Posted by permission of Nicholas Benton, owner/editor of the Falls Church News Press.

Proposition 8's Pyrrhic Victory

by Nicholas Benton

While the optimism and hope generated from last week's historic presidential election returns have the nation, and much of the world, still aglow, there's one segment of the pro-Obama population whose emotions are mixed, at best.

A mean-spirited effort led by religious fundamentalists and Mormons to quash a court ruling in California legalizing gay marriage resulted in a statewide ballot referendum that narrowly passed in the same historic election.

A massive mobilization nationally by lesbian and gay organizations and their friends, albeit overshadowed by the Obama tidal wave, raised millions in a full-forced effort to defeat the infamous Proposition 8, but it could not match the fundraising and zealous efforts of the religious right.

Anger and disappointment have eclipsed the joy of Obama's victory in the passions of millions, nationwide, as a result. Huge, simultaneous demonstrations are being planned in major cities from coast to coast against the Proposition 8 vote to disenfranchise the rights of significant segment of U.S. society.

Christian Conservatives with support from the Bush Administration are extending their campaign against abortion and sex education to also try to turn back the clock on contraception. They now support legislation to prevent any institution that receives federal funding from refusing to hire doctors or health workers who refuse to provide abortion, contraceptives and information on birth control to patients.