Since Obama’s same-sex marriage announcement last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn have all endorsed marriage equality. But perhaps the most interesting angle came from South Carolina Representative James Clyburn, who had managed to get to May 2012 without ever expressing an opinion on marriage equality; he not only endorsed it, but leapfrogged Obama by rejecting the President’s state’s rights approach to the issue.

An overwhelming majority of Americans, 60 percent, say that President Obama’s support for same-sex marriage will make no difference in how they plan to vote this November according to Gallup.

I expect that the professional anti-LGBTs will not like what head of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus, had to say about employment nondiscrimination and the LGBT community Sunday on Meet the Press.

Words supporting marriage equality are nice, and greatly appreciated. Growth from old positions is nice, and greatly appreciated.

But executive opinions don’t actually change anything. Executive orders, on the other hand . . .

t’s a rainy day in Austin, but we’re still planning to stage a small action for the executive nondiscrimination order, and our livestreamer promised to attend. The action is due to start at 4:30pm Central (5:30pm Eastern). Here you’ll find the Occupy Austin stream which we’ll be using today.

The support of a sitting president for marriage equality is a powerful tipping point for the issue. It clearly signaled that this once highly fringe position is now firmly in the political mainstream. Looking at the similar polling and demographic trends for marijuana legalization, it might not be long before it experiences a similar symbolic victory publicly signaling its emergence as a mainstream political stance.

For those of us in NC still smarting, we really do seek some of the joy from yesterday’s announcement by the President. We have to get the enthusiasm back and continue our work for equality. I do know that it will come. Just not right now.

And now you know. . . the rest of the story.

Good day!

Sure President Obama would have been braver to express his support of gay marriage sooner, and certainly a stronger statement that marriage is a right could have been expressed. But it is not like he went out and announced awarded himself two Pulitzer Prize nominations. It is still a significant moment.

Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Executive Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality is ready to roll with an equality action following the results of today’s primary. Its WE DO Campaign involves LGBT couples in Southern communities requesting – and being denied – marriage licenses in order to call for full equality under federal law and to resist unjust state laws.