I strongly urge you to read "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and Ted Olson and David Boies' Fight for Equal Rights
Trevor Neilson has written a thoughtful piece on the federal appeal filed by Ted Olson and David Boise challenging the constitutionality of Prop 8.
Neilson draws on MLK Jr's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and argues that there is much to be gained by framing the debate as a civil rights issue and not solely an issue owned by the gay community.
The actions of the conservative stalwart Olson look like a positive step in that direction and this Op-Ed suggests why his involvement should not be dissuaded.
A short excerpt from the article:
"With all due respect to the gay rights groups who have worked tirelessly and courageously for decades to advance this cause, perhaps it is time to stop thinking of this as a "gay" issue. That thinking helped these groups lose both the campaign against Proposition 8 and the legal challenge they waged at the California Supreme Court.
Perhaps these groups should recognize that believing that they "own" this issue plays exactly in to the strategy of those who want to stop them from having equal rights. The worst nightmare of the right-wing groups who sponsored Proposition 8 was that straight Americans would see the fight against it as their fight."