Yesterday, New Hampshire became the sixth state in the union to allow same-sex marriage. The new legislation, passed by the state House and Senate and signed by the governor, will take effect on January 1st, 2010. In celebration of each new victory and as a reminder of how far we still have to go, Big Queer has decided to start tallying the states that legalize gay marriage with our Big Queer Map.

States that allow gay marriage: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire.

If you're on Facebook or Twitter, you were no doubt inundated with pithy responses following yesterday's announcement that California's Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8. Some of my favorites: "California can suck it," "Shame on them!," "Fuck California," "SO over California," ":(," and my personal favorite, "Ha ha, California. Iowa is more liberal than you. Epic fail." It's that last one that seemed to make the most sense to me. Yes, this was another setback in the fight for marriage equality in the country's most populace state, and the court's logic that last November's referendum doesn't fundamentally alter equal rights under the state Constitution but simply amends it is flawed. The judgment creates a legal class of citizens (to say nothing of creating a special class of gay citizens who are allowed to remain married), denies equal protection, and plainly contradicts the language of the Constitution. But my friend's admittedly unemotional observation points to the fact that even if the people and legal system of California are still struggling with this no-brainer issue, Prop 8 and the subsequent fallout have created a wave of progress for gays and marriage equality in the U.S. The Northeast is where our founding fathers conceived and composed the nation's Constitution and Bill of Rights, and it's now where real progress is being made on this front, with older and wiser states Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine having all recognized gay marriage, and New York and New Hampshire close behind. It won't be California, that bastion of so-called liberalism, that's going to pave the way.

A nine-year-old in Denver, Colorado has become an unlikely posterchild (literally) for marriage equality. Ethan McNamee of Montclair Elementary School organized a rally in support of same-sex marriage at his school reportedly after hearing slurs on the playground. There's an unmarried gay couple in his neighborhood as well, which led to McNamee's desire to speak out on the issue. Controversy over whether the third-grader is being used by his parents or teachers as a mouthpiece for a mature debate is inevitable, but it's evident from news report footage that McNamee is confident in what he believes and is wise beyond his mere nine years. We see a lot more activism in his future!

Last week, newly minted gay icon Brad Pitt donated $100,000 to help fight an initiative in California that would overturn the state Supreme Court's legalization of gay marriage. Gays have won the right to wed in only two states, the other one being Massachusetts. The November ballot is the first time voters will be given the chance to vote against gay marriage in a state where it's already been granted. Pitt said in a statement: "Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn't harm another and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8." Pitt and his partner, long-time gay icon Angelina Jolie, with whom he shares custody of six children, have refused to get married until gay marriage is made legal in the United States. "Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able," he said in 2006. To find out more about Proposition 8 or to donate to the cause, check out Californians Against Eliminating Basic Rights' Vote No on Prop 8 website.