Bittersweet

The good: President-Elect Barack Obama's new website

The bad:

Prop 8, eliminating gay marriage in California, passed by a slim margin. Prop 8 was decided by 250,000 voters, or 2.5% of the total vote. I am convinced that these voters, if not more of them, were voting not because of a belief that gay marriage is wrong, but because they worried it would be taught in our public schools. The issue of gay marriage in schools was one of the bigger issues pushed by the Yes-on-8 crowd. You can even see evidence of it in their banner, with the 2 adult figures protecting the 2 children (as if gay marriage had anything to do with family structure).

As a public high school teacher, I could just spit when I hear about how absolutely convinced folks are that schools would have taught gay marriage had Prop 8 failed. It's also unnerving to see how poorly the No-on-8 campaign refuted this dishonest claim. One measly ad featuring Jack O'Connell, the California Superintendent of Schools, was not nearly enough to halt the momentum of this race. Prop 8 was never about gay marriage in schools, yet the other side succeeded in playing this canard to voters. I'd applaud their strategy were it not so vile and baseless, tainted with church views that homosexuality is sinful.