On May 26, 2009 California's Supreme Court voted to uphold Proposition 8's ban on gay marriage - a decision voted in by a majority of California's citizens at the polls in November 2008. At the same time the court upheld the validity of 18,000 gay marriages that took place in the brief period that same sex marriage was legal in the state between May 2008 and November 2008.

For more on this story: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/26/BAE017PTAD.DTL

Today, the battle still rages. The American Foundation for Equal Rights is taking on the Federal Court in the issue. Attorneys representing the case also represented George W. Bush and Al Gore in the 2000 election lawsuit. The ACLU, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lambda Legal all trying to join on the case. There are also efforts underway to get the issue back on the California ballot for 2010.

For more on this story: http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/07/prop_8_challenged_in_courtand_at_the_voting_booth.php

Massachusetts, the first state to enact same sex marriage, has also initiated a case for gay and lesbian marriage at the Federal Level. Massachusetts is suing the United States Government to seek marriage benefits at the Federal Level for gay married couples. Massachusetts has celebrated about 16,000 gay and lesbian marriages since marriage for same sex couples became legal in May of 2004. Now they are challenging the Federal 1996 Defense of Marriage Act which restricts the definition of marriage to a civil union between a man and a woman.

For more on this story: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE56768520090708

Iowa, Vermont, Connecticut and Maine all passed laws earlier this year allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. The State of New York is in the throes of debating new legislation to enact a law supporting gay marriage in the state. The measure has been approved by the State Assembly but time is running out for this session as proponents try to get the measure in front of the Senate.

For more on this story: http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/06/17/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5094334.shtml