EDGE Dallas

Over 7,000 same-sex marriages licenses were issued in New York City in the year since the State Legislature legalized same-sex marriage. Brooklyn, "lesbian capital of the world," celebrates on Jan. 18 with a LGBTQ Wedding Expo.

The now-infamous "GOP 4" crossed party lines to help pass marriage equality legislation, but Sen. Roy McDonald has discovered that getting reelected is a challenge.

After 20 years of debate one might reasonably ask why another report on same-sex marriage would be necessary. Our reply is that although the debate has been long it has often generated more heat than light.

With New York’s marriage equality rights secured, Marriage Equality New York has teamed up with other groups to become Marriage Equality USA. With Brian Silva at the helm, MEUSA will work to secure same-sex marriage across the nation.

Seeing a need for wedding bands suited for gay couples, longtime New York couple Jonathan Tack and Sam Street founded Proposition Love, an online jewelry store championing marriage equality.

With no hearings scheduled on a marriage equality bill and other pro-gay measures, an increasing number of activists in Rhode Island have grown frustrated that the state’s LGBT rights movement has stalled.

Gay activists from around the nation are donating to the New York Republican senators that helped legalize gay marriage in the state last summer. Although they have received an overwhelming amount of support there are still groups attacking the lawmakers.

The New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedom filed a lawsuit that challenges New York’s marriage equality law back in July. New York Supreme Court Judge Robert Wiggins has recently ruled that the lawsuit can proceed.

On her 1972 album, Bette Midler sang "Chapel of Love," which became one of those LGBT anthems heard during Pride marches and celebrations. The only problem was, until recently, there weren’t so many chapels willing to celebrate same-sex marriage.

With nuptials for same-sex couples a reality in the Empire State, Marriage Equality New York and other LGBT groups hope to help secure the same right in other states and to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act.