State Rep. Deborah Mell has legal gay marriage in Iowa

"State Rep. Deborah Mell (D-Chicago) quietly made Illinois history last week.

She got married.

To a woman.

Mell, 43, is the first high-profile elected official in the state to publicly enter into a same-sex marriage.

But she had to go to Iowa to do it.

It’s one of only six states plus the District of Columbia where same-sex marriage is legal. A judge in Davenport performed their civil ceremony last Wednesday.

Mell’s wife of one week is Christin Baker, 36, a national director for the YMCA. They dated for seven years."

-full report at Chicago Sun-Times 

Out in Politics: Gay Republican Elected to City Ward.

In an intriguing sign of the times, an openly gay Republican has been elected to represent a ward in Springfield, Illinois.

Cory Jobe, an openly gay Republican, was elected alderman of the Ward 6 in Springfield on April 5, according to the State Journal-Register.

-Windy City Times

It seems that Republicans don't want to see gays represented at CPAC - but they're quite happy to have them elected. Taken together with gay presidential candidate Fred Karger's unexpected and remarkable straw poll win in New Hampshire last week, I'm beginning to sense that the GOP infighting over LGBT in 2012 could be quite some fun to watch.