Month: November 2008

A reader writes:

I just got back from the LA protest. It was amazing. The protest was very well organized. The mayor showed up, the head of the local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Council gave a great speech, Lucy Lawless gave a speech (c’mon, you have to love that)—all-in-all, I was struck by how positive everyone was. I mean, people were clearly against Prop 8, but there was a real sense that change was going to come, and that we were going to be the ones to make it happen. I left feeling much, much better than I had when I came there.

What’s more, I have a great story for you.

One of my co-workers, who is Indian and gay, met me there (I, on the other hand, am white and straight—gotta love this country). He told me that when he was parking, he tried to ask the parking attendent for directions. At first, she was very cold, but upon realizing he wanted to attend the protest, she became incredibly friendly and excited, and gave him great directions. After the rally, we decided to get lunch, and I went with him to his car, and on the way out, the parking attendent remembered him, and asked him all about the rally. She was excited to see so many people out protesting.

She was African American. It was a good reminder that there are people who understand in every community.

An image of the Statue of Liberty with a rainbow boa is displayed during a rally against the passing of Prop. 8 on November 15, 2008 in San Francisco, California.  By Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

A reader writes:

A few months ago on the day that marriages started in California, my boyfriend and I went down to the San Diego County Administration Building to see couples commit themselves to one another. It was one of our proudest days. And again today, we marched from Hillcrest, San Diego’s predominantly gay neighborhood downtown, past city hall and the Hall of Justice to the County Building where San Diegans exercised their equal right to marry until just days ago. I walked right by the arbor where my sister married her wife. Passing by the spot it struck me that she couldn’t do that anymore.

On the route, people in blocked traffic honked and got out of their cars to wave or offer a thumbs up. Very few negative reactions, just a whole lot of love. Organizers say at least 15,000 San Diegans marched today. Meanwhile, following the march our new openly gay councilman announced that San Diego is looking to join San Francisco’s lawsuit against Prop. 8. Bring it on.

Even Joan Crawford showed up:

A reader writes:

Wow! For a community that keeps getting kicked in the gut, the vibes were very positive today in Saint Louis. Over a thousand people showed up on the first bitterly cold day of winter to hear the mayor, the president of the Board of Alderman (who gave a particularly good speech that I will send you if I can find a video or transcript), state representatives, activists, and ordinary citizens speak up for equality. There was anger, yes, and a tinge of sadness, but hope really seemed to rule the day in each of the speeches, and in the mood of the crowd.

A reader writes:

We gathered on the lawn of our local general store to protest Prop 8, stand up for marriage equality, and celebrate love. The grandparents held signs; the children danced; the dogs wore veils. All in all, it was a fairly typical day in the Berkshire hills.

A reader writes:

I went, along with my straight sister. Turnout was very high, and the protest area was PACKED – there was almost no room to move around, and at a certain point it became so crowded that I couldn’t lift my sign without hitting someone. 

It was an incredibly exciting day.  Several members of the New York City Council spoke, and the mood of the protesters was generally very positive and inspiring. One of the speakers mentioned that the last time she had seen this many gay people rally in the streets over something, it was 1998 and Matthew Shepard had just been murdered. That got me thinking – I’m 23, and a large part of the crowd was around my age – in 1998, I was 13 and just starting to realize that I was gay.

For younger gays, this is the first time we’ve had the chance to take to the streets and fight for our basic humanity.  Now that we’ve gotten a taste of what it feels like, I don’t think we’re ever going to give it up.

The next generation, gay and straight, get this more than ever. They will lead us now. I could not be happier to let them show me the way. This battle feels so much less lonely than it once did. The ripple has become a flood.

A reader writes:

The Chicago turnout was a little hard to believe – thousands of people blocking State Street and even Michigan Avenue. People in cars everywhere were honking their horns and leaning out of apartment windows in support. We even ran into one (straight) wedding party near the Hancock Tower that took some signs and held them up for us. It was exhilarating and, as one older gay couple put it, "We haven’t seen anything like this since the sixties."

Another adds

It is difficult to separate the recent joys of the presidential election with the disappointments in California, Arkansas, Florida and Arizona. Today at the Chicago protest, it was no different. The protest was held right next to Barack Obama’s former Senate Office in the federal building next to Calder’s famous Flamingo sculpture.

As the rally came to a close everyone began chanting "Walk, walk, walk" and we began to march at first on sidewalks (stupid) and then after about a minute, onto the streets.  We were led to Michigan avenue next to Grant Park and no one could help but be reminded of the last time the public had taken over that same stretch of pavement:  10 days ago when we were leaving the Obama rally. It was similar sense of excitement and pride, but this time relief was replaced with purpose.

The Obama parallels did not stop at Grant Park as the crowd hijacked the "Yes We Can" chant, shouting it for the duration of the march.  We marched underneath banners that lined the streets with Obama’s face on them, gifts from the city congratulating our hometown hero on his success.

In Chicago, it felt as if Obama and Equal Rights for Gays go hand in hand. I await the day when Obama will acknowledge that it does. 

A reader writes:

I’m a straight man, and my wife and I were disgusted with the claims of marriage equality opponents that gay marriage is a threat to the integrity of the institution. Now is the time for fair-minded people to stand up in Tennessee, whose state legislature is now entirely controlled by Republicans, as the anti-Obama vote was coordinated with a mobilization of Christianists, who turned just enough seats to control the state house.

One of their stated goals is to reverse the basic gains gays and lesbians have made in their rights to adopt. I hope the 300 or so protesters, who were joyous in discovering their ability to mobilize so quickly, will represent the beginning of what will be a tough fight: progressive Nashville is not the rest of the state, and we represented a fraction of the average Sunday at one of the right-wing megachurches.

But for today, optimism and a start.

A reader writes:

A little over 100 people braved the raw, wet day to stand in front of the U.S. Consulate on University Avenue in Toronto to join their sisters and brothers in supporting the right to marry. Ironically, security restrictions in front of the Consulate had police direct people to across the street, to congregate in front of the Provincial Court House where the Halpern decision in 2003 gave same-sex couples the right to marry in this province.