Both teens were brutally slain in separate instances last week.

These are the vigils we could find – please add others or additional information in the comments. 365gay will attend the NYC vigil and report back here on Monday (or you can check the live Twitter coverage at http://www.Twitter.com/JenniferVanasco).

Abilene, TX – 5:30PM, ACU campus, next to GATA fountain [Facebook link]

Amherst, MA – MONDAY 11/23 – 6:30PM, Food For Thought Books [Facebook link]

Boston – 7PM, Trinity Church, Copley Plaza [Facebook link]

Chicago – 4PM, Division and California, procession to Humboldt Park Boat House [Facebook link]

Durham, NC – 6PM, Corcoran St, CCB Plaza [Facebook link] (Event previously said Saturday, this will occur with the others on Sunday)

Los Angeles – 8PM, Santa Monica and San Vicente [Facebook link]

New York – 5 p.m., Christopher St. Pier 45

Oakland – 3:30PM, MacArthur and Lakeshore/Grand Ave [Facebook link]

Philadelphia – FRIDAY, Nov. 20.  6:30 PM, Church of St. Luke & The Epiphany, 330 South 13th St.

San Antonio, TX – 8PM, Crockett Park

San Francisco – 7PM, Castro and Market [Facebook link]

Terre Haute, IN – FRI 11/20 – 6:30PM, Indiana State, DeDe Plaza [Facebook link]

However, the judges ruled narrowly, and asked that the legislature resolved the question of marriage equality.

From the New York Times:

…the decision gave gay advocates a small victory because it was narrowly written and applied to a relatively small number of people.

In their majority ruling, four of the seven members of the court said they were making their decision on narrow grounds involving the specifics of each case, and not settling the broader question of whether same-sex marriages performed in other states should be recognized. Judge Eugene F. Pigott Jr., writing for the majority, expressed “hope that the Legislature will address this controversy.”

But in a concurring decision, three of the justices said that the court should have addressed the wider issue because New York law already allows for the recognition of marriages that are considered legal elsewhere.

Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick, who wrote the concurring decision, said “that the orders under review should be affirmed on the ground that same-sex marriages, valid where performed, are entitled to full legal recognition in New York under our state’s longstanding marriage recognition rule.”

The ruling leaves open the possibility that there could be future challenges on the issue in New York.

Gov. David Paterson issued an executive order last year extending state recognition to gay couples who are married in states where same-sex marriage is legal. The order was challenged by anti-equality activists who argued that marriage equality should be decided by the legislature.

A marriage equality bill has passed the New York State Assembly; it is not clear whether it will come up for a vote in the state senate.

*****
From Evan Wolfson:

The policy of honoring marriages on equal terms was upheld in a ruling today by the NY Court of Appeals, with a strong and repeated plea by the High Court to the Legislature to act on the underlying question of the freedom to marry here in NY.

1. Dr. Bert Chapman writes nothing worth a darn; however, he doesn’t need to lose his gig at Purdue University.

2. I’ve taken the Human Rights Campaign to task many a time, but this morning a lift of the coffee cup for this website focusing on students at predominately black colleges and universities.

3. Need a good laugh? Or cry? Watch Donnie McClurkin expound on what it means to be gay.

4. Will marriage equality get a vote this week in New York? Wish I knew.

5.  Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong is starting to appear in bookstores.

6. Anyone reading Sarah Palin’s new book? And yes that is a serious question.

7. Anyone watch the Colts/Patriots game last night? Not a fan of the pig skin but that match had me shouting.

8. There is nothing better than someone going on an extended homophobic rant and then coming up with a lame apology.

9. Who doesn’t need Cassandra Wilson on a Monday morning?

10. Why am I always late for work?

Says Gay City News:

Shortly after 8 p.m., Paterson, four senior Senate Democrats — Jeffrey Klein of the Bronx and Westchester, the deputy majority leader; Eric Adams of Brooklyn; and Manhattanites Eric Schneiderman and Thomas K. Duane, the measure’s lead sponsor — and Alan Van Capelle, the executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA), the state’s LGBT lobby, appeared before the press to announce that the Senate leadership has made a specific commitment to hold a debate and vote on marriage equality before the end of 2009.

The implications cannot be underestimated. Since April, Paterson has consistently called for a vote, which ESPA on several occasions demanded and Duane said repeatedly he has the bipartisan support to pass.

But, to date, the two top Senate Democrats — first Malcolm Smith of Queens, and since a month-long mutiny this past summer by two party members that temporarily denied Democrats the majority, John Sampson of Brooklyn — have pledged to bring a vote only when they can be assured of passage. Given that some of the yes votes Duane and ESPA say they’ve secured have not been made public, it has been difficult to hold leadership accountable according to their standard.

Now that has changed. “For the very first time, we have an historic commitment from the Senate majority to bring the bill to the floor,” Van Capelle told Gay City News the morning after the announcement. “I believe that we had the votes to pass the bill in June. I believe if it had been debated last night we would have had the votes.”

But, wait! There are more bills in the air: Michigan has one seeking to repeal its constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and New Hampshire has one seeking to repeal its newly approved-but-not-yet-enacted marriage equality law.

And, of course, there is still Maine, a dropped ball.

Ever since last Tuesday, when voters in Maine voted to repeal the state’s newly approved-but-not-yet-enacted marriage equality law, opponents of same-sex marriage have touted the vote as a decisive renunciation of equal rights for gay couples.

They claim Maine was a “liberal New England state” where they were “grossly outspent.” Supporters of equal rights, who did eventually concede the defeat, the struggle is “about love and family and that will always be something worth fighting for.”

Both sides of the same-sex marriage issue have re-positioned their resources from Maine to these five other states.

New York

In New York State on Tuesday, the Senate was slated to take up a marriage equality bill. The bill  already passed the state Assembly, but the volatile Senate –where Democrats cling to a 32 to 30 majority—has been reluctant to take it up.

That reluctance continued: The Senate did not take up the bill Tuesday. Instead, Senate leaders huddled with Gov. David Paterson and, according to the New York Times, came up with yet another “vague agreement” to vote on the bill “before the end of the year.”

That may be as soon as Monday of next week, but many observers say they doubt the Senate will put the bill on the floor unless the Democratic leadership knows the bill has 32 votes.  Two Democrats have already said they would not vote for the measure, and the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage sent out a statement this week, saying it would “build a $500,000 war chest to fund a primary challenge to any Republican senator who votes for gay marriage –regardless of the outcome” of the Senate vote.

Washington, D.C.

 Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., counting votes is not an issue. A D.C. council committee voted 4 to 1 on Tuesday to approve a marriage equality bill there. The full Council will vote on Dec. 1; 10 of the 13 Councilmembers are sponsors of the legislation.

But inevitability is not translating into a smooth victory. The Council Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary heard more than 160 witnesses over two days of hearings testify for and against a bill that will provide for gay couples to be able to obtain marriage licenses. Simultaneously, the D.C. elections board heard testimony for and against a proposal to let D.C. voters decide by initiative whether to ban same-sex marriage.

Wait! Wasn’t it just last month that the elections board said there could be no ballot battle over same-sex marriage? Yes, but that was only in regard to D.C.’s just recently passed law recognizing marriage licenses same-sex couples obtain elsewhere, like in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, or Iowa. (New Hampshire’s law doesn’t go into effect until Jan. 1.)

Now, opponents are before the elections board seeking an initiative to establish a statute limiting the definition of marriage to straight couples. The board is expected to rule on that request in the next two weeks, says Human Rights Campaign regional field director Sultan Shakir.  Those opponents are being aided by the aid of the National Organization of Marriage and have the legal aid of another staunch conservative anti-gay group, the Alliance Defense Fund.

Perhaps trying to head off some of the controversy, the Council Committee on Tuesday agreed to amend the marriage equality bill by giving religious institutions more leeway to discriminate against same-sex couples. The original bill allowed religious institutions to refuse to accommodate same-sex weddings through such services as rental of space as long as they did not accommodate straight couples.

 But the Committee agreed to allow religious institutions to refuse only gay couples in spaces owned by the institution. One committee member tried to expand that even further to non-religious institutions, but the Committee said no.

The Committee also amended the legislation to continue providing a domestic partnership option for both straight and gay couples.

 New Jersey

Gay marriage supporters are considering a hurried run at the New Jersey legislature –a hurry necessitated by the defeat of incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine (D) in the Nov. 3 election. Corzine has said he would support of equal rights for gay couples, but his successor, Chris Christie (R), has promised to veto any such legislation.

 The New Jersey legislature passed a civil unions law after the state supreme court ruled that the state constitution required gay couples be able to obtain the same benefits of marriage as straight couples can obtain. Momentum has been growing, however, for full marriage equality.

But New Jersey is also the original home-base for the National Organization for Marriage and that group is already playing its “save the children” radio ads warning that allowing gay couples to marry will lead to homosexuality being “forced” on school children.

The Star-Ledger in Newark reported that NOM funded robo-calls to “every household in selected legislative districts” and that the Catholic church has been distributing letters statewide to rally opposition to any marriage equality bill.

Like New York, passage of a marriage equality bill in New Jersey will require some Republican votes.

Oregon, Michigan, New Hampshire

Meanwhile, efforts are underway in a couple of states to untie the constitutional binds that currently prevent states from treating same-sex couples the same as straight couples when it comes to marriage licensing.

In Oregon, the statewide gay group Basic Rights Oregon announced last week that it is launching a petition drive to put on the ballot in 2012 an initiative to repeal the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage there. Voters approved the ban by initiative in 2004, but in 2007, the state legislature approved a law to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and another law to allow same-sex couples to register as domestic partners.

In Michigan, the House speaker pro tem, State Rep. Pam Byrnes, made good on a promise she announced in June: She introduced a measure seeking repeal of the constitutional ban approved by voters there in 2004. If the bill receives two-thirds approval in the House and Senate, it will then go to voters in 2010.

But in New Hampshire, there is an attempt to repeal a marriage equality law approved earlier this year. The law is set to go into effect Jan. 1.

The idea for the bill emerged long before the vote in Maine, but the conservative Union Leader newspaper got the ball rolling last week with a blistering editorial, claiming that the repeal vote in Maine jostles the neighboring domino.

The paper said at least two bills are already being drafted to undo the marriage equality law –one by legislative repeal, one by voter repeal.

Openly gay State Rep. Jim Splaine, who sponsored the marriage equality bill earlier this year, said he expects opponents to file the repeal bill in January. Because the marriage equality bill passed on very close votes last spring, said Splaine, “we shouldn’t take anything for granted.”

© 2009 Keen News Service

Trying to decipher the machinations of deal making in Albany, New York is impossible. Add to that a political culture that is a wreck of mess, and it should come as no surprise  the state is facing budget ruin. Despite all of this, it looks like gay marriage will get a hearing before the year is out. Yesterday Gov.David A. Paterson said the state’s Senate leadership promised a gay marriage vote.

“This is the first time that the Senate leadership has indicated that it will support a vote on marriage equality,” Paterson said. “This is a stunning and very happy development in this process. I will continue to place marriage equality on any special sessions that I call on Monday and Tuesday because I feel that the bill should be debated immediately. However, I have profound respect for the leadership of the Senate and the process that they took to bring us to this vote.”

Yesterday was the type of day that would tire the patience of any marriage advocate. For awhile it looked like the Senate was going to punt and to be honest, I really have no idea how marriage will fare in the Big Apple Empire State. Sure the Democrats have a slim majority, but when it comes to marriage equality I’ve decided to stop paying attention to polls and what people say they will do.

Last year during the race for president there was much talk about the infamous Bradley Effect. The theory that white voters are never honest when polled  if they will vote for a black candidate, has been discredited but was part of the media narrative. Looks like it applies more to marriage rights.

Advocates and opponents say the Senate lacked the 32 votes needed to approve the measure, which Paterson strongly supports and the Assembly already passed.

By evening, Paterson put same-sex marriage on agendas for new special sessions for Monday and Tuesday. Later, standing with supporters of the bill, Paterson said he had a commitment by the Senate to bring the issue to a vote by the end of the year, although its outcome remains uncertain. He urged senators who support the measure to ignore “an almost cowardice about battles.”

“I implore them that I would rather see an up or down vote, than no action at all,” the governor told reporters. “Historically, I think we have lost touch with how movements of equality were reached. There were a lot of ups and downs,” he said, citing the civil rights movement as an example.

“If this bill is put on the floor, there are a lot of people whose consciences will let them vote for the bill, but who just don’t want to stomach all the activity around them if they take a position before the vote,” he added.

The Rev. Jason McGuire of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, which opposes same-sex marriage, called it a “crushing blow” to same-sex marriage advocates.

“I’m a little hesitant to call it dead yet,” McGuire said. “It’s never over until it’s over … but if they had the votes it would have gone to the floor.”

McGuire acknowledged the issue could re-emerge before Jan. 1, but said he doubted lawmakers would be inclined to consider it next year, when they all face re-election.

McGuire said last week’s special election for New York’s rural 23rd Congressional District showed a resurgence in the power of the Conservative Party, which opposes gay marriage, and “marginal” incumbents won’t want to risk their seats for the issue.

In the congressional race, Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman forced the more moderate Republican nominee, Dierdre Scozzafava, to suspend her campaign by passing her in the polls and in fundraising. Hoffman narrowly lost the race to Democrat Bill Owens.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Thomas Duane of Manhattan, refused to comment even on whether he wants it to get to the floor, where approval is uncertain.

When asked if he feels the bill will eventually be approved, he said: “I’m very optimistic.”

The Senate convened and adjourned after less than 30 minutes, the vast majority of which was spent honoring members who were military veterans. Same-sex marriage wasn’t debated or on the agenda.

Paterson has said he would sign the measure into law and pressed senators to follow the lead of the Assembly, which passed it earlier this year. Legislators said Tuesday they may return next week as well as in December.

The leading opponent of the measure in the Senate, Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr., a Bronx Democrat and conservative minister, said he was prepared to strongly oppose the bill and the governor, who promised its passage this year. Diaz said he canceled a cruise with his wife this week – Tuesday is her birthday – and lost a deposit “because of this governor.”

The measure wasn’t brought to the floor after the Assembly acted in the spring because there weren’t enough votes in the 32-30 Democratic majority to pass it. A few Democrats opposed the bill on religious grounds.

It’s likely some Republican votes will be needed for passage. Republican leader Dean Skelos of Nassau County has released his members to act as they see fit, freeing them from the usual practice of bloc voting.

Speaking after the Democratic majority met behind closed doors, Sen. Neil Breslin of Albany County says flatly there won’t be a vote on the bill. Sen. David Valesky of central New York also says it appears the bill won’t get to a long-awaited vote during a special session Tuesday.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Thomas Duane of Manhattan, refused to comment even on whether he wants the bill to get to the floor, where approval is uncertain.

Sen. Martin Malave Dilan of Brooklyn says the measure could still come up later in the day, but it wasn’t scheduled for the initial meeting of the Senate.

Gov. David Paterson directed them to take up equal marriage – they can choose to do so or not, but they’ll have to discuss why.

The state assembly has already passed an equal marriage bill and Gov. Paterson has said he will sign it if it reaches his desk. All we need is for the state senate to pass the bill.

This is our best chance for marriage in New York State until after the midterm elections.

Watch the live stream below. Find and contact your New York State Senator.

This announcement comes a week after a Maine referendum soundly repealed that state’s new same-sex marriage law.

Although he can require the Legislature consider the bill, he can’t compel lawmakers to vote.

Also on Monday, Christine Quinn, New York City’s openly gay council speaker, offered an impassioned plea for the state Senate to pass a bill legalizing same-sex marriage.

In a rare midyear address to a joint meeting of the Assembly and Senate, Paterson also implored lawmakers use their power to tackle the state’s $3.2 billion budget deficit.