Notes to President-Elect Obama: Last night I urged you to turn your attention to full civil and economic rights for women. Today I write to remind you of another group within American society that will now need the full support of their President in order gain full legal standing: gay and lesbian Americans. Along with thousands of others I donated funds to defeat Proposition 8 in California (a referendum banning gay marriage, and which passed despite your win in California). One of the reasons I supported Senator Clinton's bid for the Democratic nomination is her steadfast commitment to stand with GBLT community, by marching in PRIDE parades and, during the primary seasons, consistently speaking with GBLT press about issues of particular concern to the GBLT community. You chose a different path, declining to give interviews and you did not raise your voice against Proposition 8. I know that not every gay or lesbian person agrees that gay marriage is of the highest priority on the issues facing gays and lesbians. I, however, believe that denying same sex couples the right to marry is the moral equivalent of denying people of different races the right to marry. There is no basis in civil society (as opposed to particular religious traditions) to deny the civil benefits of marriage to same sex couples. In my own wedding ceremony, we asked the judge to quote large portions of Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court decision that struck down state laws against interrracial marriage. We made this request because we believe the institution of civil marriage is of political and legal import and that when two people join in that institution they should do so in recognition and honor of that fact. But the institution becomes less worthy of honor when it is infected with bigotry and discrimination. Proposition 8 carries this malignancy. As I wrote yesterday, when I congratulated you on your victory, my hope is that you will live up to the highest hopes of your most fervent supporters. I believe they supported you because you promised to bring unity where there was division and to create a more just America, and they believed your promise. Now that you have won election to the Presidency, I hope that you become a leader in the fight for full legal and social standing for members of the GBLT community. They are among the many Americans who must be encompassed by the unity and justice that for which you have claimed to stand.