Half of life is just showing up. To the thousands who came out to the mall on Saturday to protest Prop 8: Thank you. I loved seeing all of you and I sincerely hope that this is just the beginning – there is a lot of work that remains to be done. It’s a moment to remember. And it needs to happen again. Only next time we’ll be protesting before — not after — the votes are in.

As my friends recover from this long national election, I’m packing my bags to go to Georgia where there’s still an undecided Senate race. And when I get back the work will continue. Virginia state congressional races are in 2009 and we have to start working now.

The election spurred an amazing community born out of the many successful progressive campaigns but it can’t stop here. Majorities began to dismantle civil rights in California. An economic rescue package worth hundreds of billions barely scratched the surface of the issue. We have problems and we can’t let the fight stop here.

I no longer feel anger at any of this. I just feel a drive to march on. To climb over the defeats and make it to the America I know we can and should be.

This drive comes from an incredible feeling of empowerment because I stood up and made my voice heard. Even in one of the most stratified economies in the world, my solitary voice can still deal a blow to the vested economic elites that preside over our current mess.

I hope that everyone who joined the Prop 8 protests in solidarity saw the diversity of our movement, which reflects the diversity of our nation. LGBT people come from every sector of society and span race, class, gender, and geographic location. We become more powerful by becoming a more inclusive movement that reaches out not just to those who are with us but to those that may now hold bigoted views and may be swayed by a family member, friend, co-worker or lover.

Since we are everywhere, we have connections to every person in our society. The only thing that holds us back is our unwillingness to have those meaningful conversations with some people in our lives. We all hold back, trying to keep our politics separate from our personal lives but it’s impossible when our personal lives are put to a vote and debated by the talking heads of traditional media and are ultimately out of our hands.

Our path to equality merges with the paths of other groups fighting for justice, equality and the ideas that make this country prosper.

We Marched Yesterday. We Organize Today. We Win Tomorrow.

If you’re in D.C., please join the newly created D.C. Committee For Marriage Equality on Facebook. An explanation of what this new groups seeks to accomplish:

“Our visions begin with our desires.”

- Audre Lorde

January 2009 may well be the moment during which D.C. becomes ground zero in the fight for marriage equality.

Councilmember David Catania is expected sometime next year to introduce a marriage equality bill for residents of Washington D.C.

The D.C. Committee for Marriage Equality is an online group dedicated to organizing the D.C. community to support passage and implementation of pro-gay marriage initiatives by the D.C. government.

We aim to accomplish this by:

• Organizing the outpouring of pro-equality sentiment witnessed in the wake of the passage of Prop 8 in California.
• Seeking to convert outrage into action, and eventually to victory.
• Organizing phonebanks to thank D.C. Council members and other local leaders for supporting marriage equality and to convince those still undecided or opposed.
• Preempting any possible ballot initiative meant to take away any future marriage equality victories in D.C.

Our strategy is to build up a network of leaders, activists and volunteers to be activated when needed.

We will focus on a meaningful and concrete outreach to faith communities, El Salvadorean/Latino communities, African American communities and other groups that are integral to Washington D.C.

Please invite your friends, allies of the movement and anyone you know who attended or supported a Prop 8 protest.

We must turn outrage into action.

Questions or Concerns? dc4equality@gmail.com