Today, the California Supreme Court gave their much-anticipated decision on Proposition 8. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer people and our allies across the nation, even around the world have been anxiously awaiting the decision that would either reject or affirm the anti-gay Prop 8.

This proposition was created to write discrimination into the state constitution. While the immediate issue is marriage, justice and equality for all Californians is what is at stake.

While we are relieved that the 18,000 couples that married will not have their marriages made null and void, we are disappointed and angered that discrimination has been allowed to be written into our state constitution.  We are disappointed in our state which for so long had the reputation of leadership in civil rights has allowed itself to fall behind in the movement for justice and equality. We are angered that the lessons that discriminatory laws encourage bullying, hate crimes and teen suicides are ignored by the court today. We are angered that the LGBT community is seen as less than deserving of all the rights and responsibilities promised to all Americans.

The court’s decision today is a key moment in history and our community is trusting now in President Barack Obama to live up to his pre-election promises for full equality at the federal level. We also look to political leaders throughout the nation to now take a stand against the injustices that our community faces and support legislation that provides full equality for Gays, Lesbians, Bisexual and Transgender people at all levels of government.

SF Pride wishes to recognize and honor the dedication of the grassroots volunteers and workers over the last years that worked tirelessly to bring us to this incredible moment in history.

We thank Therese Stewart and Dennis Herrera and the entire team at the San Francisco City Attorney's office, and Shannon Minter and the entire team at the National Center for Lesbian Rights.  We would also like to thank our allies, such as the NAACP for supporting us in this struggle for civil rights and the courageous plaintiffs for putting their lives up to public scrutiny and their relationships in the line of fire for their community.

Every road has bumps and occasional detours but this road to justice that we are all on will not dead end. And we pledge to continue on this road until we get to the final destination of justice and equality for all people, from state level and the federal level. Senator Ted Kennedy once said, “Hope is not lost and the dream is still alive.” And we will not be defeated. Join us at SF Pride as we rededicate ourselves to the movement for full equality. Come to our Marriage Pavilion to see how each of us has a part in the stand for justice and full equality. We continue working side by side with organizations such as Marriage Equality USA, NCLR, Equality California, And Marriage 4 All, One Struggle, One Fight, the Courage Campaign and the many groups that have fought tirelessly over the years to secure rights for marriage and for full equality.