The passage of California's Prop 8, Arizona's Prop 102, Florida's Prop 2, and Arkansas Initiative Act No 1 on November 4th, dealt a hefty blow to the GLBT community and the marriage rights movement. While I do not live in any of those 4 states, so those amendments do no directly affect me, they do indirectly affect me. And everyone in the GLBT community. The passage of those amendments sets the tone for the rest of the nation. They set precedence for other states to follow suit.

They empower the majority who seek to continue denying us these rights by validating the idea that their religious beliefs should trump our civil rights.

Amidst all the bad these amendments brought, there was however, one wonderful unintended consequence, which may turn out to be a silver lining. The passage of these amendments woke up the LGBT community. It galvanized us, and turned us into an active and united gay rights force. It showed us we have to get off of our couches and out of our houses. We have to speak up and make our voice heard. We have to work together to achieve our goals.

Immediately following the passage of Prop 8, lawsuits were filed challenging its validity. Wednesday, November 19, the California supreme court decided that it would hear the legal challenges to Prop 8. The court did not though, lift the same-sex marriage ban while the case is court. The court will be hearing arguments on the following:

(1) Is Proposition 8 invalid because it constitutes a revision of, rather than an amendment to, the California Constitution?

(2) Does Proposition 8 violate the separation-of-powers doctrine under the California Constitution?

(3) If Proposition 8 is not unconstitutional, what is its effect, if any, on the marriages of same-sex couples performed before the adoption of Proposition 8?
-full news release can be read at Good As You

Prerna at No Borders and Binaries believes the amendment will be thrown out on the basis that it violates the separation of powers doctrine.

I don't know about (1), but (2) and (3) I can predict.

When the Supreme Court threw out the ban on gay marriage earlier in the year, the court also ruled that discrimination against gays and lesbians would be held under 'strict scrutiny' exactly like discrimination based on race or sex. Prop. 8 tells the Court in no unclear terms that the majority can decide what particular groups can be afforded ‘equal protection of the laws' under the California Constitution and my pro-gay bias aside, I have LITTLE doubt that the Supreme Court will declare the measure as a gross violation of 'separation of powers.' GOODBYE PROP. 8

The court could hold the hearing as early as March 2009, and would make it's ruling within 90 days of the hearing. Read the full story at the San Fransisco Chronicle. This is good news. But we can't stop here. The passage of Prop 8 was a wake up call.

What has been most astonishing to watch unfold since election night, is the grassroots movement within the GLBT community that has caught like wildfire. The match that sparked the wildfire was lit on November 7, 3 days after the election, by Amy Balliett and Willow Witte. Amy and Willow started a blog, Join the Impact, with the message of a call to action and a focus on giving our community a national stage. They started off by calling for a National Day of Protest on Saturday, November 15, and were looking for people to organize events at the local/state level. They used every online social networking tool they could think of to get the word out for their blog. After only 5 hours from the launch of Join the Impact, they had had more than 10,000 visitors. By the end of the forth day, they had had over 1 million visitors. They estimated the Day of Protest would attended by over 1 million people in 300 cities, in all 50 states and in 10 countries. I don't know about you, but I find that pretty amazing.

Join the Impact's Day of Protest is just the beginning. The plan is to help put together or support 10 national demonstrations for equality outreach. December 10, is Day Whithout a Gay, or Call in Gay Day. It also happens to coincide with International Human Rights Day. For Day Without a Gay, the GLBT community, and their allies, are encouraged to call in "gay" from work, and use the day to do volunteer work. The Day Without a Gay website has a place where you can post or search for volunteer opportunities in your area.

Another great idea for action comes from a group spawned from the Join the Impact momentum, LGBTQ Civil Rights Front. They propose "Project Postcard." Project Postcard urges us to send a postcard to President-elect Obama, with the following message"

Dear President-elect Obama,

Please ask Congress to repeal

D.O.M.A.! All Americans should have the right to marry. Thank you in advance for advocating for the civil rights of your LGBT citizens.

And don't forget to sign it. The address can be found on the LGBTQ Civil Rights Front page. I would also suggest sending similar postcards to you Senators and Representatives.

Another interesting and fun way to show support for marriage equality, is by wearing a white knot. WhiteKnot.org, has intructions on how to make your own white knot, a symbol of equality...because everyone should be able to tie the knot. The goal is to gain visibility. The hope is the white knot will be a conversation starter, an open door to talk about marriage equality.

So many sites like these are popping up all over the internet. It gives me hope. I feel much less glum these days than I did a week ago, I can tell you that. I encourage everyone who supports gay rights, to join the movement. Gay or straight, we have to be visible and we have to be heard. If demonstrating isn't your thing, you can donate money. Or you could send postcards to your Senator, congressmen, and the President-elect. Or you could wear a white knot. Or you could blog about it. Or maybe you have a better idea you want to share. However it is you choose to be a part this, just do something. Be a part of making change happen.