Phelps clan hijacks NOH8 campaign

Leave it to the Phelps clan to use Adam Bouska’s NOH8 campaign to further propagate their particular brand of religious-based lunacy.

The New Civil Rights Movement reported earlier this morning that the Topeka-based bigots posted a 25-minute video to their Web site late last night that mocked the successful anti-Proposition 8 campaign—I received an error message when I clicked on the YouTube link from Bushwick. Their Web site also appears to be down.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 last month that the First Amendment protects the Phelps clan’s right to protest military funerals. The images of young Westboro Baptist Church members that accompany the so-called GodH8s video, however, simply speak for themselves.

Boy in Bushwick appears on Same Sex Sunday

Boy in Bushwick was among the guests who appeared on "Same Sex Sunday" on Sunday, Dec. 19, to discuss the LGBT-specific issues that garnered headlines in 2010.

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Boy in Bushwick appears on Same Sex Sunday

It's a stormy night here in Bushwick, but here's a link to the Same Sex Sunday segment on which I appeared alongside Tobias Barrington Wolfe of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, MetroWeekly reporter Chris Geidner, former U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Justin Crockett Elzie and David Hall of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network to discuss "don't ask, don't tell" and California's Proposition 8.

"Constitutionally protected activity" cannot justify Proposition 8

Those who continue to defend California's Proposition 8 apparently failed to read the Constitution before they delivered their oral arguments to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday in San Francisco, but former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olsen provided a concise civics lesson.

"How can the fundamental right of marriage in California be taken away because of a constitutionally protected activity," said Olsen, referring to the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Lawrence vs. Texas decision that struck down the Lone Star State's sodomy laws.

In other words, homophobia alone cannot and should not justify discrimination against any person who wants to marry the person he or she loves.

Judge to issue Prop 8 ruling today

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker is scheduled to post his decision on the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8 later today, and activists around the country plan to hold demonstrations, rallies and other events to react to the ruling.

A rally is scheduled to take place outside New York City Supreme Court on Centre Street in lower Manhattan at 7 p.m. Marriage Equality New York's Web site has more information, but Rex Wockner continues to compile ever-growing list of rallies and other events around the country.

Conservative California lawmakers resigns amid sex scandal

Add former California Assemblymember Michael Duvall [R-Yorba Linda] to the ever-growing list of socially conservative lawmakers who amount to nothing more than self-righteous hypocrites!

Duvall resigned earlier today after a Los Angeles television station broadcast audio tapes of comments he made during a "committee meeting in Sacramento held earlier this summer" about having sex with two younger women. A hot microphone caught them on tape. And KCAL reporter Dave Lopez described both women as "married lobbyists in Sacramento."

Duvall backed Proposition 8, and garnered an endorsement from Capital Resources Institute. The organization was all too quick to distance itself from the scandal-plaque former legislator.

"It is always disappointing when a champion of traditional values does not practice the same in his private life," CRI executive director Karen England said. And this appears to be the case with Assemblyman Duvall. Assemblyman Duvall was one of just a few California legislators to receive a 100% on CRI's annual scorecard. But CRI only tabulates votes. It was left to Mr. Duvall to reveal if those values are part of his own life."

Duvall himself announced his resignation in a one paragraph statement, but Rick Jacobs of the Courage Campaign has called for state Attorney General Jerry Brown to launch an investigation.

"This isn't just a sex scandal, it's a corruption scandal," Jacobs said. "A vice-chairman of the Committee on Utilities and Commerce was literally in bed with Sempra Energy's lobbyist. Assemblyman Duvall's 'sex for votes' affairs have cheated Californians out of honest government. We call on the attorney general to investigate Mr. Duvall to see if he can be prosecuted for selling his votes."

Jacobs applauded Duvall's decision to resign, but he blasted the conservative organizations that backed him.

"If Assemblyman Duvall is who conservative groups hold up as their ideal legislator, it shows how shallow their standards are," Jacobs said. "While Assemblyman Duvall has been fighting to make marriage a privilege for heterosexual couples only, he's been making a mockery of the institution in the California State Assembly, bragging to other elected officials about raunchy details of his affairs."

Indeed!

Michael Jackson and Proposition 8

I am listening to the Michael Jackson memorial service as I write this blog, but an interesting tweet this morning that compared the massive amount of people expected to descend upon downtown Los Angeles and those who turned out to protest Proposition 8 certainly grabbed my attention.

Queerunity pointed out local authorities had expected up to 750,000 people to descend upon downtown Los Angeles today. This figure compares to the mere thousands of people who protested Prop 8 after California voters approved it last November. Some food for thought as the world pauses to mourn the late-King of Pop.

Thousands protest Prop 8 in Manhattan

As activists around the country continue to react to the California Supreme Court's decision to uphold Proposition 8, more than 2,000 people took to the streets of lower Manhattan to protest.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn joined Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of Congregation Beth Simchat Torah and other activists and elected officials.

"What [the] California [Supreme Court] did was wrong," Quinn said. "There is no other way to describe it. It was wrong."

Quinn, who came to the rally in Union Square after lobbying state Senators in Albany to pass the marriage bill their Assembly counterparts endorsed earlier this month, reminded those in attendance there are 24 days left in the current legislative session.

"That's all it will take," she said.



New Yorkers march on 14th Street in Manhattan to protest Prop 8.



Protesters approach Union Square in lower Manhattan.



New Yorkers express solidarity with their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters in California.



Protesters urge their legislators in the state Senate to back marriage for same-sex couples.



This sign perhaps sums up today's Prop 8 decision best.



Protesters in lower Manhattan criticized President Obama for not publicly taking a stand on Prop 8 and marriage for same-sex couples since he entered the White House.

California Supreme Court upholds Prop 8

In a 6-1 decision, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8.

The court, which ruled last May a ban on marriages for same-sex couples violated the state Constitution, ruled the nuptials of 18,000 gay and lesbian couples who married after the justices handed down that decision and before voters approved Prop 8 remain valid.

Thousands of people are expected to march in lower Manhattan tonight to express their disappointment over the decision, and to urge the New York State Senate to pass legislation that would allow gays and lesbians to marry. Pictures and video will be posted later tonight.

Calif. Supreme Court to issue Prop 8 decision today

After months of anticipation, the California Supreme Court is expected to issue its long-awaited decision on the validity of Proposition 8 today.

The court could strike down the voter approved initiative, could rule Prop 8 is valid (along with the marriages of same-sex couples) or the amendment is valid and the marriages of gays and lesbians are invalid. This could prove a watershed moment in the recent history of the movement for LGBT rights. Activists across the country have planned protests, rallies and other actions to mark the decision.

In New York, for example, thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of the West Village this afternoon. The state Assembly passed a marriage bill earlier this month, and marchers will almost certainly send a powerful message to the state Senate to endorse the proposed legislation so Gov. David Paterson can quickly sign it.

Today will certainly be an emotional and/or exciting day depending upon how the court rules. The fight for marriage for same-sex couples is far from over, but today's Prop 8 decision could steer the direction of that battle. Stay tuned!

Calif. Supreme Court to issue Prop 8 decision on Tuesday

Protests, rallies and other events are slated to take place across the country once the decision comes down. Stay tuned...

Post-Prop 8 analysis indicates black support less than originally thought

As the movement for LGBT rights continues to examine how Proposition 8 passed in California, researchers Patrick Egan from New York University and Kenneth Sherrill at Hunter College co-authored a report that indicates fewer black voters supported the amendment to ban marriage for same-sex couples than initially reported.

The report suggests 58 percent of African American voters (as opposed to roughly 70 percent) backed Prop 8. Egan and Sherrill's research further indicates party affiliation, religiosity and age were among the factors that influenced the Prop 8 vote most.

There was no discussion about No on 8's apparent failures as outlined in a separate report Marriage Equality USA released yesterday. MEUSA cited the campaign's failure to utilize LGBT-affirming clergy and the exclusion of same-sex couples and their families from advertisements as among the factors that contributed to Prop 8's passage. This debate will obviously continue to take place, but the fact some LGBT and allied people continue to scapegoat black voters in the post-Prop 8 analysis and debate remains an unfortunate reality.

"Milk"'s prophetic lessons

I've been in Boston and New Hampshire the last few days ahead of Christmas, but one of the highlights of the trip remains the fact I finally saw "Milk."

The movie remains one of the most brilliantly made films I have seen in a long-time, but the arguably prophetic lessons it provides to activists within the movement for LGBT rights provide an extremely powerful road map they should follow. One of the main themes with which I walked away is the necessity to explicitly include LGBT people in any campaign to secure their rights or to fight against any efforts to curtail them.

"Milk"'s release coincides with the continued aftermath of the bitter passage of Proposition 8 in California and the ineffective and frankly incompetent campaign that failed to defeat it. Activists and others within the movement continue to point fingers, soul search and look forward to pending efforts to reverse Prop 8's passage, but these figures must follow the example Harvey Milk set in his activism that helped defeat Proposition 6 by an overwhelming margin in the Golden State in 1978. To neglect the very constituents they profess to serve is disingenuous and arguably indicative of their own internalized homophobia.

Marriage on the Horizon for LGBT New Yorkers

With the issue of marriage for same-sex couples in the forefront, JoAnn Shain of Marriage Equality New York expresses hope these unions will soon be possible in the Empire State in an op-ed posted today on EDGE New York.


Our nation made history on Nov. 4 when it elected its first African American president. Hope looms large that a visionary thinker with a progressive mandate will soon be the leader of the free world.

The reality of significant setbacks in our civil rights around the country tempered the elation so many in the LGBT community felt from Obama’s win. Most notable is the passage of Proposition 8 in California. Anti-gay marriage groups introduced this ballot measure in response to the California Supreme Court’s historic ruling in May that legalized same-sex marriage. Spurred by an 11th hour surge of money and support from the Mormon Church, Prop 8 effectively throws into limbo the newly minted marriages of nearly 18 thousand gay and lesbian couples in California.

Bigotry’s sting was felt in other states as well, namely Florida and Arizona, which approved their own anti-gay ballot measures. There are now 30 states with Constitutional bans on same-sex unions. Not to be outdone, Arkansas voters approved a measure designed to bar gay men and lesbians from adopting children.

The good news is that the East Coast is fast becoming ground zero for marriage equality. New York is virtually surrounded by neighboring jurisdictions that offer some form of legal recognition of gay relationships. Connecticut is now the second state after Massachusetts to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. New Jersey, Vermont and New Hampshire offer civil unions, a well-meaning but ambiguous legal construct which falls far short of marriage. Collectively, these states can be said to comprise a "gay freedom trail" of sorts. So where is New York in this mix?

Undeniably, our state has a long and proud tradition of bold leadership in many areas of civil rights. The village of Seneca Falls, for example, was the site of the nation’s first women’s rights convention in 1848, and became the birthplace of the women’s suffrage movement. Hundreds of New Yorkers traveled down South to help register black voters during the Freedom Summer in 1964. Two of them were murdered for their efforts. New York passed the most progressive abortion law in the country in 1970 that made the state a bastion of safe and legal abortions some four years before the Supreme Court enacted Roe vs. Wade. New York has been in the forefront of allowing non-biological parents to adopt the children they help raise with their same-sex partners through second parent adoption.

By contrast, New York’s leadership in equal marriage rights has been inconsistent, marked by both inspiring highs and disappointing lows.

Following Massachusetts’ lead, Lambda Legal brought a groundbreaking lawsuit against New York City Clerk Victor Robles in 2004 that sought the right to obtain marriage licenses for same-sex couples. State Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan ruled in favor of the case, Hernandez vs. Robles, in Feb. 2005. The jubilation felt by New York’s gay and lesbian couples in the aftermath of this stunning victory, however, was short lived because the decision was immediately stayed and quickly appealed by the city’s attorneys. The Hernandez case eventually reached New York’s high court.

The state Court of Appeals ruled against Hernandez, along with similar lawsuits from around New York, in a four to two vote in July 2006. With this decision, the court put the issue of marriage equality squarely in the hands of the state legislature.

Since then, steady progress toward full marriage equality for same-sex couples has been made in Albany. The Democratic-controlled state Assembly voted on and passed a marriage equality bill last year. Governor David Paterson ordered all state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed outside the state in May. His directive gave New York the odd distinction of recognizing same-sex marriage without actually providing it for its citizens.

On Election Day, New York voters ushered in a Democratic majority in the state Senate. In doing so, years of Republican control of the Senate came to an end. This change has inspired renewed hope that the marriage equality bill, passed by the Assembly and supported by the governor, will come to the senate floor for a vote in the not too distant future. However, trouble is brewing in the ranks of the fledgling Democratic leadership. A small group of senators who oppose marriage equality are trying to block the rise of Malcolm Smith to the post of Senate Majority Leader. Smith is a staunch supporter of gay marriage who has vowed to bring the marriage bill up for a vote in the senate. Time will tell how this political maneuvering will play out.

If there is anything positive about the passage of Prop 8, it is the inspiring groundswell of support for same-sex marriage it has generated here in New York and across the country. In the past few days, thousands of people have turned out in cities nationwide to lend their voices to the ongoing struggle for full equality for gay men and lesbians. If this trend continues, LGBT New Yorkers have real reason to believe that The Empire State will once again be in the forefront of providing full civil rights to all its citizens.

JoAnn Shain is secretary of the board for Marriage Equality New York. She and her partner, Mary Jo Kennedy, were co-plaintiffs in the Hernandez vs. Robles case.

Pines Gay Power Couple Marries in California

I'm fighting a bit of a cold this morning, but attached is an article posted to the Fire Island News' Web site about porn impresario Michael Lucas' marriage to long-time partner Richard Winger on Oct. 30 in West Hollywood. Their wedding took place less than a week before California voters passed Prop 8. Lucas and Winger used their marriage to raise funds for Equality California and their campaign to block the amendment. The ever-press savvy couple plans to continue their fight against Prop 8.




Fire Island Pines residents Michael Lucas and Richard Winger certainly know how to make a statement. And this fall it included a very political love story… their wedding.

West Hollywood (Calif.) Councilmember John Duran married Lucas, president of Lucas Entertainment, and Winger, president emeritus of the [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender] Community Center in lower Manhattan, in a ceremony in Los Angeles on Oct. 30.

The couple said they decided to tie the knot in California because New York does not recognize marriages for same-sex couples performed in the Empire State. Lucas and Winger added another reason for their decision is to draw attention to Proposition 8, an amendment to the state Constitution that sought to ban nuptials for gays and lesbians.

Voters approved Prop 8 by a 52 to 48 percent margin. Marriages for same-sex couples had been legal in California since June, and Prop 8 put a stop to them in the Golden State.

Lucas and Winger’s wedding doubled as a fundraiser for Equality California, a statewide LGBT advocacy organization, and it’s “No On Prop 8” campaign in the days leading up to the election.

"Of course our decision to get married is politically motivated," Lucas told the News in an e-mail. "We could have gotten married at any time in the past eight years…, but I think it's particularly important to do it now because of Proposition 8."

Lucas and Winger are the latest in a series of high profile gay and lesbian couples to marry in California ahead of Election Day. Ellen DeGeneres married Portia de Rossi at their Beverly Hills home in August, while “Star Trek” star George Takei married his long-time partner Brad Altman in Los Angeles in September.

Lucas was quick to condemn the vote—and especially those who supported Prop 8.
“California is full of rednecks and gay people should have fought more fiercely,” he said. “Unfortunately, the Christian right got more money for their ugly ads and conservatives got their way.”

The couple plans to celebrate their marriage at a gathering in New York later this month. Lucas added he feels Prop 8’s passage may provide a silver lining for activists in New York.

“On the brighter side, Democrats in New York won the state Senate,” he said. “What we lost on the West Coast may be a gain for the East.”

More Prop 8 protest pictures and video

Channel 7 here in New York reported thousands of people took to the streets of the Upper West Side last night to protest Prop 8 and the role the Mormon Church played in its passage. The Associated Press was among the other news outlets to report on the march, but one curious observation is 1010 WINS covered it as part of its regular traffic report. The announcer kept telling listeners to avoid the area around Columbus Circle because of a protest. Strange indeed!

Thousands Protest Prop 8 in Manhattan

Thousands of people took to the streets of Manhattan's Upper West Side tonight to protest Proposition 8 and the role they feel the Mormon Church played in its passage. Organizers estimated more than 10,000 people marched down Broadway and on surrounding streets shortly after 7 p.m., but some observers said more than 16,000 turned out. Attached are pictures and a video taken during the peaceful march.











My friend Andres Duque has also posted an account of tonight's protest on his blog Blabbeando.

Long Island Murder Highlights Impact of Hate Speech

As LGBT activists and their supporters continue to protest against the passage of Proposition 8 in California last week, a particularly gruesome murder of an Ecuadorian man on Long Island over the weekend serves as a particularly heinous reminder of the impact hate speech can have.

Suffolk County police say seven teenagers allegedly beat and stabbed Marcello Lucero, 37, to death near the Long Island Railroad station in Patchogue late on Saturday night. Officials indicate the teens came into the village from out of town to beat-up Mexicans" and other Latinos.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy was quick to condemn the killing, but an editorial in today's New York Times editorial page correctly points out his long-standing opposition to undocumented immigrants in the county. His anti-immigration rhetoric has strained the county's relationship with its growing Latino population, but Levy is far from alone in his arguably misguided attempt to scapegoat others from their own bureaucratic and municipal failings.

Lucero's murder is an all too obvious tragedy that highlights the much broader societal problems that still exist in this country around race, class, immigration status and other identities. Barack Obama's election last week has given many hope the steady stream of rhetoric against those on the margins of this country will abate, but Lucero's death is a stark reminder there is much work left to be done--and this task includes those in California who continue to use the N word and other racially inflammatory language and rhetoric to scapegoat black voters for Prop 8's passage.

LGBT Community Must Blame Itself, Not Blacks, for Prop. 8

There has been much discussion from within the progressive movement and especially the movement for LGBT rights about the role people of color played in Proposition 8's passage in California last Tuesday. And activist Jasmyne Cannick ignited a firestorm of controversy with a scathing op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times on Nov. 8.

Below is a commentary written by long-time source and activist Herndon Davis that examines some of the issues Cannick and others have raised in recent days with regards to whether the campaign to block Prop 8 did enough to influence black Californians . The debate will obviously continue to rage as those within the campaign examine why it failed and LGBT activists and others across the country continue to take stock of what happened, what else could have been done and even demand arguable accountability.


LGBT Community Must Blame Itself, Not Blacks, for Prop. 8
By Herndon Davis

As a black and openly gay advocate/activist and resident of Los Angeles, I watched as Prop. 8 in California, which now allows for a legal ban against same-sex marriage within the state, was voted into reality. I also watched how within 24 hours many LGBT activists squarely placed the blame on black residents who voted 70 percent in favor of the measure.

I further watched and read how black gay protesters who were against the same-sex ban and in favor of same-sex marriage were called the “N” word during a demonstration march in Westwood.

And finally, I've read how blogger Jasmyne Cannick was assailed by everyone from City Councilman Duran of West Hollywood to fellow LGBT bloggers for her recent Los Angeles Times commentary concerning race relations within the LGBT community and its effect upon Prop 8.

My advice to the LGBT community, the organizers of “No on Prop 8,” the many different LGBT funders, and the remaining members of the “Gay Mafia” is that they should take seriously the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic factors of black and people of color communities as it endeavors further in its marriage equality quest.

As a advocate, activist and now a consultant within the LGBT arena, I can tell you from personal experience, there is a deep arrogance and belief among many within the LGBT community that black communities should instantly whip onto the civil rights bus for the LGBT community just because we too are a minority.

In some corners of our diverse LGBT community there is a blatant disregard for culture, religion, and the oppression of other racial and ethnic groups. Many working class black and Latinos are struggling to pay rent, put food on the table and dodging bullets to lift their eyes up from their burdens to see a reason and a connection to the white faced and seemingly privileged LGBT to support marriage equality.

These are points, issues and big chunks of truth that the LGBT community seems ill-prepared to tackle. In this new age of Obama, there still lies ahead a much deeper conversation concerning race relations that LGBT communities seem to quickly shy away from. So instead of focusing anger towards black communities, the LGBT community must seriously take a long, hard look at itself. Here a few things for starters:

1. For Prop 8, why couldn’t the LGBT community get the queen of all American cities, San Francisco, to vote in higher numbers on such a crucial vote?

Also please remember that blacks consist of a tiny six percent of California's total population. So this means that far, far more millions of non-black people voted YES to ban same-sex marriage than black folks. So why all the rage against black people?? Why not rage instead against the Castro district or the Bay Area that did NOT vote at all!

2. Why in Los Angeles were there seemingly six radio advertisements an hour to vote 'No on Prop 8' during the morning run on the Latino 96 FM station but absolutely none on the black 102.3 FM KJLH station or the black and notoriously homophobic, 106 FM radio?

Where were the funds for the media outreach there? Again, not fully funded or fully staffed by the LGBT powers-that be.

3. Why was there only [one] town hall that I know of that was held targeting African Americans in Los Angeles? And why was there less than five black people across the entire state of California trying to coordinate a 'No on 8' campaign targeted towards the black community?

Again black and people of color community outreach has been historically and consistently under-funded and understaffed by the LGBT establishment.

By the way the town hall conducted in Los Angeles was held just two weeks before the election at the mostly white and wealthy campus of USC in the middle of rush hour at 6:30 p.m. and required $8 to park then walk to the building where it was being held.

So why not hold it at a community center in Compton with free parking at 7:30pm maybe six weeks before election with follow up town halls in Lemiert Park , West Adams, Watts, Gardena , and in other areas South Los Angeles? I guess that was too much work to do for the LGBT community to earn the black vote on such an important measure.

4. And where was the door-to-door neighborhood canvassing and phone banking directly targeting black communities?

I know of only one organization in the entire state of California that initiated a phone banking activity a few days before the election directly targeted towards Black communities. I am not aware of any door-to-door canvassing specifically targeting black neighborhoods for 'No on 8.'

Again, under-funded and understaffed, but still the LGBT community expected the black vote on Nov. 4. A bit naive don't you think?

5. Also where was the outreach to black affirming clergy to assist with black churches in California ?

Yes I am fully aware that there was some work done in this area just two weeks before the election, but again it was not fully funded or fully staffed enough to make a significant impact.

6. And why on earth did the LGBT community expect to run a few advertisements in historically black newspapers in California just two months before election to sway voters? Think about it.

After all these years in existence then suddenly the LGBT community places public educational advertisements hoping black folks would help and support on Nov. 4. I don’t think so. It takes much more of an effort than that to earn the black vote.

7. And finally, where was the all important “ask” and with it the justifications of “why?” Again there is this blanket assumption that all black folks will do black flips onto the civil rights bus for gays and lesbians. Think again.

To reach black and people of color communities it will take a well thought out and fully FUNDED and fully STAFFED strategic plan, time, and patience.

Remember blacks went from slavery to 'separate but equal' to desegregation to tolerance to gain. Blacks for instance still lag behind in many areas of social justice although we have all of our rights.

From under-employment, under-education, income inequities to literally driving-while-black, African-Americans still face steep odds despite a black man heading to the White House.

So if the LGBT community would like to continue to compare itself to the Black civil rights struggle, it may want to readjust its timeline a bit. It has taken several hundred years for Blacks in this country to go from slavery to President.

Could it be that the LGBT community may have to just wait its time as well? Maybe not hundreds of years but perhaps a whole lot longer than previously expected?

These are just a few things for all of us to think about going forward as we have marriage pending in New Jersey, New York, Iowa, and possibly D.C. and of course California.

Herndon Davis is media consultant, author, TV/Radio Host. He can be reached directly at www.herndondavis.com and www.diversityTV.tv.

A Reflection on a Historical Week

What a week it has been!

The image of Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and their daughters on stage at Grant Park in Chicago on Tuesday night is one that will remain with me for the rest of my life. I, like undoubtedly millions upon millions of people in this country and around the world, simply stood with tears in our eyes to watch the new president-elect. Times Square took on a carnival-like atmosphere with thousands of people celebrating Obama's election. Hope had once again returned to a country whose people had arguably languished through one of the most inept and incompetent administrations the United States has ever seen. Those gathered in Times Square were waving American flags, singing the national anthem and other patriotic songs. Hope had once again returned to a largely cynical and weary people.

It must be noted, however, millions of Americans actually lost rights on election night with the passage of Proposition 8 in California, Amendment 2 in Florida and others in Arizona and Arkansas that banned marriage for same-sex couples and un-married couples from adopting children. Prop 8's passage was a particularly bitter defeat for the movement for LGBT rights. Activists will arguably have to do some soul-searching in the coming weeks in their post-election analysis. A handful of the questions those within the movement and the broader LGBT community will arguably ask themselves include whether Prop 8 opponents implemented an effective campaign, whether they did enough to engage people of color and other key constituencies and even whether the overall strategy around marriage for same-sex couples remains viable.

The passage of these amendments on Tuesday is an extremely unfortunate blemish on what was otherwise a historic day for this country. Obama's election brings hope and promise to millions upon millions of people who had previously felt shut out of the arguable ideals upon which this country was built. And let's hope this promise and hope will include all Americans in the coming administration.