 Civil unions are close to passing in Colorado, but there's only a few days left before the legislature adjourns. We're getting down to the wire on Amendment 1 in North Carolina, and the Prop 8 play is getting new legs as an audiobook. The guys behind We Are Young have some strong words about marriage equality. I'm Matt Baume at the American Foundation for Equal Rights, and welcome to Marriage News Watch from May 7th, 2012. Great news from Colorado. The House Judiciary Committee has passed a civil unions bill by a 6-5 vote. That's the same margin by which an identical bill was killed last year. So what made the difference? Republican lawmaker BJ Nickel, who changed her mind when she heard heart-rending testimony from LGBT couples. That bodes well for the bill's passage in the House, where Republicans hold a one-vote majority. You can click these icons to subscribe to AFR on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, so we can keep you connected and informed in fights like this one. Colorado's legislature adjourns on May 9th, so there's likely to be breaking news on this front very soon. Also on May 9th, we'll have the results of voting in North Carolina on Amendment 1. Polling shows that the ballot measure could still pass, even though it's lost some of its lead. Voters still don't seem to understand exactly how far Amendment 1 goes. Previous ads from the campaign to stop Amendment 1 showed how it would withhold health insurance and domestic violence protection from people who need it. This week, the campaign released a new ad featuring an assistant DA who explains how the measure will jeopardize domestic violence protections. In national news, there's been movement in two cases that challenged the Defense of Marriage Act. Both involve military benefits and are likely to be in the news a lot over the next few months. The first case has a congressional legal group led by House Speaker John Boehner, moving to intervene in McLaughlin v. Panetta. In this case, Boehner's group will be arguing in opposition to veterans like Chief Warren Officer Charlie Morgan, who has stage 3 breast cancer and desperately needs to secure survivor benefits for her wife. The second case is Cardona v. Shinseki, which involves survivor benefits for a disabled veteran and her wife. That case has attracted a number of friend-of-the-court briefs from veterans organizations. That includes several groups represented by Gibson Dunn and Crutcher. Now that name may sound familiar, that's because they're one of the firms that's working on Afer's case to overturn Proposition 8. In other news, nearly a million people have watched 8 Dustin Lance Black's play about the Prop 8 trial on YouTube. And now millions more will have the opportunity to listen to it when it's released as an audiobook. Starting next month, you'll be able to download the show from L.A. TheatreWorks along with bonus features like interviews with the cast. And finally this week, the band Fun took a stand on marriage equality. The group behind the song We Are Young told reporters that even though they're all straight, they feel a responsibility to speak out on behalf of LGBT couples, and they plan to use their newfound fame to promote marriage equality. Okay. Click below to subscribe on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, and visit afer.org to learn more about the federal fight to overturn Prop 8. I'm Matt Baume at the American Foundation for Equal Rights. We'll see you next week.