Gay marriage equality logo goes viral

            Gay marriage supporters across the U.S. have changed their profile pictures to a stark red equal sign as they monitor the Supreme Court’s hearing of California’s Proposition 8. The red equal sign is an alteration of the Human Rights Campaign’s standard blue and yellow logo. The advocacy group, which “seeks to improve the lives of LGBT Americans,” has called on its followers to show support for marriage equality by wearing red.

 The special logo has been shared more than 26,000 times. Celebrities like TV star Sophia Bush, N’Sync’s Lance Bass and Star Trek’s George Takei have used the logo on their Facebook or Twitter pages. A number of politicians also followed suit.  As sometimes happens in the social media realm, the logo has become so popular that offshoots of it have already been created and are now being shared. Some of the new logos change color scheme, while others attempt to symbolically tweak the message.

One particularly popular choice is a red logo that displays a greater-than sign rather than an equal sign. According to written explanations Facebook users have provided with the picture, many say the greater-than sign offers a critique of the equal sign: Inequality will continue, they say, even if the high court strikes down California’s ban on gay marriage.

India's stand on gay:-

Our Supreme Court is yet to rule on the repeal of the anachronistic  Section 377 that criminalized sex against the order of nature. That is the first order of business. Once the basis for discrimination against homosexuals is removed, then one can question all the institutions they are barred from. When the day for that argument for same-sex marriage finally comes in India, we can say that our marriage laws are already “same-sex marriage-ready.” But to imply from that that India is ready for same-sex marriage would be putting the cart well before the horse. 

Related links:-

Hillary clinton supports gay marriages

Hillary Clinton announces support for gay marriage

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced her support for gay marriage, putting her in line with other potential Democratic presidential candidates on a social issue that is rapidly gaining public approval. Clinton made the announcement in an online video released by the gay rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign. She says in the six-minute video that gays and lesbians are "full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship."

"That includes marriage," she says, adding that she backs gay marriage both "personally and as a matter of policy and law."

Clinton's announcement is certain to further fuel the already rampant speculation that she is considering another run for president in 2016. Other possible Democratic contenders - including Vice President Joe Biden, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley - all back the right of same-sex couples to marry.

Polls show that public opinion on gay marriage has shifted perhaps more rapidly than on any other major issue in recent times. In Gallup polling last November, 53 percent of adult Americans said same-sex marriages should be granted the same status as traditional marriages, while 46 percent felt they should not be valid. [In 1996, when Gallup first asked about gay marriages, 27 percent felt they should be valid]

The shift among the major political parties has been equally swift. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Clinton and rival Barack Obama both backed civil unions for gay couples, but not same-sex marriage. In the lead-up to the 2012 election, Obama announced his support for gay marriage and Democrats backed the right of same-sex couples to wed in their party's official platform.

The GOP officially opposes gay marriage, though several high profile Republicans have publicly backed the right of same-sex couples to wed. Earlier, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman became the first Republican senator to announce his support for gay marriage, saying he had a change of heart after learning that his son is gay.

More than 100 Republicans also submitted a "friend of the court" brief to the Supreme Court asking the justices to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage. The court will hear oral arguments on California's Proposition 8 measure later.

Justices will also hear arguments in a related case concerning the constitutionality of a provision in the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman. President Bill Clinton signed the act into law in 1996, but said earlier this month that he now believes it is unconstitutional and should be overturned.

Despite holding back in supporting same-sex marriage, Hillary Clinton was a strong support of gay rights, both in the U.S. and abroad, during her tenure at the State Department. Under her watch, the U.S. government made it official policy to promote gay rights around the world.