With the recent passing of Prop 8, protests have erupted all over the country. I would liked to have been at the march here over the weekend but we had a late night Friday and damn, activists sure do get up early in the morning! That doesn’t negate the feeling of pride that I’ve had looking over the photos and seeing a huge rainbow flag peacefully marching through the streets of my city. It has felt like a new dawn approaching since November 4th and many of us are just wondering, what’s the next step?

I must admit that at first I was both excited and disappointed in Obama’s newly launched site, Change.gov. It was pretty miraculous to have a transition site launched in the time frame that they did it but I was discouraged to not see any LGBT issues on the 1.0 version of the agenda. Then the agenda disappeared altogether but alas it was only temporary.

I’m happy to report that the Civil Rights section now hosts several issues on the agenda that are very important to myself and other LGBT readers and supporters…

• Repeal Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell

• Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples & Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage (I assume this means that states would decide if there is a difference between a marriage and a union?)

• To pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

• Implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities.

• To strengthen federal hate crimes legislation and expand hate crimes protection by passing the Matthew Shepard Act.

Yes, we still have a long way to go but it certainly feels good that our country is beginning to recognize us as citizens, as people, and also recognizes SCIENCE as a vital part of our existence. We may have to fight the H8ters but we have the power of the hope and community on our side.