Eavesdropping is sometimes unavoidable. Recently, a conversation between three men at a local café presented one of those situations. The four of us were the only ones there.

One of the guys lost his long-time partner sometime in the summer. Now he is battling with his former partner's mother and sister over a house the two men owned in Hamlin. They didn't have a will and mother and sister want "their share," he said.

The scenario is not an unfamiliar one to gay couples. Even if this man and his partner did have a will, it might not survive a court battle in some states. And then there is the cost of the legal fight.

Some surviving gay partners have to weigh their options carefully. Being kicked out of a home you helped pay for is not unheard of in the LGBT community.

While the celebration of Barack Obama's victory continues, the success of California's Proposition 8 and similar propositions in two other states, gives many gay rights advocates something to think about.

How long will it take?

To many gay people, opposition to same-sex marriage is a bit perplexing. In a society that puts a premium on long-term committed relationships, it doesn't seem to make sense.

Oh yeah, the gay thing.

Being gay is not a lifestyle choice. Coloring your hair or driving a Lincoln instead of a VW are a lifestyle choices.

Being gay is as much of a mystery for most gay people as being straight is for heterosexuals.

It's being reported that some county clerks in California have already begun denying same-sex couples licenses to marry.

Gay-rights advocates are promising to challenge the decision on Proposition 8.

In the meantime, Obama's victory, as important as it is, doesn't mean that all bigotry has vanished from the face of the earth.

The hope is, and there is hope despite Proposition 8, that we will someday look back on the furor over same-sex marriage as just another page in our country's young history.

We will get there.