SAN FRANCISCO -- The first federal trial to determine if the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from outlawing same-sex marriage gets under way in San Francisco on Monday, and the two gay couples on whose behalf the case was brought will be among the first witnesses.

The proceedings, which are expected to last two to three weeks, involve a challenge to Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban approved by California voters in November 2008...

On Thursday, the New Jersey Senate ended the chance for approval of homosexual "marriage" in the legislature, but the fight to push the measure through continues.

Proponents needed 21 votes to send the bill to the House, but they could only muster-up 14. However, despite the defeat, says Greg Quinlan of New Jersey Family First, homosexuals will continue to push for approval. "The homosexual lobby has threatened now to go back to the New Jersey Supreme Court to have them change the definition of marriage as courts have imposed it in other states like Iowa and Massachusetts," he explains.

Quinlan feels that in light of previous rulings and comments from justices, the state's high court might be amendable to imposing homosexual marriage -- but he says the state also needs to get rid of a law that sets up civil unions for same-gender pairs...

Homosexual activists are pushing hard for passage of a marriage bill this week in New Jersey.

The clock is winding down on the legislative session in New Jersey as Senate President Richard Codey has indicated that body will vote on homosexual "marriage" Thursday. Associated Press reported yesterday that about 150 clergy of various faiths had sent state lawmakers a letter asking them to approve the measure before the Republican governor-elect takes office.

In the meantime, opponents of the bill are equally determined to express their resistance to the effort....

Iowa residents are letting lawmakers know how they feel about the legalization of homosexual marriage by the state Supreme Court, and the issue is expected to be a major battleground in 2010.

January 11 and 12, Iowa residents will be at the state capitol lobbying lawmakers to give voters the chance to decide on the issue by amending the state constitution. Bryan English of the Iowa Family Policy Center tells OneNewsNow they plan to send a strong but polite message through the effort titled "Two Days For Marriage."

"We expect to be able to exercise our constitutional right to vote, and we also expect that our elected representatives won't stand in our way," English states, warning that "any elected representative who stands between the people of Iowa and their constitutional right to vote on the definition of marriage is risking their political future"...

Washington (AP) - A bill to legalize gay marriage is going to the D.C. City Council for a final vote.

The bill is co-sponsored by 10 of 13 council members and is expected to pass Tuesday. Opponents have vowed to try to get voters or Congress to overturn it, though their efforts have so far been unsuccessful. Congress has final say over D.C.'s laws.

Passage of the bill would be a victory for gay marriage supporters dealt a recent string of defeats in Maine, New York and New Jersey...

As Washington, DC's city council moves closer to legalizing homosexual "marriage," a Christian organization is raising a warning flag.

The DC Election Board has refused an initiative to put the marriage issue before voters. Alan Wisdom of the Institute on Religion & Democracy tells OneNewsNow the city council was offered amendments to protect religious groups, but opted to reject them.

"We at the Institute are warning that this really shows the trajectory of same-sex marriage," notes Wisdom. "The initial appeal is for tolerance, but ultimately same-sex marriage becomes tyranny that is imposed upon Christians and others who support traditional marriage, and they are forced in various ways to accept same-sex marriage"...

More than 150 leaders across a spectrum of conservative Christianity on Friday released a 4,700-word document vowing civil disobedience if they are forced to take part in "anti-life acts" or bless gay marriages.

Called the "Manhattan Declaration," the six-page, single-spaced document was drafted by Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson, an evangelical, and Princeton University professor Robert P. George, a Roman Catholic, and included a bevy of Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox bishops, archbishops and cardinals as signatories along with dozens of clergy and laity...

A state representative in Ohio wants the state's ban on homosexual marriage to be overturned.

In 2004, Ohioans encountered a ballot presenting the issue of homosexual marriage. The vote established that the constitutional amendment protects marriage between one man and one woman by 24 percent. However, Tyrone Yates, Ohio Democratic state representative, seeks to overturn the vote of the people.

David Miller of Citizens for Community Values in Ohio said, “I think everybody knows that every state that has given the voters the opportunity to limit marriage has done so, and most by very significant margins...

WASHINGTON - A measure to let voters decide whether to ban same-sex marriages in D.C. cannot go on the ballot because it would violate a city human rights law, the Board of Elections and Ethics ruled Tuesday.

The D.C. City Council is expected to approve homosexual marriage next month, but opponents wanted voters to weigh in.

The elections board said allowing residents to vote on a ban would conflict with the city's 1977 Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination.

Errol R. Arthur, chairman of the two-member board, suggested as much at an October hearing. He said in a press release Tuesday that the "laws of the District of Columbia preclude us from allowing this initiative to move forward"...

Traditional marriage advocates in Washington, DC are telling city officials "We'll see you in court."

The DC Board of Elections and Ethics ruled yesterday that a measure to let voters decide whether to ban same-sex marriages in DC cannot go on the ballot. According to the board, such a measure would violate the city's human rights law.

The DC City Council is expected to approve same-sex marriage next month, but proponents of traditional marriage are planning to hold a rally in Washington on December 8th to lobby members of Congress to override the council's wishes.

Bishop Harry Jackson Jr., who heads the group Stand for Marriage DC, says an important civil right of same-sex marriage opponents is being violated in the District...