Source: KTLA TV, San Jose Mercury News, KXTV News 10, Sacramento Bee, CNN, San Diego Union Tribune, Los Angeles Times
Protests over Proposition 8 grew larger and noisier Friday and Saturday in several California cities, including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Palm Springs, and Long Beach. More than 20,000 protesters spilled into the streets of throughout the state on Saturday in mostly peaceful demonstrations over passage of Prop. 8, the statewide ballot measure that removes marriage equality.
At each rally, participants vented frustration and anger over the ballot item that amends the state Constitution to declare that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized" in California.
Qnews update: Peaceful Prop. 8 protests intensify; target Capitol and evangelical and Mormon churches 9-Nov-08
The demonstrations across the state "are all pretty spontaneous," Jason Howe, a former spokesman for the No on 8 campaign, told Los Angeles Times. "This is all pretty grass-roots stuff. They're just going out on Facebook and MySpace and Craigslist. ... People are angry and frustrated."
Protests at the state capitol in Sacramento and at the Mormon temple in Oakland are planned for Sunday.
In the fourth night of demonstrations in Los Angeles, the largest group yet to rallied in the city Saturday night. About 10,000 protesters marched Saturday night from Sunset Boulevard and Manzanita Street in the Silver Lake neighborhood, KTLA reports.
Weekend Prop. (H)8 protests get larger across California [contd.]
Gay Marriage activists teamed up with members of the the group Act Now to Stop War & End Racism (ANSWER) to stage the Saturday evening demonstration in Los Angeles, KTLA reports.
Among the scheduled speakers were Robin Tyler and Diane Olson, a lesbian couple whose lawsuit led the California Supreme Court to rule in May that denying same-sex couples the right to get married was tantamount to discrimination.
Tyler and Olson had their attorney, Gloria Allred, file a writ with the high court Wednesday, challenging the voter-approved initiative, and throngs of demonstrators have clogged streets throughout California each night since.
A smaller demonstration in the late afternoon near Pierce College in Woodland Hills attracted a crowd of about 300, police said. Some of them hopped aboard buses to join the Silver Lake rally, Los Angeles Times reports.
Friday night, 2,000 people gathered in Long Beach to protest Prop 8.
In Palm Springs, a crowd of several hundred gathered Friday in front of the city hall, chanting "Civil rights" and "Tax the Church", CNN reports. One sign read: "We will not give up."
About 2,000 demonstrators massed in front of the Mormon temple in West Los Angeles Thursday to protest the church's support of Prop 8.
Another protest is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at the Oakland Mormon temple. It targets the church whose members donated over half of the money raised to support the measure.
An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people marched Saturday from Hillcrest, San Diego's gay neighborhood, to North Park behind a giant rainbow flag in protest of Proposition 8, San Diego Union Tribune reports.
"I don't want anyone to take away my right to marry," said Ken Hagen, a University City newlywed who marched down University Avenue alongside his partner, John Young.
Chants for equality were sometimes drowned out by drivers honking their horns in support of the passing crowd in San Diego. Signs waved and bobbed in the air with slogans such as "We Shall Overcome" and "Not Gay, Love You Anyway."
For the third night in a row, No on 8 protesters also gathered at the State Capitol in Sacramento Friday evening to voice their frustrations over the ban on marriage equality, Sacramento's KXTA News10 reports.
Many of the No on 8 protesters in Sacramento told KXTA that they're looking ahead to Sunday afternoon, saying it's going to be their biggest rally yet. They say it could include protesters from across the state, convening at the Capitol.
"If you strip somebody of their rights, nobody's going to let go of that," said No on 8 protester Jason Word in Sacramento.
"It's more than just marriage for us. It's very personal for us in that we feel attacked," said Darnell Fray-Stephenson, also demonstrating for No on 8.
Friday night in San Francisco, a rowdy, whistle-blowing, shouting crowd estimated at 2,000 people held signs and shouted "Equal rights now" and "Yes we can," blocking Market Street from the Civic Center and jamming traffic in the Castro district down to the Mission.
"We are protesting the fact that our rights are being taken away from us," said Denise Fordham of San Francisco. She and her partner, Gail Persily, have been together for 22 years, and although neither of them had previously considered getting married, it had started to look more appealing, San Jose Mercury News reports.
"Marriage is a constitutional right that should not be taken away by voters," Fordham said. "I don't understand why they are so scared about it. It doesn't hurt anybody."
Like the Long Beach march, the San Francisco protest was not officially affiliated with any one organization, Mercury News reports. It was organized by volunteers, who posted the event on Web sites such as Facebook and passed out fliers.
Shane Young, a gay man from San Francisco, said that seeing so many people protesting what he considers to be a discriminatory measure gave him a sense of hope.
"This protest is an opportunity to show our support and determination for our community. Proposition 8 is just horrible, and though we are struggling right now, eventually we will overcome. You can't vote away people's rights," he said.
Anger turned ugly in an isolated incident Friday near Sacramento.
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department says they don't have any early leads on who spray paint-vandalized a Mormon church in Orangevale, KXTV News10 reports. The graffiti, sprayed sometime late Thursday or early Friday morning, was on the church's front sign and nearby sidewalks.
In red lettering, it read, "No on 8."
"Paint washes off and we're just thankful there was no major damage done," said LDS Church spokeswoman Lisa West.
For the church, the damage is more emotional than physical. They, along with other religious organizations, had encouraged followers to support Proposition 8.
"This is a very emotionally charged issue and we understand it goes to the core of people's lives," West said according to Sacramento News10.
She said all they can do is let the vandalism go and move on. But moving on does not seem to be on the agenda for many No on 8 supporters.
A Bay Area group has started the Mormons Stole Our Rights website. It accuses the church of advocating for the Yes on 8 campaign, and says they should have their status as a religious organization stripped.
"The Mormon story is possible because our country is a tolerant and forgiving place," the website says, referring to the history of oppression that Mormons have overcome. "America believes in the rights of its citizens to determine their own fates, and grants rights to individual communities to determine their own norms and values. The Mormon people have been able to flourish because of this country's generous spirit.
"But now, history has reversed, and it is the Mormons who have become the oppressor," the website says.
It's an interpretation that the church is pushing back against, arguing that support for Proposition 8 came from individual members of the church and not directly from church coffers.
"The Church of Jesus Christ of LDS did not donate any money to Prop 8, but supported the measure, and encouraged members to go out and give up their time and their means," said West. "The (church) members themselves did donate."
Church members were, however, strongly urged to make the donations by church leadership.
On Tuesday, voters approved Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. County Clerks stopped issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples the next day.
Unless the state Supreme Court blocks Proposition 8 until legal challenges are decided, no more gay marriages will take place, Sacramento Bee reports.
But between last June and September, after the state Supreme Court ruled gay marriage constitutional, about 18,000 gay couples were wed. Despite Proposition 8 Attorney General Jerry Brown has said gay couples already wed will remain married in the eyes of the law.
The Yes on 8 Campaign has no plans to try to invalidate those marriages, said Yes on 8 attorney Andrew Pugno.
However, he said, "someone else out there might try to do it." He predicted existing gay marriages might be challenged if a spouse "tries to force someone to recognize" the marriage. One scenario, he suggested, might be if an employee wants to add a gay spouse - not a registered domestic partner - to health insurance or other job benefits based on marriage rights.
State law recognizes civil unions between gays and lesbians. Those unions allow individuals virtually the same rights as a "married" person, but activists want there to be no distinction.
Source: Thousands March Against Prop 8 in Silver Lake | KTLA
Prop. 8 protests block S.F. streets | San Jose Mercury News
Gay marriage supporters take to California streets | CNN
Prop 8 Protesting Turns Ugly | KXTA News10
Gay couples feel sting of Proposition 8 vote | Sacramento Bee
Thousands protest gay-marriage ban | San Diego Union Tribune
Anti-Prop. 8 protests spring up in California | Los Angeles Times