Today's Must Read: Heterosexuality's own failure drives the attack on gay marriage

Author Richard Rodriguez talks to Salon about what he thinks is really driving the culture war assault on same-sex marriage. He touches on the fear of feminism, the failure of straight marriages, the Catholic Church, the pitfalls of attacking religion and more. Some excerpts...

(T)he real challenge to the family right now is male irresponsibility and misbehavior toward women. If the Hispanic Catholic and evangelical churches really wanted to protect the family, they should address the issue of wife beating in Hispanic families and the misbehaviors of the father against the mother. But no, they go after gay marriage. It doesn't take any brilliance to notice that this is hypocrisy of such magnitude that you blame the gay couple living next door for the fact that you've just beaten your wife.

... (A)s a number of Mormon women friends of mine say, the same church that espouses the centrality of family in their lives is also the church that urges them to reject their gay children.

...Now these (evangelical) churches are going after homosexuals as a way of insisting on their own propriety. They are insisting that they have a role to play in the general society as moral guardians, when what we have seen in the recent past is just the opposite. I mean, it's one thing for the churches to insist on their right to define the sacrament of marriage for their own members. But it's quite another for them to insist that they have a right to define the relationships of people outside their communities. That's really what's most troubling about Proposition 8. It was a deliberate civic intrusion by the churches.

Kansas' historic domestic partner registry in pictures

By Diane Silver

Here is an index to all the photos and Kansas Voice posts on today's start of the state's first domestic partner registry. These are in the order in which they were originally posted.

History is made in Kansas

Lawrence domestic partner registry prompts celebration

Celebrating just a tiny bit of fairness at Lawrence City Hall today

Officials help with domestic partner celebration

Domestic partner registry brings smiles to Kansas

More on the opening of the domestic partner registry

Laughter & smiles light up City Hall

A thousand apologies for the fuzzy quality of many of these photos. I have much to learn about digital cameras.

Kansas makes history with its first domestic partner registry

By Diane Silver

State. Sen. Marci Francisco wandered through the crowd passing out heart-shaped boxes of chocolates to happy couples, and people cheered as the city of Lawrence made history today.

Kansas' first domestic partners registered this morning in a packed room, crowded with couples, friends, reporters and photographers. Many of the couples who registered this morning had been together for more than a decade.

More photos and more posts on Kansas Voice.

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PHOTO: By Diane Silver, fuzzily destroying the art of photography.