Earlier today, California’s Supreme Court ruled to uphold Proposition 8. Known as “Prop 8″ for short, this initiative eliminates the right of same sex couples to marry.

I got word of a protest happening just a few blocks from my place after work – so I went home, recharged, grabbed the gear and ran over to check it out. I uploaded photos and live-blogged via my Twitter feed – and finally, took some of the best clips for this video below. Be kind, this is a rough cut – but I wanted to get it up anyhow. Check it out.

Earlier that day just a few blocks down – at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House had this to say about California’s decision. Don’t blink or you’ll be sure to miss it.

Finally, don’t miss what celebrities had to say on Twitter – thanks to E!’s new celeb twitter feed.

Wow, Kim. Though we’ve never met, I have to tell you. Speaking at the rally took balls.

Today, as any day, we need to be indifferent to the uninformed judgement that being gay might bring – and encouraged by the fact that our nation, gay and straight, are organizing against the passage of Prop 8. This is the kind of conversation we need to keep on having, until all of our rights, from Medicare to Marriage to the Military, are equal.

My name is Erica Anderson, and I’m gay and I want the rights, the same 1,069 federal marriage rights and the same equality for those who defend our nation, that others have. It is really as simple as that.

You can check out Kim’s blog here.

While many of my friends were distressed by the passage, I think it is a good thing.

Why? Well, for one the passage of Prop 8 stunts the growth of our free nation. And with the new President-elect Barack Obama, we know the country’s voters, when communicated with effectively, won’t let that slide. So let’s not all lose our cool.

Already, Prop 8 has become a vehicle for the other anti-equal rights measures to be brought to light in the online and national media. Oppression of minority groups and demonizing them as second-class citizens (it is 2008, right?) goes beyond the ballot boxes of California. It is alive and well in dozens of states.

[For an example of how the passage of Prop 8 has brought other anti-gay measures to light, read this New York Times OpEd: Anit-Gay, Anti-Family.]

The march was well organized in that the police were there to stop traffic and get us through. But it was quite apparent that there was not one leader there. A few people had megaphones – trying to garner the attention of the masses but no one could hear. My friend casually made the point, “We need a Gay MLK to step forward and bring this group together.”

I could not agree more. Physically, yes, we were all together. But no one was on the same page. One organizer with a megaphone used words “angry” “heated” and “pissed.”

When it comes to the movement for equal rights, the GLBT community needs to take a look at Obama. He didn’t win this election with anger. He won it by sharing idealism and optimism. The angle he used did more to attract undecided voters than it did to alienate the uncertain. In the case of the GLBT mission for equal rights, we have to look at homophobes as the undecided and try not to be angry — but gracious and patient educators. Now is the time – and we have the digital vehicles and presence to get them to listen.

This country has more important issues to focus on than petty ballot initiatives aimed at degrading their brethren. So let’s do just that. Make it known that these social setbacks won’t stop us from focusing on the bigger issues at hand – two wars, an economic crisis, a planet in peril.

But to get there, the GLBT community needs a clear leader with a message – to first define for everyone that being gay is not a choice. Next is the task of lifting up new GLBT faces, the feminine lesbian and the masculine guy, to confront the stereotype and bring more people out. Finally, we need to work without animosity to educate. With this kind of angle, I think we will be better serving our cause – and will be better set to make positive progress for us all.