Chris Joyner reports for the USA Today: "Veronica Rodriguez describes her daughter, 17-year-old Ceara Sturgis, as 'a perfect child'...Sturgis also is gay and feels more comfortable in boys' clothes, her mother says."

Jennifer Finney Boylan asks in the New York Times, "Can we have a future in which we are more concerned with the love a family has than with the sometimes unanswerable questions of gender and identity? "

Abby Goodnough writes in the Washington Post, "Gay-rights groups say that momentum from back-to-back victories on same-sex marriage in Vermont and Iowa could spill into other states, particularly since at least nine other legislatures are considering measures this year to allow marriage between gay couples."

Nikita Stewart and Tim Craig write for the Washington Post, "The D.C. Council unanimously voted yesterday to recognize gay marriages performed elsewhere, joining a growing number of states to loosen restrictions on the unions. The District's actions came the same day as Vermont became the fourth state to recognize same-sex marriages and a week after the Iowa Supreme Court legalized such unions. The moves generated a sense of momentum and hope among gay activists and anger among some religious and conservative groups."

David Abel writes for the Boston Globe, "That it would be a tight vote was never in doubt, but the outcome was unclear until the roll call came to the end and Jeff Young, a gardener and freshman Democrat, switched his vote with a simple "yes" from his wooden desk in the chandelier-lit chamber.

His change of mind tipped the balance yesterday in the state House of Representatives, making Vermont the fourth state in the country to legalize marriage between same-sex couples -- and the first by a legislative vote."

Brian Montopoli writes for CBS News, "The decision by the Iowa Supreme Court to overturn that state's gay marriage ban is prompting questions about whether or not the battle over gay marriage, long a central focus in the culture war, has reached a tipping point in American culture."

Jeanne Carstensen writes for Salon, "For author Richard Rodriguez, no one is talking about the real issues behind Proposition 8. While conservative churches are busy trying to whip up another round of culture wars over same-sex marriage, Rodriquez says the real reason for their panic lies elsewhere: the breakdown of the traditional heterosexual family and the shifting role of women in society and the church itself."

Brian E. Gray writes in the Los Angeles Times, "As the proponents of same-sex marriage rights determine the proper response to Proposition 8, it is illuminating to compare Colorado's rejection of 'gay rights' with California's repudiation of 'gay marriage.'"

Lisa Leff writes for the Associated Press, "The state attorney general and sponsors of the ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage in California urged its Supreme Court to hear a series of lawsuits seeking to overturn the ban, saying the matter is too urgent to be unsettled."

Dan Morain and Jessica Garrison wrote in the Los Angeles Times, "Opponents of gay marriage...were able to focus the debate on their assertion that without the ban, public school children would be indoctrinated into accepting gay marriage against their parents' wishes, churches would be sanctioned for not performing same-sex weddings and the institution of marriage would be irreparably harmed."

Bob Egelko writes in the San Francisco Chronicle, "...after California voters approved a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, the incendiary issue returned to the state Supreme Court, where gay and lesbian couples and the city of San Francisco filed lawsuits Wednesday seeking to overturn Proposition 8."

Lisa Leff writes for the Associated Press, "Voters put a stop to same-sex marriage in California, dealing a crushing defeat to gay-rights activists in a state they hoped would be a vanguard and putting in doubt as many as 18,000 same-sex marriages conducted since a court ruling made them legal this year."

Andrea Stone writes in USA TODAY, "A constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman and deny recognition to any 'substantial equivalent' has stirred pocketbook concerns among Florida's seniors and those with domestic partner benefits."

Ellen Goodman writes in the Boston Globe, "Because we rarely see real women, it's easy to forget that one out of every three American women has had an abortion by the time she's 45. As Karlan said, 'Look to your right. Look to your left. One of you has had an abortion.' Because we rarely hear from women, it's easy to forget that over half those women already have children and are making their decisions in that family context."

William Branigin writes in the Washington Post, "The Connecticut Supreme Court overturned a state ban on same-sex marriage yesterday, ruling that it 'discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation' in violation of the state constitution. The 4 to 3 ruling made Connecticut the nation's third state to legalize gay marriage through the courts, joining Massachusetts and California."