DE and MD have been progressing forward under our current governors but DE and MD still have a way to go. DE has a young and openly gay-friendly governor at this time.

The Constitution is meant to protect the minority from the prejudicial will of the majority, not give the many (by means of the vote) a way to take away the rights of a disenfranchised few!

Using the popular vote as a means to deny the equal rights of a minority is not Democracy! It is voter approved bigotry.

Even the LGBT community, by spending huge amounts of money fighting for our rights at the polls, unwittingly legitimizes the idea that our rights should be determined by the majority vote! It is time to change the strategy!

It is time to challenge our President, our Law Makers and Our Representatives to uphold the Constitution.

On February 28, 2008, as a Presidential candidate, Senator Obama stated: “Equality is a moral imperative…As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality…I will never compromise on my commitment to equal rights for all LGBT Americans…”

Now– as our President, he tells us that we must be patient because, in his words, “there are those who still need to be convinced”.

With all due respect, Mr. President, if the African American community’s civil rights had been determined on a state by state basis by the popular vote, there are areas in our country to this day, where segregation would be the “will of the people” because “there are those who STILL need to be convinced.”

I am not equating the African American struggle, or the women’s rights struggle, or the struggle for Religious freedom, with the LGBT struggle. Each group has historically faced it’s own unique challenges and discrimination. They are, however, comparable in one way. None should be determined by the “popular vote” and none of them were– EXCEPT the civil rights of LGBT Americans. This is unacceptable!

There is NO legal or socially moral reason to deny FULL EQUALITY to all. This denial is based on a particular religious belief–and no one’s religious interpretations should be allowed to justify denying a group their Civil and Social Rights. To do so is a blatant violation of the separation of church and state.

Mr. President, I would challenge you to show the courage of young Will Phillips. Give him back his Country’s Pledge. Show him that “Liberty and Justice for ALL” is not a lie!

There are movements in the United Methodists, American (not southern) Baptists, Disciples of Christ, etc. Sure the Catholic church has DignityUSA, but those folks should get smart and have a national day of condemnation when they all leave the church at once.

soon it’s going to be only the Southern Baptists of Slavery days, the catholic monster of Hitler, etc, and lots of the southern Baptists like independent christian churches who will be left.

And as the generations change, hopefully these remaining bigot groups will preach to the dust in the pews, the dust of their departed, and the dust of the wrecking ball knocking over their houses of hate.

Not what happened in MA, Note one lost their seat. But several of the bigots did lose their seat.

when the gay community really gets off its ass, and 10 million gay people show up at rallies, the state house etc, the politicians will really take notice. Because the bigots really are minority, except in the hate fiolled south, still fighting for segregation, only now it is of gays, not blacks.

We never finished the civil war – that is the problem down there.

And someday, religion will be simple – “we are only here for a short time. Besides our families, we must help those denigrated amd their humanity denied, usually in the name of God.”

And in the end, if there is a God, we will be honored. If there isn’t a God and hereafter, we’ll know on our deathbed that we did the right thing, and that will be reward enough.

Then in Eastern Europe, there is Chech Republic, Hungary, and Austria who recognize gay unions. Add Israel, Repub of South Africa, Nepal, a special case in Japan, NZ, and parts of Australia.

And in very Catholic South America, Uraguay, columbia, and parts of mexico, Argentina and Brazil.
Also of course, Canada.

The battle is in the USA, because when the churches lose in the USA, and people come to realize that gay people are good people, just like anyone else, the churches of hate will be exposed, and ultimately become like the Sabre toothed tigers – vicious beasts now extinct.

And the world will breath a sigh of relief, and God will be so busy expanding hell for those who denigrate and deny part of His creation for their own selfish ends.

It’s probably going to take longer, and we need to have a longer term expectation, but the prize will be well worth it.

I see two strategies coming from this: a) focuse on winning popular votes in liberal states in 2012, or b) focusing on a federal lawsuit to make same-sex marriage legal across the country.

Or both. But we HAVE to focus on 2012 if it comes to ballot initiatives.