As reported earlier, Attorney General Jerry Brown submitted his response to three lawsuits made my marriage equality advocates seeking to overturn Prop. 8. The Attorney General:

"Steered clear of taking a position on the validity of the voter-approved ballot measure, which restored California's ban on gay marriages. Instead, the attorney general argued that the justices must agree to review legal challenges to Proposition 8 to "provide certainty and finality in this matter."

While Brown's position is that all the marriages performed before Nov. 4 are still legal, he asked the court not to issue a stay on the gay marriage ban as it would cause further confusion. None of the proceedings today dealt with the issue of the validity of Prop. 8, but rather, whether the court should address the question.

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Over 100,000 protesters across the country and across the globe attended rallies and marched on Saturday in protest of California's Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage. From Fairbanks, Alaska, where 32 people stood with signs in 6 degree weather as snow fell to San Diego, where 25,000 people marched on an unseasonably hot autumn day that reached into the 90s, supporters of civil rights demanded equality.

"This is the first time in U.S. history that the majority voted to strip the rights of a minority. Who will be next?" asked Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center CEO Lori Jean, who also credited young people as the driving force of the movement, saying "We now pass the torch to you!" The protests, organized via the website www.jointheimpact.com, spread through sites like Facebook, Myspace & Twitter.

Many of you sent in photos, videos and stories of the day. After the jump, we present some of these snapshots from across the country. You may want to grab a hankie.

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Life's becoming more and more like a bad production of The Crucible every day. After news that a Catholic priest in South Carolina is denying communion to anyone who voted for Obama, comes a report that a Fresno, California woman was forced to resign from her position as President of a P.T.A. board after she attended a "No on 8" rally.

Robin McGehee's 5 year old son Sebastian attends St. Helen's Catholic School. After being alerted that Robin went to a vigil against Prop. 8 with her wife her wife Kathy Adams, the Diocese of Fresno ordered her to resign because she had gone against church teachings. Tiffany Rodriquez, the P.T.A. Vice-President resigned in protest over the decision.

In a letter to parents and teachers, McGehee wrote:

"It is with great regret that I compose this letter. Because of my decision to speak against a Proposition that would - and has - hurt my family, I have been asked to resign as President of the Parent Teacher Organization."

St. Helen's had long been aware that McGehee was a lesbian and she says she's never made any effort to conceal her family. She is now looking for a new school for her son.

Queerty commenter Michael alerted us to this super-duper pressingly important PSA from the Upright Citizen's Brigade that all Prop. 8 supporters should see. It's important now that they've won one battle, that they be ideologically consistent with their beliefs and make marriage safe by eliminating the family-destroying, children's-tears-inducing world of divorce.

This is basically the smartest, most insightful thing that's been put together on the issue and all the gays in the world who didn't donate to Prop. 8 but who really wanted gay marriage to pass should buy up all the airtime on TV and play forever or until Prop. 8 supporters brains explode like in that one episode of Star Trek with the blonde robot babes whose brains explode when faced with a logical inconsistency. You know the one–they parodied it on Futurama and everything. Anyway, this video rocks.

We're just awash in exciting Proposition 8 statistics here today. Maybe protest organizers will find this useful in planning their next 8-hour marathon march. Here's your handy-dandy visual representation of LA's homophobia.

As you can see, South Central is not too keen on the gays, whereas WeHo and Santa Monica are BFFs with them. The Valley is obviously teeming with bigots, so it's a good thing nobody cares about it.
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As a service to our readers, Queerty is going to attempt to create a comprehensive listing of all the upcoming protests against Prop. 8 and other gay marriage bans across the country.

Since collectively, the you folks are  smarter and more resourceful than me, I'm asking you to lend me a hand by listing this week's protests in the comments. To make this easier, please include a link, so we can confirm it.

If this sounds like we're advocating our readership to get out there and peacefully protest in acts of visible disobedience, that's because we are–angrily demanding equal rights is the new after-work cocktail, people.

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A ruling from the California Supreme Court on the constitutional legality of Proposition 8 could come as soon as this week, according to court spokeswoman Lynn Holton. The ruling would be a response to three lawsuits filed immediately after Prop 8. passed one week ago today that argue that the ballot initiative process was followed improperly. The court overruled an earlier Proposition, Prop. 22 in May that defined marriage as between a man and a woman, but as the Washington Post reports this morning:

"Legal experts say this time the proposition would not be as easy to overturn. Unlike Proposition 22, which in 2000 created a statute that was trumped by the state constitution, Proposition 8 is part of the constitution.

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (their style guide prefers you call them that) is shocked-SHOCKED that the gay community is holding them accountable for the passage of Proposition 8. "It is disturbing that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is being singled out for speaking up as part of its democratic right in a free election", a statement from the Church reads. And truth be told, the gay community is singling out the church, which contributed an estimated 70% of the money for the Yes on 8 campaign. Queerty breaks down the talking points you'll be hearing up until the moment jihad breaks out somewhere near St. George, Utah.

"Mormons bought Prop. 8 with their Mormon gold": Well, yes Virginia, they did. There's a reason that Prop. 8 was the costliest election battle in the nation this year, save for that whole Presidential thing–and that reason comes from Salt Lake. The church sent letters to members, held video conferences and called from volunteers from the pulpit to help pass Prop. 8. That still doesn't make the website Mormons for 8, which has downloadable spreadsheets listing all Mormon Yes on 8 donors, any less creepy.

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Gays are the new John Conner. Yesterday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke out in opposition to Prop 8., which… oh you know what it did, already. The Boston Globe reports:

In past statements, he has said he believes marriage should be between a man and a woman and he has rejected legislation authorizing same-sex marriage. Yet he also has said he would not care if same-sex marriage were legal, saying he believed that such an important societal issue should be determined by the voters or the courts.

Schwarzenegger publicly opposed Proposition 8, which amends the state Constitution to declare that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

Yesterday, he urged backers of gay marriage to follow the lesson he learned as a bodybuilder trying to lift weights that at first were too heavy for him. "I learned that you should never, ever give up. . . . They should never give up. They should be on it and on it until they get it done."

His eyes glowing red, Arnold then set off for the Yes on 8 headquarters, muttering to anyone within earshot, "I'll be back." Don't tell me Terminator references get old. They never do.

One of the good/scary/useful things coming out of Proposition 8's passage is that it's started a conversation within the gay community about its identity and future. Not all of it's pretty, however– and with 70% of black voters supporting Prop. 8, much of the discussion centers on race, with it sometimes boiling over into N-bombs being hurled on the street. Seriously people?  Queerty breaks down your race war conversation into easy talking points.

"Obama caused Prop. 8 to pass!": With black folks coming out in huge numbers to support Barack Obama, enough Black people voted to pass the proposition, goes this argument. The problem is that there just aren't that many black people to have changed the outcome one way or another. In California, blacks are the only ethnic group to be declining in population.

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Starting at Sunset Junction in Silver Lake at 6pm and arriving eight and a half hours later in West Hollywood at around 2:30am, the Los Angeles Prop 8. protest ended with a sit-in the middle of the street. Throughout the night, groups would join the protest as it made its way through Hollywood and environs. While passing through the Sunset Strip, the rally picked up everyone's favorite angel, Drew Barrymore–and paparazzi– who marched with the approximately 3000 swing shift protesters. As the exhausted but defiant crowd occupied the intersection of San Vicente and Santa Monica, Drew took to the microphone, tearfully telling the assembled crowd, "I will fight with you!"

Earlier in the night, the protest swelled to 15,000 people. It's the fourth continuous day of protests since Prop 8. was passed, outlawing gay marriage in California. Further protests are planned for tomorrow and the foreseeable future.

Also– Hey folks, I'm Japhy Grant, your new editor. Howdy! I'm exhausted. More Drew love after the jump.

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Gay Grey's Anatomy actor TR Knight threw his heart and soul into this year's election, so you can be sure he's feeling pretty blue about all the anti-gay electoral action, like the fact that Proposition 8 passed:

As I write this, I just read the concession from No on Prop. 8. I find it difficult to put the sadness I feel into words.

I know that gay people will one day gain all the rights due us as American citizens. I know that the people who stand in our way today will be the people the majority will later mock as foolish and bigoted. I was speaking to an African-American friend tonight. She told me, “It takes so long. But people will come around. You have to continue to fight. It just takes a very long time.”

I hope I can muster the patience and keep my anger focused so I can continue to fight. Fight clean. Fight with just the truth. And never let myself spew the kind of hate I encountered on that Tuesday in November as we peacefully fought for our civil rights.

George Takei, who played Sulu on Star Trek, also vowed to keep on fighting: "There are going to be heartbreaks, setbacks and sacrifices to be made. But we will soldier on." Indeed we will. And what a fabulous army we make!