[Onthebarricades] US: Proposition 8 gay rights protests, November 2008

[global resistance roundup]

A massive wave of gay rights protests over the passage of a gay marriage 
proposition by voters in California. After initial mass marches across 
America, protesters turn to picketing and boycotting financial 
supporters of the proposition.




* Thousands marchacross US
* Seattle: Ground zero for gay rights protest
* California: Protests in Los Angeles, San Diego - tens of thousands 
demonstrate
* Church leaders grumble about gay rights protests
* Gay rights struggle takes to the Internet
* Protests "turn ugly" as church supporters targeted
* Utah: Gay rights protests target Mormon establishment
* Utah: Pro-gay Mormon group protests
* Indiana: Gay marriage protests in several cities
* Georgia: Protests on steps of State Capitol
* Illinois protests
* Cincinnati protests
* Santa Rosa protests
* Seattle protests
* St Louis protests
* Dayton protests
* Olympia protests
* Houston protests
* Dallas protests
* San Francisco protests
* Los Angeles protests enter 5th day
* New York protests
* Boston protests
* Vigil in Salt Lake City
* Anchorage protest
* Denver protest
* Charlotte protest
* Minneapolis protest
* Atlanta and Chicago protests
* Florida protest
* Iowa protest
* Providence protest
* Tucson protest
* Phoenix protest
* Sacramento protesters target ice cream parlor
* Comedian comes out during protests
* Vermont protest
* Chicago: Theatre protested over Prop 8 support - "no dollars for hate"
* Maryland protest
* Texas protests
* Orlando protest
* Chicago protest
* More protests in Sacramento
* New York - protests target Mormon church
* Michigan protest targets church
* Seattle Mormon church protested
* California: 10,000 in new protest
* Fresno protest
* Mesa protest





http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/16/national/main4607867.shtml

Across U.S., Thousands Protest Gay Ban
Advocates March Following Passage Of Calif.'s Prop. 8 Rescinding Rights 
Of Same-Sex Marriage
Comments 403
BOSTON, Nov. 16, 2008

Demonstrators turn out for marriage equality at Los Angeles City Hall as 
part of a "National Day of Action," Nov. 15, 2008, in response to the 
recent passage of Proposition 8 repealing the right of same-sex couples 
to marry in California. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)

(AP) Gay rights supporters waving rainbow colors marched, chanted and 
danced in cities coast to coast Saturday to protest the vote that banned 
gay marriage in California and to urge supporters not to quit the fight 
for the right to wed.

Crowds gathered near public buildings in cities large and small, 
including Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and Fargo, to vent their 
frustrations, celebrate gay relationships and renew calls for change.

"Civil marriages are a civil right, and we're going to keep fighting 
until we get the rights we deserve as American citizens," said Karen 
Amico, one of several hundred protesters in Philadelphia, holding up a 
sign reading "Don't Spread H8".

"We are the American family, we live next door to you, we teach your 
children, we take care of your elderly," said Heather Baker a special 
education teacher from Boston who addressed the crowd at Boston's City 
Hall Plaza. "We need equal rights across the country."

Connecticut, which began same-sex weddings this past week, and 
Massachusetts are the only two states that allow gay marriage. The other 
48 states do not, and 30 of them have taken the extra step of approving 
constitutional amendments. A few states allow civil unions or domestic 
partnerships that grant some rights of marriage.

Protests following the vote on Proposition 8 in California, which 
defined marriage as between a man and a woman, have sometimes been angry 
and even violent, and demonstrators have targeted faiths that supported 
the ban, including the Mormon Church.

However, representatives of Join the Impact, which organized Saturday's 
demonstrations, asked supporters to be respectful and refrain from 
attacking other groups during the rallies.

Seattle blogger Amy Balliett, who started the planning for the protests 
when she set up a Web page three days after the California vote, said 
persuasion is impossible without civility.

"If we can move anybody past anger and have a respectful conversation, 
then you can plant the seed of change," she said.

Balliett said supporters in 300 cities in the U.S. and other countries 
were holding marches, and she estimated 1 million people would 
participate, based on responses at the Web sites her group set up.

"We need to show the world when one thing happens to one of us, it 
happens to all of us," she said.

The protests were widely reported to be peaceful, and the mood in Boston 
was generally upbeat, with attendees dancing to the song "Respect." 
Signs cast the fight for gay marriage as the new civil rights movement, 
including one that read "Gay is the new black."

But anger over the ban and its backers was evident at the protests.

One sign in Chicago, where several thousand people gathered, read: 
"Catholic Fascists Stay Out of Politics."

"I just found out that my state doesn't really think I'm a person," said 
Rose Aplustill, 21, a Boston University student from Los Osos, Calif., 
who was one of thousands at the Boston rally.

(AP Photo/Darryl Bush)
In San Francisco (left), demonstrators took shots at some religious 
groups that supported the ban, including a sign aimed at the Mormon 
Church and its abandoned practice of polygamy that read: "You have three 
wives; I want one husband."

Chris Norberg, who married his partner in June, also referred to the 
racial divisions that arose after exit polls found that majorities of 
blacks and Hispanics supported the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

"They voted against us," Norberg said.

In Salt Lake City, where demonstrators gathered just blocks from the 
headquarters of the Mormon Church, one sign pictured the city's temple 
with a line adapted from former Republican vice president candidate 
Sarah Palin: "I can see discrimination from my house."

More than 500 demonstrators in Washington marched from the U.S. Capitol 
through the city carrying signs and chanting "One, two, three, four, 
love is what we're fighting for!"

A public plaza at the foot of New York's Brooklyn Bridge was packed by a 
cheering crowd of thousands, including people who waved rainbow flags 
and wore pink buttons that said "I do."

Protests were low-key in North Dakota, where people lined a bridge in 
Fargo carrying signs and flags.

Mike Bernard, who was in the crowd of hundreds at City Hall in 
Baltimore, said Proposition 8 could end up being a good thing for gay 
rights advocates.

"It was a swift kick in the rear end," he said.

In Los Angeles, protesters gathered near City Hall before marching 
through downtown. Police said 10,000 to 12,000 people demonstrated.

Supporters of traditional marriage said the rallies may have generated 
publicity but ultimately made no difference.

"They had everything in the world going for them this year, and they 
couldn't win," said Frank Schubert, co-manager of the Yes on 8 campaign 
in California. "I don't think they're going to be any more successful in 
2010 or 2012."

In Chicago, Keith Smith, 42, a postal worker, and his partner, Terry 
Romo, 34, a Wal-Mart store manager, had photos of a commitment ceremony 
they held, though gay marriage is not legal in Illinois.

"We're not going to wait for no law," Smith said. "But time's going to 
be on our side and it's going to change."

By Associated Press Writer Jay Lindsay; contributing to this report were 
AP writers Rupa Shenoy in Chicago, Adam Goldman in New York, JoAnn 
Loviglio in Philadelphia, Sarah Brumfield in Baltimore, Linda Ashton in 
Salt Lake City, Blake Nicholson in Bismarck, N.D., Tom Verdin in 
Sacramento, Calif., and Kamala Lane in Washington.






http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/15/AR2008111502394.html

Sunday, November 16, 2008; Page A02
Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Spurs Protest Across U.S.

Tens of thousands of gay rights supporters rallied throughout the nation 
Saturday, protesting the California vote that banned same-sex marriage 
there.
The largest protests took place in California: More than 10,000 gathered 
near Los Angeles' City Hall, at least 7,500 rallied at San Francisco's 
civic center, and a march in the state capital in Sacramento drew 1,500, 
police in the three cities estimated.
Elsewhere, crowds gathered near public buildings in small communities 
and major cities, including New York, Boston and Chicago, to vent their 
frustrations, celebrate same-sex relationships and renew calls for 
change. Hundreds protested at Lafayette Square, adjacent to the White 
House.
"Civil marriages are a civil right, and we're going to keep fighting 
until we get the rights we deserve as American citizens," Karen Amico 
said in Philadelphia, holding up a sign reading "Don't Spread H8,"which 
references Proposition 8, the California ballot measure.
"We are the American family, we live next door to you, we teach your 
children, we take care of your elderly," said Heather Baker, a special 
education teacher who addressed the crowd at Boston's City Hall Plaza. 
"We need equal rights across the country."
Massachusetts and Connecticut are the only two states that allow 
same-sex marriage. All 30 states that have voted on constitutionally 
banning same-sex marriage have approved such measures.





http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/americas/2008/11/17/183528/Gay-rights.htm

November 17, 2008 9:56 am TWN, By Jay Lindsay, AP
Gay rights advocates across the U.S. protest marriage ban
BOSTON -- Gay rights supporters waving rainbow colors marched, chanted 
and danced in cities coast to coast Saturday to protest the vote that 
banned gay marriage in California and to urge supporters not to quit the 
fight for the right to wed.
Crowds gathered near public buildings in cities large and small, 
including Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and Fargo, to vent their 
frustrations, celebrate gay relationships and renew calls for change.
“Civil marriages are a civil right, and we’re going to keep fighting 
until we get the rights we deserve as American citizens,” said Karen 
Amico, one of several hundred protesters in Philadelphia, holding up a 
sign reading “Don’t Spread H8”.
Protests following the vote on Proposition 8 in California, which 
defined marriage as between a man and a woman, have sometimes been angry 
and even violent, and demonstrators have targeted faiths that supported 
the ban, including the Mormon church.
However, representatives of Join the Impact, which organized Saturday’s 
demonstrations, asked supporters to be respectful and refrain from 
attacking other groups during the rallies.
Seattle blogger Amy Balliett, who started the planning for the protests 
when she set up a Web page three days after the California vote, said 
persuasion is impossible without civility.
The protests were widely reported to be peaceful, and the mood in Boston 
was generally upbeat, with attendees dancing to the song “Respect.” 
Signs cast the fight for gay marriage as the new civil rights movement, 
including one that read “Gay is the new black.”But anger over the ban 
and its backers was evident at the protests.One sign in Chicago, where 
several thousand people gathered, read: “Catholic Fascists Stay Out of 
Politics.”
“I just found out that my state doesn’t really think I’m a person,” said 
Rose Aplustill, 21, a Boston University student from Los Osos, Calif., 
who was one of thousands at the Boston rally.
In San Francisco, demonstrators took shots at some religious groups that 
supported the ban, including a sign aimed at the Mormon church and its 
abandoned practice of polygamy that read: “You have three wives; I want 
one husband.”
In Salt Lake City, where demonstrators gathered just blocks from the 
headquarters of the Mormon church, one sign pictured the city’s temple 
with a line adapted from former Republican vice president candidate 
Sarah Palin: “I can see discrimination from my house.”
More than 500 demonstrators in Washington marched from the U.S. Capitol 
through the city carrying signs and chanting “One, two, three, four, 
love is what we’re fighting for!”
A public plaza at the foot of New York’s Brooklyn Bridge was packed by a 
cheering crowd of thousands, including people who waved rainbow flags 
and wore pink buttons that said “I do.”
Protests were low-key in North Dakota, where people lined a bridge in 
Fargo carrying signs and flags.
In Los Angeles, protesters gathered near City Hall before marching 
through downtown. Police said 10,000 to 12,000 people demonstrated. 
Supporters of traditional marriage said the rallies may have generated 
publicity but ultimately made no difference.
In Chicago, Keith Smith, 42, a postal worker, and his partner, Terry 
Romo, 34, a Wal-Mart store manager, had photos of a commitment ceremony 
they held, though gay marriage is not legal in Illinois.






http://www.nowpublic.com/world/top-prop-8-protest-slogans

Top Prop 8 Protest Slogans
Share:
by josiemitchell | November 15, 2008 at 03:20 pm
1301 views | 0 Recommendations | 3 comments

Throughout history protests have been the battleground for numerous 
human and civil rights. The energy they generate can re-write history 
and there is no denying that their social and political importance is 
necessary in all societies. Plus you get some really clever slogans out 
of them, complete with bad grammar and incorrect spelling!
Proposition 8 Protests, protesting the ban on same sex marriage, are 
taking place around the world today are doing just that: changing 
history (hopefully) and having fun while they do it!
In researching Proposition 8 Protest photos I have found some wonderful 
tag lines that I thought needed highlighting. Due to the public forum 
they were presented in, first the protest itself and then Flickr photos, 
I am not able to cite the authors, but I hope they can agree that 
getting the message out is more important than ownership. And of course 
they are just so awesome, I got to share them!
So here are the top 13, in no real order because they're all good:
1. "As far as I can I can tell, Massachusetts didn't got to hell!"
2." For Sale- My Rights"
3. "Who do you think designed your wedding dress?"
4. "Would you rather I married your daughter?"
5. "Gay Marriage! What's next polygamy?- Oh wait..."
6. "Against Gay Marriage? Don't Have One!"
7. "Marriage is so Gay!"
8. "TO DO: -deny fellow citizens fundamental rights.
-buy eggs.
-pay bills."
9. "Gay is the new black" (I took this in the fashion and social sense.)
10. "Jesus had two daddy's, Why can't I?"
11. "You want 2 wives, I only want 1 husband!"
12. "Hate makes you look fat, just look at Arkansas"
13. "Keep your gospel off my Gonads"

I am more than positive that there are many many more than just these, 
so please share comments and photos!





http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2008/11/17/2003428885

Gays take to streets to protest Mormons
PROPOSITION EIGHT: The bill that banned gay marriage in left-leaning 
California caused divisions among Republicans as well as people of 
different race

THE GUARDIAN, NEW YORK
Monday, Nov 17, 2008, Page 7

Ralph Hodgdon, 74, left, and Paul McMahon, 75, both of Boston, 
Massachusetts, hold a sign during a protest against the passage of 
Proposition Eight in California, at City Hall Plaza in Boston, on Saturday.
PHOTO: AP
It was a building under siege. Thousands of placard-wielding 
demonstrators chanted angrily behind police barricades set up outside a 
huge Mormon temple on New York’s plush Upper West Side.
The banners condemned the Church’s active sponsorship of the successful 
campaign to ban gay marriage in California. Michael Hogan, a gay 
illustrator who lived nearby, explained why he had joined the growing 
protest movement that swept across the US last week.

“It is important to be here,” he said. “We have to stand up.”

The marriage ban has motivated gays in the US to protest perhaps more 
than any other event in recent times. Since the California ban was 
passed by a referendum on Nov. 4, huge protests have been staged in 
cities from San Francisco to Chicago to New York.

The scale of the protests has shocked many and led some commentators to 
compare it to the sort of communal political awakening that marked the 
birth of the civil rights movement. That was the tone of many of the 
banners and chants in the New York protest, which made references to the 
earlier struggle for black people’s rights.

“Gay, straight, black, white — marriage is a civil right!” went one chant.

One man carried a poster with the question: “Should we sit at the back 
of the bus too?”

Those words sent a powerful signal in a country that elected its first 
black president, Barack Obama, on the day of the ban and seemed poised 
to take a liberal turn in its politics. California’s passing of 
Proposition Eight, which in effect reversed an earlier move making gay 
marriage legal, was one of the few electoral disappointments for 
liberals. That the move should come in California — a state that is 
usually famed for its liberalism — was even more of a surprise.

“I was shocked at California. It was the one bad thing about election 
night,” Hogan said.

Organizers of the protests said that “Prop Eight” was simply encouraging 
hate and discrimination.

“Hatred has no place in society and it has no place in state 
constitutions,” said Corey Johnson, joint organizer of the New York 
demonstration.

If supporters of Prop Eight thought their victory would be accepted 
quietly, they were very wrong. It has opened a huge can of political 
worms. For many it showed how California, like the US itself, was still 
deeply divided over how to treat gay people. It split the Republicans, 
with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger opposing it and most of 
the conservative wing of his party campaigning for it.

It opened up a racial debate as many Hispanics and black voters, who 
tend to be politically liberal but socially conservative, voted for it. 
It also triggered a debate over the role of religion and the state as 
many churches fought to get the measure through.

Many of those churches were high-profile evangelical institutions that 
have long opposed any moves towards accepting gay marriage. But most of 
the outrage has focused firmly on the Mormon Church, whose members 
contributed more than US$20 million in support of Prop Eight.





http://www.wftv.com/politics/17943094/detail.html?rss=orlc&psp=nationalnews

Prop. 8 Detractors Protest At Calif. Capitol
Gay-Rights Protests Continue Across California
Posted: 6:40 pm EST November 9, 2008Updated: 7:02 pm EST November 9, 2008
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A crowd of about 4,000 protesters gathered Sunday 
at the California Capitol building in Sacramento to vent their 
opposition to a same-sex marriage ban.
Protests are taking place up and down the state of California as many 
are venting their opposition to the passage Tuesday of Proposition 8, a 
ban on same-sex marriage. The rally in Sacramento started at 1 p.m. 
Sunday and was expected to wrap up at 4 p.m. PST.
California Highway Patrol officials said the protest had been mostly 
peaceful and that they planned for supporters of "Yes on 8" to show up 
at the Capitol, KCRA reported, but that as of 3 p.m. only two supporters 
of the gay marriage ban had shown.
In Orange County, police officials and protest organizers estimated that 
about 250 to 300 gay-rights advocates fanned out along sidewalks leading 
to Saddleback Church in Lake Forest -- the same church whose popular 
pastor brought Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain together last summer 
for a "faith forum.". The protesters were angered by the mega church's 
support of Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that overturns the 
state Supreme Court decision in May legalizing such unions.
In Oakland, a large anti-Proposition 8 protest at the city's Mormon 
Temple led the California Highway Patrol to close two nearby highway 
ramps to ensure pedestrian safety.
"Our members of the church throughout the state are only about 5 percent 
of the votes, so obviously millions of other people voted against this 
proposition," said the church's Don Eaton. "So, do I think we're being 
targeted unfairly? Yeah, but we'll live with it."
Rallies have been taking place in the state since Proposition 8 passed 
with 52 percent of the vote.
Not all churches backed the ban. In Pasadena, the pastor of the All 
Saints Church spoke out against the new ban, calling the religious 
community's support of it "embarrassing."
Speaking on CNN's "Late Edition" Sunday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger 
expressed disappointment at Proposition 8's passage. "It is 
unfortunate," Schwarzenegger told CNN correspondent John King. "But it 
is not the end because I think this will go back into the courts. ... 
It's the same as in the 1948 case when blacks and whites were not 
allowed to marry, this falls into the same category."
There was more vandalism also Sunday associated with the divide over 
Prop 8. A progressive Jewish Synagogue in Sacramento was vandalized.
"Leviticus 18-3" was spray painted on the wall at the Congregation B'nai 
Israel following Tuesday's election.
That verse in the Bible says ''You shall not do what is done in the land 
of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of 
Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes.'
It appeared whoever spray painted the scriptural reference was 
condemning this Jewish Synagogue for performing several same-sex ceremonies.
A video shows one such ceremony from September.
Congregation B'nai Israel said they acknowledge there are other Jewish 
temples that do not support same sex marriage.





http://www.workers.org/2008/us/prop_8_1127/

Prop. 8 protests sweep the country
By Gerry Scoppettuolo
Published Nov 19, 2008 5:47 PM
In just one week a major political struggle has rocked the U.S. from 
coast to coast and even gone international. From Montreal to Puerto Rico 
and from California to Maine to Europe, literally hundreds of cities in 
the U.S. and elsewhere have mounted solidarity rallies and protest 
marches opposing California’s backward Proposition 8, which passed on 
Nov. 4 and disenfranchised the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans 
communities in that state from the recently won right to marry.

Front of New York march, Nov. 13.
WW photo: Imani Henry
In North Carolina alone, seven cities mobilized communities angered by 
the right-wing attacks: , Raleigh, Greensboro, Asheville, Greenville, 
Wilmington and Boone. This kind of response was repeated all across the 
South and elsewhere and is unprecedented in U.S. LGBT history.
In Bozeman, Mont., the Queer/Straight Alliance, the Bozeman Peace 
Seekers and the Gallatin Task Force organized a spirited Prop. 8 
protest. The Montana cities of Billings, Helena and Missoula also held 
protests.
Among the assemblages in big U.S. cities, a number of reports cited the 
one in San Diego as the largest, with estimates of over 25,000 
participants. It was a long march on an especially hot day. At an 
end-point rally one recently married gay man urged the crowd: “Look 
around! This is just the start of what the sleeping giant has awoken. We 
must carry this march on.”

Boston
WW photo: Liz Green
In fact, word is spreading of more nationally coordinated actions to 
come, including a Dec. 10 “Day without a Gay” and a Jan. 10 
coast-to-coast protest. And Black lesbian comedian Wanda Sykes, who 
addressed the Las Vegas protest, told the crowd: “We shouldn’t have to 
settle for less. Instead of having gay marriage in California, no! We’re 
going to have gay marriage across the country.” (thestrippodcast)
In New York on Wednesday evening, previous to the national mobilizations 
on Saturday, Nov. 15, a huge crowd, many with homemade signs, gathered 
near a Mormon temple at 65th Street and Columbus. Later, as the crowd 
continued to grow, thousands marched down Broadway. The militantly 
chanting marchers took up the whole street, curb to curb, for five or 
six blocks. Then on Saturday more than 10,000 focused on the 
metropolis’s City Hall area, as was the case in most other cities.
The Los Angeles mobilization drew more than 10,000 despite the raging 
wildfires that are devastating southern California. San Francisco, with 
no official planning, also drew 10,000 to the City Hall area.
Not since the 1970s and the days when Anita Bryant and the Moral 
Majority launched their reactionary attacks (see Lavender and Red series 
at workers.org.) has the LGBT community reacted with such a visceral 
response, tens of thousands mobilizing seemingly overnight via Facebook, 
YouTube, a national Web page and other means.
California’s Prop. 8 passed 52 to 48 percent, carried to victory by a 
multimillion-dollar campaign funded by the Mormon Church, Focus on the 
Family, the Catholic Church and its affiliated Knights of Columbus, and 
other racist and backward forces—today’s equivalents of the Moral 
Majority, the Campus Crusade for Christ and the Liberty Lobby of the 
early 1970s. Falsely casting their attack as a “moral” issue, these 
racist forces worked hard to deprive millions of the economic class 
benefits that derive from civil marriage in the areas of health 
insurance, partner benefits, tax relief and other spousal benefits and 
rights.
Critical to the growth of this struggle is the overcoming of racial 
divisions exploited by the right wing. An attempt by conservative 
pundits to blame communities of color is being challenged. Rallies 
featured speakers from oppressed African-American, Latin@ and 
Palestinian communities, especially in San Francisco and Oakland, and in 
Raleigh, N.C., where Rev. Carl Kenney, former pastor of Orange Grove 
Missionary Baptist Church in Durham, spoke words of encouragement to the 
hundreds gathered there.
R. Dooley, who organized the protest in Montreal, explained this 
challenge to Workers World this way: “I do think this is part of a 
broader struggle. I agree very strongly that this isn’t our only fight. 
Marriage rights aren’t the only issue that our communities have to 
address at this time.”
Ten thousand rallied at City Hall in Boston, where speakers included 
African-American state Rep. Byron Rushing; Gary Daffin, director of the 
Multicultural AIDS Coalition; and Mark Solmonese, director of Human 
Rights Campaign.
Twenty-two-year-old Ryan MacNealy, a main organizer of the Boston rally, 
acknowledged the challenges facing the equal-marriage rights movement in 
a statement to Workers World: “Our advocacy groups are very exclusive, 
only focusing on the matter at hand. We need to reach out to other 
struggles.” MacNealy will be leading a relationship-building effort with 
African-American church leaders in Boston in the coming weeks.
Others, like Curtis Morrison from Louisville, Ky., cited Rosa Parks as 
having inspired their organizing efforts. Progressive LGBT blog sites 
like www.queertoday.com are leading the way at refuting the false racist 
charges raised by the right wing. One thing is certain: the potential 
for unity is unlimited and the classwide power that could result for the 
benefit of all the oppressed everywhere would be a welcome sight.
Reports from Imani Henry, John Lewis, Bob McCubbin and Dante Strobino 
contributed to this article.
________________________________________
Articles copyright 1995-2009 Workers World. Verbatim copying and 
distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without 
royalty provided this notice is preserved.







http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_111408WAB_prop_eight_protest_KS.1b270b682.html

Global gay rights protest has roots in Seattle
05:42 PM PST on Friday, November 14, 2008
By DON PORTER / KING 5 News


Video: Worldwide gay-marriage protest being organized in Seattle
Larger screen E-mail this clip

SEATTLE - The fight for gay marriage escalates Saturday with rallies in 
Seattle and many other cities around the globe.
The worldwide protest is being organized in Seattle.
"We're calling for the entire gay community to come together as one," 
said Amy Balliett, key organizer of Join the Impact, an effort to expand 
the protests that erupted after Proposition 8 passed in California.
Balliett's effort to stage a Seattle protest quickly mushroomed on 
social publishing Web sites and blogs set up and run by Seattle-based 
WetPaint.com.
"We've gotten people in over 300 cities to start planning protests, each 
in their own city," said Wetpaint CEO Ben Elowitz.
Elowitz is openly gay and campaigning for gay rights online. "Join The 
Impact" scored more than 1 million hits this week alone.
"Flash activism here," Elowitz said. "People are coming to a Web site, 
organizing, getting the word out with viral tools like Wetpaint and 
Facebook and immediately getting thousands of people all to organize one 
protest."
In West Seattle, a gay couple twice married in California feels keenly 
the pain of Proposition 8.
Ken Molsberry and his partner of 15 years, Chris Vincent, were first wed 
in 2004 in San Francisco, and then again last July.
"This is something that we think is a terrible injustice," Vincent said.

KING
Join the Impact is an effort to expand the protests that occurred after 
Proposition 8 passed in California.
The nationwide protest gives them new hope.
"If anything, this turmoil has brought us closer together," Molsberry said.
The Seattle demonstration against California's passage of Proposition 8 
starts with a noon rally in Volunteer Park followed by a march to 
Westlake Center for a 2 p.m. rally.






http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,449127,00.html

Thousands Protest Passage of Anti-Gay Marriage Ballot Initiative
Sunday, November 09, 2008 | FoxNews.com

Nov. 7: Supporters of same-sex marriage rally in San Francisco.
SAN DIEGO — As many as 10,000 people took to the streets in San Diego 
and similar numbers marched in Los Angeles Saturday to protest passage 
of an anti-gay marriage ballot initiative, authorities said.
Demonstrators began marching through central San Diego at noon, 
according to police Sgt. Diane Wendell. The event lasted about 90 
minutes and was peaceful, with no arrests.
The march in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles began at Saturday 
evening and lasted about four hours, said police Sgt. Jake Bushy. No 
incidents were reported as demonstrators marched down Sunset Boulevard 
carrying signs and waving banners.
The demonstrations were the largest of several marches that followed 
Tuesday's passage of Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment banning 
same-sex marriages and overturning the state Supreme Court decision that 
legalized such unions in May.
A candlelight vigil in Laguna Beach Saturday evening drew about 1,000 
people and police reported no incidents.
On Friday, tensions flared at a vigil at Palm Springs City Hall when a 
supporter of the gay marriage ban carrying a plastic foam cross clashed 
with protesters, according to The Desert Sun. The crowd ripped the cross 
from her hands and stomped on it. Police made no arrests.
Related Stories
• Gay Marriage Supporters March in California, Utah
• Protests Over Gay-Marriage Ban Escalate in California
About 2,000 people gathered in Long Beach Friday night and there were 
three arrests. A thousand people also marched Friday in San Francisco.
In Salt Lake City Friday night, a crowd of about 2,000 chanted "Separate 
church and state" and waved rainbow flags outside the headquarters of 
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which encouraged its 
members to work to pass the amendment by volunteering their time and 
money for the campaign.




http://cbs5.com/national/prop.8.protest.2.859939.html

Nov 8, 2008 9:19 pm US/Pacific
Prop. 8 Protests Continue In California

Less than 24 hours after arrests were made at a Prop 8 protest in Long 
Beach, activists unhappy with Tuesday's vote to ban same-sex marriages 
again took to the streets in Los Angeles.

A protest in the Silver Lake town of Los Angeles hosted speakers Robin 
Tyler and Diane Olson, a lesbian couple whose lawsuit led the California 
Supreme Court to rule in May that denying same-sex couples the right to 
get married was tantamount to discrimination.

About 18,000 couples have been married since gay marriage was legalized 
but, on Tuesday, California voters approved Proposition 8, which amended 
the state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a 
woman. That prompted county clerks to stop issuing marriage licenses to 
same-sex couples the next day.

Demonstrators have taken to the streets each night since Tyler and Olson 
had their attorney, Gloria Allred, file a writ with the high court 
Wednesday, challenging the voter-approved initiative.

At least three people were arrested at a Long Beach protest Friday night 
for failing to disperse when police tried to break up the demonstration.

Several demonstrators were also arrested in Hollywood and Westwood on 
Wednesday and Thursday.

About 2,000 demonstrators massed in front of the Mormon temple in West 
Los Angeles Thursday evening to protest the church's support of 
Proposition 8.

Members of the group Act Now to Stop War & End Racism, also called the 
A.N.S.W.E.R coalition, which formed in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist 
attack, is supporting Saturday's demonstration.







http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20081109/wire/811090457

Tens of thousands protest passage of Proposition 8
Peaceful demonstrations over same-sex marriage ban

By ARI B. BLOOMEKATZ
and RAJA ABDULRAHIM
Published: Sunday, November 9, 2008 at 8:56 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, November 9, 2008 at 8:56 a.m.
LOS ANGELES -- Tens of thousands of protesters spilled into the streets 
of Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, and even Modesto on Saturday in 
hastily organized and peaceful demonstrations over passage of 
Proposition 8, the statewide ballot measure which bans same-sex marriage.
A estimated 10,000 boisterous protesters converged around 6 p.m. at 
Sunset and Santa Monica boulevards, in the Silver Lake district, near 
the site of the former Black Cat bar which Los Angeles recently 
designated as an historic-cultural monument for its '60s role as home of 
the local gay-rights movement.
Other demonstrations seemed simply to pop up in places around the state, 
motivated by frustration and anger over the ballot initiative that 
amends the state Constitution to declare that "only marriage between a 
man and a woman is valid or recognized" in California.
"They are mixing religion with politics," said Steve Ramos, 46, who 
marched in the Silver Lake protest. "Everyone should have equal rights."
Like other demonstrators, Ramos was carrying a banner fashioned from a 
sheet with spray-painted words, "Teach tolerance, not hate."
The Silver Lake rally began with fiery speeches from atop the flatbed of 
a pickup.
Among the speakers was Robin Tyler, half of the lesbian couple who was 
denied a marriage license in 2004 and challenged that rejection all the 
way to the California Supreme Court.
Tyler and her partner married after the court cleared the way for gay 
weddings, but the legal status of thousands of those marriages is now 
uncertain.
She expressed frustration over the leadership of the unsuccessful 
campaign to defeat the ballot measure and lashed out at those who 
supported it.
"The No on 8 people didn't want us to use the word 'bigots.' But that's 
what they are, bigots, bigots, bigots," Tyler said, bringing a round of 
cheers from the growing crowd. "We will never be made invisible again. 
Never again will we let them define who we are."
The march's organizers, LA Coalition for Equal Marriage Rights and the 
ANSWER Coalition, did not apply for a permit, police said. But the 
protesters were peaceful, at least through 7 p.m.
"It's a boisterous crowd, but so far, no problems," said Los Angeles 
Police Department Commander David Doan. Several hundred police officers 
were on hand on motorcycle, bicycles and sprinkled through the crowd.
The protest closed Sunset Boulevard between Fountain Avenue and Sanborn 
Avenue. Demonstrators then were planning to march west on Santa Monica 
Boulevard, then head north on Vermont Avenue, then east on Hollywood 
Boulevard back to Silver Lake.
An estimated 300 counter-protesters were on the scene. Some stood on the 
side of the parade route, segregated from the marching crowds by a line 
of police on horseback. One man was held up a large sign, "God does not 
love you, just the way you are."
Nicole Vizcarra, 21, a senior at San Diego State, said she and a friend 
helped organize an early morning rally Saturday in the Morley Field area 
adjacent to Balboa Park.
Police estimated the crowd at 8,000 to 10,000. The event last about 90 
minutes and was peaceful, leading to no arrests.
"It started out with one of my good friends calling me" early Thursday 
morning, Vizcarra said in a telephone interview.
The protests have been building all week. Thousands of demonstrators 
marched down Market Street in San Francisco on Friday night, as well as 
2,000 in Long Beach, leading to 15 arrests.
Protests are planned today for downtown Los Angeles, Lake Forest, Laguna 
Niguel, La Jolla, Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose and Visalia.
Many of these plan to congregate or march to the steps of Catholic 
churches or Mormon temples.
Catholic organizations spoke in favor of Proposition 8 and the Church of 
Latter-day Saints gathered millions of dollars from church members to 
help finance the campaign to help its passage.
Bloomekatz and Abdulrahim are Times staff writers. Staff writers 
Rong-Gong Lin II, Joanna Lin, Sam Quinones and Kenneth R. Weiss 
contributed to this report.






http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/08/us/08protest.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Protesting Ban on Gay Marriage

By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: November 7, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO — Thousands of people marched through the streets here 
Friday night to protest the passage on Tuesday of Proposition 8, a 
ballot measure outlawing same-sex marriage.
Skip to next paragraph
Related
(November 6, 2008)
The march, which began near City Hall, snaked down the city’s main 
artery, Market Street, to the Castro district, a bastion of San 
Francisco’s gay men and women. Rush-hour traffic was stopped as 
marchers, some carrying signs reading “We Shall Overcome,” peacefully 
swarmed around cars.
It was the latest demonstration since voters approved the proposition. 
On Thursday, more than 1,000 people protested at a Mormon temple in Los 
Angeles, shutting down traffic and leading to several arrests. (The 
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints supported the measure.) 
Seven people were arrested Wednesday in protests in other parts of Los 
Angeles, the police said.
Same-sex marriages had been legal in California since May, when the 
State Supreme Court struck down two laws prohibiting such unions.







http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/mormons-and-catholics-upset-being-tar

Mormons And Catholics Upset At Being The Target Of Prop 8 Protests
By Nicole Belle Saturday Nov 08, 2008 5:03pm
Pam's House Blend:
Hypocrisy much? The Church of Jesus of Christ of Latter-day Saints is 
unhappy about the fact that the media spotlight is trained on its 
participation in making Prop 8 happen.
In an official statement on the church's web site, bearing false witness 
and hypocrisy is the order of the day.
It is disturbing that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is 
being singled out for speaking up as part of its democratic right in a 
free election.
Members of the Church in California and millions of others from every 
faith, ethnicity and political affiliation who voted for Proposition 8 
exercised the most sacrosanct and individual rights in the United States 
- that of free expression and voting.
While those who disagree with our position on Proposition 8 have the 
right to make their feelings known, it is wrong to target the Church and 
its sacred places of worship for being part of the democratic process.
Once again, we call on those involved in the debate over same-sex 
marriage to act in a spirit of mutual respect and civility towards each 
other. No one on either side of the question should be vilified, 
harassed or subject to erroneous information.
Bzzt. Wrong answer. The people protesting the church's significant role 
in an another state's democratic process -- members of the Church of 
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave millions of dollars to remove the 
civil rights of human beings -- are merely exercising their right to 
free speech to highlight that role.
And what is this "erroneous information"? Who knows, the church doesn't 
say. [..]
And the Catholic church is also lying baldly:
Meanwhile, the Roman Catholic Church was also a target for supporting 
Proposition 8.
"Proposition 8 is not against any group in our society. Its sole focus 
is on preserving God's plan for people living upon this earth throughout 
time," Cardinal Roger Mahony, archbishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles, 
said in a statement Thursday.
WTF? Wait a minute. Prop 8 just removed an existing right from one 
specific group of people. There's no way to whitewash this. There's no 
spin that takes away the fact that religious institutions that backed 
Proposition 8 did so because of their faith -- interfering with the laws 
of California.
Sorry, LDS and Catholic Churches, let me pull out my tiny violin for 
you. You have used the tenets of your faith to infringe upon my secular 
government to take away rights from people, and I'm supposed to feel bad 
that protests are targeting you? I just don't think so. Remember Pastor 
Martin Niemöller? You have targeted the LGBT community today, but what 
happens when someone targets any faith, because it's not the "right" 
faith? What if they target you? Inequality is inequality and it should 
never be tolerated.






http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=51000

Do Gay Marriage Protests Cross the Line?
Posted By: Sharon Ito 4 months ago

SACRAMENTO, CA - Monday's Live_Online at 11 a.m. featured a rebuttal to 
the protests against Proposition 8, the ban on gay marriage in California.
Karen England, executive director of the Capitol Resource Institute and 
Yes on 8 supporter, told viewers that some of the protests have gone too 
far, when financial supporters of Prop 8 are being targeted at their 
jobs and "bullied because of their personal beliefs."
Brad Dacus, a Sacramento civil rights lawyer and president of the 
Pacific Justice Institute, filed a legal opinion with the California 
Supreme Court in defense of Prop 8. He said the justices need to respect 
the voters' will in upholding the ban and called the constitutional 
challenges to Prop 8 "a cheap attempt to undermine the voters of 
California."
A decision by the California Supreme Court could come by next June. 
Dacus said should the court overturn the gay marriage ban, the next 
fight will be aimed at the justices themselves and would entail a recall 
campaign.
See the full interview with England and Dacus in the video player to the 
right.
Last Monday's Live_Online program, featuring gay rights activists Tina 
Reynolds and Michael Boyd, has been archived. Click here to see the 
interview.
Here was what some viewers had to say in the online conversation:
Viewer, John, wrote: "I'm a young successful gay male in long term 
relationship. I voted YES ON 8!! I'm not about to support a group that 
turns to violence to get their point across."
Viewer, NetAmigo, wrote: "We need to remember who is being attacked - 
gay people who are losing their freedoms."
Viewer, guest, wrote: "It's not a show of hate at all, it is a belief in 
traditional values for marriage."
Viewer, Brian in San Diego, wrote: "It amazes me that people will go so 
far out their way to keep the gay community down."
Viewer, sue, wrote: "Will we have to vote on this every 2 or 4 years?"
Viewer, Ron, wrote: "Life is too short people . . . live your own lives! 
If 2 people love each other . . . let them! Who cares???"
News10/KXTV







http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8217

________________________________________
Is the Prop 8 Protest Stonewall 2.0?
by: Paul In SF
Fri Nov 14, 2008 at 03:22:32 AM EST

We quite rightly credit the Stonewall Riots as being the catalyst for 
the surge of queer political energy that blew "The love that dare not 
speak its name" out of its closet and into the streets, the living 
rooms, the workplaces and the political halls of America.
The story of that bar full of queers standing up and fighting for their 
right to be treated as full citizens galvanized GLBT people, especially 
the young, across the land. Inspired, these young folks organized 
themselves into a fluid movement with no hierarchy and a simple mission; 
to fight discrimination against GLBT folks wherever it was found.
That movement turned out to be successful beyond the wildest dreams of 
those early days. But one must keep in mind that those dreamers were the 
product of their time. The wild eyed pipe dreams of the early 70's are 
now simply life as usual for the queers of the 21st Century. After 
nearly 40 years of advancement the sense of urgency had dulled, we had 
become complacent.
Then along came Prop 8. (continued after the fold)

Paul In SF :: Is the Prop 8 Protest Stonewall 2.0?

If we had learned anything in the 4 decades from 1969 to 2008 it was 
that time was on our side. It was that sense of inevitability that 
allowed us, for the most part, to stand on the sidelines with barely a 
whimper while state after state banned same sex marriage. We were 
willing to wait, we thought.
Yet the reaction to our ballot loss in California is so, so much 
different. As I write this it has been 8 days since we learned we lost 
and there have been 8 days of protests. We are streaming into the 
streets not only across California, but across the whole country. No 
whimpers here. It is a full throated roar. We were played, and we are 
angry not only at those who played us, but at ourselves for allowing it 
to happen.
So the Prop 8 backers may have won that particular battle, but by doing 
so they awakened the spirit of Stonewall in us all. They have awakened 
that same righteous anger and call to arms that changed what might have 
been just another routine police raid on a homosexual bar in June of 
1969 into a piece of history.
As jonpincus points out in the excellent diary "Join the Impact: taking 
social network activism (and LGBTQ rights) to the next level" today's 
young queers aren't limited by 1970 technology. No ditto machines or 
black dial phones for this crowd. This is the generation who grew up 
with a mouse and a keyboard in their hands. And man, have they been 
using those techno-tools! Literally hundreds of thousands of feet have 
hit the pavement in the past few days, and hundreds of thousands more 
will have before the week is up. And every one of those people who were 
able to march, and the 10 more he or she represents who wasn't able to 
be there in person, now OWN this movement. It has become personal to 
them the same way that Stonewall became personal to us in the years 
immediately following the riots. We owe the Mormon and the Catholic 
churches a word of thanks. They just spent millions of dollars making 
activists out of our complacent, distracted community. Really, thanks. 
Welcome to Stonewall 2.0







http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSTRE4AB8RC20081112

U.S. gay marriage fight takes to the Internet
Wed Nov 12, 2008 4:34pm ES
By Peter Henderson
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The rejection of gay marriage by California 
voters has unleashed a hurricane of protest on the Internet, with some 
supporters venting their anger and others planning national demonstrations.
Amy Balliett, 26, used her lunch break last Friday to start a website -- 
www.jointheimpact.com -- to call for coordinated action across the 
United States this weekend.
In a few days, more than 1 million people have visited her site and 
dozens of marches and meetings are now planned for 1:30 p.m. EST (1830 
GMT) on Saturday.
By the evening jointheimpact.com was created, it was visited 10,000 
times. By Sunday, there were 50,000 visits per hour and the computer 
running the site crashed. It has moved computers twice since in an 
effort to keep up.
"Why do we have to wait for someone to step up and say let's do a 
protest?" Balliett remembered thinking after her friend, Willow Witte, 
posted a blog about California. "Over email we decided to do it."
California's Supreme Court opened the way to gay marriage in May, 
putting it among a handful of states, provinces and European countries 
that allow same-sex couples to marry.
But after a $70 million-plus campaign, a measure to ban gay marriage in 
California passed in a vote held alongside the U.S. presidential and 
congressional elections on November 4, stunning a community that had 
expected its first major ballot box win.
Balliett's plan is to create an educational dialogue but others have 
diverse goals or are simply speaking out as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, 
text messages, blogs and websites buzz with protest about the vote in 
California.
Members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community say they 
were hurt deeply and want to bring their civil rights argument -- that 
same-sex couples deserve the same treatment as others -- to a national 
audience.
"It took the rights being taken away from people to really get across 
that it's not a California issue. It's a nationwide issue," said Brandon 
Williamson, who was about to start his own protest website when he found 
Balliett's and joined forces as publicist.
'IT'S MASSIVE'
Gay marriage is legal in two U.S. states, Massachusetts and Connecticut, 
where court-approved same-sex weddings began on Wednesday. But dozens of 
states have laws that limit marriage to a man and a woman.
This month's election also saw bans on gay marriage pass in Florida and 
Arizona, while Arkansas stopped gay couples from adopting children.
This is not the first time gay marriage proponents or their adversaries 
have used technology. Both sides of California's Proposition 8, the gay 
marriage ban, used websites and more.
But the ability of the Internet to organize grass-roots movements has 
been especially clear since the ban's passage.
Balliett, whose job is publicizing websites through searches, says she 
has never seen anything like it. Civil rights campaigners agree.
"It's massive," said Scott Robbe, a gay rights veteran based in 
Wisconsin, adding that election campaigns from Howard Dean to Barack 
Obama had paved the way for the civil rights movement to use the 
Internet on a massive scale.
Balliett directs volunteer organizers to start MySpace and Facebook 
sites for their own cities but the Internet action is about more than 
her efforts.
The Facebook group "1,000,000 Million Strong Against Newly Passed Prop 
8" has about 68,000 members, for instance. The group's creators identify 
themselves as high school students.
(Editing by John O'Callaghan)







http://pageoneq.com/news/2008/Tens_of_thousands_across_America_protest_marriage_1115.html

Tens of thousands across America protest marriage ban
by Reuters North American News Service
Gay marriage supporters rally across United States
Peter Henderson
Reuters North American News Service
Nov 15, 2008 19:46 EST
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Thousands of gay marriage advocates held 
boisterous rallies Saturday across the United States and abroad in a 
coordinated protest of California's vote this month to ban same-sex 
marriage.
<br/>
In Manhattan, where some protesters were offering hula-hoop 
demonstrations, Sean Petersen, 21, a musician from Brooklyn, called the 
vote "mean-spirited and divisive."
In Chicago, Andy Thayer, a co-founder of the Gay Liberation Network, 
exhorted a crowd that had listened to a gay men's choir sing a peppy 
version of the hymn "Down by the Riverside" to follow through on the 
spirit of the protest.
"We can't just let this be a blowing-off-steam rally, as satisfying as 
that might be," he said. "We're here to win equal marriage rights right 
here in Illinois."
Demonstrations had been organized for Saturday afternoon in the United 
States and elsewhere, including Canada, Europe and Australia, 
coordinated by a campaign on the Internet.
Los Angeles police estimated 8,000 attended, and thousands filled the 
central plaza in San Francisco. Other cities had crowds estimated in the 
hundreds or low thousands.
"I am here to protect my marriage and my family," said 39-year-old Susan 
Ferris at Los Angeles City Hall.
On Nov. 4, California voters narrowly approved Proposition 8, which 
defines marriage as between a man and a woman. It reversed the right of 
gays and lesbians to marry that had been granted by the state's Supreme 
Court this year and triggered a series of protests.
"A turning point has been reached," landscape architect James York, 45, 
said at the San Francisco rally.
$70 MILLION CAMPAIGN
Measures to ban gay marriage also passed in Florida and Arizona, while 
Arkansas barred gay couples from adopting children.
In 2003, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize gay marriages. 
Last month, Connecticut became the second when the state's top court 
overturned a ban on same-sex marriage.
The California measure passed by 52 percent after one of the most 
expensive ballot campaigns in history in which both sides combined 
raised some $70 million.
Gay marriage advocates have asked the California Supreme Court to 
overturn the ban, arguing that more than a majority vote is needed to 
make a fundamental change in the state constitution. In May, the court 
had declared same-sex marriage a right, unleashing a flood of weddings.
The rallies drew a few opponents of gay marriage.
"We're troubled by the intolerance on their side about what obviously is 
the will of the American people," Peter LaBarbera, a board member of 
Protect Marriage Illinois, told Reuters. "We think they represent the 
minority viewpoint."
Despite the setback in the country's most populous state, gay marriage 
advocates said they were upbeat about their cause in the long run.
"History is on our side," said Ferris in Los Angeles. (Reporting by 
Chris Michaud in New York, Matthew Lewis in Chicago, Nichola Groom in 
Los Angeles, Peter Henderson in San Francisco; Editing by Xavier Briand)
Source: Reuters North American News Service






http://pewforum.org/news/rss.php?NewsID=16941

November 14, 2008
Gay marriage activists protest Mormons online, in streets
by Nicole Neroulias
Religion News Service
NEW YORK -- Angered by last week's passage of Proposition 8 that 
reversed California's same-sex marriage ruling, gay rights activists 
have taken their battle to the blogosphere and to the streets, targeting 
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) for encouraging 
Mormons to bankroll the Yes on 8 campaign.
As gay groups mount a court challenge to Proposition 8, the anger over 
its passage has taken the form of clashes and protests outside Mormon 
temples from Los Angeles to New York, and non-Mormons have rushed to 
defend the church from what they call bigoted attacks.
Despite heavy support for Prop 8 from the Mormon hierarchy, Mormons make 
up less than 2 percent of California's population. According to exit 
polls, most of the 52 percent of California voters who approved Prop. 8 
were white evangelical Christians, Catholics or African-Americans.
Nevertheless, numerous Web sites venting anger over Prop 8 have focused 
on Mormons, arguing their church violated its tax-exempt status by 
urging its national membership to contribute to California's "Yes" campaign.
According to Mormonsfor8.com, a Web site founded by Utah attorney Nadine 
Hansen to match campaign records to church membership rosters, about 
half of the $36 million raised by the Yes on 8 campaign came from 
Mormons -- a figure the Yes on 8 campaign has neither confirmed nor denied.
"Their members put the lion's share of the money into it," said Ron 
Oliver, 48, of Palm Springs, Calif., who launched a "Mormons Stole Our 
Rights" Facebook page last week. "On a fundamental level -- and I don't 
use that pun lightly -- they continually say they're for goodness and 
wholesomeness and love, and it strikes me that it's a tad hypocritical 
that it's `except if you're this,' or `except if you're that.'"
Oliver admits getting the Mormons' tax-free status revoked is a long 
shot -- churches are allowed to lobby on social issues, and are only 
prohibited from endorsing individual candidates -- but argues that the 
larger principle of separation of church and state warrants further 
discussion.
In response to the online petitions and protests outside Latter-day 
Saints temples and church meetinghouses in California and other states, 
Roman Catholic Bishop William K. Weigand of Sacramento, a former Bishop 
of Salt Lake City, said the Protect Marriage coalition behind Prop. 8 
included Catholics, Jews, and a range of other faiths and ethnicities.
"Bigoted attacks on Mormons for the part they played in our coalition 
are shameful and ignore the reality that Mormon voters were only a small 
part of the groundswell that supported Proposition 8," he said in a 
statement.
Mormon bloggers have also hastened to defend themselves, arguing that 
they have the same rights as any other American citizens to volunteer, 
vote and give money to a political campaign.
Carlos Morgan, 18, who lives in Utah, launched his own Facebook page, 
"Aftermath: The TRUTH About Proposition 8," a few days after Oliver. He 
didn't vote in California or give money to the campaign, but he said he 
felt compelled to present the Mormon point of view.
The money raised by the Yes on 8 campaign may have disproportionately 
come from Mormons, but the Yes on 8 side was still outspent by $2 
million. Furthermore, he added, Mormon donors weren't doing anything 
illegal by giving money to a campaign, even from other states.
"It's a democratic right, it's freedom of speech," he said. "It's 
something completely up to them, if they want to do that."
While gay activists said they were upset by commercials funded by the 
Protect Marriage coalition, which showed young children forced to learn 
about same-sex marriage in school, Morgan said he and other Mormons were 
deeply offended by a "No" commercial that depicted Mormon missionaries 
barging into a lesbian couple's house and tearing up their marriage 
certificate.
Angela Rockwood, a 32-year-old devout Mormon who lives in southern 
California, launched "Beetle Blogger" two months ago, as a way to 
counter the criticism she heard from opponents of Prop. 8. As someone 
who campaigned for and gave money to the "Yes" campaign, she said she 
views the post-election protests as ranging from "sour grapes" to 
outright persecution.
"Churches have always spoken out on moral issues, they have not only the 
right to do so, but the responsibility to do so," she said. "Singling 
the LDS church out from the rest of the coalition is just a means of 
intimidation in a hope that the LDS church will somehow change its stand 
on the issue of the importance of marriage. It'll never happen."
The protests have spread from California throughout the country. On 
Wednesday night, thousands of demonstrators brought traffic to a stop in 
a rally outside the Mormon temple in midtown Manhattan. Among the 
marchers was entertainer Whoopi Goldberg.
Among the crowd chanting "2-4-6-8, Separate the church and state," and 
smiling at the baby strollers decorated with signs like "I love my 
married mommies," Goldberg said she felt Mormon leaders should not have 
used religious beliefs to encourage members to contribute to a legal issue.
"If it's against your religion, I understand that -- then, you should 
not marry a gay person," she said, as she walked down Broadway. "But, if 
you really separate church and state, then your religious beliefs should 
not interfere with (a gay couple's) ability to be married."






http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Thousands_protest_Mormon_involvement_with_Prop_1108.html

Thousands protest Mormon involvement with Prop 8
Andrew McLemore
Published: Saturday November 8, 2008

SALT LAKE CITY -- More than 2,000 people protested outside the 
headquarters of the Mormon church Friday night for the organization's 
heavy support for Proposition 8, the Associated Press reported.

The proposal was passed by a thin margin Tuesday and adds an amendment 
to the California constitution banning gay marriage. The Church of Jesus 
Christ of Latter-day Saints encouraged members to donate money and time 
to aggressively pushing the passage of Proposition 8.

"Separate church and state," or "I didn't vote on your marriage," 
protesters said as they marched around the headquarters.

Many held signs with messages including "Mormons: Once persecuted, now 
persecutors," "Proud of my two moms" and "Protect traditional marriage. 
Ban divorce."

The measure overturned a California Supreme Court ruling earlier this 
year that legalized gay marriage within the state, allowing thousands of 
gay couples to marry.

The fight surrounding the definition of marriage was the most expensive 
in the country with both sides raising $70 million, CBS reported in a 
video available below.

Although the Mormon church does not officially endorse political leaders 
or parties, it speaks out on moral issues important to the church's beliefs.

"With the L.D.S. church’s vast involvement in the passage of Proposition 
8, we are seeing a repeat of a tragic and deplorable history," a former 
Salt Lake City mayor, Rocky Anderson, said.

Church officials said they were "disturbed" that the Mormon church is 
being "singled out for speaking up as part of its democratic right in a 
free election," said LDS spokesman Scott Trotter earlier Friday.

Trotter said millions of people of all creeds and backgrounds voted for 
Proposition 8 that were not being criticized by the gay rights movement.

The African-American community, which saw the election of the first 
black president Tuesday, voted overwhelmingly for the measure, CBS News 
reported.

But activists remained livid that the measure was passed and were intent 
on blaming the Mormon establishment.

"The main focus is going to be going after the Utah brand," John 
Aravosis, an influential Washington, D.C.-based blogger, told the 
Associated Press. "We're going to destroy the Utah brand. It is a hate 
state."

Another protest against Proposition 8 drew up to 10,000 in San Diego on 
Saturday, as gay rights activists hit the streets in a peaceful, 
90-minute demonstration.






http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4792274

More protests planned over gay marriage issue
November 14th, 2008 @ 7:00am
By Tom Callan and Paul McHardy
More protests are planned for this weekend over the issue of same-sex 
marriage.
Eighty rallies around the nation are set for tomorrow. One of them is 
planned for the Salt Lake City and County building. The featured speaker 
is an Iraq war veteran who says he was dismissed after declaring that he 
is gay.
Also, a candlelight vigil is set for the state Capitol.
Organizers are hoping for a turnout of 3,000 people. That's about how 
many showed up at protests this week against the passage of California's 
Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage.
Meanwhile, Bill Marriott wants his hotels left out of the protest.
On a blog, Marriott acknowledges that he is a member of The Church of 
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which supported Prop. 8, but says he 
didn't contribute to the Proposition 8 fight and neither did his 
company, Marriott International.
In fact, he points out that Marriott has had domestic partner benefits 
for years, and his hotels have hosted gay community events.
Still, some activists have proposed a boycott.





http://www.kcra.com/news/17969525/detail.html

Gay Activists Divided On Protest Tactics
Silent Protest To Be Held Early Thursday
POSTED: 9:22 pm PST November 12, 2008
UPDATED: 6:13 am PST November 13, 2008

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- As a silent rally against a ban on gay marriage 
gets set to take place at the Capitol early Thursday, some gay activists 
are debating the merits of such protests.
Rallies and boycotts against churches and businesses that supported 
Proposition 8, a measure passed by California voters that overturned the 
right for same-sex couples to marry, have been taking place since the 
measure passed on Election Day.
A recent protest includes a boycott threat against the artistic director 
of the California Musical Theatre Scott Eckern, who donated $1,000 to 
the "Yes on 8" campaign.
"An eye for an eye," said rally organizer Jade Baranski. "This is one of 
the circumstances where if you hurt us we can't turn around and support 
you."
But now, there are some protests among the protesters.
Some gay and lesbian activists are pushing for a more strategic approach 
to educate people about civil rights instead of direct boycotts or marches.
"We need to be careful that we continue to keep a positive image in the 
community and that our efforts are acknowledged as honorable and 
purpose," said Lester Neblett, executive director of the Sacramento Gay 
and Lesbian Center.
Thursday's silent march against the gay-marriage ban will start at 
midnight at the Capitol and move through the streets of downtown, 
organizers said.









http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,450884,00.html

Cross-Bearing Woman Says She Was Attacked by Gay Marriage Supporters, 
May Press Charges
Thursday, November 13, 2008 | FoxNews.com

Nov. 7: Phyllis Burgess, 69, attended a rally against Proposition 8, the 
ban on same-sex marriage approved this month by California voters.

An elderly woman who attended a gay rights protest carrying a cross to 
voice her support of the new California ban on gay marriage says she was 
attacked by demonstrators and now may press charges.
Palm Springs Police Department spokesman Sgt. Mitch Spike told 
FOXNews.com no arrests had been made as of Thursday evening and added 
that victim Phyllis Burgess still is deciding whether she'll press 
assault charges.
"The investigation is proceeding as it should," Spike said.
Asked if the charges could be elevated to include hate crime penalties, 
Spike told FOXNews.com, "That's a possibility. That's one of the things 
we're looking at."
Carrying a large, foam cross, Burgess, 69, showed up at a rally last 
Friday against Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage approved this 
month by California voters.
She was there to show her belief in traditional marriage, she said.
Within minutes, however, angry protesters swarmed around the Palm 
Springs resident, yanked the cross from her hands and trampled on it, as 
seen in a video of the incident posted on YouTube.
"I guess I didn’t see the gravity of the whole thing and how it was 
being portrayed to the public," Burgess told The Desert Sun newspaper. 
"People are incensed. They seem to want some kind of justice."
Video
• Freedom of Speech?
If charges are filed, Spike said prosecution could be difficult because 
the alleged suspect or suspects seen in the video have yet to be identified.
"We haven't been able to identify everyone in that video," Spike told 
FOXNews.com.






http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=50266

Prop 8 Protesting Turns Ugly
Posted By: Will Frampton 2 months ago
ORANGEVALE, CA - The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department says they 
don't have any early leads on who spray paint-vandalized a Mormon church 
in Orangevale. The graffiti, sprayed sometime late Thursday or early 
Friday morning, was on the church's front sign and nearby sidewalks.
In red lettering, it read, "No on 8."
"Paint washes off and we're just thankful there was no major damage 
done," said LDS Church spokeswoman Lisa West.
For the church, the damage is more emotional than physical. They, along 
with other religious organizations, had encouraged followers to support 
Proposition 8.
"This is a very emotionally charged issue and we understand it goes to 
the core of people's lives," West said.
She said all they can do is let the vandalism go and move on. But moving 
on does not seem to be on the agenda for many No on 8 supporters.
"If you strip somebody of their rights, nobody's going to let go of 
that," said No on 8 protester Jason Word.
"It's more than just marriage for us. It's very personal for us in that 
we feel attacked," said Darnell Fray-Stephenson, also demonstrating for 
No on 8.
For the third night in a row, No on 8 protesters gathered at the State 
Capitol to voice their frustrations over the ban on gay marriage.
Some have taken it further.
A Bay Area group has started the Mormons Stole Our Rights Web site. It 
accuses the church of advocating for the Yes on 8 campaign, and says 
they should have their status as a religious organization stripped.
"The Church of Jesus Christ of LDS did not donate any money to Prop 8, 
but supported the measure, and encouraged members to go out and give up 
their time and their means," said West. "The (church) members themselves 
did donate."
At the Friday night Capitol protest, many of those in opposition to Prop 
8 said they weren't familiar with the Web site. They also said they're 
outraged that someone vandalized a church on their behalf.
"We certainly don't agree with that," said Fray-Stephenson.
"I think that rallies we've been having here have been real peaceful," 
said Word, "I think that's the message we should use."
Many of the No on 8 protesters said they're looking ahead to Sunday 
afternoon, saying it's going to be their biggest rally yet. They say it 
could include protesters from across the state, convening at the Capitol.
The Sacramento Police are planning for a large crowd.






http://cbs5.com/national/proposition.8.protesters.2.859492.html

Nov 7, 2008 6:15 pm US/Pacific
Prop. 8 Protesters Take To Streets In Calif., Utah
Protesters Take To Streets In San Francisco, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (CBS) ―
Click to enlarge
Hundreds of supporters of same-sex marriage march for miles in protest 
against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Nov. 6, 2008, 
in Los Angeles, Calif.

People angry with the Mormon church for promoting a ban on gay marriage 
in California took to the streets in California and Utah Friday and are 
promoting a boycott of Utah's growing tourism industry and the Sundance 
Film Festival.

The church, headquartered in Salt Lake City, encouraged its members to 
work to pass California's Proposition 8 by volunteering their time and 
giving money for the campaign.

Thousands of Mormons worked as grassroots volunteers and gave tens of 
millions of dollars to the campaign.

A tourism boycott in Utah could prove costly for the state. It brings in 
$6 billion a year.

In California Friday, thousands of Proposition 8 protesters marched 
through the streets in San Francisco during rush hour, snarling traffic. 
Protest organizers posted information about the protests on Web sites 
like Facebook, according to CBS station KPIX-TV.

In Los Angles, what started out as hundreds quickly turned to an 
estimated 1,000 activists, who gathered in front of a Mormon Church in 
Westwood, according to CBS station KCBS-TV. Los Angeles police arrested 
two people after a confrontation between the crowd and an occupant of a 
pickup truck that had a banner supporting Proposition 8.







http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/world/north-america/1000s-protest-over-gay-marriage-ban-14048508.html?r=RSS

1000s protest over gay marriage ban
Sunday, 9 November 2008
Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in California against 
a ban on gay marriage in the state.
Between eight and ten thousand demonstrators marched through central San 
Diego last night.
The protest was peaceful and there were no arrests.
It was the largest of several marches following Tuesday's passage of a 
constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages and overturning the 
state Supreme Court decision that legalised them in May.








http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/faith/news-article.aspx?storyid=121346&provider=rss

Mormon Group Protests Church's Gay Marriage Stance
Posted By: Cindy Krenek Created: 10/18/2008 10:30:56 AM Updated: 
10/18/2008 10:33:24 AM

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A group of Mormons are hoping to convince the 
church to stop supporting a ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage 
in California.
The group, called Sign for Something, delivered protest letters, bundles 
of carnations and a petition in support of gay marriage to church 
headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. The delivery was made by a group 
of about 40 people who sang hymns as they approached the church's 
offices. Their delivery was accepted by a church spokeswoman.
One member of the group says many Mormons with gay and lesbian loved 
ones are torn over the issue.
Officially, the Mormon church is politically neutral and doesn't endorse 
candidates or parties. But it will weigh in on issues it considers 
morally important.






http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/07/national/main4582439.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._4582439

Prop. 8 Protests Head To Salt Lake City
Demonstrations Planned At Mormon Headquarters Over Church's Funding Of 
Gay Marriage Ban
Comments 187
SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 8, 2008

Married couple Melba Duncan, holding the flag, and her partner Shannon 
Rex, with the sign, join hundreds of others protesting the passing of 
Proposition 8 at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 6, 
2008. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

(CBS/ AP) A group of protesters plans to rally in front of the 
headquarters of the Mormon church over the faith's support for a 
constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in California.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encouraged its members 
to work to pass Proposition 8 by volunteering their time and money for 
the campaign. California voters approved the measure Tuesday.

The Friday evening protest comes a day after people demonstrated outside 
a Mormon temple in Los Angeles. About 1,000 gay-marriage supporters 
waved signs and brought afternoon traffic to a halt.

On Thursday, outside the gates of a Mormon temple his father helped 
build, Kai Cross joined more than 2,000 gay-rights advocates in a chorus 
of criticism of the church's role in the likely passage of a statewide 
ban on same-sex marriage.

Once a devout Mormon who graduated from Brigham Young University, the 
41-year-old Cross was disowned by his family and his church after he was 
outed as a gay man in 2001.

"They are on the losing side of history," Cross said Thursday of the 
church's opposition to gay marriage. Cross and other protesters blame 
leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 
encouraging Mormons to funnel millions of dollars into television ads 
and mailings in favor of Proposition 8.

The ballot measure was sponsored by a coalition of religious and social 
conservative groups, would amend the California Constitution to define 
marriage as a heterosexual act. It would override a state Supreme Court 
ruling that briefly gave same-sex couples the right to wed.

According to the CBS News Election and Survey unit’s analysis, black 
voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of Prop. 8 - by a 70 percent to 30 
percent margin. Hispanic voters overall favored the measure as well but 
only by a 53 percent to 47 percent margin. White voters were slightly on 
the side of approving it, 51 percent to 49 percent.

There is disappointment that the African-American community, which just 
saw the election of the first black president, voted overwhelmingly 
against same-sex marriage, reports CBS Early Show correspondent Hattie 
Kauffman.

The protest came amid questions about whether attempts to overturn the 
prohibition can succeed and whether the 18,000 same-sex marriages 
performed in California over the past four months are in any danger.

For Cody Krebs, 27, four months was not enough time to fulfill his 
"intense hope" to marry one day; he and his boyfriend have been together 
for little more than a year, so they aren't ready to wed.

On Thursday, Krebs dodged eggs hurled at protesters from an apartment 
building. He said he'd seen worse growing up in Salt Lake City.

"It's important to come out like this because it gets the gay community 
into the public eye," Krebs said. "I feel like this has started a lot of 
conversations that had to get started."

The demonstration began outside the temple in the Westwood section of 
Los Angeles and noisily spilled through the western side of the city, 
with chants of "Separate church and state" and "What do we want? Equal 
rights." Some protesters waved signs saying "No on H8" or "I didn't vote 
against your marriage," and many equated the issue with the civil rights 
struggle.

Two people were arrested after a confrontation between the crowd and an 
occupant of a pickup truck that had a banner supporting Proposition 8. 
One demonstrator ended up with a bloody nose in the fracas. Seven 
arrests occurred during Los Angeles-area street marches late Wednesday.

The temple protest was organized by the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. Its 
chief executive, Lorri Jean, announced a Web-based effort dubbed 
InvalidateProp8.org to raise money to fight the constitutional amendment.

Gay-marriage proponents filed three court challenges Wednesday against 
the ban. The lawsuits raise a rare legal argument: that the ballot 
measure was actually a dramatic revision of the California Constitution 
rather than a simple amendment. A constitutional revision must first 
pass the Legislature before going to the voters.

Andrew Pugno, attorney for the groups that sponsored the amendment, 
called the lawsuits "frivolous and regrettable."

"It is time that the opponents of traditional marriage respect the 
voters' decision," he said.

The high court has not said when it will act. State officials said the 
ban on gay marriage took effect the morning after the election.

"We don't consider it a `Hail Mary' at all," said Kate Kendell, 
executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. "You 
simply can't so something like this - take away a fundamental right at 
the ballot."

With many gay newlyweds worried about what the amendment does to their 
vows, California Attorney General Jerry Brown said he believes those 
marriages are still valid. But he is also preparing to defend that 
position in court.

The amendment does not explicitly say whether it applies to those 
already married. Legal experts said unless there is explicit language, 
laws are not normally applied retroactively.

"Otherwise a Pandora's Box of chaos is opened," said Stanford University 
law school professor Jane Schacter. Still, Schacter cautioned that the 
question of retroactivity "is not a slam dunk."

An employer, for instance, could deny medical benefits to an employee's 
same-sex spouse. The worker could then sue the employer, giving rise to 
a case that could determine the validity of the 18,000 marriages.

Supporters of the ban said they will not seek to invalidate the 
marriages already performed and will leave any legal challenges to others.

A 2003 California law already gives gays registered as domestic partners 
nearly all the state rights and responsibilities of married couples when 
it comes to such things as taxes, estate planning and medical decisions. 
That law is still in effect.






http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/latest-world-news/2008/11/07/protests-after-californians-reject-gay-marriage-91466-22204784/

Protests after Californians reject gay marriage
Nov 7 2008 WalesOnline
An estimated 1,000 protesters have taken to the streets over 
California’s new ban on gay marriage as the political turmoil and legal 
confusion over who should have the right to wed deepens.
California voters approved a constitutional amendment disallowing gay 
marriage. The measure, which won 52% approval, overrides a California 
Supreme Court ruling last May that briefly gave same-sex couples the 
right to wed.
About 1,000 gay-marriage supporters demonstrated outside a Mormon temple 
in the Westwood section of Los Angeles.
Sign-waving demonstrators spilled onto Santa Monica Boulevard, bringing 
afternoon traffic to a halt.
The temple was targeted because the Mormon church strongly supported the 
ban on gay marriage.







http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Protesters_demonstrate_in_front_of_Latter-day_Saint_temple_in_L.A.?curid=116436

Protesters demonstrate in front of Latter-day Saint temple in L.A.
 From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!
Jump to: navigation, search
Thursday, November 13, 2008
More than 1,000 protesters showed up to demonstrate in front of the Los 
Angeles temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 
Friday, November 7, to protest the church's involvement with the passing 
of Proposition 8. The proposition passed with 52% support, and would 
amend the California constitution to ban gay marriage, which was 
recently made legal by court order. The temple is located in Los 
Angeles, California.
According to a member of the Los Angeles Police Department, the Temple 
grounds were vandalized by protesters, and a group of apparently non-LDS 
Hispanic women attempting to remove critical signs from temple grounds 
were attacked and beaten before police stepped in and arrested those 
involved.

A breakdown of support for Proposition 8 in California
Protesters have claimed that the church's institution made small cash 
donations to the Proposition 8 campaign, though no evidence has yet 
surfaced to corroborate the claims. It appears that many members of the 
church (also known as Mormons) donated to the "Yes on 8" campaign.
Jeff Flint, a strategist for Yes on 8, has criticized the protest and 
related negative media placed on those Latter-day Saints who supported 
Proposition 8: "I am appalled at the level of Mormon-bashing that went 
on during the Proposition 8 campaign and continues to this day. If this 
activity were directed against any other church, if someone put up a 
website that targeted Jews or Catholics in a similar fashion for the 
mere act of participating in a political campaign, it would be widely 
and rightfully condemned."
In addition to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the 
proposition was supported by other Christian groups, the Hispanic 
population of California by a slight majority, and overwhelmingly by 
California's African-American population. Protests have targeted these 
communities as well. F. Damion Barela, who had obtained a gay marriage 
to his husband five months ago, said, "I'm disappointed in the 
Californians who voted for this." In particular, he was bothered that 
some ethnic groups supported the ban: "To them I say, 'Shame on you 
because you should know what this feels like.'"
Protests of up to 20,000 people were held in other cities throughout the 
country in opposition to Proposition 8, and some Latter-day Saints have 
left the church over the matter. Several other churches have been 
vandalized by protesters since its passage.
Similar constitutional provisions were passed in Florida and Arizona 
during the election, and such provisions already exist in 27 other 
states, with a further 15 featuring statutory bans on same sex marriages.






http://www.14wfie.com/global/story.asp?s=9356895

Prop 8 protesters gather in Evansville

Posted: Nov 15, 2008 11:10 PM
Updated: Nov 24, 2008 01:35 PM

Posted by Rachel Folz- email
EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE)- Protesters gathered around the nation and in 
Evansville on Saturday.
On election day, California voters approved a constitutional ban on 
same-sex marriage.
The ban is known as Proposition 8.
The passing of the ban has triggred heated protests across the country, 
including right here in the Tri-State.
Same-sex marriage supporters planned simultaneous rallies in all 50 states.
One hundred people stood out in the cold in front of the Centre to get 
their message out.
Similar protests were held in Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Louisville.
It's estimated 100 million people took part in the protest in more than 
300 cities.






http://www.wsbtv.com/news/17988951/detail.html?rss=atl&psp=news#-

Proposition 8 Protesters Overtake Georgia State Capitol
Posted: 4:29 pm EST November 15, 2008Updated: 5:52 pm EST November 15, 2008
BOSTON -- Thousands of gay rights supporters gathered Saturday across 
the country, including on the steps of the Georgia State Capitol, for a 
national day of protest.
• SLIDESHOW: Proposition 8 Protesters Overtake State Capitol
Demonstrators protested against Proposition 8, the vote that banned gay 
marriage in California. In other parts of the country, people assembled 
in small communities and major cities including New York, San Francisco 
and Chicago to vent their frustrations, celebrate gay relationships and 
renew calls for change.
"Civil marriages are a civil right, and we're going to keep fighting 
until we get the rights we deserve as American citizens," Karen Amico 
said in Philadelphia, holding up a sign reading "Don't Spread H8".
"We are the American family. We live next door to you. We teach your 
children. We take care of your elderly," said Heather Baker, a special 
education teacher from Boston who addressed the crowd at Boston's City 
Hall Plaza. "We need equal right across the country."
Massachusetts and Connecticut, which began same-sex weddings this past 
week, are the only two states that allow gay marriage.
All 30 states that have voted on gay marriage have enacted bans.
Protests following the vote on Proposition 8 in California, which 
defined marriage as between a man and a woman, have sometimes been angry 
and even violent, and demonstrators have targeted faiths that supported 
the ban, including the Mormon church.
However, representatives of Join the Impact, which organized Saturday's 
demonstrations, asked supporters to be respectful and refrain from 
attacking other groups during the rallies.
The mood in Boston was generally upbeat, with attendees dancing and 
signing to the song "Respect." Signs cast the fight for gay marriage as 
the new civil rights movement, including one that read "Gay is the new 
black."
But anger over the ban and its backers was evident at the protests.
One sign in Chicago read: "Catholic Fascists Stay Out of Politics."
"I just found out that my state doesn't really think I'm a person," said 
Rose Aplustill, 21, a Boston University student from Los Osos, Calif., 
who was one of thousands at the Boston rally.
Planning for the nationwide protests was started by a Seattle blogger, 
Amy Balliett, just days after the California vote, which took away gay 
marriage rights that had been granted by the state's high court.
The idea rapidly spread online and Join the Impact predicted that 
Saturday's protests would involve tens of thousands of people in 
hundreds of communities.
In North Dakota, where voters in 2004 overwhelmingly approved a 
constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, low-key protests were held 
Saturday in Grand Forks and Fargo, where people lined a bridge carrying 
signs and flags.
"It's been very peaceful," said Josh Boschee, who helped organize the 
Fargo protest.
In Chicago, Keith Smith, 42, a postal worker, and his partner, Terry 
Romo, 34, a Wal-Mart store manager, had photos of their wedding ceremony 
which they held even though gay marriage is not legal in Illinois.
"We're not going to wait for no law," Smith said. "But time's going to 
be on our side and it's going to change."







http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/11/15/news/doc491e51e62054b544257033.txt

November 15, 2008 12:20 PM CST
Comments (292) | E-mail this page | Print this page | Enlarge type | 
Reduce type | Search archives | RSS feeds | Add to My Yahoo!

More than 100 turn out at ISU to protest gay marriage bans
By Bridget Flynn
bflynn at pantagraph.com

NORMAL -- David Lawrence said Friday he doesn’t know if he will marry 
someday, but he wants the opportunity to. “I should have the option as a 
citizen of this country,” he said.

That’s why he joined about 100 to 200 people who marched on and around 
the Illinois State University campus Friday night to protest bans on 
same-sex marriage adopted Nov. 4 in statewide referendums in California, 
Arizona and Florida. Voters in Arkansas approved a measure preventing 
gays from adopting.

“As a gay man, I find it completely ridiculous,” said David Lawrence, a 
senior from Peoria. “We should have the same rights and economic 
benefits as everybody else.”

The protesters gathered at the flagpole on the quad and then marched on 
the quad and to the surrounding streets, including Locust, University 
and Main streets and College Avenue.

Students held signs with slogans such as “Did we vote on your marriage?” 
and “Love, not h8,” the latter in reference to California’s Proposition 8.

“Everybody has the right to a family with love,” said sophomore Melissa 
Grogan of Tinley Park, who held a sign that said, “I may be straight, 
but I’m not narrow.”

The ISU and Illinois Wesleyan University chapters of PRIDE (People 
Realizing Individuality and Diversity through Education) organized the 
event the night.

“We want to get to the streets,” said ISU chapter President Ashley Clark.

The march also was held for the morale of the marchers, she added.

“A lot of it is more about those of us who are here to get energized,” 
she said. “I think this is really important for our generation.”

As the marchers reached Watterson Towers, they stopped briefly and 
chanted “One, two, three, four, we won’t take this anymore! Five, six, 
seven, eight, stop the violence, stop the hate!”

At no point along the route was there evidence of counter protesters.

Although Clark said PRIDE opposes all marriage bans, Proposition 8 
especially offended her because the California State Supreme Court had 
already ruled that a ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Gays 
were being permitted to marry until the referendum stopped it.

“The rights of a minority should never be put to a popular vote,” she said.

A.J. Kastinas, a sophomore from Champaign who said he hopes to marry 
someday, agreed.

“The thing about Proposition 8 is that it took away rights that were 
already there,” he said. “I feel it’s a terrible, terrible thing.”

Danielle Rossi, president of the IWU chapter of PRIDE, said she 
considers Proposition 8 “a horrible stain on our nation’s history.”







http://www.wcpo.com/content/news/neighborhoods/downtown_cincinnati/story/Local-Activists-Protest-CA-Same-Sex-Marriage-Ban/kzvimbrvHkeA0Jm2SdokBw.cspx

Local Activists Protest CA Same-Sex Marriage Ban
Reported by: Jay Warren
Email: jay.warren at wcpo.com
Last Update: 11/15/2008 12:06 am

Cincinnati will be among 300 cities in which gay rights activists will 
take to the streets on Saturday.
"I know that there are people from Lexington and smaller communities 
coming in to Cincinnati for the protest at City Hall," said Mark Goins, 
who plans to be there also.
Goins and other activists hopes the demonstration will raise the issue 
of what he sees as unequal protection under the law.
"I would hope that it would open people's minds to say, 'Hey, why can't 
everybody have the same right to get married as straight people do?," 
continued Goins.
Citizens for Community Values (CCV), a local organization that advocates 
marriage between a man and a woman, believes same sex marriage bans are 
not unconstitutional.
"I think our marriage laws treat everybody the same and I think it's not 
right for someone to come to the rest of society and ask that the rules 
be changed just for them," said David Miller, a vice president of the 
organization.
The demonstration will begin at 1:30 p.m. and will be held at Cincinnati 
City Hall.It is set to coincide with other demonstrations around the 
country.






http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story/Proposition-8-Protest-Held-Outside-City-Hall/Dk9Tmyi8cEKAfuEInWo_0Q.cspx

Proposition 8 Protest Held Outside City Hall
Web Produced By: Megan Wasmund
Email: megan.wasmund at wcpo.com
Contributor: Jennifer Moore
Last Update: 11/16/2008 9:40 am

(9News)
The issue of equal marriage took the focus Saturday afternoon at 
Cincinnati's City Hall.

A couple hundred people stood in the rain to protest the passage of 
Proposition Eight in California, which bans marriage between gay and 
lesbian couples.

This was part of a national protest at city halls across the nation.

The local group, Impact Cincinnati, organized it in Cincinnati.

Protesters say the passage of the law in such a liberal state as 
California was a true wake-up call.

Cameron Tolle of Impact Cincinnati said, "I think today it's time to let 
our communities know that this hatred and second class citizenship that 
is being imposed on our laws is not going to be acceptable. And we're no 
longer going to be complacent and we're ready to start some change."

Comedienne and actress Margaret Cho also made a stop at the protest here.

Organizers hope to rally support for gay marriage here in the Tri-State.





http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20081115/news/811150282

Parade of protest
Downtown marchers demonstrate against passage of Proposition 8

Kent Porter / PRESS DEMOCRAT
More than 1,500 people marched through Santa Rosa Saturday November 15, 
2008 in response to Proposition 8 failing in the election.

By MICHAEL COIT
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 12:47 p.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 9:05 p.m.
Protestors ringed Santa Rosa’s downtown core to demonstrate against 
California’s gay marriage ban Saturday, marching to band music and 
chanting slogans as part of a national show of support for same-sex 
marriage.
More than 1,700 people from across Sonoma County walked the six block 
route from courthouse square to the city hall steps, spilling onto side 
streets to display posters and banners for passing motorists.
“We knew it was going to be big, but not like this,” said Andrew Miles, 
of Sonoma.
Miles and a dozen friends turned out Saturday, brought together like 
many groups through Internet bulletin boards, emails and phone calls.
More formal organizing was through a local coalition campaigns against 
Proposition 8 and a national internet campaign www.jointheimpact.com.
Saturday’s showing reflected frustration with voter approval this month 
of California’s gay marriage ban and a feeling that opponents could have 
done more to defeat the measure, said Chari Davidson, an organizer of 
the march.
“All of us feel we could have done better,” the Santa Rosa resident 
said. “But we can’t stop now. There’s too much momentum.”
Whatever anger and frustration there may be among same-sex marriage 
supporters wasn’t evident Saturday. The march was as much parade as protest.







http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_111508WAB_prop_eight_protest_KS.1b62f5e75.html

Thousands march in Prop 8 protest
11:54 AM PST on Sunday, November 16, 2008
By CHRIS DANIELS / KING 5 News

SEATTLE - Thousands took to the streets of Seattle Saturday to protest 
California's recently passed Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in 
California.
Organizers of Saturday's protest say the same thing could happen in 
Washington state.
There were eight anti-Proposition 8 rallies across Washington Saturday, 
but perhaps none were bigger than the one held in Seattle. Seattle 
Police say roughly 6,000 people took part in a rally and march from 
Volunteer Park to Westlake Center.
Related Content
Global gay rights protest has roots in Seattle
Federal Way residents Donna Candiliere and Joy Pothan brought their kids 
along.
"We're the same as everyone else," Pothan said. "We go to works, pay our 
bills. We shouldn't be separated from what everyone else deserves."
King County Executive Ron Sims helped rally the crowd at Volunteer Park.
"Don't tell me that when two people love each other that is immoral," he 
said.

KING
Protesters march through downtown Seattle Saturday as part of a national 
protest against California's Proposition 8.
The throng of supporters spread into the streets of Seattle, mirroring 
images seen at hundreds of other anti-Prop 8 rallies across the country.
Police say the Seattle march was peaceful, minus a handful of heated 
exchanges between marchers and gay rights opponents at Westlake Center.
Candiliere and Pothan - together six years with eight children between 
them - hope the day's events altered perceptions.
"Our marriages count just as much as everyone else," Candiliere said.






http://www.kmov.com/localnews/stories/kmov-stlouis-news-081115-same-sex-marraige-protest.1b741b85e.html

One thousand gay rights supporters hold rally in downtown St. Louis
03:58 PM CST on Sunday, November 16, 2008
St. Louis (KMOV) -- Gay rights supporters are holding rallies in cities 
across the country, including downtown St. Louis.

Police said more than 1,000 people gathered at the Old Courthouse on 
Saturday to support changing the law so same-sex couples could get married.
The protest included not only gays and lesbians but many heterosexual 
supporters as well. Protesters said the rally is part of the greater 
struggle for civil rights in America.

Hundreds gathered on the western steps of the Old Courthouse, which has 
come to symbolize the fight for equality since the Dred Scott slavery 
case was decided there more than 150 years ago.

Hundreds more gathered across the street in Kiener Plaza.

California residents recently voted to take away same-sex marriage 
rights which provoked Saturday's protest and others like it from 
coast-to-coast.

Connecticut and Massachusetts are the only states that allow gay 
marriage. Thirty states have banned same sex marriage, including Missouri.






http://www.kmov.com/topstories/stories/kmov-stlouis-news-081115-same-sex-marraige-protest.1b741b85e.html

One thousand gay rights supporters hold rally in downtown St. Louis
03:58 PM CST on Sunday, November 16, 2008
St. Louis (KMOV) -- Gay rights supporters are holding rallies in cities 
across the country, including downtown St. Louis.

Police said more than 1,000 people gathered at the Old Courthouse on 
Saturday to support changing the law so same-sex couples could get married.
The protest included not only gays and lesbians but many heterosexual 
supporters as well. Protesters said the rally is part of the greater 
struggle for civil rights in America.

Hundreds gathered on the western steps of the Old Courthouse, which has 
come to symbolize the fight for equality since the Dred Scott slavery 
case was decided there more than 150 years ago.

Hundreds more gathered across the street in Kiener Plaza.

California residents recently voted to take away same-sex marriage 
rights which provoked Saturday's protest and others like it from 
coast-to-coast.

Connecticut and Massachusetts are the only states that allow gay 
marriage. Thirty states have banned same sex marriage, including Missouri.




http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/11/15/ddn111508gayrallyweb.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=16

Local gay rights supporters join national protest
• Photos from the rally
By Valryn Warren
Staff Writer
Saturday, November 15, 2008
DAYTON — Gay rights supporters in the Miami Valley joined others across 
the nation Sunday in a unified protest against California's Proposition 
8, which restricted marriage to same-sex couples
Those who gathered at Courthouse Square on Saturday, Nov. 15, had to 
brave miserably cold, wet weather to take their stand.
"It shows how strongly we feel about it, that we'd stand out here on day 
like today," Quinn Gibson, of Fairborn, said.
The LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender) community saw several 
setbacks at the polls this month. Arkansas voters made it illegal for 
unmarried but cohabiting partners to adopt or foster a child, a measure 
that was intended to target gays but has a broader application, and 
Arizona and Florida also banned gay marriage.
There are now 30 states restricting marriage to male/female unions only 
by state constitutional amendment, including Ohio, which did so in 2004. 
Same-sex marriage is permitted in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The situation surrounding California's constitutional ban is unique 
because it was passed only about five months after a state Supreme Court 
decision made it legal. It's still uncertain when the ban goes into 
effect or what the status is of the 18,000 gay and lesbian couples who 
married during the brief time it was legal.
"I have friends out there this directly affected," Julian Haydu of 
Fairborn said. "How can people say this is about protecting the family, 
when it's tearing families apart?"
Cherish Cronmiller of Dayton carried a sign saying "My Mom has been 
married 3 times (to men) My Dad has been married 4 times (to women) — 
What exactly are you trying to protect?"
"Two consenting adults can enter into a contract and that should include 
marriage," Cronmiller said. "There are over 1,400 rights associated with 
being legally married. People just don't realize how far it extends."






http://www.theolympian.com/breakingnews/story/663251.html

About 300 gather in Olympia to protest gay-marriage ban
By Rolf Boone | The Olympian • Published November 16, 2008
About 300 South Sound residents, spurred to action by a recent 
initiative that overturned gay-marriage rights in California, gathered 
today at Olympia City Hall to rally support for the rights of gay men 
and women to marry.

The 90-minute morning rally, organized by Anna Schlecht of Olympia, 
coincided with similar rallies across the country today.
Schlecht said she was pleased with the turnout because there were so 
many new faces at the rally, people who had attended to show their support.
Some at the rally held signs that said, “We are Americans, too,” “When 
can I vote on your marriage?” or “Vote no on Proposition 8.”
Proposition 8 was the citizens initiative in California banning gay 
marriage that won support in the Nov. 5 general election.
Rally attendees also listened to a series of guest speakers, including 
Gery Gerst, a retired Olympia High School teacher who talked briefly 
about growing up gay with a homophobic father.
Afterwards, Gerst, who taught American history and civics when he was a 
teacher, said the rally was about equal justice for all.
“Evil happens when people don’t speak up,” he said, adding that American 
history has been filled with moments when sub-groups such as gays, 
minorities and religious groups have been discriminated against.
“As long as that goes on it makes a mockery of the U.S. constitution,” 
he said. “It’s time for America to step up and face its own bigotries.”
Gerst said that when he learned that Proposition 8 had passed in 
California he was disappointed and outraged but thinks the issue 
eventually will wind up with the U.S. Supreme Court. It may receive more 
support there because Democratic President-elect Barack Obama will be in 
a position to appoint new Supreme Court Justices, Gerst said.






http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou081115_mp_prop-8-protest.1b75a128a.html

Gay rights activists protest against Proposition 8
07:40 PM CST on Saturday, November 15, 2008
KHOU.com staff report
HOUSTON -- Thousands of gay rights activists gathered around the country 
on Saturday. They were protesting against California's Proposition 8 
which prohibits same sex marriage.
November 15, 2008
One of the protests took place in Houston.
Hundreds of people gathered in front of Houston City Hall to voice their 
concerns over California’s constitution that now bans same-sex marriage.
The supporters of Proposition 8 believe marriage should be defined as 
between a man and a woman, but the opponents believe that sex doesn’t 
matter.
“It’s civil rights and not somebody's religious beliefs that count. 
Everybody is entitled to their religious beliefs, and that's fine. But 
their religious beliefs don't have anything to do with people's right to 
do and live how they want to live their lives," said Greg Hartman, 
protestor.
Similar protests were held in other Texas cities. In Austin, about 
200-people gathered, and in Dallas, about 700 protestors showed up. In 
Dallas, they were met with counter-protestors, who support the ban on 
gay marriage. They stood across the street and prayed.
Gay rights activists said they organized protests in all 50-states and 
the District of Columbia.







http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/111608dnmetprop8protest.1b72a49ee.html

1,200 protest California's gay-marriage ban at Dallas City Hall
06:21 PM CST on Saturday, November 15, 2008
By DAN X. McGRAW / The Dallas Morning News
dmcgraw at dallasnews.com
Louise Young never cast a vote on Proposition 8, but the measure changed 
her life.
Married three months ago in California, Ms. Young and Vivienne 
Armstrong, her partner, joined more than 1,200 other Dallas-area 
residents who gathered outside Dallas City Hall on Saturday to 
peacefully protest California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex 
marriage in that state.
Video


Scenes from the Dallas protest
11/15/2008

“This is not a religious issue,” said Ms. Young, 61, of Dallas. “This is 
about legal rights. This isn’t right.”
Proposition 8, narrowly approved by California voters on Nov. 4, amends 
the state’s constitution to define marriage as between a man and a 
woman. Opponents have already challenged the measure in the California 
Supreme Court, arguing that gay marriage is a fundamental right.
The legal ramifications seem far from settled. California Attorney 
General Jerry Brown has said Proposition 8’s passage probably won’t 
nullify about 18,000 same-sex marriages in that state, but legal experts 
say the matter isn’t clear.
Voters in Florida and Arizona passed similar constitutional amendments.
Since Proposition 8’s passage, numerous protests have occurred in 
California and other states. On Saturday, many protests were held 
simultaneously across the nation. In Texas, rallies were held in Austin, 
Houston and San Antonio.
Etta Zamboni, who organized Dallas’ rally, said the proposition has 
galvanized the gay and lesbian community. The community had become 
complacent about the issue prior to the vote, she said, but the 
California measure has incited people to step up the fight for gay rights.
While Proposition 8 has had an immediate impact on the gay community in 
California, she said, its effects could ripple across the nation.
“It impacts us because it takes our rights away,” Ms. Zamboni said. “If 
they can do it in California, then they can do it elsewhere.”
Also Online
Proposition 8 sparks rallies nationwide
Across from City Hall on Akard Street, Angela Cummings, 38, of Irving 
and nine other people protested the gay rally with a bullhorn and a 
cross, saying that gay marriage is against God’s wishes. No 
confrontations occurred between the two sides, but gay rights activists 
did file complaints against the group to police.
Kat McKena, 30, of Dallas, said counter-protesters were simply seeking 
attention and were educated on Proposition 8. Everyone — no matter their 
religion, race, gender or sexual orientation — deserves equal rights 
without having others force their religious beliefs onto them, she said.
“I pay taxes,” she said. “Why am I being denied the same rights?”
Julie Hertwig of Dallas stood near her father, Jim Hertwig, and his 
partner, John Perez, carrying a sign that read “My Daddies deserve 
marriage.”
Mr. Perez said that Proposition 8 took away his fundamental rights as a 
citizen and that he hoped rallies across the country would help persuade 
politicians to overturn the amendment.
“These are my rights,” he said.






http://www.nowpublic.com/world/protest-over-prop-8-san-francisco-15-nov-2008-3

Protest over Prop 8 in San Francisco 15,Nov. 2008

uploaded by SF Emperor November 15, 2008 at 04:47 pm
47 views | add comment | 10 recommendations

Todays Protest started at the stairs of San Francisco's city hall. The 
protesters then took to the streets, they marched down Polk to Market. 
At this time they headed west towards the Castro. When people in the 
front of the flipped a U-turn and started to walk east bound on Market. 
The crowd came back on itself and there was a few moments of question. 
the crowd split in two and one group went west and the other went east. 
I stayed with the east bound crowd. They marched down Market to Stockton 
where the crod turned up into on coming traffic and bring it a complete 
stand still for the next 15 to 20 minutes.








http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=6496204

Prop. 8 protests for 5th straight day
Saturday, November 08, 2008

LOS ANGELES -- Backlash to the passage of an anti-gay-marriage law 
continued to sweep across California on Sunday, with hundreds of 
protesters rallying outside an Orange County megachurch whose popular 
pastor brought Barack Obama and John McCain together last summer for a 
"faith forum."
In Oakland, a large anti-Proposition 8 protest at the city's Mormon 
Temple led the California Highway Patrol to close two nearby highway 
ramps. A CHP dispatcher said the ramps were closed to protect 
pedestrians from traffic.
In Pasadena, the pastor of the 4,000-member All Saints Church spoke out 
against Proposition 8, calling the religious community's support of it 
"embarrassing."
Several other demonstrations were planned around the state.
In Orange County, about 1,000 gay-rights advocates fanned out along 
sidewalks leading to Saddleback Church in Lake Forest.
The protesters were angered by the church's support of Proposition 8, a 
constitutional amendment approved by voters Tuesday that bans same-sex 
marriages and overturns the state Supreme Court decision in May 
legalizing such unions.
Human Rights Campaign volunteer Ed Todeschini accused the church of 
helping propagate what he called misinformation about the Supreme Court 
ruling, including that gay marriage would have to be taught to 
kindergartners.
A message for comment left at the church's main office, which was closed 
Sunday, was not immediately returned.
"They told such obvious lies, they used their lies to deceive the 
public," Todeschini said of the church, which gained national attention 
in August when its pastor, Rick Warren, brought Obama and McCain 
together to discuss their religious faith. The two candidates embraced 
during what was otherwise an often-contentious presidential campaign.
Todeschini said Sunday's rally was peaceful, with demonstrators waving 
placards with slogans including "Equality for all" and "Shame on you."
Other demonstrations were planned across the state, including in San 
Francisco, Laguna Niguel, at a park in Los Angeles and outside a Mormon 
Temple in San Diego. Rallies have been taking place since Proposition 
8's passage. It won with 52 percent of the vote.
In Oakland, where the highway patrol rerouted traffic, protest 
organizers said they hoped to tone down the anger that has characterized 
some previous protests.
"Our intent is not to disturb churchgoers," organizer Tim DeBenedictis 
said in a statement. "Our goal is to mend fences and build bridges so 
that all Californians can achieve marriage equality under the law."
Not all churches favor Proposition 8. In Pasadena, the All Saints Church 
announced that while it could legally no longer marry same-sex couples, 
it would continue blessings of gay civil unions.
"It's very unfortunate and embarrassing that the (Christian religion) is 
in large part responsible for this act of bigotry," the Rev. Ed Bacon 
told The Associated Press following his Sunday sermon.
Bacon heads the 4,000-member All Saints Church.





http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=eef406f4022069732e4cb479eb94f825&from=rss

New Yorkers Protest Gay Marriage Ban
New America Media, , Jonathan Mena and Jacqueline Fernandez, Posted: Nov 
16, 2008
Editor's Note: Yesterday thousands of protesters took to the streets of 
New York to protest the passage of Proposition 8 in California. NAM 
contributors Jonathan Mena and Jacqueline Fernandez are senior 
journalism students at Hunter College. Both are editors/reporters for 
the journalism program's online publication, The WORD.






http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO95319/

Gay rights supporters rally in Boston to protest Calif. ban

BOSTON -- Gay rights supporters in the state where same-sex couples 
first exchanged wedding vows gathered Saturday to protest the California 
vote that banned gay marriage there and to urge supporters not to quit 
the fight for the right to wed.
Crowds gathered near public buildings in small communities and major 
cities including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago to 
vent their frustrations, celebrate gay relationships and renew calls for 
change.
"Civil marriages are a civil right, and we're going to keep fighting 
until we get the rights we deserve as American citizens," Karen Amico 
said in Philadelphia, holding up a sign reading "Don't Spread H8".
"We are the American family, we live next door to you, we teach your 
children, we take care of your elderly," said Heather Baker a special 
education teacher from Boston who addressed the crowd at Boston's City 
Hall Plaza. "We need equal right across the country."
Massachusetts and Connecticut, which began same sex weddings this past 
week, are the only two states that allow gay marriage. All 30 states 
that have voted on gay marriage have enacted bans.
Protests following the vote on Proposition 8 in California, which 
defined marriage as between a man and a woman, have sometimes been angry 
and even violent, and demonstrators have targeted faiths that supported 
the ban, including the Mormon church.
Some of that sentiment was on display Saturday in San Francisco, one of 
dozens of California cities to host the rallies.
Hundreds of gay marriage supporters packed Civic Center plaza in front 
of San Francisco City Hall, many carrying banners protesting involvement 
by religious groups in the Proposition 8 campaign.
The Mormon church, which sent volunteers to California and encouraged 
its members to donate money, was a favorite target. "Leave your church 
out of my state," read one sign. Others were more pointed: "You have 
three wives; I want one husband," read another.
Alan Wheeler said he was raised Mormon, married in the church and had 
six children -- before he was excommunicated for announcing he was gay. 
Saturday's rally in San Francisco marked the first time he had 
participated in a gay and lesbian rally, but Wheeler said he was 
compelled to turn out in part because of the church's involvement in the 
campaign.
The 58-year-old Oakland resident held a sign that read, "Brigham Young 
had 55 wives ... We only want one."
"I had no problem with the church until they started taking rights 
away," he said.
Some of those at the rally said they were conflicted about the boycotts 
and protests outside churches that have been called by gay-rights 
activists after California voters passed Proposition 8 on Nov. 4.
Chris Norberg, who married his partner in June, said many in the gay and 
lesbian community were angered by voters' overturning same-sex marriage 
rights and wanted their voices heard.
"I don't want to cause damage, but sometimes you have to make noise," 
said the 26-year-old furniture builder from San Francisco.
He also referred to the racial divisions that have arisen since the 
election. Exit polls found that majorities of blacks and Hispanics 
supported the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
"A lot of my friends are really pissed off at minority populations in 
this city right now," Norberg said. "They voted against us."
The Civic Center crowd on Saturday was predominantly white. Among the 
minorities participating was Jane Francis of San Francisco, who held a 
sign that read, in part, "Equal parts black and lesbian."
The 26-year-old came to the rally with two friends -- one white, one 
Hispanic.
"There are those of us who exist in both communities. Both identities 
are equally important," she said.
Among the speakers at the San Francisco rally was the Rev. Amos Brown, 
also a national board member of the NAACP. While his church does not 
perform same-sex weddings, Brown characterized the push for gay marriage 
as a civil rights struggle.
"Though I'm a Baptist, I refuse to be a bigot," he told the crowd before 
it left Civic Center plaza around noon for an impromptu march downtown.
Emmett Oliver, 54, watched the procession while sitting along Market Street.
He voted yes on Proposition 8 and disagreed with the argument that gay 
marriage was a civil rights issue.
"It doesn't have anything to do with color," said Oliver, who is black 
and describes himself as a Christian. "Anyone who tries to put it in 
with that I find it very offensive."
Representatives of Join the Impact, which organized Saturday's 
demonstrations nationwide, asked supporters to be respectful and refrain 
from attacking other groups during the rallies.
But anger over the ban and its backers was evident at the protests.
One sign in Chicago read: "Catholic Fascists Stay Out of Politics."
"I just found out that my state doesn't really think I'm a person," said 
Rose Aplustill, 21, a Boston University student from Los Osos, Calif., 
who was one of thousands at the Boston rally.
Planning for the nationwide protests was started by a Seattle blogger, 
Amy Balliett, just days after the California vote, which took away gay 
marriage rights that had been granted by the state Supreme Court earlier 
this year.
The idea rapidly spread online.






http://www.abc4.com/content/news/slc/story/Prop-8-protestors-hold-candlelight-ceremony-at/w6PWSbprU0KEOsCpG-WpZA.cspx

Prop. 8 protestors hold candlelight ceremony at state Capitol

Reported by: Kerry Kinsey
Last Update: 11/15/2008 11:28 pm
Print Story | Email Story

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Jessica Conaty and her partner Pam Roberts 
were in front of the state Capitol Saturday night talking about the 
annoying winds. The stiff breeze kept them from using candles to spell 
out the word, “equality.” Conaty said, ”It's a bit of a challenge, but 
we're here.”

More than 150 people braved cool temperatures to be a part of the 
candlelight ceremony, including Elaine Bell who organized Saturday’s 
March for Equality.

She answers some of her critics who want the protestors to get over the 
fact that Proposition 8 passed in California. The measure banned 
same-sex marriage in the Golden State. Bell said, ”What I say is that 
the constitution protects the rights of minorities in America. So the 
majority can vote that down, but it's still not right.”

Right or wrong, both sides of the gay marriage issue were pretty vocal 
this morning at the City and County Building in downtown Salt Lake City.

Salt Lake City police estimated the crowd at about 1,000. Two groups who 
were in favor of the passage of Proposition 8 were short in numbers, but 
long in words. Lonnie Percifull said, ”They break man’s laws they go to 
jail; they break God's laws they go to hell.”

Police reported no incidents of violence, 50 officers were on duty just 
in case. Salt Lake City Police Lt. Lamar Ewell said. ”We were well 
staffed today for any potential problems.”

As expected, both sides claimed victory after the march, even though 
Bell predicted a crowd of more than 3-thousand. Bell said, ”I’m not 
disappointed by that, I thought we had an excellent turnout.”

Bell said she thinks the energy shown tonight will not slow down. She 
believes people are ready for a change on the issue of same sex 
marriage, opponents disagree.

The Salt Lake City march was one of several around the country against 
the passage of Proposition 8.







http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/590928.html

Supporters protest gay marriage ban
NATIONWIDE RALLY: Fifty to 100 gather in Anchorage to voice opinions.
Daily News wire and staff
Published: November 16th, 2008 04:22 AM
Last Modified: November 16th, 2008 04:22 AM
Gay rights supporters waving rainbow colors marched, chanted and danced 
in cities coast to coast Saturday to protest the vote that banned gay 
marriage in California and to urge supporters not to quit the fight for 
the right to wed.
Crowds gathered near public buildings in cities large and small, 
including Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and Fargo, N.D., to vent their 
frustrations, celebrate gay relationships and renew calls for change.
In Anchorage, between 50 and 100 people gathered in front of the 
downtown Atwood Building holding signs in support of same-sex marriage. 
Some chanted “Gay, straight, black, white, marriage is an equal right. ” 
The group marched to nearby City Hall, then back again to the Atwood 
Building, which houses many state offices, including the governor’s when 
Sarah Palin is in Anchorage.
“No citizens have the right to vote away other citizen’s rights,” said 
organizer Stef Gingrich, in a later phone interview.
In Fairbanks, about 30 people showed up in below-freezing temperatures 
and stood in front of City Hall for about 45 minutes, said organizer 
Kristen Magann.
At the protest in Philadelphia, Karen Amico said, “Civil marriages are a 
civil right, and we’re going to keep fighting until we get the rights we 
deserve as American citizens.”
“We are the American family, we live next door to you, we teach your 
children, we take care of your elderly,” said Heather Baker a special 
education teacher who addressed the crowd at Boston’s City Hall Plaza. 
“We need equal rights across the country.”
Connecticut, which began same-sex weddings this past week, and 
Massachusetts are the only two states that allow gay marriage. A handful 
allow civil unions or domestic partnerships that grant some rights of 
marriage.
Representatives of Join the Impact, which organized Saturday’s 
demonstrations, asked supporters to be respectful and refrain from 
attacking other groups during the rallies. Seattle blogger Amy Balliett, 
who started the planning for the protests when she set up a Web page 
three days after the California vote, said persuasion is impossible 
without civility.
“If we can move anybody past anger and have a respectful conversation, 
then you can plant the seed of change,” she said.







http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20081115/NEWS/811159981/1058&title=Nearly%201%2C000%20protest%20gay%20marriage%20ban%20in%20Denver

Nearly 1,000 protest gay marriage ban in Denver

Colleen Slevin
The Associated Press
Aspen, CO Colorado

Luke Duran holds up a sign during a protest against the passage of 
Proposition 8 in California, outside the City/County Building in Denver 
on Saturday. Nearly 1,000 people were there to voice their opposition to 
Proposition 8.
David Zalubowski/AP
DENVER — Nearly 1,000 people gathered in Denver on Saturday to protest 
California's same-sex marriage ban.

The peaceful demonstration outside the City and County Building featured 
speakers and live music and was timed to coincide with protests across 
the country.

As people held signs with slogans such as "Love is all you need" and 
"It's a contract not a sacrament", Monica Ward held a copy of her 
California marriage license. She and her partner, Natascha Seideneck, 
wed at San Francisco's city hall on Nov. 3, the day before California 
voters passed Proposition 8. It overruled a May court ruling in May that 
had legalized same-sex marriage.

"The day after they said this isn't real. That's why I'm here," she said.

Ward, 38, said the couple had planned to marry in October to celebrate 
their fourth anniversary of their partnership and "to make it real" but 
had to wait until the day before Election Day because so many other 
couples had already scheduled their weddings last month. She said they 
were prepared to sue if their marriage was nullified by the passage of 
the measure.

Their marriage isn't recognized in Colorado, where voters passed a gay 
marriage ban in 2006, but Ward hopes it will be someday.

Gay-marriage proponents have filed three court challenges against the 
new California ban. They've also called for a boycott of Utah's ski 
resorts and the Sundance Film Festival to punish the Mormon church for 
its support for the ban.

Colorado was torn apart a decade ago by a debate over gay discrimination 
after voters passed Amendment 2, which barred cities from passing 
anti-discrimination laws to protect gay people. Conventions were 
canceled and some threatened to boycott the state after its passage in 
1992. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the law four years later.

In 2006, Colorado voters passed an amendment defining marriage as a 
union between one man and one woman. They also rejected a proposal to 
allow domestic partnerships statewide.






http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/stories/wcnc-111608-mk-prop_8_protests.1bacf1aa4.html

Gay rights rallies held in Charlotte, nationwide
02:33 PM EST on Monday, November 17, 2008
By NewsChannel 36 Staff
E-mail Us: NEWS at WCNC.com
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Ralllies were held across the country this weekend in 
support of gay rights and some Charlotte residents took part in uptown.
California voters passed Proposition 8 -- the gay marriage ban -- two 
weeks ago with 52 percent voting for the ban and 48 percent against.
Thousands showed up to protest in San Franisco and about 100 people 
showed up for the Charlotte protest at the Government Center on Fourth 
Street.
Protesters hope their message will have an impact in the Bible Belt.
Protester Pete Santucci said, "I know this is the South and this is a 
highly religious area of the country. However, I think that people will 
realize that giving equal rights to people doesn't fly in the face of God."
Organizers say an estimated 1 million people took part in protests over 
the weekend in about 300 cities.





http://www.workers.org/2008/us/charlotte_1204/

Hundreds in Charlotte, N.C., protest Prop 8, rally for LGBT rights
By David Dixon
Charlotte, N.C.
Published Nov 24, 2008 3:47 PM
Some 300 people rallied outside the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government 
Center in downtown Charlotte on Nov. 15, part of a national day of 
protest against California’s Prop 8. The narrowly passed proposition 
denies the right of lesbian, gay, bi and trans people to marry and 
receive the more than 1,000 benefits that marriage entails.


Charlotte, N.C., Nov. 15.
Photo: Carol Marley
There were a large number of energetic youth in the crowd. People 
driving by honked and raised their fists in support, as chants of “Out 
of the closet, into the streets!” filled the air.
Some of the signs read: “Yes we can.” “You can’t outlaw love.” “Ban H8.” 
“Marriage is a human right.” “Gay rights are human rights.” Many of the 
signs were homemade.
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s student newspaper 
reported: “To open up the program, two choral groups, Gay Men’s Chorus 
of Charlotte and One Voice, serenaded the crowd. Following their 
selections, Reverend Catherine Houchins of the Metropolitan Community 
Church spoke and offered a blessing for those couples, gay and straight, 
who were in serious and committed relationships. After Rev. Houchins, 
Mandy Plante, Providence High School president of the Gay/Straight 
Alliance, gave a captivating speech that promoted equality.” 
(nineronline.com, Nov.18)
Protests were held in hundreds of cities throughout the U.S., and are 
expected to continue until marriage equality and equal rights for LGBT 
people are attained.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force states: “The 1,138 federal 
benefits and protections of marriage are only available to couples that 
are allowed to legally marry. These include Social Security survivor and 
spousal benefits, the ability to file a joint tax return, immigration 
rights, and coverage under the Family and Medical Leave Act. To date, 
civil unions are not ‘portable,’ meaning that when a couple moves to 
another state, none of the benefits, rights or responsibilities coming 
from civil unions move with them.” (www.thetaskforce.org)
The Charlotte protest was organized by UNC-Charlotte PRIDE. To get 
involved, contact Braxton Midyette at 704-687-4150 or pride at uncc.edu.
________________________________________
Articles copyright 1995-2009 Workers World. Verbatim copying and 
distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without 
royalty provided this notice is preserved.





http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=529741

Protest in Minneapolis supports gay marriage
Updated: 4 months ago

A University of Minnesota student from Wisconsin was among about 700 
people who turned out in Minneapolis to support gay marriage. The 
demonstration Saturday was one of many held around the country in 
reaction to constitutional amendments in California, Arizona and Florida 
to prohibit same-sex marriage. Kendra Atkins from Eau Claire, Wis., 
prepared a banner for the Minneapolis gathering with the words, 
"Legalize Love." She says it's sad that it's an issue at all. She says 
love is something everyone experiences in their own way, and its 
unfortunate some think there's a right way and wrong way to love. The 
protests came after the vote in California of Proposition 8, defining 
marriage as between a man and woman.








http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2008/11/16/proposition_8_protest.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13

Rallies in Atlanta, U.S. protest Proposition 8
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Gay rights supporters waving rainbow colors marched, chanted and danced 
in cities coast to coast Saturday to protest the California vote that 
banned gay marriage there.
At the Georgia Capitol, more than 1,500 opponents of California’s 
Proposition 8 crowded the plaza and steps, spilling onto Washington Street.
Enlarge this image

M. Spencer Green / AP
IN CHICAGO: Hundreds of protesters hold signs condemning Californians’ 
approval of a ban on marriage among gays and lesbians in the city’s 
Federal Plaza on Saturday, when supporters of gay marriage demonstrated 
in cities across the nation.
Enlarge this image

Rhonda Cook / rcook at ajc.com
IN ATLANTA: A rally organized by Georgia Equality drew more than 1,500 
people to the State Capitol to protest California’s gay marriage ban. ‘I 
think that we have a long way to go with gay rights, and people need to 
realize it’s not just supported by gay people,’ one participant said.
Speakers led the crowd in chants during the Saturday afternoon protest.
“We support marriage equality,” said Carlton Eden, who attended the 
Atlanta rally with his wife, Claire, and three daughters. “We believe 
everyone should be able to marry.”
Another Atlanta demonstrator, Casey Calahan-Fitzgerald, said, “I
think that we have a long way to go with gay rights, and people need to 
realize it’s not just supported by gay people.”
Nationwide, demonstrators cast Prop 8 as a civil rights issue. One sign 
in Boston read, “Gay is the new black.”
“Civil marriages are a civil right, and we’re going to keep fighting 
until we get the rights we deserve as American citizens,” Karen Amico 
said in Philadelphia, holding up a sign reading “Don’t Spread H8.”
“We are the American family, we live next door to you, we teach your 
children, we take care of your elderly,” said Heather Baker, a special 
education teacher from Boston who addressed the crowd at Boston’s City 
Hall Plaza.
“We need equal rights across the country.”
Connecticut, which began same-sex weddings this past week, and 
Massachusetts are the only two states that allow gay marriage.
All 30 states that have voted on gay marriage have enacted bans.
The Los Angeles Police Department estimated that 40,000 people would 
attend the march there.
Both sides on the Proposition 8 debate made religious arguments at the 
demonstration outside Los Angeles City Hall.
Among about half a dozen Prop 8 supporters was Dan Burton, 50, a retired 
air traffic controller, who held a sign that said, “Gays hate God. 
Romans 1:18-32,” a reference to biblical passages denouncing wickedness 
and debauchery.
“There’s two sides to every story,” Burton said. “Most people in this 
country don’t want gay marriage, because it’s biologically, culturally 
and religiously perverse.”
Protests following the vote on Proposition 8 in California, which 
defines marriage as between a man and a woman, have sometimes been angry 
and even violent, and demonstrators have targeted faiths that supported 
the ban, including the Mormon Church.
However, representatives of Join the Impact, which organized Saturday’s 
demonstrations, asked supporters to be respectful and refrain from 
attacking other groups during the rallies.
Seattle blogger Amy Balliett, who started the planning for the protests 
when she set up a Web page three days after the
California vote, said persuasion is impossible without civility.
“If we can move anybody past anger and have a respectful conversation, 
then you can plant the seed of change,” she said.
The protests were widely reported to be peaceful, but anger over the ban 
and its backers was evident at the protests.
One sign in Chicago read: “Catholic Fascists Stay Out of Politics.”
“I just found out that my state doesn’t really think I’m a person,” said 
Rose Aplustill, 21, a Boston University student from Los Osos, Calif., 
who was one of thousands at the Boston rally.
In San Francisco, demonstrators vilified the Mormon Church and its 
abandoned practice of polygamy.
One sign read: “You have three wives; I want one husband.”





http://www.justnews.com/news/17990210/detail.html?rss=mia&psp=news

Hundreds Protest Against Amendment Two
POSTED: Saturday, November 15, 2008
UPDATED: 10:13 pm EST November 15, 2008
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- There were protests across the country and right 
here in South Florida for gay rights Saturday.
Hundreds of people locally voiced the opposition to the passage of 
Amendment 2 on Miami Beach.
The amendment passed on Election Day.
It defines marriage as between one man and one woman.
Similar amendments have passed across the country, in states like 
California and Arizona.






http://www.kcci.com/news/17989191/detail.html

Protesters Call To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage
Iowa Ban On Same-Sex Marriage Facing Court Challenge
POSTED: 4:49 pm CST November 15, 2008
UPDATED: 7:10 am CST November 16, 2008

DES MOINES, Iowa -- About 100 protesters picketed at Des Moines' City 
Hall to challenge voter passage of a measure that banned gays and 
lesbians from marrying in California.
The Join The Impact protest was part of an effort in cities all over 
America to express opposition to California's Proposition 8, as well as 
similar votes in Arizona and Florida.
In Des Moines, demonstrators talked about the legalization of same-sex 
marriage in Iowa.
The state's first and only legally married same-sex couple attended the 
protest, as did Iowa's only openly gay state senator, Matt McCoy.
Protesters said gay and lesbian couples only want the same rights as 
straight couples.
"They work, they pay their bills, they maintain their households, they 
raise their kids, and yet, they don't have those same rights and 
protections," said protester Linda Trudeau. "That's just wrong."
Six same-sex couples will go before the Iowa Supreme Court on Dec. 9 to 
argue for legal same-sex marriage in Iowa.
It was legal in Polk County for two days in August 2007. One couple was 
married before a court ended the practice.







http://www.projo.com/news/content/PROP_8_PROTEST_11-16-08_UQC9UNT_v44.34b8bb8.html

500 protest in Providence over Calif. ban of gay marriage
01:00 AM EST on Sunday, November 16, 2008
By Paul Edward Parker

Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE — Some 500 people gathered at the rain-swept stairs of the 
State House yesterday to protest California’s passage of a 
constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and to urge Rhode Island 
lawmakers to legalize gay marriage here.
“I think it says a lot that this many people are willing to stand out in 
the rain for marriage equality in Rhode Island,” Susan Heroux told the 
crowd. Heroux, chairwoman of the board of Marriage Equality Rhode 
Island, served as the emcee for yesterday’s rally, which included 
speeches by politicians, gay-rights activists and everyday people who 
support gay marriage.
“In spite of some religious folk on our right that are in favor of 
discrimination, God is not in favor of discrimination,” said the Rev. 
Eugene Dyszlewski of Riverside Congregational Church, who is also a 
member of the Marriage Equality board. “I am pleased to personally take 
a religious position that same-gender marriage is God’s will. God does 
not make mistakes. God makes all people to be equal.”
The rally was prompted by voter approval Nov. 4 of an amendment to the 
California Constitution that reversed a state Supreme Court ruling that 
had legalized gay marriage there. Similar rallies across the country 
yesterday, including one in Boston, protested the California vote.
But the gathering here also served to give voice to Rhode Island’s gay 
community, which hopes the Ocean State will become the first to legalize 
gay marriage through the legislative process. Connecticut and 
Massachusetts, the only states to allow gay marriage, did so only after 
their supreme courts ruled that barring same-sex couples from marrying 
violated their state constitutions.
“We expect to be able to get marriage equality within three years based 
on the legislature,” Heroux told the crowd.
“This State House is going to bring you marriage equality,” said state 
Rep. Frank Ferri, D-Warwick.
Eve Condon, who dressed as the Statue of Liberty, said that that would 
be appropriate “especially in Rhode Island, a state that was founded on 
the idea of equality, of separation of church and state.”
She made her remarks on the south steps of the State House, below an 
inscription excerpted from Rhode Island’s 1663 charter: “To hold forth a 
lively experiment that a most flourishing civil state may stand and best 
be maintained with full liberty in religious concernments.”
“I am certain that we are going to be the next state to pass this,” 
Condon told the crowd. “We are going to be the next state to have 
marriage equality.”
The rally offered many of the typical trappings of political protests, 
including signs and T-shirts emblazoned with slogans such as:
“When do I get to vote on your marriage?”
“Let love determine who I marry”
“How will my marriage affect the sanctity of yours?”
“Equal taxes? Equal rights!”
And one sign that had a map of Connecticut and Massachusetts in blue and 
Rhode Island in red with the inscription: “Join the free states!”
The rally also offered personal stories, including one from Paige Parks, 
who told of her grandmother being born in Mississippi in 1915, the 
daughter of sharecroppers.
“She was told over and over again that she was not equal, and she made 
it her mission to teach my mother and aunts to not believe these 
people,” Parks said. “My mother shared that message with me.”
It is a message that Parks said she took to heart.
“Today, I’m here in a very similar position as my grandmother. I’m 
denied the right to marry my wonderful, wonderful fiancée. And that’s 
not right.”
Rodney Davis, co-chairman of Rhode Island Pride, addressed the crowd.
“What took place on Nov. 4 really broke our hearts,” he said. “We need 
to be vigilant. We need to be awake. What we have must be worked on. Now 
is the time for action.”
And, as the rain bore down, he sang a song whose lyrics included:
“When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high and don’t be 
afraid of the dark. At the end of the storm is a golden sky.”
After his song, the rain abated, and the dark clouds lightened a bit.





http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/11/15/20081115tucsonprotest-ON.html

Tucson gays, lesbians protest Prop. 102 passage
11 comments Nov. 15, 2008 05:29 PM
Associated Press
TUCSON - Nearly 1,000 people marched in downtown Tucson Friday night to 
protest Arizona voters' approval of a state constitutional amendment 
banning gay marriage.
Members of the gay, lesbian and bisexual community marched from the 
city's El Presidio Park to a nearby development. Next to the park, 
dozens of heterosexual couples were being married in the Pima County 
courthouse.
March leaders vowed not to remain silent about their lifestyles and 
families.
Proposition 102 was approved by 55 percent of the state's voters on Nov. 
4. Only Pima County voters disapproved of the measure.





http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/11/15/20081115protests-ON.html

2,000 in Phoenix protest gay marriage ban
609 comments by Astrid Galvan - Nov. 15, 2008 11:03 PM
The Arizona Republic
Donavon Goodsell of Phoenix celebrated his 67th birthday on Saturday by 
marching for gay rights at a rally that drew a large group from the gay 
community and its supporters.
Goodsell has been in a relationship for 42 years and he said it was now 
time for marriage rights.
Goodsell was one of close to 2,000 people who gathered in Phoenix to 
protest the recently adopted Prop. 102, a constitutional amendment that 
bans same-sex marriage in Arizona.
The rally, which began at the Cesar Chavez Memorial at Phoenix City Hall 
and ended at the Capitol, was also a part of national protests against 
California's Prop. 8 and other measures that outlaw gay vows.
The protests were organized by Join the Impact, a grass-roots movement 
that said about 300 cities were participating in the marches.
Nearly 1,000 people demonstrated in downtown Tucson on Friday night to 
protest Prop. 102, which was approved by 55 percent of voters. Pima 
County was the only Arizona county in which a majority of voters 
disapproved of the measure.
In Phoenix, the effort was lead by Annie Loyd, a community activist and 
a member of Be A Human and Equal Rights Organizer, a local movement.
Organizers spread the word through e-mail and Facebook.
"I've been gay all my life and a lot of us, we were patiently waiting 
for people to get it, and now that you're saying (we are) second-class 
citizens in the United States of America in the year 2008 is completely 
unacceptable," Loyd said.
Loyd said the protests were not aimed at the Mormon Church, which had 
been a vocal supporter of Prop. 8 in California.
Prop. 8 reversed a California Supreme Court decision in May that 
recognized same-sex marriage as a right, overturning a previous ban on 
gay marriage.
But resentment for the Mormon Church was evident, as many participants 
held signs denouncing the church.
Still, the event remained peaceful and there was no counterprotest.
Phoenix Councilman Tom Simplot, who is openly gay, was one of about a 
dozen speakers. He got the already-energetic crowd even more charged.
"We have let our rights slip away because we weren't paying attention," 
he said. "We need to focus this newfound anger so we don't let more 
things slip away."
Rachel Boyer, her husband and her 14-month-old son drove from Tucson to 
participate in the rally.
Boyer said it was one way to show her support for the gay community and 
for her sister, who is a lesbian.
"It shouldn't even be an issue," Boyer said. "When people who love each 
other make a commitment to each other, that strengthens marriage."
After about two hours of speakers, live music and chants such as "Yes, 
we can," protestors marched to the Capitol. Phoenix police escorted the 
participants.
The rally will not be the end of this movement, organizers said, but 
rather a beginning.
Be A H.E.R.O, Loyd's group, will begin holding community meetings every 
Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Community Church of Hope, 4121 N. Seventh Avenue.
For Goodsell, whose birthday coincided with the rally, the event gave 
him an opportunity to express the voice he says he has kept quiet for 
most of his life.
Goodsell said he never before participated in gay activism for fear of 
losing his job.
"I guess it's finally time to speak," he said.





http://www.kcci.com/politics/17994780/detail.html?rss=des&psp=nationalnews

'No on 8' Supporters Protest Ice Cream Parlor
Family-Run Creamery Gave Thousands To 'Yes on 8' Campaign
POSTED: 8:54 pm CST November 16, 2008
UPDATED: 9:03 pm CST November 16, 2008

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Some supporters of "No on 8" gave out free ice 
cream Sunday in protest of a Sacramento family-run creamery, KCRA-TV 
reported.
About a dozen protesters rallied outside Leatherby's Family Creamery 
with signs and free rainbow sherbet.
Owner Alan Leatherby, his business and his relatives gave a total of 
$20,000 supporting the "Yes on 8" campaign.
Proposition 8 was a measure passed by California voters on Nov. 4 that 
put a ban on gay marriage in the state.
"I think that providing people with information is never a bad thing to 
do," said "No on 8" supporter Rachel Gregg. "Make an informed choice 
about where they are spending their money."
A crowd also lined up out the door of Leatherby's to show their support 
for the ice cream parlor.
"We've had people drive in from Auburn," Leatherby said. "It's nice to 
have friends, it really is."







http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=50625

Leatherby's Owner Faces Prop 8 Protest
Posted By: Cristi Jessee 4 months ago

SACRAMENTO, CA - The after-church crowd got more than lunch and a scoop 
of ice cream at Sacramento's Leatherby's Family Creamery on Arden Way 
Sunday afternoon.
Customers also got an earful from yet another group of Proposition 8 
protesters.
Protesters Amanda Booth and Erin Domingo, along with a handful of vocal 
supporters, said they wanted everyone who eats at Leatherby's to know 
that the family behind the business donated money to help pass 
Proposition 8.
"We're protesting Leatherby's because they contributed over $20,000 to 
the Yes on Prop 8 campaign," Booth said. "That money went toward 
defeating my equal rights."
"We just thought it would be nice to let people know where their money 
is going when they buy ice cream from Leatherby's," Domingo said.
Despite the turmoil outside, Leatherby's was packed Sunday, filled 
mostly with people who said they support the family-run business and 
Proposition 8.
"The people have spoken. We won," said customer Craig Abi-Nader. "The 
Supreme Court was wrong and they should end it there."
At one point, Dave Leatherby Jr. greeted the protesters and shook some 
of their hands. Leatherby said he doesn't have any animosity or hatred 
toward anyone.
"Our vote was not a vote of hate. It wasn't a vote against them," 
Leatherby said. "It was a vote to support something that we though was 
good. I have no animosity toward anyone."
Leatherby said since his family's donation has been made public, they've 
received threats and hate mail.
"Sending mail that said, 'We're going to put you out of business, you're 
hate mongers, you people are evil,'" Leatherby said. "That was startling."
Despite some harsh words, Sunday's protest was peaceful. Booth said she 
would not give up the fight for her rights any time soon.
"We just want to make people aware of what's going on in their 
neighborhoods and communities and that there are those people who don't 
support equal rights," Booth said.






http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8259

Wanda Sykes comes out during Prop 8 protest
by: Pam Spaulding
Sun Nov 16, 2008 at 06:47:07 AM EST

Via Queerty:
Having never (so?) publicly discussed her sexual orientation - but 
having made light of it on stage and on The New Adventures of Old 
Christine, where her character remains married to Julia Louis-Dreyfus - 
comedian Wanda Sykes surprised Las Vegas Prop 8 protesters by announcing 
she is gay and married her wife on Oct. 25. Why speak up now? Because of 
Prop 8's passage. "I felt like I was being attacked, personally attacked 
- our community was attacked. ... Now, I gotta get in their face. ... 
I'm proud to be a woman. I'm proud to be a black woman, and I'm proud to 
be gay. ... Instead of having gay marriage in California - no - we're 
going to get it across the country."





http://www.wcax.com/global/story.asp?s=9356847

Vermonters Protest California's Same Sex Marriage Ban


Burlington, Vermont - November 15, 2008
 From California, to New York, to downtown Burlington, thousands turned 
out in all 50 states this week to voice their opposition to Proposition 8.
"I was so angry because it's just bigoted legislation," said James 
Neily, a protester in Vermont.
Proposition 8 is the ballot measure passed in California on election day 
that bans gay marriage. That legislation throws into question the 
legality of more than 18,000 marriages of gay and lesbian couples.
"It's shameful. It's un-American," said one Burlington protester. "This 
is a very frightening development for all of us," added another.
A steady downpour symbolized the mood in Burlington. Same sex couples 
stood in solidarity holding signs while speakers stepped up to the mike 
to share their fears.
In 2000 Vermont became the first state in the country to legalize civil 
unions for same sex couples. Several other states have since followed 
suit. Earlier this year California became the second state in the nation 
to legalize same sex marriages. But Proposition 8 repeals that law.
"It's one thing to deny them in the first place, but when you have them 
and they're taken away I think that's just terrible," said Neily.
It's legislation with potential far reaching implications, as gay and 
lesbians here push for passage of a same sex marriage law in the Green 
Mountain State, despite the decision in California.







http://media.www.dailynorthwestern.com/media/storage/paper853/news/2008/11/24/City/Hundreds.Protest.Theaters.Support.Of.Prop.8-3559228.shtml?reffeature=htmlemailedition

Hundreds protest theater's support of Prop. 8
Lara Takenaga
Issue date: 11/24/08

Media Credit: Lara Takenaga

"No dollars for hate!"

That's what protesters chanted as they marched up and down the street 
outside Century Theatres, 1715 Maple Ave., on Saturday night. Armed with 
pride flags, picket signs and banners, about 400 people came to protest 
a $9,999 donation that Cinemark CEO Alan Stock made to the Yes on 8 
campaign.

"If you're going to target our community with hate, whether it's Prop. 8 
or any other measure going forward, it's no longer going to be without 
consequences," said Andy Thayer, Weinberg '85, the co-founder of 
Chicago's Gay Liberation Network. "We are going to hit you in the 
pocketbook just the way you hit us in terms of our rights."

The Gay Liberation Network began planning a response to Stock's donation 
on Nov. 15 during the Chicago rally against California's Proposition 8, 
a measure that bans same-sex marriage.

"This is a local protest that should keep the pot stirring until we have 
the next national day of protest," Thayer said.

Cinemark Theatres, an international corporation that includes Century 
Theatres and CinéArts, is the third-largest movie chain in the country. 
Managers of Evanston's theater said they could not comment on the 
protest, and calls to Cinemark corporate offices were not returned.

Several volunteers made it a point to inform passersby about the exact 
amount Stock donated.

"Instead of donating $10,000, he donated $9,999," Harold Washington 
College sophomore Eric McNally said, adding that he thought he knew the 
reason for donating that specific amount. "He did that so he'd be just 
shy of the line for the top donators, so that way no one would find out 
about it, and no one would do what we're doing tonight."

Century Theatres notified Evanston police in advance of the protest, 
Evanston Police Chief Richard Eddington said.

"It's America; everybody can do this, so it's not a problem," Eddington 
said. "Other than making sure everybody can get by, it's not really a 
significant police issue."

So many people flooded the sidewalk that two groups formed at different 
ends of the street. Some protestors carried signs that said "Cost of 
Admission: Civil Rights" and "We Will Not Finance Our Own Oppression." 
Others blew whistles in between chants of "Hey, hey, ho, ho, the CEO has 
got to go" and "Gay, straight, black, white, marriage is a civil right."

In addition to chanting and marching, protesters handed out sheets 
listing other show times and movie theater locations in the Chicago area.
"It's nice that they have the flyer with all the options and other 
places you can go," Edgewater resident Ann McCallister said. "I've been 
patronizing this theater for years, and I had no idea. This protest has 
definitely affected my decision about where I'm going to see movies."

McCallister also noticed that the usual Saturday night lines and crowds 
did not form inside the theater.

"For the first show in the evening, I usually see a lot more people 
here," she said.

While the protest may have influenced some people to turn away, 
moviegoers continued walking through the theater's doors.

"They're just exercising their First Amendment rights," Evanston 
resident Gabby Tulbure said. "As far as what the owner's doing, I think 
that's his choice, so it doesn't affect me. I want to see a movie."

While members and allies of the gay community see the passage of 
Proposition 8 as a major blow, they also see it as a way of revitalizing 
the community.

"I think people got complacent beforehand," said Rebecca Sitter, a 
Weinberg senior and Northwestern Rainbow Alliance member. "But now the 
same people are realizing how important it is to still be vocal and 
still fight about things that really matter to you."

ltakenaga at u.northwestern.edu






http://www.abc2news.com/mostpopular/story/Maryland-Protests-Prop-8/GQTlmEyRZkeJyZYZkEggXA.cspx

Maryland Protests Prop 8

Reported by: Cheryl Conner
Email: conner at wmar.com
Last Update: 11/17/2008 6:43 am

Proposition 8 Protest in Baltimore
Maryland was caught up in a nationwide protest today, as gay rights 
supporters from Baltimore to San Francisco protested a vote banning gay 
marriage in California.
"With all this talk about American values these last few years, is this 
what we want America to stand for?" said Emcee Sean McGovern.
Advocates for gay rights filled the front lawn of city hall, carrying 
signs that say
"I didn't get to vote on your marriage" and "Prop 8 equals hate." 
Baltimore was part of a simultaneous rally happening in all 50 states 
after voters in California passed Proposition 8 that takes away 
court-approved gay marriages.
"There's just hate behind it," said one protester.
Hundreds say civil marriage is a civil right. Cliff Ayers and Paul 
Martin are a new couple, but they fear what passed in California may 
spread to other states.
"We might as well nip it in the bud right now and show the rest of the 
states we're for gay marriage and equal rights for everyone," said Ayers.

In San Francisco, thousands of people turned out. Nole Starkey is 
heterosexual, but she's showing support for her best friend, who lives 
in California.
"It just breaks my heart that he couldn't legally get married like the 
rest of us," Starkey said.
Massachusetts and Connecticut are the only two states that allow gay 
marriage.
In May, Governor Martin O'Malley signed into law a bill allowing 
domestic partners to make medical or funeral decisions for each other. 
But the protesters won't stop there.
"We have to come out and take a stand and show people we are willing to 
fight for it," said Paul Martin.
"Some of us have been together for 15, 20, 30, 50 years and we don't 
have our rights," said Deborah Kleinmann.

The national protest is expected to be one of many that will push for 
equal marriage rights.
Supporters of traditional marriage said today's rallies have generated 
publicity, but will ultimately make no difference in California's vote.






http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-prop8protest_16met.ART0.Central.Edition1.4a82b66.html

California gay marriage ban spurs protests in Dallas, across Texas
12:00 AM CST on Sunday, November 16, 2008
By DAN X. McGRAW / The Dallas Morning News
dmcgraw at dallasnews.com
Louise Young never cast a vote on Proposition 8, but the measure changed 
her life.

JENN ACKERMAN/DMN
Harry Benshoff of Dallas holds a cross during a demonstration in front 
of Dallas City Hall. The protesters were rallying Saturday against 
California's Proposition 8, the same-sex marriage ban that passed Nov. 
4. Similar events were held Austin, Houston, San Antonio and other 
cities nationwide.
Married three months ago in California, Ms. Young and Vivienne 
Armstrong, her partner, joined more than 1,200 other Dallas-area 
residents who gathered outside of Dallas City Hall on Saturday to 
peacefully protest California's Proposition 8, which banned same-sex 
marriage in that state.
"This is not a religious issue," said Ms. Young, 61, of Dallas. "This is 
about legal rights. This isn't right."
Proposition 8, narrowly approved by California voters on Nov. 4, amends 
the state's constitution to define marriage as between a man and a 
woman. Opponents have already challenged the measure in the California 
Supreme Court, arguing that gay marriage is a fundamental right.
The legal ramifications seem far from settled. California Attorney 
General Jerry Brown has said Proposition 8's passage probably won't 
nullify about 18,000 same-sex marriages in that state, but legal experts 
say the matter isn't clear.
Voters in Florida and Arizona passed similar constitutional amendments.
Across the nation
Since Proposition 8's passage, numerous protests have occurred in 
California and other states. On Saturday, many protests were held 
simultaneously across the nation. In Texas, rallies were also held in 
Austin, Houston and San Antonio.
Etta Zamboni, who organized Dallas' rally, said the proposition has 
galvanized the gay and lesbian community. The community had become 
complacent about the issue prior to the vote, she said, but the 
California measure has incited people to step up the fight for gay rights.
While Proposition 8 has had an immediate impact on the gay community in 
California, she said, its effects could ripple across the nation.
"It impacts us because it takes our rights away," Ms. Zamboni said. "If 
they can do it in California, then they can do it elsewhere."
Across from City Hall on Akard Street, Angela Cummings, 38, of Irving 
and nine other people protested the gay rally with a bullhorn and a 
cross, saying that gay marriage is against God's wishes. No 
confrontations occurred between the two sides, but gay rights activists 
did file complaints against the group to police.
Equal rights
Kat McKena, 30, of Dallas, said counterprotesters were simply seeking 
attention and were educated on Proposition 8. Everyone – no matter their 
religion, race, gender or sexual orientation – deserves equal rights 
without having others force their religious beliefs onto them, she said.
"I pay taxes," she said. "Why am I being denied the same rights?"
Julie Hertwig of Dallas stood near her father, Jim Hertwig, and his 
partner, John Perez, carrying a sign that read "My Daddies deserve 
marriage."
Mr. Perez said that Proposition 8 took away his fundamental rights as a 
citizen and that he hoped rallies across the country would help persuade 
politicians to overturn the amendment.
"These are my rights," he said.






http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2008/11/15/orlando_group_joins_nationwide_protest_of_gay_marriage_ban.html?refresh=1

Orlando Group Joins Nationwide Protest Of Gay Marriage Ban
Saturday, November 15, 2008 11:39:09 PM
ORLANDO -- Protest against Florida's passage of Amendment 2, effectively 
banning same-sex marriage in the state, became part of a national 
movement Saturday as supporters of same-sex laws held simultaneous 
protests across the country, including one in Central Florida.
The Orlando Human Rights Campaign held a three hour "Join the Impact 
National Peaceful Protest" at Orlando City Hall Saturday afternoon.
It was one of 175 rallies held in different cities, including the U.S. 
Capitol.
Protesters said Amendment 2 not only affects gay couples, but also 
people who choose to live together outside of marriage whether they are 
straight or gay.
“We want to have the same rights. If Wendy by chance gets seriously hurt 
in the hospital I have no rights to come visit her although we've been 
together for 3 1/2 years. She's the woman I love. I plan to spend the 
rest of my life with her," said Stephanie Stilson.
Outrage over the passage of Proposition 8 in California, which also 
banned same-sex marriage, has already spurred massive protests 
throughout that state in the last two weeks. A coalition of civil rights 
groups is mounting the fourth legal challenge against the ban. The 
coalition said the ban sets a precedent that could be used to undermine 
the rights of minorities.





http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/Prop.8.protest.2.865660.html

Nov 15, 2008 7:26 pm US/Central
Thousands Gather, March In Chicago Prop. 8 Protest
Reporting
Mike Puccinelli
CHICAGO (CBS) ―

While the American flag swayed in the wind high above, the rainbow flags 
of the gay rights movement flapped in Chicago's Federal Plaza Saturday 
as thousands gathered to protest a California referendum banning gay 
marriage.

The people took to the streets Saturday afternoon in protest of 
Proposition 8—a constitutional amendment that overturned the right for 
gays to marry in California on Nov. 4.

The crowd gathered in Chicago's Federal Plaza just after noon, holding 
signs that read "Erase the H8" and "We are not second class citizens." 
Soon, the crowd grew from a few hundred to thousands and began marching 
in the streets.

 From Federal Plaza, the protesters marched in the streets—among police 
on bicycle and horseback—to City Hall, the Thompson Center and 
ultimately on to Michigan Avenue.

There was singing, shouting, and a sea of signs held by people, who in 
many cases believe California's Proposition 8 is synonymous with hate. 
Gay marriage advocates are fighting the November 4th decision in court. 
Part of their offense involves taking the fight to the court of public 
opinion.

"People marched because they are sick and tired of their rights being 
disrespected," said Andy Thayer, a speaker at the protest and a 
co-founder of Chicago's Gay Liberation Network.

"We know that a mass movement of gay people can secure our equal 
rights," he said. "The court has not ruled on the disaster that happened 
a week ago Tuesday. And we're here to tell the court to rule the right 
way."

The crowd, a mix of young and old, gay and straight, black and white, 
was peaceful—police said no arrests were made throughout the nearly four 
hour event.

Thayer was hit with a ticket at the end of the protest for failure to 
secure a parade permit—a small price to pay, he said. "If [this protest] 
is a step on the path to winning equal rights, you betcha it's worth it."

Libertyville native Jake Bersie, 18, and his dad, Dave Bersie, 55, came 
to the protest to support the cause. "I'm not gay, but my friend is," 
Jake said. "I came to support her." He brought his dad along.

Dave Bersie said the gay movement has come a long way since he was 
younger, but there is still work to do.

"People should be able to do what they want," he said. "I support freedom."

St. Louis native Kelsey Risman, 20, drove to Chicago Friday night, and 
slept in her car. She planned on doing the same Saturday.

Simultaneous protests were planned across America. Organizers say 
protests like the one in Chicago are being held in 80 cities and in all 
50 states.

St. Louis also had an anti-Proposition 8 protest Saturday, but Risman 
said it would not have been as big as the Chicago event.

"It's not as tolerated there," Risman said. "Things are changing, but 
there is a lot of work to do."

Risman said police attempted to block the crowd from marching on 
Michigan Avenue—but failed.

"We took over and broke through the bikes and barricades," she said, 
comparing the march to 1960s-style protest. "I've never seen this. It's 
insanity."

But where there were protesters, there were counter protesters also 
trying to make their voices heard in the halls of the California Supreme 
Court.

"Democracy is attempting to be trampled with these frivolous lawsuits 
that have been filed to try to overturn the will of the people and the 
vote there on Prop. 8," said Matt Barber of the Liberty Council.

Officials with Protect Marriage Illinois say they hope to join other 
states in passing a Constitutional amendment to prevent courts from, in 
their words: "foisting gay marriage on citizens."

The only openly gay member of the Illinois General Assembly hopes his 
colleagues will soon vote to pass his bill allowing civil unions in 
Illinois.

"I hope everyone who is here today calls their representatives, calls 
their senators, and lets them know how many thousands and thousands of 
people in Illinois believe in marriage rights for all people in 
Illinois," said Rep. Greg Harris (13th).

Thousands took to the streets after the rally to show their support for 
gay rights one step at a time. Among them was Karen James and Jill Grove 
-- a couple who were married in June in California.

"We just want civil marriages. We want what everyone else in the country 
has. We're a threat to no one," James said.

But now she says her marriage is threatened by Proposition 8. That's why 
she hopes her voice will be heard in the collective footsteps of the 
thousands of people marching in Chicago and around the country.

The protest was organized online in just seven days, Thayer said. A 
group called Join the Impact called on community members in more than 
100 cities to organize and come together for Saturday's protest. Thayer 
estimates the marching crowd at 5,000 Saturday.







http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=50470

Gay Marriage Protest Takes to Sacramento Streets
Posted By: Julia Fox 4 months ago
SACRAMENTO, CA - The backlash over California's passing of Proposition 8 
took to the streets of Sacramento and to the steps of the State Capitol 
early Thursday morning.
Between 50 and 100 activists participated in a silent march through 
mid-town Sacramento early Thursday morning.
It began at 12 a.m. and ended by 5 a.m. on the west steps of the State 
Capitol.
Between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m., demonstrators reinacted what they called "the 
battle," a live performance piece based on events leading up to election 
day.
Those behind the grassroots effort said the idea of the demonstration 
was to show same-sex couples aren't backing down.
"We're not going to go anywhere," said activists Jade Baranksi. "We're 
your neighbors, we're your sisters, we work for you, and we're here and 
we want our rights back.
Another rally is to resume at noon Thursday at the State Capitol.
News10/KXTV






http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/at-mormon-temple-thousands-protest-prop-8/?partner=rss&emc=rss

November 13, 2008, 11:02 am
At Mormon Temple, a Protest Over Prop 8
By Colin Moynihan
Thousands of protesters marched to Columbus Circle from the Church of 
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple at 125 Columbus Avenue on 
Wednesday evening to protest the church’s support of Proposition 8, 
which banned same-sex marriage in California. (Photo: Rob Bennett for 
The New York Times)
Thousands of people gathered in front of the Upper West Side temple of 
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Wednesday evening to 
protest the Mormon church’s support for Proposition 8, which outlawed 
same-sex marriage in California last week.

Those at the front of the march held a banner proclaiming “God Loves Gay 
Marriage.” There were chants demanding equality and signs with slogans 
like “Would Jesus spend tax-free dollars to support hate and injustice?”
Some in the crowd said they simply wanted to take a public stance in 
support of friends or relatives. Others said they were also motivated by 
anger over the idea that a religious institution would use the ballot 
process in what they saw as an attempt to impose religious values in a 
democracy based on separation of church and state.
Riding on a Segway at the front of the march was Christopher Harrison, 
47, from Hell’s Kitchen, who said he was a fifth-generation Mormon but 
disagreed with the church on the matter of same-sex marriage.
“It is time to promote love,” he said. “If they want to call themselves 
Christians, they have to do as Christians are supposed to do.”
The crowd started gathering on sidewalks around 6 p.m. outside the 
temple, which opened in 2004, on Columbus Avenue at West 65th Street. 
Police officers with metal barricades and news vans with satellites were 
also present, and soon the crowd grew and swelled into nearby streets.
Just before 7 p.m., the crowd began marching south on Broadway. Lawyers 
said the group had negotiated with police commanders at the scene and 
reached an agreement that because of the size of the assembly, the crowd 
would be permitted to march in the roadway for about six blocks, until 
reaching Columbus Circle.
Similar demonstrations to denounce Proposition 8, as the measure was 
called, have been held in the last week in California cities like Long 
Beach, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and in Salt Lake City, where the 
Mormon church is based.
After the measure for a constitutional amendment banning same 
sex-marriages in California was placed on the ballot, the church played 
an important part in the Proposition 8 coalition and urged its members 
to donate time and money — by some estimates, more than $20 million — to 
helping get the amendment passed. (The church itself did not give money 
to the backers of Proposition 8.)
California had permitted same-sex marriages since May, when the State 
Supreme Court there ruled that the ban on the unions was unconstitutional.
Phone calls to the Mormon church in New York on Thursday morning were 
not answered. In the past, church leaders have asked that people debate 
the issue with civility. The Mormon church was one of several 
denominations that proposed in 2006 that Congress amend the Constitution 
to prevent same-sex marriage; marriage has long been a matter for the 
states.
As the marchers reached Columbus Circle, its members spread across a 
wide plaza and into a lane of traffic on 59th Street. For a brief time, 
police officers deployed orange netting to separate the crowd from the 
cars.
Some in the crowd echoed a criticism that has been made by Mormons 
themselves — that the Latter-day Saints, of all religious groups, should 
be tolerant of nontraditional forms of marriage, given that the early 
Mormons were persecuted for polygamy (a practice the church renounced in 
1890).
Standing near the entrance to Central Park, Lindsey Dixon, 26, a public 
school teacher from City Island, held aloft a placard with a reference 
to the church’s charismatic founder that read: “Joseph Smith had 28 
wives. Why can’t I have one?”
“We should be given equal rights,” she said. “I pay taxes. I served four 
years in the military.”
Nearby, Mitchell Stout, 41, an actor from the Upper West Side, said, “We 
want to have the freedom and liberty to express our love for our 
partners the same way every American has.”







http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_story.aspx?storyid=101381

• Updated:11/12/2008 12:51:03 PM - Posted: 11/12/2008 12:49:30 PM
LANSING, Mich. (Detroit Free Press) - A well-known Lansing-area 
evangelical church was the target of a raucous demonstration by gay 
anarchists during Sunday services.
The disruption came from a group that calls itself Bash Back, and 
involved demonstrations outside the church and inside the sanctuary 
while services were under way, said Mt. Hope Church communications 
director David Williams.
Members of the group inside the church shouted pro-gay slogans, threw 
leaflets, unfurled a banner and pulled a fire alarm, then hastily 
departed, Williams said. There were no injuries, he said.
Williams said the episode was over in minutes. Eaton County Sheriff's 
Department deputies arrived quickly, Williams said, but no arrests were 
made. Police were not available for comment Tuesday.
Williams said the actions were "an attempt to bully. The pastor here 
preaches the Bible and he doesn't back down."
But Mt. Hope doesn't place a special emphasis on homosexuality, he said.
In a statement released Tuesday, church officials said they believe 
"homosexuality to be a sin, just as fornication, stealing, drunkenness 
and lying are sins. No sin greater than the next."
In an online news release, Bash Back described Mt. Hope as "a deplorable 
anti-queer mega church." No one from the group could be reached.
Mt. Hope has a reported membership of more than 4,000 and distinctive 
grounds lined with dozens of national flags.
Dawson Bell, Detroit Free Press






http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008371441_protest10m.html?syndication=rss

Page modified November 10, 2008 at 4:50 PM
Mormon church targeted for Prop. 8 support
A California measure banning gay marriage was the subject of a protest 
Sunday outside a Seattle Mormon church. Similar protests occurred Sunday 
in California.
By Janet I. Tu

THOMAS JAMES HURST / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Darcy Rubel, of Seattle, and her 6-month-old son, Anton, joined more 
than 40 protesters Sunday outside a Mormon church in the University 
District.
More than 40 people demonstrated in front of a Mormon church in 
Seattle's University District on Sunday morning, expressing anger at the 
role the national church played in the passing of Proposition 8, banning 
gay marriage in California.
They lined the sidewalk, chanting slogans such as "Tax the church!" and 
holding signs saying "Shame on the church" and "All marriages are equal."
"I don't tell them what to do in their religion. They shouldn't tell me 
what to do in my life," said Chris Campfield, 27, of Seattle.
Matthew Wilson, 26, of Seattle, who organized the protest, said: "We 
want to make it very clear to this church that Washington will not 
accept divisive or discriminatory actions."
Proposition 8 defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman, 
and overrides a California Supreme Court ruling that a ban on same-sex 
marriage was unconstitutional. It passed with 52 percent of the vote and 
throws into question the status of about 18,000 same-sex couples who wed 
in California.
Proposition 8 drew a range of opponents — including some Mormons. 
Proposition supporters, in addition to the Church of Jesus Christ of 
Latter-day Saints (LDS), included the state's Roman Catholic bishops, 
some evangelical churches, and others.
But the Mormon church drew special attention after its top leaders 
issued a letter in June read in every congregation in California, asking 
members to "do all you can to support" the proposition by donating "your 
means and time." The church's position, the letter said, was that 
"marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and the formation 
of families is central to the Creator's plan for His children."
During the campaign, a Web site created by Proposition 8 opponents using 
campaign-finance data and other public records estimated that members of 
the LDS church had given more than $20 million, according to the Los 
Angeles Times. That amount is difficult to confirm, though, since the 
state does not track the religious affiliation of donors, the newspaper 
said.
Similar protests occurred Sunday around California — at the state 
Capitol in Sacramento and outside the enormous Saddleback Church in 
Orange County. In Oakland, a protest at the city's Mormon temple 
prompted the California Highway Patrol to close two highway ramps.
There are calls by gay leaders to boycott Utah and an online effort to 
challenge the church's tax-exempt status.
Mormon church leaders in Salt Lake City issued a statement late last 
week calling for mutual respect and civility.
"Allegations of bigotry or persecution made against the Church were and 
are simply wrong," the statement said.
"The Church's opposition to same-sex marriage neither constitutes nor 
condones any kind of hostility toward gays and lesbians," and the church 
does not object to rights for same-sex couples such as hospital 
visitation, fair housing and employment rights, according to the statement.
Church leaders also said they found it disturbing that their church was 
being singled out.
That sentiment was echoed by Roman Catholic Bishop William Weigand of 
Sacramento, who issued a statement saying: "Bigoted attacks on Mormons 
for the part they played in our coalition are shameful."
Doug Clark, of Seattle, who is Mormon, counterprotested at the Seattle 
demonstration by holding a sign saying: "9.5 million voted on Prop 8. 
Mormons are not alone in their opinion."
Some Proposition 8 opponents in California also protested in front of 
Catholic and evangelical churches over the past week.
Gay-rights supporters, including the American Civil Liberties Union and 
Lambda Legal, along with cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, 
have filed lawsuits asking the California Supreme Court to overturn 
Proposition 8.
Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.







http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=9317805

Gay Marriage Protests Continue Across the State

Posted: Nov 9, 2008 06:49 AM

KESQ.com News Services
Gays and lesbians outraged by passage of a ballot measure that makes 
same-sex marriage unconstitutional in California took to the streets 
again Saturday night, this time in Silver Lake, in what may be the 
biggest protest yet against Proposition 8.
The crowd began marching from Santa Monica Boulevard and Sunset 
Boulevard about 7 p.m., said Norma Eisenman of the Los Angeles Police 
Department.
The crowd grew to an estimated 10,000 people, many of whom carried signs 
saying such things as "Gay is good" and "Stop H8," as they walked west 
on Santa Monica, KCAL9 reported.
A few counter-demonstrators opposing gay marriage also showed up, and 
one held up a sign reading, "Face it, you lost." Police surrounded the 
counter-demonstrators to ensure the two groups did not clash.
Around 8 p.m., the marchers reversed course and headed east on Sunset, 
back to Silver Lake, according to KCAL9.
At 9 p.m. there was a brief standoff with police who tried to get the 
crowd to disperse. Instead, they eventually took over Sunset Boulevard, 
NBC4 reported.
As of 11 p.m., most of the protesters had dispersed, but a group of 
several hundred were heading toward Hollywood Boulevard and Highland 
Avenue, and a few were trying to block streets, the TV station reported.
However, organizers stressed keeping the protest peaceful and 
respectful, and no major incidents were reported and no arrests were 
made, Eisenman said.
Groups represented at the march included the L.A. Coalition for Equal 
Marriage Rights, Roots Equality, Latino LGBT Coalition and Act Now to 
Stop War & End Racism, an antiwar and anti-globalization group that has 
become adept at staging massive marches and rallies.
Latino/a LGBT Coalition announced another rally beginning at 1 p.m. 
Sunday at Lincoln Park in East Los Angeles.
Many gays have compared their battle for equal marital rights to the 
black civil rights movement of the 1960s.
"We are the last minority left," one protester told KCAL. "They put a 
black man in the White House and left us in the dust," another said, 
referring to the election of Barack Obama.
The protesters included Robin Tyler and Diane Olson, a lesbian couple 
whose lawsuit led the California Supreme Court to rule in May that 
another ballot measure, Proposition 22, approved by voters in 2000, that 
outlawed same-sex unions, was discriminatory and unconstitutional. 
Following the decision, the two were among the first same-sex couples to 
tie the knot in California.
About 18,000 couples got married over the summer, but on Tuesday, voters 
approved Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to define 
marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Following the election, 
Attorney General Jerry Brown said same-sex unions would be honored for 
now, but he also ordered county clerks to stop issuing marriage licenses 
to gay and lesbian couples.
Following passage of Proposition 8, Tyler and Olson had their attorney, 
Gloria Allred, file a writ with the high court challenging the 
voter-approved initiative, and every day since the election, gays and 
lesbians upset over the outcome have been protesting throughout the Los 
Angeles area and the state.
Wednesday night, about 800 people walked from La Cienega Boulevard in 
West Hollywood to Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood and 
then back.
Thursday afternoon, about 2,000 demonstrators massed in front of the 
Mormon temple in Westwood, then moved to the intersection of Wilshire 
and Santa Monica boulevards in Beverly Hills, creating a massive traffic 
jam throughout West Los Angeles for evening commuters.
Friday night in Long Beach, 15 people were arrested for allegedly 
"inciting a riot," when three tried to lead groups of protesters away 
from the permitted route and 12 others led a group of about 100 
protesters who blocked an intersection and failed to disperse in 
response to police, according to Long Beach police Sgt. David Marander.
"We worked with demonstrators to help plan a peaceful event," said 
Marander, who added that officials were pleased with what was "by and 
large, a peaceful demonstration."
In San Diego today, between 8,000 and 10,000 people marched from 
Hillcrest to North Park to protest the passage of Proposition 8.
Advocates of same-sex marriage are especially angry at the Mormon church 
because its head encouraged members to contribute money to the "Yes On 
8" campaign.
"No one's religious beliefs should be used to deny fundamental rights to 
others," Lorri L. Jean, chief executive officer of the L.A. Gay & 
Lesbian Center, said earlier. "Our civil rights are inalienable."
Jean said Mormons -- at the urging of church President Thomas Monson -- 
contributed more than $15 million to fund the campaign in support of 
Proposition 8.
"It is a travesty that the Mormon Church bought this election and used a 
campaign of lies and deception to manipulate voters in the great state 
of California," Jean said.
The Mormon church in Salt Lake City issued a statement denying that the 
church's opposition to same-sex marriage has anything to do with bigotry.
"It is important to understand that this issue for the church has always 
been about the sacred and divine institution of marriage -- a union 
between a man and a woman," according to the statement. "Allegations of 
bigotry or persecution made against the church were and are simply 
wrong. The church's opposition to same-sex marriage neither constitutes 
nor condones any kind of hostility toward gays and lesbians.
"Even more, the church does not object to rights for same-sex couples 
regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment 
rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the 
integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of 
churches."
The day after the election, Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Los 
Angeles Archdiocese issued a statement thanking his parishioners for 
supporting Proposition 8.
"I am grateful to the Catholic Community of Los Angeles for your 
commitment to the institution of marriage as fashioned by God and to 
work with such energy to enshrine this divine plan into our state's 
Constitution," he said.
Mahony said support for Prop. 8 had nothing to do with discrimination 
against gays.
"Proposition 8 is not against any group in our society," he said. "Its 
sole focus is on preserving God's plan for people living upon this earth 
throughout time. The Catholic Church understands that there are people 
who choose to live together in relationships other than traditional 
arriage. All of their spiritual, pastoral and civil rights should be 
respected, together with their membership in the church."
About 70 percent of blacks and a majority of Hispanics also voted for 
Proposition 8, according to election officials.






http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/10/BAM51419AN.DTL

At least 400 protest outside Mormon Church, thousands more in Sacramento
John Wildermuth,Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff Writers
Monday, November 10, 2008

(11-09) 17:02 PST Sacramento - --
A couple thousand people gathered outside the Capitol in Sacramento this 
afternoon to rally for the legalization of same-sex marriages just days 
after voters imposed a constitutional ban.

The gathering follows several similar events around the Bay Area and 
California. Earlier today, more than 400 people gathered outside the 
distinctive Mormon Temple in Oakland to protest the Church of Jesus 
Christ of Latter-day Saints' support of Proposition 8.
That gathering prompted the Highway Patrol to shut down two Highway 13 
ramps to protect pedestrians. The ramps at Lincoln Avenue and Joaquin 
Miller Road reopened around 2 p.m.
And amid chants of "Stop Mormon hate" and "Enough is enough," many 
protesters worried that they had been complacent before the Nov. 4 
election. A previous protest outside the Mormon Temple on Oct. 25 drew 
only about 50 people.
"I don't think people thought it was going to pass," said Carrie 
Blanche, 52, an Alameda schoolteacher who got married Oct. 29.
In Southern California, about 1,000 gay-rights advocates gathered 
outside the large Saddleback Church in Lake Forest (Orange County) to 
protest the evangelical congregation's involvement in passing 
Proposition 8. An estimated 10,000 backers of gay and lesbian marriage 
gathered Saturday in San Diego.
The rallies have been generally peaceful, with crowd members waving U.S. 
and rainbow flags and carrying signs. In Sacramento this afternoon, a 
few protesters said they were hopeful the courts would strike down the 
voter-approved ban while others said they would push for another 
statewide initiative.
Meanwhile, opponents of same-sex marriage have been relatively silent. 
At the Mormon Church in Oakland, church spokesman Don Eaton said his 
congregation had been unfairly singled out. He pointed out that Mormons 
make up only 5 percent of California voters and many other religious 
groups also advocated for the same-sex marriage ban.
"We're an easy target. People have been picking on us for years and we 
can accept that," said Eaton, who said church leaders asked members to 
support the initiative. Mormons are believed to have contributed several 
million dollars to the campaign, according to estimates.
One of the organizers of the Oakland protest, Ted DeBenedictis, said the 
church had been forewarned about the rally, which was not held during 
religious services.
Protesters at the Oakland event waved both American and rainbow flags 
and held signs that said "I am a child of God" and "Mormon church: 
latter-day discrimination." Two men in a passing car popped out of a sun 
roof and kissed passionately, drawing applause.
Some of those who gathered advocated for a boycott of travel to Utah, 
the home of the Mormon Church, and of Mormon-owned businesses. A flier 
that was passed out listed several such firms and asked that "gay 
dollars" not be spent at Utah ski resorts and at the Sundance Film 
Festival in January in Park City, Utah.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. E-mail Demian Bulwa at 
dbulwa at sfchronicle.com.






http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20081110-1352-ca-sjvalley-gaymarriage-protest.html

Fresno students protest gay marriage ban

ASSOCIATED PRESS
1:52 p.m. November 10, 2008
FRESNO – About 40 young gay rights advocates are chanting outside Fresno 
City Hall to protest the gay marriage ban passed in California last week.
The raucous crowd wants Fresno Mayor Alan Autry to apologize for 
speaking at a rally in support of Proposition 8, which overturned a 
Supreme Court ruling giving same-sex couples marriage rights.

A smaller group of high school and college students are blocking the 
main entryway into the building, but employees can walk around the human 
chain to get inside.
Local leaders of the nonprofit Marriage Equality USA say a few students 
briefly handcuffed themselves to the doors, but there are no reports of 
disturbances or arrests.

http://www.kcra.com/news/18041856/detail.html

2,000 Protest Prop. 8 At State Capitol
POSTED: 5:28 pm PST November 22, 2008
UPDATED: 5:35 pm PST November 22, 2008

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gays, lesbians and their supporters are taking 
their protest of Proposition 8 to the State Capitol.
On Saturday, the steps of the capitol 2,000 people from across the state 
took part in a rally against the same-sex marriage ban.
On Nov. 4, California voters passed Proposition 8 a constitutional 
amendment banning same-sex marriage.







http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2008/11/28/20081128gaymarriage1128.html

Gay marriage backers to protest at Mesa Arizona Temple
293 comments Nov. 28, 2008 12:40 PM
Republic and wire services
Supporters of gay marriage are vowing to be out in force when Mormons 
light their massive Christmas displays Friday night on the grounds of 
the Mesa Arizona Temple.
They're upset with Mormons' opposition to same-sex marriage and the 
passage of state constitutional amendments banning gay marriage in 
Arizona, California and Florida in the Nov. 4 election. Organizers say 
they're hoping thousands will turn out in solidarity for gays and 
lesbians seeking full civil rights.
The Mormon church urged members to donate money and vote for the gay 
marriage bans.
Protestors will include members of Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons, 
according to a group spokesman.
"It will be a non-violent demonstration," said David Douglass, of the 
national group's Phoenix chapter. "We'll try to keep everything peaceful."
Douglass said tonight's protest participants will meet at Pioneer Park, 
across the street from the Mesa Arizona Temple Visitors' Center and 
Gardens, before the Christmas Lights Celebration kicks off at 7 p.m.
Affirmation organized in the late 1970s when a group of gay Mormons 
began meeting quietly at Brigham Young University, according to the 
group's Web site, www.affirmation.org. In 1979, Affirmation proclaimed 
its unification and marched in the Gay parade in Los Angeles and the 
March on Washington for Gay Rights.
Supporters of the gay and lesbian rights are particularly upset at 
churches and religious leaders, including the Mormon churches, that they 
say drove out the vote to pass legislation that outlaw same-sex marriages.
In Arizona, voters approved Proposition 102, which added a 20-word 
amendment to the state Constitution to define marriage as between one 
man and one woman.
Six days after passage of Prop. 102, more than 200 supporters of the gay 
community rallied at the corner of Camelback Road and Central Avenue in 
Phoenix, holding candles and signs that said "Stop the LDS" and "Prop 
102 makes me a second-class citizen." They chanted, "Equality now, 
equality today," and they sang the civil-rights anthem We Shall Overcome.
Sgt. Ed Wessing, a Mesa police spokesman, said officers have been 
working with demonstrators to ensure a peaceful event and are 
anticipating a candlelight protest. He said demonstrators are hoping to 
attract upwards of 2,000 people but the actual turnout is difficult to 
predict.
Mormon spokesman Don Evans says the church finds it surprising it is 
being singled out by protesters. He says the amendments were also 
supported by the Catholic church and various evangelical denominations.