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.

Jane Abbott Lighty, left, and her partner Pete-e Petersen raise their right hands as they take an oath while receiving the first marriage license for a same-sex couple in King County, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012, in Seattle. AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

Today, gay and lesbian couples are able to get marriage licenses in Maryland and Washington states, the first where couples can get married after the landslide victories from the November 4 election.

Couples in Washington are able to get married starting today.  In Maryland, while couples can get their licenses, marriages equality does not go into effect until New Year’s Day. Maryland’s Herald-Mail explains:

Attorney General Doug Gansler issued an opinion last month allowing the state’s circuit courts to start issuing licenses to same-sex couples on Thursday — one month after the election — for marriages that can then take place after the law goes into effect Jan. 1.

If you are planning to get married in Washington, the Peninsula Daily News out of Port Angeles, WA put together a Q&A.

Maine’s marriage equality law will take effect on December 29. On January 1, gay and lesbian couples will be able to marry in nine states and our nation’s capital.

If you are getting married, tell us your love story and you could be featured on AFER’s blog.

“They say demography is destiny, and in American politics destiny has belonged to those who best aligned their core beliefs with the rapidly changing and ever-improving citizenry.

“Conservatives—and I count myself as one—succeed when we attract new supporters to timeless traditions. The Republican Party’s loss in this month’s presidential election resulted partly from a failure to embrace some of America’s fastest-growing constituencies. One area of significant change is in attitudes toward legal equality for gay Americans.

“Some misperceive the issue of marriage equality as exclusively progressive. Yet what could be more conservative than support for more freedom and less government? And what freedom is more basic than the right to marry the person you love? Smaller, less intrusive government surely includes an individual deciding whom to marry. Allowing civil marriage for same-sex couples will cultivate community stability, encourage fidelity and commitment, and foster family values.

…

“Conservatives don’t need to change core convictions to embrace the growing support for equal rights for gay Americans. It is sufficient to recognize the inherent conservatism in citizens’ desire to marry, to be judged on their work, and not to be singled out for higher taxes or bullying at school. These objectives can be achieved while also protecting religious liberty, as demonstrated by states enacting civil marriage with exemptions for religious institutions.”

In the piece, he also outlines research uncovered by a group he helped establish, Project Right side, which commissioned leading GOP polling firm Target Point to survey 16,000 voters over the past year, over-sampling Republican and swing voters in battleground states, including 2,000 such voters on Election Night.

According to the findings:

• A majority of Americans favor civil marriage for same-sex couples. .. Walter Olson of the Cato Institute analyzed the Maryland data and found majority support for marriage equality in strong GOP precincts that voted for Mitt Romney. Our Election Night exit poll of 2,000 voters in battleground states (of whom 32% were Republican, 36% Democratic and 32% independent) showed a majority opposing the federal Defense of Marriage Act of 1996: 62% believe that if states recognize same-sex marriage, the federal government should grant same-sex couples the same benefits as heterosexual couples.
• The marriage-equality issue is more important to supporters than to opponents. While this election focused on the economy, President Obama’s support for marriage equality was a positive motivator for nearly three out of four Obama voters in battleground states, according to exit polls. Almost half of his voters (45%) said it made them “much more” likely to support him. Only 35% of Romney supporters said that the former governor’s opposition made them “much more” likely to support him.
• A majority of independents favor marriage equality. Project Right Side’s survey found that 58% of independents in target states support allowing gay couples to marry, with 22% calling it a very high or somewhat high priority. Eighty percent of independents agree that “the government should stay out of the private lives of adults, including gays and lesbians.”
• Republicans are increasingly supportive of legal protections for gay Americans. Of the 7,000 Republicans we surveyed, 73% support employment nondiscrimination protections for gays and lesbians, 61% support safe-schools protections (such as those signed into law by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie) and 46% support allowing same-sex couples to jointly file tax returns.

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.