The Best Quotes from Today's Prop 8 Ruling

Organizations are sending out the press releases fast and furious, calling Proposition 8 out for what it is: a bogus effort to cement discrimination into the California Constitution.  But rather than moping, everyone is talking about fighting.  Below is a list of some of the best quotes from LGBT organizations that have come down the pike today.  Enjoy.  My favorite one is the last one, from Pamela Brown at Marriage Equality USA.

Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force: "This is a day of immensely conflicted feelings. We are profoundly disappointed the court has upheld Proposition 8. Banning the fundamental freedom to marry for same-sex couples is unfair, unjust and flies in the face of progress occurring throughout the country, from the Iowa heartland to the rocky shores of Maine. That California is taking a step backward at this moment in history is disconcertingly out of step with society's growing support for equality, and personally painful to committed couples who will be blocked from marrying in California. It is a travesty that the court has, for the first time in California history, permitted a simple majority to use the initiative process to strip a fundamental right from a minority group."

SEIU International Executive VP Mary Kay Henry: "Equality is a value dear to our union's members.  We opposed Prop 8 and the forces of division and discrimination who produced it. This ruling merely delays the day of regaining an important aspect of equality in California. It does not diminish the dignity of our members and their relationships or our determination to win equality in this country."

Rick Jacobs, Founder, Courage Campaign: "I am disappointed the Court ruled to deny marriage equality to Californians. These are fundamental constitutional rights that cannot be abolished by a ballot initiative. While we were hoping the Court would rule in favor of equality, we have been building the infrastructure to win marriage equality rights at the ballot box. Our members are ready to do the hard work needed to win."

Jody M. Huckaby, Executive Director, Parents Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG): "Today’s ruling is out-of-step with a growing consensus in our country that all loving couples should be treated equally in the eyes of the law.  It is also a reminder that, even in places where we have traditionally seen progress on equality, there is still work that remains to be done. Today, the California Supreme Court has dealt a blow to our families, but tomorrow, PFLAG’s 41 California chapters will be back on the job, working in their communities to build support for moving marriage equality forward."

Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director, Family Equality Council: "Today's disappointing ruling from the California Supreme Court underscores how incredibly important it is for LGBT people, especially parents, to continue telling our stories, connecting with other families about our shared hopes, dreams and concerns, changing hearts and minds.  Our visibility and actions as a community have resulted in a seventeen point gain in just five years in support of marriage equality nationwide. Our responses to the Court's ruling will build on that momentum. LGBT parents know concretely how inequality hurts our families. We will continue working for full equality because our families deserve nothing less. It's a lesson we get to teach our children—through struggle comes progress—and so we look to the future and prepare to make marriage a reality for our families in California once again. As an ever-growing community of LGBT parents, family and friends, we will close this chapter on American history with justice and equality at the end."

Neil G. Giuliano, President, Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD): "Today, we express our deepest disappointment in the California Supreme Court’s decision, which continues to deprive an entire class of Californians the fundamental freedom to marry.  Thankfully, the court has protected the marriages of the more than 18,000 gay and lesbian couples who married before Nov. 5, 2008. It is vital that media outlets not only share these couples’ stories, but also those of the many gay and lesbian people and couples in California who have again been denied the fundamental right to marry."

Pamela Brown, Policy Director, Marriage Equality USA: "Californians who are sick of hearing about gay marriage in the news, we are too. We don't want to be in your living room, we want to be in our own. We want to go back to focusing on our lives, not fighting for our freedoms. But we will do whatever is necessary, for as long as necessary, to ensure all gay couples can once again have the right to marry the person they love and that our children can have the sense of security and protections that only marriage provides."