Prop 8 no more!

Prop 8 was struck down today!!

Okay, so I know I just gave you this whole big speech about how I’m not going to only talk about LGBT and feminist stuff anymore, but come on. Prop 8! This is big stuff we’re talking about here!

Of course, the fact that Prop 8 was ruled unconstitutional doesn’t mean the whole country (or even the whole state, for that matter) is going out and buying rainbow flags (somebody actually told me recently that their father did this when they came out. I wish, right?) and throwing parties tonight. Couples in California are still pretty skeptical, and even if there wasn’t still a stay in place on same-sex marriages, most couples wouldn’t exactly be running right out to the justice of the peace. Too many of them are afraid they’re going to end up in a situation like the 15,000 plus couples who got married when same-sex marriage was first approved in Cali., only to have the right revoked a few months later. So at this point, we’re mostly waiting to see what happens.

I remember having a conversation about Prop 8 just after it passed in 2008. I was told not to get too excited about gay marriage, because eventually all the states that had passed gay marriage laws would go the same way as California.

…yeah. I’m not entirely sure why that was considered an appropriate or acceptable or response either.

Incidentally, gay marriage is coming up to a vote in the New Jersey State Senate next Monday. The bill missed the mark when legislators voted in 2010, but according to The Advocate, the Senate believes there is enough support for the bill to pass this time. Unfortunately, Governor Chris Christie seems as determined to spoil our fun as usual (as a gay college student in N.J., I don’t have much to love him for), but. I guess we’ll see how that goes.

Anyway, I’m excited.

On a (kind of) totally different note, I’m really excited about (and stressed out by) this project I’m working on for my senior seminar in Sociology. I’m giving a 30-minute presentation about LGB teens in the foster care system! DID YOU KNOW–20 percent to 40 percent of homeless youth identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual, but there are ridiculously few GLBT-oriented homeless shelters or agencies that even train foster parents to deal with these issues? Watch this video for the story of one LGBT welfare center and some really interesting statistics around the 2:05 minute mark.