SAN FRANCISCO — On Nov. 4, African-Americans, descendants of those whom America's original sin was perpetrated against, came out en masse to elect Barack Obama. In Florida, Arkansas, and California, they also voted overwhelmingly against gay rights, against equality for those whom America's most recent sin has been beset upon.

Today we see a culture war playing out across America, the most recent chapter depicting citizens refuting justices on the issue.

California's ballot initiative, called Proposition 8, was identical to a measure passed by voters in 2000. The first referendum was overruled by the state's supreme court, just as Proposition 8 will likely be after petitions work through the courts.

In total, 30 states have bans against same-sex marriage; many state courts across the country have taken up cases, coming out largely split on the issue.

Upward of 10,000 protestors gathered in front of City Hall here in San Francisco last weekend, carrying signs that read "honor all marriages" and "you can't stop love."

They were hardly alone. Across the country, hundreds of thousands marched on city halls, protesting not only Proposition 8, but all of this election's setbacks for the gay community.

Surrounding the debate are three issues that have been folded into one — three issues that should be unwoven and considered individually.

First is the question of whether gay couples should have the same legal rights as married couples. Denying rights based on a couple's sexuality is no less heinous or un-American than denying rights based on race or religion. As the courts have argued, in California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont, some system in which the gay community is afforded equal rights — retirement benefits, health care benefits, estate tax provisions and hospital visitation rights — must be established.

The second dispute is over the title "marriage." The most reasoned argument on this issue suggests that marriage is, as often cited, an institution of the church, and thus the power to grant the title should lie with the pulpit, the minbar, and the bimah. The state, rather than employing the word "marriage," should recognize all unions — be them hetero or homosexual — not as marriages, but as civil unions.

But a full revision of state and federal laws to replace marriage with a less divisive term will never happen. It'll never come to fruition because of the third issue — the one which lies at heart of what we are debating. That is the acceptability of gay families in American culture.

Marriage is the bulwark separating conventional domesticity from the world of homosexuality. Acceptance of gay marriage will lead to greater cultural acceptance of gay families, which will, in turn, ensure that children are raised by gay parents, or so the logic goes.

Arkansas's refute to the gay community this fall came with regards to the silent core of the battle — adoption. In June 2006, the Arkansas Supreme Court judged it unconstitutional to prevent gay and lesbian couples from fostering children, citing that "There is no factual basis for saying that gay parents might be less able to guide their children through adolescence than heterosexual parents."

The ballot initiative this November circumvented the court, banning fostering or adoption of children by unmarried couples.

Despite the body of evidence cited by the court in Little Rock, something in many people's moral fiber cautions against the idea of accepting a family so different from their own. It may be the same lesser angels that tore at generations before us, whispering to fear blacks and to blame Jews. It might be something else.

Regardless of its origin, the sentiment is there, indisputably ingratiated in the consciousness and beliefs of broader America. If liberal California finds itself unready to accept full gay rights, it's difficult to believe that the nation at large will stomach a repeal of the federal protection of marriage act as Barack Obama has suggested.

America must find a way to reconcile its unease with homosexuality and the principles of our most sacred document.

In America, culture wars are wars of attrition, but Martin Luther King's arc bends towards justice, and will continue to bow in the years to come.

Brian Till, one of the nation's youngest syndicated columnists, is a research associate for the New America Foundation, a think tank in Washington. He can be contacted at till@newamerica.net. To find out more about the author and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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