Maryland Governor O’Malley Testifies Before Senate That Same Sex Marriage A Matter Of Protecting Children, American Family Association Attacks Macy’s Over Corporation’s Same Sex Marriage Support, Archdiocese Of Minneapolis/St. Paul Spent $650,000 To Support Same Sex Marriage Ban, Ecuador Says It Will Police Clinics Found To Force Gays To Change Sexual Orientation, Anderson Cooper Parties

Governor Martin O’Malley says legalizing same sex marriage in Maryland is a matter of protecting children. The governor, a Democrat, testified in support of his proposal to allow same sex marriages before the Senate Judicial Proceeding Committee Tuesday afternoon, according to The Associated Press. O’Malley said the bill will offer certain legal protections to children of gay couples, providing parity with children of married, heterosexual parents. Last year, the Senate passed a version of the bill,but it stalled in the House, at least in part over legislators’ religious and family values concerns. The governor has said that this year’s bill offers additional protection to religious institutions that do not support same sex unions by adding language that draws on similar legislation passed in other states.

As more corporations show their support for same sex marriage, sadly, a few customers are pushing back. Starbucks, Microsoft, Group Health Cooperative, Nike, Real Networks, and Vulcan all recently announced their support of gay marriage in Washington state. "While some of our employees literally grew up around the corner, others have come from every state and almost 150 countries around the world. There simply is no substitute for their diverse backgrounds, perspectives, skills and experiences," says Brad Smith, Microsoft's VP for legal and corporate affairs. Spokespeople for those companies tell me their support of marriage equality has been "well received." But that is not the case for Macy's, a national department store chain, according to a report by MyNorthWest.com. A Macy's catalogue was sent to homes with a subtle message supporting same sex marriage. The wedding cake topper in the back of a stylish, classic automobile features two grooms. The close up version of the ad, though fuzzy, shows a same-sex couple on top of the cake. A group affiliated with the American Family Association has started an e-mail campaign urging Macy's to pull the image - which does not appear in the online version of the company's catalogue. "Just because gay marriage is legal in a few states does not mean this is appropriate marketing. As a conservative customer I will not support it," they say. The group also calls Macy's decision to support gay marriage "an irresponsible choice" that is "highly offensive and not family-friendly advertising." Macy's has made no secret of its support of marriage equality. A 2008 advertisement in California stated, "First comes love. Then comes marriage. And now it's a milestone every couple in California can celebrate." That was before California voters repealed granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples with Proposition 8. A Washington State House committee held a hearing on the marriage equality measure on Monday. The House Judiciary committee approved it on a 7-6 party line vote. As I previously posted, the full Senate is to vote on their version of the bill Wednesday, with full house action to occur shortly thereafter. The bill would then head to Governor Chris Gregoire’s desk for her signature. She will sign it. Opponents wishing to challenge the new law would have until early June to collect 120,557 valid signatures, the amount required to place a referendum on the November 2012 ballot.

"The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis says it contributed $650,000 last year to support a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same sex marriage. The archdiocese said Wednesday that it spearheaded a state-wide effort of Minnesota’s Catholic bishops. Archbishop John Nienstedt has come out strongly in support of the ban. He says it’s in line with fundamental church teaching that marriage should be between one man and one woman. The archdiocese says the money comes from investment income. The largest group working to defeat the amendment, Minnesotans United for All Families, said last week it had raised $1.2 million.

Ecuador will investigate and act forcefully against any clinics found to be trying to force homosexuals to change their sexual orientation, a Health Ministry official said last Thursday. Gay rights activists in the South American country say four clinics that engaged in coercive practices, three in the capital, have been shut down in recent months but that others still to operate clandestinely. "Sadly, authorities have not yet taken the corrective measures necessary to regulate the work of clinics that offer 'de-homosexualization' treatment,'" said Efrain Soria, director of Fundacion Equidad, an anti-discrimination group. Health Ministry official David Troya told The Associated Press the agency will deal firmly and drastically with any clinics that offer such treatments, which have been denounced by critics as abusive. Newly named Health Minister Carina Vance, who studied at the University of California and has publicly defended gay rights, is hiring someone to work exclusively on the issue, said Troya, an adviser to Vance. "We are going to take the necessary measures in a firm and drastic manner as regards this subject," he said. The ministry is "clear and emphatic" that in line with the World Health Organization findings, "homosexuality is not an illness and that as such a cure can't be suggested, so that whoever offers treatments is deceiving people and acting illegally," Troya said. Paola Concha told the AP that her family sent her in 2006 to a clinic to "cure" her of homosexuality. "I received physical and verbal aggression during the 18 months I was interned in one of these centers," she said. "Nearly daily they beat me, and many times I was handcuffed to a pipe." Concha said the women's ward of the clinic where she was held was later closed. She said other women who were "treated" along with her are afraid to go public with their stories. Troya said the few clinics offering "de-homosexualization treatment" that were shuttered by authorities were closed not because they offered such services but for other reasons, such as failing to meet sanitary standards. Soria, the anti-discrimination activist, said complaints had been filed in courts against all of the closed clinics. He said the clinics running "de-homosexualization" programs camouflage themselves by advertising that they treat such disorders as substance abuse.

The New York Daily News reports that Anderson Cooper was a different kind of host on Saturday evening. A source says the Anderson Cooper 360 anchor held a birthday party for openly gay party planner Josh Wood, of Josh Wood Productions, in the converted firehouse in Greenwich Village that Cooper bought for $4.3M in 2009. Cooper, “dressed casually in a T-shirt and glasses,” was “really social at the party [and] talked to all of his guests.”