This spring, we’re having discussions some of America’s most fascinating elder statesmen: older Americans who are long past retirement age, but who are nonetheless still working to change how we live and work in this country. We’re calling this series “In My Experience.” Today, our guest is screenwriter, novelist, essayist, playwright, and gay rights activist, Larry Kramer. The Broadway revival of his 1985 critically acclaimed play “The Normal Heart,” opened this week.

President Barack Obama declared the Defense Of Marriage Act unconstitutional yesterday, and ordered the Justice Department to no longer defend it. The act, which was signed into law in by President Bill Clinton back in 1996, barred any federal recognition of same-sex marriages. Reactions were split between Democrats and Republicans. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), said, "while Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending the president will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversial issue that sharply divides the nation."

Today is the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual event attended by President Obama and organized by “The Family,” a Washington-based fellowship of Christian politicians. “The Family” is also known for its close affiliation with the Ugandan politicians who proposed making homosexuality a capital offense. A coalition of religious leaders are now calling on President Obama to recite a prayer for David Kato, a prominent, Ugandan gay rights activist who was bludgeoned to death in January, at the National Prayer Breakfast today. 

Dan Savage's message is simple: It Gets Better. The message is to teens coming to grips with sexuality issues and his video project is a call for gay adults around the world to tell their stories. The project and YouTube channel comes as a spate of anti-gay harassment has been making headlines, especially the death of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, who jumped off a bridge in New York last month after his roommate outed him on the internet.

Just days earlier, Billy Lucas, 15, of Greensburg, Ind. hanged himself after being taunted by classmates for being gay. Before that, Justin Aaberg, 15, of Andover, Minn. met the same fate.

Last week, things looked a lot different for aspiring gay and lesbian parents in Florida, where a ban on adoption by gay couples has been in place since the 1970s. But after 13 months, the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami struck down the ban, saying it was unconstitutional. One of the people rejoicing today is former television anchor Charles Perez, who joined us last week to talk about the ban.

Lady Gaga has taken it upon herself to become an advocate for gay rights, especially for those serving in the military, by becoming extremely vocal in having 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' repealed.

But is Lady Gaga the right person for the job, and is she someone gay service men and women want?

Just two weeks ago, advocates for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell had something to be optimistic about.  After nearly two decades of fighting what they think of as a fundamentally flawed, bigoted, and unjust policy by the nation’s military, it finally seemed as if the federal government was catching up to their way of thinking.  Flying in the face of the foot dragging and lip service campaign that has been the Obama administration’s effort to repeal the policy, a federal judge ruled DADT unconstitutional, saying the policy violated the rights of gays and lesbians in uniform and had a “direct and deleterious effect” on the military.  Four days later, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that he would include a provision to allow the Defense Department to end the policy in a defense spending bill that would be voted on the following week.

Republicans, of course, cried foul.  The stage was set for yet another exhausting and bitterly partisan brawl in the Senate.  A number of political observers said that the Democrats had a good shot of repealing DADT this time around.  And then something peculiar happened.

A federal judge in California overturned the 17 year old policy that affects the ability of gay men and lesbians to serve in the military late on Thursday. Judge Virginia A. Phillips ruled the policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" unconstitutional, saying the rule violates the rights of gay people and has a "direct and deleterious effect" on the military. Don't Ask, Don't Tell bars gay people in the armed services from disclosing their sexual orientations.

Judge Phillips said she would issue an injunction barring the government from enforcing the rule. Legal observers expect the decision to be stayed pending an appeal.

California's same-sex marriage ban was struck down as unconstitutional yesterday. Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker overturned the voter-approved ban, Proposition 8. The ruling is currently limited to California, but will go to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and could eventually end up in the United States Supreme Court.

Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage speaks out against the judge's ruling.

The fight for same-sex marriage in California has been a long one. In 2004, Gavin Newsom surprised the state by opening marriage licenses to all couples, gay or straight. It was quickly shut down, but it opened up a flood of lawsuits. In June 2008, the California Supreme Court overturned the same-sex marriage ban. However, just a few months after, on November 8, a ballot measure called proposition 8 was passed by 52 percent of voters, and it officially defined marriage in California as between a man and a woman. 

Closing arguments are scheduled for today in a federal trial that will address the constitutionality of Proposition 8 - the controversial amendment to California's constitution that reinstated a ban on gay marriage in the state in 2008, after it had been legal for some months.

The Supreme Court hears a case today seeking to determine if the free speech rights of people who sign a ballot petition are violated if those names and addresses are publicly disclosed. In the case of Doe v. Reed, people who signed a ballot petition to end same-sex domestic partnerships argue they will be subject to harassment and retaliation if the state allows their personal information to be disclosed. Today's case is just one of several the Supreme Court is hearing regarding the constitutional scope of free speech and the First Amendment.

With the passing of civil rights leaders, in any social movement — civil rights, gay rights, women's rights — Can younger people appreciate the way things used to be, or will they take earlier accomplishments for granted? And is taking things for granted a good thing; is it a sign of real progress?

Can a public university deny funding to a Christian student group if the group refuses to allow gay students to vote or take on leadership roles? That's the question being asked in the case coming before the U.S. Supreme Court: Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. In the case, the University of California's Hastings College of the Law's chapter of the Christian Legal Society was told it would be not recognized by the school if it did allow gay members to join, vote and take on leadership roles in the group. CLS is suing the school in a First Amendment case that goes before the Supreme Court on Monday.

The White House has issed an order to the Department of Health and Human Services that would stop hospitals from being able to deny same-sex partners visitation rights. The new rule changes a policy that has long wrangled gay rights groups, who say equal visitation rights are long-overdue. One case, where a Miami woman was denied visitation for more than eight hours to her partner, reportedly moved the president in his decision.

Later this morning, Washington, D.C.'s marriage equality law goes into effect, allowing the city’s gay and lesbian citizens to legally apply for marriage licenses. Some officials expect as many as 200 people to decend on City Hall to apply.  In the political battle leading up to passing the local legislation, some interesting alliances were formed.

This week, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen said they are prepared to repeal the controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gay and lesbian service members. We talk with Michael Hyacinthe, who served in a Navy construction battalion from 1997-2005, about why he thinks the policy should be overturned.

Yesterday, top military brass announced their desire to see "Don’t Ask Don’t Tell" laws investigated, and ultimately repealed. But not everybody who wears the uniform agrees. Over 1000 former military officials signed a document expressing their wariness of any type of reform to the culture of the armed forces. We talk to Ret. Col. David F. Bedey a 30-year Army veteran, who says that the U.S. military has a lot more to lose than it has to gain by repealing current legal restrictions.

The fight over gay marriage resumes in California today with Perry v. Schwarzenegger ... and you may be able to watch it on YouTube, tonight.  Two same sex-couples are suing the enforcers of California's Proposition 8 on grounds that the gay marriage ban violates their federal constitutional rights. This might lay the groundwork for an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The trial will be the first federal court case in the U.S. to be broadcast on YouTube. Kenji Yoshino, professor of law at New York University, has been following the case.

Mexico City lawmakers Monday voted to legalize same-sex marriage in the capitol – a move that would also give same-sex couples the ability to adopt children. It was a stunning move in a conservative Catholic nation. Ioan Grillo is Mexico Correspondent for Time Magazine; he reports on the reaction in Mexico City and throughout the nation.