Morning Sweep

New York State Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith put out a statement yesterday in support of the State Supreme Court ruling to uphold the Comptroller's recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages. In it he said that the ruling was "a step in the right direction in our struggle to provide full marriage equality to all families." Read the entire statement here (via The Politicker). We're very happy to see such strong leadership on at least one side of the isle...

The Buffalo News was the first to report that the anti-gay Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund will appeal the State Supreme Court ruling.

Towleroad features two very different perspectives on gay rights in America from two very different young people. One is the courageous high school student from Vermont who gave John McCain a tongue lashing, the other is, as Andy puts it a "bigoted slug...the spawn of the worst kind of Bible Belt bigots."

Using some bizarre line of logic, a student at Cornell opposes a recent resolution brought before the student government that would allow for gender-neutral housing. In his "treatise," this student draws upon divorce research from the Heritage Foundation and asserts that the LGBT rights movement is a mix of "science and dogma."

LGBT activists are not happy about Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's endorsement of anti-gay Noach Dear in a race for Civil Court Judge. Markowitz, who has been endorsed many times in the past by various LGBT groups, insists that Dear "would place equal treatment, respect for diversity, and reverence for human rights above all else." Others are not convinced: Dear has a shady electoral past and is rated as "not approved" for the seat by the New York City Bar Association.

Four months after oral arguments were presented, same-sex couples in Connecticut are anxiously awaiting the state's Supreme Court decision on gay marriage.

Looks like times are tough for Focus on the Family.