Another win for gay marriage

In California, a group called Protect Marriage has gathered more than 1 million signatures in an effort to get a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage onto the November ballot. Similar ballot drives are underway in Florida and Arizona; Massachusetts ballot efforts can be approved only by the Legislature.

Nationally, the issue of gay marriage is being raised by Republican candidates in swing states such as Ohio, where social conservatives are a potent political force. GOP presidential candidate John McCain has come out in favor of the effort to overturn gay marriage laws, while his Democratic foe, Barack Obama, opposes the California initiative to outlaw such unions.

"We think this issue has lost some of its edge," Solomon said. "It's just not a big deal. Americans look at this and they wonder why these groups are constantly talking about gay marriage when gas prices and the war in Iraq are so much more critical."

A study commissioned by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development predicted that marriages of gay couples from New York and other Northeastern states could mean as much as $37 million in revenue for the state each year for the next three years -- and nearly $2 million a year in taxes.

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steve.braun@latimes.com