ABC News (includes video): or the first time ever, gay-rights advocates will launch a sassy advertising campaign aimed at football fans in the most macho of American venues — the Super Bowl.

Lambda Legal: Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed a lower court ruling and remanded the case of Lambda Legal client, Richard Roe, back to district court. Roe applied to be a police officer with the Atlanta Police Department (APD), but was denied employment because of his HIV status. | Roe v. City of Atlanta

BaltimoreSun.com: The House bill went in with 56 co-sponsors, including House Speaker Michael E. Busch, who rarely puts his name on legislation

Seattle Times: Seattle-based Internet retailer Amazon.com said Wednesday it has joined other large Northwest companies to support legislation that would legalize gay marriage in Washington state.

LaTimes.com: An Iraq war veteran from Pasadena filed suit against the Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday over its refusal to pay her full disability benefits because she is in a same-sex marriage.

Catholic News Agency (CNA): The “unique value” of Catholic education in Philadelphia is being threatened by a shortage of resources, and Pennsylvania Catholics should encourage their legislators to create vouchers to sustain them, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput says.

Seattle Times Newspaper: After her 10-year-old saw porn on a man's computer screen at the Lake City library, a mom objected — to the library and to the media.

Washington Blade - "America's Leading Gay News Source": Following McCoy was Maryland Baptist ministers Rev. Dr. John Lund, and Rev. Dr. Nate Thomas, as well as Presbyterian pastor Bob Borger, former mega-church pastor Joel Peebles — who recently lost a court battle over control over his Jericho City of Praise Ministry — as well as some Catholic voices such as Pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Father Eric Arnold, and Maryland Catholic Conference’s Mary Ellen Russell. The testimony was concluded by an attorney specializing in representing churches and ministers, Erika Cole, the Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty’s Eric Baxter, and the anti-gay Alliance Defense Fund’s Brian Raum.

The Washington Post: Brian W. Raum, senior counsel at the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, argued that protections should be extended to businesses, such as wedding planners, who do not believe in gay nuptials.

www.HometownAnnapolis.com - The Capital: The hearing attracted a few witnesses from out of state. Brian W. Raum, is senior counsel for the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund. He said the bill fails to protect “religious-minded” individuals and businesses, such as wedding planners and venue halls. “Certain kinds of businesses are going to be negatively affected,” he said. “They may be people of deep faith who don’t want to participate.” After the hearing, Raum seemed perturbed when asked to explain why businesses should be free to discriminate against same-sex couples, while discrimination on racial or religious grounds is illegal. “If you don’t see the difference between race-based discrimination and a protection for marriage between a man and a woman, then I can’t help you on that,” he said.

FRC: If Maryland's same-sex "marriage" bill was controversial before, then the Governor's wife just poured gasoline on the fire. In a speech last week, Catherine O'Malley certainly didn't help her husband's cause when she was caught on tape calling leaders "cowards" for supporting traditional marriage.

USATODAY.com: The U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday that the nation's homeownership rate fell to 66% in the fourth quarter, continuing a seven-year drop from a fourth-quarter peak of 69.2% in 2004.

SeattlePI.com: The Senate will vote Wednesday on a measure to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state. The Senate Rules Committee voted Tuesday to move the bill to a floor vote.

National Organization for Marriage v. McKee, No. 11-1196 (1st Cir. Jan. 31, 2012) LIPEZ, Circuit Judge. This appeal presents the second chapter of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Maine laws imposing registration and disclosure requirements on entities that finance election-related advocacy. In a recent decision, we rejected claims made by one of the appellants here, the National Organization for Marriage ("NOM"), asserting that Maine's laws regulating political action committees ("PACs") are unconstitutionally vague and overbroad in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. See NOM v. McKee, 649 F.3d 34 (1st Cir. 2011) ("NOM I"). We now consider similar contentions raised by NOM and co-appellant American Principles in Action, Inc. ("APIA") concerning the law applicable to ballot question committees ("BQCs"). See Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 21-A, § 1056-B. Our decision in NOM I effectively disposes of most of appellants' challenges to Maine's BQC requirements. On the only substantively distinct issue — the constitutionality of the definition of "contribution" in section 1056-B — we conclude that the BQC law, like the PAC laws, is constitutional. We thus affirm in its entirety the district court's grant of summary judgment for the defendants.

Minnesota Public Radio News: he largest group working to defeat a proposed state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage said it has raised more than $1.2 million in cash and in-kind contributions.

CBS Seattle (AP): A House committee on Monday advanced a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington state, and the Senate is expected to vote on its companion bill within days.

The Washington Post: Something unexpected happened on the way to North Carolina’s vote on a gay marriage ban this May: Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue decided not to run for re-election, meaning more voters who oppose the ban could turn out at the polls.

Concord Monitor: Cohn and others believe the bill may pass the House but does not have the two-thirds majority to override a potential veto by Democratic Gov. John Lynch, who signed the bill three years ago legalizing same-sex marriage.

The Washington Post: A poll by The Washington Post has found that half of Maryland residents now support legalizing same-sex marriage.

Baltimore Sun: "We ask the government to fix the problems we already have, not create new ones," said the Rev. Michael DeAscanis, a Roman Catholic priest in St. Agnes and St. William of York Parish in Baltimore.