Our rights were taken away last night...

Straight people won. Queers lost. But the battle continues. We did everything we could to Vote No on Prop 8. In a heartbreaking defeat for the gay-rights movement, California voters put a stop to gay marriage, creating uncertainty about the legal status of 18,000 same-sex couples who tied the knot during a four-month window of opportunity opened by the state's highest court. Passage of a constitutional amendment against gay marriage — in a state so often at the forefront of liberal social change — elated religious conservatives who had little else to cheer about in Tuesday's elections. Gay activists were disappointed and began looking for battlegrounds elsewhere in the back-and-forth fight to allow gays to wed.

"You cannot get married anymore in the state of California. Your rights have been taken away," said Mayor Gavin Newson tonight, adding "It was a great opportunity. Human capital is where we are no longer leading."