President-elect Obama may prove to be the most LGBT-friendly president we've ever had, but Election Day was bittersweet for LGBTs. The right to marry was taken away from same-sex couples in California by a voter referendum. Voters in Arizona and Florida also denied same-sex couples the right to marry by approving amendments to their state constitutions.
There is much to learn from those defeats. My takeaway is that we focused too much on rallying LGBT voters and not enough on educating opponents of same-sex marriage. Thankfully, the wind is still at our backs.
Marriage for same-sex couples will most likely be approved through the legislatures of at least two states in the next two years—New York and New Jersey. Even now, California is not beyond hope. There are legal efforts already underway to invalidate that voter referendum.
A shining example of what remains possible is the fact that starting today same-sex couples can be legally married in Connecticut. There are still plenty more victories yet to enjoy.
To underscore my point before about educating opponents of same-sex marriage, Keith Olbermann from MSNBC recently made an argument that I think LGBTs should expand—marriage is about love.
Watch Keith Olbermann make his case for same-sex marriage:
Click here for the full transcript of this Keith Olbermann video.
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