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This just in from our friends at Equality Texas:
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In other states:

California Prop 8 Passes

Despite CNN stating it is still unclear, it appears that California voters will narrowly approve Proposition 8 taking away marriage rights for Californians.

Despite this defeat, millions of Californians have voted to support the fundamental right of same-sex couples to marry.

Defeat of Prop 8 would have protected marriage equality in California. We look forward to the day when all American families are treated equally under the law.

Florida Passes Amndmt 2

This is a deeply disappointing loss for supporters of fairness for all families in Florida and across the country.

Now, Equality Florida will hold those who pushed this ballot measure to their word that this amendment is not intended to threaten existing benefits for domestic partners in Florida.

Equality Florida will fight to ensure not one person in Florida loses their healthcare or other vital protections because of this amendment.

Arizona Passes Prop 102

Despite rejecting a similar ban two years ago, Arizona voters have disappointingly approved an amendment that will treat same-sex couples differently under the law.

Arkansas Passes Act 1

This is a sad day for the children in our neighboring state of Arkansas. Voters have chosen discrimination over the best interests of the children of their state.

The measure, as approved, prohibits unmarried couples from fostering or adopting children. It specifically applies to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.

This is also a warning sign for single parents across this country - both gay and straight. Prejudice against gay people is now being used to take away the rights of unmarried people to be parents.

We must work together to prevent this ill-conceived law in Arkansas from spreading anywhere else - including Texas.

This is a historic American moment.

For anyone who has experienced the sting of discrimination because of their race, or their religion, or their age, or their sexual orientation, or their gender identity/expression, or because of any of the multitude of differences that make each one of us unique, the election of our new President is a confirmation that the American dream is, indeed, a dream that all Americans can and do share.

Yet, in addition to the "change" called for in Washington, D.C., we awake today to real changes right here in Texas.

Two years ago, prior to the November 2006 elections, the Tom Craddick-controlled Texas House of Representatives was comprised of 86 Republicans and 64 Democrats, or a 22-seat Republican advantage. With Craddick firmly in control of the entire House leadership structure, any pro-equality piece of legislation faced certain death shortly after its filing.

As we began election day yesterday, Tom Craddick's control over the House leadership had become more tenuous. His 22-seat party advantage had shrunk to a mere 7 seats, with Republicans holding 78 seats, Democrats holding 71 seats, and one seat vacant (formerly held by Republican Dianne Delisi).
As we awake on November 5, 2008, there are still a few races still too close to call. However, the Republican Party appears to have lost a net three seats in the Texas House of Representatives, resulting in 76 seats held by Republicans and 74 seats held by Democrats.

One of the races that is too close to call could possibly result in a 75-75 tie between Democrats and Republicans. In that race, the Republican incumbent Linda Harper Brown appears to have won by 25 voters, however provisional votes are in question.

Equality Texas actively supported and worked for the election of 15 candidates in this election cycle. It appears that 12 of our candidates have won, 2 have lost, and one is in a runoff.

District Candidates Votes Results
HD 47 Valinda Bolton 51% WIN
Donna Keel 49%
HD 48 Donna Howard 54% WIN
Pamela Waggoner 42%
HD 50 Mark Strama 63% WIN
Jerry Mikus 33%
HD 52 Diana Maldonado 49% WIN
Bryan Daniel 47%
HD 93 Paula Pierson 57% WIN
Bill Burch 41%
HD 96 Chris Turner 51% WIN
Bill Zedler 47%
HD 107 Allen Vaught 50% WIN
Bill Keffer 47%
HD118 Joe Farias 60% WIN
Don Green 37%
HD 129 Sherrie Matula 41% LOSS
John Davis 59%
HD 133 Kristi Thibaut 50% WIN
Jim Murphy 49%
HD 134 Ellen Cohen 55% WIN
Joe Agris 42%
HD 149 Hubert Vo 56% WIN
Greg Meyers 44%
SD 10 Wendy Davis 50% WIN
Kim Brimer 48%
SD 11 Joe Jaworski 41% LOSS
Mike Jackson 57%
SD 17 Chris Bell 38% Runoff
Joan Huffman 26%

While the GOP may retain a slim majority of seats in the Texas House, the additional seats lost will increase the pressure on Tom Craddick to step down as Speaker of the House - pressure that is coming from his fellow Republicans.

New leadership in the Texas House of Representatives will have a positive impact on our efforts to advance pro-equality legislation in Texas. In the last session, we saw solid bipartisan support (94 votes) for pro-equality amendments to bills, only to see those amendments stripped from the bills by House leadership.

A leadership change will facilitate open hearings on pro-equality issues - hearings that will take place in the light of day, instead of being pushed to the middle of the night.

The next several days will see much jockeying for leadership control of the Texas House. We look forward to a change in leadership - to new leadership that will work in a bipartisan fashion to address the important issues that confront us all as Texans.

Please join with Equality Texas as we prepare for the legislative session that commences in January, 2009.

• Update your e-mail subscriptions to ensure you receive the latest legislative updates and action alerts. Subscription Management Page

• Update your contact information so that we can direct specific information to you based upon who is your State Representative or State Senator. Personal profile

• Ask your friends (gay and straight), family members, neighbors, and co-workers to sign up for our Action Alerts. Tell-a-Friend
Together, we can successfully advocate and lobby for an end to discrimination based upon sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.

Best personal regards,

Paul Scott, Executive Director

Response from SoulForce
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Dear Friend of Soulforce,

Today is a day of blessing seasoned by loss. For even as America's historic presidential election ushers in a new dawn of fairness and inclusivity, a majority of voters in Arizona, Arkansas, California, and Florida have voted, once again, to exclude some Americans from the fundamental promise of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Ironically, from the very beginning of his campaign, President-elect Obama abjured the politics of division and exclusion that have marred our political process by depicting some groups -- immigrants, poor people, people of color, and LGBT people -- as dangerous "others" who threaten our national identity. Obama's own story gives us hope for a more perfect, and more fully inclusive, union. But, as always in our nation's history, there remains more work to be done in order to make our most cherished ideals a reality.

My heartfelt gratitude goes to all of the dedicated, tireless people who worked to defeat discriminatory ballot measures. Soulforce shares your pain, disappointment, and concern for the many couples and families who are more vulnerable because of this legislation. The extent of the misinformation that we faced in these struggles was daunting, but please know that your work has already borne fruit. And take comfort in knowing that those who voted for discrimination are mere footnotes to larger trends in public opinion -- which is shifting in favor of legal recognition of same-sex couples -- and to the larger narrative of American history -- which is continually refining its promise of liberty and justice for all.

Sincerely,

Jeff Lutes, MS, LPC
Executive Director
Soulforce, Inc.

From Lambda Legal
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This morning we woke up to a new America with powerful mixed feelings: We witnessed the historic election of Barack Obama, whose victory proved that discrimination can be overcome and whose presidency presents new opportunities to advance equality for so many. But we also saw terribly disappointing ballot losses for LGBT rights in Florida, Arizona and Arkansas, and a vote too close to call on Prop 8 in California. If it passes, Prop 8 would seek to change the California Constitution to eliminate the rights of same-sex couples to marry.

The lesson is clear: Change is possible and discrimination will fall, but not without setbacks and not without a fight.

Today, as the ballot counting for Proposition 8 in California continues, Lambda Legal, along with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the ACLU, filed a petition in the California Supreme Court on behalf of Equality California and six same-sex couples urging the court to invalidate Prop 8 if it passes. The petition charges that Prop 8 is invalid because the initiative process was improperly used in an attempt to undo the constitution's core commitment to equality for everyone by eliminating a fundamental right from just one group — lesbian and gay Californians. Prop 8 also improperly attempts to prevent the courts from exercising their essential constitutional role of protecting the equal protection rights of minorities. Whatever the outcome of the election or the lawsuit, we and the California Attorney General agree that existing California marriages are valid, and Lambda Legal will work in the courts to protect these marriages if they are attacked.

The news from other states with ballot measures affecting LGBT people was extremely disappointing. Florida's Amendment 2, which excludes same-sex
couples from a constitutional definition of marriage, was approved by a vote of 62 to 38 percent — a narrow margin because constitutional amendments require a vote of 60 percent for passage in Florida. In Arizona, Prop 102 also was approved and will amend the state constitution to exclude same-sex couples from marriage. In Arkansas, voters approved a ballot measure that prohibits unmarried individuals or couples from fostering or adopting children effectively excluding gay and lesbian individuals and same-sex couples from the pool of adoptive and foster parents. In one state victory, Connecticut voters defeated a call for a constitutional convention that was promoted by groups eager to eliminate the right to marry for same-sex couples.

We will continue to protect the rights of same-sex couples and their families in these states, and we will continue to fight for equality for all LGBT people and people with HIV in states all around the country.

Last night's results also brought us hope. The election of Barack Obama as president presents exciting new opportunities to advance equality at the national level. Lambda Legal is committed to working with the new administration and the entire civil rights community to enact an inclusive employment nondiscrimination law, as well as fair and inclusive immigration and hate crime laws; to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the federal Defense of Marriage Act; and to implement better policies for those with HIV. And once these laws and policies take effect, Lambda Legal will have new tools at its disposal to do what we do best: fight in the courts against the discrimination that LGBT people and those with HIV experience all across the nation.

We are ready to act on the urgent issues facing the new president, and we are asking you to join us, starting today: We have won historic victories for health-care fairness, but we know that LGBT people and people living with HIV still face discrimination in clinics, hospitals and nursing homes. With health-care reform as one of the priorities facing our nation, Lambda Legal is launching a national campaign to ensure that the new administration addresses the issues of health-care access for LGBT people and those with HIV. Join this campaign today by signing our petition calling on the new president to ensure equal access to quality health care for LGBT people and those with HIV.

We are disappointed by the losses, but we are not discouraged. We don't think they predict the future — in fact, they are the last gasps of the past. At Lambda Legal, we have seen our share of great victories and difficult setbacks in our 35 years, and we keep fighting for equality on behalf of LGBT people and those with HIV.

We will continue to make the case for equality by litigating, educating and providing our legal and public policy expertise to policymakers at all levels of government. Today we have a renewed sense of purpose and hope. Please continue to support our vital work.

All best,

Kevin Cathcart
Executive Director
Lambda Legal

From GLAAD
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I have waited to write today in hopes of having some final news about No on Prop 8 in California – the ballot initiative which would eliminate marriage rights for same-sex couples. As the day comes to a close in California, we are still awaiting the finally tallies and are following the lead of our partners at the No on 8 campaign. The No on Prop 8 campaign reports that given the incredible gravity of the situation, they will not issue the ultimate call on this initiative until more information is finalized in the next 24-48 hours. With at least 3 million California ballots still to be counted the race could, at a minimum narrow, with the margin becoming much closer than the reported results.

Last night was one of mixed emotions – 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. Barack Obama has proven that he is able and willing to move our nation away from anti-LGBT rhetoric as we work to ensure that all Americans have the chance to earn a living, be safe in their communities, serve their country, and take care of the ones they love.

The American people have shown their strong support for inclusive candidates across the country who are supportive of LGBT equality. As a result, we see a great opportunity in a Congress that is more supportive of LGBT issues than ever before.
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Millions of voters across the country also cast ballots in support of LGBT equality thanks to the unified work of our movement. We find ourselves disappointed and disheartened by results in Arkansas, Arizona and Florida, where laws intended to hurt loving, committed couples and families passed. 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.

Though we await the final outcome, we know our opponents' dishonest campaigns had one consequence: their lies have been unmasked in the media like never before, providing us with a strong precedent that will help shape future public discussions of their false and misleading attacks on our lives and our families. Fair, accurate and inclusive media representations of our lives have opened millions of Americans' eyes to the common ground that we all share. Yesterday's results reinforce that we will have much more work to do. We need to be more visible than ever and exposing anti-LGBT lies in the media must be a top priority for our movement.

Please check with www.glaad.org for ongoing updates about our work in the days and weeks ahead.

I am proud to be part of this movement and the work of the dedicated GLAAD staff who played such an active role on all levels of the campaigns. As a GLAAD supporter, you help us do this work of advocating for LGBT images in the media that are accurate and inclusive. When voters see our stories on the nightly news and in local papers, hearts and minds change and it deepens people's understanding of who we are. We're counting on you to stand alongside us. Thank you for your continued support.

In service,

Neil G. Giuliano
President, GLAAD

From the HRC
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Unfortunate news has dimmed the exhilaration of this historic, life-changing election.

I am deeply disappointed to report anti-LGBT marriage bans passed in Florida and Arizona, and in Arkansas voters voted to bar all unmarried people, LGBT or straight, from adopting children or serving as foster parents.

Meanwhile media outlets have begun to report bad news for marriage equality in California. However, the Human Rights Campaign just participated in a conference call with our coalition partners and we firmly believe that all votes should be counted before calling the race. Several million votes in California have yet to be counted. Now is not the time to speculate on somebody’s fundamental rights. So we are waiting to see the final results from those ballots and will be issuing a statement after the race has been called. Please stay tuned.

While this news certainly put a damper on such a historic election, we should celebrate the fact that our movement came together in an unprecedented way, and worked tirelessly to defeat these amendments, and millions voted with us yesterday.

It is indeed a bitter pill to swallow. But we cannot allow distorted facts or shallow tactics – the foundation on which our opponents built their campaigns – to break our spirits. We are on the right side of history – and we will continue this journey.

Let us not forget that we saw many glimmers of hope for LGBT equality across the country last night. We increased the ranks of pro-equality lawmakers in both the House and the Senate. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO), ringleader of the campaign to write discrimination into the U.S. Constitution, was soundly defeated. Jared Polis (D-CO) became the first openly gay man ever to be elected to Congress as a non-incumbent. Democrats took the New York State Senate, giving us our best chance ever to pass a same-sex marriage law in a legislature. We beat back a ballot question in Connecticut that could have threatened our recent victory there. In fact, marriages begin next week. And we elected Barack Obama as our next President, ending eight years of anti-LGBT policies. I truly believe that despite these setbacks, our nation is moving in the right direction.

After fighting for years, so many victories are now within reach. And thanks to yesterday’s victories, we can now pass critical LGBT equality measures like the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act and begin unraveling the damage of the last eight years.

I vow to you today that HRC will not give up, nor will we retreat. Moving forward, HRC will:

• Continue our efforts to win incremental victories for relationship recognition, so that legally married lesbian and gay couples in Massachusetts and Connecticut have full standing under federal law; the same holds true for civil unions and domestic partnerships in places like New Hampshire, Vermont and Oregon.

• Use amendments and other legislative vehicles in Congress to establish growing equality for LGBT Americans under federal tax, Social Security, pension, insurance and other laws – piecing together as many of the rights of marriage as we can until the full victory is achieved in years to come.

• Work with our allies in New York to make good on the extraordinary opportunity presented by the election of a new fair-minded majority in the State Senate, which paves the way for the nation's first-ever legislatively achieved marriage equality victory. We are also simultaneously working on marriage equality in New Jersey.

Together, like we have done some many times before, we fought the good fight until the bitter end.

In Florida, HRC contributed $120,000 to Florida Red & Blue (backers of the SayNo2 campaign), including $50,000 of early seed money that allowed the campaign to raise significant additional funds and provided high-level fundraising consulting for the campaign. We started building an early base for campaign operations by sending staff to Florida and conducting volunteer trainings during the January Presidential Primary. We held a Camp Equality election skills training in Fort Lauderdale and mobilized hundreds of volunteers. And in the final weeks, four additional HRC staffers and a Campaign ollege participant were sent to work on the ground in Florida.

In Arizona, HRC contributed $50,000 to Arizona Together for media production and air time. We had three HRC staffers and one Campaign College participant on the ground. We also held a Camp Equality election skills training in Phoenix and mobilized the participants to work on this issue.

In Arkansas, HRC provided half of the funding necessary for the Arkansas Families First campaign to hire a campaign manager. We deployed a Campaign College participant to work on the campaign for 12 weeks, and an HRC staffer to work on the campaign during the final push.

And in California, HRC participated fully as a member of the marriage coalition executive committee, with unprecedented on-the-ground support, and extensive voter mobilization efforts. I am proud that HRC was the second largest funder of No on Prop. 8, behind Equality California, in what ended up being the most expensive campaign in the nation next to the presidential race. When all was said and done, HRC and our members invested nearly $3.5 million directly to the efforts in California. But our messages of fairness and reason were met with appalling messages of fear, distortion and downright hate that our opponents put forth on television, on radio, across the Internet, and in Sunday sermons.

In 2000, a similar marriage ban in California was passed by a margin of 61% to 39%. So the closeness of this race and the positive shift in public opinion underscores that it is only a matter of time before we add more states to the march for marriage equality. As Obama said last night, “That's the true genius of America – that America can change.”

Yesterday, an unfortunate majority of voters stood with the most extreme and negative elements of society to deny the rights of loving and committed gay and lesbian couples. But it’s not the first time that has happened to us, and it won’t be the last. It doesn’t change the fact that we are married. It doesn’t change the fact that we have families. Make no mistake. We are bowed, but not discouraged. We are sad, but not disheartened. We grieve, but not as those who are without hope.

Today we will mourn the losses in Florida, Arizona and Arkansas, but tomorrow let's resolve to lift one another up, and continue our march forward.
Remember, our marriages didn’t begin with a decision of the court, and they will not end with a vote of the people.


Warmly,


Joe Solmonese
President
HRC

A bottle of freedom

On November 4, 2008, Americans voted for change. Personally, I voted for Obama. Those of you who know me know I came out for Obama way before it was the popular thing to do. I liked his politics and I liked his promises to fix healthcare and fight for human rights. But I don’t think Obama was elected because of people voting for anything as much as voting against the party that got us into this mess in the first place.

You might think it doesn’t matter why he was elected, only that he was elected, but I think it does matter. It matters because it helps us understand how many of the same people who voted against the reigning party also voted against human rights – against gay rights in four states, to be precise. If we better understand this, we might better understand how we seem to be always taking one step forward and another step back.

This morning I read an email from Donald Wildmon, founder and chairman of the American Family Association. Donald seemed very depressed at what he called the “overwhelmingly bad news” of Obama’s election, yet he was not so depressed that he couldn’t gloat about his victory against gay rights. He closed his letter, in fact, by preaching that, “… despite some discouraging news on the national front, 30 states have adopted a state constitutional amendment preserving traditional marriage since the legalization of same-sex ‘marriage’ in Massachusetts.”

Wow. Thirty states! Don’t you wish these people would put half as much energy into saving the economy that they currently put into making sure that you and I don’t have as many human rights as they do? It’s as if they think that human rights come in bottles, and there are only so many to go around.

Make no mistake, Pat Robertson and Donald Wildmon and James Dobson -- there is a gay agenda. We are not after your family, but we are most certainly after the same rights your family enjoys. And if it’s true as you say that those rights come in a little bottle, and there are only so many bottles to go around, then watch out, because we want our share….

Of course, human rights don’t come in bottles, there’s plenty of freedom for everyone.

Don’t feel too bad, Mr. Wildmon. The gay community has made the same mistake you have just made, which is the error of thinking a single victory will put the issue to rest once and for all.

Our President has been elected, and in many respects this may help quench our longtime yearning to end racism in America. In a single day, we have won one longtime struggle, and also refocused our attention of the new civil rights frontier, which is the frontier of gay rights.

Put that in your bottle…

-- Troy Carlyle

For a printer-friendly version, check the tridd library:
http://www.tridd.com/docs/answers/Bottl ... reedom.pdf
http://www.tridd.com/index_files/inform ... ent_li.htm

Melissa Etheridge on Prop 8: No Taxation without Representation
Melissa Etheridge has penned an excellent column for The Daily Beast on Prop 8 and legislating morality:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and- ... -my-taxes/

"When did it become okay to legislate morality? I try to envision someone reading that legislation "eliminates the right" and then clicking yes. What goes through their mind? Was it the frightening commercial where the little girl comes home and says, "Hi mom, we learned about gays in class today" and then the mother gets that awful worried look and the scary music plays? Do they not know anyone who is gay? If they do, can they look them in the face and say "I believe you do not deserve the same rights as me"? Do they think that their children will never encounter a gay person? Do they think they will never have to explain the 20% of us who are gay and living and working side by side with all the citizens of California? I got news for them, someday your child is going to come home and ask you what a gay person is. Gay people are born everyday. You will never legislate that away."

-- Melissa Etheridge