Victories

Thanks to your clicks here and here:

Prop H8 overturned in California today. Yay!

Judge stops oil and gas development in Alaska.

Blerg

The CA Supreme Court upheld Prop 8. Now what?

*The Courage Campaign is asking you to be "fearless" and go on the offensive with them. Do so by clicking here.
*Join the Human Rights Campaign's "We Won't Back Down" effort by clicking here.
*Follow news coverage at Stop Prop 8 to find ways to push back by clicking here.

Quickie: Marriage Equality

From the Courage Campaign:

The Courage Campaign, along with other organizations committed to restoring marriage equality to California, is surveying our membership about going back to the ballot. We stand together, hopeful that the California Supreme Court will confirm that fundamental civil rights cannot be stripped away from a minority group at the ballot box. However, we must be prepared to go back to the ballot if the Supreme Court fails to overturn Proposition 8.

They are asking: "If the state Supreme Court upholds Proposition 8... should we support going back to the ballot to restore marriage equality to California in 2010 or 2012?"

Some arguments for placing a marriage equality initiative on the ballot in 2010:
We should take advantage of the powerful grassroots activism that has emerged following the passage of Prop 8 by going back sooner rather than later. That energy will dissipate if we wait until 2012.
By November 2010, we will have full marriage equality in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and very likely in New York and New Jersey. Given these developments, Californians should not wait beyond 2010 to try and restore the right to marry.

In November 2010, the top of the Democratic ticket -- the gubernatorial candidate -- will support overturning Prop 8 and restoring the right to marry. In 2012, it's questionable whether President Obama will take that position.

Some arguments for placing a marriage equality initiative on the ballot in 2012:
We have hundreds of thousands of voters to convince on the issue of marriage equality. Even if we work our hardest, it will take three-plus years to do that work.

On this issue, time is on our side. By 2012, an even greater number of voters will have come our way. So why risk it in 2010 when we probably have a better chance in 2012.

We will once again need tens of millions of dollars to run a strong campaign. Given the state of today's economy and the fact that people just gave so much to the No on 8 campaign, we should wait before going right back to the ballot.

So, go vote. You have until tomorrow, Wednesday May 20th, at 5pm.

A Day Without a Gay?

I shudder at the thought, and so should you ( a day without Rachel Maddow is one that should never be!). Click below to find out how to show the world, or at least California Prop 8 supporters, how integral "the gays" are to our society, our economy, and our culture. From the site:

Gay people and our allies are compassionate, sensitive, caring, mobilized, and programmed for success. A day without gays would be tragic because it would be a day without love.

On December 10, 2008 the gay community will take a historic stance against hatred by donating love to a variety of different causes.

On December 10, you are encouraged not to call in sick to work. You are encouraged to call in "gay"--and donate your time to service!

You can be totally lazy and also make this your Human Rights Day action by clicking here. Win-win!

Prop 8 Protest

Tomorrow, Saturday the 15th, is the day to protest against Prop 8. Click here to find protest events near you. Click here to read about upcoming events. As Dana from Mombian writes,

Whether you protest in a group or simply by talking with your neighbors, may these stories infuriate and motivate you.

Quickie: Repeal Prop 8

Yay! Go here to sign a petition with the Courage Campaign. Join the Facebook group. Donate to the Lambda Legal Defense Fund.



h/t Daily Kos

Victory for Animals!

I blogged about two ballot initiatives concerning animal welfare: Prop 2 in California and Prop 3 in Massachusetts. Both passed! From the ASPCA:

Tuesday was an historic day in America in more ways than one. With resounding victories for California’s Prop 2 and Massachusetts’s Ballot Question 3, voters on both coasts sent a clear message that preventing animal cruelty is a national priority.

In California, the factory farm-related Standards for Confining Farm Animals Act (ballot Proposition 2) won in a landslide, with over 60 percent of respondents voting “yes” to mandate an increase of confinement space for veal calves, breeding pigs and egg-laying hens. On the Act’s effective date, January 1, 2015, these animals will have their rights to turn around, lie down, stand up and fully extend their limbs guaranteed by state law. Violators will face a fine up to $1,000 or six months in county jail.

The Massachusetts ban on dog racing has been a long time coming—in 2000, a similar ballot measure was narrowly defeated, and attempts to get the question included on the 2006 ballot were unsuccessful. With the ban’s passage this week (57 percent to 43 percent), commercial dog racing will be phased out in Massachusetts by 2010. There are two dog tracks in the state—each of which is believed to currently house about 1,000 greyhounds. Because the phase-out will occur over a period of 14 months, greyhound advocacy groups such as Grey2K USA are confident that they will be able to find homes for any racing dogs who become available for adoption.

How to keep the momentum going? You can join the ASPCA's Advocacy Brigade.

If you would like to be alerted when animal-friendly legislation is being considered in your state, please sign up to receive email alerts from the ASPCA—the alerts are targeted to your area, and taking action is easy, fun and free!