Prop 8 protests

Luis was quoted in an article in a local gay newspaper. The story was about a protest on proposition 8 passing in California.

A clip of our wedding video

Here's a small clip, a promo, of the "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway" episode featuring our wedding. Our clip starts at 1:30, after the couple with the groom who is in a band. You can fast forward to the clip.

Proposition 8 Protests

Today, at 1:30 p.m. ET around the world, people protested against the passage of proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in California.

Luis and I spoke at a rally in Vancouver.

Here's the speech we gave. I read part, and then Luis read part.

On May 31, Luis and I becoming newlyweds.

It was the most joyous day of our lives.

We had a church service with piano music.

We had a cocktail hour and reception with 135 guests.

We had a first dance.

We cut the cake.

I danced with my mother and so did Luis.

And we had our last dance.

But our wedding day lacked one key ingredient: Legal recognition.

We merely had a “commitment ceremony” in New York State.

At the time, only Massachusetts and California legally recognized gay marriage.

We were hopeful, though, that the United States was making progress.

New York’s governor David Paterson ordered all state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.

And he said he would sign a same-sex marriage law if presented to him.

But on Nov. 4, the United States took a giant leap backward for equality.

With the passage of Proposition 8, California banned same-sex marriage.

The same people who won that ban are mobilizing across the country to ban gay marriage in other states, including New York.

We must resist.

And we must fight to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.

I’m not sure how that law defends marriage.

The title of the act is merely Orwellian double-speak.

But, effectively, the law made us a second-class couple.

Unlike heterosexual couples, who could sponsor their spouses for residency, I could not sponsor Luis, even if we had gotten married in another state or country.

The U.S. federal government wouldn’t recognize our relationship.

So unlike most newlyweds, we didn’t have the luxury of enjoying a honeymoon after our May ceremony.

Instead, we began packing boxes.

Less than a month after our commitment ceremony, we moved to Canada.

On America’s Independence Day, we experienced true independence, getting legally married in Victoria.

The move here was a major sacrifice.

I had to quit my job as a writer.

We sold our belongings at rock-bottom prices.

But there’s one thing we wouldn’t bargain: The right to marry each other.

I left a close-knit family.

Not long before I left, my mother was diagnosed with bone cancer.

And my father was diagnosed with a heart condition.

The decision to move was painfully difficult.

People shouldn’t have to be forced to decide between living close to relatives in the United States or living in a place where they can legally marry the person they love.

But the fight for that right continues.

And it’s intensifying in states across the country.

Because we moved to Canada, on July 4, we could proudly proclaim: “Just Married.”

But too many gay and lesbian Americans can only say: “Unjust. Not Married.”

We must change that.

We must move forward.

Here are more photos the event.

Talk about not being able to live without each other...

On Sunday, a heart attacked killed a 76-year-old Brazilian man. The next day, his coffin killed his wife.

Here's the rest of the story...

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Police say a woman has died on the way to a cemetery when a traffic accident hurled her husband's coffin against the back of her neck. Police said 67-year old Marciana Silva Barcelos was in the front passenger seat of the hearse when the accident occurred Monday in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.

Barcelos died instantly.

Her 76-year-old husband Josi Silveira Coimbra died Sunday of a heart attack while dancing at a party.

The driver of hearse and Barcelos' son suffered minor injuries.

Bush's legacy

Bush has desperately been trying to leave a legacy. Now he has one. His failure as a president helped elect the country's first black president. You can't ask for a more memorable legacy than that.

Voting shifts

This dramatic picture of the shift in voting from the New York Times shows which counties became more Democratic and which ones became more Republican.
Most of the country became more Democratic, except for a swath of the Bible belt, McCain's home state of Arizona and a pocket here and there. Click on it for a close-up view.

So I'm fashionably bald

I was wearing a T-shirt that said "Ban Republican Marriage" while watching the results with Democrats Abroad at a brewery here. The t-shirt gathered a lot of attention, and several reporters interviewed me, including some from CBC radio, The Vancouver Sun and The Tyee, a local daily online magazine, whose reporter called me "fashionably bald."

Pretty close prediction

It's 1:40 p.m. ET (10:40 PT). I spent the afternoon and evening at a bar with a bunch of Americans and Canadians watching election results. (Luis was working as an extra in "Farewell Atlantis," a movie about the end of the world. I spent the night celebrating the beginning of a new world.)
Anyway, I must say that my prediction was pretty close.
I had North Carolina as a toss-up, and at this time it is leaning toward Obama. The other toss-up I listed was Florida, which was very close but has been called for Obama.
The Times now lists Montana as leaning McCain (I guess McCain), Missouri as light red (I had McCain) and Indiana as light blue (Oops! I had that for McCain.)
So I missed North Carolina and Indiana if they go as they seem to be leaning now. Not bad that I missed just two -- two of the states that are still aren't a solid color 1:40 PT.

Time for some campaigning

As you know, we've been doing some work as extras in movies.
This is Luis' first role in a political cartoon. Pay close attention to the end of the cartoon when the song refers to getting voters to the voting booth in this cartoon.
OK, well, anyone can make this cartoon at JibJab.

Electoral Map

I've been following the election from afar. It's very exciting. A bunch of us will go to a bar on Tuesday to watch the election results together. I've never been into Monday night football, as much as it is fun to watch football players in those tight uniforms. But I'll be glued to the TV for Tuesday's night election results.

As for the electoral map, here are my guesses on the toss-up states.

Missouri is a toss-up state. I've lived there. Though Obama has made a hard push there, I believe it's still a red state; McCain gets the show-me state.

Indiana might be turning blue, but it's not there yet. I give that state to McCain, too.

Ohio and Pennsylvania have been hard-hit by the bad economy. I believe they're going to go for Obama.

I've left two as toss-ups at this point. I've lived in North Carolina, and I have a feeling it's going to be a very close race. Florida will be a very, very close race, too. If I had to pick at this point, I'd give North Carolina to McCain and Florida to Obama.

I'll also note that I'm uncertain about Nevada, Colorado and Virginia being in the Obama-leaning side, but I left them that way.

Here's my prediction as of Sunday night.

Obama from 311 to 353 electoral votes

McCain from 185 to 227 electoral votes

Here's my electoral map projection.

You can make your own electoral map.