The Prop 8 election returns are in, but the campaign isn't over. Opponents of Prop 8 -- that is, supporters of same-sex marriage -- staged protests on the west side of Los Angeles yesterday afternoon and evening., temporarily shutting down traffic on two major thoroughfares. Protestors targeted Mormons with signs and marched on the Mormon temple on Santa Monica Boulevard.

This is dumb on so many levels it's hard to know where to start. First off, it would have been nice to see this kind of coordination and effort before the election. Second, targeting Mormons didn't work during the election--in fact, it appeared to turn off religious voters -- folks whom same-sex marriage supporters need if they're going to develop the consensus needed. Why keep repeating the same mistake? Third, the protests likely angered the hundreds of thousands of people who have to commute through the westside of LA; it's a safe bet that most of those inconvenienced are sympathetic to same-sex marriage supporters. (If you want to block traffic, do it on the East side for goodness sakes). And fourth, the election is over, and it doesn't help the cause of marriage equality to keep the Prop 8 campaign alive. It's time to turn the page on Prop 8 -- it wasn't a good moment for supporters of same-sex marriage -- and find new strategies to achieve marriage equality. Court challenges are promising. I'm told that today, an initiative to repeal Prop 8 may be filed. It would likely go on the ballot in the spring of 2010.