Colorado: A couple weeks ago, a civil unions bill passed in Colorado's Senate on a vote of 34-21. A civil union bill advanced through the Colorado Judiciary Committee yesterday on a 8-3 vote. This bill will now move to the Colorado House, where it is expected to pass, and then will go to be signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper, who has already expressed interest in this bill's passage.
Illinois: Two weeks ago, the Illinois Senate voted 34-21 in favor of a marriage equality bill. Last week, a same-sex marriage bill passed through the Illinois House Executive Committee by a vote of 6-5. Earlier today, Chicago Magazine noted that it will be extremely tight for this marriage equality bill in the Illinois House. How tight? The bill needs 60 votes. Chicago Magazine notes that there are only 14 definite Yes votes and 29 likely Yes votes. 20 votes could go either way. Then there are 18 definite No votes and 37 likely No votes.
There were also a few different public opinion polls put out by Public Policy Polling and a couple other sources this week about "gay marriage":
California: The Sacramento Bee published a poll this week showing increased support for same-sex marriage. According to this poll, 61% of California voters support marriage equality as opposed to 32% who oppose it. Interestingly, support by California Republicans has increased from 26% to 39% since 2010.
Kansas: The PPP reports that Kansas voters oppose same-sex marriage by a margin of 51% to 39%. However, 63% of Kansas voters support civil unions compared to 34% who believe that gay and lesbian couples should be denied any legal recognition within that state.
Nevada: A new Public Opinion Strategies poll found that a majority of Nevada voters support the repeal of that state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage by a margin of 54/43.
Rhode Island: A new Brown University poll shows that 60% of Rhode Island voters support marriage equality compared to 26% who oppose it. The Rhode Island House passed a marriage equality bill earlier this year, but it is unclear whether or if the Senate will move forward with this bill.
Wisconsin: The PPP shared that Wisconsin voters are slightly less supportive of marriage equality than they are for it. 44% of Wisconsin voters support marriage equality while 46% believe it should be illegal (compared to a 39/50 split back in 2011). 71% of Wisconsin voters support some sort of legal recognition for the state's gay and lesbian couples.