Gay marriage rally planned for Saturday morning
By: John Upton
Examiner Staff Writer
November 14, 2008
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| Taking it to the streets: Since Prop. 8’s passage, same-sex marriage supporters have staged rallies across the state. (Examiner File Photo) |
SAN FRANCISCO — Supporters of same-sex marriage and gay rights will take to the streets Saturday in rallies across the nation, including a gathering in front of San Francisco City Hall starting at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
The rallies are a response to ballot measures in three states — California, Arizona and Florida — that passed Nov. 4 and denied same-sex couples the right to marry.
“This is a part of a nationwide day of action,” said Stuart Gaffney, who married John Lewis at San Francisco City Hall earlier this year, and who plans to address Saturday’s rally. “A grass-roots movement has been born since the passage of Proposition 8.”
Last Friday in San Francisco, thousands of people attended an evening march that closed down sections of Market Street for more than two hours to protest Proposition 8.
Assemblymember Mark Leno, who is openly gay, is scheduled to address the crowd in San Francisco on Saturday.
“My message is for people to take a deep breath, have faith and continue to work to inform our neighbors and our co-workers as to the real importance of not only marriage equality, but treating all citizens equally under the law,” Leno said.
“I’ll be talking about the unprecedented success we’ve had in winning support for marriage equality in recent years. Clearly, we are winning this war and, clearly, we will win this war over the word marriage,” Leno said.
In 2000, 61.4 percent of Californian voters voted in favor of a measure which provided that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California,” according to figures published by the California Secretary of State.
Following a court ruling earlier this year that found same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage, 52.2 percent of California voters cast ballots this election to ban gay marriage, according to the most recent election results.
“I think a lot of people who voted for Prop. 8 really didn’t grasp the severity of what they were doing— it’s not just about marriage, it’s about whether we repeal equal protection for one minority, any minority,” Leno said.
Gay-rights advocates say at least 150 rallies are planned this weekend in cities nationwide – including New York, Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles -- to re-energize support for gay unions.
In Boston, organizers expect thousands to attend a Saturday rally, which advocates say will highlight the positive aspects of gay marriage. Marc Solomon of MassEquality says Massachusettts is in a unique position to show that gay marriage is a benefits families and society. The state was the first to legalize gay marriage.
“You can look to us and see that marriage equality works and it’s a good thing, and the scare tactics were just that, scare tactics,” he said.
The Associate Press contributed to this report
