Separate, But Equal?

Yesterday was a sad day for human rights. First, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, the state's ban on same-sex marriage. (Same-sex couples married before Prop 8 took effect, however, will still be legally married.) Many will say California's residents voted to approve Prop 8, and they did by a roughly 52/48 margin. But if they had voted to racially segregate schools or take voting rights away from women, would it be any less unconstitutional?
On a more personal level, my good friend Chris was a deputy for the Uinta County Sheriff's Office in Evanston, Wyoming. A few weeks ago, he was terminated for a minor lapse in judgement. This happened just after his co-workers discovered his homosexuality. He filed a discrimination suit on the grounds that other officers had committed similar infractions, but were only given minor disciplinary measures. Unfortunately, the "Gool Ol' Boy" system won out, and yesterday, Chris was informed that after eight years of dedicated service, he wouldn't get his job back.
Also hitting close to home is this story:

I know this is an issue I've mentioned several times before, and I'm sure people are getting sick of hearing about it. But it's something I feel passionate about, and whenever I hear about a group of people being treated unfairly because of race, age, gender, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation, I feel a burn, deep in the pit of my stomach, and it makes me want to scream. Scream with me.