Hollywood producer and director Rob Reiner who worked behind the scenes to finance the Federal court challenge to Proposition 8 is in San Francisco this week for the landmark case. Watch:

Now it’s official, statistically speaking anyway. Washington state’s Referendum 71, a domestic partnership bill which provides “Everything but Marriage” was passed by the voters 52 percent to 48 percent.

Sen. Ed Murray, a Seattle Democrat who spearheaded the law, called it “a great step forward for equality in Washington state.”

“I’m relieved,” he said. “I was very concerned that if the voters had said no, it would have been a major setback for gay and lesbian families in Washington state.”

The measure asked voters to approve or reject the latest expansion of the state’s domestic partnership law, granting registered domestic partners additional state rights previously given only to married couples.

Full-fledged gay marriage is still not allowed under Washington law.

Gary Randall of Protect Marriage Washington, which opposed the law and pushed to get the referendum on the ballot, said they weren’t ready to concede.

“We’re just going to wait and watch it play out,” he said.

It’s good to see at least one state not buy into the hate and fear. Congrats to Washington Families Standing Together and everyone else who fought to get Ref. 71 passed.

Belinda Carlisle, the 80’s pop icon from the Go-Go’s and a solo career, posted a video supporting her gay son, and marriage equality in Maine (Vote No on 1 in Maine).

I remember back in the day, thinking her song “Heaven Is A Place On Earth” was “Blue Heaven is a place on Earth”. Please donate to the “No on 1” campaign in Maine and let’s make it a “Blue Heaven” here on Earth where anyone can marry the person they love.

Perhaps one of the largest missteps in the No on Prop 8 campaign was not letting the LGBT community nor its allies engage in a “get to know us” dialogue through advertising and in the media. The new video below is a wonderful example of that dialogue in action, where our friends and families come together to send a message of tolerance and equality.

The video promotes an upcoming LGBT event called Pink Dot. You’ve probably not heard of the event because its all the way across the Pacific… in Singapore. While the event is thousands of miles away, it doesn’t make it any less moving, or any less relevant. Please watch….

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDdoT7opmrg[/youtube]

Via Queers United / akaWilliam.