What is to be done? Sure, Obama has won, but since Florida and Arizona have already passed same-sex marriage bans and California seems like it will pass a similar ban/de-recognition, what is to happen now?

Apparently, even though California has one of the highest concentrations of same-sex-identified residents and couples in the world, the state’s general populace has apparently shown that it cannot be trusted to weigh same-sex relationships along same or similar criteria as "traditional", heterosexual relationships.

But now, after California has rejected the recognition of same-sex marriage (and, by extension, the many long-term same-sex relationships in the state), it is time for the LGBT rights organizations to reassess the security of the place of the LGBT demographic in U.S. society, even in such a place as California, and to rethink just how welcome they are within the de-facto democratic process in these states.

Outside of the marriage issue, for example, the movement towards the establishment of the first LGBT-centric high school in the state of Illinois was brought to a halt a few weeks ago by Chicago’s mayor Daley, who "fears" the effects of "segregation" of LGBT students from non-LGBT students. Only two other such schools have already been established in the U.S., one in New York City (which has faced opposition from conservatives) and one in Milwaukee.

The issue of same-sex relationships in prisons has not been resolved at all; neither have LGBT adoption, LGBT migration and asylum provisions, nor standards of municipal provisions for gay/LGBT villages, nor any special assessment of the needs of the LGBT elderly. Even organized self-defense of LGBT individuals, relationships, gatherings or communities has not been considered save by a few LGBT gun rights organizations like the Pink Pistols. Even the homeless and under-poverty-line LGBT demographic (including the LGBT youth) has not been fully considered, nor has empowerment of the LGBT identity in all areas.

But now let’s look at the issue of the seemingly few-and-far-between LGBT population in rural areas, where the movement for "traditional" marriage may draw its highest support and where the stereotypically. Is this demographic as spread out and unconcentrated as we may assume, or is it possible to encourage a better entrenchment of the LGBT population in rural areas?

What can be defined as LGBT values within a rural context in Middle America? How different is the rural LGBT experience compared to the urban LGBT experience, and how should LGBT organizations in these areas be focused and organized towards their empowerment in these areas? And can a full reachout to the LGBT population, closeted and non-closeted, in non-urban areas, including Califiornia, help to redefine how the public views the LGBT demographic?

I think that the answer to all of the above questions is an emphatic "Yes." Rural, Middle American visibility matters in any political situation. Establishing a stronger presence in such areas could potentially push the LGBT rights agenda’s advocacy to new heights of respectability in the political arena.

I think it is time that PFLAG, the HRC, GLAAD and other LGBT-centric organizations begin to assess their rural efforts and outreach if they hope to reverse the tide of same-sex marriage bans that have been passed by most state’s electorates within the last decade. But the only question that remains on such an effort is "How?"