Proposition 8 may be a monumental holiday bah-humbug. The voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage may have some wondering what we have to be thankful for this year.

After all, the California Supreme Court ruled in May, 2008 Proposition 22 – the 2000 law defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman – was unconstitutional, opening the door for same-sex couples to marry in June. The honeymoon ended, however, in November, and same-sex couples were, again, relegated to second-class citizenry; 52 percent of voters sided with discrimination.

As if that wasn’t enough coal to stuff a stocking, voters in Florida and Arizona also approved constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage, and voters in Arkansas banned same-sex couples from adopting or becoming foster parents.

With setbacks nationwide in our fight for full equality, just what is there to be thankful for?

Well, for starters, the California Supreme Court’s ruling in May was a clear victory, allowing 18,000 same-sex couples the opportunity to marry. Now, the high court has agreed to hear legal challenges aimed at invalidating Proposition 8. We may be in legal limbo now, but we can be thankful we’ll have our day in court; and we take comfort knowing equality isn’t won by popular vote – it’s won by leaders who choose to lead, and in the courts designed to protect the minority from a hostile majority.

We can also be thankful knowing in the last eight years – from the time Proposition 22 was passed by 61 percent of voters in 2000 to the time Proposition 8 was passed by 52 percent of voters in 2008 – our community was able to change the hearts and minds of nearly 10 percent of people who voted for a same-sex marriage ban in 2000. This leaves us with the hope that in 2010 or 2012, in the event voters are asked to decide the issue again, we will have reached many more and will be victorious at the polls.

The silver lining in Proposition 8’s passage is our community’s perseverance. We can be thankful for our resilient spirit, and for our family members, friends and allies who are waging this war alongside us.

As is the case with Proposition 8, it requires, at times, a tremendous loss for our community to count its blessings. In that spirit, we’re thankful for the lives of many we’ve lost – in particular, the life of Lawrence “Larry” King, a 15-year-old boy who was gunned down in his Oxnard, Calif., classroom in February. King, who identified as gay, often wore flashy clothing or makeup to school. He was a young boy who lived his truth, despite the name-calling and stares. His life was cut short by hate. In the wake of his murder, there is, again, a silver lining. We can be thankful for Larry’s life – a testament to courage and strength in the face of overwhelming adversity. We can be thankful for legislators who have since introduced bills that would require diversity courses in middle school; for the promise of creating a culture absent of hate among our youth. And we can be thankful for our children – children, regardless of their sexuality, who should be protected and loved, and raised to become fair-minded, productive adults who leave their mark on this world.

We can be thankful for progress – perhaps not at the polls, but in the labs. We can be thankful for the progress we’ve made in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The U.S. is lagging on its HIV testing goals, but researchers are working year-round to develop a cure. Two weeks ago, news surfaced of a German doctor curing an American man of AIDS, who was undergoing treatment for leukemia too. The doctor replaced the patient’s bone marrow cells with those from a donor who has a naturally occurring genetic mutation that renders his cells immune to almost all strains of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The man’s body has shown no signs of the disease for more than 600 days. Despite the fact the treatment isn’t practical or available for all people living with HIV/AIDS, the case gives new hope for gene-therapy strategies, which may someday cure the disease. With more than 25 million dead since the first cases of AIDS were identified in 1981, it’s important we keep the promise and fight the disease until there is a cure.

As is the case with many things – our fight for marriage equality, erasing violence and discrimination against our youth, and finding a cure for HIV/AIDS – we haven’t won the war. But this Thanksgiving and during the holiday season, we can be thankful for the little battles we have won, and for our fighting spirit.