There is an old saying that if March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb. There is so much making news in our community this week the roar is near deafening.

As we go to print, opponents to Proposition 8 are rallying Downtown in front of the Hall of Justice in advance of the California Supreme Court hearing oral arguments on the ballot proposition, which passed with 52 percent in November and eliminated the right to marry for same-sex couples in California. As the Court hears oral arguments, conservative groups are already gunning for Chief Justice Ronald George’s retention election in 2010. George wrote the majority opinion in the May 2008, 4-3 decision to grant same-sex marriage in California.

Mayor Jerry Sanders, San Diego County Democratic Party Chair Jess Durfree, and former Council Member Toni Atkins, who married her partner Jennifer Lesar this past summer, will be joining a group of community and faith leaders, elected officials and loving, committed couples to speak out for marriage equality. But March Forth on March Fourth isn’t just limited to San Diego, and it likely won’t be limited to California. As we saw in the aftermath of Proposition 8’s passage last November, this is not just a California issue.

On Tuesday, the Boston Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders – the same group that successfully led the legal battles to Massachusetts becoming the first state to legalize same-sex marriage in 2004 – sued the federal government on behalf of more than a dozen individuals who have been denied federal benefits afforded heterosexual couples. Among the plaintiffs is Dean Hara, widower of former Rep. Gerry Studds, the first openly gay member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and a U.S. postal service employee. Hara was not allowed to add her spouse to her health insurance. The suit identifies more than 1,000 federal programs and legal protections in which marriage is a factor.

In Sacramento, State Sen. Mark Leno reintroduced a bill Tuesday designating Harvey Milk’s birthday as a “day of significance” and creating Harvey Milk Day. The bill passed the Assembly and Senate last summer, but was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Sean Penn, who played Milk in the recent film and won an Oscar for his performance, stood at Leno’s side as the bill was reintroduced. Somehow, it’s not so hard to see why the Academy would continue to honor Penn, whose self-deprecating acceptance speech suggests he may have a learned a thing or two from his role.

As these entire events swirl about us, we, too, must take a lesson or two from Milk’s playbook.

Milk, who ran unsuccessfully three times before he was finally elected to the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors, was a patient man. But we would be naïve to mistake his patience for a lack of perseverance and passion. Milk was patient with the process. He did not snap to conclusions or give in to each lost battle. Instead, he understood that with each failed election, each failed battle, he came a few steps closer to his goal, to winning the war on injustice, to changing history.

We can imagine there are times when Milk felt as though he was the only person who believed that a set-back could lead to changing history. Those around him seemed to see the proverbial half-empty cup as evaporating with each passing election. We, too, struggle with our frustrations and our fears, as we see our rights evaporated with ballot measures and gubernatorial vetoes.

As a community, though, we must replace frustration with action and fear with resolve. We must see patience not as a passive state, but as an active process of perseverance.

1. Contact your elected officials and urge them to support the repeal of Proposition 8, the passage of Harvey Milk Day, and the fight for equality in the federal lawsuit. Let the governor know that refusing to sign Harvey Milk Day into law this time is not an option. To contact Gov. Schwarzenegger, visit www.ca.gov/contact.html.

2. Contact your friends and family and encourage them to do the same. Of course we encourage the community to rally outside of halls of justice everywhere, but we are also mindful that these seven men and women on the court are focused on constitutional law and that will be their focus. As much as our rallies are a vital part of the public campaign, let us not forget their process. At the same time, we are mindful that the Internet is a powerful tool. We must not only make use of those strategies that have brought us this far, but we must also make use of 21st century strategies and tools if we are to win the most important civil rights struggle of the 21st century.

3. Continue to raise monies for marriage equality and for the many other causes in the community. There will be battles ahead, and one of the primary lessons learned from November was to not underestimate the enemy. There will battles ahead, and we must have the resources in place – time, talent, and treasures – to face down our foes.

Understand the process and support those who support our fight for equality. As we face our foes, we must also support our allies, and this includes Chief Justice George. In 2010, Californians will vote “yes” or “no” to retain George. It is not an election of opponents on the ballot. It’s a simple yes or no. And in this fight, we must be on the winning side of that yes-no. We must begin to lay the groundwork to ensure our allies remain in positions of power and influence.

“I know you’re angry, and I’m angry, too.” These are the immortal words that roared from Milk’s bullhorn nearly 30 years ago, and they ring as true today as then. Milk taught us how to channel anger into productive action, frustration into patient perseverance and seeming despair into winning the war on injustice.

The California Supreme Court has 90 days to issue its decision. The governor will have a rare opportunity to reflect on his past decision and correct his error on the issue of Harvey Milk Day. The federal lawsuit will take its course, and we believe justice will be served. Each of the individuals involved in these deliberations deserves the right to calm contemplation.

After all, history is in their hands and it is not to be taken lightly. We must wait patiently as these processes move forward.

But make no mistake, we are not a community of lambs, and we will be watching, waiting – and working all the while.