Prop 8 Protest in San Francisco Draws Thousands (Photos)
We made it to Civic Center just as the Proposition 8 protest surged up Market Street toward the Castro. This was pure grassroots -- a local mobilization which expected a few hundred supporters. Instead, thousands of people marched through the heart of San Francisco, bringing traffic to a stand still, and walking shoulder to shoulder in solidarity against Prop 8 and the rights this amendment rescinds for same-sex couples.Along the route, drivers honked and spectators stood with their own signs and expressions of unity. Local news reported some dissent with "Yes on 8" proponents interrupting a segment of the march. A woman was interviewed on camera, asserting that her "yes" vote on Prop 8 was substantiated by her personal beliefs. Given the lawsuits recently filed against Proposition 8, her assertion is questionable at the moment -- until the Constitutional validity of this proposition is determined.
As it was on the first day of legal same-sex weddings at San Francisco City Hall, tonight's protest made it difficult to comprehend the opposition to what, for many of us, amounts to the validation of family and love on one level -- and to a fundamental issue of civil rights on another.
Tonight at the protest there were children of gay parents, young and grown, suggesting just one of the painful invalidations imposed by Prop 8 and its impact on families. A man next to me reassured his partner, "I love you and you're still my husband." For many marching tonight, the right to speak those words has been stripped by a bare majority of a vote. And the incredulous response to this withdrawal of equal marriage rights is palpable in light of the circumstances surrounding this particular initiative process.
I've posted some photos from tonight's Prop 8 protest -- which started at Civic Center and made its way through the Castro, to Dolores Park, and then back again. The San Francisco Chronicle posted a piece under the headline Angry Crowd Protests Prop 8 ** which, from our own experience, is a mischaracterization of the largely peaceful protest. It was animated and passionate, for certain, but angry is not a term I'd use to describe thousands of citizens organized together in near precision -- often singing, sometimes chanting, but mostly marching without incident, for the unified cause of equality under California law.
** This front page slug at sfgate.com has since been removed. The linked article is entitled "Thousands in S.F. march to protest Prop. 8"
On Sunday, November 9, Californians Against 8 are organizing another protest in Sacramento at the State Capitol Building. Participants will be meeting at the west steps at 1p. If you'd like more information, you can e-mail CaliforniansAgainst8@gmail.com.
Photos © Ingrid Taylar
Comments
Did the headline of the Chronicle piece change? (It now reads “Thousands in S.F. march to protest Prop. 8″). Although there was a little bit of disruption there from the few Yes on 8 people who turned out, it definitely didn’t appear to be at all angry. There are certainly a lot of people who are angry about the issue but the protest itself was peaceful and loving and all about the community coming together.
Hi, Kathryn - Yes, the original front page slug for the linked article at sfgate.com read “Angry Crowd Protests Prop. 8.”
I covered the San Francisco side of the November 7th Proposition 8 protest, shot on film:
Proposition 8 Protest, San Francisco, November 7th, 2008
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= “FIGHT THE H8″
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= SODOM AND GOMORRAH USA has awoken
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All being gay is I thought was sexual preference. Right or wrong? Now I am straight but I must say is there not more than 2 sexual preferences out there. Lets take Polygamy. Do we make it right for a man to marry multiple Wives or a woman to have multiple husbands. There are sick people who have a sexual preference for children. Do we allow that to happen. All these people are born this way with some time of chemical imbalance. Marriage has always been between a man and a woman and it should stay that way. This view I repeat is from a straight guy. Do gays believe in polygamy or being so sexually attracted to a 5 year old that you engage in sex and marriage. If you are gay and believe these other sexual preferences are wrong and you still think you should be allowed to be married well then you are hypocrites. Why? If you believe those other sexual preferences I mentioned are wrong you then see the point I make. My point is marriage is between a man and woman. It is not your right to get married. Marriage has rules . These rules are not going to be changed for you. Love your other half and live with the fact that marriage is not for you. Find something else. Even though gay acts have been going on for years does not make them right. Stop pushing your gay thoughts into my children s schools. Being gay is a matter of sexual preference just like being straight. Keep that crap out of my schools. There is no room for sex talk in schools. I am not religious but I do have an opinion which I have developed from common sense.