Yesterday, the California Supreme Court announced it would take up the legal challenges to Proposition 8. But while lawyers debate the future of marriage equality, activists are planning next steps regardless of the outcome. There’s a lot of grass-roots energy emanating from the recent protests, and now is the time to channel that activism into tangible results. Efforts must begin to prepare for a statewide initiative repealing Prop 8 in 2010. If a favorable ruling renders that unnecessary, we must build public support to avoid a backlash – which may include right-wing efforts to recall Supreme Court justices. Building such a movement requires listening to the grassroots – everyday activists who aren’t “leaders,” but whose input is just as valuable; something that “No on 8” failed to do. It’s such bottom-up organizing that made online groups like MoveOn so successful, and why they have been so effective. Tonight, MoveOn hosts conference calls on how progressives can build past Barack Obama’s victory -- while Marriage Equality USA will hold chapter meetings across the state for its next steps (although the San Francisco event previously scheduled for tonight has been postponed.) This time, it’s too important not to have every voice heard.

I’ve been involved in politics for twelve years, and have learned from experience to be quite cynical about post-election “meetings.” Win or lose, everyone wants to meet after an election – and they are always well attended with plenty of energy. But there usually isn’t much that really comes out of them. The event often has a panel of “leaders” who explain what went right or wrong – and then you have questions from the audience, a format that unduly rewards people who like to hear themselves talk. In the aftermath of Prop 8, however, people are upset because the usual suspects did not succeed.

For their post-election debrief (which will be held in a few weeks -- due to a last-minute issue), Marriage Equality USA and a coalition of allies will employ a different tactic. “Now is time to come together to heal and constructively examine the Prop 8 campaign,” they said. “What went well and where we can improve, and to determine what we need to do at a grassroots level to advance our marriage equality movement within California and nationwide. We will have a community forum on strategic planning where we gather feedback – and funnel it into one document that can house our collective wisdom.”

Believe it or not, this meeting won’t have any panelists – and just the first 15 minutes will be a “review” of what happened. Afterwards, participants will break into small groups so that everyone can say (a) what worked and what didn’t this election, and (b) identify our response and our resources. It’s precisely this kind of bottom-up discussion that’s needed to keep the momentum going. The Prop 8 protests that happened across the country last weekend were not coordinated by the large LGBT organizations that have led the effort – but were organized by self-motivated people angry at what happened. Now’s the time to translate that energy into strengthening the movement – so that this never happens again.

Using a grassroots base that doesn’t have “inside access” is the secret to how groups like MoveOn have been so successful. The online organization, founded by two software engineers upset at the Clinton impeachment, wasn’t launched by well-connected activists. But by relying on its mass collective wisdom, it has pushed the envelope on important issues – while giving members an “ownership” in its campaigns. With Barack Obama’s election and a new progressive era on the horizon, MoveOn members will host local gatherings tonight to engage the grassroots – creating a similar roadmap for what next steps to take.

Now that the Supreme Court has announced they will hear lawsuits to overrule Prop 8, it is tempting to “sit back” and let the lawyers do their work – especially if you hear our side has strong legal arguments. But judges won’t do the right thing unless it’s politically feasible – and a sympathetic public movement is crucial to avoid blowback that the Court “ignored” the “will of the people.” If we win at the Supreme Court, don’t expect the right to take this defeat lying down – they will almost certainly target justices for recall. Which is why we need a very strong grassroots political movement to tell the Court we “got their back.”

But what if the Supreme Court doesn’t overrule Prop 8? Our remedy at that point is to promote a ballot initiative in 2010 to reinstate marriage equality – making a full-scale statewide campaign the next logical step. And if we really have to do that again, there’s a lot to learn from what just happened – where running a weak campaign ensured the defeat of what was an eminently winnable struggle. It’s painful to imagine having to go to the ballot again, but if we engage the grassroots we can finally win this.