While the country is distracted by the New Hampshire primary, which will be on Tuesday, New Hampshire's state legislature is swiftly moving to abolish gay marriage. They could vote on the issue as soon as this Thursday.

Craig Stowell is a New Hampshire native who recently testified at the New Hampshire State House to ask the legislature not to pass HB 437, the bill that would abolish marriage equality. But Craig isn't gay -- in fact, he's a straight married Marine, and a conservative Republican.

Those skeptical of whether Rick Santorum has what it takes to win a general election contest this fall have focused on, among other things, his drumbeating on social issues in a year when Republican strategists believe hitting President Obama on the economy is the way to win. And Santorum’s potential vulnerability on that score was on display Thursday night in New Hampshire, where he was challenged on his views on gay marriage.

In May a Spanish academic estimated that 6000 LGBT Africans flee to Europe each year.

In the UK, authorities bureaucratically codified the landmark Supreme Court decision of 2010 ending the concept that refused asylum seekers could (and should) “go home and be discreet” or relocate to avoid repression. They also began to record sexuality-based asylum claims.

This “discretion” argument, widely employed to refuse asylum, was rejected by a U.S. Ninth Circuit court in March but used in cases elsewhere.

NEW YORK -- Same-sex spouses are paying as much as $6,000 a year in extra taxes because the federal government doesn't recognize gay marriage, according to an analysis conducted for CNNMoney by tax specialists.

While marriage provides tax benefits for many heterosexual couples, same-sex families don't enjoy the same perks because they are not allowed to file their federal returns jointly.