SUMMARY: It'll take more than this week's defeats in Hawai'i and Alaska to stop proponents of equal marriage rights, and aggressive actions are already underway.

November 6 will be a "National Day for Action for the Freedom to Marry," with local visibility events scheduled across the U.S. Although it was planned in advance of November 3's resounding votes to amend the constitutions of Alaska and Hawai'i to bar same-gender marriages, it provides a timely opportunity to rally the troops in the face of those debacles. Most of the actions will be held at local marriage license bureaus. In San Francisco, gay and lesbian couples will be lining up at noon to seek marriage licenses from the city clerk. In New York City, also at noon, they'll be gathering for the same purpose at the city's Marriage Bureau, with a picket and press conference where speakers will testify as to the problems their unmarried status poses for them and their children. (New York City's Marriage Equality will follow up with a series of twice-monthly strategy meetings beginning on November 18.)

The struggle for equal marriage rights will continue not only in the streets but also in the courts and the legislatures. Immediately following the elections, Lambda and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) both reaffirmed their intentions to carry on the legal struggle to win all the rights they can for same-gender couples -- with the understanding that it's a project which will take years if not decades to fully achieve. A key lawsuit by gay and lesbian couples seeking marriage licenses in Vermont is due to be heard on November 18.

In Hawai'i, although the legal story is certainly not over yet, the field of action will be shifting to the legislature, where a renewed effort is expected to recognize domestic partnerships in the wake of the marriage ban. The ACLU chapter there is determined to see what can be worked out between lawmakers on the one hand and the state Supreme Court (where the case of Baehr v. Miike is still pending) on the other, if perhaps marriage by some other name will suit both the court's mandate against discrimination and the electorate's distaste for same-gender marriage. Activists have been working on the issue for a number of years already, and are prepared to continue.

In Alaska, Alaskans for Civil Rights was formed in a matter of months to oppose the anti-marriage amendment, and the group is proud to have mobilized some 40,000 voters and raised $160,000 from more than 2,400 state residents (as opposed to the big money from Outside that fueled the pro-amendment campaign). The group is now committed to maintaining a strong statewide progressive coalition that will increase visibility and educate the public on issues. Co-chair Trang Duong said, "We have survived this first statewide battle and now have experience for future issues which we must confront together."