The election was coming up in a few days and the pro and anti Prop 8 campaigns were in full swing. Our new friend mourned the fact that even on the Westside, it was not uncommon to see streets lined with signs urging people to "protect" marriage and vote yes on 8.

A few days later I was at the office working late. It was November 4th. That morning I had made my way out to a high school close to my apartment to vote for the very first time and spent that evening trying to work, listening to the kitchen television from my office and distractedly refreshing the browser window with election results. I watched through tear-blurred eyes as the gap between the "yes" and "no" votes widened in favor of "yes" and seethed at the unfairness of it all as the election counts were finalized.

I knew then that the ban on same-sex marriages was only temporary; I believe that someday the entire country will legalize them. It made me sad, though, that after making so much progress, California voters decided to take a step backwards and take away these rights from a group of individuals without good reason.

But today that changed. I know that the battle isn't over and that it's going to be a long, hard fight before we get to where we need to be, but at least we're on the right track again. Finally!