With the 2007 state legislative session winding down, I just wanted to note what an amazing half-year it has been for gay marriage/civil union/domestic partnership rights. Progress was made in five states and now same-sex couples can form some sort of union in any part of the west coast (inc. HI) or any part of New England. Here’s the lastest map from Wikipedia:

The state-by-state 2007 run-down:
NJ: On February 19, 2007, New Jersey became the third state to recognize civil unions. This action followed a mandate from the state supreme court. The legislature, unfortunately, chose not to implement full marriage. While civil unions supposedly affords the same rights as marriage, such rights are limited to the state government. For instance, some private businesses treat marriages and civil unions differently.
RI: On February 20, 2007, Attorney General Patrick Lynch issued an opinion that same-sex couples’ Massachusetts-performed marriages would be recognized by the state of Rhode Island.
WA: On April 21, 2007, narrowly-elected Gov. Gregoire signed a domestic partnership law into effect. A brief glance at the bill indicates that it’s a complicated mess. I don’t know why they didn’t just say “same rights as married couples” and be done with it.
OR: Governor Kulongiski signed Oregon’s domestic partnership law on May 9, 2007. Oregon used the term “domestic partnership” to stay in line with the other west coast states’ terminology; the text of the legislation is civil-unions simple, however.
NH: On May 31, 2007, Governor John Lynch signed New Hampshire’s civil union bill into law, thus completing the New England’s conversion to being same-sex union friedly.
So, that leaves all the “solid blue” states with some sort of same-sex partnership, except for New York, Maryland, Delaware, and Illinois. I think the legislatures of NY, DE, and IL are still in session with civil union legislation pending, but I haven’t heard good noises come out of any of those states. One can only hope I wrote this post prematurely and more will happen in 2007. But, for now, I say Dayenu!
Although we’ve made real progress, it’s important to keep in mind that, as the New Jersey case demonstrated, passage of these bills does not ensure equal rights for gays and lesbians. This is especially true on the Federal level, thanks to DOMA. One legislative session at a time, I guess.