Ireland has signed into law benefits for gay and lesbian couples in the prominently Catholic country. Ireland now provides more rights for gay couples then the United States. The Civil Partnership Bill, which provides legal recognition for same-sex couples was signed today by President Mary McAleese at Áras an Uachtaráin.

This Bill extends marriage-like benefits to gay and lesbian couples for property, social welfare, succession, maintenance, pensions and tax.

After the signing of the Bill, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern described it as “one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation to be enacted since independence.”

The widely supported Bill was approved by 48 votes to 4 on Friday July 9th.

Wednesday the Argentinean Senate is expected to pass a Gay Marriage bill that would allow same-sex couples the same rights at heterosexual couples in the nation. President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has said she would sign the bill, which already passed the lower chamber of the legislature. Both she and her Congressman husband have been supporters of marriage equality in the nation. If the legislation passes and is signed into law, Argentina will become the first Latin American country to allow same-sex marriages. In December, Mexico City became the first jurisdiction in Latin American and two other nations, Uruguay and Colombia, allow civil unions for gay couples.

 There has been a vast religious opposition towards the legislation in Argentina from the Roman Catholic Church, organizing many protests against the bill. President Kirchner responded by criticizing the church for its lack to adjustment of modern reality. Supporters cite polls showing that the overwhelming majority of citizens, around 70 percent support marriage equality. The bill is expected to be passed.

Victory for Marriage Equality! A Boston Judge ruled today that the 1996 DOMA is unconstitutional because it interferes with a state’s right to define marriage. U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro handed down two influential rulings Thursday declaring DOMA unconstitutional.

 The first case was brought by the state of Massachusetts. Judge Tauro declared Congress violated the Tenth Amendment by originally passing DOMA. They took away the states decisions determining which couples can be considered married.

His second ruling was on Gill v. Office of Personnel Management. It was decided that DOMA violated equal protection embodied in the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. This case was argued by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), GLAD represented eight married couples and three widowers in the suit.

 Two other major equality court cases continue to develop in California, the Prop. 8 trial and Log Cabin Republicans trial against the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. The decision in Boston today is a great step toward equality for all Americans, regardless of their sexual orientation.

Hawaii’s state legislature passed legislation legislation affording same-sex couples many of the same rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples. The state House of Representatives passed the bill by a 31-20 vote late Thursday, but Republican Governor Linda Lingle has until early July to sign or veto the groundbreaking new law.

Marriage equality in the ‘Aloha State’ has a long history, as it was in 1991, in a decision by the State Supreme Court that invalidated laws that prohibited same sex couples from wedding. However as a reaction to this action, voters passed a constitutional amendment empowering the legislation to define marriage as a heterosexual insitution. That referenda did not close the door on civil unions though.

If approved, Hawaii will become one of six states including California, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington granting civil union status to same sex couples. Full civil marriage are legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington, DC. Marriages performed in other states are recognized in Maryland, New York and Rhode Island.

The legislation has sparked an intense lobbying effort by the Catholic Archdiocese and many religious groups seeking a veto from Governor Lingle.

Reade more about Hawai’i’s new civil union law and the efforts surrounding the legislation in the Honolu Advertiser.

As Iowans set to celebrate the one year anniversary of the Iowa Supreme Court same-sex marriage ruling this Saturday, the general political tone in the state seems to be one of acceptance.  After a year of gay marriage in the mid-Western state, many Iowans are simply not phased by the change and they say society has not changed dramatically.  The political tide of the gay marriage issue in Iowa has also changed over the course of the year, just follow Iowa Democratic Governor Chet Culver on the issue:

Prior to the ruling, Culver said he would be willing to call legislators into special session to “do whatever it takes to protect marriage between a man and a woman.” On the day of the court’s decision, Culver released a tepid statement, saying he wanted to review the ruling with the attorney general before “reacting to what it means for Iowa.” It was nearly a week before the governor released a statement saying that while he personally believed marriage was between one man and one woman, he was “reluctant to support amending the Iowa Constitution” to overturn the court’s ruling.

Flash forward to this week, just a few days before the ruling’s one-year anniversary, and Culver’s position has become more steadfast.

“We stood firm for the civil rights of every Iowan by saying loudly and clearly that any and all efforts to add discriminatory amendments to our state constitution have no place in our state constitution,” Culver said, later adding: “The overwhelming majority of Iowans do not want to amend our constitution in such as a way that’s discriminatory. I think that’s the bottom line.”

Two people who have been involved in the gay marriage debate are Anthony Brown,  Director of the Cedar Rapids Gay and Lesbian Resource Center, and Reverend Tom Capo of the People’s Choice Unitarian Universalist church in Cedar Rapids.  Brown and Rev. Capo note that the change in Iowa over the past year has been a positive one:

Brown said all Iowans are equal, and the ruling has made such a difference in how the rest of the country views Iowa. He said it’s made Iowa on top when it comes to be progressive with civil rights issues.

Reverend Capo at  has seen many couples get married in his church, many even from out of state. “I was in Texas before I came to Cedar Rapids. All I could do was bless unions that were not legal. It was wonderful to bless these unions, but to be able to say I actually married a gay or lesbian couple and they have the same rights as everybody else, is just a wonderful thing,” said Rev. Capo.  Despite the changes, he says he’s found people that didn’t notice any changes. “Most of them say they haven’t seen any difference and actually most of them are coming around to a point where they say it’s not affecting them, so live and let live,” said Rev. Capo.