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Lobby Day, which many believe will be critical for proponents of marriage equality and gender identity nondiscrimination legislation in Maryland, will take place on February 13 in Annapolis. The event kicks off with a rally at Lawyers Mall at 6:00 p.m. that typically draws hundreds of supporters.

Ruling applies to California; likely headed to Supreme Court

On February 7, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco struck down the ban on same-sex marriage in California. In doing so, the court upheld the August 2010 ruling by U.S. Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Perry v. Schwarzenegger (now Perry v. Brown) that the amendment to the California Constitution barring marriage for same-sex couples, adopted in November 2008 as Proposition 8, violates the U.S. Constitution.

Three Ohio mayors join effort for marriage equality

Washington, D.C. - Three Ohio mayors are among the over 100 city leaders, including Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlins-Blake, participating in the group Mayors for the Freedom to Marry, which launched at the United States Conference of Mayors winter meeting on January 20. The United States Conference of Mayors approved a position statement in favor of marriage equality in 2009, and now Michael Coleman of Columbus, Edward Kelley of Cleveland Heights and David Berger of Lima join Republican, Democratic and independent mayors from across the country in their support of Freedom to Marry, a national organization pressing for marriage equality. Two other nearby mayors who have signed on to the effort are Paul Dyster in Niagara Falls, and Joe Sinnott of Erie, Pennsylvania.