On a call with faith leaders, Newt Gingrich said about gay marriage:

"Marriage is between a man and a woman. This is a historic doctrine driven deeply into the bible. Both in the old testament and in the new testament. And it's a perfect example of what I mean by the rise of paganism. The effort to create alternatives to marriage between a man and a woman are perfectly natural pagan behaviors but they are a fundamental violation of our civilization."

The Wall Street Journal:

... in an indication of how controversial the issue [of same-sex marriage] remains, several states are considering legislation to roll back gay-marriage rights or further enshrine laws that forbid gay marriage. North Carolina and Minnesota will have constitutional amendments on their ballots in November.

... Brian Brown, the president of the National Organization for Marriage, one of the leading groups opposing same-sex marriage, said that many of the polls indicating support for gay marriage ask leading questions about whether same-sex marriage should be illegal, suggesting punishment by the state.

"The American people oppose same-sex marriage. That has not changed," he said. He said his group would spend roughly $15 million to $20 million this year fighting same-sex marriage, including in Maine, as it did in 2009, when it helped overturn a gay-marriage law.

... Voters in North Carolina and Minnesota, which don't allow gay marriage, will vote on whether to place an opposite-sex definition of marriage in their constitutions. In New Hampshire, the Republican-controlled legislature is preparing to vote on a bill to repeal the state's gay-marriage law, which the previous, Democrat-controlled legislature passed in 2009.

Michael Foust of the Baptist Press:

...Conservatives -- who warn that religious liberty will take a hit if those bills pass -- also could win in each of those states. Washington and Maryland allow citizens to place recently enacted laws directly on the ballot, and New Jersey's governor has threatened to veto that state's bill while also urging it to be placed before voters. Elsewhere, North Carolina and Minnesota citizens will consider constitutional amendments defining marriage as between a man and a woman. In New Hampshire, the Republican-controlled legislature is poised to vote on a bill that would reverse that state's gay "marriage" law. When including Maine, voters in at least six states could have their say on marriage.

All total, the action in the states could make gay "marriage" a major presidential campaign topic.

"[It is] already shaping up to be a 'make or break' year for marriage in America," Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, a traditional group, wrote in an email to supporters.

The Associated Press:

With a flurry of coast-to-coast developments this week, same-sex marriage is back in the political spotlight and likely to remain there through Election Day as a half-dozen states face potentially wrenching votes on the issue.

... In all the showdown states, national advocacy groups are expected to be active on both sides. The Human Rights Campaign, for example, has promised to provide funding, strategic advice and field staff for the various campaigns supporting same-sex marriage.

On the other side, the National Organization for Marriage is vowing a multistate effort, including promises of financial support in the primaries to defeat any Republican lawmakers who support gay marriage in Washington.

Though several major national polls now show that a slight majority of Americans support same-sex marriage, National Organization for Marriage president Brian Brown predicts his side will continue its winning streak and prevail in any state referendums that are held this fall.

"There's a myth that history is on a trajectory moving toward same-sex marriage," Brown said. "There is no such momentum."