Here we are at the end of 2012, and after a year of amazing progress we’re closer than ever to full federal marriage equality. Think about where we were a year ago with Prop 8, with DOMA, with marriage laws from state to state. So much has happened since then. So let’s do a quick year-in-review to get you caught up with the progress we made in 2012, and where we’re going to focus in 2013, including which states are the most likely to make headlines in the coming year.

Fairness and equality have won out over fear and prejudice. Voters in Maine, Maryland, and Washington have approved marriage equality, and in Minnesota they rejected a state constitutional ban on marriage for gay and lesbian couples.

• Find out when gay and lesbian couples get married in Maine, Maryland and Washington>

For the first time, voters have drawn a line in the sand and said to the nation: ALL Americans should have the fundamental freedom to marry the person they love.

For the first time, voters have rejected the specious claims that anti-marriage forces use to prevent loving gay and lesbian couples and their families from being treated with the equal dignity and respect guaranteed by our Constitution.

In each state, anti-marriage campaigns relied on the same harmful lies and distortions used in 2008 to pass Proposition 8 in California. But as AFER proved during the 2010 federal district court trial of Proposition 8, these stigmatizing arguments simply have no basis in fact or reality.

• Find out when gay and lesbian couples get married in Maine, Maryland and Washington>

AFER strongly believes that fundamental constitutional rights should never be put up for a vote. However, last night proved that the remaining barriers that prevent gay and lesbian couples from exercising their freedom to get married are crumbling fast.

With the Supreme Court poised to consider whether it will take AFER’s federal constitutional challenge to Proposition 8, the momentum for marriage equality has never been stronger.

And our victories for marriage equality are not alone. America has elected its first openly gay or lesbian senator, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, and retained Iowa Supreme Court Justice David Wiggins, who was targeted for joining the unanimous decision that overturned that state’s ban on marriage for gay and lesbian couples.

This is a great day for couples waiting to get married, their families, and for every American who believes in our nation’s commitment to equal rights for all.

Here’s when gay and lesbian couples in each state can get married:

Maine

December 29, 2012. Referendums in Maine take effect 30 days after the governor makes a “public proclamation of the result of the vote,” within 10 days after the result has been determined.

Maryland

January 1, 2013. This date was included in the original legislation passed by the state’s General Assembly, which was approved by voters.

Washington

December 6. All referendums that are approved by voters in the Evergreen State go into effect 30 days after the election.

And California?

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide the fate of AFER’s challenge to Prop. 8 on Tuesday, November 20. An announcement is expected by Monday, November 26.

If the Supreme Court hears AFER’s challenge, AFER attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies will make the case for marriage equality to the nation’s highest court. A final decision is expected by June 2013.

Or, if the Justices decide not to hear the case, the Ninth Circuit decision that ruled Prop. 8 unconstitutional will be made permanent, with marriages starting as soon as the Ninth Circuit issues its mandate, likely within several days after the Supreme Court denies review.

• Sign up for breaking news updates from AFER, the organizational sponsor of the Prop. 8 case.

Getting Married?

Share your special day with AFER to help win hearts and change minds for marriage equality.

• Tell us your love story and what you are planning for your big day. You could get featured on AFER’s website
• Register your wedding to help win full federal marriage equality.
• Make a gift in the name of someone you love who is getting married.

This election brought us an amazing victory. Until now, our opponents have kept pointing out that they’ve won every popular vote on marriage. But not anymore. With sixteen national surveys showing a majority of Americans support the freedom to marry, their winning streak is at an end.

If you live in those states, there is still time to get involved:

• Mainers United for Marriage
• Marylanders for Marriage Equality
• Minnesotans United for All Families
•  Washington United for Marriage

If you don’t live in one of those you states, there is still time to call voters from your home throughout the day to help get out the vote.   Sign up at www.20MillionMore.org

Be sure to follow AFER on Twitter and Facebook for the latest election results as they come in.

And if you are looking for your polling place, or a sample ballot, check out smartvoter.org.

Tomorrow the fate of ballot measures on marriage for gay and lesbian couples in four states will be decided. And the campaigns for and against marriage equality could not have been more different.

Find out what you can do for each state at AFER’s Election Center.

In Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington, campaigns based on the same anti-gay playbook used to pass California’s Proposition 8 in 2008 have attempted to sway voters using nothing but fear and prejudice. Even though AFER’s bipartisan legal team, led by distinguished co-counsel Ted Olson and David Boies, dismantled these specious claims in federal court, the anti-marriage campaigns continue to rely on harmful lies about gay and lesbian Americans in order to prevent loving couples from getting married.

By contrast, the campaigns for fairness and equality are based on acceptance and love.

While AFER firmly believes that fundamental civil rights should never be put up to vote, when marriage equality is on the ballot, it is incumbent on each of us to ensure that our gay and lesbian neighbors are not denied the freedom to marry the person they love.

Regardless of what happens tomorrow, we can all be proud of the work that has been done in these states. Conversations about why marriage equality is important for ALL Americans have continued to open hearts and change minds unlike ever before.

It’s unbelievable to me that people’s lives and relationships are literally being voted on in a matter of days.

In Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington, voters will go to the polls to decide if gay and lesbian couples – our friends and neighbors – are worthy of the same protections as everyone else.

But that’s the system we have and I’m not going to back down from the fight for loving and committed couples to have the ability to marry. Especially when groups like the Human Rights Campaign are fighting these battles day-in and day-out.

So, here’s what I’m going to do. If you make a contribution to these ballot measure campaigns in the next 24 hours, I’ll double it – every dollar of the way, up to $100,000.

This is our last chance to make a difference. If you’re like me, you don’t want to have to ask yourself on the day after the election, what else could I have done?

So what are you waiting for?! Donate today and Brad Pitt will match your contribution to marriage equality.

Here are clips from Brad at the LA premiere of “8”:

Another ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act marks the anti-gay law’s eighth consecutive loss in court. Also this week, a former Prop. 8 supporter releases a new video explaining his change of heart. And polling on marriage in key states remains very close just days out from the election.

Two new anti-gay ads just started running in Maine this week. And as usual, they’re full of misleading, hurtful statements.

We can break down the claims in these commercials by using the testimony from AFER’s Prop. 8 trial. That case was like a marriage equality “truth commission” that, for the first time, examined our opponents’ claims in a federal court of law. And we found that in court, where there’s no room to hide behind misleading statements and vague threats, the arguments of our opponents simply have no basis in fact. They melt away.

Here’s the first ad:

“If Question 1 passes, redefining marriage, we can expect consequences for Mainers.”

Let’s stop right there. Question 1 is the ballot measure that would allow the state to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. If it doesn’t pass, the consequences for Mainers is clear: no marriage for gays and lesbians. That is immediately harmful to those couples and their kids.

So, what are they claiming are the consequences if it does pass? Well, that’s a lot less clear.

“I was a successful school counselor in Maine for over 20 years. Once nominated as teacher of the year. Yet when I supported traditional marriage, they tried to get me fired.”

This is Don Mendell. And what he’s not telling you is that he didn’t just support an anti-gay law. He went on television and attacked gay and lesbian Mainers, despite being a school counselor at a public high school. Here he is back in 2009:

“Prevent Question 1 from being pushed on Maine students.”

Mendell wrote that LGBT couples “use children’s trusting nature to turn them against the natural law.”

Words like these do profound harm to young gay and lesbian people, especially when they come from a school counselor. That’s why he was investigated.

“When gay marriage has become law elsewhere, people who disagree with it have been fired, sued, fined, and punished.”

There are a lot of problems with this statement. Don wasn’t fired, sued, fined, or punished. The complaints against him were dismissed.

And marriage equality wasn’t even law during that time. So, whether or not gay and lesbian couples could get married, the complaints against him would have been exactly the same. In other words, marriage equality didn’t cause his problems. He caused them by speaking out against the very kids in his care.

The fact is, nobody gets punished just for having an opinion. There are only consequences for harassing people, or attacking them, or using public resources to discriminate, or using your position of authority to cause harm.

And that’s just what these marriage bans do. During the Prop. 8 trial, Professor Lee Badgett testified that laws like Prop. 8 have “inflicted substantial economic harm on same sex couples and their children.”

And Professor Gary Segura pointed out “There is no group in American society who has been targeted by ballot initiatives more than gays and lesbians.”

Now let’s take a look at the second ad.

“Marriage as a man and a woman has served Maine for hundreds of years.”

Well, it’s served some people for hundreds of years. Others, like gay and lesbian Mainers, have been out of luck.

“Marriage is more than what adults want for themselves. It’s also about the next generation.”

That’s true. And it’s why it’s so important that gay and lesbian parents be allowed to get married. Not just for themselves, for the children that they’re raising. One of the Prop. 8 proponents’ own witnesses admitted as much on the stand during the trial. David Blankenhorn testified, “same-sex marriage would likely contribute to more stability and to longer-lasting relationships for same-sex couples.”

He added that the freedom to marry “would extend a wide range of the natural and practical benefits of marriage to many lesbian and gay couples and their children,” and that it would be “a victory for the worthy ideas of tolerance and inclusion.”

Blankenhorn’s admissions are persuasive. So persuasive, in fact, that he eventually changed his mind, and he’s now a supporter of marriage equality.

Straight couples do a great job of raising the next generation. But they’re not the only ones doing it.

“Maine law prohibits discrimination against gay men and lesbians…”

That’s true. And the reason that we prohibit discrimination is that it hurts all of society, and helps no one. As the Ninth Circuit ruled, “Prop. 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California … The Constitution simply does not allow for ‘laws of this sort.’”

“And same-sex couples already have the legal protections of marriage in virtually all matters.”

Did you catch that? Virtually all matters. They’re admitting that domestic partnerships are unequal, but trying to make it okay by saying, in essence, “close enough.”

“Anything remaining can be addressed without redefining marriage.”

No. It can’t. We’ve tried. You need an army of lawyers and thousands of dollars to try to close the gap between a domestic partnership and a marriage. Not to mention, California’s had domestic partnerships since 1999, and every single year they have to pass new laws to try to close loopholes that prevent gay and lesbian couples from being treated equally.

At this point in our country’s history, we can say with confidence that separate is not equal. And it never will be.

By the way, you might be wondering who’s paying for these embarrassing ads. The answer is: we don’t know.

What we do know is that the National Organization for Marriage is funneling a ton of money into Maine without reporting their funding sources. And they recently lost a lawsuit over that secrecy. They’re now compelled to report their donors in Maine. But so far, they haven’t.

We’re now less than a month away from the election. And the polling in Maine is encouraging, but it could still go either way, since surveys generally overstate support for the freedom to marry.

Now is a crucial time to get involved in Maine, as well as in Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington. Visit afer.org/election2012 for ways that you can support the freedom to marry in those states. Together, we can push back against these misleading, dangerous messages.

What You Can Do

If you need some good news right now, look no further than the latest surveys on the freedom to marry. We’ve got a bunch of new poll numbers this week, and support is up across the board. But we’re not out of the woods yet in this election’s four key battleground states.