BY JENNY PIZER

A lot can change in eight years.

In 2000, gays and lesbians couldn't marry anywhere in the world, no one had heard of the term “civil union,” and 62 percent of California voters passed Proposition 22, a mean-spirited attempt to pre-empt us from marrying the person we love — even out of state. Today, five countries and the state of Massachusetts allow same-sex couples to marry. Ten other states (including California) offer nearly all or some of the rights of marriage, if not the dignity and inclusion of the name itself. Here at home, the legislature has twice passed a bill that would legalize marriage between two people of the same sex, and the California Supreme Court is about to issue a ruling that could do the same.

But a lot has not changed. Our opponents are more active than ever, and as you read this, they're busy counting signatures gathered by a massive, million-plus dollar campaign to put an initiative on the November ballot that would amend the California Constitution to permanently limit marriage to heterosexual couples. Backers needed 1.2 million signatures by mid-April to qualify; as of the beginning of the month, they claimed to have 950,000 and an army of paid signature gatherers continuing to canvas the state on their behalf.

We have much in our favor: public opinion has shifted dramatically since voters passed Proposition 22 in 2000. When the legislature passed the marriage equality bills, first in 2005 and again last year, there were few, if any, negative consequences for lawmakers supporting our right to marry. Polls show California voters are evenly divided about whether we should be allowed to wed, with support rising steadily each year.

But the numbers are still dangerously close. If we face a ballot initiative in November, we face a grave threat to our rights—we all have to get involved. The outcome could rest on you, on me, on each of us. You can pitch in directly by donating time or money to the Equality for All campaign (www.equalityforall.com), a broad coalition of groups including Lambda Legal. But fighting a potential constitutional amendment can be as simple as talking. Talk to your friends, to your co-workers, to your parents, aunts, uncles, and seventh cousins, once removed. Explain to them that this affects you directly and that denying loving, gay and lesbian couples the same legal status as heterosexuals is blatantly unfair. Make sure they understand how important it is that they say “no” to the signature campaign, and to any ballot measure—now or in the future. While some are deeply invested in denying you your rights, far more are either on the fence or sympathetic. They're willing to listen. They're even ready to help out. All you have to do is ask.

Do you have a legal puzzler you’d like to see answered in print by a Lambda Legal attorney? Call the Legal Help Desk at 866/542-8336. Confidential inquiries for legal information are also welcome.