“It will be a selling point when it comes to trying to lure people with same-sex partners who are being wooed for a job,”  M.V. Lee Badgett, a University of Massachusetts economist who studies gay and lesbian issues, told Reuters.

Gay and lesbian couples who are part of the “creative class” – highly educated professionals, entrepreneurs and artists – were 2.5 times more likely to move to Massachusetts in the three years following the approval of same-sex marriage, according to a study released in May by the Williams Institute of the University of California.

The relocating couples were more likely to be younger and female than before same-sex marriage was approved.

Even straight members of the “creative class” regard states with marriage equality as more appealing places to live.

“It broadly suggests you have an environment in which people who are seen as different are accepted,” said Gary Gates, the UCLA demographer  and the lead author of the study.

See the full Reuters story here.

“Are the people of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire more sexually literate than Californians?” asked the National Sexuality Resource Center, a San Francisco-based think tank, naming the states where gays can or soon will be able to wed.

The California Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the ban on gay marriage, known as Proposition 8, in a state that’s home to 14 percent of the nation’s same-sex couples and was the first to offer gays the spousal rights of marriage without being ordered to by a court.

Voters in 2008 passed the constitutional amendment, which trumped an earlier state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage.

In spite of the setback in the state, gay rights advocates say they still believe what happens there is important no matter the outcome. Supporters and opponents spent $83 million on the Proposition 8 campaign last year, making it the most expensive election on a social issue in the nation’s history.

“Certainly California remains very important in this epic struggle just because it’s so big,” said Richard Socarides, who served as President Bill Clinton’s adviser on gay civil rights.

And because of its size, gay rights advocates say they’ll continue their campaign to win over more voters. Leaders of Equality California and Courage Campaign said they have started canvassing in more conservative parts of the state, working with religious and ethnic groups and otherwise learning from mistakes made during last year’s failed campaign.

“The biggest thing California can do is win back marriage at the ballot box,” said Mary Bonauto, the civil rights director of Boston-based Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, which brought the lawsuit that led to Massachusetts becoming the first state to sanction same-sex marriage.

“We have won marriage in courts, we have even now marriage winning in legislatures,” she said. “To win it with the people would crumble the right wing’s whole house of cards.”

Bonauto said that if California advocates succeeded in getting Proposition 8 reversed, it would mark an unprecedented milestone: 28 other states have constitutional bans on same-sex marriage but none have been challenged with a popular vote.

As California gay rights groups prepared to launch a campaign to repeal Proposition 8 at the ballot box next year, two lawyers announced Tuesday they had filed a federal lawsuit challenging the initiative in the hopes of getting the case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Theodore B. Olson and David Boies, the lawyers who represented opposing sides in the 2000 Bush v. Gore election challenge, said they think the high court is ripe to take on the issue. They filed on behalf of two gay men and two gay women.

“I felt it was very important we present the American people and the courts a unified front and tell the courts and the American people through our presence and our participation this is not about right or left or partisan politics,” Olson said. “This is about what we all share as Americans.”

But it wasn’t a move welcomed by all advocates. Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said the suit “sends a powerful message that the time for change has come,” but also warned the lawyers of the “only one shot at the U.S. Supreme Court.”

They and “any attorneys bringing a case that will affect the freedom and legal status of an entire community bear a very heavy responsibility to be certain they have fully considered the consequences,” Minter said.

Gay rights activists also were pressuring President Barack Obama to fulfill his campaign pledge to work toward repealing the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act. The law prevents couples in states that recognize same-sex unions from securing Social Security spousal benefits, filing joint taxes and other federal rights of marriage.

The focus, however, remained on working though state legislatures and voters to win marriage rights, said Evan Wolfson, executive director of New York-based Freedom to Marry.

“Winning marriage in more states is crucial not only for the families living in those states, but for creating a comfort level that sets the stage for a national resolution,” he said.

The conservative Maine Marriage Alliance filed a challenge Thursday with Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap. The challenge was filed under the state’s “people’s veto” provision.

It allows for a referendum to overturn laws if opponents can collect enough signatures. The group will need to get the signatures of at least 10 percent of the people who voted in the last governor’s election to force a referendum this November.

The signature-collecting deadline will probably fall in mid-September, Dunlap said.

The marriage bill was signed Wednesday by Gov. John Baldacci minutes after it received final approval in the legislature.

The new law repeals Maine’s 12-year-old so-called Defense of Marriage law, which banned same-sex marriage. The new law states that churches would not be compelled to conduct same-sex weddings if it would be inconsistent with their doctrine. Its passage made Maine the fifth state to allow same-sex marriage.

The Alliance had warned Baldacci that if he signed the bill, it would press for a constitutional amendment. Alliance leader Rev. Bob Emrich said he believes voters will overturn the law.

But  new research released shortly after the bill was signed shows a major impact on the Maine economy as a result of gay marriage.

The study, by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, shows that by allowing same-sex couples to marry in Maine, the state budget will experience a boost of approximately $8 million per year. 

The impact would be the result of an increase in state income and sales tax revenue as well as savings in expenditures on state means-tested public benefit programs the institute said.

“I’m going to talk to legislators and I’m going to talk to the people of New Hampshire and ultimately make the best decision I can for the people of New Hampshire,” the Democratic governor said Wednesday evening.

The state’s gay marriage bill squeaked through the House on a 178-167 vote after an hour of debate. Both chambers appear to be far short of enough votes to override a veto.

If Lynch signs the bill or lets it become law without his signature, New Hampshire would become the sixth state in the nation to legalize gay marriage after Maine approved the legislation Wednesday.

Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat who hadn’t indicated how he would handle Maine’s bill, signed it shortly after the legislation passed the Senate on a vote of 21-13 – a margin not large enough to override a veto.

“In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions,” Baldacci said in a statement read in his office. “I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage.”

Maine’s bill authorizes marriage between any two people rather than between one man and one woman, as state law currently allows. The House had passed the bill Tuesday.

The law is to take effect in mid-September but could be sidetracked before then. Opponents promise to challenge it through a public veto process that could suspend it while a statewide vote takes shape.

Sue Estler, of Orono, said she and her partner of 20 years, Paula Johnson, plan to get married. But she also thinks opponents might collect enough signatures to force the referendum.

A professor at the University of Maine, the 64-year-old Estler said she sent an e-mail to out-of-state friends and family members Wednesday saying “Oh, my god. The governor just signed the bill.”

“But I said, ‘Don’t make your travel plans for the wedding yet. There’s still probably a referendum to go,’” she said.

Legislative debate in Maine was brief. Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, turned the gavel over to an openly gay member, Sen. Lawrence Bliss, D-South Portland, for the final vote.

Republican Sen. Debra Plowman of Hampden argued that the bill was being passed “at the expense of the people of faith.”

“You are making a decision that is not well-founded,” Plowman warned.

Both states’ bills specify that religious institutions don’t have to recognize same-sex marriages.

The activist group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders has targeted all six New England states for passage of a gay marriage law by 2012.

Connecticut has enacted a bill after being ordered to allow gay marriages by the courts, and Vermont has passed a bill over the governor’s veto.

Massachusetts’ high court has ordered the state to recognize gay marriages. In Rhode Island, a bill to legalize same-sex marriage has been introduced but is not expected to pass this year.

New England states have acted quickly since gay marriages became law in Massachusetts in 2004 because it’s a small region with porous borders, shared media markets and a largely shared culture, said Carisa Cunningham of the gay defenders group.

Outside New England, Iowa is recognizing gay marriages on court orders. The practice was briefly legal in California before voters banned it.

New Hampshire Rep. David Pierce, who has two daughters with his partner, described telling his 5-year-old that “some people don’t believe we should be a family.”

“When my kids grow up and are old enough to understand what we’re doing here today, I want them to know I did everything I could to fight for our family,” said Pierce, D-Hanover.

Maine is the fifth state to allow gay marriage.

Up until he put his pen to the bill ,it was anyone’s guess whether he would sign or veto it. Baldacci had said previously he had not made up his mind on gay marriage.

Had he vetoed it, the bill likely would have died.  It received final approval in the Senate by a slim majority, not enough to override a veto.

As the governor appeared to be equivocating, same-sex marriage advocates delivered more than 10,000 postcards asking him to support the legislation.

The new law repeals Maine’s 12-year old so-called Defense of Marriage law, which bars same-sex marriage. Under the new law, churches are not compelled to conduct same-sex weddings if it would be inconsistent with their doctrine.

The conservative Maine Marriage Alliance warned that if Baldacci signed the bill it would press for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

The New Hampshire House will vote on a similar bill Wednesday.  It already has passed the Senate, but Gov.  John Lynch, who has said he believes the current civil union law works, has not said if he would veto the bill. 

Same-sex marriage  was already legal in three New England states – Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont.

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, the Boston-based LGBT rights group that won marriage equality in court rulings in Massachusetts and Connecticut, last November launched “Six by Twelve” a campaign to legalize gay marriage throughout New England by 2012.

If same-sex marriage becomes legal in New Hampshire, it would leave only Rhode Island as the only New England state without marriage equality.

The bill was approved by the Senate last week with an added provision that specifically states that churches that do not support gay marriage may refuse to perform the ceremonies.

The revised bill was returned to the House, where Tuesday it was approved by a key committee which recommended passage.

It is expected the House will endorse the revised version, sending it on to the governor.

But Gov. John Lynch remains silent on whether he will sign or veto the bill.

Lynch has said he believes the current civil union law works fine, but has avoided questions week on what he will do when the marriage bill hits his desk, likely by the end of the week.

“I recognize that the issue of same-sex marriage is intensely passionate and personal, and raises strong emotions on all sides,” the Democratic governor said in a statement following the Senate vote. 

“I still believe the fundamental issue is about providing the same rights and protections to same-sex couples as are available to heterosexual couples. This was accomplished through the passage of the civil unions law two years ago. To achieve further real progress, the federal government would need to take action to recognize New Hampshire civil unions.”

Last week, the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released a statewide poll that found 55 percent of New Hampshire residents support gay and lesbian couples’ right to marry, while 39 percent oppose it. 

If Lynch vetoes the bill, it is unclear if there are enough votes to override it.

In Vermont, the state legislature overrode the veto of a similar marriage bill by Gov. Jim Douglas. A marriage equality bill is heading to a vote in the Maine legislature.

In addition to Vermont, same-sex marriage also is legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa.

The Senate voted 21-14 to approve the measure, following an emotional debate.  

At attempt by conservatives to put the issue before voters was soundly defeated. The measure now moves to the House.

Gov. John Baldacci has said he has not made up his mind on gay marriage, though gay marriage advocates have delivered more than 10,000 postcards asking him to support the legislation.

EqualityMaine and the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence called on the governor to endorse the bill and sign if if passes the legislature.

The groups also sent lawmakers copy of a book they prepared that includes interviews with 82 people who tell about the impact on their families of not having a gay marriage law. 

The legislation would repeal Maine’s 12-year-old so-called Defense of Marriage law, which bars same-sex marriage and make marriage gender-neutral. It also states that churches would not be compelled to conduct same-sex weddings if it would be inconsistent with their doctrine.

The conservative Maine Marriage Alliance has said that if same-sex marriage appears to be on a track to legalization, it would press for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

On Wednesday, the New Hampshire Senate passed legislation to legalize gay marriage.  The bill passed the House a month ago.

Gov. John Lynch, who has said he believes the current civil union law works fine, has not said if he would veto the bill.

Same-sex marriage already is legal in three New England states – Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont

Lynch has said he believes the current civil union law works fine, but is avoiding questions on what he will do when the marriage bill hits his desk.

On Wednesday, the state Senate passed the marriage equality bill on a 13-11 vote. It passed the House last month 186-179.

“I recognize that the issue of same-sex marriage is intensely passionate and personal, and raises strong emotions on all sides,” the Democratic governor said in a statement following the Senate vote. 

“I still believe the fundamental issue is about providing the same rights and protections to same-sex couples as are available to heterosexual couples. This was accomplished through the passage of the civil unions law two years ago. To achieve further real progress, the federal government would need to take action to recognize New Hampshire civil unions.”

There are slight differences between the two pieces of legislation which need to be harmonized before going to Lynch.

Just prior to the vote Wednesday, the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released a statewide poll that found 55 percent of New Hampshire residents support gay and lesbian couples’ right to marry, while 39 percent oppose it. 

In Vermont, the state legislature overrode the veto of a similar marriage bill by Gov. Jim Douglas. A marriage equality bill is currently being voted on in the Maine legislature. It passed the state Senate today.

In addition to Vermont, same-sex marriage also is legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa.

New York Gov David Paterson (D) has unveiled legislation to allow same-sex couples to marry in the Empire State. In California, where voters overturned a state Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage, the high court will rule later this spring on the legality of Prop 8.

The 13-11 vote came despite a recommendation last week by the Senate Judiciary Committee that it be rejected.

The chair of the committee, Sen. Deborah Reynolds (D) was one of those who recommended voting against the bill, but on Wednesday she voted for it, saying since the committee meeting she had heard from a large number of constituents who favored the bill.

Republicans voted in a block against the measure, along with one Democrat.

The bill was amended prior to the vote to draw a distinction between civil and religious weddings – allowing churches which do not approve of gay relationships to refuse to conduct ceremonies.

Last month the bill passed the House on a 186-179 vote, but the House will need to vote on this bill again, since it was amended by the Senate.

If it passes the House a second time, it will head to the desk of Gov. Gov. John Lynch who has said he believes the current civil union law works fine, but has not said if he would veto the bill.

Earlier on Wednesday a new poll was released showing most residents of New Hampshire support same-sex marriage.

The University of New Hampshire Survey Center Poll found that 55 percent of New Hampshire residents support allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, while 39 percent oppose it. 

The poll was sponsored by the New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition.

Same-sex marriage already is legal in three New England states – Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont. A Maine Senate committee also voted on gay marriage today. Rhode Island is the only New England state where same-sex marriage legislation has not advanced.  

Elsewhere, same-sex marriage is legal in Iowa. New York Gov David Paterson (D) has unveiled legislation to allow same-sex couples to marry in the Empire State and in California, the Supreme Court is expected to rule this spring on the legality of Prop 8 the voter approved measure banning gay marriage in that state.

(Augusta, Maine) The state Senate Judiciary Committee voted 14-11 Tuesday to bring the equal marriage bill before the full Senate.

Moments before the vote was taken, a woman was removed from the room by State Police after shouting that the bill was immoral. Meanwhile, same-sex marriage advocates delivered more than 10,000 postcards to Gov. John Baldacci asking him to support the legislation. Baldacci has said he has not made up his mind on gay marriage.

EqualityMaine and the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence called on the governor to endorse the bill and sign it if it passes the legislature. The groups also sent lawmakers copy of a book they prepared that includes interviews with 82 people who tell about the impact on their families of not having a gay marriage law. 

The legislation would repeal Maine’s 12-year-old Defense of Marriage law which bars same-sex marriage. It also states that churches cannot be compelled to conduct same-sex weddings if they would be contrary to their doctrine.

Maine’s tourism industry has said legalizing same-sex marriage in the state could save them from disaster as the state’s economy continues to turn sour.

Industry spokespeople pointed to a recent study by the Williams Institute, a think tank at the University of California –  Los Angeles that found extending marriage to same-sex couples would boost Maine’s economy by $60 million over three years, which would generate increases in state and local government tax and fee revenues by almost $3.6 million.

The conservative Maine Marriage Alliance has said that if same-sex marriage appears to be on a track to legalization, it would press for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

A vote in the Senate could come as early as next week.

In New Hampshire, a vote on a similar bill is set for an initial vote Wednesday in the state Senate.

Same-sex marriage already is legal in three other New England states – Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont.