On Sunday’s edition of Melissa Harris-Perry, attorney and NBC Latino contributor Raul Reyes suggested that the current controversies have allowed some Republican lawmakers to appease a conservative base by lambasting the administration, which can “give them political cover to come back later and be on board for immigration reform,” Reyes said.

Democratic strategist John Rowley expressed skepticism about the future of the Senate bill, especially if it passes in the Senate and goes to the House. Rowley pointed to provisions for health care for undocumented workers as a potential point of contention that would make the bill’s success in the Republican-led house unlikely.

Another controversial addition to the bill comes from Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, who has filed two amendments that would extend legal protections for immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens to same-sex couples. Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona called that “a deal-breaker for most Republicans,” stating that the inclusion of Leahy’s amendments would open the bill up “to social issues.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee will resume debate on the bill on Monday.

Sara Kugler is the program coordinator at the Anna Julia Cooper Project on Gender, Race, and Politics in the South at Tulane University in New Orleans–headed by our host, Melissa Harris-Perry. Find them on Facebook, and on follow them on Twitter at @AJCProject.

“My niece is a lesbian,” said Reid to reporters on Wednesday. “She’s a school teacher. Her employment shouldn’t be affected with that. We should have a law that says that, not just the good graces of wherever you work.”

Reid co-sponsored a version of ENDA in 1996, but the measure failed to pass by one vote. The Senate hasn’t voted on the bill since, even in the years the Democrats have had control. A watered-down version of the law without transgender protections passed the House in 2007–the year Reid became majority leader–but it died in the upper chamber.

Now Reid is saying there’s “a chance” he’ll bring up ENDA for a vote this year. While advocates are encouraged by the news of Reid’s niece, they are far from throwing a victory party.

“There is still a need for all of us in the LGBT community to push Sen. Reid to keep his promise of holding an ENDA vote as soon as possible,” said Tico Almeida, president of Freedom to Work, to MSNBC.com. “He promised that vote was coming ‘soon’ in 2010, but did not keep that promise, so we have to keep mobilizing and pushing until ENDA gets to the Senate floor for a vote that is long overdue.”

Almeida doesn’t believe that Reid has intentionally avoided putting the bill to a vote because of personal objections. Rather, he feels the majority leader is a “very careful” vote counter, who is unwilling to put legislation on the floor without sufficient confidence it can pass.

“I believe there are 60 votes this year for ENDA,” said Almeida. “But it’s a matter of [Reid] confirming those votes and getting enough assurance to put the bill on the floor…We were pleasantly surprised Sen. Reid retweeted our message to hold a vote in 2013.”

Heather Cronk, co-director of GetEQUAL, is also hoping Reid’s niece will give him the “immediacy” he needs to get ENDA passed in 2013. “When you know someone who is LGBT, then a legislative issue becomes a personal issue,” said Cronk to MSNBC.com Thursday. “When you have someone looking over your shoulder, that’s when bills get passed.”

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced ENDA in both the Senate and House of Representatives last month. Modeled after Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the bill seeks to create a national ban on workplace discrimination against LGBT Americans in the same way that federal law already prohibits employment discrimination based on religion, race, gender, national origin, or disability.

Currently, it is perfectly legal to fire someone for being gay in 29 states and for being transgender in 34 states.

Though the bill contains a broad religious exemption, opponents argue that ENDA will infringe on religious liberty.

In his interview Wednesday, Harry Reid wondered aloud why the bill hasn’t had enough support to pass. “It’s hard to comprehend that we haven’t done a better job,” he said.

It’s been four decades since the first proposal to ban employment discrimination based on sexual orientation was introduced in Congress, and 17 years since the Senate last voted on the measure. Now that a number of states have legalized marriage equality, and several lawmakers have publicly reversed their opposition–including Republican Sen. Rob Portman, who also has a gay family member–advocates are hopeful that this will finally be the year ENDA gets passed–or least, put to a vote.

“The last time this came up for a Senate vote, ‘The Macarena’ was the number one single,” said Cronk. “It’s been too long.”

“Last year in the election, there was an attempt to pass a constitutional amendment that would have prohibited marriage equality forever,” Democratic Governor Mark Dayton told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell in an exclusive interview Tuesday after signing the legislation. “Instead, we’re now we’re two-and-a-half months away from legalizing the freedom of marriage.”

In a historic measure, the state’s Democratic controlled Senate voted to pass the marriage equality bill on Monday, 37-30. Only one Republican, State Senator Branden Peterson, was a yes. A few more House Republicans got on board with the bill–four, to be exact–helping the House clear the legislative hurdle in a 75 to 59 vote last week.

Before Monday’s pivotal vote, Sen. Peterson had a message for his children: “To my kids, Cash and Paisley, they’re two and one so they don’t quite understand exactly what’s going on here, today. Regardless of whether you one day agree with my position on this issue, I just want to say that in all things related to your faith, to your freedom, to your family, be bold and be courageous and you’ll never regret a day in your life.”

Minnesota joined its neighboring state of Iowa to legalize gay marriage–the only two states in the Midwest to do so yet. But Minnesota did it directly through the legislative process. In the Hawkeye state, which has had it since 2009, it came as the result of to a state Supreme Court ruling.

The marriage equality debate has shifted dramatically among state lawmakers, Dayton himself noted on the Capitol steps: “What a difference a year and an election can make in our state.”

Two years ago, Republicans controlled both chambers and even added a constitutional amendment banning marriage equality to the ballot. That move eventually cost them: they lost that vote, and control of the state House and Senate.

Conservative Congresswoman Michele Bachmann doesn’t appear to be ready for the change sweeping her state. She tweeted on Monday, “I’m proud to have introduced the original traditional marriage amendment, and I thank all Minnesotans who have worked so hard on this issue.”

The LGBT movement has been building momentum the past few weeks. Delaware and Rhode Island also made marriage equality legal this past month.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill Tuesday that legalizes gay marriage, making the state the 12th to do so.

Marriage equality gained an important foothold in the Midwest on Monday, as the Minnesota Senate voted to approve a historic measure extending marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples.

Hundreds of supporters at the Capitol erupted in cheers as lawmakers passed the bill by a vote of 37-30 in the state Senate, where Democrats hold a 39-28 majority.

Twelve states and the District of Columbia will now allow any two people to marry regardless of sexual orientation, but only one other state in the Midwest–Iowa–is part of that group. The Hawkeye state began recognizing same-sex marriages in 2009 through a state Supreme Court order, not through a legislative initiative.

For LGBT advocates, marriage equality’s expansion into the middle of the country marks a significant, though not entirely surprising achievement, given the momentum the gay rights movement has built in recent years.

“Victory for the LGBT community in the Midwest isn’t totally shocking,” said Paul Guequierre, deputy press secretary of Human Rights Campaign, to MSNBC.com Monday. “What some people may not be aware of is the progressive nature of some of those Midwestern states,” he added, noting that Wisconsin was actually the first state to pass a gay rights law in 1982 banning workplace discrimination.

“But it’s great to see marriage equality expand in the middle of the country, there’s no doubt about that,” said Guequierre. “It’s a big deal, and it shows where this country is going.”

Hundreds of gay marriage advocates gathered on the steps of the state Capitol in Saint Paul Monday in what Outfront Minnesota communications director Jean Heyer described as “a very excited” mood.  State Sen. John Hoffman high-fived happy supporters on his way into the building, while openly gay Sen. Scott Dibble, the bill’s architect, stopped to cheer before the massive crowd.

The bill passed the Minnesota House on Thursday in a 75-59 vote, largely along party lines. Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton said he would sign the bill into law as early as Tuesday.

Just six months ago, however, marriage equality was facing a very different outcome. After a Republican-controlled legislature put forward a ballot measure that would have enshrined a ban on gay marriage in the state’s constitution, Minnesota voters narrowly defeated the amendment. The fact that the legislature has now voted to enact the exact opposite on gay marriage illustrates just how quickly public opinion can turn on the issue.

In the last year–since President Obama threw his support behind marriage equality–gay rights advocates have won a spate of victories, including a series of states that moved to legalize same-sex marriage, and a number of lawmakers who reversed their opposition. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two same-sex marriage cases in March, and the justices could issue historic rulings for the gay rights movement next month.

Opposition still remains, however, despite these national trends. Hundreds of same-sex marriage protesters flooded the Capitol for the Minnesota House vote on Thursday. And while there were more supporters than opponents on Monday, the bill’s passage was not entirely without protest. One gay marriage opponent placed a tombstone on the front lawn outside the Capitol Monday with the words, “R.I.P Marriage 2013,” reports the Associated Press.

Elsewhere in the Midwest, same-sex marriage opponents still hold considerable influence. Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady stepped down last week, amid conservative backlash over his support for same-sex marriage. But Brady believes that such opposition represents a minority, even within his own party.

“If two adults want to enter a loving, committed relationship, then they should be allowed to do that,” said Brady on Up with Steve Kornacki  Sunday. “To me, that is entirely consistent with conservative Republican principles. A very small group of the central committee which regulates the state party, a couple people thought that wasn’t such a good idea, and they basically forced me out…. But I think most Republicans recognize that the true conservative position is in support of marriage equality.”

LGBT advocates are hoping that Illinois will be next to continue marriage equality’s recent winning streak. The Illinois state Senate voted to approve same-sex marriage in February, and Gov. Pat Quinn has promised to sign the bill into law. Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk is also one of two GOP senators who has publicly backed same-sex marriage.

Minnesota is the third state this month to legalize marriage equality, after Rhode Island and Delaware. The bill makes same-sex marriage available in Minnesota beginning on August 1.

“It’s been incredible in the last couple weeks in terms of marriage equality,” said Jake Loesch, communications director at Minnesotans United. “It is a very significant time in history. The energy is electric today.”

“The obsession that some of my Republican colleagues have in the House…doesn’t look like it’s on the path to find any solutions, but it is to keeping an issue alive,” Pelosi said on Melissa Harris-Perry Saturday. A House committee hearing on the Hill over the Benghazi attacks this week fueled that fire, along with a news report that surfaced which reveals how the White House shaped its talking points in the wake of the attacks. Pelosi dismissed the criticism in her conversation with Harris-Perry, calling them untrue and “subterfuge.”

The theme of GOP obstruction extended throughout Capitol Hill, Pelosi said, with everything from immigration reform to gun control. A major sticking point in the latest committee markups on immigration reform is whether or not Congress will allow gay Americans to sponsor their foreign-born partners. While remaining optimistic that reform as a whole would pass, Pelosi stopped short of expressing confidence that immigration could make its way through Congress.

“Confidence is hard to use when you’re dealing with House Republicans,” she said.

Pelosi did however make clear that she and fellow Democrats consider that fight for gun control reform will continue, even after the Senate last month rejected a bipartisan bill that expanded background checks for gun sales. ”It’s appalling that it could not pass the Senate,” Pelosi said about the failed measure to expand background checks. But she was clear in her message to fellow gun control advocates: “We’re not ever backing down.” Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her gun control lobby group have raised a combined $11 million dollars in the past four months.

According to a recent Gallup poll, guns are actually near the bottom of American priorities; voters still view the economy as their top concern.  Yet, House Republicans passed the Working Families Flexibility Act on Wednesday, a bill which allows federal overtime laws to be loosened. Private-sector employees who work more than 40 hours per week could receive “comp” time rather than pay from their companies. “It’s just another manifestation of more for us, less for you. Happy Mother’s Day,” said Pelosi.

Pelosi was instrumental in getting the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010. Starting Oct. 1, Americans can begin to sign up for the plan. Regardless of the law being upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012, the law is constantly challenged by Republicans.

House GOP leader Eric Cantor even tweeted on Wednesday, “The House will vote next week for a full repeal of #Obamacare.” Pelosi seemed as unfazed by another repeal vote as she was by Cantor’s tweets. “Well, we don’t see it in the context of Eric’s tweets,” she said Saturday. “We see it in the context of a great, transformative moment.”

And what about the possibility of a woman being elected president, and the future for women leaders? Pelosi has been vocal in her support for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s rumored presidential run in 2016. When asked about Sanford’s use of her literal cardboard form in his complaint Pelosi said, “I won’t even dignify it.” However, Pelosi did say that tactics like those can dissuade women from running in the future because they’ll think, “Why should I subject myself to the silliness of these guys?”

One of the biggest questions Harris-Perry asked leader Pelosi centered around the midterm elections, and whether or not Pelosi would seek the speakership if Democrats regained control of the house in 2014.

“You know what, one step at a time,” Pelosi responded.

See the second and third segments of the discussion below.

Joining Steve at 8 a.m. EST will be:

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director, CEO and Co-Founder,  MomsRising.org (@rowefinkbeiner)

Celinda Lake, Democratic Pollster, President, Lake Research Partners (@celindalake)

Stephanie Schriock, president of Emily’s List (@schriock1)

Maya Wiley, Founder and President of the Center for Social Inclusion (@mayawiley)

State Sen. David Haley, D-Kan., (@DavidHaleyKS)

Fmr. Sen. Sheila Frahm, R-Kan.

Thomas Frank, Author, What’s the Matter With Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America, Columnist, Harper’s Magazine

Urvashi Vaid, currently Director of the Engaging Tradition Project at the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School  (@UrvashiVaid)

Pat Brady, Former Chairman, Illinois Republican Party (@pat_brady)

Rachel Stassen-Berger, Political Reporter, The Star Tribune (@RachelSB)

State Sen. Kelvin Atkinson, D-Nev., (@katkinson702)

AB 1266 prohibits would prohibit discrimination against transgender students in every public school district. The bill would “require that a pupil be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities including athletic teams and competitions.” The bill also requires public schools to allow facilities, such as bathrooms and locker rooms, to be used “consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”

The Sacramento Bee notes that some school districts in the state currently allow transgender students to use facilities for the gender they identify with, but the bill would ensure equality throughout the entire state.  ”No student can learn if they have to hide who they are at school or if they are singled out for unequal treatment,” Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, the bill’s sponsor, told the Bee.

The Assembly also passed a bill that would make it easier for transgender people to amend their birth certificate with an affidavit from a physician and without a court order. “[The bill] provides  transgender people with a simple, inexpensive and private process for changing their names and documents to be consistent with their gender identity,” Assemblymember Toni Atkins, co-sponsor of the bill, said.

Both bills, which passed largely on party lines, will now to go the California Senate, where Democrats are likely to push the items toward passage.

The seven-plus hour hearing was only the start of what is expected to be many more contentious mark-ups to get the legislation, which would allow for a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants who arrived in the United States illegally.

On the first day of mark-ups, the committee shot down 32 of the proposed 300 amendments, but did pass 21 less-controversial measures. The first hearing was just a glimpse into the two opposing sides and the debates already bubbling up.

Here are five quick takeaways from Thursday’s hearing and what to watch for in the coming weeks:

1. Border security measures are the sticking point. The most significant blow to the bill’s opponents may have been the defeat of an amendment from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, whose addition would have delayed the application process for immigrants who arrived here illegally until the Department of Homeland Security could show improved control of the U.S. southern border for six months. Other amendments voted down include one requiring 700 miles of double-layered fencing. How effective the bill does address immediate border control is one of the key flashpoints that isn’t going away anytime soon.

2. The ‘Gang’ doesn’t budge. Members of the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” senators who crafted the legislation served as the firewall on the committee, with the two GOP members Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., often crossing party lines to side with Senate Democrats. According to NBC, the most stringent measures opposed included “a massive influx of boots on the ground at the nation’s southern border to delays to the program that would make undocumented immigrants eligible for a probationary legal status.”

3. Give a little, get a little? Still, the bipartisan group’s strategy does seem to entail ceding a bit to their loudest critics, and they did accept eight Republican amendments. Yes, these were less controversial measures, as Politico points out, including one requiring “effective control” of the Southwest border and not just high-risk parts of the country line. But while the gang will argue they are trying to reach even further across the aisle, that likely won’t placate some of the bill’s loudest opponents.

4. Cruz control. Freshman Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has emerged as one of the leading opposition voices on the committee–especially notable since he represents one of the most crucial border states in the immigration fight. Cruz’s amendment to triple border control agents and increase drones, helicopters and other resources present at the border, was defeated.

At one point, Cruz complained about border security amendments being dashed, callig the current bill “merely a fig leaf on border security.” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., fired back, saying the junior senator was simply going to be opposed to any path to citizenship. “Let’s not keep bringing up this false issue that we do nothing on border security. Our bill is as tough as nails,” said Schumer.

5. We’re not even close to being done. The 844-page bill still faces many hurdles before it gets to the Senate floor and even to the House where it has even more difficult odds. Tuesday’s next markup is expected to center on the most controversial, but most central part of the bill: a path to citizenship.

But keep an eye on another hot-button amendment–whether gay American citizens can sponsor foreign partners for green cards. This is one where the Gang of Eight is split, and if it passes, it could raise even more opposing cries from the GOP.

Splitting largely along party lines, the House voted 75-59 to allow same-sex couples to be legally married in the state.  The State Senate will take up the legislation on Monday or  even as early as Saturday, according to party spokesmen.

Upon passage, the bill will then head to Democratic Governor Mark Dayton, who has publicly supported legalizing same-sex marriage in his home state and has been pressing Republican lawmakers for their support.

An amendment offered by Republican Rep. David FitzSimmons offers protection for religious groups, ensuring that churches cannot be fined, punished or stripped of special status for refusing to recognize same-sex marriages.

While Minnesota for Marriage, a group opposed to the bill, held up bright pink signs that read, “Vote no” and prayed outside the state Capitol, supporters of Minnesotans United for All Families wore orange and blue for the vote.

Thursday also marks the first anniversary of President Obama expressing support for same-sex marriage, becoming the first sitting president to do so. In an interview with ABC News, Obama said, “I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”

Last November, Maine, Maryland and Washington also approved same-sex marriage while voters in Minnesota rejected a constitutional amendment to place a ban on same-sex marriage. After the failure of the amendment, the issue quickly garnered support with the help of a Democratic majority in the Legislature.

Rhode Island approved same-sex marriage on May 2, and Delaware became the most recent state to approve it on Tuesday. Illinois may be the next state to potentially make same-sex marriage legal after the Illinois Senate approving a gay marriage bill in February, and awaits a final vote in the full House.

Same-sex marriage is currently legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Washington, D.C.

“As I’ve said, I’ve been going through an evolution on this issue. I’ve always been adamant that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally…And I had hesitated on gay marriage in part, because I thought civil unions would be sufficient,” he said in 2012. In February of this year he said that banning gay marriage at any level—federal or state—is unconstitutional.

Since Obama’s comments, Democratic and Republican politicians—as well as American voters—have vocally expressed their support of gay marriage. Former Florida governor Charlie Crist this week became the latest politician to endorse the idea. Crist switched from Republican to Independent to Democrat in just two years.

Take a look at the evolution of the support for same-sex marriage since Obama’s comments the past year:

Delaware on Tuesday became the 11^th state to allow marriage equality when Gov. Jack Markell signed the bill into law. The push for gay marriage in Delaware followed the passage of a similar laws in Rhode Island, Maine, Maryland, and Washington last November.

Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady announced his support for same-sex marriage legislation before the state legislature in January. He resigned as leader of the state party on Tuesday after facing heat from the more conservative wing of his party for months.

NBA center Jason Collins became the first male athlete actively playing in a major pro-sport to come out as gay. He made the announcement in April 2013. He most recently played for the Washington Wizards but was previously with the Boston Celtics.

In a controversial resolution released last month, the Boy Scouts of America proposed lifting its ban on gay Scouts—while continuing to prohibit gay adult leaders.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in March for and against Proposition 8, a California law that bans same-sex marriages, and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman. A decision might not be made until June. Former President Bill Clinton signed DOMA into law in 1996 during his re-election campaign, but publicly opposed the legislation in March 2013. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also came out in favor of gay marriage this year.

Fifty-eight percent of registered American voters said they agree with marriage equality and believe same-sex marriage should be legal, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll from March. The statistic is a dramatic change from the 32% of registered voters who supported same-sex marriage in a similar 2004 survey.

Ohio’s Republican Sen. Rob Portman in March reversed his anti-gay marriage position. Portman attributed his change of heart to his family, two years ago, the Republican senator’s son told him he was gay. He is one of four Republicans in Congress who support gay marriage.

Celebrities and politicians including actor George Takei and Maryland’s Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley, replaced personal Facebook profile pictures with the Human Rights Campaign’s red logo in March. Even more spoke out on Twitter.

In February 2013, more than two dozen Republicans added their names to a brief urging the Supreme Court to declare that gay couples have a constitutional right to marry.

Americans for the first time approved gay marriage at the ballot box in November 2012. Voters in Maine and Maryland approved ballot initiatives to begin allowing same-sex unions; citizens in Minnesota declined to back an initiative that would have enshrined in the state’s constitution a definition of marriage as solely a union between one man and one woman; and nearly 52% of Washington voters said they supported same-sex marriage.

Tammy Baldwin made history on Election Day when Wisconsin elected her as the nation’s first lesbian senator in November 2012.

Democratic Representative Barney Frank became the first sitting congressman to enter into a same-sex marriage when he wed his longtime partner last July. The Democrat from Massachusetts in 1987 became the first sitting member of Congress to say that he was gay.

The Democratic hold-outs on gay marriage include Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, and Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu. The Republican National Committee voted unanimously to uphold marriage as one man and one woman at its annual spring meeting last month. Republican House Speaker John Boehner said this year that he doesn’t think his opinion about same-sex marriage will ever change.