Gay Marriage Gets Go Ahead In Arkansas. Arkansas!?!

Alan: Why are Christian conservatives not pushing for a constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage? C'mon guys! Where's your commitment? Where's your spunk? Where's your "Christianity?"

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Gay marriages are on in Arkansas, but paused in Idaho. "A judge cleared the way Thursday for gay marriages to resume in Arkansas, striking down all state laws that prevent same-sex couples from wedding....Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza expanded his ruling striking down a constitutional ban to also include the prohibition on clerks issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Justices had ruled Wednesday that Piazza's decision on the gay marriage ban did not change that license law....Meanwhile, in Idaho, residents planning to gather at courthouses across the state to celebrate same-sex marriages saw their plans put on hold Thursday by a federal appeals court." Andrew DeMillo and Christina Huynh in The Washington Post.

Chart: The rapidly evolving politics of same-sex marriage, in one map. Chris Cillizza in The Washington Post.

We're on the brink of a majority of gay Americans being able to marry. "Following a federal judge's decision that gay couples in Idaho can legally marry as of Friday, the number of states that allow same-sex marriage jumps to 19. But despite being fewer than half of the states, back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that just about half of the U.S. gay population lives in a state that allows gay marriage. And if you consider states that have same-sex marriage decisions on hold, that percentage is poised to pass 60 percent. This is an imprecise but revealing calculation that's worth walking through in detail." Philip Bump in The Washington Post.

Only a couple of states don't have challenges pending. "After five couples filed a lawsuit in Alaska, just three states remain where gay marriages are banned but not being fought in court. And, soon, there will only be two. Gay marriages are illegal in 33 states....As of late April, bans in only four states were unchallenged, according to Lambda Legal, a pro-gay marriage advocacy group. Alaska on Monday became the 32nd state to have its marriage ban challenged....Another is expected any day in South Dakota, leaving just two bans -- in neighboring Montana and North Dakota -- unassailed in court." Niraj Chokshi in The Washington Post.