I knew this rally would be different when I heard the disco music from a couple of blocks away. It wasn’t that people weren’t angry or saddened or generally disillusioned about the State Supreme Court’s decision – we were – but it felt like the whole crowd knew that even though we lost this battle, we have a really good shot at winning the war.

And on that note, I would like to take a moment to offer my thanks to NOM and the Yes on 8 Campaign. Your dedicated efforts have galvanized the LGBT community and its many straight friends and supporters, and your complete asshattery has shown many people who were on the fence about gay marriage just how backwards and mean-spirited your position really is.

Thanks for teaching a whole new generation that bigotry isn’t cool.

Which is not to say that the Prop 8 ruling shouldn’t scare the bejeezus out of everyone. The court has essentially said that, fair or not, under the California Constitution a majority of voters can take basic rights away from any minority they care to single out.

And while that opens up some amazing pranking territory – Nobody tell the redheads we’re taking away their right to sleep next year, OK? – it also opens up the possibility for HippieProgressiveDoWhatYouFeelLand to slide right into the Dark Ages.

OK, fine: I will sign on to take away the voting rights anyone who puts “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” into the music mix of any restaurant, bar, or public place, but that’s IT.

But that’s all part of the road ahead. Tuesday night was about showing that we will not take the revocation of rights quietly, and we will not back down.

We gathered at Santa Monica and San Vincente at 7 p.m.. The police on the ground were already well prepared, and choppers were already circling. March organizers circulated through the crowd taking donations and passing out signs, and the gathering protesters – myself included – went into a flurry of compulsive documentation.

We took pictures, we made phone calls, we texted and Twittered. What did people do at protest starts before cell phones and online social media? Make meaningful human connections and fall in love? Well, hell, it was a marriage rally – many of the people there had already taken care of that. (Though one enterprising gentleman had a sign with the coda “P. S. – I’m husband hunting!”)

The signs, as always, were terrific. I’d tossed my hand-made sign from the November rally downtown and didn’t set aside the required 37 hours to make a new one, so I self-consciously went with an old-but-cherished “Vote No on 8” sign.

I needn’t have worried – in many ways the rally was an eco-friendly Prop 8 Protest Greatest Hits collection. I saw signs I recognized from the protest at the Mormon Temple and the march downtown… One couple even had candles from the candlelight vigil.

Among the new signs, Bill from the “I’m Just a Bill” Schoolhouse Rock episode was a definite trend, though he was cast very differently in every sign I saw. One showed him crying, another showed him with devil horns and a Prop 8 badge. And one I’ll just call disturbing and leave it at that. I may need to have those brain cells removed.

An astonishing number of people showed up to speak at the rally, including the mayors of Los Angeles and West Hollywood, several members of the clergy, and Jennifer Pizer of Lambda Legal, who announced the Marriage Watch: California project.

There was also a microphone that was something of a drama queen, cutting out just as people hit the highs of their speeches. The crowd was good-natured about it, chuckling and applauding the return of sound rather than assuming evil machinations of The Man.

Speaking of The Man, incumbent Democrats who haven’t yet had best review footage of the speeches – one of the biggest cheers of the evening was for divorcing the Democratic party if they don’t begin to follow through on years of promises.

Lieutenant Daniel Choi was on hand and drew huge applause – not just for his bravery on several fronts, but because he has already become a powerful and inspiring speaker. Choi also marched the route with the crowd, mingling and shaking hands at times, but also just marching and chanting like everyone else.

He took the stage with “My name is Dan Choi, and I am still gay!” and started the best chant of the evening: “Love is worth it!”

George Takei and his magnificent voice energized the rally with his funny and romantic proposal story, and Kathy Griffin sent the crowd off marching on a wave of good cheer by, well, being Kathy Griffin.

And, at last, the marching. After a burst of simultaneous texting as everyone tried one last time to find the friends we had thought it would be so easy to meet up with, we set off down Santa Monica Boulevard at a good pace.

I am, in an odd way, proud to report that my personal streak of always having someone directly behind my left ear who is determined to lead the chants through sheer volume and force of will remains unbroken.

We marched through West Hollywood, distinctly friendly territory. People darted in and out of the flow of protesters, saying hi or gently teasing each other for watching instead of marching.
Other neighborhoods offered more bemused spectators – particularly the firemen who found themselves the objects of some enthusiastic attention – but overall the march was uneventful.

It was an odd march, more of a placeholder or a promise than anything else. 14,000 people showing up just to make the point that we’re paying attention and this isn’t over.

Hitting the streets is the fun part; now it’s time for the less sexy but equally important slog: collecting signatures, canvassing, and data entry. Leaning on our elected officials and not letting them get away with weaseling. Noodging friends into coming along for that phone banking shift and writing courteous but pointed letters to public figures who need to be reminded that you don’t get to be a dickweed without consequences.

It may be a long push, and sometimes the road to equality will be filled with tedious,  difficult, or even scary work.

But last time I checked, love is worth it.