San Diego is my hometown, and although it's in California, it's pretty conservative. Probably because of the large military presence there. But it looks like the San Diego City Council voted 6-2 to oppose Prop 8!

Councilwoman Toni Atkins, who married her longtime partner Jennifer LeSar Sept. 6, made the motion for the council to oppose the measure. She said getting married “was an incredible feeling for me” as it must have been for her colleagues, every one of whom is married.

“I just want to thank you for making it possible for me to have that very same feeling,” she said.

Maddaffer, who seconded the motion, added, “At the end of the day, love cannot be legislated, but contracts can. Nobody should be forced to participate in a religious ceremony, and likewise nobody should be prevented from entering into a contractual relationship if they choose.”

Maybe it's time to go back home for a visit . . . .

The San Diego Gay Pride Firefighter Harassmant Case ends in mistrial. The AP reports that "the jury deliberated nearly four days before announcing a deadlock on the first of several criteria needed to find the city liable."

This lawsuit appears, and probably is, silly, but I think it's important to keep in mind that the lawsuit was not just about manly firefighters crying because some gay men hooted and hollered at them. The firefighters filed the lawsuit, at least in part, because they felt they had been retaliated against by their employer -- ultimately the City of San Diego. The AP says that the "lawsuit sought unspecified compensation from the city, and alleged that the fire department retaliated after they publicly criticized their employer."

This is an entirely different and more serious animal than the harrassment charges that have been more often talked about. Laws prohibiting retaliation keep us all a little bit safer.