By a vote of 34 - 21, marriage equality has been approved in the full Illinois state Senate! It veered into raucous territory often in the Senate chamber, with anti-gay pols getting laughed at by those in attendance on a handful of occasions.

Same-sex marriage rights with religious protections now moves to the Illinois House, where it has also been given a great chance of passing. 

Stay tuned to Instinct as today's big news out of the Midwest develops!

Great news after a rocky January in Illinois where state Senate President John Cullerton has announced a Valentine's Day vote for marriage equality. How romantic!

The Colorado Senate Appropriations Committee has approved a civil unions bill by a vote of 4 - 3 this morning. The landmark legislation will now head to the full Senate for consideration. Details follow. 

We can finally call off our solid food fast that we launched to protest a world without new music from Cher! "Woman's World" is finally here, and it's bestowing us with all the important nutrients through a heaping serving of earcandy confection! Written by out songwriter Matt Morris, the just-debuted single is the first from the gay icon's much-hyped upcoming new album. What an effin club banger! Check it out after the jump. 

Facing controversy and backlash, the  Association of Bragg Officers Spouses has offered lesbian military spouse, Ashley Broadway full membership in the spouses group, following their original rejection of her request to join and their subsequent offer of "guest membership."

Details after the jump!

RuPaul's Drag Race Facebook followers and fans have liked their well-manicured fingers off on the show's fan page and unlocked (untucked?) the very first episode of season five! With one caveat: we all have to wait until the official January 28 TV premiere date on Monday to find out which queen sashayed away. If you can stand hanging onto the cliff hanger the entire weekend, head here to check out the first full* episode, hunties!

We had hoped NOM's promotion of Matt Barber's call for the death of gays was the lowest it could go in its campaign against Rhode Island marriage equality. But it gets worse. 

If Jodie Foster's insta-classic speech didn't clue you in, the gay awards season has kicked off, y'all!

The GLAAD Media Awards, arguably the gayest annual awards ceremony (sorry, Tony Awards!), welcomed a new class of nominees this morning. Which stars of pop-culture and media will vie for the honors in March (New York), April (L.A.) and May (S.F.)? 

Updated on Tuesday, 1:30 p.m. PST

Today, openly gay interim judge, Tracy Thorne-Begland received a full time appointment to the Virginia Circuit Court following a vote by Virginia's General Assembly. This comes after last year's rejection of his nomination based on his sexual orientation.

More after the jump!

Fresh off their suspicious denunciations of Chuck Hagel, the Log Cabin Republicans have taken out a full page ad in The Hill telling the GOP that it needs to get with the marriage equality picture already. 

This year's round of Golden Globe nominees have been announced, with gay-friendly Smash, Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables and Sally Field among those receiving nods. Who got good news this morning and who was overlooked? Follow the jump for the full list!

We learned the identities of Ru's season 5 goddesses a few weeks back, but today we get to see the hunties in action (literally—looks like we can expect lots of fighting)! Check out the first full-length trailer for the upcoming season of RuPaul's Drag Race after the jump!