Yes We Can (unless you're gay... but soon We Will, Too)

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. - Ghandi

Litchik was seriously set to write a scathing diatribe last week, lamenting the contradiction of November 4th: Obama won, the LGBT community lost — and lost, and lost, and lost.... Plenty of examples would have followed, illustrating just how important this right is to LGBT couples, including a personal example of a recent trip to the hospital emergency room where a self-important Nazi posing as a med tech allowed Litchik the privilege of accompanying Funderwoman into the triage room , a right that married couples take for granted and are thus never questioned about. (Oops, looks like some of the venom is still there.)

However, some time has passed and there's been a change of... perspective (not heart, because obviously that has not happened). The recent onslaught of anti-gay ballot initiatives has sparked an entire national community into action. Join The Impact provides an example of what grassroots organizing and real change looks like in the 21st century. In a matter of mere days, this group was able to pull together a national day of protest in response to the passing of California's Prop 8 (as well as similar initiatives in Arizona and Florida). Cities across the nation held rallies to let friends and foes alike know that this issue is not going away — and neither is the gay community.

In fact, Litchik is actually hopeful: this collective cry of outrage is reminiscent of the Stonewall Riots, only this time more peaceful. Many see Stonewall as the start of the gay rights movement, the equivalent of Rosa Parks sitting down in the front of the bus. Today, in the 21st century, we write a new chapter in the history of our fight to be recognized as full citizens. The recent votes have done more to galvanize the LGBT community than any action since Stonewall. This moment in history can serve as a real step toward change. While Ellen Degeneris, Melissa Etheridge, and Will & Grace helped to push the fight forward, the LGBT community will no longer settle for simulated change that affects the simulated world of entertainment.

Today, the personal becomes the political.

And let's be clear: this is a civil rights issue as well as a moral issue, but not the way opponents have cast it. Perhaps Keith Olbermann states it best:

This issue affects all of us, and it did not end on November 4th. Instead, as Litchik slowly began to realize just recently, it is a new beginning.

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