Chicago Tribune Columnist Steve Chapman confronts, head-on the accusations being made about marriage equality.

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire have all decided to let gays wed. Most of the remaining 44 states, however, are not likely to follow suit anytime soon. So in the next few years, we will have a chance to compare social trends in the states permitting same-sex marriage against social trends in the others.

But with the experiment looming, some opponents seem to be doubting their own convictions. I contacted three serious conservative thinkers who have written extensively about the dangers of allowing gay marriage and asked them to make simple, concrete predictions about measurable social indicators — marriage rates, divorce, out-of-wedlock births, child poverty, you name it.

You would think they would react like Albert Pujols when presented with a hanging curveball. Yet none was prepared to forecast what would happen in same-sex marriage states versus other states.

In addition, the longstanding allegation that marriage equality would lead to the weakening of ‘traditional marriage’ and contribute to many societal ills such as higher divorce rates seems to be encountering exactly the opposite, as according to the National Center for Vital Statistics, Massachusetts, which has had same-sex marriage for over five years, has the lowest divorce rate in the nation.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on today’s decision by the Lutheran Church in America to bless same-sex unions after a vote by delegates at the Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis.

The change in the Evangelical Lutheran Church does not require pastors or congregations to bless same-sex unions, but allows those comfortable with it to do so. Gay pastors can serve in Lutheran churches, but only if they are celibate. A coalition of churches known as Lutheran CORE opposed the affirmation of gay unions and pastors.

The Rev. Brad Schmeling of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Druid Hills, a gay man in a committed relationship, has been a key activist in the campaign to change church polity. Schmeling was removed from the list of approved Lutheran pastors in 2007. St. John’s kept him as minister and the denomination has not taken action against the church.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church has about 4.7 million members in 10,000 congregations. It is the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. More conservative Lutheran denominations, such as the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, still do not approve same-sex unions or gay relationships. The debate about full inclusion of gay members in the life of churches has been a hot one in U.S. Protestant denominations for more than a decade. The United Church of Christ and the Episcopal Church accept gay ministers. The acceptance, in part, caused more conservative congregations in the Episcopal Church to leave the denomination.

Once again leaders of faith support the right of individuals to marry whomever they love, it’s time for states to allow Lutheran Churches to exercise their freedom of religion.

The New York Times profiles former United States Solicitor General and prominent Republican attorney Theodore Olson, who is working to lay out a strong case for why conservatives and the U.S. Supreme Court should back marriage equality.

Theodore B. Olson’s office is a testament to his iconic status in the conservative legal movement…But in a war room down the hall, where Mr. Olson is preparing for what he believes could be the most important case of his career, the binders stuffed with briefs, case law and notes offer a different take on a man many liberals love to hate. They are filled with arguments Mr. Olson hopes will lead to a Supreme Court decision with the potential to reshape the legal and social landscape along the lines of cases like Brown v. Board of Education and Roe v. Wade: the legalization of same-sex marriage nationwide.

The lawsuit comes as societal views on same-sex marriage are rapidly evolving. Six states have now authorized gay couples to marry, and the politics of the issue increasingly defy convention. President Obama, for example, has said he opposes same-sex marriage, while former Vice President Dick Cheney, whose daughter is a lesbian, supports it.

Even so, Mr. Olson’s involvement stands out. As one of the leading Supreme Court advocates of his generation, he commands wide respect in the legal community, and his views carry considerable weight with the justices, according to Steven G. Calabresi, a law professor at Northwestern University and a leader with Mr. Olson in the Federalist Society, a hothouse for conservative legal theory.

A Federal Judge has set a date for Olson’s case to go to trial in January, leaving open the door for equal access to marriage for all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation.