If you're on Facebook or Twitter, you were no doubt inundated with pithy responses following yesterday's announcement that California's Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8. Some of my favorites: "California can suck it," "Shame on them!," "Fuck California," "SO over California," ":(," and my personal favorite, "Ha ha, California. Iowa is more liberal than you. Epic fail." It's that last one that seemed to make the most sense to me. Yes, this was another setback in the fight for marriage equality in the country's most populace state, and the court's logic that last November's referendum doesn't fundamentally alter equal rights under the state Constitution but simply amends it is flawed. The judgment creates a legal class of citizens (to say nothing of creating a special class of gay citizens who are allowed to remain married), denies equal protection, and plainly contradicts the language of the Constitution. But my friend's admittedly unemotional observation points to the fact that even if the people and legal system of California are still struggling with this no-brainer issue, Prop 8 and the subsequent fallout have created a wave of progress for gays and marriage equality in the U.S. The Northeast is where our founding fathers conceived and composed the nation's Constitution and Bill of Rights, and it's now where real progress is being made on this front, with older and wiser states Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine having all recognized gay marriage, and New York and New Hampshire close behind. It won't be California, that bastion of so-called liberalism, that's going to pave the way.

The recent moves by Iowa's Supreme Court and Vermont's legislature to allow same-sex unions sparked an acquaintance of mine to post the following Facebook status: "[I have] no feelings on the spate of gay marriage developments. It is an issue of luxury salient only for an exercise in rhetorical flourish." For him, marriage is some distant frontier, less prescient than the health care crisis, the economy, and the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit discrimination of employees based on sexual orientation. But while he prefers not to celebrate what is, for him, simply an abstraction (the issues of hospital visitation, inheritance, and the various other rights enjoyed by legally married couples seemed lost on him), the recent moves by Iowa and Vermont, the first state to pass legislation legalizing same-sex unions, symbolize two steps forward in the fight for civil rights following the crushing blow of the passage of Proposition 8 in California last fall. The recent developments have renewed the debate in the Golden State. Gay marriage supporters are hoping the Iowa Supreme Court's ruling will set a prescedent that might lead to the California courts overruling the ballot initiative that passed with 52 percent with overwhelming support of the Mormon Church last November. The California Supreme Court's decision to legalize gay marriage last May led to the passage of Prop 8 and was also cited by the Iowa court in their recent decision. States may be sovereign, but the recent developments prove that what happens in one state can, and does, affect the entire nation. And of course, the oppression of one group is the oppression of all.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden have unveiled their plan to strengthen civil rights, including support for the LGBT community. According to the Office of the President-elect, Obama plans to expand hate crimes statutes, and though there's no specific details about what the new administration will do on that front moving forward, Obama's record as an Illinois State senator is clear: He helped expand hate-crime legislation in the state. He also supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and believes that there should be a federal legal remedy to discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace.

While both Obama and Vice President-elect Biden do not support redefining "marriage," they do support full civil unions with all of the federal rights afforded to straight married couples. Separate but equal, some might say, but a step in the right direction. Obama opposed Proposition 8 in California, wants to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, is against a Constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, and wants to expand adoption rights.

In an effort to avoid the mistakes made by President Bill Clinton in the early '90s, Obama aims to repeal the U.S Military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy by working with military leaders on the issue. The next president also plans to promote AIDS prevention by implementing more than just an abstinence-first agenda, using common-sense approaches to contraception and even supporting more taboo issues like contraception education in the prison system and lifting the federal ban on needle exchange.

Now here's where I start preaching. It's nice to have a progressive voice in the Oval Office, but it our responsibility to hold Obama and Biden accountable and make sure they live up to their promises, particularly on these issues. For more information, check out the official Office of the President-elect transition website.

Keith Olbermann is known for his outspoken, often angry rants on everything from the Iraq War to Sarah Palin's alleged shopping sprees, but earlier this week he struck a more saddened tone when he spoke about the passage of Proposition 8 in California last week. His "Special Comment" on the issue is currently the most viewed video on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann website:

The election of Barack Obama, who included the phrase "gay and straight" in his acceptance speech on Tuesday night, is a cause for celebration in the LGBT community, as the next president likely won't be writing us out of the Constitution anytime soon. But this week was also marked by several ballot initiatives that impinge the progress gays and lesbians have seen in regard to marriage and family. Despite a state Supreme Court ruling that granted same-sex couples the right to marry and opposition by Obama and Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger, California voters passed Proposition 8, which amends the state constitution by defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. A staggering $74 million was spent on the proposition, including millions raised by the Mormon Church. Prop 8 wasn't the only dark cloud hanging over Obama's victory: Amendments banning same-sex marriage were also passed in neighboring state Arizona as well as Florida. The Sunshine State already prohibits gays from adopting children and now Arkansas can be added to that list. The state passed an initiative prohibiting unmarried couples from adopting or fostering children, a victory for religious fundamentalists and homophobes but a loss for gay couples that want to start a family. The biggest losers however, are the children currently living in the state's dismal foster care system. If you live in California, Arkansas, Arizona or Florida, you can take action by contacting your local representative.