"The across-the-board sweep, coupled with passage of a measure in Arkansas intended to bar gay men and lesbians from adopting children, was a stunning victory for religious conservatives, who had little else to celebrate on an Election Day that saw Senator John McCain lose and other ballot measures, like efforts to restrict abortion in South Dakota, California and Colorado, rejected.

"The losses devastated supporters of same-sex marriage and ignited a debate about whether the movement to expand the rights of same-sex couples had hit a cultural brick wall, even at a time of another civil rights success, the election of a black president.

"Thirty states have now passed bans on same-sex marriage.

"Julius Turman, a chairman of the Alice B. Toklas L.G.B.T. Democratic Club, a gay political group here, said he called his mother in tears when Mr. Obama won the presidency, only to be crying over the same-sex marriage vote in a different way not much later.

" 'It is the definition of bittersweet,'  Mr. Turman said. 'As an African-American, I rejoiced in the symbolism of yesterday. As a gay man, I thought, ˜How can this be happening?" 

"Proposition 8's passage left only Massachusetts and Connecticut as states where same-sex marriages are legal, though both Rhode Island and New York will continue to recognize such ceremonies performed elsewhere. Civil unions or domestic partnerships, which carry many of the same rights as marriage, are allowed in a handful of states. More than 40 states now have constitutional bans or laws against same-sex marriages."

Will voter acceptance of same sex marriage take another 40 or 100 years, just as racism blocked an African Americans from becoming president for so long?   It's a sad thought as hypocritical bigotry continues in this country fostered by those who should be the most tolerant: "religious" leadership and churchgoers.