Cool story, bro.

Don't see what it added but it was something.

Amen Dorian! Gay marriage bans were approved in every state that put the issue on the ballot, 30 states total. As a supporter of gay marriage, a PR tune up is necessary if it is to ever become a reality. Dismissing the majority of Americans as bigots, even if true, will get you nowhere.

The majority of Americans are bigots. They aren't going to change their bigotry if we don't call them on it.

And I, for one, refuse to participate in lobbying, legislation, or any other strategy that legitimizes violence. Ultimately, we will do better with direct action than political action - we need to support each other and our allies, work with those who may help us, and boycott those who would harm us.

I think Democrats can be prone to attacking the government as well. I know some who do, for realz!

I think we need both outreach and civil disobedience (I refuse to call demanding our rights "intimidation"), personally. If nothing else, this helps us with our own morale.

I thought this was a poorly argued piece. You accuse the gay rights movement of using "intimidation," but when the time comes to list examples, you just talk about "liberal columnists" and then mention Andrew Sullivan, who's a conservative/libertarian. You don't mention any actual examples of intimidation.

But to address your actual argument, I have to call bullshit here, too. The passive approach of playing nice has gotten us nowhere in the last several years. In all of those 30 states where the amendments have passed, our approach has been the same: Mass "discrimination is wrong!" emails and abstract pleas for "fairness" and "equality," all the while using the "g-word" as sparingly as possible.

The angry protests that followed Proposition 8's passage showed the country that these amendments cause real harm to real people. You can call that "intimidation" all you want, but making a lot of noise is what has consistently won victories for civil rights movements in this country.

I absolutely agree with you.

Radicalization only decreases the political space in which moderate policy makers can maneuver. I think that the attention should be focused on the 18000 marriages that were saved, rather than demonizing those who supported Prop. 8.

Denying Prop. 8 a retroactive capacity creates a common ground from which future victories can be created. However, to do that, we need to focus on constructively engaging the moderate and right flanks. If we continue to lash out, we only make it easier for conservatives to characterize gay-rights activists as extremists who should be marginalized and ignored.

Everyone should be treated with dignity and respect. That being said, we should NOT allow bigots to treat us as second class citizens.