Gay Marriage Supporters Plan Proposition 8 Protests For Saturday

From USA Today:

SAN FRANCISCO -- Thousands of gay-marriage supporters plan to take to the streets Saturday to protest gay-marriage bans in California, Arizona and Florida.

Protesters are focusing on California, where the state Supreme Court declared same-sex marriages legal in May before voters tossed them out Nov. 4.

California's Proposition 8, which passed 52.2% to 47.8%, "eliminates (the) right of same-sex couples to marry."

Proponents of same-sex marriage say its passage has only energized the gay rights movement. Activists are using a grass-roots network of websites, e-mails and text messages to coordinate protests in about 300 cities -- from Fayetteville, Ark., to Omaha.

Andrew Sullivan at The Atlantic says he will be covering the protests tomorrow.

Tomorrow, a virally-generated national day of protest across America is taking shape to protest the attack on the core civil rights of a small minority in California. It's a protest to demand equal treatment under the law for gay couples. It's a radical demand for a traditional institution and also a protest against those who seek to impose religious restrictions on civil law. It is a defense of both religious freedom and the freedom of those whom many (but not all) religions condemn.

The Dish will devote Saturday to covering the protests. Please send me stories, anecdotes, photographs, music, Youtubes, and graphics that reflect what's going on around the country. As on election day, we'll try and let you speak via this blog to the wider world, and convey a sense from the ground up of how people are feeling and arguing and acting.

Comments

[DontJustFollow]

You guys have a fun little march on Saturday and have fun boycotting over half the state.
Maybe you can talk PE Obama into leading the march, I hear he was a pretty good neighborhood organizer once -

[diablorobotico]

Obama was a very good one, actually. It's that kind of work ethic, kindness and investment in what's right that made America great and will make Obama a good -- and possibly great -- President.

Is it scary for you to think about all the future leaders that will come out of this community organizing? Because it's really exciting to me!

[DontJustFollow]

OK sorry, I got carried away again. I am a life long republican, vote for the most experienced man, but am 100% behind PE Obama now because he will be our leader come Jan.

Having spent a lot of time in Chicago dealing with city hall and local politicians, I know first hand home corrupt the machine is. That said, I also have a great deal of respect for the concept of neighborhood organization - after all, it IS how this country was started.

The world is actually depending on Obama to be a great leader. Since he ran on the whole change thing, I wish he wasn't surrounding himself with Clinton people from the 90's. We need new ideas, new blood, and our younger folks to step up and keep America moving.

[LexKitten]

"Authorities have proven to both camps that there are people that are happy and un happy no matter what their sexuality."

Wow, real live scientists confirmed that? That all different kinds of people experience happiness and anguish? Stunning.

Because I thought that being a lesbian would mean that I am happy all the time and my life would be perfect.... maybe I don't want to be gay anymore now that I know this.

[cagney57]

I feel everyone has the same rights as I do, marriage, divorce,children etc...GOD did not put me on this Earth to be HIS judge...I am my brother's keeper and to me, that means to keep he/she safe, secure and to attain all rights, GOD or man given.

If there is is any judging to be done, GOD will do it at a later time, that is, if you believe in GOD.

[LexKitten]

I very much respect that view. I agree that no matter what god you believe in that our purpose here to to take care of one another. I just wish more people agreed.

[NoblesseOblige]

Thank you. I hope more folks eventually come to your way of thinking.

[CaliforniaJake]

The fact that Prop 8 passed in California is a sad turn of events for my home state. I am not gay, but support the gay community in their efforts to marry. No one should be discriminated against or denied basic rights under the law.

[chi01]

hey Wolfgoat! homophobia is so 80's man!

[Cybersquirt]

wow - looks like they pulled it.. I'm actually kind of disappointed..

[Jonahinatickingwhale]

The same part of the book that you use to condemn your daughter and homosexuality (Leviticus) also condemns eating shellfish and wearing clothing of differing fabrics.

Do you eat shrimp?
Ever had clams?
Do you find lobster tasty?
Green mussels with linguini?
How about a nice plate of scallops?

Ever wear a cotton shirt with linen pants?
Worn a wool sweater with a silk tie?

Then you are just as surely going to the same hell as your daughter because you are just as guilty of violating the rules of your book as is she.

godhatesshrimp.com

[JarreauII]

I must agree with Adamsmith3. One of my children who is gay, bashes me non-stop because I believe in the Bible and what It says. I love her dearly and have always taught her to treat others, as she would want them to treat her. She is very angry with me because I don't agree with or support what 'she feels' I should. I would never turn my back against her regardless of what she feels or who she loves. However, I will not change what I believe and just because we disagree, does that give her the right to come to my home and verbally bash me and my Bible, and my God continuously, over and over? I love her, but I told her that she shouldn't come to my home if she can't respect me and what I believe, or because I don't understand, what she believes. She is trying to 'force' me to 'change' my beliefs, and this is the point that adamsmith3 is trying to get across. "You catch more bees with honey" and yes I am Oldschool!

How can I stand for/help you if I don't understand what you are trying to do? If my belief has been in the Bible for over 40, 50 or 60 years, why would you think that if you bash me enough, I will change my mind? Cursing, name calling, etc., never works. Ask Sarah Palin!

[cmfrey]

Do you believe that your daughter is choosing to be gay?

[Cybersquirt]

the hypocrisy is you only follow parts of that bible and marriage is not restricted to the religious.

How can you not know what "we" are trying to do?

[melakfilms]

Hard to make a conclusion based on one side of the story. I would be quite curious to ask your daughter the things you said or did to hurt her so much to make her so angry.

[PlantGod72]

I would only suggest to you that your "beliefs", no matter how firmly held, are just that---BELIEFS, while your daughter's lesbianism, through medical and psychological research, has been PROVEN to be an innate, physiological state of being that forms the actual basis for her romantic, affectional and sexual life.

You have learned and CHOSEN your religious dogma, and in response to the, no doubt, deep disappoint and resentment of your own child. I think you need to do some soul searching, free of the archaic dogma of 'your' Bible to find a more supportive and non-judgmental attitude towards your daughter.

It seems you are simply using the comforting condemnation of your religion to hold your daughter and her gayness at arms length. Sad.

[luvobama]

How far did you go in higher education? I do not mean that to be snarky. I have a feeling that your way of thinking goes hand in hand with a lower education. Why can't you believe your daughter when she tells you she was born gay? Why can't you just love her and leave the bible out of it. I have four kids and the least of my worries is the gender of who they are going to love and spend the rest of their lives with. I want them to be content with themselves. I want them to be nice,caring decent people. I want them to be pro something rather than anti everything. i want them to have open minds and big hearts.

[mercury613]

Complete info regarding tomorrow's rallies can be found here:

http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/

[tasukibeth1]

I'll be there!

[rextrek]

Maybe this will MAKE MORE people READ the CONSTITUTION & THE BILL OF RIGHTS! WITHOUT THEM - WE HAVE NO AMERICA! (They AREN'T JUST A GOD-DAMMED PIECE OF PAPER)!!

[treynana]

They are not demanding equal treatment under the law for gays. in California, perhaps more so than any other state in the Union, gay people have equal treatment under the law for EVERY activity of life: including their long term partnerships. Marriage is covered under contract law and domestic partnerships in CA receive the same contractural benefits and rights as marriages.

They have equal treatment in California. Civil unions and domestic partnerships have the same CONTRACT LAW rights as marriages in California - and they are given the same respect. What they are demanding is society re-define its definition of marriage.
There is nothing wrong with having two things that are different called by different names and given the same respect. Hence the usage of the terms heterosexual and homosexual: both describe a method of sexual interaction; both are respected as sexual acts but they are different.

[DontJustFollow]

Thank you.

[Cybersquirt]

"Thank you"? For what? Spouting more nonsense?

Marriage is also a legal term and gays in California DO NOT "enjoy" the same rights, even BEFORE the passage of this bill.

Until it goes federal, we never will, thanks to DOMA. So there's no need to get your panties in a bunch -- this year, anyway.

[diablorobotico]

You do realize that we just had Constitutional civil rights eliminated for gay people in California, right?

So... if we just lost rights -- and the majority of people didn't -- how exactly do you see us as having equal rights? Because I'm not following you.

[adamsmith3]

Which article of the constitution was violated?

[DMHopper]

Actually, the California Supreme Court determined that gays and lesbians did not have equal protection of the law. Seeing as how the Supreme Court is composed of people who have devoted their professional lives to the study and analysis of the law, and you're just some person commenting on the internet, they're quite a bit more credible than you on this issue.

[Curandera]

Separate but equal is inherently unequal. Yes, they and we (heterosexuals) are demanding that the secular government define marriage in secular terms.

Furthermore, there are significant difference between civil unions and domestic partnerships including the lack of protection of interstate recognition of the rights of "marriage."

When two people love each other and are committed to each other, their union should be protected.

[mercury613]

Marriage and domestic partnerships *do not* afford the same benefits and protections. It is amazing to me how many people keep repeating something so patently false.

http://www.aclu.org/getequal/rela/california.html

[Giada]

Bottom line ....America is a secular country, and both the Constitution and Declaration support this. Most of our founding fathers were Deists, not Christians .... and Christians were supported by Deists supporting religious freedom.

Christians do not, "own the use of the word marriage," (see wiki for use).

Our Gov Schwarzenegger who is a Pub ...supports an overturn on this amendment, because it is discriminatory and violates human rights.

[m2c]

please check the website and video

refusetohate.com

http://www.vimeo.com/2213624

its time to move past those barriers!!!

[mildewproduction]

The answer is pretty simple. Take the state out of the marriage business all together. Nobody gets married by the state. Everyone gets a civil union, and our laws are based on civil unions.

If you want to get married go to a church. Some churches will marry gays and some won't.

Case closed.

[DontJustFollow]

But why should everything traditional have to change just so gays can justify their lifestyle choices?

I think society is already choking on it's political correctness - - - when will it ever stop?

[luvobama]

Everything traditional? For the love of everything holy, didn't Michael Jackson get married? A friend of mine has been married 5 times. I know of at least 20 families that went down the tubes as a result of adultery. Most marriages end in divorce. Come on now, what about gay people really bothers you? Be honest.

[CEKChuck]

I think it's your bigotry you're choking on, not PCness

[Brian Normoyle - Huffpost Blogger]

I'm assuming then you're advocating we return to the "traditional" definitions marriage that declares the wife as the property and wealth accumulation of her husband?

Or shall we return to the "traditional" definition of marriage that did not allow blacks to marry each other because they were property and not people?

Or shall we return to the "traditional" execution of public education in our society, where "coloreds" and "whites" had to use separate school buildings and buses?

Using your own words, why should everything "traditional" have to change just so non-males, non-whites, non-straights can justify their lifestyle choices?

When will it ever stop?

What I think society is "choking on" is the realization that we should not be denying people who love each other and have committed themselves to each other the right to have that union validated and recognized by the state in a way that is equal to their straight peers.

We should be HONORING the desire and right to marry, not PREVENTING it for people! Hasn't marriage suffered enough with the divorce rates being so sky high?

[diablorobotico]

You're right. I demand that we bring back the tradition of slavery. After all, there were slaves on this continent for longer than there haven't been. Why should everything traditional have to change?

Oh, that's right -- because it's morally indefensible to not recognize every human's equality.

I guess that's when it stops.

[DMHopper]

First of all, it's not a lifestyle. Second, it's not a choice. Third, because it's neither a lifestyle, nor a choice, it doesn't need to be justified. Two men marrying each other does not prevent anyone else from having a "traditional marriage," whatever that means.

[diablorobotico]

Actually, the answer is much simpler than that:

Give eveyrone equal rights.

The state is in the marriage business because marriage is a civil contract granted, controlled and enforced by the state. Religion has nothing to do with it. We separate church and state in this country (technically).

If you want a religious wedding to celebrate your civil marriage license, go to a church. If you don't want a religous wedding but you do have a civil marriage license, you're still legally married. If you do have a religious wedding but you don't have a civil marriage, you're not legally married.

That's how powerless religion is when it comes to marriage. Because it's a civil contract that has absolutely nothing to do with religion. Religions can't grant marriages or control them or enforce them. They can only have symbolic parties to celebrate them, or not. And that's it. Thank God.

Case closed.

[Cybersquirt]

Exactly.

But they've sure convinced a lot of people that religion has everything to do with it, eh?

[sclucie]

I gave money to the opponents of Prop 8 - and I'd like to see where it went. I think it may have been the worst-run campaign in memory. Do they plan on protesting against the older voters of California? Visit rest homes? Do they plan on protesting against the inept people who ran the opppostition campaign - which was their's to lose? Do they plan on campaigning against the bigots who put together the Lee Atwater Invasion ad? I doubt it. Do they plan on protesting against the Catholic Church? The Californina Catholic Council? The Knights of Columbus? No. Those groups are too big. They only target minorities.

[mishi]

Actually, I have a hopeful feeling that some San Francisco demonstrators tomorrow might well head up Van Ness Avenue to St. Mary's Cathedral. Be all that as it may, your complaint that gay radicals don't protest against the Catholic Church suggests that you know next to nothing about LGBT history.

[sclucie]

Actually, I know quite alot of LGBT history, since I lived in a gay/lesbian collective for two years, worked in San Francisco, am Catholic, have a gay brother, gay nieces and nephews, and cousins with children. Try this - and I know it will be next to impossible. Make a case for what you believe without demeaning or attacking another indivdual whom you know absolutely nothing about.

[pons1595]

The LDS church contributed a significant amount of money and effort to endorse PROP 8 in California via its network of church, media, and community outlets enshrining discrimination under the law for thousands of Californians and their families.

"In general, no organization, including a church, may qualify for IRC section 501(c)(3) status if a substantial part of its activities is attempting to influence legislation (commonly known as lobbying)."

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/review-the-501c3-status-of-the-church-of-latter-day-saints-the-mormons

[DontJustFollow]

Voting yes on Prop. 8 has nothing more to do with the sep. of church and state than voting no did. Prop. 8 said nothing about religion or it would not have made it onto the ballet.
Prop. 8 made it on to the ballet because of a judge that over ruled the will of the people the last time the definition of marraige went up for a vote.
People on both sides of the issue are religious so that angle is a non-starter.

I think straight people are just sick and tired of having the gay agenda rammed down their throats -

[laurinek]

Because you are not gay the agenda is being rammed down your throat? How exactly?

[mishi]

In his dreams....

[DontJustFollow]

If you want to sleep with a person of your same sex, have a party. Just don't parade around trying to convince everyone else. Gay pride - great. We are confused why you have to make such a spectical of it.

When is the last time you saw a Straight Pride parade? When is the last time you say heterosexuals organizing a Gay Day in our schools? Should all the straight people put special stickers on our car windows?

You want to band together and force your lifestyle on us??? Then maybe we should do the same - - -

[peacebypiece]

this is NOT the "gay agenda". This is about denying equal rights. BTW, can you explain to me just exactly what the "gay agenda" is?

[cmfrey]

Well get ready to be sick and tired for a long long time.

Our only agenda is the equal application of the law.

[LexKitten]

the gay agenda.... meaning that we want the same things in life that you want?

If I had a "gay agenda" I wouldn't be ramming it down your THROAT. Are we clear?

[NoblesseOblige]

First of all, it's not a "gay agenda" as you and others call it. It's "civil rights". Being gay isn't a "choice".We were born that way. And, we're getting sick and tired of folks ramming THEIR b.i.g.o.t.e.d. agenda down OUR throats!