Surbanites in favor of gay rights made their own statements in Concord and Walnut Creek late Tuesday afternoon, about seven hours after they received the news that the state Supreme Court had decided to uphold Prop. 8, the same-sex marriage ban, as a constitutionally acceptable exercise of voters' free will.Some 100 rallied in Concord and about 30 rallied at the intersection of Mt. Diablo Boulevard and North Broadway in Walnut Creek.
This photo was taken at the Concord rally by a member of a local high school Gay-Straight Alliance, who said that some of those joining the protest against the Supreme Court's decision were members of religious organizations. "It was amazing," this young woman told me.
While the court upheld Prop. 8, the court ruled that the marriages of the estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who married last year would remain legal and valid.
The rallies in Suburbia were not as heated as the one in San Francisco Tuesday, in which a large group of protesters blocked the intersection of Van Ness Avenue and Grove Street outside City Hall for several hours, the Contra Costa Times reports. Police arrested about 175 protesters, who willingly allowed themselves to be taken into custody.
The Times added that this ruling does not mean that the debate over same-sex marriage is over in California.
Far from it: "While Tuesday's ruling ends the legal battle over Prop. 8, it's just another milestone in California's larger, longer war over same-sex marriage. Equality California this month launched an advertising and grass-roots organizing campaign it hopes will sway public opinion toward acceptance of same-sex marriage, in advance of a new ballot measure in 2010 or 2012 that would overturn Prop0sition 8."
No comments:
Post a Comment