WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign today launched Americans for Marriage Equality, a public engagement campaign featuring prominent Americans who support committed gay and lesbian couples getting married.

The campaign will draw from a cadre of supportive professional athletes, film and music celebrities, political and civil rights leaders– and will have a special emphasis on Republicans, African-Americans, Latinos and elected officials. The campaign can be viewed HERE.

NEW YORK -- A group of over 800 United Methodists in New York and Connecticut on Monday, Oct. 17, will announce its intention to make weddings available to all people, gay and straight, in spite of their denomination’s ban on gay marriage.

The announcement will mark the kickoff of a project called "We do! Methodists Living Marriage Equality" to directly reach out to LGBT groups in New York and Connecticut and let them know about clergy members who will perform weddings for gay couples.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Country music artist and LGBT activist Chely Wright is lending her voice and her support to the marriage equality activists who are staging rallies in North Carolina this week, in response to a stunning move by the state legislature to pass a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage -- and civil unions -- across the state.

The measure was passed by the NC House on Monday, September 12, 2011 and by the Senate on Tuesday, September 13.

North Carolina is currently the only southern state without a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

NEW YORK -- The red-hot actor Cheyenne Jackson, one of the stars of FilmOut SanDiego's Closing Night selection, "The Green," has announced on Twitter than he has married his longtime partner, Dr. Monte Lapka.

"Married the best man I've ever known," Jackson tweeted, while posting a picture of the newlyweds (seen at right) wearing white and standing on a Long Island beach.

The couple, who have been together for 11 years, brought along their pet for the beach wedding.