Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Jason Guard.  Guard works in adult literacy and GED services. He serves on the board of the Virginia Organizing Project, although his views are completely his own. He goes by @RVAfoodie on Twitter and writes a blog at http://www.RVAfoodie.com.

A sign from today's VCU Rally.

Virginia has taken another two steps backward under the leadership of Bob McDonnell and Ken Cuccinelli. But we shouldn’t act surprised. We knew their anti-gay executive orders and letters to the universities were coming. For many Republicans, bigotry is the bread and butter of electoral politics. Fanning the flames of homophobia is how they turn out their core voters and make a name for themselves as bold figureheads. Unfortunately, after baby-steps forward under Kaine and Warner before him, we’ve been lulled into a false sense of security that our state was making progress on social issues. Our brief affair with blue-statehood as we went big for Obama seems to have faded like it was all just a dream now that Republicans have reasserted their power over Virginia’s people and further stalled our state’s efforts at long term progressive change.

What are gays and straight allies to do? I’m not gay, but I am a lifelong friend and ally to LGBTs, and I won’t stand by and watch people take further abuse at the hands of opportunistic social conservatives. I can’t tell gay people how to respond to Republicans’ constant encroachment on their rights. I’ve got my own emotional response to deal with as a witness to our state’s mistreatment of its people. But, whatever the course of action, gays should not be alone in fighting oppression. Straight allies need to stand up and speak up. And if that’s too much to ask, then we need to examine our allegiance to a system that continues to discriminate against and marginalize LGBTs into second class citizenship.

The system I’m talking about isn’t “the man” or “the government” or some abstraction you can rebuke with a bumper sticker. I’m talking about our social circles, our Twitter networks, and Facebook friends. If you think challenging the “family values” of social conservatives is risky or uncouth, than not only are you part of the problem, but you need to imagine you were the target of Republican politicians’ discrimination. If we are silent on gay rights, we send a message through our civic relationships and personal connections that we will tolerate routine discrimination. Perhaps the polite civility that Richmonders enjoy is part of the reason we’ve arrived at this point to begin with. But we can’t continue to be all smiles pretending the cheerleaders for conservative rule mean no harm to any of us personally. Friend or foe? They can’t have it both ways.

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