The fight over marriage equality is going very well, and has been going rather well for a bit now. The problem might be more than just that the anti-gay groups are starting to collapse. Part of this has to do with the fact that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has largely abandoned the fight. After many years of funding anti-gay groups, the Mormon Church has pretty much pulled out.

Former Republican Presidential contender Fred Karger has been working to fight the National Organization for Marriage, a group that served largely as a front for the Catholic and Mormon Churches. He has uncovered evidence showing that the Mormons had 77 people working full time at their headquarters to get Proposition 8 passed. Read more »

Mayor Michael Nutter signed legislation Thursday to afford equal rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, saying he hoped Philadelphia would become "the most LGBT-friendly" city in the world.

Nutter, city and state lawmakers and gay rights advocates said the legislation makes Philadelphia the first city in the U.S. to offer tax credits to companies that extend the same health care coverage to LGBT employees’ domestic partners and their children as they provide to heterosexual spouses and their children.

They said the legislation also makes Philadelphia the first city to offer businesses tax credits as a way to encourage providing transgender-specific health benefits. Read more »

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), an openly gay representative, made history on Capitol Hill Thursday when he announced that he'd been able to secure a congressional ID for his spouse.

The Wisconsin Gazette reported that Philip Frank, whom Pocan married in Canada in 2006, had gotten a new ID officially labeling him a congressional spouse. The title gives him access to certain areas of the Capitol and allows him to attend congressional delegations with his spouse, among other privileges.

It's largely a symbolic victory, as the spouses of gay federal employees -- including lawmakers -- still aren't afforded equal benefits thanks to the Defense of Marriage Act. But Pocan hailed it as key progress for gay lawmakers in Washington. Read more »

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy shrugged off concerns that offering rights to gay immigrants will kill the sweeping immigration bill as his committee prepares to mark up the legislation on Thursday.

“On this particular issue, you know, at some point we’re going to have to face it, and we have to decide when is the best time to face it,” Leahy told POLITICO in a wide-ranging interview. “You can’t go into a state like mine or — it will be now 11 or 12 states and the District of Columbia — where same-sex marriage is legal, and say to this couple, ‘OK, we can help you with the immigration matter.’ Turn to another couple equally legally married and say, ‘Oh, we have to discriminate against you.’” Read more »