Free Republic

In the midst of a re-energized campaign by Gov. Andrew...a trio of Republican consultants is...[pushing] for passage. The Gill Action Fund, a national group with an expansive donor network, has recruited lobbyist Michael Avella, a former chief counsel to ex-Senate majority leader Joe Bruno and current leader Dean Skelos, and John McArdle, a consultant who ran GOP Senate communications under Messrs. Bruno and Skelos.

A Roman Catholic charity has lost its latest appeal against equality laws which allow gay couples to use adoption services. Catholic Care, run by the Diocese of Leeds, argued it would have to give up its adoption service if it was not made exempt from the law.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- A Minnesota lawmaker's speech against banning gay marriage in the state's Constitution has become an online hit. A video of Rep. Steve Simon's remarks had more than 170,000 views on YouTube early Thursday. At a Capitol hearing on Monday, the St. Louis Park Democrat asked, "How many gays must God create before we accept that he wants them around?"