The California Supreme Court Upheld Prop. 8, So Now What Do We Do?

Yesterday, the California Supreme Court announced its decision to uphold Proposition 8, thereby banning same-sex marriage in the state. The decision was expected, but still incredibly disappointing to the many citizens across the country in favor of equality and human rights.

The ruling did come with a thin silver lining though: The court voted unanimously to continue to recognize the marriages of roughly 18,000 couples who wed before the voter-passed constitutional amendment went into effect.

There is hope in those 18,000 same-sex marriages -- hope that they will serve as the cornerstone for a more equal California in years soon to come. With the number of states who recognize same-sex marriages doubling since November 2008, the writing is on the wall: basic human rights will overcome hate.

That is why it is more important today than ever before to join the fight to repeal Prop. 8. In a press release yesterday, San Francisco Mayor and gubernatorial-hopeful Gavin Newsom wrote:

It is up to every single one of us who supports marriage equality to reach out to those who still disagree with our position and have a personal conversation about why it is so important to treat every Californian equally.

We must change the hearts and minds of those who stand against marriage equality. That is why we are asking you to join the Courage Campaign’s latest action and be fearless in response to the upholding of Prop. 8.

The Courage Campaign states, "We don’t have time to mourn the failure of the state court to restore marriage equality to California. It’s time to go on offense. To be fearless in our fight for equality. Starting right now." Join the Courage Campaign and support its efforts to reach out to those who stand in the way of equality (if you would like to make a donation to the Courage Campaign, click here).

Also, if you live in California, or plan on being here this weekend, you can sign up to "Meet in the Middle for Equality." This Saturday, May 30, at 1p.m., the Courage Campaign and more than 70 other organizations are joining forces in Fresno, Calif. The day will center around outreach, as "California's Central Valley population is far more reflective of national attitudes towards LGBT equality -- and until we engage the communities of Middle America, we will not achieve full equality in California." Click here to learn more.

II -- Don't Drink Hate: Learn the Truth About Michael Savage and ROCKSTAR!

Everyone knows Michael Savage, the belligerent, conservative shock jock who (despite losing his television job at MSNBC after only four months for telling a caller "You should only get AIDS and die, you pig") is the third-most-popular radio talk show host in America, surpassed only by such luminaries as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. But did you know Michael Savage's family is heavily invested in the popular energy drink ROCKSTAR? Savage's wife, Janet Weiner, is ROACKSTAR's CFO, son Russell G. Weiner is CEO and daughter Rebecca Lin (Weiner) Yops is the director of communications? Given the family behind it, does ROCKSTAR sound like the kind of product you want to support? We didn't think so. Click here to learn more.

Lawyers from ROCKSTAR have written AlterNet threatening to sue us because they claim that Michael Savage (aka Weiner) is not a "co-founder” of the ROCKSTAR drink co., as was described in our item, but rather his son, Russell Weiner, is the CEO and principle shareholder, and that Savage has never been an officer, director, employee or shareholder, of the company. AlterNet does not have any specific knowledge of family discussions, meetings, etc. that led to the formation of the company to be able to prove that he was a "co-founder."