Bittersweet Win For All Of Us

I'm not the only one who feels bittersweet today. I am, of course, watching The View (video to come), and listening to Whoopi and Sherri talk about what it means to be a minority in America made me cry. Cry because the Obama win is so incredible, and cry because our country has decided that our civil rights aren't worth as much as everyone else's.

I keep thinking that maybe a lot of people just need someone to feel better than. Maybe these people need to tell gays that they are worth less precisely because these same people have finally finally finally started to tangibly equalize the worth of other minorities.

Below are some thoughts from other gay sites.

GLAAD:

This election represents a critical moment for our nation and both celebration and disappointment for our community's pursuit of fairness and equality. After eight years of an administration that fed on the most divisive kinds of anti-gay politics, we are now able to greet a president-elect whose commitment to inclusion has the potential to elevate and fundamentally redefine the national discussion about our community.

However, we are disappointed and disheartened by results in Arkansas, Arizona and Florida, where we saw laws passed that are intended to hurt loving, committed couples and families. As we await the final results of our movement's unprecedented fight to defeat Proposition 8 in California, we celebrate Connecticut voters' rejection of a measure that could have endangered marriage equality in that state.

Andrew Sullivan:

It looks grim to me, but still extremely close with 10 percent of precincts yet to partially or fully report and a a 51.9 to 48.1 split in favor of stripping gay couples of the right to marry in California. I'll write later when we get the final result. It's too heart-breaking to write anything before we know for absolutely sure we have been defeated. And, as I tossed and turned tonight trying to sleep, after last night's massive wave of relief, I felt sure that in the long arc of history, we shall prevail.

Gay Rights:

But while this Election night will have progressives buzzing for days, it's worth noting that Election 2008 might not be so good on the gay rights front. Though we won't know for sure for a few more hours, it appears that Amendment 2 has passed in Florida, Proposition 102 has passed in Arizona, and Proposed Initiative Act 1 has passed in Arkansas. The numbers for Prop 8 in California are way too close to call right now, but the exit polling doesn't look good.

So while tonight is a night for the history books, it's also a night to remember that in the battle for equal rights for LGBT persons, we still have a lot of work to do.

Good As You

We LGBT people wake up today to two historic developments. One, the election of our first African-American president, shows us how far we have come. The other -- the easy passage of anti-gay measures in Florida, Arizona, and Arkansas, as well as the possible passage of the rights-depriving Prop 8 in California -- shows us how far some of us still have to go before we can benignly, non-controversially claim our peace. And perhaps the hardest part? That these two historic developments come with great overlap. It might be easy to tell ourselves that only the "haters" went against us, but the truth is that many Democrats (even some that identified as liberal, according to exit polls) also cast a vote against our equality. It can help to be a bit of a mindfuck for progressive queer people.

Pam's House Blend:

Perhaps I should feel hopeful that in this president we'll have the best chance for a fully inclusive ENDA, have the best chance for seeing a Matthew Sheppard Act, and the best chance for letting gay and lesbian servicemembers serve openly in our military. Of course, such hopes are marred by the results of the state initiatives this past election day.

And a whole bunch of others. I'm looking into what the next steps are, and I'll put a post together as soon as I find some information about what we can do to fix this.