Wow...what a night

So, to give in to the drama, we wake to a new day. It does seem like we are looking at a totally new country, one that hopefully we can once again feel proud of. I do think that Obama and our new government will turn this trainwreck around. And as we went to sleep last night, I truly believed that the excitement of the evening, the energy seen around the country and the world, was the sign that we are bringing our children into a better world.

(Downer alert)

However, it has turned very bittersweet this morning, as I wake to see Proposition 8 in California inching toward passage. Just 6 months ago, the California Supreme Court saw past the religious issues and treated marriage as the government should, as a legal institution. In ruling the ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional the court said - "We therefore conclude that in view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship, the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples,"...very, very powerful stuff.

Today, though the news stations are still saying that it is too close to call, Proposition 8, which will nullify the courts decision and write discrimination into the state Constitution of California, is up by 400,000 votes. I must say, I am truly shocked in a state like California, is commonly known as the flagship of change and progressive thought, is rallying against the court ruling and stating basically "No, we don't think same-sex couples are equal, we don't think they have the right to the same family relationship, and we don't want them to have civil protections under our laws".

So the day is bittersweet. More than anything, I feel bad for the many couples who, when finally given the chance at a legal marriage, went out, got married, reveled in the feeling of equality that we've never seen, and now, by the end of the day, might see their marriages nullified. That is a sad day indeed.