voters support same-sex marriage, which 51% support civil unions. More broadly, 62% of Alaska voters believe that same-sex couples should benefit from some form of legal recognition (marriage or civil unions), but only 36% believe that our relationships should have no legal recognition at all.
Louisiana: Meanwhile, only 29% of Louisiana voters support marriage equality, but 54% of them support some form of legal of legal recognition (25% supporting marriage compared to 29% supporting civil unions) versus 41% opining that we shouldn't have any legal recognition of gay relationships.
North Carolina: Voters in North Carolina recently voted to constitutionally ban same-sex marriages, but the PPP finds growing support (4% increase since May 2012) for our marriages. According to the PPP, 38% of North Carolina voters now support same-sex marriage versus 54% who disagree. Back in May 2012, it was a 34/58 voter spread. 63% of North Carolina voters now support civil unions for gay and lesbian couples versus 55% for civil unions back in May 2012!
Texas: Lastly, the PPP recently reported that 61% of Texas voters support some form of legal recognition of gay relationships (33% support towards same-sex marriage VS. 28% support towards civil unions). In related news, State Rep. Lon Burnam of Fort Worth, TX, introduced a marriage equality bill to the Texas State House. It is not expected to go anywhere.