State amendments fail in West Virginia, New Hampshire

Some good news! In NH, it was rejected in committee. In West Virginia, there was wingnut whining. (365gay):

In West Virginia the House of Delegates voted largely along party lines in a procedural vote to kill a proposed amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

..."Courts throughout the country are attacking statutory enactments on the definition of marriage," said Delegate Tim Armstead (R-Kanawha) who led the effort to pass the amendment. "It's very important that we do this."

Now a bit of bad news...in New York, though it's not the final stage:

A midlevel New York state appeals court ruled on Thursday that it is not unconstitutional to prevent same-sex couples from marrying.

The court was considering an appeal by the American Civil Liberties Union of a lower court ruling that said only the legislature could decide whether gay and lesbian couples can wed.

..."In our opinion, the Legislature is where the changes to marriage" should be addressed, Justice John Lahtinen wrote in the 5-0 Appeals Court decision.

The ruling follows a similar decision by an Appeals Court in Manhattan last December that overturned a lower court ruling that it was illegal to deny marriage to same-sex couples.

...New York State Pride Agenda, the state's largest LGBT rights group, called the decision disappointing but not unexpected.

"We have always believed this issue would have to go to the highest court in New York, the Court of Appeals, for a decision," Pride Agenda Executive Director Alan Van Capelle said in a statement. "We will be looking to the high court to reaffirm this important principal of equal treatment by ruling in our favor."