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51% Show #1300

See-ming Lee
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June is a celebration of pride. President Barack Obama this year joined in the recognition as he proclaimed June 2014 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. On this week’s 51%, we’ll take a look at the momentum of legalizing same-sex marriage in the U.S. 

We’ll visit a state that bans same-sex marriage, and where a pride movement has sprung up in a small town. Plus, a new publication about same-sex weddings is joining the magazine world. And we’ll take a look at a female first at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

A village In New York State, roughly 85 miles north of New York City, 10 years ago became a driving force behind the gay marriage movement nationwide. New Paltz recently held its annual Hudson Valley LGBTQ Pride March and Festival, but this time, it was to celebrate a milestone -- the same-sex marriage ceremonies that were performed a decade ago. The founder of the campaign to win marriage equality nationwide, a man Newsweek and The Daily Beast once dubbed “the godfather of gay marriage,” served as grand marshal of the pride march.  I spoke with him, as well as the co-grand marshals, about the country’s direction when it comes to legalizing same-sex marriages.

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Small-town Utah isn't the likeliest of places for a growing LGBTQ pride movement. But the Moab Pride Festival, established in 2011, and now entering its fourth year, calls itself "...the nation's second largest small town Pride Festival." In these places, where everyone knows everyone, it can be hard to stand up for something you believe in -- something that sets you apart -- but maybe, as Freedom to Marry’s Evan Wolfson pointed out earlier, it's these hometowns that have the best shot at pioneering a community-driven atmosphere of tolerance and understanding. Jennifer Jerrett reports. 

In a month often associated with weddings, a new publication is hitting the magazine marketplace. EQL, spelled E-Q-L, is a biannual print magazine dedicated to gay and lesbian dream weddings. The second issue is due out in the fall.  Publisher Leslie Hurd says EQL is the first national publication of its kind. 

That was publisher Leslie Hurd, talking about EQL, her new publication on gay weddings.

And now we turn to an institution that represents a different kind of relationship, one of serving the United States.

That’s our show for this week. Thanks to Katie Britton for production assistance.  Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. 

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