Vietnam's burgeoning gay rights movement got a major boost recently when the country's Ministry of Health came out in support of legalizing same-sex marriage. At a hearing to discuss marriage law reforms on April 16 in Hanoi, deputy minister of health Nguyen Viet Tien proposed that same-sex marriage be made legal immediately: "As human beings, homosexuals have the same rights as everyone else to live, eat, love, and be loved," he said, according to local media.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Gov. Lincoln Chafee, an Independent, signed the newly-passed marriage-equality bill into law today, as Rhode Island becomes the final New England state to legalize same-sex marriage.

The Providence Gay Men's Chorus serenaded the audience before the signing ceremony, held on the South Steps of the historic state House. Several gay lawmakers poured out their thanks for everyone who came together to pass the bill.

Hundreds of supporters cheered and hugged each other after Gov. Chafee took his pen and signed the bill in a formal ceremony.

Justices in the Brazilian states of Rondônia, Paraíba and Santa Catarina have ruled to authorize marriage equality for same-sex couples, bringing the total to 14 of the country’s 27 states to legalize same-sex marriage.

The ruling by the Corregedor Geral de Justiça caps a month where five state justices in Brazil ruled in favor of same-sex marriage.

DENVER — A new chapter for Colorado families began today at 12:01 am when hard-fought legislation for civil unions took effect, allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions for the first time.

Same-sex marriages performed in other states were immediately recognized civil unions under Colorado law, and Colorado same-sex couples were the first time allowed to fill out paperwork for civil unions licenses at county clerks’ offices, including Denver’s Webb building where Mayor Hancock officiated the state’s very first union between Fran and Anna Simon.