I went to the Q Center on Wednesday night, for the same reason I went to the rally on the steps of the Capitol in Salem for Senate Bill 1000, and many other similar events: to be part of the crowd. Sometimes, being present is both the most and the least a person can do. Every just cause needs leaders to speak at the microphone, and supporters to show up as evidence of concern.

The candlelight vigil, to draw attention to the delay in implementing Oregon law establishing civil domestic partnerships, was an uplifting experience. Justice and equality cannot be denied, in the end. It's a matter of how long it takes. Too long, already. One speaker's testimony was particularly poignant - a hospice nurse telling of a dying man trying to hang on to life in December, in the hope of being able to register his lifetime partnership in January. He may not make it to February, or whenever the court case is decided.

Still, as a friend wrote to me afterwards:

"I really liked the complete lack of defeat there. It felt more like a rally than a vigil. The support from officials all the way up the ladder was very nice. To be honest, I think the feeling of insult at outside influences is as powerful right now as that of support for equality. That was really clear tonight. It felt a little like a line being drawn in the sand."

And each one of us present was a grain of sand, on one side of the line. Very cool.