It's Happened Again

In three states this year the clock was thrown back on the issue of gay marriage and another state put up roadblocks to adoption. This is occurring in a time in which so much progress is being made on many issues, even on gay rights issues. But the loss of California to grip of Prop 8 shows that there is much progress which still needs to be made. But I am very happy to look at the exit polls showing a large number of those under 30 opposed this ballot measure, and it was indeed the older generation which pushed Prop 8 to passage. But sadly as those under 30 only comprised 20% of votes cast, this wasn't enough to avoid such a horrible fate for gay rights. With just a few years, the movement has made progress to the point which we are at today and with just a few more I hope we can make all that much more progress as a country, with no room for bigotry in race, religion, sexual orientation, political thought, equal access, or any one of a million differences which make America such a diverse and great nation. There is always hope for the future and with President-Elect Obama (has a nice ring to it, no?) we can make progress on equal rights, the economy, the war, as well as all the problems which affect this nation and this world!

From the No on 8 campaign:

We had hoped never to have to write this.

Sadly, fueled by misinformation, distortions and lies, millions of voters went to the polls yesterday and said YES to bigotry, YES to discrimination, YES to second-class status for same-sex couples.
And while the election was close, and millions of votes still remain uncounted, it has become apparent that we lost.

There is no question this defeat is hard.

Thousands of people have poured their talents, their time, their resources and their hearts into this struggle for freedom and this fight to have their relationships treated equally. Much has been sacrificed in this struggle.

While we knew the odds for success were not with us, we believed Californians could be the first in the nation to defeat the injustice of discriminatory measures like Proposition 8.

And while victory is not ours this day, we know that because of the work done here, freedom, fairness and equality will be ours someday. Just look at how far we have come in a few decades.

This entire article, titled "We will not give up", can be found on the website of Equality California.