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Loading ...Gay rights rallies nationwide over Calif. ban
11.15.2008 5:58pm EST
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 and urge supporters not to quit the fight for the right to wed.
Many cast it as a civil rights issue.Crowds gathered near public buildings 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 rights 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.
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 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.”
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.
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, 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 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 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.”
Martin you have NO right to call us gays deviants especially when you look at all the amount sexual offences committed by married hetrosexuals.
Our friends and coworkers aren’t really “fickle allies” as they were/are all for us having equal rights until it really started being publicized on the news with all the really nasty signs and Mormon bashing. They could care less about our protesting in general and think we should be standing up for our rights, but some of the chants and signs are not a lot better than when everyone was protesting all Muslims after 9-11 happened and burning Muslim effigies, wanting to deport all Muslims, etc. Yes the Mormon church did a lot of the contributions, but you can’t tell me 52% of the Californians voting against gay marriage were Mormon so maybe we need to concentrate on changing people’s minds in a positive manner in these protests instead of picking on the Mormon church as a whole. I can tell you, not all Mormons were against this. I’m all for protesting what has happened, we just need to be careful that we don’t end up taking 3 steps back.
I note that God is punishing trailer park California with terrible fires – all for passing Prop Hate. When will they learn not to piss Her off?!
In Cleveland, the weather was godawful at the designated time (heavy rain and 20-40 mph wind, with dropping temps), but people still came out. I couldn’t get out of work, at least three of my friends were in same situation, and I don’t know how turnout was. One interesting aspect: while evening news can be scarce on Saturdays (college football, golf, etc.) the local Fox station not only covered the protest here, but their coverage was sober and respectful–like they viewed it as a real and legitimate news issue, not something freakish and disgusting.
I got married in Toronto four years ago. Wanna know the difference? You walk through the big doors there at City Hall, you say you’re there for a marriage license, and you’re congratulated and directed to the appropriate area. The people who have you fill out the form are pleasant, treat it as a good thing, and generally treat you (big shiny homo couples) like they treat anybody else. We got married at the chapel the next day. (The chapel is across from the Council Chamber, which has that same flying-saucer look as the ones in Albany and Brasilia; too bad the curtains were closed.) The couple after us were South Asian. They took no evident offense at us, and we were happy for them. Nice, simple service. Just like any other couple. All in all, it’s still like a mindblowing trip to a parallel universe.
What totally frustrates me about civil rights, is that people who did not have any in the 1800’s, are so hard hell bent, on not letting us, the GLBT community have civil rights. I just see it as, well we have rights now, lets not let the Gay community, have rights because we don’t understand, we are people just like them. There is GLBT people throughout every race of people. No one doesn’t have a perfect society, there are gay people all over the world. It doesn’t pick certain races, or faiths, to omit rights to anyone. I thought that we, (the GLBT) community would have broken these stereotypical ranting & ravings, to be accepted. Boy, was I wrong. I guess I won’t see equality in my lifetime, but we can’t just sit back and let these people treat us like 2nd class citizens.I’m ready to fight, blood,sweat, & tears, for my right as an American citizen, for equal rights.
Thomas Said: “I’m all for these protests as long as we keep them classy. My partner and I live in Arkansas, and we are already hearing from co-workers who we always considered “in the middle” who really didn’t necessarily approve of gay marriage, but wouldn’t be against it if it were to pass talking about how these church protests are actually making them start to think negatively of us as a group – not us personally, but in general as a class. They don’t mind the general protesting at city halls and such, but when we start throwing out religious hatred ourselves we are crossing the line in many people’s minds.”
So as long as we protest in a manner they approve, they are our allies? Is this any different than those who say that they are fine with gay people as long as we act like they want us to act, stay in our closets so they don’t have to acknowledge our existance? Fickle “allies” such as these are no better than our enemies.
The people of California have spoken, AGAIN. Keep your deviant behavior out of the public square.
I am a bisexual man married to a bisexual women. I fully support gay marriage. I’ve even had the privilege of attending a gay marriage, a friend of the family, in Boston. I have a slightly different take on the issue. I feel that ALL unions between any two people should be considered a ‘civil union’. If the religious want to reserve the legal term for a ceremony preformed in and approved by a church, let them keep it. The government should only recognize civil unions which are equal for all.
oncerned Said: “I have not heard anything about any protests in Florida.”
There was a protest near the Tampa courthouse. About 100 people showed up. I heard about one in FtL but do not know the details. Sorry I didnt see your comments soon enough to provice what little info I had.
“There was a comment earlier about how this is a was and that peaceful protests will not get us anywhere and I agree with that to an extent, but I would like to try the peaceful option first.”
We should not give up on the option of peace, we just need to understand that peace alone will not accomplish anything. It never has in any civil rights movement. The simple truth is that until our enemies feel the spark of fear, they have no motivation to have a peaceful dislogue with us. We are outnumbered and have set a precedent for voting away our civil rights which they wiull now press to theri full advantage. The assault, harrass, threaten and committ violent acts upon us with relative impunity. They degrade our teen gay children into believing suicide is preferrable to life as a gay or lesbian. In short, they have njo reason to change the status quo as it is all in their favor.
No group’s civil rights have ever been won without bloodshed. It is a regrettable fact that violence cannot be avoided if we evenutally want to win equality. Only then will they look to our peaceful groups to arrange a treaty to co-exist. And they will not have these talks with the more radical element, just as they will not have the talks at all without the more radical element. Both sides of the coin are needed, sad as that is to say, but history bears this out. I dont necessarily advocate violence, I just understand it will be required.
I’m all for these protests as long as we keep them classy. My partner and I live in Arkansas, and we are already hearing from co-workers who we always considered “in the middle” who really didn’t necessarily approve of gay marriage, but wouldn’t be against it if it were to pass talking about how these church protests are actually making them start to think negatively of us as a group – not us personally, but in general as a class. They don’t mind the general protesting at city halls and such, but when we start throwing out religious hatred ourselves we are crossing the line in many people’s minds. I’m thankful so far that we haven’t see anyone in assless chaps or leather harnesses yet holding signs for equality. Thank God it’s almost winter. I would love to be able to marry my partner someday, so let’s keep it classy, guys and gals.
Some nice pics, Ramon. Some good slogans too. Thank you for sharing.
Here are some photos of the placards that I took at San Francisco’s City Hall protest:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramon_burgos_ruiz/sets/72157609153062038/
Hanna Said: “TigerTzu: I agree with you. Arguing or trying to convince them is like entering an endless circle, but what else can we do?”
Sadly, until the notion that peace will prevail with these bigots is finally dispelled. there is little to do but sit and wait. Attend the protests if you like, called for the removal of their tax-exemtions which is unlikely, boycott if you are able. All these things dont hurt the cause, but frankly the numbers are against us. Dr. King’s movement had actually accomplished little until Malcom X and the Black Panthers gave the racists a reason to turn to peace, and so it will be with our struggle. Until this happens, all we can do is march and protest while they continue to burn our homes, strip us of our rights at every opportunity, destroy our families, convince our teens that suicide in record numbers is preferrable to gay life and murder us.
Michael Said: “For those naysayers that claim this will do little – our positive voice will do more than your negative one. At least we got up off the couches today to let the world know that we are not going to let them just VOTE away our civil rights.”
And now that they know, just what are you prepared to do to make sure that happens? You call it a negative voice, I call it a realistic voice. Don’t misunderstand, I applaud your motivation and your courage. It’s just that at the end of the day, has this actually changed anything? Do we hold weekly protests every week for the next 2 or 4 years until the next elections when we can try to outnumber them at the voting booth? Sadly, I do not see this happening and for some who may not live until the next ballot takes place, providing we win then, it is a small comfort. I’m sure it was the feel-good event of the year and it has provided the gay community with a sense of unity that has been sorely lacking for decades and for this your efforts are appreciated. My question is, now what?
How fortunate I am to right now in Nova Scotia (Alba Nuadh) a province of Canada, even though I would like to be at a protest rally this weekend in the USA.
A country where gay marriage is legal from coast to coast, while backwards USA has now gay marriage in only 2 small New England states having lost California.
This is just a roadblock, time to OBJECT, OBBJECT, OBJECT against this injustice aimed against our community.
The opponents of gay rights are e-mailing those CA legislators who were against Prop 8 and I read that in Equality California’s e-mailing to me of today, that Gov. Schwartzeneggar and 44 legislators who sided with us against Prop 8 are being targeted with critical e-mailings by our opponents.
We need to e-mail to thank those in CA’s government who stood with us in our time of need against Prop8.
We need to keep rallying against newly passed Prop 8 and to work for its removal from CA’s laws.
I am so grateful to live in Canada. I was finaly able to marry my husband of 22 years (recently in BC with no fear of takeback) and can’t imagine giving that up. I find it very hard to believe that your rights in the most (apparently) free country in the world are subject to others approval. Why does who you love matter to someone who doesn’t even know you or the person you love? Who knows, but please don’t give up the fight. New gays (the younger and maybe more vulnerable) need to always see the banner “We are welcome” regardless of where they come from in this country.
Let’s not let the closet door get closed again. We must remain visible.